Buying (Or building) a decent gaming PC

[DeludedGuy]

I would change the motherboard and get a 785G chip with DDR3, I know there isn’t much performance difference right now, but there isn’t exactly much price difference either, and who knows in a years time how good that DDR3 will perform.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-M4A785TD-M-EVO

[Zhaoman]

CAT's system will happily chew through any of the games you have listed and then some so rest assured that you are getting a beast of a machine. One change I would make though, if your budget can stretch, is getting a nicer looking case because the case, psu, etc will form the basis of your pc for the next few years and all you will need to do is upgrade gpu/HD so getting a good looking case would be one of my priorities. Of course tastes vary but here's a selection of what's available:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Coole...nt-Fan-w-o-PSU

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/CM-St...o-PSU-(Gaming)

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Lian-...uminium-Silver

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Hiper...loy-Case-Black

The 300 case in CAT's build is a very good case for the money, these are just some other suggestions if you have the cash

[Phage]

CAT's build is top notch for all of those games and more. It will also upgrade nicely when prices drop to other GPUs if you feel the need.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

If the OP does want to go with DDR3 then I would go with the Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/GIGAB...770T-UD3P-MOBO

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-%...ered-CAS-9-DHX

I would run the RAM at 1333mhz using lower latencies.

The AM3 route does offer better potential upgrades in the future but TBH it is hard to say whether in 2011 AMD will shift to a new socket layout even.

[opel80uk]

I would run the RAM at 1333mhz using lower latencies.

Is that something I would need to do myself or does it do that automatically? And just for my own info, what's the rationale behind this?

Thanks again.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Is that something I would need to do myself or does it do that automatically? And just for my own info, what's the rationale behind this?

Thanks again.

You just need to adjust the settings in the BIOS. The memory controller in AMD CPUs is more sensitive to lower latencies than higher RAM speeds currently.

[Pob255]

One thing I'd say about the graphics is it depends on the resolution/size of your monitor.

if your using a 19" or below / 1440x900 or 1280x1024 resolution, then an ati 4770 maybe a better graphics card for you
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...5-21149-00-20R

However with the current prices of the 4850 and 4870 they are worth the little extra if you're on a larger monitor or are planning to upgrade your monitor.

Also if you're concerned about graphics card temps then consider the Sapphire VAPOR-X HD4850 512MB for £90.74, the cooler on this is very good.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161309
Not quite as fast as the 4870 but for the games you've listed that shouldn't be any sort of issue.

[Pob255]

On the Case, looks are a very personal thing so it's not easy to say.
Personally I love the "psu at the bottom" layout that is becoming popular

The Antec 300 is very hard to beat in trems of build quality and design for the price.

For a slightly cheaper option, the Silverstone Precision PS02B
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Silve...r-Case-w-o-PSU
This case seems to have been overlooked/under rated by reviews, it's not the very high quality of SilverStone's top end cases which the few reviews have focused on, however compair it to the antec 300 and it stacks up well.

If you're prepaired to spend more then consider the Lian-Li PC60F or PC7FB
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Lian-...luminium-Black
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Lian-...luminium-Black
Both are high quality Aluminium cases, still mid tower sized. For what you're putting in it you don't really need anything larger than a mid tower.

[opel80uk]

Hi Guys

Well I've finally got round to ordering all the kit. I'm going for CAT's 2nd suggestion (the one with the Phenom II X4 955BE) and was going to order the HD4870 512mb and came across the 1Gb version which is an extra 24 quid. My question is whether the extra outlay is worth the extra benifits, if indeed there is any extra benefit with my system specs?

As always, thanks for your help.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Hi Guys

Well I've finally got round to ordering all the kit. I'm going for CAT's 2nd suggestion (the one with the Phenom II X4 955BE) and was going to order the HD4870 512mb and came across the 1Gb version which is an extra 24 quid. My question is whether the extra outlay is worth the extra benifits, if indeed there is any extra benefit with my system specs?

As always, thanks for your help.

For around £10 more the 1gb version is worth it but not for £24 more IMHO!! The 1gb version will enable a few extra settings to be enabled in more taxing games but TBH,I would save the money towards a newer graphics card in the future with games which the HD4870 cannot handle.

Make sure that you check the Scan Today Only,Shop Offers and Homepage Offers web-pages too for special offers:

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

http://www.scan.co.uk/ShopOffers/Index.aspx

http://www.scan.co.uk/Shops/Homepage..._icmp=7Uz238zS

Make sure you get the Gigabyte MA770-UD3 revision two motherboard:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigab...D3-Motherboard

Do not get this one:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigab...-SATA-RAID-ATX

[opel80uk]

Hello all

I'm gathering all the bits and bobs that CAT suggested (Listed Below) and have most of it ordered except the RAM and PSU which I am going to order now. I noticed however that Corsair RAM and a variety of PSU are in the buy now section so was wondering if anyone thought there was a bargain to be picked up. If not I'll crack on with ordering the originally suggested RAM and PSU.

