€2500 Gaming Computer Recommendations?

Reccy

1. What is your budget? [€2500]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [High-performance Games, Far Cry 4 and other new games]

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [No, I have a laptop]

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [20' maybe more and at 1080p]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [N/A]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard, Speakers]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [No]

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

9. When are you purchasing? [Whenever I decide on a build I'm happy with]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [Swords, Dublin]

So I've been looking around Komplett.ie for some parts and I'd be pretty happy from ordering off of them. The only problem is that I don't know if some of the components I've chosen are compatible with eachother or if I need to buy extra cables?

Anyway here is the list of parts that I'm thinking of buying and if anyone can tell me if there's parts there that aren't ideal or that I can buy cheaper elsewhere, I'd be much appreciated. I've got my mind set on the NVIdia GTX 780ti though.

The list is taken straight from my Komplett wishlist which explains the voucher etc.

Seagate Barracuda - 2TB €72.99
Kingston HyperX Beast 16GB - PC3-19200 - DIMM €149.00
Belkin SATA cable - straight - 0.6 metre €7.95
Samsung 840 Evo Series 120GB €77.99
ASUS Maximus VI Formula - Socket 1150 - ATX €259.00
Cooler Master Cosmos SE €145.00
ASUS BC-12D2HT - Blu-Ray Combo €59.95
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit, OEM €99.00
Creative Sound Blaster Z - PCI-E €78.99
Arctic Silver AS5, 12g €16.95
Intel Core i7-4770K - 3.5GHz - Socket 1150 - Unlocked €299.00
Logitech Gaming Keyboard G105 €59.95
Creative Inspire T10 €32.95
Power Adapter from 2-pin EU to 3-pin UK €7.95
Cooler Master V1000 - 1000 Watt €174.99
Intronics power cable - 2.5 metres €7.95
MSI GeForce GTX 780 Ti Gaming - 3GB - PCI-E €629.00
NVIDIA Watch Dogs - Game Voucher €49.95
Samsung S24D300H - 24" €174.95
Intronics power cable - 2.5 metres €7.95

Total excl. VAT: €1,960.54
Total incl. VAT: €2,411.46

Once again, thanks for the help!

SterlingArcher

Nice budget.

I7 4970k. Should be your aim.

You will get 2 r9 290s for the same price as a 780ti.

This budget for 1080 gaming is pointless. In my opinion.

1500 will max out gaming at 1080p.

LukeyKid

SterlingArcher wrote: »

Nice budget.

I7 4970k. Should be your aim.

You will get 2 r9 290s for the same price as a 780ti.

This budget for 1080 gaming is pointless. In my opinion.

1500 will max out gaming at 1080p.

Even at that you don't need an i7 for gaming, i5 4670k is more then enough and you save quiet a bit.

Your going all out, and it is pointless if its only for gaming, but then again your pc would be future proof for quiet awhile.

Redfox25

Spend 1500 on pc, invest other 1k in booze and hookers.
happy out.

Gumbi

LukeyKid wrote: »

Even at that you don't need an i7 for gaming, i5 4670k is more then enough and you save quiet a bit.

Your going all out, and it is pointless if its only for gaming, but then again your pc would be future proof for quiet awhile.

There are performance benefits in a few games (Crysis and Battlefield off the top of my head) and for 100 quid on such a budget I would go form it.

Reccy

SterlingArcher wrote: »

Nice budget.

I7 4970k. Should be your aim.

You will get 2 r9 290s for the same price as a 780ti.

This budget for 1080 gaming is pointless. In my opinion.

1500 will max out gaming at 1080p.

The 780ti is a beast of a card though, and I don't really want a CrossFire/SLI setup right now as not all games support it and there's going to be extra heat being radiated from the cards. Also the 780ti can play most modern games at 60fps 1080p, so if I do want to get a SLI setup, I can buy another 780ti maybe 2 or 3 years down the line.

LukeyKid wrote: »

Even at that you don't need an i7 for gaming, i5 4670k is more then enough and you save quiet a bit.

Your going all out, and it is pointless if its only for gaming, but then again your pc would be future proof for quiet awhile.

I've never considered getting an i5, I've always thought the i7's are better for gaming. If games do begin to use hyperthreading too, I could perhaps upgrade to the i7-4770k in the future when it is cheaper. I'll consider the i5-4670k. If it saves me €100 then where can I go wrong?

Redfox25 wrote: »

Spend 1500 on pc, invest other 1k in booze and hookers.
happy out.

Sounds like a great plan! :P

Reccy

Gumbi wrote: »

There are performance benefits in a few games (Crysis and Battlefield off the top of my head) and for 100 quid on such a budget I would go form it.

I've looked at a few websites that compare the i7-4770k vs the i5-4670k and it looks like for gaming I should get the i5. If I was getting an AMD GPU I would get the i7 because PhysX would have to be computed on the CPU instead of the dedicated NVidia GPU.

Anyway, thanks guys! I saved about €100 on the CPU. Still looking for other ways to make it cheaper and I just want to make sure everything's compatable and I'm not missing any cables.

If I buy a HDD and a SDD will I have to buy extra SATA cables?

Ri_Nollaig

You "price to performance" ratio is not great to be honest.
If you want to stay within 1080p then 1500€ is more then enough.

Saying that...

Reccy wrote: »

If I buy a HDD and a SDD will I have to buy extra SATA cables?

If you go for that motherboard you won't need to worry about the cables
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/MAXIMUS_VI_FORMULA/specifications/

User's manual
I/O Shield
8 x SATA 6Gb/s cable(s)
1 x ASUS 2T2R dual band Wi-Fi moving antennas (Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compliant)
1 x SLI bridge(s)
1 x Q-connector(s) (2 in 1)
1 x 12 in 1 ROG Cable Label(s)
1 x mPCIe Combo II card(s) with dual-band WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth v4.0/3.0+HS module
1 x ROG Door Hanger(s)

Any half decent motherboard will come with a few sATA cables. Unless it was the cheapest of the cheap [which this isn't] I'd be surprised if it didn't come with 6-8. Check the description.

I wouldn't go overboard on the RAM, any 1600mhz one will be ok, it will default to 1333 so you'll have to OC it or enable the XMP if it has it. You can check the QVL for that motherboard here.

