Gaming PC - Assistance Required

R0ot · 12-01-2013 1:39pm #1

Hi all,

Was looking to get a new PC this time last year but that idea went flop and I've re-planned it for this year around March/April. Budget of around 2800 but obviously if I can get same/similar performance from a cheaper build that's fine.

1. What is your budget? [€2800]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming and some design projects but mostly gaming. EVE online is the number one usage of my current PC running around 5 clients quite often. (Sys Reqs - http://support.eveonline.com/pages/kb/article.aspx?id=124)

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes preferably Windows 7 Ultimate unless someone can make a persuading argument for Windows 8.

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? No

5. Do you need a monitor? Yes

5a. If yes, what size do you need. Not sure,open to suggestions? Open to suggestions but looking at 24" my desk can take either 2x 21" or 1x 32" without causing issue for visibility.

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? NA

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor(s)

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? No

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser] Any

9. When are you purchasing? March/April 2013

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Maynooth

What I've currently got in mind -

Item | Price
Thermaltake Overseer RX-I, ohne Netzteil | €94.06
Intel Core i7-3930K Retail, ohne Kühler, LGA2011 | €521.67
ASUS P9X79 WS, Sockel 2011, enhanced ATX, DDR3 | €319.56
ASUS GTX680-DC2G-4GD5, GeForce GTX 680, 4GB GDDR5 | €517.81
16GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL9 | €79.79
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 3 6GB/s | €62.99
Crucial V4 256GB SSD 6,4cm (2.5") SATA II | €151.99
Cooler Master GX Series PSU, 80Plus Bronze - 750 Watt | €82.49
ASUS PCE-N15 | €14.90
MS Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit SB-Version Englisch | €167.98
Total | €2,061.75

Keyboard I'm looking at is not on the hardwareversand site but the type of mouse I am looking at (by the same designer) is.

MAD CATZ R.A.T.7 Mouse (made by Saitek)
http://lb.hardwareversand.de/USB/40453/MAD+CATZ+R.A.T.7++Mouse.article

Saitek Cyborg Strike 7
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=KB-049-SK

I really like the case I've chosen but again open to opinions/suggestions.

So what I'm missing here is really
- Monitor (size suggestions welcome)
- Water cooling apparatus and guide (completely new to this)
- Any other advice on specs or better value for money.

Thanks in advance!

Serephucus · 12-01-2013 1:56pm

Switch to an M4 SSD, much faster.
Switch to something like this for the PSU.

That case is horrible for watercooling, so you'll want to look at something like a Deep Silence 1.

docmol · 12-01-2013 1:57pm

You have no video board and do you need 2011?
Try looking at this, adding an extra 8GB and a SSD and you are just as powerful (or almost) at less then half the price...
http://www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/index.aspx (1st in the list)
You could still get the case you fancy too.
For monitors the 27" Dell's are nice, have a look around and check some harware review sites, try http://www.anandtech.com
I like ATI video cards and the 7950 is really well priced at the moment.
You don't need water cooling unless you are going to overclock btw.

docmol · 12-01-2013 1:57pm

Just seeing the 680 now, doh!

R0ot · 12-01-2013 2:03pm

Serephucus wrote: »

Switch to an M4 SSD, much faster.
Switch to something like this for the PSU.

That case is horrible for watercooling, so you'll want to look at something like a Deep Silence 1.

Why the lower wattage PSU?

Those cases look nice and simple, Thanks!

docmol wrote: »

do you need 2011?

I do play more than EVE it's just my primary bread an butter game. PS2, BF series, any good SP FPS or good MP RTS.

docmol wrote: »

Try looking at this, adding an extra 8GB and a SSD and you are just as powerful (or almost) at less then half the price...
http://www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/index.aspx (1st in the list)
You could still get the case you fancy too.

I'll have a look through this one also.

docmol wrote: »

For monitors the 27" Dell's are nice, have a look around and check some harware review sites, try http://www.anandtech.com
I like ATI video cards and the 7950 is really well priced at the moment.
You don't need water cooling unless you are going to overclock btw.

Thanks for this also, not an ATI fan personally I realize the cost difference but too many bad experiences in the past have turned me off them.

