Help me with buying a new PC please

I'm a hardcore gamer, so I want good graphics and smooth gameplay.

I don't play with max settings, I use the most FPS-efficient without sacrificing any graphics that would improve my in-game capabilities (if you go too low, for example, you are at a disadvantage with blobby textures)

I was thinking that I would have to spend £2500 in order to have the latest and best technology...

But maybe I'm wrong?

I really like the overclocking and professionality offered at cyberpowersystems.co.uk so I've been building machines on there and I realized that for £2500 I can get the ATI 4870 on an i7 920 with 3gig of DDR ram... This package includes 24" monitor, mx518 mouse, keyboard, Razer gaming headset, Far Cry 2, mouse pad, 1300w psu... etc etc....

But is it really cost-effective to spend £2500?

I understand I can build one for £1000 that will play todays' games...

But then 2 years from now I will have to buy a brand new system, won't I?

Isn't it better if I spend a lot on a system that is overclocked, wired professionally, and cutting-edge?

With the latest Mobo, I will only have to replace my video card, RAM, and perhaps Processor in 2 years time in order to keep up... or at least that's what I am thinking...

I really need some help on this, from the ground up... with a good perspective attached...

If I get the i7 920, overclocked, and everything I mentioned, this rig should withstand the next line of games and then some... And like I said, if the processor is at all weak in a few years, I can merely upgrade it, while still having this amazing cooling system, etc...

Whereas if I go with a £1000 rig, then the cooling/tower/psu/mobo/etc... may be low quality and I'll just have to buy a completely new PC in two years time...

Is this analysis of mine correct?

i7 920 overclocked would outperform the E8600, correct???

I look forwards to feedback! Thanks!


[EDIT: here are the specs, as follows:]

http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk

Case: Antec Twelve Hundred Ultimate Gamer 420W Case with Side Window
Lights & Illumination: NONE
Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Maximum Case Cooling Fans for your selected case, and match the colour of the fans already in the case
Power Supply Upgrade: 1000 Watts Power Supplies (CoolerMaster Real Power PRO 1000W Modular PSU SLI Ready)
CPU: (Quad-Core)Intel® Core™ i7 920 @ 2.66GHz 8 MB cache LGA1366 ***Overclockable XXX***
Overclocking Service: S& S (Safe and stable overclock 10% to 20%)
Cooling Fan: Cyberpower Advanced WaterCooling Kit (Including Radiator, Pumping, Reservoir, CPU Block, Tubing, and Coolant) ***Overclockable XXX***
Motherboard: Asus P6T Deluxe Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Mainboard SAS Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA RAID w/ eSATA, Dual GbLAN, USB2.0, IEEE1394a, &7.1Audio ***Overclockable XXX***
Memory: (Req.DDR3 MainBoard)(3x2GB) PC12800 DDR3/1600mhz Triple Channel Memory (G.SKILL PI Series w/Heat Spreader ***Overclockable XXX***)
VGA Power Supply: NONE
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 4870 PCI-E x16 512MB DDR5 Video Card
Video Card 2: NONE
Video Card 3: NONE
Monitor & LCD: 24& quot; TFT Active Matrix LCD Display (Samsung SM2443BW 24& quot; 5MS Wide LCD Display DVI Monitor)
2nd Monitor: NONE
Hard Drive: High Performance with Data Security (RAID-1) with 2 Identical Hard Drives (2TB (1TBx2) SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
Data Hard Drive: NONE
Hard Drive Cooler: None
Optical Drive: SONY DUAL FORMAT 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (SILVER COLOR)
Optical Drive 2: NONE
Sound: Creative Labs X-FI Xtreme Gamer 7.1 PCI Sound Card
Speakers: Logitech X-240 2.1 Configuration Speakers System
Network: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
MODEM: NONE
Keyboard: Razer Tarantula™ Gaming Keyboard
Mouse: Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical PS2/USB Mouse
Extra Thermal Display : NONE (AS SHOWN)
Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: D-LINK DWL G520 Super G 108Mbps PCI Adapter
Wireless 802.11B/G Access Point: NONE
Flash Media Reader/Writer: None
Cable Wiring: Professional Wiring for All WIRINGs Inside The System Chasis with High Performance Thermal Compound on CPU
Cables: None
Video Camera: NONE
Power Surge Protection: Belkin 6-Socket Surge Protector
IEEE Card: NONE
USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
USB Portable Drive: NONE
Floppy: NONE
OS: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium w/ Service Pack 1 (64-bit Edition)

