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Gaming PC - Choice of two Builds

Posted: 2011-06-18 02:16
by WelshManDan
Alright, hopefully this will be my final choice before ordering!
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Quick notes;

Primary Uses:
Gaming - Most specifically, ArmA 2, Total War series, Crysis, most other High-End, demanding Games
Design - 3DS Max, Maya, Photoshop, almost all Adobe products, Unreal Development Kit, Cryengine Development

Secondary:
A lot of Uni work
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And here is the new spec which I hope is final, your advice has been incredibly helpful, so I thank you all for that immediately!

Also, one piece of advice you seem to all agree on was the first Graphics card wasnt good enough, and if I could choose the one from the second build. Ive made these changes now and please let me know whether this computer could handle everything I throw at it (within the borders of what I outlined on my uses)

Computer Specification - ?783 (GBP)
Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 912 PLUS MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel? Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS? P8H67-M LX SI (NEW REV 3.0): M-ATX, USB 2.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, 2 x PCI
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6870 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX? 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Free Item
FREE Total War Shogun™ 2 with any AMD? Radeon™ Graphics card!
Memory
500GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD5002AALX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ?R/?RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TX SERIES (TX650) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (?72)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (?19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (?9)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (?79)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (?5)

One thing which the website is telling me is that I dont need a 650W Cooler (it reckons 450W would be better +cheaper), I know however that I will be playing games a LOT, and when im not doing that, ill most likely be doing Uni work, meaning a lot of 3D/Photoshop stuff. Would having a larger cooler effect this at all? I could save ?45 by taking the 450W

Thanks once again!

----------These are the two old choices I had------------
Old Builds wrote: ---------------------------------------------------
Okay, so Build #1 - INTEL - ?769.00 inc VAT
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Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM ENFORCER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel? Core?i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS? P8P67 (NEW REV 3.0): USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, CrossFireX?
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 520 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX? 11, 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD5002AALX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ?R/?RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (?59)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (?19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
2 x 200Mbps HomePlug AV - Create a Wired Network Using Electric Sockets! (?49)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (?79)
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (?9)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (?5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Build #2 - AMD - ?763.00 inc VAT
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Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM ENFORCER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X4 965 (3.40GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION
Motherboard
ASUS? M5A87: AM3+ PLATFORM, DUAL DDR3,SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON? HD6870 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX? 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Free Item
FREE Total War Shogun? 2 with any AMD? Radeon? Graphics card!

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD5002AALX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ?R/?RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (?59)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (?19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
2 x 200Mbps HomePlug AV - Create a Wired Network Using Electric Sockets! (?49)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (?79)
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (?9)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (?5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
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Re: Gaming PC - Choice of two Builds

Posted: 2011-06-18 03:16
by whatshisname55
I would go with the Intel due to i5 generally being some of the fastest processors around. You should bump that GPU up to a 560 Ti, or at least a 550 if you can't afford higher. You want to be able to complement your CPU by having a graphics card that is fast as well.
Everything else looks sound.

Re: Gaming PC - Choice of two Builds

Posted: 2011-06-18 13:28
by Pedz
If you are gaming, Rig no.2 wins. The GPU from rig 1 just wont be up to the job. However the processer for rig 1 is leagues ahead of the second. If you can have that GPU from rig 2 onto rig1, then its a no brainer =]

Re: Gaming PC - Choice of two Builds

Posted: 2011-06-18 13:40
by TheComedian
As stated in previous post much better with i5 CPU and the radeon graphics card.

To save money (and time) I suggest buying the components yourself and assemble them at home. Call a friend if you don't know how to.

Will take 2-3 hours tops. OS instalation and setup will take roughly the same so we are talking a days work.

Plus the money savings on assembly labor.

Re: Gaming PC - Choice of two Builds

Posted: 2011-06-18 18:03
by BloodBane611
The i5 CPU is better, but the Radeon is a far better card. I would personally go with build #2, given your price range.

Re: Gaming PC - Choice of two Builds

Posted: 2011-07-04 01:16
by WelshManDan
Alright, OP updated with a new spec based on your opinions, and I thank you all a LOT, your advice has been un-beatable, as I really know nothing as far as computer specs go.