I have a 780ti and its a beast, it will eat any game at 1080p so if you are going to spend this much you should aim for 1440p or even 4k either that or a multi-monitor set up or 120hz. Bare in mind there is no single-gpu option for 60fps at 4k yet though so unless you want to hold off on the 800 series. But, ...well there is always something better on the way, if you stay on the fence too long you'll buy nothing.
If you are going to stick with 1080p than a 770 or AMD r9 280/290 would be a better choice.

You should definitely aim for a bigger SSD. 120 gig is the min now really, I'd be looking at a 512, I have a 120 and a 512 [plus a 2TB HDD] in mine.

Case looks grand, personal choice at the end of the day really once its a good make.

1000 watt PSU is over doing it really, but I take it you probably want this to last a while and want the possibility of an SLI set up if not now in the future. Whatever one you go for, I'd be surprised if it doesn't come with the power cable! You should not need to buy that separately. [ignore this if thats just a result of copy n' pasting you basket from komplett and it automatically added it on but I can't help but notice you are being charged for it...]

I wouldn't bother with the sound card to be honest. The motherbaord will do the job and if you really need to you can get a DAC later anyway. Unless you have audiophile grade headphones you won't be able to tell anyway.

Change the keyboard, mechanical all the way! Loads of makes but if you want to stick with logitech I have the G710+ and its the business.

Don't touch that monitor anyway. You want a nice IPS one at the min and with your budget I'd be looking at a nice 27" 1440p or a 120mhz 24" 1080p [will be TN but at 120 fps...]. There are lots of options here!
I have the Asus PB278Q and its the job. There is a new 27" 1440p G-sync on the way http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-070-AS. Ain't gonna be cheap...

Unless you have a real need for it, I wouldn't bother with the optical drive.

I also see no reason not to go for windows 8.1 to be honest. Boot straight to desktop and you'll never see that metro look.

You should go for an after-market cooler as well, even if you don't over clock it will be quieter then the stock one, why not when you are spending 2,500. Air or Water-cooled all-in-one, loads of choices!

You're call between the i5 and i7. For this kinda of budget its hard to say no to an i7. If this is really only a gaming machine then you won't get much benefit from the i7 over the i5 and the money would be better invested in a future upgrade down the road.

Which is the next thing, you have gone for a very dear motherboard, RAM and cpu [plus large watt PSU]. Do you plan on overclocking? If not you could dial back the motherboard a bit, at 250 eur its on the over kill side. That motherboard is pricey as it comes with built-in wifi, and has a load of "gamer" stuff, you're call if you need it, just end of the day it doesn't make much of a difference to real game performance.

Also, have you checked other retailers?
http://www.hardwareversand.de/home.jsp
http://www.dabs.ie/
http://www.amazon.co.uk
http://www.scan.co.uk
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/index.php

hardwareversand can be hard to be beaten on price but their customer service is ...lacking shell we say. While amazon is something else, if you buy directly from them its a pleasure to deal with returns. Either way I'd check all of them and good luck!

Luck100

Good advice above. Trim back the spend on the cpu/mobo a bit and go for a bigger SSD and better monitor (1440p, or 120Hz, or g-sync).

Definitely ditch the sound card. With those speakers the on-board audio will be just fine. If you really want to go for high-end sound, get an outboard DAC + good headphones or a good pair of powered studio monitors.

sebastianlieken

you're buying artic silver? for what? the heatsink will come with thermal compound pre-applied.

Also, you're spending €80 on a sound card, but €30 on speakers.... uh, why? You're mother board will come with a built in soundcard which is very capable.

That mobo by the way, is an overclocking machine. If you're not willing to overclock - the money is kind of wasted. It's like buying a ferrari and sticking to the speed limits all the time.

1000 watt power supply?!?! you will never utilise its full potential, and god save the bill payer if you do. 750 watts should be more than adequate.

also, you put down SATA cable and PLUG, these will come with the mobo. you'll actually have more SATA cables than you know what to do with.

Also, I definately recommend Komplett, they've been very good to me in the past and always very helpful

EDIT: Just read RI Nollaigs post there, it seems as though he mentions all my points and more; heed his advice.

EDIT EDIT: Don't underestimate the immersion that good sound contributes to a game. If i were you I'd use the €110 you've budgeted for a sounds card and speakers, and just get a good pair of overear headphones. You can get some really bad-ass headphones in your budget, they change the gaming experience entirely!

Reccy

Ri_Nollaig wrote: »

You "price to performance" ratio is not great to be honest.
If you want to stay within 1080p then 1500€ is more then enough.

Saying that...



If you go for that motherboard you won't need to worry about the cables
(Link is in original post)



Any half decent motherboard will come with a few sATA cables. Unless it was the cheapest of the cheap [which this isn't] I'd be surprised if it didn't come with 6-8. Check the description.

I wouldn't go overboard on the RAM, any 1600mhz one will be ok, it will default to 1333 so you'll have to OC it or enable the XMP if it has it. You can check the QVL for that motherboard (Link is in original post).

I have a 780ti and its a beast, it will eat any game at 1080p so if you are going to spend this much you should aim for 1440p or even 4k either that or a multi-monitor set up or 120hz. Bare in mind there is no single-gpu option for 60fps at 4k yet though so unless you want to hold off on the 800 series. But, ...well there is always something better on the way, if you stay on the fence too long you'll buy nothing.
If you are going to stick with 1080p than a 770 or AMD r9 280/290 would be a better choice.

You should definitely aim for a bigger SSD. 120 gig is the min now really, I'd be looking at a 512, I have a 120 and a 512 [plus a 2TB HDD] in mine.

Case looks grand, personal choice at the end of the day really once its a good make.

1000 watt PSU is over doing it really, but I take it you probably want this to last a while and want the possibility of an SLI set up if not now in the future. Whatever one you go for, I'd be surprised if it doesn't come with the power cable! You should not need to buy that separately. [ignore this if thats just a result of copy n' pasting you basket from komplett and it automatically added it on but I can't help but notice you are being charged for it...]

