Gaming PC Spec

[Techie101]

Hi all

 

Thinking of building a gaming pc before the year is out. Getting fed up with not being able to play the latest games on my current pc.

 

But I cant decide on what hardware to get, can’t even decide on what CPU, Intel or AMD.

 

Looked at the following CPU’s so far –

 

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Quad Core CPU for £146.11 (AM3)

Intel Core i7-920 'D0 Stepping' Quad Core for £215.54 (Socket 1366)

Intel Core i7-950 Quad Core for £432.95 (Socket 1366)

 

Graphics Card wise I was thinking –

 

BFG GeForce GTX 295 1792MB for £366.79

 

Prices are from this site, this place is local to me so I can nip down and pick up the parts.

 

CCL Computers - Awarded Best Online Retailer 2008 for PC, PC Components, Laptops, Notebook, Computer Components, Intel Servers, Hard Drives, PC Memory

 

If anyone could also recommend RAM and a good Motherboard I’d appreciate it.

 

Thanks all

[Michael]

Have you considered buying a games console instead? Much wider choice of games and you'll save yourself quite a bit of money in the process

[Guest Guest]

How have you choosen your parts? Did you just go in the catagory and select "price decending" and go for the first product that came up!!!!

[buzzard]

Have you considered buying a games console instead? Much wider choice of games and you'll save yourself quite a bit of money in the process

 

Don't get me started on consoles!!

 

[tmcd35]

Whats the budget and whats the OS? Seriously, if you can afford a Core-i7 why are you looking at the AMD's at all?

 

As for i7-920 vs i7-950, I'd question if the price/speed difference is worth while and spend the difference on extra Ram.

 

As for Mobo's - I've always liked Asus

[Jamo]

mmm i would suggest the 5870 as performance is SO much better per £ than the nVidia cards.

 

Also would suggest the intel Core i7 as otherwise you limit the performance of the high end GFX cards, 920 can be overclocked if u feel the need also

[Guest Guest]

Personally if i was looking at a new PC i cant really see the point in buying anything higher than a i7 920 with a ATI 4890 (£130) (or maybe the new 58xx series), with a intex x25-m g2 SSD.

 

Any higher and you aint getting much more performance, but you are doubling the price tag.

[Techie101]

Already got a PS3 but prefer PC for gaming, don't ask, don't wanna get into a debate about console vs PC.

 

OS will be Windows 7 and budget is between £750 and £1000

 

Dont need a monitor in that price, I already have a 24" LCD.

[Jamo]

Don't get me started on consoles!!

 

 

consoles are where people who aren't good enough to play on pc's reside

 

*waits for the flames* hehe

[tech_guy]

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

[tmcd35]

OS will be Windows 7 and budget is between £750 and £1000

 

 

64bit?

 

 

consoles are where people who aren't good enough to play on pc's reside

Wot u on 'bout? My PS3 plays Singstar better than your PeeCee

[Techie101]

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

 

What you running for graphics?

[Techie101]

mmm i would suggest the 5870 as performance is SO much better per £ than the nVidia cards.

 

Also would suggest the intel Core i7 as otherwise you limit the performance of the high end GFX cards, 920 can be overclocked if u feel the need also

 

So you think that the 5870 is better than the BFG GeForce GTX 295 1792MB.

 

The only thing putting me off ATI is that in the past i swore by ATI but after card number 3 died and i switched to Nvidia i've had no problems, in fact i'm still on the original Nvidia card that I replaced the ATI one with.

[tech_guy]

What you running for graphics?

 

Couldn't afford the 5870 but I popped one of these in instead.

Edited December 1, 2009 by tech_guy
Wrong hyperlink included, sorry.

[Jamo]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZDTjI9oOpY&feature=sub]YouTube- 5870 vs GTX295 Maxishine Video[/ame]

 

ATi have really done well with the new set of cards, I bought a 4870 when it first came out and have been so happy with it. I can still run nearly everything at pretty much full and it works well.

[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)

Edited December 1, 2009 by Jamo

[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® Core™ 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