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Hi guys,

I would like advice or suggestions on a gaming desktop.

Budget is probably around 1000 - 1100 with (preferably a 24" monitor and keyboard/mouse).

Intended uses are to game ( empire: total war/shogun, maybe crysis (never played it so not crucial) but should be able to play upcoming titles like BF3 and ES: Skyrim on high - max settings).

I would also like if possible within budget a blu-ray player (read-only) with dvd r/w capability.

I would build it myself (assuming the expected difficulty would be low-moderate). Also the case doesn't need to be fancy simply good cooling and easy of use.

Reply 4881

Fusilero

Original post by A.galloway

https://secure.scan.co.uk/aspnet/Shop/SavedBasket/Show.aspx?id=96e06a7177e5453b8470adc23e83e69f

Gave this a go. You can modify the keyboard/mouse options if you want. I personally quite like the Logitech Ultraflat's Profile and the Mouse has been great. I also went with the 23" because there's no advantage to the 24" inches at a similar price range. In fact that particular LG screen is quite brilliant and has the same resolution.

Also, the 2600 and the H67 aren't that great for overclocking, if you're a fan of overclocking go for a 2600K and a P67 but from the sound of your text I don't think you'll be OCing anytime soon. I chose an aftermarket cooler because builds like this tend to be very loud, that CPU cooler should quiten things down! If you want it really quiet take two of these as an extra (not more, the Antec case doesn't take more):

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/120mm-akasa-ak-174bk-s-black-case-fan-3-pin-sleeve-bearing-ultra-quiet-%2817dba%29-retail

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 4882

A.galloway

Original post by Fusilero

That is a great system build, however it doesn't include a OS - windows 7 home premium would have been preferred. Also i would be interested in getting a ssd drive to lower boot times - would that be something you would recommend.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 4883

TShadow383

Original post by A.galloway

Is it?

You're easily pleased.

This would kick ten shades of **** out of it:

http://i56.tinypic.com/w98uqg.png
Massively overclockable CPU, rock solid parts, a graphics card which can be easily BIOS flashed to 6970 speeds (with a handy bios reset switch in case something goes wrong :wink:

), a solid state drive, REAL proper cooling (the little 92mm freezer is ****ter than ****), a case which doesn't require you to buy a few extra fans to cool it properly, a fully-featured motherboard that isn't crippled by intel's horrid BIOS, is packed full of features and has amazing cooling and an LED monitor.

I've left off mouse and keyboard, since that's very much down to personal preference.

Reply 4884

A.galloway

Original post by TShadow383

Is it?

You're easily pleased.

This would kick ten shades of **** out of it:

always have been when it came to computers - that is how i ended up with this over-heating piece of **** laptop i am using now. Would an overclocked i5 2500k be superior to the restricted i7.

Reply 4885

Fusilero

Original post by A.galloway

always have been when it came to computers - that is how i ended up with this over-heating piece of **** laptop i am using now. Would an overclocked i5 2500k be superior to the restricted i7.

Not really - but for gaming an i7 is generally an overkill and won't be a bottleneck for gaming - so you don't really need the i7. I just like overkilling :colondollar:

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 4886

TShadow383

Original post by A.galloway

always have been when it came to computers - that is how i ended up with this over-heating piece of **** laptop i am using now. Would an overclocked i5 2500k be superior to the restricted i7.

Yes.
By far.

Getting these things past 4.5Ghz is very easy indeed, and at that pace it'd be 20-30% faster than the 2600K at least.

It's always been the case though, my i5 750 goes a lot better in most benchmarks than an i7 975

Reply 4887

Tathrim

TShadow383

Fusilero

Quoting you two because then you're aware I've mentioned this. Didn't want to tread on anyone's toes, nor give the poor fellow a defective board by telling him to get the wrong stepping on the SATA chipset. :biggrin:

Original post by A.galloway

always have been when it came to computers - that is how i ended up with this over-heating piece of **** laptop i am using now. Would an overclocked i5 2500k be superior to the restricted i7.

If overclocked, yes it would be superior. I have a similar build, albeit a different case, card and mobo.

Also, you need to watch out with Sandy Bridge motherboards. there is a manufacturing defect with the SATA chipset on early boards, and you need to make sure that it has the B3 chipset stepping on the motherboard before you purchase it (the example spec doesn't have that stepping). It should have B3/Rev3 or something similar

MSI aren't shipping the B3 stepping yet, so your mobo options are with Gigabyte or Asus. From those, I'd reccommend either:

Gigabyte's P67A-UD4-B3: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigabyte-ga-p67a-ud4-b3-intel-p67-express-s-1155-pci-e-20-(x16)-ddr3-2133-sata-6gb-s - the board I will have once the replacement is shipped to me, bought the non-B3 before the stepping was available on the pretext of a replacement around this time.

