Need PC gamers opinions

[careless7]

Been out of the desktop market for a while, so I'd like a second opinion. What do you think of this system for gaming, occasional photoshop maybe video editing. It just want it to never studder... ever.

It is like $1200 for the dual Radeons ($120 less for NVidia GTS 450):

Hate the fact that the RAM is 4 x 2GB chips, rather have 2x4GB for later expansion to 16.

Thoughts?



Operating Systems: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit

Bays: 5 - 5.25" Drive Bays

Internal Bays: 7 - 3.5" Drive Bays

PCI Slots (Total): 1

PCI Express X1 Slots (Total): 1

PCI Express X4 Slots (Total): 1

PCI Express X16 Slots (Total): 1

Memory Type: DDR3

Memory Speed: PC3-10600

Memory Speed MHz: 1333MHz

Total Memory Size: 8GB

Memory Slots (Total): 4

Memory Slots (Available): 0

Memory Configuration: 2GB + 2GB + 2GB + 2GB

Maximum Memory Supported: 32GB - 64 bit

PS/2 Connectors: 1 - Mouse
1 - Keyboard

USB Ports (Total): 6x USB 2.0
2x USB 3.0

Audio Out Jacks: 5

Microphone Jacks: 1

DVI Video: 1

Processor Brand: Intel

Processor Class: Core i7

Processor Number: i7-2600K

Processor Speed: 3.40GHz

Processor Interface: LGA 1155

Processors Supported: 1

Processors Onboard: 1

Hard Drives Included: 1

Interface: SATA II

Capacity: 1TB

Hard Drive Types: Hard Disk Drive

Speed: 7,200RPM

Optical Drive Type: DVDRW

Interface: SATA

Optical Drives Included: 1

Optical Drive Class: DVDRW Dual Layer

Supplemental Media Type: Media Reader

Capacity: 12-in-1

Audio Description: Integrated Audio

Channels: 8

Graphics Description: Dedicated Graphics

GPU/VPU: AMD Radeon HD 6850

Video Memory: 1GB

Video Interface: DVI

Graphics Description: Dedicated Graphics

GPU/VPU: AMD Radeon HD 6850

Video Memory: 1GB

Video Interface: DVI

LAN Data Transfer Rate: 10/100/1000Mbps

LAN Description: Integrated

LAN Interface Type: RJ-45

LAN Ports: 1

Power: 800 Watt

Mouse Type: Optical

Buttons: 5

Connection Type: USB

Scrolling Capability: Vertical

Keyboard Type: Multimedia

Connection Type: USB

Height: 21.29"

Width: 8.74"

Depth: 24.26"

Additional Technologies: Built-in Fan Controller
Liquid Cooling
Unlocked CPU

[sirex]

Im assuming you're buying this system pre-built?


That's alright I guess. My suggestion would be the following:

I would probably suggest going for a sinlge GPU, e.g. just get 1 x 6970 versus 2x 6850's. Price point is very similar. (though I dont know how they do the pricing for these pre builds).

drop the I7 for an I5 as that I7 is pretty pricey. Hell I'd even suggest going for i3.

single biggest performance will be a Solid state drive as your primary. Maybe 120 gbs should suffice for the games you play regulalr + OS, then a second drive with everything else.

8gbs of ram is the sweet spot for some of the newer games. Id suggest going with ddr3 1600mhz as its pretty mainstream now/cheap. Hell Ive had dd3 1600mhz in my system for 2 years now.



----

Sadly, depsite what they want us to think, there hasn't been much change in the PC world for the last few years. Seems like stuff is slowing down on the home consumer level, I think mostly its attributed to developers not having the tools to create anything better.

I just want to use this as an example. I build my PC 2 years ago in November 2009. I got a phenom II black edition 3.2 ghz (quad core). 4 gbs of ram and back then the new radeons were pumping out and I got a 5770 (mostly becuase I liked that it had the HDMI port which you could do sound out of) oh a 500 gb WD black edition for 70$ was on sale then.

