£2400+ 3D Gaming PC

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Hardware Fanatic

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Feb 28, 2012
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Hi there. I'm looking at building a PC capable of running the most demanding games at full settings in 3D 1080p. I also want this PC to be highly overclockable and future proof with room for expansion.

I have chosen the best components I could come up with and ordered the graphics cards. Before I purchase the other components however, I would like to know the opinions of the tech savvy members of tomshardware on whether this build can work well for my aims, whether I am missing components or have enough room, or should replace a component etc. I would hate for something to go wrong when spending all this dosh.

I have not selected a HDD as prices are currently double what they were preflooding and the 120GB storage space on the SSD should be adequate for my current needs.

I have chosen two mice as I like to play a variety of genres, including MMO and FPS and as far as I know, these require very different mice for optimum efficiency and comfort. However if someone has experience playing shooters with MMO mice, do tell.

Here is a list of all the components in order of price, I look forward to hearing your advice!

Graphics Cards: 2x Inno 3D Nvidia Geforce GTX580 1.5GB GDDR5 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Nvidia-Geforce-GTX580-1-5GB-GDDR5-GTX-580-1536MB-Video-Graphic-Card/280791930855?_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D4%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D6625144457845490440&clk_rvr_id=319434365224&afsrc=1 £604

Monitor: Asus VG278H 27inch Black 3D Monitor http://www.cclonline.com/product/69560/VG278H/Monitors/Asus-VG278H-27-TRUE-120Hz-3D-Widescreen-LED-Monitor/MON0610/?siteID=TnL5HPStwNw-LPKkfSJCoEUqtFQNTdJW3Q £507.89

Mice: Razer Naga Epic & Razer Mamba 2012 http://www.totallydigitalonline.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=34531&zenid=de71dc5726f53deac28542d79d9d91b1 & http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00592HERQ/ref=asc_df_B00592HERQ6752386/?smid=A2FP4K69BWZNT0&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22242&creativeASIN=B00592HERQ £193.74

Mother Board: Asus P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3 http://www.pcsuppliers.co.uk/products.asp?partno=P8Z68%20DELUXE%2FGEN3&go £183.44

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 http://uk-gaming-pcs.co.uk/6104-intel-core-i5-2500k.html £145.00

Headset: Razer Tiamat 7.1 http://www.razerzone.com/tiamat/en £120+ (£ price yet to be announced, so estimate based off US price of $180 and typical increase for British customers)

SSD: Corsair Force Series 3 120GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/harddrives-internal/solidstate/upto128gb/Corsair/CSSD-F120GB3-BK.html £113.99

Tower Case: NZXT Phantom Special Edition Case White with Red Stripe http://www.ebuyer.com/257230-nzxt-phantom-special-edition-case-white-with-red-stripe-phan003rd?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products# £107.44

Keyboard: Razer Black Widow Ultimate Mechanical Gaming Keyboard http://www.ebuyer.com/248672-razer-black-widow-ultimate-mechanical-gaming-keyboard-rz03-00380500-r3w1?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products £107.32

PSU: Powercool 1050W PSU 80+ Quad 12v V2.3 High Efficiency http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/1050W+ARIANET+Gamer+80PLUS+Power+Supply+?productId=48002&source=googleps £83.99

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium with Service Pack 1, 64-bit, OEM http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004Q0PT3I/ref=asc_df_B004Q0PT3I6752649/?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B004Q0PT3I £70.72

Processor Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE http://www.ebuyer.com/290248-phanteks-ph-tc14pe-socket-amd-am2-am3-intel-775-1155-1156-1366-2011-ph-tc14pe?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products £67.46

Blu Ray ROM: SAMSUNG SH-B123L Blu-ray Player/DVD Rewriter Combo http://www.vmaxx.ie/samsung-sh-b123l-blu-ray-player-dvd-rewriter-combo-product-only.html?___store=base £48.62

RAM: Corsair 8GB (2x4GB) Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz DIMM 240-pin CL9 LP White http://www.kikatek.com/product_info.php?products_id=199562&source=froogle £40.86

Mouse Mat: Mass Effect 3 Razer Vespula http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_GB/pd/productID.245543200/categoryId.35208900 £29.99
 
H

Hardware Fanatic

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Feb 28, 2012
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lol fail on my part, I just copy and pasted this list from a different post I made on another forum. Dunno why the links messed up here, I'll fix them, but the components are the same.
 
A

azeem40

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Dec 11, 2011
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You can get much better performance by 20% by going 2x 7970, which uses MUCH less power, plus it is "cheaper". You may be wondering how it is cheaper. Well, that is because you will only need one 750-850W PSU. Get a better cooler like the Hyper 212 EVO or the Noctua D14.
 
H

Hardware Fanatic

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Feb 28, 2012
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I want to play in 3D and Nvidea has the best 3D solution. Therefore I am limited to Nvidia cards. Plus I have already bought the cards so there's no point in suggesting alternatives on that front.

GTX580 SLI can run on 850W PSU as well, I chose a 1050W as it allows me to OC them in future without having to worry about power draw and I can hopefully use this PSU for future builds to come.

I was under the impression that the Phanteks PH-TC14PE is the king of coolers at present, going by benchmarks I read on the internet. It provides the best cooling and is the 2nd quietest or something along those lines. Is this not the case?
 
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azeem40

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Dec 11, 2011
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Actually, 750W can be done on a 7970 even with OC. And I didn't know you bought it as it didn't say in OP. :p
 
Rockdpm

Rockdpm

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Dec 26, 2011
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Wait, your basically this post was to show us what your gaming rig. Judging by the fact that when some one recommends another part you seem to wanna tell us no no i have already bought everything.....Ok?, well if your wondering about that cooler, it seems legit, looks good and seems to handle its self against other similar air coolers. i love my Corsair A70 which seems to be very similar to the Phantek
 
H

Hardware Fanatic

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Feb 28, 2012
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I said I've already bought the graphics cards right there in the OP. I have not bought any other components.
 
