In need of a new rig

D

Dobbeh

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Jun 16, 2009
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I recently posted about having issues with my PSU, Motherboard etc, which later turned out being the PSU and motherboard burning out at the same time xD

Compared to the cost of repairs, the age of my current build (9800, first gen Quad core) and available money (got to spend that student loan somehow), its cheaper and better in the long run to simply buy a new computer.

The problem is, I have really no clue what spec I should be looking for, what works with what and how long it will last before needing to upgrade again.

Games I end up playing are the likes of ArmA 2 (soon to be 3 and wish to support eGO heavily when we pick it up), Battlefield 3 and Crysis series.

I have had a look around on a range of sites and listed some builds, but I really wouldn't mind some feedback on them before dropping a maximum of ?1400 on something that is going to be rubbish:

1st option (custom build)

Case PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU) AMD BULLDOZER EIGHT CORE FX-8120 (3.10GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3+)
Motherboard ASUS? CROSSHAIR V FORMULA: AM3+, 3-WAY SLI/CROSSFIREX, ROG
Memory (RAM) 8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card 2GB AMD RADEON™ HD7850 - DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX? 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
2nd Graphics Card 2GB AMD RADEON™ HD7850 - DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX? 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
3rd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
1st Hard Disk Partitions 80GB, 12920GB
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ?R/?RW (?52)
Power Supply CORSAIR 850W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX850 V2-80 PLUS? BRONZE (?99)
Processor Cooling TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (?39)
Fan Controller NZXT Sentry 2 Fan Controller with upto 5 Fitted Case Fans
Sound Card ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities 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
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence

Total = ?1268 incl assembly

2nd option

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/hp-phoenix-h9-1040-desktop-pc-11264374-pdt.html

3rd option

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-224-OE&groupid=43&catid=2040&subcat=1270

Any help or advice from anyone will be appreciated!!!
 
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First one out specs the others, but go for a higher version of 7 as there are limits to the amount of ram they allow you to use depending on which you have.
 
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@GamingRobot32 Your images don't work.

Also, just because I'm finding that for me, building my own PC will be cheaper. It's cheaper, and it's more fun to do yourself. If you have the dough, I'd suggest it. If you are dead set on buying one custom built for you, I'd go with the first one, since it blows the others out of the water. And the others have some weird choices in terms of GPUs.
 
Had some more feedback from another site stating that the 8-core AMD is not worth the money and is quite simply rubbish.

Here is another build I have been recommended:

Case InWIN BLACK DRAGON RIDER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel? Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3570K (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS? P8Z77-V: PCI-E 3.0 READY, WIFI, SLI, CROSSFIREX
Memory (RAM) 8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card 2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 90GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ?R/?RW/RAM
Power Supply CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS? BRONZE (?69)
Processor Cooling TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (?39)
Fan Controller NONE
Sound Card Creative Sound Blaster? Audigy™ SE (?19)
Network Facilities 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
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - incDVD & Licence
 
I would personally be looking at a 2500k or 3570k intel based build.

This seems like a better build and cheaper:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-179-OE&groupid=43&catid=2040&subcat=

Change gpu to gtx 670
Change case to corsair carbide 300r
Add 120gb intel ssd

Total is then 1058

Relative to your custom build, this has a better cpu, comparable graphics power but the single 670 should give you a better playing experience, faster ram, and an ssd.

I think building it yourself would be the best and cheapest option.

This would allow you to get a better motherboard and psu as both are somewhat mediocre in this build I posted.

EDIT:

Looks like you beat me to posting, but your new build is basically what I have recommended. Is this a build that you are getting the parts for separately and then paying someone to assemble or will you assemble yourself?
 
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GamingRobot32 said:
My only comment is, only 8gb ram on the first build? Other then that, that is one beast of a machine.

And in response to ice hearted killer, your limited to 16gb ram on home premium windows 7.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...=vs.85).aspx#physical_memory_limits_windows_7

And a table for the the features in the different versions of windows 7
http://www.neowin.net/images/uploaded/win71.PNG
http://www.neowin.net/images/uploaded/win72.PNG
Click to expand...

I was thinking of vista, apologies.
 
In the process of ordering the second custom build. Can't wait to get my hands on it :D
 
If you haven't already, see how much the cruical m4 128gb or samsung 830 128gb ssd are relative to the kingston you are looking at. Those would definitely be better options though a little more money. However, some great deals have been happening off and on at least in US.
 
I'm your huckleberry said:
If you haven't already, see how much the cruical m4 128gb or samsung 830 128gb ssd are relative to the kingston you are looking at. Those would definitely be better options though a little more money. However, some great deals have been happening off and on at least in US.
Click to expand...

They didn't have any in stock which was annoying. I was looking at getting a much larger SSD overall. M'eh, will see what crops up later.

That said, just placed the order now. Should have it by Friday next week latest. Will post back here my initial thoughts and images too :D
 
It's finally here!!!!

I have started it up and currently installing BF3 as we speak.

So far, it runs incredibly quiet considering the amount of fans present. It has also scored a brilliant 7.9 on the Windows experience thing, while my old PC only just got 4.8 xD

And here are some pics :D

picture.php


picture.php


Edit: Just got off my first game of BF3. Average FPS at full resolution with Ultra settings was 65. GPU Temps under load hit around 67 Celsius (about 31 idle) and CPU was at a cool 52 Celsius throughout (12 Celsius at idle!!!).
 
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