# New Gaming PC - in no rush though



## Gaming rig (Jun 7, 2011)

Hi all,

I currently own a customer built PC but unfortunately it wasn't built by me. I've been very happy with it, it was well built about 3 years ago.

I am now looking for an upgrade now or in the future and will answer the questions in the sticky first:

__________
Budget: How much money are you willing to spend on the new build?
A: around £1200, but I'm not stuck to it, I simply can't afford more than £1500.

Brands: Are there any brands of components you want or don't want?
A: No, but I prefer Intel CPU's

Multitasking: Will you be multitasking with this computer and if so, how much?
A: Not really sure what this is but from what I've read, no.

Gaming: Will you be gaming and if so, how much and how new are the games?
A: Yes, this will be the primary use. I Currently play games like Starcraft 2, Crysis, Supreme commander. I have looked at MMORPG's but nothing has really appealed to me so mostly RTS and FPS. I like the look of new direct x 11 games coming out.

Calculations: Will you be doing any intense calculations or media encoding?
A: no

Overclocking: Do you plan on overclocking and if so, how much?
A: No, but it's something I'm looking to learn how to do in the future.

Storage: How much storage will you need and what will you be storing?
A: I have 1TB on Raid at the moment and thats more than enough (3 500 gb seagates)

Legacy Support: Will you need support for older hardware like parallel, serial, or PS/2 devices?
A: No

Operating System: Do you want Windows XP or Vista, or Linux compatibility?
A: Windows 7 home premium, I'm extremely happy with this.

Case: Do you want help selecting a case and if so, how big do you want it?
A: Yes, my room gets very hot in the summer so cooling has always been an issue, I believe it's something to do with the walls and the way the windows open.

Accessories: Do you want a keyboard, mouse, or other items included?
A: depends on what I pay for the other parts really, I'd like a gaming and keyboard mouse but I consider them a luxury, and would happily wait.

Recycled Components: Will you be reusing any components you already have?
A: The monitor is a strong possibility I own a 20" Dell SP2008WFP which was such an upgrade from my damaged old CRT before.

Monitor: If you want a monitor, what size do you want and should it be widescreen?
A: If it's needed I hear 24inch is the best for gaming, correct me if I'm wrong.

Stores: Do you have any online stores that you prefer to purchase from?
A: Not really, wherever the parts are the cheapest.

Location: What country do you live in?
England.

I realise some questions I haven't answered directly but I'm new to this and have been viewing the youtube video's recommended in the gaming builds thread and also just looking around on other websites to try and see how my system matches up to today's requirements and I feel like I'm to the point where I'm just guessing.

My PC is pretty much in my profile but here goes:

Motherboard: NVIDIA 780i SLi (if there a more accurate description I can't find it.
Graphics Card: GTX GeForce 260 (Not sure of total memory - help)?
Processor: Intel core 2 quadcore Q9450 2.66 ghz (4 cpus)
RAM: 2x2 GB RAM 
PSU: Corsair 750w (not sure of model)
Case: Coolermaster Cosmos
HDD: 3 x 500gb seagate (not sure of model)
a standard DVD player/writer

I saw another topic that relates to my reluctance to build a computer because I'm worried it will go wrong or won't work at all, but I didn't want to hijack his topic. However I'm willing to try I just need to get more knowledge and with that hopefully will come confidence.

My computer building experience is nil but I have observed 1 being built and watched a few video's I have a varied knowledge of different parts through browsing the web.

I've seen the builds in the sticky topic and I've seen there are some brief descriptions of what each 1 is for, but at my level of experience and knowledge, moderate gaming is merely a matter of opinion lol.

P.S can't really see an appropriate section but I'm looking for a gaming headset, it doesn't really need a mic but that would be a nice feature, comfort and sound quality are important, though I'm currently using some old earphones which I fear will give me an eletric shock if I'm not careful so want some idea's asap please!

At this point please quiz me on the remaining information you need.

Thank you very much for any help you can offer.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

Building a pc is not hard, its a bit like a jigsaw puzzle.

First you do not want those nvida boards they are not good enough and some have problems with intel cpus especially if you try to overclock.

Good motherboards are made by Asus and gigabyte. You will have to decide wether you want i3,i5 or i7 CPUs.

Good power supplies are made by corsair (not cx models), seasnoic, xfx and thermaltake (toughpower units only).

Depending on what graphics card you choose will depend on what psu you should get.

Good cases with good airflow are made by Antec, coolermaster and silverstone.

If you decide to overclock you will need an aftermarket cooler, the standard coolers do not cope with overclocking. The trenquillo and titan fenrir are good coolers as are zalman and Tuniq.

Have a look at the recommended builds in the building forum there is one there for the price you are looking at.

I am in the UK and I order all my stuff from Overclockers UK


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## Gaming rig (Jun 7, 2011)

Thanks greenburcelee

I am creating a knowledge base, if you will of useful information. I had no idea the motherboard wasn't that good, and the power supply and cases information is noted.

I have pretty much decided I want an I7. I was looking at the Radeon HD 6950 and 6970 seem to be recommended everywhere I look.

