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Thread: New "mid-range" Gaming PC

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    New "mid-range" Gaming PC

    Hi,

    I'm busy planning a purchase of some new PC components as my last PC just blew up on me. I'll be using it primarily for gaming, so I want to build a rig that will let me play current and near- future games at a high quality setting. I'm looking for opinions as to whether tge following setup would be sufficient or if anyone has any improvements for similar costs:

    i5 2500k, overckocked
    Asus P8P67 (normal board)
    8Gb RAM
    MSI GTX 560 Ti

    I can use my old hard drives but would appreciate recommendations on a cooler, PSU and case. Bearing in mind I intend to overckock the CPU.

    Thanks for any help and opinions,

    Charlie

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    Re: New "mid-range" Gaming PC

    It appears my message was caught in a moderation queue and took a while to post.

    So, any gamers like to comment on a decent Case, PSU and Cooler for the CPU. I'm new to overclocking so I'm not sure if it's worth the risk to scrimp on these things? Help appreciated

    Charlie

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    Re: New "mid-range" Gaming PC

    What is your budget??

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    Re: New "mid-range" Gaming PC

    I've not really thought on a budget at the moment. I was hoping to keep things under £500 but as that's gone clean out of the window I'll probably go for the buy now pay in 9 months option at Scan if I can. I'd like to keep it as cost effective as possible, so would like to know what case and psu could handle the spec I'm hoping for to make sure the overclock doesn't overheat the CPU or anything.

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    • CAT-THE-FIFTH's system
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      • OVERSIZED
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    Re: New "mid-range" Gaming PC

    Quote Originally Posted by Charliejaymie View Post
    I've not really thought on a budget at the moment. I was hoping to keep things under £500 but as that's gone clean out of the window I'll probably go for the buy now pay in 9 months option at Scan if I can. I'd like to keep it as cost effective as possible, so would like to know what case and psu could handle the spec I'm hoping for to make sure the overclock doesn't overheat the CPU or anything.
    Can you list the exact specifications of your current build??

    What parts are still working??

    What model is your PSU??

    Do you need a copy of Windows??

    Edit!!

    I listed a £500 build including Windows 7 in this thread:

    http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...ers-guide.html

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    Re: New "mid-range" Gaming PC

    My current build is pretty much completely gone now thanks to the mobo and CPU burning up (a lot of dust and dog hair involved, I'll be making sure I clean regularly from now on) so all I can really salvage is my Hard Drives. I have 4gb of RAM but it is very likely to be rubbish budget stuff as it was dirt cheap a few years back. I have a 9800 GTX in there too, I think that's working okay but I'm certainly going to buy the MSI 560 GTX Ti to replace it.

    In my basket at Scan I have the i5 2500k, Asus P8P67 and the 560 GTX Ti. I'm looking for ideas on what case, psu and cooler would be best in this build for the best value really

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    Re: New "mid-range" Gaming PC

    Quote Originally Posted by Charliejaymie View Post
    My current build is pretty much completely gone now thanks to the mobo and CPU burning up (a lot of dust and dog hair involved, I'll be making sure I clean regularly from now on) so all I can really salvage is my Hard Drives. I have 4gb of RAM but it is very likely to be rubbish budget stuff as it was dirt cheap a few years back. I have a 9800 GTX in there too, I think that's working okay but I'm certainly going to buy the MSI 560 GTX Ti to replace it.

    In my basket at Scan I have the i5 2500k, Asus P8P67 and the 560 GTX Ti. I'm looking for ideas on what case, psu and cooler would be best in this build for the best value really
    Are they SATA hard drives though?? I would probably get a new primary hard disk TBH.

    Unless you really need SLI,I would get a cheaper motherboard. The socket 1155 CPUs are overclocked primarily through increasing the multiplier so a cheaper motherboard would probably do the job.
    Last edited by CAT-THE-FIFTH; 12-03-2011 at 06:37 PM.

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    • CAT-THE-FIFTH's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Less E-PEEN
      • CPU:
      • Massive E-PEEN
      • Memory:
      • RGB E-PEEN
      • Storage:
      • Not in any order
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVEN BIGGER E-PEEN
      • PSU:
      • OVERSIZED
      • Case:
      • UNDERSIZED
      • Operating System:
      • DOS 6.22
      • Monitor(s):
      • NOT USUALLY ON....WHEN I POST
      • Internet:
      • FUNCTIONAL

    Re: New "mid-range" Gaming PC

    With 20 posts you can get free postage from Scan:

    http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...0-07-08-a.html

    The Antec TruePower New 650W and HXG 620W are on Today Only this weekend as are some other parts you maybe interested in:

    http://www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/index.aspx

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    Re: New "mid-range" Gaming PC

    and remember to check the Scan Today Only and Homepage offers - can usually save some money in those. Quite a lot of the bundles feature that CPU and MOBO.

    Agree with Cat re MOBO but if you're looking to have future SLI capability you may want to get the P8P67 Pro to get the 2xPCIe 16 (running at 8,8) for SLI.

    Also the more expensive motherboards tend to offer features such as finer adjustments in voltages etc which can aid overclocking - though as Cat says due to clocks on Sandy Bridge being more by multiplier and less by upping the baseclock, this perhaps matters less here than with older chips. Would love to get my hands on one to find out. Any donations gratefully received

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    Re: New "mid-range" Gaming PC

    The Hard Drives are both SATA, not 6Gb/s but they give me 1.5 TB of space so they're pretty much okay to keep I think?

    I'll not really be needing SLi as I hope a single MSI 560 Ti will do the job for a few years to come. I've noticed the graphics card has about £20 off at Scan this weekend.

