Building a high End Machine HElp

21-04-2011 8:18pm #1

I'm looking at getting a high end machine built for gaming and ediitng film on. I'm looking to spend around 1,000 - 1,400 and want a machine which will run all the latest and upcoming games on high settings with no difficulty as well as allowing me to easily utilsie professional editing software and programs. Oh and want to be able to play 3D games on it also.

I'd appreciate if people could make suggestions as what I should look at for it. Friend of mine is going to build it for me simply a case of me getting the parts. I want a machine which I can easily upgrade over the coming years as I'm looking for a machine which will do me 5, 6 years.

IrishMetalhead · 21-04-2011 8:32pm

what kind of case would you like? something that looks cool or something more elegant and plain?

21-04-2011 8:37pm

IrishMetalhead wrote: »

what kind of case would you like? something that looks cool or something more elegant and plain?

Don't really care, it's what's inside that counts though it would be nice to have something distinctive.

IrishMetalhead · 21-04-2011 8:51pm

5 cases lined up for you from my personal faves with amazing cooling so just take you pick all in the same price range:

Corsair 600T Graphite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLCwBkf4o94

NZXT Phantom: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUQ_K_MeK9E
(Availible in all 3 Colours, Red, Black and White)

Silverstone Raven: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFmbodtTq1o

Antec Twelve Hundred: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j3MNAQLuIQ
(An oldie but an widely know classic)

Coolermaster HAF X: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLFbjR97moM

sink · 21-04-2011 8:57pm

I built this a few weeks ago. Very fast handles three 1080p monitors at a total resolution of 5760X1080, with everything maxed out on most games. The only game which I had to turn graphics down was Crysis 2 as on max it would regularly drop to around 20fps but still managed to average around 30fps.

Case: FRACTAL DESIGN DEFINE R3 Black Pearl - €91.69
Case Fans: Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro PL2 120mm x1, PK2 140mm x3 - €51.92
PSU: Corsair 750HX 750W - €122.22
Motherboard: MSI P67A-GD55 (B3) - €135.24
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K - €181.11
Heatsink: Corsair A70 - €33.03
GPU: MSI Radeon HD 6950 2GB x2 - €430.28
RAM: Corsair XMS3 DDR3 PC1600 CL8 4GB kit x2 - €88.28
SSD: Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB - €196.74

Total: - €1,330.51

Not included in that budget is the OS, a secondary hard drive and optical drive as I already had those and also €30 for delivery from hardwareversand.de.

I overclocked the CPU to 4.6GHz. I also unlocked the extra shaders on the HD 6950 cards using a custom bios, not the reference HD 6970 bios as that overvolts the lower rated memory of the HD 6950 and can burn it out. I then overclocked them to 880mhz with memory at 1360mhz, getting me very close to HD6970 performance.

IrishMetalhead · 21-04-2011 9:01pm

a i7 2600K would be alot better in this case rather than the 2500K since this is going to be a worksation aswell thats the only change I would make, already specced up something unique but need to know which case first

sink · 21-04-2011 9:02pm

Just realised you want to play stereoscopic 3D games, in that case you have to go for Geforce, as Radeon don't support that feature

21-04-2011 9:05pm

sink wrote: »

I built this a few weeks ago. Very fast handles three 1080p monitors at a total resolution of 5760X1080, with everything maxed out on most games. The only game which I had to turn graphics down was Crysis 2 as on max it would regularly drop to around 20fps but still managed to average around 30fps.

Case: FRACTAL DESIGN DEFINE R3 Black Pearl - €91.69
Case Fans: Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro PL2 120mm x1, PK2 140mm x3 - €51.92
PSU: Corsair 750HX 750W - €122.22
Motherboard: MSI P67A-GD55 (B3) - €135.24
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K - €181.11
Heatsink: Corsair A70 - €33.03
GPU: MSI Radeon HD 6950 2GB x2 - €430.28
RAM: Corsair XMS3 DDR3 PC1600 CL8 4GB kit x2 - €88.28
SSD: Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB - €196.74

Total: - €1,330.51

Not included in that budget is the OS, a secondary hard drive and optical drive as I already had those and also €30 for delivery from hardwareversand.de.

I overclocked the CPU to 4.6GHz. I also unlocked the extra shaders on the HD 6950 cards using a custom bios, not the reference HD 6970 bios as that overvolts the lower rated memory of the HD 6950 and can burn it out. I then overclocked them to 880mhz with memory at 1360mhz, getting me very close to HD6970 performance.

Damn nice set up you got there. Have you tried Crysis 2 in 3D on it?

Any recommendations on a 3d capeable card which will play Crysis 2 and it's ilk with ease.

sink · 21-04-2011 9:08pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Damn nice set up you got there. Have you tried Crysis 2 in 3D on it?

