Getting into pc gaming. Is this build worth it?
Hey guys,
I currently have a hp pavilion dv6 but it's driving me nuts that I can't upgrade anything on it. So I have decided I am going to get a pc desktop. I currently don't know much about them so I am after alittle help to get me started. I am after a system that is pretty much good to go and if I need to upgrade something it wont require upgrading the whole lot. I am currently looking at: Intel Core i7 2700K CPU - 3.5GHz Gigabyte / Asus Z68 Motherboard 16GB DDR3-1600MHz RAM 1TB SATA3 7200RPM Hard Disk BluRay Combo Drive 2 x ATI HD6970 2GB PCI-e in Crossfire configuration Antec Nine Hundred Gaming Case Thermaltake Tough Power XT 875W PSU It is for $2000 but I am not sure if thats a rip off or not and if its a good starter pc or not. Thanks a lot. |
12:44pm 12/01/12 Permalink
Look at individual parts prices here - if they are about the same then it's good value.
http://cpl.net.au/pdf/page1.pdf |
12:46pm 12/01/12 Permalink
if I need to upgrade something it wont require upgrading the whole lot Unfortunately the way upgrading works these days is that you can only upgrade to the same s*** that was already out when you built the computer, other than adding more ram/drives, etc.. Because the motherboards, video cards, and ram keep changing just enough to force you to buy all 3 at once. You have picked pretty high end specs, so great if you can afford it, but if you wanted to go anything cheaper - it is possible. Your current computer is a laptop, but you haven't mentioned purchasing a monitor/mouse/keyboard/headphones - these are the things you'll actually be looking at and touching while playing the games, so figure out how high you wanna go with those. Also what about network connectivity for the PC? I think your mobo has ethernet - but what abotu wifi? Not sure, look into it. last edited by thermite at 12:58:43 12/Jan/12 |
12:50pm 12/01/12 Permalink
Looks good, but would also add SSD (Solid State Drive) for you Operating System to go on, would recommend 120gb or bigger :)
BTW I don't like ATI so would recommend Nvidia but that's just me |
12:50pm 12/01/12 Permalink
2x vid cards is overkill... and I doubt that PSU would really be able to provide sufficiently for that rig on it's own let alone adding any more HDD's (SSD or otherwise)
In my experience, buy a better single video card rather than two. Check the +12V output of that Thermaltake PSU... it's usually the first choke point in 700W+ PSU's. Antec 900 is a big case... and it's all mesh... unless you live in a laboratory, it will be full of dust (negating the effectiveness of the cooling option to begin with) in less than 6 months. I thoroughly recommend looking at the Silverstone PSU's as they've got some monstrous performance considering what you pay for em, and I've recently switched to a Silverstone Raven RV01 Case. Whilst I don't think I'd recommend *this* case, I'd certainly suggest to anyone not looking to watercool, to take a gander at the Silverstone 'vertical motherboard' cases. (Fortress series for example). Simply switching the back plate for the m/b from the back to the top of the case does wonders for cooling... hot air rises, so why load all of your accessory cards horizontally... |
01:08pm 12/01/12 Permalink
Swapout the ATI for Nvidia, and only get one card, because if you don't know about them then you'll be dissappointed when you have problems. You will have problems with ATI.
Get a SSD as suggested by TiT. You probably don't need 16gig of ram, 8 gig is more than enough. Some slight changes as I've listed will make it about $300+ cheaper. |
01:24pm 12/01/12 Permalink
My much much worse comp can smash nearly every game on the market still, so that'd be fine, might even suffer from overheating which has always been a big problem for me (be sure to always get a solid PSU, and a case with good airflow + room for fans).
For comparison I have - 3gb of mismatched ddr2 ram A quadcore cpu from 2007 or so A 'super cheap crappy edition' motherboard something like half a decade old A kickass radeon HD5850 which brings the whole system up. ;) Played skyrim on whatever settings with no problems at all, the town marketh was the only place with a bit of crappiness. |
01:44pm 12/01/12 Permalink
You probably don't need 16gig of ram, 8 gig is more than enough. i was going to suggest this. isn't Windows only good for 8 and that's got to be on a 64bit set up? |
01:52pm 12/01/12 Permalink
What if I swap it around like this?
Change the 2x ATI HD 6970, for 1x Gigabyte GTX580 1536Mb PCI Express swap the 1TB SATA3 7200RPM Hard Disk for Corsair Force Series 3 120GB SSD Swap the ram for Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3. cheers |
03:21pm 12/01/12 Permalink
my bad, I thought this is what you guys were saying to get?
