New PC Suggestions - ebuyer.co.uk

[Solly]

Hey guys,

I am looking to buy a new PC to play PS2 on, and I will be using ebuyer. I am looking for a good gaming PC but nothing excessive. Perhaps £800 or so to spend.

Im looking at:
MSI P67A-GD53 (B3) P67 Socket 1155 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/261288)
Gigabyte GTX 670 Windforce 3X 2GB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Graphics Card (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/368520)
Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/251596)
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz CL9 1.5V Non-ECC Unbuffered (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/248759)
Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - OEM (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173804)
Casecom Shiny Black Mid Tower Case with Front 120mm Red LED Fan - No PSU (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/160914)
Be Quiet 530W Pure Power PSU (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/190751)

Any suggestions on how I might get better value for money? Or if there is any compatibility issues?

Thanks chaps,
Sollytear

[Vancha]

Any particular reason you're only going with EBuyer? You'll probably get a better deal if you shop around some.

The 16GB RAM is overkill considering you're cheaping out on other parts. I'm not aware of anything that saturates 8GB, so I'd cut your RAM in half and spend the savings on a higher-end be quiet! PSU (probably an E9 of some kind).

Also, fill this out...

http://www.planetside-universe.com/showthread.php?t=37183

[Solly]

Thanks for the reply.

I am going for ebuyer as I have found their customer service ace. Number of times ive blown a MOBO flashing their BIOS and been able to return it... :)

I like that idea of moving to 8GB, specially as RAM is easy to upgrade at a later date. A friend suggested that dropping the HD and grabbing a SSD, for the texture loading. For extra space I do have 2 external (2x 1TB) hard drives. Perhaps I could rip the casing off one and put it inside.




1. Are you building this computer yourself or having one built for you (Like HP, Alienware, or even a small shop)?
Building myself. I have built them before... all colour coded now :) But Ive always taken a pre-built design and replicated it myself.


2. What is your budget and does that include shipping/taxes?
No hard budget, but £800 is should be plenty.

3. Where do you live (Please list town, state, and country)?[/B
UK. Using ebuyer.co.uk out of previous experience.

[B]]4. What do you need this computer to do (like gaming, Photoshop, and so on)?
Gaming, office work, and hopefully my final build for 5yrs...

5. What parts will you need for the computer? List what parts specifically, saying you need everything will not do.
6. Are you reusing any parts for this computer? If so say what parts (make and model).
I have screen (will use my TV), 2 external drives, wireless mouse, keyboard, mat, headset, speakers, office.
Require: MOBO, GFX, CPU, Fans, Case, PSU, etc etc.


7. What kind of monitor/resolution do you have or want to get to use for the computer?
I have a TV screen which is Full HD. What res is this?

8. Do you have already have a OS or do you need one? What OS is that?
I require Windows.

9. What are you looking for the motherboard to have feature wise? Like SLI, Crossfire, Firewire, USB 3.0, Sata 6.0 Gb/s, and so on.
No idea.... :/

10. Any plans to overclock the CPU or GPU?
Probably will to get some extra juice. Nothing excessive!

11. What time kind of time frame are you planning on ordering these parts?
Some point from now to PS2 release.

[Vancha]

CPU (http://www.ebuyer.com/349029-intel-core-i5-3570k-3-4ghz-socket-1155-6mb-cache-retail-boxed-processor-bx80637i53570k)

Motherboard 1 (http://www.ebuyer.com/366103-biostar-tz75b-z75-socket-1155-vga-dvi-hdmi-8-channel-audio-atx-tz75b)
Motherboard 2 (http://www.ebuyer.com/345351-msi-lga1155-intel-z77-4-ddr3-gbe-lan-4-usb3-0-m-atx-motherboard-z77ma-g45)
The Biostar seems like a remarkably good deal, but go for the MSI if you're funny about brands...

RAM (http://www.ebuyer.com/310971-crucial-8gb-ddr3-1333mhz-ballistix-tactical-memory-blt2cp4g3d1337dt1tx0ceu)

PSU (http://www.ebuyer.com/291726-be-quiet-e9-straightpower-500w-psu-bn192)

SSD (http://www.ebuyer.com/391989-samsung-128gb-830-series-ssd-mz-7pc128b-ww) (can you just "rip" the casing off an external HDD?)

GPU (http://www.ebuyer.com/368520-gigabyte-gv-n670oc-2gd-gv-n670oc-2gd)

Spend whatever's left on a better case than the one you linked.

Edit: Windows 7 (http://www.ebuyer.com/259863-microsoft-windows-7-home-premium-w-sp1-licence-and-media-1-gfc-02050). How are you planning on installing Windows? Do you have a sata-capable ODD or are you going the USB drive route?

[Goku]

Hmm. I thought that PSU looked over priced. You can the Corsair TX 650 V2 for £69.45 (http://www.ebuyer.com/257232-corsair-tx-650w-v2-psu-80plus-bronze-certified-cmpsu-650txv2uk) and Antec 620W High Current Gamer for £59.99 (http://www.ebuyer.com/246651-antec-620w-high-current-gamer-psu-80plus-bronze-13-5cm-fan-3x-0761345-06209-1). I would for for the Antec 620W HCG personally.

