New Gaming PC

Crunkussion

Hey guys,

Been following this forum for a few weeks now and I've been very impressed by the amount of knowledge and understanding of what goes into a top PC. My current PC is a Dell Dimension 8400 (!) that I got a looong time ago, so you can imagine I'm pretty psyched about getting a decent rig that I can play modern games on

I was wondering if you guys could offer some advice on how to get the most out of my budget.

1. What is your budget? €1000

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming mainly. Looking to play Ultra settings on the likes of Skyrim, Crysis 3, Witcher 2, etc...

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? I'll probably take the speakers from the Dell since they're pretty decent but everything else is ancient.

5. Do you need a monitor? No, going to buy this Phillips 27 inch monitor outside the budget (unless anyone knows of any better monitors/deals )

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? 1920 x 1080

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? Just need a network adapter, will be using an ethernet cable to connect.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Yes

8. How can you pay? Bank Transfer

9. When are you purchasing? 10-14 days

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Will be using the Hardwareversand service.

I probably only need a 1TB HDD so if it costs significantly more to get a 2-3TB HDD then that money might be better going into a better SSD or other things.

Many thanks!

BloodBath

I've left over €100 for a case of your choice.

Item|Price
ASRock Z77 Pro4, Sockel 1155, ATX|€95.54
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€200.31
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - Intel/AMD|€28.81
Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950, 3GB GDDR5, PCI-Express|€269.59
8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL9|€46.08
Seagate Barracuda 7200 2000GB, SATA 6Gb/s|€82.94
Samsung SSD 840 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€84.99
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€58.99
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€886.24

I'd recommend this if you're into minimalist style.
http://lb.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?adp=0&aid=68202&agid=631&apop=7

Or this if you don't mind sacrificing looks for cooling,space and features.
http://lb.hardwareversand.de/Tower/49129/Thermaltake+Chaser+MK-I%2C+ohne+Netzteil.article

There are lots of good cases around that price range though. Only you can know what you want.

There's no dvd drive included here either as they are about as redundant as floppy drives at the moment. Add one if you need it.

Crunkussion

Thanks a load man, looks great! I've actually got a decent LabelFlash drive I can take from my current computer so that's no problem.

As for the case, I'm a mark for the really flashy/gaudy cases and was actually looking at the second one over the past few weeks

BloodBath

No problem.

I'm not totally clued up on ssd's so you might get better for around that price.

Someone else might recommend something.

I totally recommend that Thermaltake case if you like the look. I have one myself and it's top quality. It's massive but will have all the space you will ever need. I'd add another 200mm intake fan to the side though for overclocking.

beno619

Most of the guys on here would only recommend going for a 27" monitor if it's a catleap/ 1440p resolution as 1080p won't look that great 27".
You should probably go for a Dell 24" IPS if you have that budget for a monitor or LG Ips234v which is about €100 while delivering similar image quality.
The 840 is a bit of an unknown quantity as it's relatively new, I havnt heard any horror stories yet but the crucial m4 is as reliable as ssd's come.

johnny-grunge

BloodBath wrote: »

I've left over €100 for a case of your choice.

Item|Price
ASRock Z77 Pro4, Sockel 1155, ATX|€95.54
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€200.31
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - Intel/AMD|€28.81
Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950, 3GB GDDR5, PCI-Express|€269.59
8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL9|€46.08
Seagate Barracuda 7200 2000GB, SATA 6Gb/s|€82.94
Samsung SSD 840 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€84.99
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€58.99
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€886.24

I'd recommend this if you're into minimalist style.
http://lb.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?adp=0&aid=68202&agid=631&apop=7

Or this if you don't mind sacrificing looks for cooling,space and features.
http://lb.hardwareversand.de/Tower/49129/Thermaltake+Chaser+MK-I%2C+ohne+Netzteil.article

There are lots of good cases around that price range though. Only you can know what you want.

There's no dvd drive included here either as they are about as redundant as floppy drives at the moment. Add one if you need it.

That looks like some sound advice right there. I done some seriously heavy research to get the best bang for my buck as money is a little tight at the moment and I came up with pretty much the same build (same mobo,processor and memory) with a 7870 in place of the 7950. Built it about 4 months ago and I'm well happy with it. The only component I was skeptical about was the PSU. I had never heard the brand before, however I just quickly Googled a review and it got an excellent write up.

Crunkussion

So I went to order today and noticed the Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 is out of stock, so I've held off on buying until tomorrow until I figure out which card to get.

Would the Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 Boost be a like for like replacement or just buy the PC and get the Gigabyte from Dabs and put it in myself when the PC arrives?

Thanks!

marco_polo

The Saphire would be fine, however I think the the Club3d RoyaKing would be a even better again, for only a few euros extra. See review here

jme2010

I strongly advise against letting HWVS build it..

The best part of building your own rig, is un-boxing all the individual components. You also get a better insight into how your pc works. So if it breaks, you can trouble shoot it.

I've heard something about the weight of cpu cooler towers, or other heavy components causing stress on the mobo in transport etc.

You will regret not putting it together yourself. Its not hard....just like LEGO. Expensive ESD sensitive LEGO

Happy Building!

BloodBath

Ya go with the club 3d. I've seen solid overclocks from these so far. 1200/6000 minimum from most.

I don't like that boost feature. It makes standard overclocking a pain. You end up having to change the BIOS.

Totally agree with building it yourself as well. It's easy and you will learn a lot + you might even enjoy it

Crunkussion

Yeah, in the end after reading some horror stories on here I decided to build it myself, saved €10 with a rebate code as well

Having a bit of an issue with my online banking though so hopefully they'll hold the order until Monday when it should be sorted.