I was under the impression overclockers can be quite expensive, is this wrong?

Thanks again


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

not really their service is great. Most items I have ordered from them have arrived the next day and this ordering after 4pm.

If you want one those cards I would recommend a corsair 850TX especially if your gonna overclock.


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## Gaming rig (Jun 7, 2011)

Okay, I tried converting the $2000 system into overclockers about a week ago and I couldn't do it. 

Some parts were unrecognised, obviously new egg is a great site but it's all the way over the Atlantic lol. Also I noticed just now none of the coolers are from manufacturers you recommend, I only mention this because when it gets hot here, as rare as that can be lol it's caused my system to BSOD in the past, this was on Vista though. Do you think it's worth getting additional coolers?

There's a lot of detail listed on the sites and sometimes a massive jump in price. While I'm sure the information is very useful if you know what you're talking about, I just don't get the intricacies and don't want to pick the wrong thing and be disappointed, and annoyed with myself for doing it.

I'm undecided on the overclocking still, I wouldn't know where to begin, I suppose I need to figure this out before I can make a purchasing decision, does it make a lot of difference? Processors seem to have gotten more complicated than the good old days when you just needed to pretty much know how much GHZ lol.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

I always buy aftermarket coolers even if I dont intend to overclock as I think they provide better cooling. Artic cooling coolers are good too.

for say £1200 you should be able to get the following:

Asus Rampage Extreme III Black Edition Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Limited Edition Motherboard £383.50
(£319.58) £383.50
(£319.58) 
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 480 SUPER OC 1536MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £259.99
(£216.66) £259.99
(£216.66) 
Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz (Bloomfield) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail with FREE Shogun 2 Game £173.99
(£144.99) £173.99
(£144.99) 
Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 850W V2 High Performance Power Supply (CMPSU-850TXV2UK) £106.99
(£89.16) £106.99
(£89.16) 
Corsair Value 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low Voltage Triple-Channel Kit £59.98
(£49.98) £59.98
(£49.98) 
Cooler Master HAF 912 Plus Case - Black £56.99
(£47.49) £56.99
(£47.49) 
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £43.99
(£36.66) £43.99
(£36.66) 
Titan Fenrir Evo CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156//LGA1366/AMD K8/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49) 
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16) 
Sub Total : £946.17 
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £13.75 
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £191.98 
Total : £1,151.90 

This is all from overclockers bare in mind I didn't check the ram compatabilty with the motherboard but it should be ok. check the mobo qvl list on the asus site.


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## Gaming rig (Jun 7, 2011)

Wow!

Thank you so much for going to that trouble. I almost feel bad for asking a couple of questions, but I won't learn otherwise right?

I noticed the motherboard is more than £100 more expensive than the graphics card (The next expensive on the list). Is there any reason for this, because the there not in the recommended builds, what justify's the money?

Secondly, I noticed you've put a GeForce card in there over the Radeon's that seem to be recommended everywhere right now, is there any reason for this? I do seem to remember reading the 480 is a great card also.

I hope you don't view this as a criticism, it's just curiosity, and wanting to know what's gone in and why.

Thanks again!


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

Well the asus board is one of the best on the market at the moment and if you plan to overclock its the best board to use. I prefer asus to gigabyte but thats just me.

Second I prefer nvidia to ati but thats just personal opinion.


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## Gaming rig (Jun 7, 2011)

Thanks mate, I need sometime to digest all this. You have been more than helpful!

If anyone's got any thoughts on the possible monitor, keyboard and mouse please let me know.

Also in the interests of safety anyone know much about gaming headsets? Requirements as in initial post.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

I always use samsung for monitor such as my current one which is a samsung syncmaster 22"


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

You can never go wrong with Samsung. Acer & Asus are also good and usually considerable cheaper.


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## Gaming rig (Jun 7, 2011)

Thank you, I quite like my monitor for now but I've wrote Samsung down for the future.

Can I just ask what you think of this headset?

Roccat Kave 5.1 Surround Sound Headset [ROC-14-500 ]

I need something that's going to be comfortable, good quality sound and noise cancelling. The reviews from others look good but I don't know this brand at all and life/games without music is so dull!

Any thoughts?


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

They are very good headsets.

Logitech and creative labs also do good ones.


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## Gaming rig (Jun 7, 2011)

greenbrucelee said:


> They are very good headsets.
> 
> Logitech and creative labs also do good ones.


Thank you, I've just placed my order!


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

good luck.


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## Gaming rig (Jun 7, 2011)

Absolutely amazing, every detail of these is perfect for me... the sound, the package... thank you so much!! It's like being at movies, but better.

Would recommend to anyone, they've turned a bad day at work around.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

sounds good


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## Johnny1982 (Oct 15, 2010)

I too have a Samsung Monitor (T260) 26inch screen. Amazing. Resolution of 1920x1200 and all the inputs you need. I even have my keyboard and mouse connected via the USB hub on the monitor. Only thing is, it is not conventional 16:9 aspect ratio but rather 16:10, but that's why I bought it and the fact that it was going very cheap.


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