Proposed New PC

**Durruti1936** · November 03, 2012, 06:26 PM

My existing PC is about 5 years old (built around an Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz) so I'm looking to get something new. Having built my own for the last 15 years I've had enough of all the hassle and, with some cash available, want to use a custom PC building supplier.

Here's my proposed build:

Intel Core i7 3770K 8MB Cache Socket 1155
Asus Sabertooth Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) Motherboard
Antec KUHLER H2O 920 Liquid CPU Cooler
8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1866MHz C9 Dual Channel Memory Kit (2 x 4GB)
nVidia GeForce GTX 680 2048MB GDDR5 PCI Express Graphics Card
Corsair Force Series 3 120GB SATA III 6Gb/s Solid-State Hard Drive
Seagate 1TB Barracuda 64MB Cache SATA III Hard Disk Drive
Corsair CX600 600W Power Supply
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCI-E
Fractal Define R4 Black Case

quoted at £1502 inc VAT by one supplier.

Not being up-to-date with the current SSD plus HD thing I'm assuming I wouldn't load games like TW:S2 on the SSD given that the game is about 25-30GB currently?

What do those in the know think?

Cheers,
Mike

**Bolkonsky** · November 03, 2012, 07:07 PM

I would wait for Haswell and the next series of graphics cards. They're only a few months out now. Haswell will be here anytime between March and June, and the next high-end AMD and Nvidia cards should be coming out by then.

**Totalheadache** · November 03, 2012, 07:12 PM

Perhaps a beefier psu if you are planning on running sli/xfire at some point.

Also i'd hold off getting a 680 until new cards are out. Perhaps xmas for amd and then spring for nvidia is a rough guess.

Apart from that cant see much wrong.

Some peeps have a smallish ssd for os and then a 1tb for storage for games etc. But then I was under the impression it was best to run your games off the faster drive so ideally x2 ssd's.

Atm I have 300gb and a tb hard drive. My primary is almost full with around ten games installed. (just about large enough...the second drive is always 1/4 full...yeah not the most economical...guess i could go on a download bonanza soon).

fractal design case? mmm i'd need to check that out. i like the corsair obisidian most atm, i'd like to swap it for my hafx (although hafx has been great esp with my build, radiators internal etc etc). if you do go watercooling at some point bear in mind some cases might be worth steering clear of.

**richardsharpe** · November 04, 2012, 02:11 AM

CPU is overkill (a bunch of my friends are maxing out anything with a 3570k, which is the best option these days). RAM is overkill. I'd get a bigger SSD (especially if you are a total war guy).

**Totalheadache** · November 04, 2012, 06:53 AM

Originally Posted by richardsharpe

CPU is overkill (a bunch of my friends are maxing out anything with a 3570k, which is the best option these days). RAM is overkill. I'd get a bigger SSD (especially if you are a total war guy).

actually a good point re cpu. as long as you can do around 4.5ghz that's plenty.

but not sure re the ram. faster ram can help you when ocing and often the price isnt vastly different when choosing the fastest stuff. (i'd stick with that fast ram as long as it's not overpriced).

Bigger ssd will set you back a fair bit, tbh am not sold on ssd's especially re the cost. lot of people say they are a lot faster but re games I dont think it makes much difference at all...but yes load times and say applications i.e your works with graphics etc will benefit.

i do like the look of that case btw...nice.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...id=1489&subcat=

this would also tempt me. and i guess you arent going into watercooling or i'd say go for the corsair obisidian d although it is expensive..(i have been trying to resist buying one...if i saw it for say £175 i'd prob get it).

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...atid=29&subcat=

(looks similar to the fractal and cheaper and dust filters).

**Durruti1936** · November 04, 2012, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by Totalheadache

and i guess you arent going into watercooling or i'd say go for the corsair obisidian d although it is expensive..(i have been trying to resist buying one...if i saw it for say £175 i'd prob get it).

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...atid=29&subcat=

(looks similar to the fractal and cheaper and dust filters).

Well I have the Antec KUHLER H2O 920 Liquid (water?) CPU Cooler on my wishlist. I'm guessing that's not the full watercooling solution that you mean?

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/artic...er-Review/1314

Yes, I like the idea of a case with classic clean lines and no weirdness and flashing coloured lights to distract me from the screen! My hi-fi and speakers are simple black boxes so why not my computer too

That's a nice alternative case you suggest.

Cheers

**Durruti1936** · November 04, 2012, 05:47 AM

Thanks for the advice so far, guys.

I should say that I want something as top of the range as possible for once as I don't want to have do a major upgrade for a good few
years.