Thanks muchly!


Phenom II X4 955BE ~ £140
Gigabyte MA770-UD3 revision 2 ~ £54
4gb PC2-8500 DDR2 RAM ~ £46
Antec 300 case ~ £45
Corsair HX450W 450w modular PSU ~£59
Samsung F1 1tb ~£54
SATA DVD rewriter ~ £13
HD4870 512mb ~ £90

[Simon.The.Sloth]

Hi everyone I'm new!

Firstly, Im sorry for digging this thread back up, but its one of the main reasons I'v joined this forum! (and im too scared to make my own thread on almost the exact same subject )

Im jumping right in the deep end with my first build and designing it around the specs in this thread provided by CAT!

Iv been looking at pre-built systems for weeks now with similar specs and the more I look at the low quality parts the more its convinced me building my own is the way to go.

So I got these specs so far:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 BlackEdition, Sok AM3, 3.2GHz, 8MB Total Cache, 125W, Retail - £135.69

650W TX Corsair PSU, single 12V rail, energy efficient, quiet & cool, fully compatible, 5yr warranty - £72.05

Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P , AMD 770, AM3, PCI-E 2.0(x16), DDR3 1666(OC), SATA 3Gb/s, SATA RAID, ATX - £67.84

4GB (2x2GB) Corsair XMS3 Dominator DDR3, PC3-12800 (1600), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9, DHX - £74.89

1GB Sapphire HD 4890 Vapor-X, PCI-E 2.0, 4200MHz GDDR5, GPU 870MHz, 800 Cores, DVI/ D-Sub/ HDMI/ DP - £155.77

Coolermaster CM-690 V2 Dominator Black Midi Tower Case with Mesh Top Panel w/o PSU - £60.36

1TB Samsung HD103UJ Spinpoint F1, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache, 8.9 ms, NCQ - £55.76

Sony AD-7240S-0B 24x DVD±R, 12xDVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RWx6 ,12xRAM SATA, Black, OEM - £16.55


total: £638.91 (inc. vat)


So Im hoping somone would be kind enough to offer advice on if I messed/mixed up any of these parts or if there are better / more cost effective alternatives?

I'm also looking for an alternative to the GA-MA770T-UD3P motherboard, one with crossfire? This is also why I added the 650 watt PSU. Is that enough should I ever want to add a second graphics card?

Also do I need to purchase any cooling gear? A heatsink for the psu, I'm asuming one comes with it? (Im not going to overclock).

I would also like to know how opel80uk getting on building his system if your reading this

[Zhaoman]

With regards to the motherboard:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-...SATA-3Gb-s-ATX

That offers two x16 pci-e slots for all the crossfiring action you'll ever want (and probably won't need imho )

And I'm always one for modular PSUs:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/520W-...-year-warranty

Helps keep it nice and tidy, helps airflow too.

One thing though, I would not get the 4890 at this moment in time because you can have a 4870 for under £100 now and there isn't a huge performance difference between the two. You can even get two 4850s and have them in crossfire for £150 which would destroy the 4890 in terms of performance. Oh and DX11 cards are just round the corner. Just a thought

Otherwise the build looks awesome and I'd be happy to go ahead with it.

edit: oh and in case you were wondering, the 520w psu will handle crossfire with room to spare.

edit2: ahhh cooler!

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Arcti...p-to-130-Watts!

Cheap and cheerful and gets the job done!

[Domestic_Ginger]

Fosty tech rates the stock AMD cooler quite highly in thermal performance but less so with noise. The hot air is expelled over the mobo so decent case airflow would be a good idea. You can always upgrade later if the you find out they are lying!

The 4870s start at £94 at novatech starting with one and getting a cross fire setup in the future. The 4850 setup sounds like great idea.

There is good roundup here; I think I just like the infrared images§

[aeonf242]

This looks quite good:

Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache
£58

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173804

The Samsung Spinpoint drive offers a superior combination of density, recording quality and reliability. It also features Samsung's industry-leading NoiseGuard and SilentSeek‚ technologies to eliminate acoustic noise. Servers, high-end desktops, RAID systems and DVRs are among the applications well suited to the Spinpoint drive.

[Pob255]

There is good roundup here; I think I just like the infrared images§

That's a really intresting round up and the thermal images show something very important
That being that while so many coolers are focused on the gpu the power required by these cards is reaching the point where a simple aluminium heat sink stuck on the PWM chips is just not enough.
(I've actually noticed a simular thing on my 9800gtx, the back of the pcb where the PWM chips are gets very toasty)
I'm surprised that no one has run a heat pipe down to the PWM chips yet.
And why are so many still running 80mm fans when they could eaisly fit a 92mm on there, the fan cost shouldn't be majorly different and the extra air/reduced noise would be worth it.

Considering the size of the cpu coolers we stick on, I'm still surprised at how small gpu coolers are, high end gpu's and their PWM curcits are getting ever closer to puting out just as much heat as a cpu.