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Build Advice First PC in 4 Years Advice!

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Big British Guy, 3 May 2012.

  1. Big British Guy

    Big British Guy What's a Dremel?

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    Hello!

    Im new to these forums, so hello to everyone! This forum, as i hope, was the best recommended on google so ill give it a shot... Heres my jumbled story.

    First off, i havnt had a Home PC for a good 4 years. As it was stolen and i havn't had enough money since to splash out on one since. Ive always been quite the gamer (Console and PC wise) and i loved Diablo 2 (Oldie, i know!) and Oblivion. It was the Max my PC could run but i loved every second of it... well, until whichever needy person decided to yank it from me.

    Well, since then ive got a job (yay for me) and saved up every last bit for a decent Gaming Rig. I researched stuff for a good 3 months, going from Macs (I know :wallbash: ) to Alienware. I finally settled with SCAN Computers after a few recomendations. and built myself a £2000 PC that was as good as i could get to the best of my knowledge. Considering the 4 year gap, i was a bit rusty.

    Here Goes (All from memory, ill update tomorow with proper specs)

    Corsair Osbedian 800D Full Tower Case (Red LEDS!!! haha :rock:)
    Asus P8Z68-V Pro/Gen 3 MotherBoard (No idea whether this is "good")
    Intel i7 2800k Processor (No Idea...)
    16GB Corsair RAM (my last had 512mb i think!)
    2x Nvidia GTX 560Ti GPUs (Average i thinks)
    Corsair 120GB SSD (Gathered it was a Fast HDD, i had no idea!)
    2TB HDD + 1TB Storage HDD
    Corsair Hydro H80(?) Cooling Sytem?
    Windows 7 Home
    2x CD Drives
    -
    Asus ML249 Designo Monitor
    Razer Arctosa Keyboard (absolute poo keyboard)
    Logitech Gaming Mouse (Brill!)
    And a few other bits and bats.


    Now, as far as some of you guys go, im a complete PC Noob. i know... Nothing, about PCs anymore. But i took the risk and built myself one Blindly. How Did i do!? :worried:

    2 Weeks or so ago, i started having problems, it wasnt booting up properly. i sent it off, and hopefully im getting it back sometime soon, something to do with the motherboard, jibberish to me. I just want to stick in Skyrim and Play on max settings. End of.
    But my Main Question, and ultimately, why im here. is... well... where to go from here!?

    Over the next 3 years, i want to get this PC to the HIGHEST Possible Specs out there (Without going Personal Super Computer) for Gaming. i Mean like, everything. Hoping to ramp the thing up to a total Value of about £5-6k!

    could anyone suggest where to start, im thinking the new Nvidia GTX 690Ti as my GPUs are average. but any help would be great, from magazines to buy to get me back to grips to... i dunno, anything really. Any help would do, i understand this has been a long post but i hope someone, somewhere shares my interest in this! :thumb:

    Thanks!

    Big British Guy.
     
  2. Bede

    Bede Minimodder

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    It's a 2600K I believe (unless Intel sneakily released a 2800K without me realising!). If you want the best, buy a good screen (Dell U3011 - 30", good panel) and buy two 4gb GTX680s. Also a sound card - Asus Xonar D2X would fit your budget.
     
  3. Big British Guy

    Big British Guy What's a Dremel?

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    Hello!

    My Full Specs are as Follows!

    Corsair Obsidian Series 800D, Black, Full Tower Case

    Asus P8Z77-V Pro/G3, Intel Z77 Chipset (Recently Upgraded due to fault!)

    Intel Core i7 2700K, 3.5GHz, Quad Core + Hyperthreading, 8MB Cache

    Corsair H80 Hydro Series - High Performance CPU Cooler

    2nd Generation Intel® Core™ Sandy Bridge CPU professionally overclocked by our 3XS engineers to 4.7Ghz!!

    16GB (4x4GB) Corsair Vengeance LP, DDR3, 1600MHz

    2x 1GB Asus GTX 560Ti, 900MHz GPU, 384 Cores, 4200MHz GDDR5

    850W Corsair HX Series Modular

    120GB OCZ Vertex 3, Sandforce SSD, Read 550MB/s, Write 500MB/s

    2TB Seagate Barracuda, SATA 6Gb/s, 7200rpm, 64MB Cache

    1TB Western Digital Caviar Green, 64MB Cache

    Asus Xonar DX/XD 7.1 Soundcard

    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit


    If anyone has any suggestions (Thanks above poster! :thumb: ) on where to go from here, it would be greatly appreciated, found a few 'newb' guides around to help me out but theres nothing like your help!!!

    Big British Guy
     
  4. Fat Tony

    Fat Tony Minimodder

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    Hmm, I've been doing similar it seems - the issue is this comment

    "Over the next 3 years, i want to get this PC to the HIGHEST Possible Specs out there"

    What you'll find is that as soon as you can afford to upgrade one part, another part is superceded.

