Cobblers Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Right. I've been out of the PC scene for a couple of years and already everything has left me high and dry with no idea what I'm talking about any more. What I am after is a cost effective computer that will run the games due out later this year, ie new GR and BF etc with relative ease - although I'm not expecting to have everything on Ultra settings, but someway towards that would be sweet. How much should I be looking at cost wise? Where's best place, in UK, to get the gear from these days? What's the basic thing I need to consider getting, yes RAM, HD, Processor, a case to put them in... this is about the extent of my knowledge. I have seen others post up their rigs, which all look and sound impressive, but I've no idea if this is what I need or want etc. Some help would be welcome from the people on these forums... please be gentle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinker Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 You should put up your budget, can highly change peoples suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobblers Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 Yup it would help, wouldn't it. No more than about £1,300 - this would need to include a monitor too btw! Although if it's the matter of £100 for a much better system then I can be persuaded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinker Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 The PC will be for gaming mainly? First thing is the case. Do you need a fancy looking thing with all the trimmings, or does it sit under the desk out of site? A case is a case, prices are silly for something you do not get to see. Quad core is the way to go, recommend the Core i7. Motherboard, get 1 that is capable of handling 24GB of RAM for the future. Can happily put in 4GB for now if needed, or anything above that you need. RAM, would really go for triple channel. Maybe 3 x 2 GB, or 3 x 4GB. PSU get a good brand here, paying over £100 for a good 800W unit will ensure you can use dual graphics if needed. Go for the solid state drives for your hard drive. DVD drives come by the penny, even use an old 1? Maybe get a better opinion soon, keep an eye in. Take your time with your choice of parts. I have the X58 motherboard, and you probably seen my issue with only 8GB of RAM showing up. This is not an issue if you use any of the 2 following brands of RAM: G-Skill and Mushkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobblers Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 Hey, thanks! Yes, gaming only rig. Not bothered at all what the thing ends up looking like, so long as the stuff projected on the PC monitor looks good enough. But again, thanks. Will give me some things to look out for. I'll keep an eye out for more advice, ofc, and will post up what I end up looking to buy on here first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobblers Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 So thinking of these as a starting point: Intel® Core™ i7-2600 Processor (3.40GHz, 8MB) 1GB ATI® Radeon™ HD 5870 graphics card 1TB Serial ATA (7,200 rpm) Will post up rest later.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeealex Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 (edited) all i am gonna say is GIGAFREAK LIKE GIGABYTE WILL SHOVE IT IN YOUR FACE IF YOU BUY OTHERWISE AND IT DOESNT WORK get a G-1 Killer board they are AWESOME G-1 Sniper for you. http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/19137887/Gigabyte-SKT-1366-G1-Killer-Sniper-Motherboard/Product.html?_%24ja=tsid:11518%7Ccat:19137887%7Cprd:19137887 okay yes, expensive but it fits an I7 processor, and 24GB RAM in other words mmmm yummy but straight away sandy bridge (i7 2600) has to go bye bye if you like what you see. and replace it with... That Edited April 18, 2011 by Zeealex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobblers Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 Yup, thanks. So bloody confusing though - too many choices! But going for the type of rig I am aiming for should give me good performance and still pretty cost effective too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeealex Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 (edited) this is why i always stick to the one brand that way i only have to get confused at how many slots i want or what processor i want. you'll get there eventually. just have patience and it will come to you. how about: that. Core i7 3.06 (overclock this): £196.99 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002A6G3V2/ref=asc_df_B002A6G3V22615019?