Gaming PC Specs...

[mikecoulter]

So all, I think I've finally settled on some computer specs. After numerous outcries from fellow users I've decided to make it all myself rather than buying pre-built.

Gaming Rig

Processor - Intel i5 750 @ 2.66ghz £159

Motherboard - Asus 1156 P7P55D S/L £96.24

Ram - Corsair DDR3 2x2GB 1600mhz £88.12

Case - Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gamer £69.98

Power Supply - Axle Typhoon Ax - P700P 700Watt £74.90

GPU - ATi Sapphire 5850 Vapor X 1gb £273.77

Thermal Paste - Actic Silver 5 £5.50

Hard Drive - Samsung HD103SJ1 1TB 7200RPM £47.50

Optical Drive - Samsung Lightscribe Drive (From old PC) £Free

Total - £815.01

Have you got any suggestions or tweaks to these specs? Thanks guys.

 

[theComposer]

Looks good to me. Enjoy maxing out everything for the next 2+ years.

 

[Iznat]

Make damn sure the motherboard and processor fit together!
After that, it doesn't matter, but you can't really change them

Looks good though, good luck building it, and happy gaming ^_^

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Just in the interest of saving money you don't need a quad core.

Dual will do fine. But if you definitely want that processor and it works well then sure.

 

[Christopher Dudgeon]

Looks like it'll be a great PC but if you want to save yourself time and trouble replace the ATI GPU with an nVidea one as (A) I used to have ATI GPU's and i never had anything but problems with them, (B) If your going to be playing games and watching things on your PC nVidea can do it all for a very reasonable price and (C) The drivers for nVidea GPU's tend to work with every game straight away unlike the ATI ones.

This is the card I would replace your ATI with http://www.ebuyer.com/product/222349

 

[mikecoulter]

Just in the interest of saving money you don't need a quad core.

Dual will do fine. But if you definitely want that processor and it works well then sure.

Yeah, I considered the dual core i5 too. But this just seemed a little more future proof. And I went with the i5 series as I don't require the hyper-threading the higher i7 chips offer, and the i7 motherboards are a tad too pricey...

AMD chips were also an option, but I still think Intel has a better chip for gaming and number crunching.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Just in the interest of saving money you don't need a quad core.

Dual will do fine. But if you definitely want that processor and it works well then sure.

Yeah, I considered the dual core i5 too. But this just seemed a little more future proof. And I went with the i5 series as I don't require the hyper-threading the higher i7 chips offer, and the i7 motherboards are a tad too pricey...

AMD chips were also an option, but I still think Intel has a better chip for gaming and number crunching.

I suppose, I was chasing a quad core for awhile but I settled with my current dual core and it still lets me play Crysis with settings all on high.

 

[ShadowKatt]

No matter how much you put into your computer, Crysis will still make it cry.

The Crysis games could bring NASA to its knees.

But you can play everything else =^-^= Have fun.

 

[mikecoulter]

No matter how much you put into your computer, Crysis will still make it cry.

The Crysis games could bring NASA to its knees.

But you can play everything else =^-^= Have fun.

I wonder what Crysis 2 will be like on consoles...

 

[ShadowKatt]

No matter how much you put into your computer, Crysis will still make it cry.

The Crysis games could bring NASA to its knees.

But you can play everything else =^-^= Have fun.

I wonder what Crysis 2 will be like on consoles...

If my predictions are correct, it'll be like dividing by 0, only less so since it'll be dumbed down to be compatible with the console hardware.

 

[LightOfDarkness]

No matter how much you put into your computer, Crysis will still make it cry.

The Crysis games could bring NASA to its knees.

But you can play everything else =^-^= Have fun.

I wonder what Crysis 2 will be like on consoles...

Apparently, Crysis 2 is taking a step back in the graphical department.

Anyway, that looks pretty good for a gaming pc IF YOU'RE FROM THE FUCKING FUTURE.

Enjoy having a near top-of-the-line PC for the next year or so. I would recommend getting an SSD in the future though.

 

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

Processor - Intel i5 750 @ 2.66ghz £159

Motherboard - Asus 1156 P7P55D S/L £96.24

Ram - Corsair DDR3 2x2GB 1600mhz £88.12

GPU - ATi Sapphire 5850 Vapor X 1gb £273.77


Hard Drive - Samsung HD103SJ1 1TB 7200RPM £47.50


Total - £815.01

Have you got any suggestions or tweaks to these specs? Thanks guys.

Make damn sure the motherboard and processor fit together!
After that, it doesn't matter, but you can't really change them

Looks good though, good luck building it, and happy gaming ^_^

The i5 750 uses a 1156 socket so he's good there.

It all looks good, it should all work together fine. You'll be able to play every game ever made on max graphics and games to come for a year or so on max too.

But may I inquire as to where you're getting it all. The RAM is the same as mine but costing more. Here's the link if you want it, it's free delivery to the UK too, http://www.ebuyer.com/product/178943

OH! Don't forget to factor in the cost of your OS. I suggest Windows XP, cheap, powerful, reliable and works with all modern games. If you're like me, then you'll have Ubuntu on a partition, but that's me.