    Sorry for sounding a bit noobish here, but what is the difference between Scan's items listed as PSUs and Modular PSUs?

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    Re: New "mid-range" Gaming PC

    Sorry, and what cheaper option mobo would you recommend to fit the i5 2500k and overclock it, along with the 560 GTX Ti? Any recommendations on a decent cooler for the chip to help with overclocking?

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    • ik9000's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P7H55-M/USB3
      • CPU:
      • i7-870, Prolimatech Megahalems, 2x Akasa Apache 120mm
      • Memory:
      • 4x4GB Corsair Vengeance 2133 11-11-11-27
      • Storage:
      • 2x256GB Samsung 840-Pro, 1TB Seagate 7200.12, 1TB Seagate ES.2
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB SuperOverClocked
      • PSU:
      • NZXT Hale 90 750w
      • Case:
      • BitFenix Survivor + Bitfenix spectre LED fans, LG BluRay R/W optical drive
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 Professional
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell U2414h, U2311h 1920x1080
      • Internet:
      • 200Mb/s Fibre and 4G wifi

    Re: New "mid-range" Gaming PC

    can a mod move this to the hardware section? We'll probably get more contributions from people in there.

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    • ik9000's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P7H55-M/USB3
      • CPU:
      • i7-870, Prolimatech Megahalems, 2x Akasa Apache 120mm
      • Memory:
      • 4x4GB Corsair Vengeance 2133 11-11-11-27
      • Storage:
      • 2x256GB Samsung 840-Pro, 1TB Seagate 7200.12, 1TB Seagate ES.2
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB SuperOverClocked
      • PSU:
      • NZXT Hale 90 750w
      • Case:
      • BitFenix Survivor + Bitfenix spectre LED fans, LG BluRay R/W optical drive
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 Professional
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell U2414h, U2311h 1920x1080
      • Internet:
      • 200Mb/s Fibre and 4G wifi

    Re: New "mid-range" Gaming PC

    Quote Originally Posted by Charliejaymie View Post
    The Hard Drives are both SATA, not 6Gb/s but they give me 1.5 TB of space so they're pretty much okay to keep I think?
    Yup, I don't think Cat was saying get rid of them, just it will prob give a better result to get a new system drive - ie the drive you put the operating system on. If you can afford it an SSD (60GB + Sandforce controller) will work well for this, if not Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB (approx £35) is the best of the bunch performance-capacity-cost wise. If you prefer slightly quieter but still reasonable performance the Seagate 7200.12 1TB is also not bad (though not as fast as the F3).

    Quote Originally Posted by Charliejaymie View Post
    I'll not really be needing SLi as I hope a single MSI 560 Ti will do the job for a few years to come. I've noticed the graphics card has about £20 off at Scan this weekend.
    The 560 Ti is a sweet card - and one will be fine for now. I run one 460 and it is completely fine at 1920x1080 (yet to try crysis on it though)

    I tend to look to have the option of adding a second card in the future when the prices have dropped so look for SLI boards for that reason. It's personal preference though.


    Quote Originally Posted by Charliejaymie View Post
    Sorry for sounding a bit noobish here, but what is the difference between Scan's items listed as PSUs and Modular PSUs?
    Modular PSUs have cables that detach - so you only install the cables you need. Makes the inside of your case less cluttered (better airflow). Go modular. Look for a PSU around the 550W - 700W mark for it to operate at optimum efficiency. Also try and get at least a gold efficiency rated PSU.
    The NZXT Hale 90 550W or 650W (if you want to install a lot of HDD, SLI and Overclock) are both very good modular PSUs (check the 550W, it might not be modular thinking about it). The Corsair HX650W has a strong following here, and many happy users, though it's only bronze efficiency. Both types are often in the Scan Today Only Offers at least one day a week.

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    Re: New "mid-range" Gaming PC

    Thanks for all the help so far, any chance this can get moved to the hardware section?

    Also, does the case matter that much in reality? For cooling I mean.

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    Re: New "mid-range" Gaming PC

    There's a very similar system on sale in Today Only at Scan
    Society's to blame,
    Or possibly Atari.

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    RIP Peterb ik9000's Avatar
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    • ik9000's system
      • Motherboard:
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      • CPU:
      • i7-870, Prolimatech Megahalems, 2x Akasa Apache 120mm
      • Memory:
      • 4x4GB Corsair Vengeance 2133 11-11-11-27
      • Storage:
      • 2x256GB Samsung 840-Pro, 1TB Seagate 7200.12, 1TB Seagate ES.2
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB SuperOverClocked
      • PSU:
      • NZXT Hale 90 750w
      • Case:
      • BitFenix Survivor + Bitfenix spectre LED fans, LG BluRay R/W optical drive
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 Professional
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell U2414h, U2311h 1920x1080
      • Internet:
      • 200Mb/s Fibre and 4G wifi

    Re: New "mid-range" Gaming PC

    Quote Originally Posted by Charliejaymie View Post
    Sorry, and what cheaper option mobo would you recommend to fit the i5 2500k and overclock it, along with the 560 GTX Ti? Any recommendations on a decent cooler for the chip to help with overclocking?
    If you can bare waiting the Z series motherboards come out in a month or two and rumours are they be better than the P series - won't limit you to choosing between onboard graphics or external graphics and whether you can or can't overclock you CPU at the same time...

    Cooler, my money would go to the Megahalems though it is one of the more pricey. you'll also need to get at least one good 120mm PWM fan to go with it. I use the Akasa Apache and it's quiet and I'm very happy with it.

    What's your budget? Much easier for us all to suggest something when we know the price you're working to.

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