Gaming Computer Setup

[Hunter]

Hello, all. It looks as if, for myself, I might be able to get a new PC in the coming months.

 

I've come up with this setup:

 

Case

PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)

Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4670K (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache

Motherboard

ASUS® H81M-C: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs

Memory (RAM)

8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)

Graphics Card

2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 770 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

Memory - 1^st Hard Disk

1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE

1^st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive

24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Power Supply

CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY

Processor Cooling

Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler

Sound Card

ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Wireless/Wired Networking

10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs

USB Options

MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

Power Cable

1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)

Operating System

Genuine Windows 8 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence

DVD Recovery Media

Windows 8 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve

Office Software

NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus

NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Monitor

AOC 21.5" WIDESCREEN LED TFT - 1920 x 1080, 5MS, D-Sub, DVI-D

Keyboard & Mouse

Microsoft Arc Keyboard - Style That Works

 

And I think it's pretty good. Can anyone who's an expert advise me on bottlenecks, or places where I could save money? The only other thing I'd LIKE to have there is an SSD, but that's not dreadfully important. The £1,100 is a bit of an upper limit for me - any more and I'll struggle to find the money (as it is, I should get roughly 500 for my current computer, raising the other 600 will be difficult).

 

Are ATI's GPU's any good? What would their equivalent of the 770 be, and should I get it? And is the i5 okay with that setup?

 

Finally, Windows 7 or Windows 8?

 

Any and all advice is appreciated, thank you!

Edited September 19, 2013 by Hunter

[20000_Posts]

Change the motherboard, you want something with a minimum of H87 chipset.

 

Keep the 770, it's taking ATI a while to upgrade their cards NVidia is good right now.

 

i5 will work well, if you don't plan on overclocking I wouldn't even bother with the K version.

[reepicheep]

I think you might be better off with Windows 7 if you're going to be gaming, but I'm not sure.

[20000_Posts]

Keep windows 8 it's the same price (or cheaper a lot of times) and offers many improvements in speed an usability. Few people are complaining about the UI now that they've actually used it.

[Hunter]

Change the motherboard, you want something with a minimum of H87 chipset.

 

Keep the 770, it's taking ATI a while to upgrade their cards NVidia is good right now.

 

i5 will work well, if you don't plan on overclocking I wouldn't even bother with the K version.

 

Alright - I've upgraded the Motherboard to a Z87-K. I'll keep the -K version of the i5, as it's £15 difference - not a lot to fuss about, I think, considering I may overclock at some point.

 

I'm told that ATI will release new GPU's on the 25th, but frankly the 700 series from NVIDIA seem to only be a few months old? So perhaps I'll stick with that. I may review if the ATI's seem REALLY good value for money, as of course I won't be able to get this for a few months yet.

 

Otherwise, you don't think overheating or anything will be a problem?

[20000_Posts]

Overheating shouldn't be a problem unless the case is made of mud/styrofoam. If you have left over cash it's worth investing in a good case, for video reviews I recommend checking out Hardware Canucks.

 

Power supply should work. You could bump up to 600 or maybe 700 if you planned to have a dual GPU solution at some point, but 550 is enough for pretty much any single GPU setup.

[reepicheep]

Keep windows 8 it's the same price (or cheaper a lot of times) and offers many improvements in speed an usability. Few people are complaining about the UI now that they've actually used it.

I have heard issues with the game compatibility, which is pretty much the only reason I'd recommend against it if you want to game. But maybe that's just the really old games?

[one23]

Keep windows 8 it's the same price (or cheaper a lot of times) and offers many improvements in speed an usability. Few people are complaining about the UI now that they've actually used it.

I have heard issues with the game compatibility, which is pretty much the only reason I'd recommend against it if you want to game. But maybe that's just the really old games?

I've been using Windows 8 for like 11 months and I've only encountered a compatibility issue once with some random program that I don't even remember. I've never had trouble with games, although I could have just been lucky.

[Luvandpower]

Change the motherboard as already stated look for a Z87 as it's best for OC. Try to stay away from microatx as well cause you have to consider if you ever want to sli most micro's want offer 3-4 way sli.

 

I'd also up the wattage just for future reference toa round 700w(bronze certified +...good job picking a good psu brand)

 

Don't do 8x1 ram as you don't have dual advantage ram then. Get like 4 x 2 even though personally I'd get 8 x 2 I would also aim for 1866 ram for more faster use

 

I would also consider buying some aftermarket fans

 

Keep the windows 8

 

don't go cheap on the keyboard (personal opinion)

Edited September 20, 2013 by Kaysie

[Hunter]

@redmonke:

Fair enough with the case/PSU, seems all in order in any case. I'll go for Windows 8, seeing as it's newer and will hold support longer than Windows 7 - frankly I won't be running THAT many games on it. And I can always obtain a copy of 7 if it does disagree with me... ehehehe.

 

Change the motherboard as already stated look for a Z87 as it's best for OC. Try to stay away from microatx as well cause you have to consider if you ever want to sli most micro's want offer 3-4 way sli.

 

I'd also up the wattage just for future reference toa round 700w(bronze certified +...good job picking a good psu brand)

 

Don't do 8x1 ram as you don't have dual advantage ram then. Get like 4 x 2 even though personally I'd get 8 x 2 I would also aim for 1866 ram for more faster use

 

I would also consider buying some aftermarket fans

 

Keep the windows 8

 

don't go cheap on the keyboard (personal opinion)

 

Sorry it's difficult for me to take some of this without a grain of salt. I've already gone for the Z87-K, which is ATX. Regardless to that, I'm not planning on using SLI any time soon - if I was, it'd be a big overhaul of the system.

 

The wattage is estimated at a maximum consumption of 508W, which includes 10% error. 550W will do for now - if I ever need a higher output, I'll get one. 700 is overkill and a good bit more money.

 

Point taken on the RAM - honestly I didn't notice it was 8x1, I assumed it was 4x2.

 

I've decided to actually remove the aftermarket fan that I had on there. It was only £19, but I was told the one that came with the CPU usually did the job more than adequately.

 

As for the keyboard, having used those everyday and not liking gaming keyboards whatsoever, I'll stick with cheap and reliable. While I may switch to a nicer, plain/thin keyboard, for now I am desperately trying to save money.

 

Currently I'm quoted £980, built and delivered, for everything except the monitor. Not too bad.