[high end gaming PC] Recommendations

[BS PALADIN]

Im thinking of getting this rig

Intel® Core™ i5 750 Quad Core Processor (2.66GHz, 8MB Cache) - LGA1156

Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium pre-installed

Stylish Mini-Tower uATX Chassis with 550W PSU - Piano Black [upg £ 17.02]

ASUS P7P55-M Mainboard - Intel Coreâ„¢ i5 / i7 - LGA 1156 / Micro ATX

4GB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM - (2x2GB)

1TB Serial ATA 2 Hard Drive with 32MB Buffer

22x Dual Layer DVD Writer Super Format +R/-R/RW/RAM

1GB ATI Radeon HD5670 Graphics Accelerator [upg £ 36.60]

7.1 High Definition onboard sound card - for 8 Channel Cinema sound

1 Year Return to Base Hardware Warranty - inc 3 Months Free Collect & Return

I want it for high end gaming ( gona add another 4gb Ram at a later date ), will this be able to run current games on high settings. For example ARMA 2, Crysis, BFBC2. Also would it be recommended for using UDK on it.

Also is the core 5 better than the Phemon II 3.4 Black edition cpu?

Any help is appreciated. Im clueless when it comes to PC gaming. Only getting back into it after a 10 year break.

[CR6]

You would have to look around the net for benchmarks to see if the Core i5 you have listed is faster than the Phenom II 3.4GHz since it's hard to tell what is faster just by clock speed anymore.

Are you building your own system from scratch or is this customizing a system from a vendor like Dell/HP etc?

If you want to do high end gaming, then just at first glance I would upgrade to a Core i7 and a the fastest graphics card you can afford.

ATI just came out with a HD5830 at a better price point than their top-end offering

http://hardocp.com/article/2010/02/25/amds...hd_5830_review/

[BS PALADIN]

Im customising from mesh computers.

My funds are severely limited. Im tapping out at £700 absolute max. That card sound a bit out of my price bracket.

Edited March 19, 2010 by BS PALADIN

[NoQuarter]

I would advise against a mini tower design case -due to heat/air flow issues and space/upgade limitations.

No hands-on experience here but a micro-ATX MoBo for a gaming rig? Sounds problematic...at best.

PSU is on the light side... these generally last a few upgrade cycles so I'd recommend anything over 700W.

____

This is easier said than done, but building from the board up, and in stages, to come up with a base to upgrade around, will mean more bang for your buck down the road.

Same goes for re-assessing one or the other of your brackets, because considering your budget ceiling, you'll be hard-pressed in shooting for high-end gaming, particularly as it appears you plan on going the pre-built route.

[BS PALADIN]

Might have to try to scrape some more money from somewhere then lol.

Thanks for the info.

[Cpl Ledanek]

+1 with small cases...not good due to heat....if your mobo can control the fans, you'll notice that your fan will be on full= more noise and it'll get annoying.

if you can find a rebadged Lian-li case under the name Rocketfish, the price will be lower significantly.

or just get a full size tower, you wouldn't mind looking at on a daily basis.

+1 on PSU....600-700 should get you through at least two upgrades also.

good luck

[BS PALADIN]

After looking at alot of benchmarks test it looks like the hd 5830 is little better than the hd 5770. Might go with that and a 3.40GZ AMD quad core.

[CR6]

If you are going for the 5830, check to see if the motherboard you are purchasing can support ATI's CrossFire (dual graphics cards). That way in a year or so if you are interested, you could buy a second one (hopefully a little cheaper by then) and get the performance of a higher end card.

[BS PALADIN]

Went with a HD5770 and a phenomII 3.20ghz quad core. Lack of money prevailed. Will just upgrade at a later date. Mid level gaming here I come lol.