Fast forward today, still works really well, playing BF3 with the default graphics (it selected high on everything) and I've always had 2x 24 inch monitors with 1920x1080p.
The only upgrade I made was that I bought another 4gbs of the same ram I bought 2 years ago for $25 (i got ripped off but I didn't want to buy all new ram, as I could have bought 8gbs mushkin for like 35$.)

In any case, there was a slight performance boost with the extra ram as BF3 loaded maps alot quicker.

The only other beneficial upgrade I can see at this point in time is an SSD, because there is nothing being released that I cant play at, at least high settings.

In total I spent around $635 with the mother board and an DVD drive (basically all the internals). I had a case and a PSU already and win 7 and the monitors.

My only regret is that I splurged on the processor. I went for one of the better AMD processors at the time it was $200 when I got it. However at the same time they had the Phenom 2 555, or whatever its called that was a dual core and not a quad core for $120 ish. I am 95% certain that if I had gone with that processor I would never have noticed a difference and saved 80$

and if I had pumped that extra 80 at the time into getting a better graphics card I would have much better performance because the one downside of the 5770 is that it has a 128 bit bus versus the 256 bit bus which was a major chocke point for this card (still good though).

[T.Dot_E30]

If you never plan to over clock the CPU, the i72600K is a waste.

I like this XPS system from dell, right now it's at regular price. But during Christmas/Boxing week sale it went down as low as $799, I almost bought it even thought i didn't need it.
http://www.dell.com/ca/p/performance...n&s=dhs&~ck=mn

All you need to do is add a video card of your choice. It already comes with a 24'' monitor, you can't beat the price. Buying all the component serperately will cost you more.

I do agree with Sirex on the SSD, adding one as a primary drive will net you faster load times across the board.

Originally Posted by sirex

Sadly, depsite what they want us to think, there hasn't been much change in the PC world for the last few years.

I disagree the new sandy bridge Intel processors are a pretty big step up.

More powerful and use alot less power. (Even bigger difference in laptops)

[sirex]

you take the 1 sentence but dont look at the whole picture.

[T.Dot_E30]

Yea sorry I didn't really read your novel, just skimmed it.

[HavocSteve]

AMD Bulldozer. Better and have more raw power then Intel. It also competes with the I7 and is a fraction of the cost. I built my computer from ground up and cost 1200$ ish. Your better to sit down with a tech guy at a computer store and tell him your needs. Then you can actually play around with pricing and maybe score some deals on items. I got my 6870 for a wicked deal and they upgraded my PSU to a better make. You might also what to look into motherboards for expansion down the road. My mobo can handle the new AMD chips that will come out but I'm sporting a Phenom IIX4 955BE at the current moment which is OC to 3.7GHz without any issues and is actually faster then the i7.

sirex points are all on point tbh. His posts makes a lot of sense. I picked up an Corsair Force 3 series 120gb SSD. Win7 takes 5 secs at most to load from dead start to fully internet ready ect. I do live stream gaming so the quad core makes perfect sense. You really need something tailored to you. Anything new out of the box will work perfectly fine as it's new.

[bmwm5lover]

Players don't play PC games, they play with bitches. You know that Dave

[Steve30]

right now I have this setup and its solid for the price.

i5 2500K overclocked to 4.5ghz on stock voltage
2x4GB gskill ripjaws 1600
GTX560Ti DS
corsair HX650 watt power supply
gigabyte z68-ud4-b3

the 2500k is an amazing processor and overclocks easily.

[propr'one]

Dave,

Solid state drive for primary HDD is a good idea. That system will be blazing fast, and is probably overkill

[careless7]

Ya it is a pre build, warranty, sexy case, nice PS etc.

Yes good feedback on the SDD primary drive that was another upgrade I was planning on. Tigerdirect has a 120GB on for $119 right now.

I know it's overkill but I'm not super concerned with the price I just want it to never flinch doing anything.

But thanks for the feedback I'm going to see Incan find some head to heads on those two vid cards to make the decision Nvidia or AMD