I wouldn't bother with the sound card to be honest. The motherbaord will do the job and if you really need to you can get a DAC later anyway. Unless you have audiophile grade headphones you won't be able to tell anyway.

Change the keyboard, mechanical all the way! Loads of makes but if you want to stick with logitech I have the G710+ and its the business.

Don't touch that monitor anyway. You want a nice IPS one at the min and with your budget I'd be looking at a nice 27" 1440p or a 120mhz 24" 1080p [will be TN but at 120 fps...]. There are lots of options here!
I have the Asus PB278Q and its the job. There is a new 27" 1440p G-sync on the way (link is in original post). Ain't gonna be cheap...

Unless you have a real need for it, I wouldn't bother with the optical drive.

I also see no reason not to go for windows 8.1 to be honest. Boot straight to desktop and you'll never see that metro look.

You should go for an after-market cooler as well, even if you don't over clock it will be quieter then the stock one, why not when you are spending 2,500. Air or Water-cooled all-in-one, loads of choices!

You're call between the i5 and i7. For this kinda of budget its hard to say no to an i7. If this is really only a gaming machine then you won't get much benefit from the i7 over the i5 and the money would be better invested in a future upgrade down the road.

Which is the next thing, you have gone for a very dear motherboard, RAM and cpu [plus large watt PSU]. Do you plan on overclocking? If not you could dial back the motherboard a bit, at 250 eur its on the over kill side. That motherboard is pricey as it comes with built-in wifi, and has a load of "gamer" stuff, you're call if you need it, just end of the day it doesn't make much of a difference to real game performance.

Also, have you checked other retailers?
(Links in original post)

hardwareversand can be hard to be beaten on price but their customer service is ...lacking shell we say. While amazon is something else, if you buy directly from them its a pleasure to deal with returns. Either way I'd check all of them and good luck!

Luck100 wrote: »

Good advice above. Trim back the spend on the cpu/mobo a bit and go for a bigger SSD and better monitor (1440p, or 120Hz, or g-sync).

Definitely ditch the sound card. With those speakers the on-board audio will be just fine. If you really want to go for high-end sound, get an outboard DAC + good headphones or a good pair of powered studio monitors.

Thanks for the advice guys!
So, this is what I've changed on my wishlist:

I ditched the soundcard, swapped out the i7 for the i5-4670k and I downgraded the GTX780ti for the GTX770 considering it can run ARMA III ~60fps @1080p. I also got a cheaper motherboard that still supports my CPU and has SATA cables included.

I'll stick with the 120GB SSD since I'll just just be using it for Windows 7 and maybe some other applications. I'm not a fan of Windows 8, it looks like it has a ton of compatability issues with older games and the Metro UI is just... eww!

I also ditched the old monitor for a sweet 24" TN 144Hz Asus VG248QE with built in speakers. I also decided to get the G710+ Logitech keyboard instead of the other Membrane one! It's all looking good so far, haven't commited to a purchase yet. All I need now is to see what heatsink is compatable with my CPU and Motherboard, and then see if there's anything else I want to tweak with the build.

Samsung 840 Evo Series 120GB €77.99
Cooler Master Cosmos SE €145.00
ASUS BC-12D2HT - Blu-Ray Combo €59.95
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit, OEM €99.00
Kingston HyperX FURY Blue 16GB - PC3-12800 - DIMM €137.95
Arctic Silver AS5, 12g €16.95
Intel Core i5-4670K - 3.4GHz - Socket 1150 - Unlocked €205.00
Logitech G710+ Mechanical Gaming Keyboard €149.00
Seagate Barracuda - 2TB €72.99
ASUS MAXIMUS VII RANGER - Socket 1150 - ATX €154.95
Cooler Master V1000 - 1000 Watt €174.99
Intronics power cable - 2.5 metres €7.95
ASUS GeForce GTX770-DC2OC-2GD5 - 2GB - PCI-E €287.90
NVIDIA Watch Dogs - Game Voucher €49.95
ASUS VG248QE - 24" €309.00
Intronics power cable - 2.5 metres €7.95


Total excl. VAT: €1,590.67
Total incl. VAT: €1,956.52

Once again, thanks for your time for helping me with this. It's going to be my first build so I hope I don't mess it up! :P

SterlingArcher

Get the bigger SSD. Install arma on it. Helps running/ loading it. Fur ruls. Mods and and stuff 120 soon ends up full. Trust me been there done that..

Ps 60 fps arma 1080p haha. Single player maybe. Don't expect this mp.

Reccy

SterlingArcher wrote: »

Get the bigger SSD. Install arma on it. Helps running/ loading it. Fur ruls. Mods and and stuff 120 soon ends up full. Trust me been there done that..

Ps 60 fps arma 1080p haha. Single player maybe. Don't expect this mp.

I really just want to install Windows 7 on the SSD for faster boot times, I've got a 2TB HDD for everything else. I can live with slightly longer loading times with ARMA and other games.
And yeah, I don't expect 60fps on MP, but if I can run it at around 60fps 1080p SP with ARMA III, then surely I'll be set for most other modern games?

sebastianlieken wrote: »

you're buying artic silver? for what? the heatsink will come with thermal compound pre-applied.

Also, you're spending €80 on a sound card, but €30 on speakers.... uh, why? You're mother board will come with a built in soundcard which is very capable.

That mobo by the way, is an overclocking machine. If you're not willing to overclock - the money is kind of wasted. It's like buying a ferrari and sticking to the speed limits all the time.

1000 watt power supply?!?! you will never utilise its full potential, and god save the bill payer if you do. 750 watts should be more than adequate.

also, you put down SATA cable and PLUG, these will come with the mobo. you'll actually have more SATA cables than you know what to do with.

Also, I definately recommend Komplett, they've been very good to me in the past and always very helpful

EDIT: Just read RI Nollaigs post there, it seems as though he mentions all my points and more; heed his advice.

EDIT EDIT: Don't underestimate the immersion that good sound contributes to a game. If i were you I'd use the €110 you've budgeted for a sounds card and speakers, and just get a good pair of overear headphones. You can get some really bad-ass headphones in your budget, they change the gaming experience entirely!

