£800 - 900 | gaming and work pc, about to buy

sluap

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Apr 2, 2013
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Hi i am about to buy the set up below, i have posted a few times on this forum and ask some advice now its time to buy my new rig.

it will primarily be used for gaming and coding, i want to at-least run most games at max / ultra without any issues, the reason for 2 monitors is to game on one and work on the other / watch TV etc

build missing monitors: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/15jKj
2 x Monitors: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-VS229HR-Widescreen-1920x1080-Headphone/dp/B008ON76YS/ref=sr_1_6?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1365151085&sr=1-6

Any suggestions are all welcome i will be getting this in the next few weeks.

If something does not look right to you please let me know as this is the first time i have done this so just taking advice from people.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to help me.
 
Solution
Yes, a 7950 will almost always beat a 660 Ti. This article goes into the 660 Ti memory bandwidth problems. As you can see in certain games, even a 7870 will start beating the 660 Ti when the details are turned up. That's not always the case, but it is something to be aware of. If you don't have the money for a 7950, look for a 7870 LE or XT. Those are basically crippled 7950s.

As for the PSU, I'd recommend Antec, FSP, Seasonic, or XFX in the 500W-600W range. That's all you'll need.
How much coding versus gaming are you planning? If you're doing serious dev work, you will benefit from the i7's HT for eight logical cores. In a similar vein, it sounds like you're planning to game WHILE coding. I wouldn't try any serious compiling while playing if you want to max graphics like you say.

You've got an unlocked CPU, but no CPU cooler. A CM 212 series or Xigmatek Gaia is only ~$30USD. And you may not need those extra case fans.

If you want to max out graphics, be warned that the 660 has the potential to become a bottleneck at high resolutions and/or high AA work due to its limited memory interface. Doesn't happen in all games or at all settings, but it is possible. If you look for deals, you can find a 7950 at the same price.

You can save money and drop the sound card. The on-board audio is actually pretty good, and unless you have really good ears and speakers/headphones, you won't notice the sound quality difference.

You can drop the PSU down to a good 550W model if you don't plan to drop a second GPU in the build as well ( but your parts page doesn't list a price, so is that from a bundle? )

Otherwise, looks like a sensible setup.
 

sluap

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Apr 2, 2013
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Thank you for your reply.

Coding wise it will just be php, .net etc so nothing too heavy.

Ill take a look at the CPU cooler thank you for the advise, and also the advice on the sound card (every little helps)

You mention that the 660 TI will bottleneck, i am a nVidea fan but would change if it performed better for the games, ill take a look into the 660 TI vs 7950.

the PSU has no cost as i just used this site to show my rig, i will be buying it from other places i just thought that it would be easier to show what i am planning on buying (ill also look into the power)

So i suppose the only question is the Graphics card, would the 7950 outperform the 600 TI

I have had a read on these 2 Gcards http://techreport.com/review/23981/radeon-hd-7950-vs-geforce-gtx-660-ti-revisited

and it seems the GTX seems to come out on top... confused now



Thanks again in advance to any responses



 
Yes, a 7950 will almost always beat a 660 Ti. This article goes into the 660 Ti memory bandwidth problems. As you can see in certain games, even a 7870 will start beating the 660 Ti when the details are turned up. That's not always the case, but it is something to be aware of. If you don't have the money for a 7950, look for a 7870 LE or XT. Those are basically crippled 7950s.

As for the PSU, I'd recommend Antec, FSP, Seasonic, or XFX in the 500W-600W range. That's all you'll need.
 
Solution

sluap

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Apr 2, 2013
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Oh neck, now I have something to think about, just when you think you have settled on a gpu , thanks again I'll have a read.



 
Here's a parts list I'd use for a basis. I've tried using the same vendors you had in your list. The mboard doesn't have all the features of the Asus you had picked ( no wireless, a second GPU might be a bit cramped, ) but it's far cheaper and will OC just fine. I've added a CPU cooler, larger HDD, and dropped the sound card and case fans. I've left Windows 8 on and added a PSU. The case of course is personal preference, so change that out however you feel like it.

PCPartPicker part list

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£155.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.49 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£97.52 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£45.39 @ Dabs)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£71.99 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£49.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card (£247.40 @ Amazon UK)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case (£41.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£52.59 @ Dabs)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) (£67.19 @ Aria PC)
Total: £854.54
 

sluap

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Apr 2, 2013
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Perfect mate, your a star, one question lets say i wanted to use the Asus MB all this would fit fine?



 

sluap

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Apr 2, 2013
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Perfect thank you for all the advice