[Solly]

Why would you pick the Z77MA-G45 motherboard over the P67A-GD53 ?
As for CPU, I read that the 2500K worked out better than the 3570K. Did I get that wrong? Something to do with running much cooler.

Nice tip on the RAM, does that speed not make much difference?

I have an updated list @ New List (http://www.ebuyer.com/lists/list/12693) .

A friend suggested the XFX 550W Core Edition Pro PSU after winning some comparison awards.

Thanks Joe

[Goku]

2500K is a good chip still. However if the 2500K and 3570K are priced the same I would go for the 3570K. While the 3570K does run warmer and may limit you a few hundred MHz that will be made up by having the higher IPC. The Z77 does have newer features, namely the native USB 3.0 and PCI-e 3.0.

Memory speed doesn't make any major difference.

The XFX 550W Core Edition isn't a bad PSU, however its silly not to get that Antec if its only £5 more.

Dump that Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 also. I wouldn't even bother attempting to overclock on that. At least get a proper budget cooler like the Cooler Master 212 EVO (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Coolers+-+Air/CPU+Coolers/Cooler+Master+Hyper+212+EVO+Quiet+CPU+Cooler+?prod uctId=47248).

[Vancha]

The 2500k is better for serious overclocking. You said you weren't planning anything excessive, so I'm not aware of the 2500k having anything over the 3570k in your case.

As for the motherboard, I expect the G45 has everything you need. Unless you're looking for something in particular, you probably won't gain anything by spending more on the G53.

Hmm. I thought that PSU looked over priced. You can the Corsair TX 650 V2 for £69.45 (http://www.ebuyer.com/257232-corsair-tx-650w-v2-psu-80plus-bronze-certified-cmpsu-650txv2uk) and Antec 620W High Current Gamer for £59.99 (http://www.ebuyer.com/246651-antec-620w-high-current-gamer-psu-80plus-bronze-13-5cm-fan-3x-0761345-06209-1). I would for for the Antec 620W HCG personally.
It's not overpriced, it's higher-end. The Corsair's the same price...What's the point point in swapping efficiency for capacity that isn't needed? The Antec's worth considering, but I'm not sure it'd be worth the £10 saving in the long run.

[Mutant]

The main reason the 3570K runs hotter than 2500K is that its a much smaller chip but has similar power requirements.
3570K: 22nm, 160 mm2 77w TDP
2500K: 32nm, 216 mm2 95w TDP

So the 3570K has a higher energy density and therefor higher temp.

[Solly]

Ok, thanks for the advice. Ill be keeping off OC for a few months. Perhaps ill be able to afford a water unit by then anyway.

So if I slow down the RAM, (-£5), ditch the fan (-£20), change CPU (+£5) and change PSU (+£5). Turns out I wont be needing W7 either. Thats taken £85 off the price!


Question: With W7, how large a USB stick does one need? Also, is there anything special that needs to be done to W7 to get it to run from the USB?

Thanks chaps!
Joe

[Goku]

It's not overpriced, it's higher-end. The Corsair's the same price...What's the point point in swapping efficiency for capacity that isn't needed? The Antec's worth considering, but I'm not sure it'd be worth the £10 saving in the long run.

I would never pay for extra efficiency at the expense of 120W. Cards are not bad now for power consumption though we ever get anything like fermi going again that can easily change.

For a USB I got a 8GB as that should be enough for any Windows install. MS has a tool you can use to put the ISO on a USB drive also.

[Vancha]

I would never pay for extra efficiency at the expense of 120W. Cards are not bad now for power consumption though we ever get anything like fermi going again that can easily change.
The chances of GPU power requirements going up so far as to make an 80+ Gold 500w PSU insufficient seem astronomically low. Power-drain is a race to the lowest right now and I doubt that'll change in the next few years (the 670 will last him 2-3 by itself). I guess it depends whether you want potential future-proofing or cheaper power bills.

[Solly]

What do you guys think of having a small SSD and installing OS + PS2 on there? Much difference?

Keeping in mind that I have 2TB in external and should be able to pull out a 500GB internal drive from an old PC/Laptop.

[Vancha]

Well I linked you a 128GB SSD, so yeah, I'd suggest getting one if you have the funds. It's one of the most noticeable differences in terms of user-experience.

[Goku]

The chances of GPU power requirements going up so far as to make an 80+ Gold 500w PSU insufficient seem astronomically low. Power-drain is a race to the lowest right now and I doubt that'll change in the next few years (the 670 will last him 2-3 by itself). I guess it depends whether you want potential future-proofing or cheaper power bills.

Seeing as how most of the time the computer will be idling. I doubt that will make any kind of major difference. Checking out some reviews on the Antec unit it gets a 88% efficiency rating during idle, which is in a couple percentage points of similar units to yours (couldn't find a review on yours). Really in the end its not going to be a jaw dropping difference. So yes I do see the extra wattage as being better. No reason not to.

What do you guys think of having a small SSD and installing OS + PS2 on there? Much difference?

Keeping in mind that I have 2TB in external and should be able to pull out a 500GB internal drive from an old PC/Laptop.

I wouldn't go any smaller then 128GB TBH. I do like SSD's I recommend them if you have the money for one.

If you can use a old HDD for general storage you should be all set also.

[Solly]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I have a rig now that im happy with for £830 :)

Room for expansion later is more HDD/SSD and cooling units. Potentially a new PSU.

Thanks guys,