Would it still not be best for water cooling giving me the possibility to overclock at a later stage? What I mean by no in the template to overclocking is initially I'd like to run the machine as is and down the line if overclocking is needed then I don't have to buy a whole set of new gear and remake the machine.

Additionally is there any difference in the noise from Water Cooling to fans in the short and long term?

marco_polo · 12-01-2013 2:16pm

Not sure what the requirements of 5 eve online clients are but perhaps the 500 euro 6 core Intel is required. Otherwise the i5-3470K plus cheaper board shaves 300-350 off this build instantly. I think this is a better spend of pretty well the same money as your original build.The 650W PSU is plenty of headroom for 2X HD7950s.

Just threw in a self contained CPU water block, no nothing about doing a full loop so I'll leave any such advice to others.

This is overkill for anything less that a big ass three monitor eyefinity setup by the way

R0ot · 12-01-2013 2:23pm

Eve is typically more memory and processor intensive and the more going on the more it requires multiply this by 5 clients on the same node/grid and it becomes a hog. 5 clients on all low settings with no memory cache at the moment take roughly 3GB of memory themselves not to mention other running programs.

I've cross post this to an eve forum also just to get any input from current players but all this info so far from here is helping a lot!

Serephucus · 12-01-2013 2:25pm

I can help you with the watercooling, but it would be best if you got the requirements nailed down. From there we pick hardware, then a case that can fit it all, plus the radiators.

There's a huge difference in noise between watercooling and air cooling. It's a lot of money to spend if you're not going to be overclocking from the get-go though.

marco_polo · 12-01-2013 2:26pm

If you think you could get away with the i5 for your eve requirements It really offers infinately better value in ever other concievable gaming scenario.

docmol · 12-01-2013 2:26pm

I'm running a 3570 (4x3.4) and had it running (briefly!) at 5Ghz on air. I've been overclocking since the 386 days so don't try that at home! I've also never bothered watercooling on my own PC's, never needed to. Watercooling should be quieter, depending on the fans and how you set it up but if it's your first attempt try a closed loop, like the antec khuler or corsairs h100
Spending more on a CPU is you choice but the law of dimminishing returns kicks in big style after the 3570. The i5's are so fast that i never really get cpu bottlenecks any more

The differences in speed between modern ssd's is minimal, the same can be said for z77 motherboards, leaving the cheaper options looking very appealing!
I play mostly FPS and strategy games btw.

R0ot · 12-01-2013 2:46pm

Okay so the word on all sides is I'm an idiot and go for an i5

.

Noted and modified!

marco_polo · 12-01-2013 2:51pm

R0ot wrote: »

Okay so the word on all sides is I'm an idiot and go for an i5 .

Noted and modified!

Edited my take on it above anyway comes to €1.778,62 in total

docmol · 12-01-2013 3:42pm

One last point, if you play fps games consider a seperate sound card. I got the standard xonar PCie one, about £30 and the difference is unreal. I'm lucky in that I hace one really high end piece of kit, my headset (PC350) and combined with the xonar it's like a legal wall-hack

tuxy · 12-01-2013 4:09pm

marco_polo wrote: »

Not sure what the requirements of 5 eve online clients are but perhaps the 500 euro 6 core Intel is required. Otherwise the i5-3470K plus cheaper board shaves 300-350 off this build instantly. I think this is a better spend of pretty well the same money as your original build.The 650W PSU is plenty of headroom for 2X HD7950s.

Just threw in a self contained CPU water block, no nothing about doing a full loop so I'll leave any such advice to others.

This is overkill for anything less that a big ass three monitor eyefinity setup by the way

Item|Price
Corsair Graphite 600T, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€144.55
Corsair Professional Series HX650 80PLUS Gold 650W|€113.30
ASRock Fatal1ty Z77 Professional-M|€139,65
16GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL9|€79.79
Intel Core i5-3570K|€205.99
Corsair Hydro Series H100i|€104.39
2 x Club 3D Radeon HD 7950 royalKing, 3GB GDDR5, AMD Radeon HD 7950, PCI- Express|€569.08
Crucial M4 256GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€176.01
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€62.99
ASUS PCE-N15|€14.90
MS Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€167.98
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1.778,62

EDIT: i5 version

I would get the 600t in silver, it's actually a gun metal grey and looks great. Picture don't show up the colour correctly so do not do it justice

http://lb.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?adp=0&aid=63623&agid=631&apop=632

Why an micro atx board over standard atx?
The extreme 6 is €10 more
http://lb.hardwareversand.de/DDR3/57628/ASRock+Z77+Extreme6%2C+Sockel+1155%2C+ATX.article

Serephucus · 12-01-2013 4:17pm

That's a good point actually. The 600T can accommodate a 240+120+200 rad setup.

