Gaming PC + Monitor £1600

[Semtax]

I have been tasked with helping my mate make up his new PC. He will be using it purely for gaming and maybe screen recording some games i think? I havent been in the market for new PC components since i built mine around a year and a half ago so im out of touch with the latest CPUs and Monitors.

If anyone has any recommendations for a £1300 to £1600 budget for the desktop and monitor id appreciate it

The only thing he has his eye on so far is a Fractal Define R4 case the rest is open to be whatever I (or you) suggest.

 

[Addicted]

1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7970 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games£299.99
1 x Intel Core i7-3820 3.60GHz (Sandybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - OEM £235.99
1 x Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD256BW) £189.95
1 x Gigabyte X79-UD3 Intel X79 (Socket 2011) DDR3 Motherboard £169.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST3000DM001) HDD £113.99
1 x Seasonic G series 650w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £99.98
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD316GB1600C11DC) **OcUK Exclusive** £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H80i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1155 / LGA1156 / LGA1366 / LGA2011/ AM2 / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £76.98
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £1,386.84 (includes shipping : £10.00).

Add a monitor of your choice, I think monitors are a very personal thing (either IPS or TN panels), but a 120hz like one of the BenQ's would be a good shout.

Don't think I've missed anything!

 

[Andy.]

Are the 7970s worth the extra over the 7950s?

 

[Wilkeh]

If you're spending that sort of money wouldn't you want the better version?

 

[Semtax]

Cheers Addicted. Would the i7 be worth it over an over clocked i5?

Ive just had a chat with him there and he will probably transfer over his OS and hard drive (1TB HDD) from the old PC so ill put those savings towards a 27inch IPS panel of some kind.

 

[Andy.]

Depends on whether it makes a difference. I am hovering on the order button of a 7970 but a couple of tests I've read only give it a few more FPS... I could save £40 and go for the 7950. I haven't really read into it, so was curious if there was more to the 7970.

 

[Addicted]

Personally I'd say go for a i5 (unless you're video editting or something that's CPU intensive, the i7 is a waste of money), but make sure you go X79 if you do so you can upgrade CPU's later on if you wish (new ones out Q3 I believe).

In terms of GPU, I'd say why not for 7950 -> 7970 - if you're spending that much it makes sense to, or alternatively crossfire 2x 7950's. (Though I had 2 7970's in crossfire and suffered majorly with microstutter so sold one).

Depends if you're going to overclock it, a 7950 will reach 7970 speeds, however obviously a 7970 overclocked will reach beyond that, so depends how far you want to go.

 

[Semtax]

[TABLE="width: 827"]
[TR]
[TH="colspan: 2"]Product Name[/TH]
[TH]Qty[/TH]
[TH]Price[/TH]
[TH]Line Total[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]Dell UltraSharp U2713HM 27" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£439.99
(£366.66)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£439.99
(£366.66)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]"Intel Extreme Masters Z77" Intel Core i5 3570K 3.40GHz @ 4.40GHz DDR3 OC Bundle[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£404.99
(£337.49)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£404.99
(£337.49)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: basket_option, bgcolor: #EEEEEE"]
[TD="colspan: 2"]Options applied to the above product:
Standard Build Systems - Approximately 5-7 working days[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£0.00
(£0.00)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£0.00
(£0.00)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7970 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£323.99
(£269.99)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£323.99
(£269.99)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD256BW)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£209.99
(£174.99)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£209.99
(£174.99)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]Corsair Enthusiast Series TX850M High Performance 850W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020041-UK)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£114.98
(£95.82)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£114.98
(£95.82)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]Silverstone Kublai KL04 Midi Tower Case - Black (SST-KL04B)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£72.98
(£60.82)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£72.98
(£60.82)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£18.98
(£15.82)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£18.98
(£15.82)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: totalRow"]
[TD="colspan: 2, align: center"] [/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: right"]Sub Total :[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]£1,321.59[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: totalRow"]
[TD="colspan: 3, align: right"]Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout)[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: right"]Shipping :[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]£22.20[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: totalRow"]
[TD="colspan: 3, align: right"]VAT is being charged at 20.00%[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: right"]VAT :[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]£268.76[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 3, align: center"] [/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #666666, align: right"]Total :[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #666666, align: center"]£1,612.55

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


Thats a rough spec so far with an i5 instead an i7 cpu and a placeholder for the case.