I'm going to go buy myself an after market heatsink to keep the CPU cooler. Also, I heard that pre-applied paste is muck anyway, so I don't mind spending some extra money to drop a few more degrees celsius. I'm also going to leave the sound card for the minute, I can get one in the future that plugs into PCI-E. I'll only go up to 2x SLI anyway so I can use the spare PCI-E slot for the sound card. The 1000 Watt supply is also going to be good for future expansions too. I would be willing to get a lower wattage supply, but I'll do that once I'm happy with the other components I'm going to be buying.

Reccy

Okay, so I'm thinking of settling with these specs:

Seagate Barracuda - 2TB €72.99
ASUS Xonar DGX - PCI-E €33.95
Samsung 840 Evo Series 120GB €77.99
Cooler Master Cosmos SE €145.00
ASUS BC-12D2HT - Blu-Ray Combo €59.95
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit, OEM €99.00
Kingston HyperX FURY Blue 16GB - PC3-12800 - DIMM €137.95
Arctic Silver AS5, 12g €16.95
Intel Core i5-4670K - 3.4GHz - Socket 1150 - Unlocked €205.00
Logitech G710+ Mechanical Gaming Keyboard €149.00
Noctua NH-U12S - 120mm €57.90
ASUS MAXIMUS VII RANGER - Socket 1150 - ATX €154.95
ASUS GeForce GTX770-DC2OC-2GD5 - 2GB - PCI-E €287.90
NVIDIA Watch Dogs - Game Voucher €49.95
Corsair CX Series CX750M - 750 Watt €84.95
Intronics power cable - 2.5 metres €7.95
ASUS VG248QE - 24" €309.00
Intronics power cable - 2.5 metres €7.95


Total excl. VAT: €1,592.14
Total incl. VAT: €1,958.33

Is the 750 watt PSU enough for the build and future SLI expansion? Also, is there a difference between SATA cables and SATA power cables, or are they the same?
I just want to make sure I have enough cables and that all the parts are compatable before I go ahead and buy anything. I have to admit though, I didn't think I'd save about €500 from my original build to get something that would still perform well

Luck100

If you're going to use the speakers built in to the monitor, then I think the sound goes over HDMI. That means your Asus Xonar sound card will not be used.

SterlingArcher

I'm sure it had been said already, 16 gigs for gaming. Pointless. DDR 4 be out before there was ever a need for 16 gigs.

And why not the I5 4690k?

Reccy

SterlingArcher wrote: »

I'm sure it had been said already, 16 gigs for gaming. Pointless. DDR 4 be out before there was ever a need for 16 gigs.

Luck100 wrote: »

If you're going to use the speakers built in to the monitor, then I think the sound goes over HDMI. That means your Asus Xonar sound card will not be used.

Well then I suppose I can drop to 8 gigs and buy some speakers for the computer out of the saved money.

SterlingArcher

Reccy wrote: »

Well then I suppose I can drop to 8 gigs and buy some speakers for the computer out of the saved money.

Good call.

Is there a stock issue with the I5 6970k?

Reccy

SterlingArcher wrote: »

I'm sure it had been said already, 16 gigs for gaming. Pointless. DDR 4 be out before there was ever a need for 16 gigs.

And why not the I5 4690k?

SterlingArcher wrote: »

Good call.

Is there a stock issue with the I5 6970k?

It looks like it's in stock at komplett.ie - but if you're asking if there's an actual problem with the CPU, I have no idea :P

I'll go for the i5 4690k though, it looks pretty good for an extra €15. Same clock speed as the i7 4770k that I was looking at earlier.

Anyway, here's the new list:

Samsung 840 Evo Series 120GB €77.99
Cooler Master Cosmos SE €145.00
ASUS BC-12D2HT - Blu-Ray Combo €59.95
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit, OEM €99.00
Kingston HyperX FURY Blue 8GB - PC3-12800 - DIMM €69.99
Intel Core i5-4690K - 3.5GHz - Socket 1150 - Unlocked €219.95
Arctic Silver AS5, 12g €16.95
Seagate Barracuda - 2TB €72.99
ASUS Xonar DGX - PCI-E €33.95
Logitech G710+ Mechanical Gaming Keyboard €149.00
Noctua NH-U12S - 120mm €57.90
ASUS MAXIMUS VII RANGER - Socket 1150 - ATX €154.95
Creative GigaWorks T20 Series II €64.95
Power Adapter from 2-pin EU to 3-pin UK €7.95
ASUS GeForce GTX770-DC2OC-2GD5 - 2GB - PCI-E €287.90
NVIDIA Watch Dogs - Game Voucher €49.95
Corsair CX Series CX750M - 750 Watt €84.95
Intronics power cable - 2.5 metres €7.95
ASUS VG248QE - 24" €309.00
Intronics power cable - 2.5 metres €7.95


Total excl. VAT: €1,608.31
Total incl. VAT: €1,978.22

Would I have to use 5.1 speakers with the 5.1 sound card or can I use 2.0 speakers with the card? I'm planning on using 5.1 headphones though.

SterlingArcher

No ,was just wondering why you were not getting it . ;p

Runs cooler than the one you had. Has better stock clock and overclocking potentials. Well worth the extra 15.

Just our of curiosity have you ran your parts through Geizhals and hardwareversand to see how much you could have saved? Might be talking a hundred Euro.

Reccy

SterlingArcher wrote: »

No ,was just wondering why you were not getting it . ;p

Runs cooler than the one you had. Has better stock clock and overclocking potentials. Well worth the extra 15.

Just our of curiosity have you ran your parts through Geizhals and hardwareversand to see how much you could have saved? Might be talking a hundred Euro.

I haven't actually looked at hardwareversand or geizhals because I'm trying to buy all of the components from one place so that they arrive at the same time. But then again, another €100 saving could allow me to get a better graphics card and still spend ~€2000

Anyway, I'll have a look through hardwareversand to see if I can get some of the components cheaper.

EDIT: I've looked through hardwareversand and geizhals. I think I'll stick with komplett because the components aren't that much cheaper. There's also the €30 shipping fee.

If I were to overclock the i5 4690k, what clock speed would I get with the Noctua heatsink?