(Also, I have a silver 600T and Z77 Extreme4 motherboard that I might very well part with)

marco_polo · 12-01-2013 4:25pm

tuxy wrote: »

I would get the 600t in silver, it's actually a gun metal grey and looks great. Picture don't show up the colour correctly so do not do it justice

http://lb.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?adp=0&aid=63623&agid=631&apop=632

Why an micro atx board over standard atx?
The extreme 6 is €10 more
http://lb.hardwareversand.de/DDR3/57628/ASRock+Z77+Extreme6%2C+Sockel+1155%2C+ATX.article

Just a misread on the board, thought it was ATX version, I was mulling over a few alternatives had considered the Extreme 6 alright.

Silver case is pretty nice though.

R0ot · 12-01-2013 6:44pm

docmol wrote: »

One last point, if you play fps games consider a seperate sound card. I got the standard xonar PCie one, about £30 and the difference is unreal. I'm lucky in that I hace one really high end piece of kit, my headset (PC350) and combined with the xonar it's like a legal wall-hack

Was looking at Creatives Recon3D.

docmol · 12-01-2013 7:40pm

Was looking at Creatives Recon3D.

I've seen it advertised but never used it. I think the best advice for anyone building a new rig, cash permitting, is to get the best HID's you can afford. A good monitor will last several builds and your mouse, keyboard and headset are what you actually use. The box under your desk is for powering your HID's, don't get hung up on the fastest cpu/ram whatever put the money into what you are touching/seeing/hearing.
BTW Nostromo's were on sale in Currys for €50, worth a look if you are near one.
A quick look on Amazon got me this.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-PC350SE-Special-Edition-Blocking/dp/B008O510Y8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1358019439&sr=8-3
Crazy money to be sure but they sound amazing plus you can wear them for hours, no sweat. As I said, these with a sound card = legal wall hack!

R0ot · 12-01-2013 7:48pm

docmol wrote: »

I've seen it advertised but never used it. I think the best advice for anyone building a new rig, cash permitting, is to get the best HID's you can afford. A good monitor will last several builds and your mouse, keyboard and headset are what you actually use. The box under your desk is for powering your HID's, don't get hung up on the fastest cpu/ram whatever put the money into what you are touching/seeing/hearing.
BTW Nostromo's were on sale in Currys for €50, worth a look if you are near one.
A quick look on Amazon got me this.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-PC350SE-Special-Edition-Blocking/dp/B008O510Y8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1358019439&sr=8-3
Crazy money to be sure but they sound amazing plus you can wear them for hours, no sweat. As I said, these with a sound card = legal wall hack!

Have a SteelSeries 7H that does the job for a headset, looking at the Mad CatZ Strike 7 and RAT 7 for Keyboard and Mouse.

docmol · 12-01-2013 8:04pm

I know some people who swear by the RAT mice so good reports. I've got a roccat savu and it's perfect for me (5 button and no frills, who changes sensitivity on the fly? not even when I snipe!) The Nostromo is worth a look for a gameing keyboard, esp as you can go to Currys and try before you buy... After that I have an original 10 YO Dell keyboard for typeing on
If you can test drive your mouse before you buy do so. It takes about a week to get used to a new mouse btw...

R0ot · 12-01-2013 8:28pm

docmol wrote: »

I know some people who swear by the RAT mice so good reports. I've got a roccat savu and it's perfect for me (5 button and no frills, who changes sensitivity on the fly? not even when I snipe!) The Nostromo is worth a look for a gameing keyboard, esp as you can go to Currys and try before you buy... After that I have an original 10 YO Dell keyboard for typeing on
If you can test drive your mouse before you buy do so. It takes about a week to get used to a new mouse btw...

Been using G9's since they were released and was the same with keyboards standard 5e QWERTY keyboard for everything. This time it's simply to spoil myself. :pac:

Gaming PC - Assistance Required

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