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B002A6G3V2 1TB WD caviar HD: £56 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-Caviar-3-5-inch-Internal/dp/B003SLE8H4/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1303125002&sr=1-2 it's cheaper than the price i gave you, oops! 6GB ddr3 1600mhz corsair: £89 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMX6GX3M3A1600C9-DDR3-SDRAM-Memory/dp/B002LZ1FPG/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1303125127&sr=1-1 cheaper again??!! cooler master HAF X case: £138 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Master-HAF-extended--SATA/dp/B003OESTP2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303125209&sr=8-1 XFX radeon HD 6950: £222.53 http://www.amazon.co.uk/XFX-HD6950-Radeon-GDDR5-SDRAM-HD-695X-ZNFC/dp/B004S9SKKG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1303125340&sr=1-3 CIT 750W PSU black ed: £32.31 http://www.amazon.co.uk/CiT-750W-Power-Supply-Rails/dp/B002Q8HFEI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=computers&qid=1303125449&sr=8-1 cooler gigabyte Xpower £22.50 without P&P http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GIGABYTE-COOLER-X-POWER-PWM-9025-FAN-2800R-GH-PSU11-P-/230402190425?pt=Computing_ComputerComponents_Fans_Heatsinks_SR&hash=item35a50a6c59 G-1 Sniper mobo £358.71 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Gigabyte-G1-SNIPER-/390305426569?pt=UK_Motherboards_CPUs&hash=item5ae0042c89 plenty of room for more RAM there. or if you are lucky, a higher spec LGA1366 CPU Edited April 18, 2011 by Zeealex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobblers Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 Hey superstar award of the week btw - and it's only Monday! So to add to that, I just need a monitor - can source one myself - and Windows 7 and I'm good to go essentially? Oh plus a couple of games to use too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeealex Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 yup! that's pretty much it. any version of windows will do, at the end of the day ultimate is just microft's cruddy attempt at making money. and trust me, you won't go wrong with the G-1 killer at the helm. and you might need a DVD/ blu ray drive too. oops they cost virtually nothing these days though, you can pick up an internal blu ray drive for just over £70 on amazon if i remember correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeealex Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 (edited) BTW - Is there a cheaper case or is this really worth £138? Just not worried about the look of the thing, or having flashy lights. Or perhaps this is how most of them come these days? Still want something that can be upgraded easily enough over the months/years ahead. And I won't miss going for 2x4gb Ram rather than the 3x2gb ram that you recommended? it is a FANTASTIC case for what you are paying, especially if you need to overclock, the air intake flow is a must have for any PC to run stable, but as soon as you live in the UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jeantech-Unicorn-Gaming-Tower-Case/dp/B001O3F7X2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1303134062&sr=8-2 i've had one of these before and its worth it's 60 quid. but it is honestly what you would feel more comfortable using for the PC, Jeantech put their user's mauals in plain english so you know how to wire the case up to the motherboard. all the non flashy cases are usually too small but if you dont mind paying £140 for a smart and sophisticated looking Gigabyte Sumo in which my G-1 PC is lovingly housed in, go for it. 2x4GB is better than 6GB so go for it at the time i was thinking okay don't go over the top you might be able to go even more than that if you absolutely want to. Edited April 18, 2011 by Zeealex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobblers Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 May look to do the 8gb (ie 2x4gb ram). Extra money seems worth it and lessens hassle of having to add more sooner than later. The case, hmm not sure really as to which one is worth going for first. What's a good, decent priced, DVD(RW) drive these days? And thanks for the help.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeealex Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 (edited) yeah, always worth it. jeantech is good simply because all the screws and accessories to mount the hard drives into the machine are all in a little red accessory box hunkered under the hard drive bays, which is always handy. and the hard drive mounting is screwless which is an added bonus as for drives either this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Liteon-IHOS104-37-Internal-Blu-ray-Software/dp/B002BAT1GQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303137559&sr=8-1 or the caveman option http://www.amazon.co.uk/LG-GH22NS50-AUAA-SATA-DVDRW-Drive/dp/B002IST634/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1303137607&sr=1-3 Edited April 18, 2011 by Zeealex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobblers Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 And regards the processor, is: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel-core-i7-950-bloomfield-45nm-306-ghz-qpi-48-8mb-cache-23x-ratio-retail-plus-free-shogun-2 this the same processor as the one you linked? Just it's slightly cheaper and comes with a game also. Seems to be the