DERPY DERPFACE

It all depends on what you get in the silicon lottery. One might get to 5ghz and another might not get past 4.4.
Also, why do you have a watch dogs voucher when as part of geforce experience it is free?

LukeyKid

Gumbi wrote: »

There are performance benefits in a few games (Crysis and Battlefield off the top of my head) and for 100 quid on such a budget I would go form it.

Well fair enough but if your putting in the likes of 2 r9 290x's i doubt the benefit is that great.

Reccy

DERPY DERPFACE wrote: »

It all depends on what you get in the silicon lottery. One might get to 5ghz and another might not get past 4.4.
Also, why do you have a watch dogs voucher when as part of geforce experience it is free?

I think it's because it's in my wishlist. When I put it into my cart the system should realise to make it free. If not, I'll give komplett.ie a call.

yimrsg

The GPU is €17 cheaper on HWV through geizhels and the monitor is €10 cheaper, put through all the components and you'd defo recoup the €30 delivery charge and probably save close to €100. Also Komplett charge €10 so you'd be mad not to get it through HWV and geizhels as you could put your savings to a more powerful GPU, larger SSD or a microphone/headset/headphones.

Reccy

yimrsg wrote: »

The GPU is €17 cheaper on HWV through geizhels and the monitor is €10 cheaper, put through all the components and you'd defo recoup the €30 delivery charge and probably save close to €100. Also Komplett charge €10 so you'd be mad not to get it through HWV and geizhels as you could put your savings to a more powerful GPU, larger SSD or a microphone/headset/headphones.

Are they reliable with delivery and customer service?

Gumbi

Delivery is only 12 euro from HWVS. And you will save a lot buying from HWVS via geizhals compared to Komplett. A LOT.

Reccy

Gumbi wrote: »

Delivery is only 12 euro from HWVS. And you will save a lot buying from HWVS via geizhals compared to Komplett. A LOT.

To be fair, I only checked the CPU. I'll go through all of the components again to get a better idea.

Before I do that I want to be sure on what case I want to buy. I'm considering the Cooler Master Storm Trooper but apparantly there's some problem with the USB 3.0 front connections? Do I have to buy the cables that connect to the front panel or does the motherboard/case come with these connectors?

LukeyKid

Reccy wrote: »

To be fair, I only checked the CPU. I'll go through all of the components again to get a better idea.

Before I do that I want to be sure on what case I want to buy. I'm considering the Cooler Master Storm Trooper but apparantly there's some problem with the USB 3.0 front connections? Do I have to buy the cables that connect to the front panel or does the motherboard/case come with these connectors?

Personal favorite - NZXT H440

eoin91

Gumbi wrote: »

Delivery is only 12 euro from HWVS. And you will save a lot buying from HWVS via geizhals compared to Komplett. A LOT.

A LOT, as in say 100 euro tops. But at the same time if you have to return something or god forbid multiple things over time, than HWVS could give you trouble as their customer service just isn't good enough when compared to the likes of Amazon and Komplett.

yimrsg

Reccy wrote: »

Are they reliable with delivery and customer service?

The downside with HWV is they're piss poor at dealing with emails. Delivery is through UPS ( I think) and had no complaints with it for my order think it took 3/4 days from Germany.

eoin91 wrote: »

A LOT, as in say 100 euro tops. But at the same time if you have to return something or god forbid multiple things over time, than HWVS could give you trouble as their customer service just isn't good enough when compared to the likes of Amazon and Komplett.

When I was making my pc I saved €100 on a €1100/1200 build, saved close to €30 on the gpu alone. Mightn't be unreasonable to get close or over that figure in a larger budget build. I thought komplett's customer service went down the drain, has it improved to near amazon's standards?

Reccy

eoin91 wrote: »

A LOT, as in say 100 euro tops. But at the same time if you have to return something or god forbid multiple things over time, than HWVS could give you trouble as their customer service just isn't good enough when compared to the likes of Amazon and Komplett.

Yeah, I don't want to risk the terrible customer service to be honest. :P

yimrsg wrote: »

The downside with HWV is they're piss poor at dealing with emails. Delivery is through UPS ( I think) and had no complaints with it for my order think it took 3/4 days from Germany.



When I was making my pc I saved €100 on a €1100/1200 build, saved close to €30 on the gpu alone. Mightn't be unreasonable to get close or over that figure in a larger budget build. I thought komplett's customer service went down the drain, has it improved to near amazon's standards?

I'm pretty happy ordering from Komplett.ie, I think €2000 is pretty good for the build I have. I haven't heard anything bad from Komplett's customer service either, so I'm confident that the components I'll order won't be faulty and if they are, replacement won't be too bothersome to get.

Before I'm confident with ordering my build I just want to ask if there's anything I should look out for? Not enough cables in boxes, incompatabilities between the components? After looking through the list everything looks to be compatable but if someone could maybe have a look through aswell and see if I made a mistake anywhere?

Seagate Barracuda - 2TB 1 €72.99
Cooler Master Storm Trooper 1 €142.95
ASUS Xonar DGX - PCI-E 1 €33.95
Samsung 840 Evo Series 120GB 1 €77.99
ASUS BC-12D2HT - Blu-Ray Combo 1 €59.95
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit, OEM 1 €99.00
Kingston HyperX FURY Blue 8GB - PC3-12800 - DIMM 1 €69.99
Intel Core i5-4690K - 3.5GHz - Socket 1150 - Unlocked 1 €219.95
Arctic Silver AS5, 12g 1 €16.95
Logitech G710+ Mechanical Gaming Keyboard 1 €149.00
Noctua NH-U12S - 120mm 1 €57.90
ASUS MAXIMUS VII RANGER - Socket 1150 - ATX 1 €154.95
Creative GigaWorks T20 Series II 1 €64.95
Power Adapter from 2-pin EU to 3-pin UK 1 €7.95
ASUS GeForce GTX770-DC2OC-2GD5 - 2GB - PCI-E 1 €287.90
NVIDIA Watch Dogs - Game Voucher 1 €49.95
Corsair CX Series CX750M - 750 Watt 1 €84.95
Intronics power cable - 2.5 metres 1 €7.95
ASUS VG248QE - 24" 1 €309.00
Intronics power cable - 2.5 metres 1 €7.95


Total excl. VAT: €1,606.64
Total incl. VAT: €1,976.17


And I'd like to thank everyone for their help with this too, I didn't think I'd be able to get a decent gaming computer for around €1500 (€2000 including monitor and keyboard). So, thanks again everyone!