Radeons don't support 3D only Geforce cards do, nor do my monitors, 3D monitors are very expensive.

21-04-2011 9:11pm

sink wrote: »

Radeons don't support 3D only Geforce cards do, nor do my monitors, 3D monitors are very expensive.

My stealth edit was too late it seems.:D

Thinking what I'd so is use 2 monitors and eventually 3 but for the time being one which supports 3D and one normal monitor.

sink · 21-04-2011 9:15pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Any recommendations on a 3d capeable card which will play Crysis 2 and it's ilk with ease.

Within your budget either two Geforce GTX 560 ti in SLi (€380), or a Geforce GTX 580 (€405). Above that you've got the options of two GTX 570 SLi (€550) or a GTX 590 (€611)

FYI two GTX 560 ti are faster than one GTX 580, and two GTX 570 are faster than one GTX 590.

sink · 21-04-2011 9:18pm

You also need need 2 cards to power 3 monitors in a nvidia setup. The only single card that can power a 3 monitor surround setup is the GTX 590.

IrishMetalhead · 21-04-2011 9:20pm

OK heres what I'd recommend so far without a Case so you can choose it yourself

22-04-2011 10:55am

Is it true that they will build the machine for you for 20 euro? Seems all most to good to be true that for 50 they will build and post the finished machine.

Monotype · 22-04-2011 11:34am

Yeah, they'll build it for €20, but they will won't install heavy graphics cards and heatsinks in case they break in shipping.

Is the 3D monitor to be included in the budget? Which 3D tech are you interested in? nVidia card + shutter glasses + 120Hz monitor or polarised glasses and screen?

22-04-2011 12:05pm

Monotype wrote: »

Yeah, they'll build it for €20, but they will won't install heavy graphics cards and heatsinks in case they break in shipping.

I was curious about pricing some parts in town and when I mentioned that myself and a friend would be buildign it ourselves the guy told me he could build it for me if I supplied parts. Was somewhat curious as to the price and when I asked he told me 200 euro to build it.

Monotype wrote: »

Is the 3D monitor to be included in the budget? Which 3D tech are you interested in? nVidia card + shutter glasses + 120Hz monitor or polarised glasses and screen?

I'm looking at the Nvidia's 3D Vision tech as it seems the best way to go about it though I'm open to any recommendations that people have.

22-04-2011 12:30pm

Looking at cases and I have these three in mind, hoping to settle on one this evening.

http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?adp=0&aid=37608&agid=632&apop=2

http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?adp=0&aid=38375&agid=632&apop=2

http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?adp=0&aid=29568&agid=632&apop=5

Monotype · 22-04-2011 12:38pm

€200 to build? Wow. Talk about fleecing. You should build yourself for the experience.

A good advantage of the polarising tech is that the glasses are very cheap but there's not that many monitors available.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zalman-ZM-M215W-Stereoscopic-Definition-Monitor/dp/B003DNRDPQ/

nVidia's version seems to have more push/marketing/support behind it.

22-04-2011 12:44pm

Monotype wrote: »

€200 to build? Wow. Talk about fleecing. You should build yourself for the experience.

A good advantage of the polarising tech is that the glasses are very cheap but there's not that many monitors available.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zalman-ZM-M215W-Stereoscopic-Definition-Monitor/dp/B003DNRDPQ/

nVidia's version seems to have more push/marketing/support behind it.

When he said 200 I thought to myself that I'd rather do it myself and make a balls of it than give him 200 euro for it.

The nVidia seems the easiest option, and all I really need is the one pair of glasses which come with the set.

22-04-2011 12:51pm

Anyone have any idea what build and delivery time is like for hardwareversand? Hoping to order what I want over the weekend but with the bank holiday gettign a bank transfer done could mean it won't go through till end of next week.

IrishMetalhead · 22-04-2011 1:45pm

€20 for the assembly and €30 for the build but they'll fit the stock cooler instead of the better aftermarket one and they won't mount the graphic cards either so you'll have to install both the grahpic cards and the cpu cooler yourself also you still have to install windows yourself aswell

22-04-2011 1:52pm

IrishMetalhead wrote: »

€20 for the assembly and €30 for the build but they'll fit the stock cooler instead of the better aftermarket one and they won't mount the graphic cards either so you'll have to install both the grahpic cards and the cpu cooler yourself also you still have to install windows yourself aswell

Gonna build it myself, been about 8 years since I built a machine and it's time to get back on the bike. Looking forward to it as the most I've done hardware wise in the past few years is replace fans , ram and other small jobs.