1000w PSU is probably a bit excessive for what your proposing there, if you do intend to go for multiple GFX cards it might be worth it?

Also the Antec 1200 has great airflow, I'm not sure how much of an advantage the watercooling kit would be.

If you want to spend £2500 then that's a pretty good system to spend it on, however, as you suspect, you could get a system for £1000 that would do an equally good job at gaming (especially since you're only looking at a single 24" monitor).

If you spend £1000 now then you might have to spend some more in a year to keep it right at the cutting edge (though you'll probably be able to get away with not upgrading for longer than that).

If you spend £2500 now you'll still be in a position where there's something better and more expensive in a years time but you'll be £1500 down.

As for self building vs pre built, it's not at all hard if you're willing to research what you're doing and you'll get a great sense of satisfaction. On the other hand, if you don't trust in your own abilities then buying pre built from a reputable supplier will offer you a solid guarantee.

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Isn't it better if I spend a lot on a system that is overclocked, wired professionally, and cutting-edge?

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Cable Wiring: Professional Wiring for All WIRINGs Inside The System Chasis with High Performance Thermal Compound on CPU

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Professional wiring only means it'll be tidy, any fool could plug the components in and have a reasonable expectation that they'll work! And overclocking isn't exactly the dark art that it used to be so long as you know what you're doing and what are reasonable limits.

There is no way on this planet that rig is worth £2500.

It even has a Coolermaster PSU..............so i no shape or form is it 'top spec'.

If you want a pre-built system take a look at Scans 3XS systems or Yoyotech's offerings. Both make nice pre-builts that have won various awards from PC magazines. I have an Intel Viper from Yoyotech and its been great.

Can you please post some specs that are good and upgradable in the future?

I think I would like an i7 because then I won't have to upgrade my mobo in the future...

I know I don't like spending £2500 but it's very hard not to for me... I need monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc etc... it all adds up...

Please help me I'm going crazy... I've looked at so many machines, done so much research, tried to get the absolute best features possible, and I get laughed at for how ridiculously expensive and pathetic this rig is... I don't know what to do! :( helpppp

Okay I built a 3xs... Guess what? It's just as expensive, but not as good! How can you say the one I built is such crap and then point to 3xs??? Unless I'm missing something???