Ri_Nollaig

Big improvement from the original build anyway.

That will be a single stick of 8 gig ram, single channel. I am not sure if that really matters much anymore so perhaps someone else can fill you in here. If it does, than 2x 4gig would give you better performance.

Just so you know that monitor has built in speakers, likewise that motherboard has an integrated sound card, so I wouldn't bother with a sound card at all really.
Likewise the optical drive? Is it really needed. Do you plan on watching blurays on a 24" screen? I would drop all those things and if you really wanted to you can easily buy them separately later anyway. Put that money into a larger SSD, that 120 will fill in no time at all. If the purpose of this machine is gaming then put the focus on that.

If you are set on windows 7, so be it but have a look here -> http://www.reddit.com/r/softwareswap/ first, just fyi.

Personally I would use the monitor's builtin speakers for casual use [watching youtube videos, "light" gaming] while using a set of good quality head phones for proper gaming. One less thing to plug in as well. But thats just me

By the way that noctua comes with thermal paste, no need to buy more separately likewise are you manually adding the power cables? That PSU will come with it. The monitor will also come with the necessary cables [power and display, dual link dvi I would imagine].
The vender will probably add that on at the end of the checkout if not, I believe thats an EU law? Same goes for that 2pin to 3pin adapter? Why are you adding that? This might be an issue if you buy from an non-UK or Irish site alright. But worst case these cables are standard! You can easily pick them up in a bricks and mortar shop if it comes to it.

Which is the final thing, don't be afraid to buy from a few different sites if you are going to get a bargain. Have you checked all the ones I have listed? Lots of retailers offer free delivery when you go over a certain amount anyway and it doesn't make much of a difference if one or two things take a day or two longer to arrive if it means saving a few bob.

With that in mind, it will be a beast of a machine enjoy it.

Ri_Nollaig

One last thing, are you manually adding that voucher for watch_dogs? Just wondering why its being priced at 50€ rather than 0€ which it should be.

Reccy

Ri_Nollaig wrote: »

One last thing, are you manually adding that voucher for watch_dogs? Just wondering why its being priced at 50€ rather than 0€ which it should be.

Ri_Nollaig wrote: »

Big improvement from the original build anyway.

That will be a single stick of 8 gig ram, single channel. I am not sure if that really matters much anymore so perhaps someone else can fill you in here. If it does, than 2x 4gig would give you better performance.

Just so you know that monitor has built in speakers, likewise that motherboard has an integrated sound card, so I wouldn't bother with a sound card at all really.
Likewise the optical drive? Is it really needed. Do you plan on watching blurays on a 24" screen? I would drop all those things and if you really wanted to you can easily buy them separately later anyway. Put that money into a larger SSD, that 120 will fill in no time at all. If the purpose of this machine is gaming then put the focus on that.

If you are set on windows 7, so be it but have a look here ->
(url in original post) first, just fyi.

Personally I would use the monitor's builtin speakers for casual use [watching youtube videos, "light" gaming] while using a set of good quality head phones for proper gaming. One less thing to plug in as well. But thats just me

By the way that noctua comes with thermal paste, no need to buy more separately likewise are you manually adding the power cables? That PSU will come with it. The monitor will also come with the necessary cables [power and display, dual link dvi I would imagine].
The vender will probably add that on at the end of the checkout if not, I believe thats an EU law? Same goes for that 2pin to 3pin adapter? Why are you adding that? This might be an issue if you buy from an non-UK or Irish site alright. But worst case these cables are standard! You can easily pick them up in a bricks and mortar shop if it comes to it.

Which is the final thing, don't be afraid to buy from a few different sites if you are going to get a bargain. Have you checked all the ones I have listed? Lots of retailers offer free delivery when you go over a certain amount anyway and it doesn't make much of a difference if one or two things take a day or two longer to arrive if it means saving a few bob.

With that in mind, it will be a beast of a machine enjoy it.

Alrighty then, I have 2x4gbs of RAM. I'm going to keep the sound card and use it for my headphones, I'll take your advice on ditching the speakers. I also removed the AS5 paste in favour of the Noctua paste which looks like it has roughly the same cooling performance.

After putting it through the shopping cart it looks like I was being charged on certain things like the voucher and plugs when I shouldn't have been.

Seagate Barracuda - 2TB €72.99
Cooler Master Storm Trooper €142.95
ASUS Xonar DGX - PCI-E €33.95
Samsung 840 Evo Series 120G €77.99
ASUS BC-12D2HT - Blu-Ray Combo €59.95
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit, OEM €99.00
Kingston HyperX FURY Blue 8GB - PC3-12800 - DIMM (2x4) €69.00
Intel Core i5-4690k - 3.5GHz - Socket 1150 - Unlocked €219.00
Logitech G710+ Mechanical Gaming Keyboard €149.00
Noctua NH-U12S - 120mm €57.90
ASUS MAXIMUS VII RANGER - Socket 1150 - ATX €154.95
ASUS GeForce GTX770-DC2Oc-2GD5 - PCI-E €287.90
Corsair CX Series CX750M €84.95
ASUS VG248QE - 24" €309.00

Delivery: €9.95

Total: €1830.42

I want to try to get just under €2000 on the components, so what should I upgrade on my computer? Should I go for a GTX 780, i7 4770k or upgrade something else?

I won't be buying this build for a few weeks anyway so I have time to keep messing around and configuring it.

Ri_Nollaig

Well prices I]normally[/I only ever go one way so no harm in keeping an eye out on a bargain if you are in no particular hurry.
The nvidia 800 series is expected towards the end of the year so depending on how long you plan on waiting you should bare that in mind. But like I said earlier "there is always something better on the way" likewise DDR4 and the next iterations of i5 and i7...