 

[octafish]

I don't see a CPU cooler there. If you aren't overclocking and/or using a cooler (other than the intel one) you can save yourself some hassle and 5 quid by leaving out the arctic silver. Just use the thermal pad on the heatsink and it will be fine. High end thermal paste will save you 2 to 3 degrees but at stock clocks I wouldn't bother. Ignore anyone telling you ATI can't make cards, they are winning at the moment on price, heat and power usage. Well done.

 

[RobJameson]

i7 920 @ 4.0 GHz
ATI Radeon HD 5970 2GB
Corsair dominator 1866 Mhz 6GB DDR3.
Titan Fenrir cooler
VelociRaptor 600GB 10000RPM

Crysis plays fine

Crysis 2 won't stress any computer, it's being released on console. Unless I see definate 100% proof that it isn't a console port we will see no improvement in graphics (A drop in graphical/AI quality is far more probable, AI will definately drop as consoles have no computing power)

 

[Void(null)]

Several things about Quads.

1: Over a quarter of the market now use them. This means we are seeing more and more games that support proper threading so while in most cases it is not a necessity... nor is it a waste.

2: If you plan on playing Console Ports, you need at least a Tri-Core to get the most out of them.

These days there really is no reason NOT to upgrade to a Quad, better to be future proof as much as your budget allows, than to have a top of the line gaming PC for a month before its obsolete.

Also, you may wish to look at nVidia's GPU line up. Especially the 470, which is the same price as the 5850 yet has slightly higher performance. [http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-470-480-review/]

ATI make great cards, but more and more AAA games are using PhysX... ATI = No PhysX.

So if the price and performance is about the same, you may as well buy a GPU with the highest Compatibility rate that will allow you the most options in what pretty's to turn on.

CUDA is also a lot of fun.

 

[Bravo Company]

AMD chips were also an option, but I still think Intel has a better chip for gaming and number crunching.

umm http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727&cm_re=amd_phenom_ii_X4-_-19-103-727-_-Product

£116 and its a 3.4 GHz quadcore... If you really want to, AMD has hexicores out now that aren't that expensive either.

Oh yeah, I would also recommend am ATI card, currently their powerful, cooler, and don't require a nuclear fusion center to power.

Don't forget to factor in the cost of your OS. I suggest Windows XP, cheap, powerful, reliable and works with all modern games. If you're like me, then you'll have Ubuntu on a partition, but that's me.

I don't see why he would go with Windows XP, the 5850 is DX11 ready and Windows XP is already getting phased out. Windows 7 is a very stable OS right now and I can't see a reason why he wouldn't go with it

 

[Audioave10]

I would also say to go to Windows 7. I keep XP on another PC for older games and software.
ATI cards are very good...its the drivers that drive some people crazy.

 

[Flying-Emu]

I love ATI, but their driver setups are SUPER dumb.

 

[Hashime]

Looks good, just consider the cost of a good keyboard and mouse in your budget.

 

[Void(null)]

Power requirements are really not going to be an issue considering he is looking at getting a 700w PSU.

Heat is a non issue as he is getting an Antec 900, which when kept clean does a wonderful job of keeping everything nice and cool.

The question is what does he want out of a GPU?

If its to play the most games, with the highest rate of compatibility with the most features, then the 470 wins hands down against the 5850.

If people are just looking at ATI to be edgy then why buy an intel processor? Why not buy an AMD Processor, an AMD CPU and take advantage of a dragon setup?

I can understand why someone would buy an nVidia GPU and an AMD CPU... If you are only using your machine for gaming then it makes sense to buy only as much processor as you need to not bottleneck your GPU.

But buying an Intel CPU for an ATI GPU makes little to no sense for gaming, over powered CPU with a High Power GPU with compatibility and driver issues that cant run PhysX.

My question is... do you want the Video on the left, or the Video on the right?


as well as

http://www.gamephys.com/2009/12/29/7-physx-comparison-videos-you-need-to-watch/

If people are content seeing only half the visual effects on a game, why bother building a top of the line gaming PC? And if people are going to buy an ATI GPU, and then buy an nVidia card as a physics processor... why not save the money and buy an Nvidia card that can play the game and run the Physics at the same time?

Same price, same general performance, yet the nVidia card has CUDA, PhysX and a higher rate of compatibility.

If you were going to do something more with your computer than play games and serf for porn I could highly recommend an ATI GPU, but if your being honest with yourself and your spending the money to play games that look as pretty as you can afford, why handicap yourself over brand loyalty?

I am constantly switching back and forth between nVidia and ATI depending on who has the strongest hand of cards for this round and right now thats nVidia, the moment they are no longer king of the mountain I'm going back to ATI, Until ATI lose ground then its back to nVidia... That's the beauty of a free market, business and brands compete for YOUR money, and you benefit from the healthy competition.