Hey guys,
So I'm heading off to Uni next year to do Game Development and I'm kind of stuck without a decent PC at the minute. It'll handle any low level stuff I throw at it, like my current Computing work, but anything more than a couple of windows ends up turning my entire machine into a painful slideshow. After having a look at it, the machine's old as all hell and the best thing I can do for it is to build a new PC from scratch.
The reason I bring up going to Uni is because that's sort of how I'm acquiring the budget. I have some money coming in when I turn eighteen next summer and I was told that I could make a claim for it earlier if it was for educational purposes. I know a couple other people who claimed their compensation early to buy laptops, saying they needed it for school work. That's the plan for me.
I was told by the chaps running the course I'm interested in at Uni that an i5 was enough for the main load of the work, with them switching over to i7s with some of the more intense work in the later modules. Being a gaming nut, I'm trying to sort of get this to work doubly in my favour: I'm aiming to get a computer for both Uni work and high-spec gaming.
As for what I sort of want specifically, there's a few things:
First of all, I'm looking to get two monitors. I'm running dual screen now and that second screen is pretty essential to me now. But, I wouldn't be using my second screen solely for PC use. From time to time I'll probably be plugging in my Xbox so a HDMI would be nice. Not sure about 1080p or 1440p. Does that matter? Size-wise, probably looking at low twenties. I think I measured it out and two 23 inchers were the biggest that I could fit on my desk.
In terms of the games I want to play, Arma 3 is my number one. Then there's the Battlefields and I'm tempted to run through the Crysis series again. Then there's a bunch of RTS's I can play currently but not past about forty units on the screen before it starts to stutter. Any of the games I've got now that my PC doesn't let me play, plus the high spec games of the future. I want it to keep me going for a fair while.
I'm new to most of this and, after looking at a build request very similar to mine, I saw people were using two GPUs. Could you please explain that and recommend my best course of action with them?
Not really about the system itself but I'm looking at getting some decent gaming accessories. Mainly a mouse, keyboard and headset. The mouse and keyboard I'm not so sure about, but I was looking into that Razer headset modelled off of pilots' headgear. This one here. Again, I'm not 100% on getting that headset so any other suggestions would be gladly appreciated.
I'll fill in this form thing now. I'd really appreciate if anyone replying could justify the choices that they have made.
Approximate Purchase Date: I wish I could tell you. I need to get a general quote sent off to the court before I can be allowed the money (if I can, of course). It'd probably be December-January ish but I really can't be sure.
Budget Range: £1600. I'm willing to go a couple hundred upward of that if necessary but I think £1600 is a decent price to set it at. That's $2500 ish, by the way. This includes the aforementioned accessories though I'd be more inclined to raise the £1600 just to buy accessories.
Usage from Most to Least Important: High Spec Gaming > Game Development > Movies > Stuff Like Photoshop
Are you buying a monitor: Looking to buy two, yeah.
Parts to Upgrade: All of 'em, since this is a fresh build.
Do you need to buy OS: Yes.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Anything UK based. If that's not available, EU based. If that's not available, anywhere with reasonable shipping. Whatever you think is best for me location and price-wise.
Location: Lancashire, England.
Parts Preferences: Intel i7 processor most likely(Unsure about the model) and the higher GTX GPUs (970, 980. Again, unsure.)
Overclocking: Am I going to burn a hole through my computer? I think I might stay away from overclocking but that's just because I've never done it before and the prospect of it burning out worries me. Do I need to overclock? Do you recommend it?
SLI or Crossfire: I did a quick google and saw that this was about connecting GPUs. Like I said before, I'm not really well-versed in it so it'd be great if someone could explain to me. If it helps a lot for gaming, sure: go with it.
Your Monitor Resolution: Probably looking at 1080p or 1440p. Monitor size would be about 23 inch.
Additional Comments: Anything extra I mentioned up above.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My current machine's duff and I'm in dire need of one that actually runs properly. I need it for Uni, for games and just for general use. At present, the machine I'm using doesn't really allow for any of those things.
Thanks in advance, guys.