22-04-2011 3:48pm

Just got a phone call to say that he would do me a deal and build it for 150 and if I wanted he would install Windows 7 and drivers for 80 euro as long as I supplied my own copy of 7. I think my laughter may have put him off as he told me that it was the best deal I'd get and if I wanted it to get back asap.

sink · 22-04-2011 3:58pm

Considering building a PC well with decent cable management and installing all software and updates can take several hours. €150 would work out to somewhere between €30-50 an hour, depending on may factors. It's not that far off what you would be charged by a qualified tradesman, however he is probably not qualified and unlikely to be declaring that income and paying tax and other overheads on it, so it is a bit steep. Especially considering people regularly volunteer to help others build their own.

22-04-2011 5:05pm

sink wrote: »

Considering building a PC well with decent cable management and installing all software and updates can take several hours. €150 would work out to somewhere between €30-50 an hour, depending on may factors. It's not that far off what you would be charged by a qualified tradesman, however he is probably not qualified and unlikely to be declaring that income and paying tax and other overheads on it, so it is a bit steep. Especially considering people regularly volunteer to help others build their own.

I've done it ny times myself but rarely if ever charge, only do so when I have to supply a copy of windows. Last time someone I knew used the guy who rang me they got their computer back minus soundcard.

22-04-2011 7:09pm

\looking at your set up Sink and thinking something like this:

Case: not sure yet
Case Fans: Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro PL2 120mm x1, PK2 140mm x3
Motherboard: MSI P67A-GD55 (B3)
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K -
Heatsink: Corsair A70
GPU: geforce gtx 570, 1280mb ddr5 x 2
RAM: Corsair XMS3 DDR3 PC1600 CL8 4GB kit x2
SSD: Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB
Blu Ray drive: Samsung SH-B123L Retail
WD Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 3 6Gb/s
Nvidia3d vision kit

also need to get a wirless card. any other suggestions

Monotype · 22-04-2011 7:19pm

What monitor are you getting? You might get glasses + monitor cheaper together.

22-04-2011 7:39pm

Monotype wrote: »

What monitor are you getting? You might get glasses + monitor cheaper together.

Still looking at a monitor, if you have any suggestions throw I'd appreciate it.

I take it that what i've picked out will serve me well for a few years and will run fare such as battlefield 3 on high settings.

22-04-2011 11:33pm

What sort of power supply should I get for the machine, if I go with the specs in my post above?

22-04-2011 11:52pm

This is what I have in my basket atm, a little over my budget but I think I can stretch to it. Any comments fellow boardsies, something I'm missing perhaps. I know I have to add in a network card and psu. Do I need to get the Nvidia 3d kit for the 3D on the card to work or can I just get glasses and 3d monitor.

deconduo · 23-04-2011 1:18am

Spinpoint F3 is a better and cheaper hard drive.
€60 for 4GB of RAM is a rip off, you can get 8GB kits for a similar price
The rest is fine, maybe get a CM 690II as a better case, but thats mostly just personal preference.

SuperFlower Amazon 800W would do you, probably don't even need that much.

23-04-2011 1:51am

deconduo wrote: »

Spinpoint F3 is a better and cheaper hard drive.
€60 for 4GB of RAM is a rip off, you can get 8GB kits for a similar price
The rest is fine, maybe get a CM 690II as a better case, but thats mostly just personal preference.

SuperFlower Amazon 800W would do you, probably don't even need that much.

The ram is 8GB, two sets of 4. The hard drive is just something I threw in for the time being to get a more rounded overall price, definitely looking at a different case.

IrishMetalhead · 23-04-2011 9:36am

yea but €120 is still too much for 8GB of RAM.
Heres a set of Corsair Vengeance for alot less which is also 1600MHz:

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=40701&agid=1193

Monotype · 23-04-2011 11:11am

Have you seen this monitor?
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=39794
I haven't compared specs but it seems pretty cheap at €230.
Only €205 at dabs.ie
http://www.dabs.ie/products/lg-electronics-lg-w2363d-23--3d-lcd-monitor-77LV.html

heid · 23-04-2011 2:13pm

I have the Mugen 2 cooler, the corsair vengeance ram will not fit on slot 3. I have 2 Samsung hard drives and they aren't great at all. Compared to other brands they are noisy and 1 of them has bad sectors.

23-04-2011 2:21pm

IrishMetalhead wrote: »

yea but €120 is still too much for 8GB of RAM.
Heres a set of Corsair Vengeance for alot less which is also 1600MHz:

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=40701&agid=1193

I kept looking at the 60 euro price not thinking it was doubled, a curse of not sleeping for days on end.

23-04-2011 4:47pm

How is it looking now?

heid · 23-04-2011 5:24pm

That ram has tall heat spreaders. You won't be able to use the last 2 slots, slot 3 & 4. Get a different cpu cooler or ram instead such as g.skill ripjaws.

23-04-2011 5:35pm

Going with this ram:http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=44316&agid=1205

Gonna price it all on dabs also as it seems to be cheaper for many of the parts.

Decided to preorder the new Deus Ex and Crysis 2, really looking forward to havig a machine capeable of playing both as they should be.