As well as gaming I'm getting into 3D modelling and graphics - with the release of the modding tools for Shogun 2 I want to
jump into that side of things. The TEd Map editor is incredibly resource-intensive (although which resources is the question!) such that
my current machine just collapses and freezes up. But then that is to be expected given its age and I was pleasantly surprised it was
able to run Shogun 2 quite well which says a lot for the great scalability of the game settings.

I was worried about the size of the power supply and the SSD in my proposed machine so points well taken. And if new graphics cards are coming out
I may well hold out a few months for prices of existing ones to come down.

**Crazyeyesreaper** · November 04, 2012, 02:02 PM

see if you can nab a Thermaltake Water 2.0 PRO instead of the Antec Kuhler 920 the Thermaltake cools better and is quieter

**Totalheadache** · November 06, 2012, 05:07 AM

@op i was referring to complete water cooling but just the cpu is fine. most gpus nowadays amd/nvidia the cooling is decent and improved a lot.

mind u now i notice any increase in noise with my pc in the slightest...i should really change out my scythe fans. (actually think it's my pump that makes the most noise, it's a bugger to try and get it 2 stop causing a very low vibration).

a decent watercooling setup would be in the region of £200 (perhaps more). i just did it mostly for fun and was just logical progession for me it terms of building pcs...great to see it working and draining it is a laugh (yeah am sad i know).

p.s reason why i posted that case with the dust filters is have to clean my hafx every week or so. it's a dust magnet.

**karamazovmm** · November 06, 2012, 06:49 AM

I wouldnt dare touch anything from sandforce. Crucial and samsung are the go to guys, plextor as well.

I would still follow bolk avise, wait a bit.

**Bolkonsky** · November 06, 2012, 11:44 AM

Touching on SSDs really quickly, loading Shogun 2 or any Warscape engine game on them won't make the load times much faster. The issue with the ridiculous load times is the shaders compiling, which is a CPU issue that would be incredibly expensive to solve, it at all possible. Kind of like how Battlefield 2 used to do it every time you changed the graphics settings.

**paradamed** · November 07, 2012, 12:37 PM

I just read from some tech sites that supposedly the new nvidia graphic cards generation would be 15% faster than the current generation. The same articles also mention that the top cards would be coming later instead of what nvidia did this year starting with the 680 releases. So this means that it will probably be another whole year until the 780 be released. Based on that, I think that it will be a long wait if you are waiting for the next 780 and it wont be so rewarding waiting for that considering that some brands of 680 can be 15% faster than the reference 680. So the real deal will not be when the reference 780 will be released but when the aftermarket versions come out which can take even more than an year. Well, this if the rumours are true. So this means that it may be worth it to upgrade your graphics card now unless you are willing to wait for like a year.

**Totalheadache** · November 07, 2012, 01:00 PM

Originally Posted by paradamed

I just read from some tech sites that supposedly the new nvidia graphic cards generation would be 15% faster than the current generation. The same articles also mention that the top cards would be coming later instead of what nvidia did this year starting with the 680 releases. So this means that it will probably be another whole year until the 780 be released. Based on that, I think that it will be a long wait if you are waiting for the next 780 and it wont be so rewarding waiting for that considering that some brands of 680 can be 15% faster than the reference 680. So the real deal will not be when the reference 780 will be released but when the aftermarket versions come out which can take even more than an year. Well, this if the rumours are true. So this means that it may be worth it to upgrade your graphics card now unless you are willing to wait for like a year.

well it has been the common feeling that yes the 780 is going to be a beast. but i would take anything you read about how fast or when the cards are coming out with a huge grain of salt.

and you are slighty blowing up perf for aftermarket versions. my stock 580 can do 950 core which is not bad. (you can get a peach of a stock card, it's luck of the draw).

the real bonus to aftermarket versions is the better fans in re noise/neat. generally they arent vastly greater in clock speed.

we should now more around xmas time. but i agree if you are really in need of a new card/upgrade probably next gen amd is the way forward....i think though generally nvidia releases something a month or so after amd.

will it be worth the wait? that depends on how amd do in re performance with their next release..

**paradamed** · November 07, 2012, 03:40 PM

Yes, the performance boost will depend on the competition. If amd pushes forward nvidia will do it too.

**Totalheadache** · November 07, 2012, 04:44 PM

Originally Posted by paradamed

Yes, the performance boost will depend on the competition. If amd pushes forward nvidia will do it too.

well either can drop the ball as it were. nvidia did it with the 480....

tbh if i was the op i'd at least wait till xmas and then take a look at the new AMD cards which should be more or less out. generally by that time more will be known about the nvidia release...you never know it could be a lot later on in the new yr. hope not!

that said it can be a bit of a waiting game. i might take a punt with AMD again...bit of a pain in the ass though to have send back a card if am not happy with it.