- Sam
So I'm heading off to Uni next year to do Game Development and I'm kind of stuck without a decent PC at the minute. It'll handle any low level stuff I throw at it, like my current Computing work, but anything more than a couple of windows ends up turning my entire machine into a painful slideshow. After having a look at it, the machine's old as all hell and the best thing I can do for it is to build a new PC from scratch.
The reason I bring up going to Uni is because that's sort of how I'm acquiring the budget. I have some money coming in when I turn eighteen next summer and I was told that I could make a claim for it earlier if it was for educational purposes. I know a couple other people who claimed their compensation early to buy laptops, saying they needed it for school work. That's the plan for me.
I was told by the chaps running the course I'm interested in at Uni that an i5 was enough for the main load of the work, with them switching over to i7s with some of the more intense work in the later modules. Being a gaming nut, I'm trying to sort of get this to work doubly in my favour: I'm aiming to get a computer for both Uni work and high-spec gaming.
As for what I sort of want specifically, there's a few things:
First of all, I'm looking to get two monitors. I'm running dual screen now and that second screen is pretty essential to me now. But, I wouldn't be using my second screen solely for PC use. From time to time I'll probably be plugging in my Xbox so a HDMI would be nice. Not sure about 1080p or 1440p. Does that matter? Size-wise, probably looking at low twenties. I think I measured it out and two 23 inchers were the biggest that I could fit on my desk.
In terms of the games I want to play, Arma 3 is my number one. Then there's the Battlefields and I'm tempted to run through the Crysis series again. Then there's a bunch of RTS's I can play currently but not past about forty units on the screen before it starts to stutter. Any of the games I've got now that my PC doesn't let me play, plus the high spec games of the future. I want it to keep me going for a fair while.
I'm new to most of this and, after looking at a build request very similar to mine, I saw people were using two GPUs. Could you please explain that and recommend my best course of action with them?
Not really about the system itself but I'm looking at getting some decent gaming accessories. Mainly a mouse, keyboard and headset. The mouse and keyboard I'm not so sure about, but I was looking into that Razer headset modelled off of pilots' headgear. This one here. Again, I'm not 100% on getting that headset so any other suggestions would be gladly appreciated.
I'll fill in this form thing now. I'd really appreciate if anyone replying could justify the choices that they have made.
Approximate Purchase Date: I wish I could tell you. I need to get a general quote sent off to the court before I can be allowed the money (if I can, of course). It'd probably be December-January ish but I really can't be sure.
Budget Range: £1600. I'm willing to go a couple hundred upward of that if necessary but I think £1600 is a decent price to set it at. That's $2500 ish, by the way. This includes the aforementioned accessories though I'd be more inclined to raise the £1600 just to buy accessories.
Usage from Most to Least Important: High Spec Gaming > Game Development > Movies > Stuff Like Photoshop
Are you buying a monitor: Looking to buy two, yeah.
Parts to Upgrade: All of 'em, since this is a fresh build.
Do you need to buy OS: Yes.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Anything UK based. If that's not available, EU based. If that's not available, anywhere with reasonable shipping. Whatever you think is best for me location and price-wise.
Location: Lancashire, England.
Parts Preferences: Intel i7 processor most likely(Unsure about the model) and the higher GTX GPUs (970, 980. Again, unsure.)
Overclocking: Am I going to burn a hole through my computer? I think I might stay away from overclocking but that's just because I've never done it before and the prospect of it burning out worries me. Do I need to overclock? Do you recommend it?
SLI or Crossfire: I did a quick google and saw that this was about connecting GPUs. Like I said before, I'm not really well-versed in it so it'd be great if someone could explain to me. If it helps a lot for gaming, sure: go with it.
Your Monitor Resolution: Probably looking at 1080p or 1440p. Monitor size would be about 23 inch.
Additional Comments: Anything extra I mentioned up above.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My current machine's duff and I'm in dire need of one that actually runs properly. I need it for Uni, for games and just for general use. At present, the machine I'm using doesn't really allow for any of those things.
Thanks in advance, guys.
- Sam
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