Asus: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-p8p67-pro-rev3-intel-p67-s1155-pci-e-20-x16-ddr3-2200(oc)-sata-6gb-s-sata-raid - the other board I was recommended, though it's personal preference.

Hope this helps you in your mobo choice, and doesn't confuse you.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 4888

Fusilero

Original post by Tathrim

The Intel BOXDH67CLB3 is a B3 revision, as far as I'm aware all the boards now for sale on SCAN are now B3/Rev3. (Haven't spotted any defective ones there so far)

Reply 4889

TShadow383

Original post by Tathrim

Oops
Forgot to go for the B3 version of the board I recommended:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-166-MS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1906

Reply 4890

polesp

sorrry kinda posted before reading this :s-smilie:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?p=30369162#post30369162

Reply 4891

zxh800

Any improvements I can make on this system (I'm gonna put in a ATI 6850 later. PSU can handle it right?):

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 4892

TShadow383

Original post by zxh800

Any improvements I can make on this system (I'm gonna put in a ATI 6850 later. PSU can handle it right?):

I'd be a little worried about that motherboard, that's more likely to create issues than the PSU.

Reply 4893

zxh800

Original post by TShadow383

I'd be a little worried about that motherboard, that's more likely to create issues than the PSU.

I'm absolutely clueless about motherboards so what would you recommend (at a similarish price)? I don't plan to overclock the CPU (would cost too much with the extra cooling).

Reply 4894

jermaindefoe

any one tell me how i can improve on this? and spending no more than £350

Reply 4895

Sarky.

Original post by zxh800

Any improvements I can make on this system (I'm gonna put in a ATI 6850 later. PSU can handle it right?):

Looks perfectly fine to me, the motherboard is meant to be more of a 'budget' board. How much is your budget? We might be able to pick out a better motherboard if you specified a budget, but going by what you spent, I'd say this.

Reply 4896

zxh800

Original post by jermaindefoe

any one tell me how i can improve on this? and spending no more than £350

You might have a motherboard issue there (as I did earlier). I did some "homework" and found out that an AM3-AMD 890GX or FX is best if you want to run a beast of a processor like that one.

Original post by Sarky.

Cheers. Do you think it'll be fine? As above, I did a little research and an 890GX is recommended but if the one you suggest will work (with a future gfx upgrade in mind to a 6850) that's perfectly one. The 890GX mobos cost a good £30-£40 more. Also, what brands would you recommend and what brands would you advise staying away from? How are Asrock?

Reply 4897

jermaindefoe

Original post by zxh800

You might have a motherboard issue there (as I did earlier). I did some "homework" and found out that an AM3-AMD 890GX or FX is best if you want to run a beast of a processor like that one.

at roughly what additional cost :sigh:

and what was the need for it?

Reply 4898

Sarky.

Original post by zxh800

Obviously the more you pay the better quality you get, also more features. Are you interested in overclocking? That would make the higher end boards more attractive for spending more.

Brands I like:

Gigabyte
Asus
Biostar
MSI

Meh:

ASRock
Sapphire

AVOID:

ECS
Foxconn
Jetway
OEM boards (HP, Acer, etc)

The 800 chipset series are the newest, supporting SATA3 and USB3 mainly, so it depends if you plan on using them. I have a Gigabyte 760G motherboard with a 5770 and its fine for a mild overclock and a SSD.

If you plan on overclocking of any kind, I would suggest looking for a motherboard with heatsinks to the left of the CPU socket, these cool the voltage regulators for the CPU, so you can go higher without risking the motherboard being damaged. If you're not bothered, then almost any motherboard on the 'Good' brand list above would be fine, just choose the board based from what features you plan on using. I would stick to Gigabyte personally. NEVER had a problem with them, have with Asus though and none with MSI or Biostar.

Reply 4899

zxh800

Original post by Sarky.

Nope, I don't plan on overclocking. Just need the processor to be compatible and run at optimum perfomance (and of course being compatible with future gfx card upgrades. No SLI just single cards).

Original post by jermaindefoe

at roughly what additional cost :sigh:

and what was the need for it?

I'm not sure if the hexa-core will work on the board recommended to me above. But it costs £20 extra.

This was a good read: http://www.scan.co.uk/tekspek/motherboards/amd-800-series-chipsets