 

[Wilkeh]

Honestly mate I can't recommend this PC case enough - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-087-BX&groupid=2362&catid=1850 - I bought it yesterday and it's absolutely brilliant. It's completely silent!

 

[Semtax]

Honestly mate I can't recommend this PC case enough - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-087-BX&groupid=2362&catid=1850 - I bought it yesterday and it's absolutely brilliant. It's completely silent!

I like that. Looks nice and tidy ill have a look into its specs now. Whats it like space wise?

This is the current one he had his eye on as i built a computer for someone else with it not too long ago.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/frac...a-low-noise-performancecase-usb-30-140mm-fans

 

[RTSportdTi]

Honestly mate I can't recommend this PC case enough - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-087-BX&groupid=2362&catid=1850 - I bought it yesterday and it's absolutely brilliant. It's completely silent!

I second this =]
Hot Swap bay is handy too!

 

[Semtax]

We did a lot of swapping and trading of different parts and finally ordered this. Decided to buy windows 7 again as well as a big 3TB HDD and sell off the old one with his previous PC.

[TABLE="width: 827"]
[TR]
[TH="colspan: 2"]Product Name[/TH]
[TH]Qty[/TH]
[TH]Price[/TH]
[TH]Line Total[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW Signature 2 2048MB PCI-Express Graphics Card (02G-P4-3677-KR) with FREE Assassin's Creed III & FTP Currency[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£329.99
(£274.99)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£329.99
(£274.99)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£227.99
(£189.99)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£227.99
(£189.99)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£187.99
(£156.66)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£187.99
(£156.66)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]Plextor M5 Pro 256GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-256M5P)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£185.99
(£154.99)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£185.99
(£154.99)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]MSI Z77 MPower Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 ATX Motherboard with FREE F1 RC Car & MSI HDD Enclosure[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£139.99
(£116.66)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£139.99
(£116.66)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]Corsair Professional Series AX850 High Performance 850W Modular '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply (CMPSU-850AXUK)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£124.99
(£104.16)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£124.99
(£104.16)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]NZXT Phantom Enthusiast USB3.0 Full Tower Case - Black[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£109.99
(£91.66)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£109.99
(£91.66)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST3000DM001) HDD[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£92.99
(£77.49)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£92.99
(£77.49)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£79.99
(£66.66)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£79.99
(£66.66)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]TT eSports Challenger Pro Gaming Keyboard[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£47.99
(£39.99)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£47.99
(£39.99)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]Akasa AK-CC4008HP01 Venom Voodoo CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£44.99
(£37.49)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£44.99
(£37.49)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£39.95
(£33.29)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£39.95
(£33.29)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]

[/TD]
[TD]Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM[/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£20.99
(£17.49)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]£20.99
(£17.49)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: totalRow"]
[TD="colspan: 2, align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: right"]Sub Total :[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]£1,361.52[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: totalRow"]
[TD="colspan: 3, align: right"]Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout)[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: right"]Shipping :[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]£22.20[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: totalRow"]
[TD="colspan: 3, align: right"]VAT is being charged at 20.00%[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: right"]VAT :[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]£276.74[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 3, align: center"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #666666, align: right"]Total :[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #666666, align: center"]£1,660.46
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[Wilkeh]

Have you already ordered? Personally mate if it's a gaming PC there's a few bits I would of changed, mainly a 120hz monitor. The difference in gaming on a 60hz compared to a 120hz is like night and day.

 

[Addicted]

Looks tidy, and a nice allround monitor (though as above I'd have gone for a 120hz BenQ), but the specs look good.

 

[Gray]

As said above, I would have gone for a 120hz display for a gaming machine...

And do people still buy Windows

 

[Semtax]

When it came down to the monitor it was more to do with what we notice when we are not looking for problems. 120hz is smoother but I feel its something you dont really notice until you point it out to yourself.
I bought a 120hz 1080p BenQ a few years back to try it out (mainly for nVidia 3D). Regretted it within a day. Awful colours, build quality, annoying aspec ratio and the colours bleed around the edge which was noticeable to me all of the time.

I had it setup next to this and it looked complete w**k :dead:

 

[Uncle_Gravy]

If I had that budget, i'd get myself a very tidy 3930k rig for that, but that's me, I do alot of video editing and gaming (and recording).

But I only had £700 so a 3770k had to do.

But if its just for gaming and the general browsing, a i5 3570k overclocked will last for years, with a 7950 (And add another one when the time comes when you think its lacking).

That or get very cheap parts and a GTX Titan :rasp: