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Thoughts on these Computer Specs?

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Guest

Guest

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**EDIT!! HEY! HEY! HEY LISTEN! LISTEN!!! CHECK PAGE 2 FOR UPDATED SPECS! KK?!**

I'll cut to the chase, I want (no. NEED.) a new computer specifically for gaming and for possible modding (later on). I've searched online for prebuilts and customizable rigs and I'd like you guys to review these specs and see if this is a good deal (and a good rig as well :) ).

Please don't suggest that I buy parts and build one myself. While I've contemplated the idea, I just don't have to time to build one and that fact that there aren't any warranties, or the fact that If I screw just ONE thing up I'll be completely fucked is very unappealing. Please don't try to convince, I am rock solid on getting a customized pre-built. Sorry.

 

Okay, without further ado, here are the specs (and stuff):

 

-Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)

 

-Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe (Intel P67 Chipset) (New & Improved B3 Revision Without SATA 3G Issue)

 

-RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)

 

-Power Supply: 800W Corsair GS (Dual SLI Compatible)

 

-Expansion Bay: Dual Solid State Hard Drive Hot Swap Bay

 

-Hard Drive 1: 1x (500GB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (16MB Cache) (Model: Blue Edition)

 

-RAID Option: Configure HDD Set 1 to a Raid 0 Config - Stripe Performance (Requires Two HDDs)

 

-Hard Drive 2: 1x (750GB Seagate Barracuda (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (Model: HD-ST3750528AS)

 

-Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)

 

-Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)

 

-Video Cards: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB (PhysX

Tech) (Overclocked EVGA Edition)

 

-Sound Card: Auzen X-Fi Hometheater HD 7.1 (Model: AZTHTHD02817) (PCI-Express Slot Based)

 

-Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Corsair H80 Liquid CPU Cooler (High-Performance Edition)

 

-Chassis Airflow: Upgrade Chassis With Zalman Performance Fans (Up to 6 Fans)

 

-Audio (speakers): Corsair High-power 2.1 System (Includes Subwoofer) (CA-SP211NA)

 

 

-Monitor: None (not sure which one to get)

 

-KeyBoard: None (not sure which one to get)

 

-Mouse: None (not sure which one to get)

 

Sorry for any excess data, I just felt like posting all of that crap here :).

 

Also, if you didn't know already, this is from Digital Storm. The Total Price was $2,800.

 

My budget for a complete system (including all peripherals) is $3,400 AT THE MOST.

 

I have some questions:

1. Should I ask them to overclock the GPU, memory, and/or OS? Is it worth it? (they cost 45 or more dollars to overclock a certain part).

2. Is this system worth it?

3. Is there a different site that offers the same, similar, or better stuff for a better price?

4. How is the system in general? How well will it run computer games?

5. Are all of the components compatible?

6. Is the power supply enough to support the system?

7. What monitor, keyboard, mouse do you recommend me getting?

 

You don't have to answer the questions in the format, but hopefully you can answer all of the questions.

 

Thank you in advance.

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Jerbsinator

Jerbsinator

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1. Should I ask them to overclock the GPU, memory, and/or OS? Is it worth it? (they cost 45 or more dollars to overclock a certain part).

No, that is ridiculous and an insult to the buyer. It is very simple to overclock nowadays. Just look around online there is lots of helpful stuff. Save yourself $45+

 

2. Is this system worth it?

Depends how much it is. If it's under $1000 then yes it's pretty damn good. If it's $1600+ then not so much. But you're not building so I guess that doesn't matter to you. It IS a good system, but you could build the same computer for around $1200.

 

3. Is there a different site that offers the same, similar, or better stuff for a better price?

Check out Newegg. They always have good deals and a reasonable warranty.

 

4. How is the system in general? How well will it run computer games?

It looks like it should run most games at max settings.

 

5. Are all of the components compatible?

Yep

 

6. Is the power supply enough to support the system?

Mhmm, Corsair is a good brand and 800 Watts is definitely enough.

 

7. What monitor, keyboard, mouse do you recommend me getting?

Look around, it's personal preference really.

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beck11

beck11

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For almost 3k Id say you're getting ripped off. Anyone can easily do a 580sli build for you for a fraction of the cost with a monitor and accessories. Pre built comps usually get jacked up prices for the after sales support, very rarely are they worth it. Either get a friend to help you or find a store that will offer DIY PC builds for a fee. Try to find a place that lets you bring in the stuff and you let them assemble it for you, takes 2-3hrs at most.

 

IMHO these specs are not very worth it for the price.

 

 

 

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Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

You see, I already know that building my own is a lot cheaper, I really just don't have the time, or I just am afraid that the parts won't match up, or that I'll screw something over while building. Is there any place where someone will assemble the computer for me?

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Symon

Symon

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Posted

Not a question you've asked but I have a couple of comments.

 

You've got a real sound card. Good! Many onboard sound chips are hopeless and drag a system down.

 

The system has a RAID controller, capable of at least RAID0, but your disks are not identical. I'd specify identical disks and ask for a RAID array to be used. The performance increase (nominally 2x read and write) will be notable. I don't regret mine.

 

Remember, a system is only as good as it's weakest component, and your weak component looks like the 'slow' hard disk. Ok, it doesn't seem to be a bad disk, but two identical drives in a raid array will pay big performance dividends, every time Windows feels the need to swap, or an Elder Scrolls Game needs to load cell buffers.

 

Edit:-

What are you planning on doing with this?

"-Expansion Bay: Dual Solid State Hard Drive Hot Swap Bay"

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Mashi

Mashi

Posted
Posted

You see' date=' I already know that building my own is a lot cheaper, I really just don't have the time, or I just am afraid that the parts won't match up, or that I'll screw something over while building. Is there any place where someone will assemble the computer for me?

[/quote']

 

One thing that was already mentioned was the slow hdd's. You should only use them for programs. You should be using a SSD for your OS. And a pair of 1TB drives for your programs and junk in general.

 

As for the rest it depends on where you live. If it's in Canada, a place like Canadacomputers will. If it's in the US, well I'm sure there's another shop will. I can't say about europe or various parts of asia, but yeah. Generally there's small time shops that will build them and stick them altogether for you. And they won't charge you an arm and a leg, but rather an assembler, builder, and testers fee. Usually $200 or so. But the entire rig in itself, shouldn't run you more than $1100 plus tax(maybe even including tax if you're lucky).

 

$3k is excessive overkill and a serious ripoff. For something costing that much, I'd expect to be seeing a OCZ revo drive(PCI-e SSD) in there.

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Ryanhabs

Ryanhabs

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Posted

I was playing around on there, and in all honesty get the intel 120GB SSD for your OS and go for a 1 TB WD drive for storage / programs. You can always add a second later.

 

Ditch the 2 560ti's and just get a single gtx 580. It will handle all you can throw at it and then some. also kill that Corsair H80 Liquid CPU Cooler and get the for at least their stg3 frostchill system. The corsair is self sufficient but its also not expandable. You may want to liquid cool other things in the future and getting a system that allows for minimal out of pocket after the initial purchase is the best way to go. I also swapped your mobo to the Asus maximus IV extreme as I just prefer their ROG line up. I know you said you don't have time to build your own but I would scratch the soundcard from them as they are charging way too much. If you can swing the 15 to 20 mins to pop a sound card in the new system it will save you almost 150 bucks.

I also selected the Hailstorm case. Since I think a good performing system should look good as well, I added blue UV tubing for the liquid cooling, UV case lighting and blue led case fans. All those are completely optional and not getting those will save about 100 bucks. everything else was what they have selected by default on the hailstorm package.

whatever you do DO NOT pay them 50 buck to go in to the bios and set the AI overclock to 10%. If you want that done, I recommend doing a real OC via FSB and voltages, but asus AI OC isn't bad if you don't know what your doing as you just select a setting in the bios and save when it restarts its all set.

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demongoat

demongoat

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Posted

personally i don't see much point in creativelabs stuff anymore, can you get anything lower than that?

it seems to me to be a huge waste of money these days to buy an expensive soundcard if all you do is game on it, games use compressed music and sound anyway.

don't bother with a high end soundcard, there are cheaper ones out there that will play just as good without the issues that will be claimed so you would buy one.

 

my question is, why do you need raid anyway? are you backing up often enough to make it worth paying for it? just get a ssd and a tb drive, or maybe a combo if you can.

 

i agree though, you are being ripped off for the price, i would have at least expected two 570s not 560s.

then again maybe 570s don't get enough from 800, can't remember.

 

personally i wouldn't want anyone to overclock anything unless i was doing it, it voids your warranty.

 

 

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Symon

Symon

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Posted

There is no need for an expensive soundcard, just not an nasty onboard sound chip that sucks up processor cycles like you wouldn't believe.

 

As for RAID, depending on the configuration, it offers redundancy, performance or both!

 

As hard disk i/o is often a bottleneck, that's what you want RAID for! A dire hard disk will hold back your blistering graphics card and processor, especially when Windows feels the need to swap!

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slash69

slash69

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About the soundcard, Symon and demongoat have got it right.

 

Personally I don't think there's a need to get an expensive sound card for simply gaming. A much cheaper one would be fine. Expensive sound cards are really more required for more intensive audio work such as music production (or if you are just fussy about your audio quality), and even then you definitely wouldn't get a PCI in that situation and would go for an external audio interface either through FireWire or USB (although I don't know how well these work for games, since I only use mine for work). If you are a serious audiophile I guess you could get a fancy PCI or external sound card, but I really don't think it's required in your case, and you could save a neat sum of cash by holding back on it.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest

Guest

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Posted

Okay okay, I think I'll just have to buy parts and either build it myself or (hopefully) find someone who will do it for me (the savings are just too damn beautiful!). I've recently found a new website called pc part picker, and I want you guys to judge the new system:

 

CPU: Intel i2500k ($200)

 

Cooler: Still deciding, but will be between 40-70$ ish.

 

Motherboard: Asus P8P67 WS Revolution (REV 3.0) ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($235-245)

 

RAM: Crucial DDR3 1600 8GB ($40)

 

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200RPM 64MB ($230)

 

SSD: Crucial M4 SSD 128GB (FOR FREE! Bought one in the past but never used it. Hopefully it is compatible with desktops!)

 

GPU: Dual GTX 570's (SLI Enabled) ($317 EACH)

 

Case: Still deciding, looking for one between $60-120 Not sure of which size

 

Power Supply: Apevia ATX-WA750W 750 Watts 1 fan ($90)

 

Optical Drive: Not sure, looking for one around $50-80 though

 

Operating System: Windows 7 (FOR FREE, already have discs etc, won't need to buy it again).

 

Peripherals:

Monitor- looking for a 25 or 27 for around 200 bucks.

 

Mouse- looking for a gaming mouse, no more than 100 bucks MAX

 

Keyboard- looking for a keyboard designed for gaming, no more than 100 bucks MAX

 

Sound- there was this special sound card/headset package thing for like 300 bucks. The sound card and headset were high quality and MADE for each other so I'd like to get that. Looking for it though...

 

Remind me of anything else that I am missing.

 

PRICES!

System price without peripherals: $1550-$1600!

System price with all peripherals: $2100-$2300!

 

So, what do you guys think or suggest?

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Ryanhabs

Ryanhabs

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Posted

Since I recently got a new cooler for 2 of my machines... I highly recommend the coolermaster hyper 212 evo. It has been performing well beyond my expectations for a heatsink / fan combo. The hottest running system I have it on atm is my "spare parts" build with a Core 2 extreme qx9650 @ 4.2Ghz overclocked from 3.0. My idle temps are 20c to 25c and full load in prime95 never go above 50 to 55C. I got it from newegg for like 40 bucks. The regular hyper 212 is just as good (mostly) and sells for like 30 bucks. Both have universal mounts for most cpu's but dont think the installation manual will help you at all, it was basically just a picture with no explaination at all of what to do. That said... its a cpu heatsink and should be pretty self explanatory.

 

I'm not 100% sure what your reasoning behind the SLi set up is but if you think you need it then the 570's are a good choice. I still recommend a single 580 ultra. (3GB version of the classified). I just got 2 more today and upgraded the 560 out of my spare parts pc and the 560 ti 448 out of my i-7 build with one and without overclocking them they added 2000 points (on average) to my 3dmark11 scores for both systems. Since Amd just launched the 7970, nvidia cards (at least the 580's price has dropped a little bit) 549 shipped for the GTX 580 classified ultra.

 

Scratch that power supply. Your going to want not only a great rated psu for your system but your also going to want to sort of "overkill" on the wattage. Especially if your going SLi. I just saw a great deal on newegg for the fully modular Coolermaster silent gold pro hybrid 850w psu for 164 bucks. The fully modular would be great for wire management and coolermaster gives a 5yr warranty on the silent gold series. If thats not something that interests you then I recommend looking at Coolermaster, Ultra, seasonic, corsair, pc power and cooling or antec psu's. They are all great psu companies and since I do research on all sorts of pc parts daily they are the only companies I have really never had any issues with.

 

For an Idea of what you will need total power wise try feeding your stuff in to this http://www.coolermaster.outervision.com/PSUEngine It will tell you what your system will draw under peak performance and recommend a psu wattage. I personally say add 50 to 100 watts to whatever it says so your not stressing you psu too much and keeping the heat down in your system. Don't forget, your also going to be running case fans and possibly some lighting which doesn't really add up to much I have 2 cases with 9 fans each in them and 9 fans will add up some extra watts draw.

 

As for a case, with what you have listed you should go for a full tower. Your going to want extra space so your not shoe horning all this stuff in there and have a bit of room for the air to move unrestricted through your case. I would say you should be looking for a case with a top and side fan as well as it sounds like your not going liquid cooling. Most fill towers with have at least 1 from fan and all have the standard rear exhaust fan. The addition of a side fan for drawing in cool air right over your vid cards and top exhaust fans for the logical reason of... hot air rises, if the fans are blowing out on top you are clearing the heat from your case that much faster. The HAF series from CM (coolermaster) is always a popular choice, Lain li cases are good as well, Thermaltake has some good cases out there, really you just need a full case with fans in front, top, side. I grabbed the Nvidia edition coolermaster HAF X from the Nvidia store for 150 bucks just before Christmas.

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Guest

Guest

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Posted

Thanks man, I'll definitely consider your recommendations.

 

I'm thinking about sli because dual 570's outperforms even a single gtx 590, and it's cheaper. You might say that I should get the gtx 580 and buy another one for the future, but I'm not sure that that'll happen, so I'll stick with sli 570's for now. Thank you for the suggestions though!

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Ryanhabs

Ryanhabs

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Posted

Not a problem. Just consider that since the 7970's launch that Nvidia will likely have to launch its new series no later than the early to mid second quater (a few months). While the info on this new series of cards has been tight lipped and scarce you can bet they will outperform the 500 series.

I also personally perfer a high end single card to an SLi configuration as there are plenty of games and programs not written for SLi optimized performance. That said don't be surprised that quite a few games and programs don't have a vast improvement running an SLi setup. just passing along some information I gathered a bit ago when I was hands on building systems for friends and family.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Ryanhabs

Ryanhabs

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I have been fooling with the Intel i5 2550k cpu on an EVGA Z68 ftw board the past few days... This thing is pretty crazy. I only have it air cooled for now as I'm waiting for the XSPC rasa extreme kit to get here but even on air the temps aren't terrible.

Here is my latest stable set up. (Its not 24/7 stable due to high temps but its stable enough to pass intel burn test)

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=2270039

2270039.png

imo if you are looking @ an i5 2500k and don't really care about the not having the igpu, this is a great chip.

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