I still stand that you should get a bigger SSD, 250 gig atleast, titanfall is almost 50gigs! But saying that, it is something you can easily add to later.
Otherwise you can never go wrong with getting a powerful GPU if the budget allows for it!
I have the 780ti and its a weapon but there are a lot of glowing reviews for the AMD 290 too. So have a look at some benchmarks and see what you think. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-4.html

Check out LinusTechTips and OC3D TV youtube channels for some of the latest and greats stuff as it comes out. Also have a look at this sub-reddit.

Reccy

Ri_Nollaig wrote: »

Well prices I]normally[/I only ever go one way so no harm in keeping an eye out on a bargain if you are in no particular hurry.
The nvidia 800 series is expected towards the end of the year so depending on how long you plan on waiting you should bare that in mind. But like I said earlier "there is always something better on the way" likewise DDR4 and the next iterations of i5 and i7...

I still stand that you should get a bigger SSD, 250 gig atleast, titanfall is almost 50gigs! But saying that, it is something you can easily add to later.
Otherwise you can never go wrong with getting a powerful GPU if the budget allows for it!
I have the 780ti and its a weapon but there are a lot of glowing reviews for the AMD 290 too. So have a look at some benchmarks and see what you think. (URL in Original Post)

Check out LinusTechTips and OC3D TV youtube channels for some of the latest and greats stuff as it comes out. Also have a look at this (URL)

Yeah, I'm going to stick with the 780 because it supports PhysX independantly. If I were to go with AMD, the PhysX would have to be calculated on the CPU. Also I'm hoping to use NVidia 3D Vision in the future too.

Is it a good idea to use the 120GB SSD just for my OS? I'm hoping to install Steam and my games on the HDD while I use the SSD for my OS, Photoshop and Word.

Ri_Nollaig

fair enough for wanting to stick with Nvidia. G-sync is something that might interest you as well then.

Well you can have your OS on the SSD, along with any frequently used programs and games. Steam/Origin itself will be on it anyway and you can make several "game" folders then, dividing your games between the SSD and HDD as you see fit.

I couldn't play something like Arma 3 or bf 4 now after getting accustomed to the load times on a SSD. Use the HDD for documents/movies/music/pictures and older games.

Reccy

Ri_Nollaig wrote: »

fair enough for wanting to stick with Nvidia. G-sync is something that might interest you as well then.

Well you can have your OS on the SSD, along with any frequently used programs and games. Steam/Origin itself will be on it anyway and you can make several "game" folders then, dividing your games between the SSD and HDD as you see fit.

I couldn't play something like Arma 3 or bf 4 now after getting accustomed to the load times on a SSD. Use the HDD for documents/movies/music/pictures and older games.

The only problem with the SSD's is that they are VERY pricey. Besides, I'd rather install all of my programs outside of the Program Files folder because UAC is a complete a-hole when it comes to playing games. I know there are faster load times with games, but I'd rather have my computer boot-up faster. Right now it takes about 5-10 minutes for my laptop to boot up fully.

G-Sync looks pretty cool though, but I suspect those G-Sync monitors are going to be expensive. 1080p 3D will suit me fine, considering my laptop's resolution 1366 x 768.

Do I need any special cables when connecting the HDD as the secondary drive, or do I just connect the two drives into the motherboard with SATA cables? It's not like the old slave/master configurations?

Ri_Nollaig

God no, days of slave/master and IDE drives are long gone. Just plug everything in with sATA cables, and you'll have no shortage of them. The boot drive should be on SATA port 1. Install a fresh OS via a usb key [or optical drive as you'll have one] and it will ensure everything is set correctly, can't go wrong.

Yeah G-Sync is dear... not out yet either but just something to look out for in the future. 144mhz 1080p from 720p will be pretty sweet either way. But 1440p is x4 720p just saying...

Right I think you are getting confused with the SSD set up. For starters you can partition it as many times as you like, UAC will not give you any problems. You can have the OS live happily in the C drive if you are really worried and create a "G" or whatever letter you'd like, partition for games.
You are spending ~2000€ on a new desktop, something VERY wrong if you are not atleast playing your most frequent games from an SSD!
Seriously, look at your configuration again and drop the crap like sound card/optical drive if you need to. For actual day-to-day use it will make a huge difference.

/Edit
also windows 8.1 is more SSD friendly mine boots to usable desktop in about ~10 seconds.

Reccy

Ri_Nollaig wrote: »

God no, days of slave/master and IDE drives are long gone. Just plug everything in with sATA cables, and you'll have no shortage of them. The boot drive should be on SATA port 1. Install a fresh OS via a usb key [or optical drive as you'll have one] and it will ensure everything is set correctly, can't go wrong.

Yeah G-Sync is dear... not out yet either but just something to look out for in the future. 144mhz 1080p from 720p will be pretty sweet either way. But 1440p is x4 720p just saying...

Right I think you are getting confused with the SSD set up. For starters you can partition it as many times as you like, UAC will not give you any problems. You can have the OS live happily in the C drive if you are really worried and create a "G" or whatever letter you'd like, partition for games.
You are spending ~2000€ on a new desktop, something VERY wrong if you are not atleast playing your most frequent games from an SSD!
Seriously, look at your configuration again and drop the crap like sound card/optical drive if you need to. For actual day-to-day use it will make a huge difference.

/Edit
also windows 8.1 is more SSD friendly mine boots to usable desktop in about ~10 seconds.

What capacity would you suggest for the SSD? Would 250GB be enough? I'll keep the Optical Drive though just because I have a ton of old games that are in CD/DVD format.

Is Windows 8.1 any good for games? I've only heard bad things about that OS, that it's not really backwards compatable with older games? And is Classic Shell any good? I really don't want to see that Metro UI for longer than necessary.

EDIT: I've got about 390GB worth of games on Steam (Damn it Gaben and your Steam Sales!). Is it possible to install certain steam games on the SSD and others on the HDD? Or could I just get one big SSD instead of the 2 different drives?

Luck100

Yes, it's very easy to install individual Steam and Origin games to SSD or HD. Also really easy to move stuff between SSD and HD if you change your mind. I have a 256 GB SSD and it's big enough for OS + all regular apps + most used games. I'd say 256 GB is the minimum size you want.

Reccy

I've changed the OS for Windows 8.1 (It doesn't look too bad with Classic Shell). I've also removed the sound-card and changed the 2 drives for a single 1TB SSD.