Final Price inc VAT: £2451.64

Custom Coloured Cases: *No Custom Colour Required*
Case: Antec Twelve Hundred Case
CPU: Intel i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4.8GT s QPI 8MB Cache Retail
CPU Coolers: Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme 120mm Heat Sink Fan
Overclocking: 3XS System Core-Logic Overclocking*10 - 20%*
Memory: 6GB (3x2GB) Corsair Dominator DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600) CAS 8-8-8-24
NVIDIA Graphics - Multi GPU SLI Options Available: *No NVIDIA VGA Card Required* (ATI Required)
ATI Graphics - Multi GPU Crossfire Options Available: 1GB PowerColor HD 4870 3600MHz GDDR5 750MHz GPU 800 Cores
Power Supply Unit: 1000W Corsair HX Series Modular (Dual Graphics Cards SLI Crossfire)
System Drives: 640 GB Samsung HD642JJ Spinpoint F1 7200 rpm 16MB Cache
Storage Hard drives: 640 GB Samsung HD642JJ Spinpoint F1 7200 rpm 16MB Cache
Solid State Drives: *Solid State Drive Not Required*
Floppy Drive Flash Card Readers & Writers: Akasa 3.5" Internal Multi Memory Card reader & USB 2.0 Port
DVD Writer: *DVD Writer Not Required*
Blu Ray Reader Writer: *Blu Ray Not Required*
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional
Gaming Network Card: KillerNIC M1 Network Card with 400Mhz Processing Unit
Internal External (USB) Wireless Adaptors: *Wireless Adaptor Not Required*
Case Cooling Fans: *After Market Fans Not Required - Use Fans Included with Case*
Lighting Effects: *Lighting Effects Not Required*
Operating system: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64Bit
Software - Application: MS OFFICE 2007 - 25 Usage 60 Day TRIAL Basic SBE & Professional
Software - DVD Blu Ray Decoding: Cyberlink Power DVD V7
Software - Security: *No Software Required*
Software - Hottest PC Games: *No Software Required*
TFT Monitor: 24" Samsung SM2443BW Black Widescreen LCD 1920x1200 1000:1
Gaming Keyboard : Razer Lycosa "Unstoppable" Gaming Keyboard
Gaming Mouse Option: Logitech G5 Laser Mouse - 2000dpi
Gaming Mouse Mat: Razer DESTRUCTOR Mouse Pad
Speakers: Logitech X-240 2.1 Speaker System
Extended Warranty: Standard 3XS System Warranty

I can see your point about buying an i7 so you don't have to in the future but they're so stupidly expensive at the moment for relatively little gain (expect in heavily multithreaded environments - which games aren't) that you'd be much better off getting a much cheaper Core 2 now and buying an i7 in 18 months once the prices have become reasonable.

If you time it right you should be able to do that in the same budget that you're planning to spend now, and you'll end up with a faster PC at the end!

Well the thing is... the price is the same, really, between the i7 920 and the E8600... There's no difference in price from the website I'm at...

Damn I wish someone would just link me to a great amazing gaming PC that's future-upgradable, with good cooling and everything, monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, sound card, etc...

People keep saying, "Oh thats overpriced," and they say goto scan but when I go then they cost the same LOL

absurd... im so confused...

someone please help :(

Robscure

Give me a shout at Scan I will talk you though an order or PM your contact details and I will call you.

Regards

As an idea of an alternative to i7 with significantly improved graphics capabilities.
I have not included a monitor or speakers as they are very personal I included a mouse and keyboard but they are about the most expensive you could buy so the price is likely to go down not up.

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/5...basket3pv9.jpg

Oh and the 3XS price is more because you have loads of the more expensive options selected like the better sound card and the NIC card (which is pointless btw)

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Originally Posted by Robscure

I think I would like an i7 because then I won't have to upgrade my mobo in the future...

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Then you will be disappointed!

The chances that your motherboard will accept newer i7 CPUs that are released 12-18 months from now, are very slim.

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Originally Posted by Robscure

I think I would like an i7 because then I won't have to upgrade my mobo in the future...

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just out of interest... define 'future' cos nothing in the world of pcs is futureproof.

to put it in context, my pc was last upgraded about 2-3 years go. i am still running a P4 (not even dual core) with an AGP graphics card (a 6600 of some description, cant remember what)

unless i intend to play the latest games, mines futureproof....
but saying that, i want to upgrade my graphics card, so a new mobo is required, and cpu, and ram, and psu...

like i said, nothing is futureproof. it depends how long you want to put off the next updgrade....

oh, just one more thing (now i sound like columbo), if i was to spend £2500 on a pc, i would want at least 2 graphics cards in there... but thats just me :)

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Originally Posted by Paulm@scan

Robscure

Give me a shout at Scan I will talk you though an order or PM your contact details and I will call you.

Regards

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Thanks a lot, I would like to talk to you... I'll PM you on here, but you can give me an email to write to you at also.

Sorted you should have my direct email address now.
Regards

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Originally Posted by Paulm@scan

Sorted you should have my direct email address now.
Regards

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Sorry for the delay, I just wrote to you via e-mail.

Thanks,
-Robert