    Longish term, the next (Intel) CPU out is Ivy Bridge - E. This should be (is reportedly) socket 2011, so building a system based on this makes sence. However, I get the feeling that as soon as IB-E comes out, they'll also release another chipset update for x79 - and so you'll have to upgrade your motherboard as well.

    As for graphics, yes, currently GTX690 - but in three years - well, I'd imagine that we'll be on GTX2090 (probably not as nVidia like to change their naming convention as regularly as the seasons)

    You don't say what power supply you have ...
     
  5. Big British Guy

    Big British Guy What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks for the reply, i see what you mean about the quick "obsolete-ness" of computer parts. Just as i was thinking about buying 2x 680's... the 690 has come out!

    Basically, as my long drawn out posts probably dont explain, is i just need some help on where to start upgrading. obviously the graphics card is a must (still dont know between 2x 680s or a 690!) but its more of the other parts that im on about, like will i ever need to upgrade the motherboard? or the CPUs? or even the OS at any time?

    Its things like that that i have no experience with whatsoever, wether they will help with Maxed out games, whether things like that are worth getting at all! :D
     
  6. Maximilian

    Maximilian WC Virgin

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    I'd start with a larger monitor, maybe a 30" Dell or 2 more 24" screens for surround.

    Then probably upgrade the GPUs next, a couple of 680s would be very nice, but very expensive! Maybe wait for the next round of cards..

    Mechanical keyboard, Some decent speakers for that soundcard...

    But for now, enjoy what you have built and build up some gaming time!

    Nice build btw :)
     
  7. MrDomRocks

    MrDomRocks Modder

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    I agree the build is nice but your simply over budgeting to say the least. In terms of what you have right now. Z77 board will be Ivy Bridge compatible but the jury is still out on whether it is a worthwhile upgrade. An i7 overclocked is enough right now. Having 600 series graphics card isn't a must. Sli GTX 580s will max most games. Having a decent monitor also helps. The flavour is up to you. But dell are well liked here. U27/30### i don't know exact model. I have a lower end motherboard/cpu and GTX 570 which will last me a good few years still.
     
  8. Digi

    Digi The not-so-funny Cockney

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    Dom, it seems money is no object.. so I guess most of those rules go out the window - even though they make perfect sense.

    As to the build, you can easily get a 5-6k machine and keep buying the latest parts but as mentioned above, you'll only be current for a few months at best. Why waste the money I might ask?
     
  9. MrDomRocks

    MrDomRocks Modder

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    It'd be like chasing your own tail trying to keep up with next gen or tweak kit.

    I admit looking at motherboards etc of late you can pick up an EVGA Cheesecake SLI P8P67 Motherboard. For around the price of a Z77 with SLI. Which is better, in this instance there isn't much in it. Accept Ivy Bridge support in Z77.

    I don't see the point in constant upgrades. But that's just me.
     
  10. The_Beast

    The_Beast I like wood ಠ_ಠ

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    I'd go with an Ivy bridge since it isn't that much more than a Sandy. Plus you'll be getting some extra features that come with a Z77 board.


    However if you do a lot of multitasking or rendering, then I'd recommend a Sandy-E for the extra cores
     
  11. MrDomRocks

    MrDomRocks Modder

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    Ivy Bridge with adequate cooling as it runs much hotter....
     
  12. The_Crapman

    The_Crapman World's worst stuntman. Lover of bit-tech

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    For now, upgrade the graphics and get one of the dell monitors mentioned above and then wait. Save whatever money you want to spend on seperate upgrades until your system is noticeably lagging in performance on the latest games, then upgrade the whole system to whatever is newest.

    If you upgrade bit by bit you'll be forever chasing your own tail and spending ludicrous amounts for new parts which don't offer a tremendous set-up on the existing ones.
     
  13. Big British Guy

    Big British Guy What's a Dremel?

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    Ha Ha! Thankyou for all your replys! So for now its just the GPUs and Peripherials? Okay! Well my next buy is definatly a GPU (Still cant decide between 2x 680s or 1x 690!)

    As for Mouse and Keyboard, I think ill be going for the Corsair MMO Vengence Series. They look ace! (So many buttons! :jawdrop: )

    Monitor wise, "Unless its absolutly necessary" i could do with sticking with my ASUS, Im running out of room on my desk and the display is the right size for me really, i also like the look of the monitor! But... is there any detrimental reasons why i may have to get another, Bigger screen needed for better graphics card?

    And speakers... not really much experience with speakers. Im a headset guy but would still love a set! Might look at Corsairs brand for starters unless anyone has any good leads!

    and... as for the money. Its something i have saved up for for a LONG time to start doing, ive always wanted to build a computer over a long time as a sort of... Personal Project.
    Eventually, Money will run out, but for now i just want to enjoy myself!

    Thankyou for everyones help! :thumb:
     

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