Monotype · 23-04-2011 6:23pm

Some items may be cheaper on dabs but they have a very bad selection in some areas, such as PSUs. It may be better to order from both together.

Take a look at combinations on dabs, e.g., for that monitor click on the bundles tab to save 10% on glasses, which starting at €129, puts them cheaper than HWV.

Also have a look at scan.co.uk, in particular their "today only" page which stays the same over the weekend if you plan to order soon - hard drive, processor and similar GPU are on it.
Actually, that 3D monitor and glasses are on the today only page for £263.99 (just under €300)

23-04-2011 7:32pm

Monotype wrote: »

Actually, that 3D monitor and glasses are on the today only page for £263.99 (just under €300)

Works out at 328 delivered which isn't too bad.

23-04-2011 7:59pm

Just hit something of a bump, budget may have to be shaved slightly for the time being. Wondering if people think it would be a good idea to get just one graphics card for the time being and then buy a second one later in a month or two? any suggestions as to if I should get one GTX 570 and another later on or buy a slightly better card for the time being?

23-04-2011 9:17pm

This power supply be good for my needs? http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?adp=0&aid=30069&agid=1628&apop=0

24-04-2011 2:19am

Decided to put the entire order through Scan, seems the easiest way to go and prices are quite comparable. That it would all be delivered this coming wednesday makes it even better. Have to add in ram, a psu and a wireless card before the order is complete but I'm pretty hapy with my current basket.

24-04-2011 3:33pm

Can someone recommend me some ram and a psu which I can get on scan? THink what I have is all I need nad want to put the order through today to avail of the offer on the monitor.

Monotype · 24-04-2011 7:05pm

For the PSU, maybe the 800W Coolermaster Silent Pro Gold on the today page. That should cover your sli 570s and a bit of overclocking.

RAM
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb-corsair-xms3-ddr3-pc3-10666-(1333)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-24-150v

24-04-2011 7:19pm

Monotype wrote: »

For the PSU, maybe the 800W Coolermaster Silent Pro Gold on the today page. That should cover your sli 570s and a bit of overclocking.

RAM
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb-corsair-xms3-ddr3-pc3-10666-(1333)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-24-150v

Any suggestions as to how I could bring the price down to around 1,250 euro. All ready decided to ust get one grapics card for the time being and put off on the 3d kit for a few weeks due to having to fork out 500 euro for a rahter unexpected expense yesterday.

Monotype · 24-04-2011 7:32pm

Yes, I can see straight away how to bring it down. You didn't add from the today only page - you have to click the "buy" button on the deals page itself to avail of the lower price. Post back what your total is then.

24-04-2011 9:59pm

Monotype wrote: »

Yes, I can see straight away how to bring it down. You didn't add from the today only page - you have to click the "buy" button on the deals page itself to avail of the lower price. Post back what your total is then.

Did that but when the psu and 8GB or ram is thrown in it comes to 1,370. Hoping that I may be able to get away with not paying vat, may know someone who can order it for me which if they can do I'll be laughing as with the 3D bundle it would come to 1,208 euro but if I can't any suggestions to brign it down somewhat.

After a bit of searching and finding some cheaper parts I got this:

Would still like to get it as close to 1,200 euro as possible though, really need to get it under 1,250 euro.

Monotype · 24-04-2011 11:26pm

You don't really need the heatsink that much. Intel's new processors run quite cool and will manage with the stock processor even when overclocked a little. It'll be a bit noisier but I think it's the part that you can drop the easiest.

RAM- 8GB is quite unnecessary for games. I'm not sure about the editing software you mentioned in post #1. You could get 4GB now and another 4GB later when you have the money.

Blu ray drive - Is there any chance that you have an older DVD drive until you can afford something better?

Are you sure about that green drive? I think maybe one F3 for now and you could expand onto a 2TB green drive later.

24-04-2011 11:37pm

Monotype wrote: »

You don't really need the heatsink that much. Intel's new processors run quite cool and will manage with the stock processor even when overclocked a little. It'll be a bit noisier but I think it's the part that you can drop the easiest.

RAM- 8GB is quite unnecessary for games. I'm not sure about the editing software you mentioned in post #1. You could get 4GB now and another 4GB later when you have the money.

Blu ray drive - Is there any chance that you have an older DVD drive until you can afford something better?

Are you sure about that green drive? I think maybe one F3 for now and you could expand onto a 2TB green drive later.

All ready dropped down to 1TB and 4GB of ram, figured that they were both things I could pick up in a few months. I need the Blu Ray drive as a lot of the footage I'll be editing from is all ready on Blu Ray discs so it's a necessary evil.

This is what I'm at now, anything else I need before I order, maybe a cheap wireless card? Should I get all the cables or expect the ones I need to come supplied

Building a high End Machine HElp

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