Gaming PC Spec

[Techie101]

Just had a look at this site and the BFG comes out way ahead -

HEXUS.net - Review :: Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 1GB Vapor-X graphics card: the best in the world? : Page - 5/10

[apoth0r]

I have a BFG, they are the dogs, no doubt!
Bought one for about £200 a year and a half ago, still able to run any new games at full detail, high res.
Drop down the market a bit on graphics, no need to buy the top one because you'll only see it drop drastically in price in a month or two. Mid price change by a few quid.

[Jamo]

ATI HD Radeon 5870: The Fastest Videocard Ever (PS It's $380) - Page 1 | Maximum PC

I would also point out the very low power consumption of the 5870 just under 30 watts idle.

(We all like to be green while playing shoot em ups after all)

[Mako]

ATI HD Radeon 5870: The Fastest Videocard Ever (PS It's $380) - Page 1 | Maximum PC

I would also point out the very low power consumption of the 5870 just under 30 watts idle.

(We all like to be green while playing shoot em ups after all)

+1 for this card.

If you look at my signature you'll see the gaming rig I run, and it can handle any game on maximum graphics plus minimum x8 AA. The original card I had in was an nVidia 9800GTX+ 512mb, but due to a motherboard + processor blowout I changed boards to a Asus P5Q Deluxe and bought the ATI card to fit. My rig works like a dream and should fit within your budget range quite easily.

ATI vs nVidia reminds me of the Top Gear episode where Clarkson tried to out-manouver a Challenger Tank. Tank = nVidia, Car = ATI. nVidia have sheer firepower in their 1792mb cards, whereas ATI have far more horsepower packed into their 1gig cards. ATI don't have the grunt but the speed is there, and I'm very impressed with the 5870. It's down to your personal choice. I wouldn't rate ATI before but their recent cards are impressive.

[Jamo]

I beleive you can have a full blown 4 card system with ATi also. So 4 x 5870's would certainly handle everything u wanted

Ok so maybe a little overkill, but Crysis on a Dell 32" Ultrasharp in full res with full AA sounds very appealing!

.... Now if only I could survive without food for a few months!

[ces973]

My home gaming pc has an Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80GHz with 6GB RAM and it flies - runs all the latest and greatest no problem with high detail settings.

I just upgraded my system with a i7-860 and 8GB of RAM. Paired them up with a GTX 260 and the burns. My 860 is slightly OC'd to 3.0GHz, though.

[Techie101]

Ok what do you guys think about this spec -

MB - Asus Rampage II Gene mATX i7 Motherboard - 179.56
CPU - Intel Core i7-920 'D0 Stepping' Quad Core - 215.54
RAM - 6GB Kingston Hyper-X 2000MHz DDR3 Triple Channel Memory Kit - 154.95
VIDEO - BFG GeForce GTX 295 1792MB - 366.79
HDD - 1TB Samsung SpinPoint F3 HD103SJ Hard Disk Drive - 64.96
DVDRW/DL - Sony AD-7240S-0B 24x DVDRW - 17.17
KEY/MOUSE - Microsoft Business Hardware Pack - 19.6
PSU - 850W Coolermaster Silent Pro M850 - 111.95
CASE - Antec Nine Hundred - 76.21

Grand Total = £1206.73 (bugger, slightly over bugdet)

[Jamo]

Ok what do you guys think about this spec -

MB - Asus Rampage II Gene mATX i7 Motherboard - 179.56
CPU - Intel Core i7-920 'D0 Stepping' Quad Core - 215.54
RAM - 6GB Kingston Hyper-X 2000MHz DDR3 Triple Channel Memory Kit - 154.95
VIDEO - BFG GeForce GTX 295 1792MB - 366.79
HDD - 1TB Samsung SpinPoint F3 HD103SJ Hard Disk Drive - 64.96
DVDRW/DL - Sony AD-7240S-0B 24x DVDRW - 17.17
KEY/MOUSE - Microsoft Business Hardware Pack - 19.6
PSU - 850W Coolermaster Silent Pro M850 - 111.95
CASE - Antec Nine Hundred - 76.21

Grand Total = £1206.73 (bugger, slightly over bugdet)

mATX board will look like a slice of bread in an oven in that case

[Techie101]

Oops didnt notice that, replace with Asus P6T Motherboard - £178.69

[tmcd35]

mATX board will look like a slice of bread in an oven in that case

Core-i7, DX-11 gfx card, 850watt PSU, DDR3 RAM - That'd be toast then

[ces973]

If that's all you're putting in your build, then you most likely don't need a 850W PSU. My PC has 4 HDD's and I had a ton of unused cables from my 750W PSU.

[Jamo]

I would say a PSU is one of the most important parts of a gaming rig. The 295GTX is a power hog, keeping the voltages stable keeps your PC running smoothly for many more years than a cheap 500W one. The less stress on the PSU the less fluctuation you should have in a good PSU.

Plus it keeps the options open for xfire and SLI for later

[Techie101]

Maybe I should just buy an xbox

[Techie101]

Actually for that price I could buy several, lol

[ces973]

I would say a PSU is one of the most important parts of a gaming rig. The 295GTX is a power hog, keeping the voltages stable keeps your PC running smoothly for many more years than a cheap 500W one. The less stress on the PSU the less fluctuation you should have in a good PSU.

Plus it keeps the options open for xfire and SLI for later

I'm not saying skimp on it by buying a no-name PSU, I'm simply saying you could probably get away with a 650W PSU and save yourself some money in the process. I just bought a Corsair 750W and I probably could have got away with a 650W.