Cooler Master Storm Trooper €142.95
Samsung 840 Evo Series 1TB €389.00
ASUS BC-12D2HT - Blu-Ray Combo €59.95
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit, OEM €89.95
Kingston HyperX FURY Blue 8GB - PC3-12800 - DIMM €69.99
Intel Core i5-4690K - 3.5GHz - Socket 1150 - Unlocked €219.95
Logitech G710+ Mechanical Gaming Keyboard €149.00
Noctua NH-U12S - 120mm €57.90
ASUS MAXIMUS VII RANGER - Socket 1150 - ATX €154.95
MSI GeForce GTX 780 Gaming - 3GB - PCI-E €449.00
Corsair CX Series CX750M - 750 Watt €84.95
ASUS VG248QE - 24" €309.00

Total incl. VAT: €2,176.55

Am I mad going for the 1TB SSD? It's €389 but the entire system will perform a lot better?
And I'm also wondering, will the i5-4690k and GTX780 bottleneck eachother or should they both perform well?

Gumbi

More space is just that, more space. It'll perform the same as a 512gb model, but you'll be able to store mpre on it.

780 i5 combo is fine, just don't forgrt to overclock the i5 .

I'd honestly prefer squeezing a 780ti into that build (by getting a smaller ssd or something) but that's up to you.

Reccy

Gumbi wrote: »

More space is just that, more space. It'll perform the same as a 512gb model, but you'll be able to store mpre on it.

780 i5 combo is fine, just don't forgrt to overclock the i5 .

I'd honestly prefer squeezing a 780ti into that build (by getting a smaller ssd or something) but that's up to you.

I kinda think the 780ti is overkill. I was originally going to go for one but I got persuaded by the brilliant people here to get a 770 or 780. The ASUS MAXIMUS VII RANGER motherboard supports atleast 2x SLI so in the future I can buy another 780. As Ri_Nollaig said earlier, the "price to performance" wasn't great with my earlier builds. :P

Is it risky to overclock the i5 with my Noctua cooler? And what temp should I aim at when overclocking?

Gumbi

Reccy wrote: »

I kinda think the 780ti is overkill. I was originally going to go for one but I got persuaded by the brilliant people here to get a 770 or 780. The ASUS MAXIMUS VII RANGER motherboard supports atleast 2x SLI so in the future I can buy another 780. As Ri_Nollaig said earlier, the "price to performance" wasn't great with my earlier builds. :P

Is it risky to overclock the i5 with my Noctua cooler? And what temp should I aim at when overclocking?

Overclocking is easy to do and safe if you know what you're doing. It's hard to break your chip doing. Yiu have a very nice cooler, you should get 4.4-4.8ghz (more likely 4.4- 4.6) out of your chip which is a large performance boost over stock. For games that are cpu limited you will see a large performance benefit out of this. We can help you with this when the time comes (or read some guides online).

IMO the 290 beats the 780 (same performance at 1080p better at higher res) and is cheaper. You can get a 290 trix for 280 to 300 pounds on amazon and for 350euro DELIVERED from germany. So if you would prefer to stick with a 780 price point I would go for a 290, if you want somethibg else grab a 780ti.

* I didn't realise the ti was 600 euro plus. My bad. 780 is fine. I think a 290 trix from amazon or overclockers is better value performance wise and money wise.

Reccy

Gumbi wrote: »

Overclocking is easy to do and safe if you know what you're doing. It's hard to break your chip doing. Yiu have a very nice cooler, you should get 4.4-4.8ghz (more likely 4.4- 4.6) out of your chip which is a large performance boost over stock. For games that are cpu limited you will see a large performance benefit out of this. We can help you with this when the time comes (or read some guides online).

IMO the 290 beats the 780 (same performance at 1080p better at higher res) and is cheaper. You can get a 290 trix for 280 to 300 pounds on amazon and for 350euro DELIVERED from germany. So if you would prefer to stick with a 780 price point I would go for a 290, if you want somethibg else grab a 780ti.

* I didn't realise the ti was 600 euro plus. My bad. 780 is fine. I think a 290 trix from amazon or overclockers is better value performance wise and money wise.

I'm pretty happy with NVidia and their dedicated PhysX processing, but thanks for the recommendation

4.5GHz from the i5 would be amazing actually! I didn't think you would get that much of a performance boost from overclocking. About the coolers; why do some people go with risky water cooling when air cooling gets the same results? I'm just curious, water cooling is something I'd definately screw up if I tried to install :P

Gumbi

Reccy wrote: »

I'm pretty happy with NVidia and their dedicated PhysX processing, but thanks for the recommendation

4.5GHz from the i5 would be amazing actually! I didn't think you would get that much of a performance boost from overclocking. About the coolers; why do some people go with risky water cooling when air cooling gets the same results? I'm just curious, water cooling is something I'd definately screw up if I tried to install :P

Because it's fun, it looks cool and it performs well. A custom setuo is very expensive but will outperform the best air coolers.

You can buy loops but they don't perform as well as custom loops and they cost a bit more than air cooling for much the same performance (maybe a bit more).

Reccy

Gumbi wrote: »

Because it's fun, it looks cool and it performs well. A custom setuo is very expensive but will outperform the best air coolers.

You can buy loops but they don't perform as well as custom loops and they cost a bit more than air cooling for much the same performance (maybe a bit more).

Yeah, they look frickin' awesome, but wouldn't it be horrible to be in the middle of a multiplayer match and then suddenly your computer crashes and the rig starts to leak water all over the components? Whatever floats your boat (pun not intended) but you would never find a water cooler in any build of mine. The risk outweighs the reward imo. :P

Gumbi

Reccy wrote: »

Yeah, they look frickin' awesome, but wouldn't it be horrible to be in the middle of a multiplayer match and then suddenly your computer crashes and the rig starts to leak water all over the components? Whatever floats your boat (pun not intended) but you would never find a water cooler in any build of mine. The risk outweighs the reward imo. :P

Well it's like anything takw care of it and it should be OK really.

Reccy

Would I need any special tools for when I start putting the PC together?
I assume all I'll need is a Philips Screwdriver and some Isopropyl Alcohol Wipes.