H

Hardware Fanatic

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Feb 28, 2012
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Np :)

What do you think of the other components? And can this build work? Will everything go together and fit or have I overlooked something?

Thanks for your time.
 
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azeem40

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Dec 11, 2011
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One other thing I mentioned is the cooler. The Hyper 212 EVO is the best price/performance cooler in the market. The Noctua is better of course, but not as good price/performance. Even with future proofing, 900W should be just fine. I planned on SLIng that GPU before and I was recommended 900W.
 
metal orient

metal orient

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£2400 does seem quite alot to spend for a build but if you've got the money fair enough. I'll give my thoughts on each part and my suggestions if applicable.

Graphics: I'd say you were a brave man for choosing these cards, i hope you get them.

Monitor: Seems pretty pricey, but can't argue with the reviews.

Mouse: Don't know what's good apart from my own mouse.

Mo Bo: I would have thought the Pro would be a better choice, unless you really need the usb 3.0 front ports or dual LAN. I do question why you haven't got sandy bridge E in this build.

CPU: Great processor but again, Y U NO USE SANDY BRIDGE E?

Headset: idk

SSD: pretty much can't go wrong with any SATA3 SSD.

Tower: Seems a little expensive, without some of the better features of newer cases, and has a lack of USB3.0 which is odd. However Cases are aesthetic choices mostly so if you want it....

Keyboard: idk

PSU: Oh dear lord no, i'd be going for at least a corsair HX series if not AX. Other choices of course can include XFX, antec, seasonic.

OS: fine

Cooler: For a 2500k you won't really need that beefy cooler and it is more expensive than the Noctua NHD14

Bluray: i have no idea about bluray/dvd drives

RAM: I like these alot but why not 16GB?

Mouse mat: idk

Finally you have a number of stores that i'm not sure i'd trust:

http://www.pcsuppliers.co.uk
http://uk-gaming-pcs.co.uk/
http://www.totallydigitalonline.co.uk
http://www.vmaxx.ie/
http://www.kikatek.com

But i could just be overcautious. Ones that tend to get used here are:

http://www.ebuyer.com/
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/index.php
http://www.cclonline.com/
http://www.dabs.com/
http://www.novatech.co.uk/

My favourite is http://www.aria.co.uk/ as they tend to come out as the cheapest (from reliable websites) and http://www.scan.co.uk
 
H

Hardware Fanatic

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Feb 28, 2012
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Thanks for your opinions on all the pieces, just what I needed!

The seller of the graphics cards is a best seller on ebay with lots of experience and positive reviews. I even messaged the last person who bought a GTX 580 from them to make sure. The deal does indeed come off as almost too good to be true compared to the prices over the rest of the internet, but bare in mind that they are being sold in USD and all hardware tends to be a lot cheaper in that currency. By going for these cards from this buyer, I was saving myself £200 and getting the best air cooling solution for them to boot.

The monitor at first glance does indeed appear a tad on the pricy side. This is because it is currently the only monitor that supports Nvidia's second generation 3D technology, and comes packed with second gen 3D glasses that would otherwise cost £100 by themselves. The biggest complaint of 3D has always been the darkness of it, but the new Lightboost tech fixes this flaw. When you take all this into account, they're not too overpriced.

Sorry but what is this Sandy Bridge E you are referring to?

Lack of USB 3 on a tower? What are these better features this tower is missing?

Powercooler have a bad rep? I picked them cause they were the cheapest I could find. This specific model might even be modded by Aria since it has a different name.

I would like to OC the i5 to 5Ghz per core. Can this be achieved with a cheaper fancooler, and if so, would this fancooler be just as quite as this one?

I didn't pick 16GB RAM because as far as I know, for gaming it is overkill and I had to cut costs somewhere. Oh and also this Arctic edition is not available in 16GB bundles so I would be taking a risk if I bought 2 8GB bundles and used them together.

vmaxx.ie does appear rather shady, and I could not find any customer reviews for them on Google Shopping so I might buy the Bluray ROM from someone else, though this would mean paying extra. The other sites have positve ratings on google shopping, so they can be trusted no?
 
metal orient

metal orient

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Mar 17, 2011
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Not the best air cooler but it certainly looks efficient. I'd have thought Arctic cooling's Accelero Xtreme line would be better. You are also aware of the 3 slots each card will need meaning you get no upgrade path. I assume you don't pay import tax on these cards.

Sandy bridge E is the more powerful cousin of sandy bridge, it does come with a large price increase though.

It lacks USB 3.0 (the future standard of USB), having properly looked at reviews for it, it seems like the case itself is pretty good, in terms of cooling and expandability, but the HAF X has a lot more space for radiators if you decide to go down that route.

Can't say i've heard of powercooler, and i certainly wouldn't trust their psu's over better brands. I'd suggest a Corsair HX 1050.

5GHz is a bit hopeful, you may get lucky but probably not. Thermalright's Archon should keep it cool and most definitely quiet. Have alook at his review of socket 2011 (Sandy bridge E) cpu coolers.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/LGA-2011-i7-3960X-Air-Overclocking,3130.html

Yeah, 8GB is enough but at your budget i'd say why not.

You pay extra for the better reputation and guarantee.

If i can break the build down though

Tower:£1465.52 (£604 already spent) £861.52 left
Peripherals:£451.05
Screen:£507.89

I think i shall concentrate on searching for the tower components and leave the others to you, that's the part i know best.
 
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