same to me, but I could be wrong ofc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeealex Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 yup! and if you trust the site, then go for it by all means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobblers Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 Yeah, brought from Scan.co.uk a few times previously.... Finding it hard to beat many other prices you put up though - again many thanks indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeealex Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 (edited) cool buy it then, seems like a pretty cool deal i always do a thourough search for the cheapest trusted seller. Edited April 18, 2011 by Zeealex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobblers Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 hey, hey, hey. Another question. Why not go for a: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigabyte-ga-x58a-ud7-intel-x58-express-s1366-ddr3-2200-sata-ii-and-iii-usb-30-and-20-raid-atx over your recommended: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigabyte-g1-killer-series-g1sniper-intel-x58-s1366-pci-e-20-ddr3-2000-sata-6gb-s-killer-nic (which I managed to find just over £40 cheaper from Scan.co.uk) Thanks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobblers Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 Opinions on: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-xfx-hd-6950-xxx-pci-e-21-%28x16%29-5200mhz-gddr5-gpu-830mhz-1408cores-2x-dvi-i-2x-mdp-hdmi compared to: http://www.amazon.co.uk/XFX-HD6950-Radeon-GDDR5-SDRAM-HD-695X-ZNFC/dp/B004S9SKKG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1303125340&sr=1-3 Seems like the same card to me, but look quite different and the one from scan.co.uk is slightly cheaper too by about £16. There was also this 2gb version of the same card: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-xfx-hd-6950-pci-e-21-%28x16%29-5000mhz-gddr5-gpu-800mhz-1408cores-dl-dvi-i-dvi-hdmi-2x-mdp but the 2gb card clock speed 800mhz on the 2gb compared to 830mhz on the 1gm. Also the memory clock on the 1gb is 5200Mhz compared to the 2gb's being at 5000Mhz. Those are only differences bar the 2GB one being about £4 cheaper. I am taking it that these differences are enough to make the 1gb card better than the 2gb one? Also, I'm thinking that buy one single 1gb card, wait for prices to go down and pick up a cheap one in a few months time, thus giving the machine 2gb's.... Hope that makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeealex Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 hey it's your PC the G-1 is better on some terms, like asthetics and it has easier overclocking of the CPU. but hey if you want that little extra money saved to go on something else i dont see why not, so long as it is gigabyte i dont see why it will be an issue for you. nice find, this is ebay though, cheapest i could find from trusted sellers ebay doesnt count that was more for guidlines so you knew what to look for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinker Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 That case is a little over the top for this. I actually went to Scan to pick 1. That 1 I saw and it was huge, could use it as a wardrobe! This is the 1 I bought: LINK Can take 4 DVD drives and 4 hard drives. As it is I only have the 1 of each and there is a tonne of room inside. Has 2 x 120MM fans, and there is a place to fit a 200MM fan if needing extra cooling with overclocking etc. Would recommend getting 3 sticks of RAM, will get better performance with the I7 using triple channel as apposed to duel channel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeealex Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 (edited) That case is a little over the top for this. I actually went to Scan to pick 1. That 1 I saw and it was huge, could use it as a wardrobe! This is the 1 I bought: LINK Can take 4 DVD drives and 4 hard drives. As it is I only have the 1 of each and there is a tonne of room inside. Has 2 x 120MM fans, and there is a place to fit a 200MM fan if needing extra cooling with overclocking etc. Would recommend getting 3 sticks of RAM, will get better performance with the I7 using triple channel as apposed to duel channel. the cards, any will do, i like your thinking but sometimes it is easier to get the 2GB so it is future proof and you dont have to worry about the upgrade what the cooler master HAF X case? tis a bit big but it allows for better air flow. either way any cooler master HAF series is good. yeah 3X4GB, 12GB nice. this sounds like a monster machine coming on here cobblers Edited April 18, 2011 by Zeealex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobblers Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 Yeah - and so will my wife when I explain the price to her too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeealex Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 XD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.