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03:26pm 12/01/12 Permalink
i probably would drop it down to an i52600k, there is nothing that would tax that processor atm (and unless you are looking at sli'ing a few gtx580's the video card will be a natural bottle neck (and really wide bottle neck)
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03:28pm 12/01/12 Permalink
Intel I5 2600k
Z68 M.board, 8gb ram Nvidia GTX570 1tb HDD 120gb Solid state HDD Thats pretty much what you should be aiming for... It will handle all current games at Ultra settings and save a lot more money. No need for the specs you have been given that PC is Overkill and by the time games/software catch up to your hardware the price would have dropped. Dont get me wrong its a good price its just not necessary to aim that high.... sales person looking for big sale imho. |
03:31pm 12/01/12 Permalink
I have an ages old IDE for my OS. :/
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03:52pm 12/01/12 Permalink
Get an i5 2500, you don't need the K version unless you are going to over clock it.
Unfortunately the way upgrading works these days is that you can only upgrade to the same s*** that was already out when you built the computer, other than adding more ram/drives, etc.. Because the motherboards, video cards, and ram keep changing just enough to force you to buy all 3 at once.I just got burnt by this, had my mobo die on the weekend which was a 1366 socket. Despite the processor still kicking all kinds of ass (i7 950) I ended up getting an i5 2500 CPU and a new Z68 mobo and 8gig of ram for less than what it'd cost me to replace the 1366 mobo because intel have pretty much abandoned the chip and all the retailers were either out of stock of 1366 mobos or wanted $400+ for what they had. And when I got home and assembled the gear I discovered that an IDE port is no longer a standard thing on motherboards so now I have to replace my perfectly fine DVD burner with an SATA version because the SATA to IDE converters cost twice the price as the DVD players. |
04:02pm 12/01/12 Permalink
I have an ages old IDE for my OS. :/ Yeh same keep pushing my upgrade back a month....dam christmas emptied my upgrade fund....looking to upgrade in another month. Been distracted by MW3 on xbox so happy to wait till prices drop further and will move gaming back to my PC.... (Yep I said it xbox lol) |
04:20pm 12/01/12 Permalink
I had a Antec Nine Hundred Gaming Case and just upgraded to a Fractal R3.
Fractal is way better! |
05:56pm 12/01/12 Permalink
i probably would drop it down to an i52600k, there is nothing that would tax that processor atm (and unless you are looking at sli'ing a few gtx580's the video card will be a natural bottle neck (and really wide bottle neck) My understanding of a bottleneck is a slow point, so a part that isn't alowing the faster parts to work at there best speed. Is a open bottleneck the same or is it the other way around, Ie the other parts wont let the gfx card work at it's best? Thanks |
06:46pm 12/01/12 Permalink
for gaming the video card will be taxed more than the CPU (and a 570 will handle it all without reaching it's limits, so the CPU isn't going to be worked hard at all)
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06:49pm 12/01/12 Permalink
+1 to others in this thread.. don't go for overkill.. you'll be wasting money and you won't be bottlenecking anything with the specs suggested, such as i5 2500(/k). It's easy to get hooked up on specs and theoretical upgrades in your head, but Drollzy is pretty much spot on. You'll be surprised by how well it performs.
Also if anyone hasn't clarified, SSD is for very fast loading (of your OS + whatever programs you put on it) but is extremely expensive in terms of $/GB, so you want a cheaper drive for main storage (assuming you go the SSD route - regular whatever-they're-called drives are still fine to boot from). |
02:39am 25/02/12 Permalink
lol, way to revive a 2 month dead thread Bobbly.
'Each to their own' I say whoop. For my money, the 'performance return vs money spent' doesn't add up for two video cards (especially if the 2 vid cards are going to cost you more than 1 'better' video card. I'm running 1xSSD (OS) 1xRaptor (previous OS disk, now I use it to install games onto) and 2x 7200 500GB's in RAID 0 in my primary rig, and it sings! My comp is 2 years old now, but still devours anything I ask it to run! I just wish the games would pick up in quality a little... (tho I'm really enjoying smaller indie/casual games these days, I'd still prefer to see some solid AAA releases...) |
09:59am 25/02/12 Permalink
lol, way to revive a 2 month dead thread Bobbly. Holy s*** how did I do this? The thread was on like the first/second page.. |
10:13pm 25/02/12 Permalink
yeah it happens if you're on ausgamers.
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10:23pm 25/02/12 Permalink
it only happens on ausgamers (for me at least) if someone revives it
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10:36pm 25/02/12 Permalink
