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Hardware  » Advice for Gaming Computer.

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25 posts found

Apprentice Member

Joined: 10/21/10
Posts: 10

OP  7/25/13 12:06:34 PM#1

Hi all,

As the title say's i'm obviously looking into buying a new computer, which will be dedicated completely to gaming, so bare in mind when posting spec's if someone doesn't mind :). 

Got around a budget of about £650, also wanting a monitor which again budget is around £100 for that. So in total £750 to play around with really.

Already thought of a basic build, whether or not it's actually any good or not i'm not 100% sure so i'd appreciate some feedback.

Following Build costs - £598.99 with VAT.

Case: Cooler Master Elite 335

CPU: Intel i5 3470 - (4 x 3.2ghz)  - Ivy Bridge

CPU Heatsink: Intel heatsink and fan - low noise

Memory: 1x8gb 1600Mhz DDR3

Graphics card: ATI Radeon HD 7750 4GB (VTX3D) (PCI-E)

Motherboard : Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H (Intel B75) 

Soundboard: Motherboard intergrated HD sound

Networking: Motherboard intergrated Ethernet lan (Broadband ready)

Power supply: 700W PSU

CPU Compound: Standard CPU Compound supplied with heatsink.

Case fans: Fans included with case


Hard Drive: 320GB SATA-II HDD 7200 RPM 2MB

Monitor: 21.5" HD LED Widescreen Monitor 1920x1080 DVI/VGA

There's the spec's, I'll also get for free the following; Webroot Antivirus (3 years), Cyberlink powerdvd 10, nero v12, DVI Port to VGA Monitor adapter and a 32gb USB 2.0 flash drive.

If anyone has any recommendations to what I could change or if something is better feel free to explain why please :)


Apprentice Member

Joined: 12/12/11
Posts: 657

7/25/13 12:19:43 PM#2
Get an Asus g75vx, its quiet as a mouse, beautiful graphics, and you can take it anywhere. No messing around with upgrades either. One more plus is the ergonomic design for very long gaming sessions keeps you comfy. With the games out now and what's coming down the pipe this pc will deliver the quality you want for the next five years. Yes you can buy a more powerful laptop for an arm and a leg, it still won't be as nice as the g75vx, and yes you can buy a desktop and plan on upgrading. Problem is if you upgrade one thing you need to upgrade them all to balance your machine and make maximum use of all components. G75vx comes well balance with a 1080p monitor all set to go.

Apprentice Member

Joined: 10/21/10
Posts: 10

OP  7/25/13 12:26:45 PM#3

Although I know where your coming from it's way above my budget, plus the fact I've never really liked laptop's for gaming as I prefer the power I can get through a desktop.

Plus upgrade's arent really a problem, will have more money to spend to upgrade in a couple of months anyway. (Buying a car, insurance etc etc)


Hard Core Member

Joined: 3/30/07
Posts: 944

7/25/13 1:08:37 PM#4

It looks like you're buying a pre-built system.  If that is true, you're getting junk-bin parts where they can give you those.  Specifically, the power supply and RAM are likely junk.  Something also seems fishy about the video card you're getting.


I strongly recommend the i5-3570K if you're able to spend that much on a processor.  On the US Newegg site, it is only $20 more than your current processor.  I'm not sure what the difference is in your market.

Choosing the i5-3570K will allow you to overclock in the future.  You will need a better fan for overclocking, but for the price difference, the performance gains should be worth it.


Your RAM should be a pair, not a single stick.  The idea is to take advantage of the increased memory bandwidth by using dual-channel mode with the RAM.  

Always check your motherboard's product page to determine what memory modules are certified as working.  You don't have to use memory from that list, but at least use memory modules which use the same memory chips and you should be safe.


Do you burn CDs or DVDs?  You don't have to have an optical drive permanently installed.  I used a USB optical drive to load OSes on many computers.


It seems like you're getting a bad deal if they're giving you a SATA-II drive.  SATA-III has been the standard for a while, and desktop 3.5" mechanical drives are often cheap for 1TB of space.

Instead of a mechanical drive, using a solid-state drive for games and your OS will result in very fast loading and boot times.  If you can afford a 240GB SSD, you can fit plenty of games on it before needing to uninstall.  A 120GB SSD is just large enough for your OS and the handful of games you actively play.  If you download movies and other media, get a mechanical drive to store those on.


Don't be fooled by the "free stuff" included with the computer.  Anti-virus companies have to give away their products nowadays just to get people to use them because their products are not that great.  At best, antivirus products provide a false sense of security.  You might as well use Windows Defender or MSE; it integrates with Windows better and is less intrusive about updates and scans.

You don't need Cyberlink PowerDVD or Nero to burn disks.  They can be useful, but they are far from necessary.

The DVI->VGA adapter is typically included with video cards, but you shouldn't need it if you're buying a modern monitor.

The 32GB flash drive is the only nice thing they are including, if it isn't some junk product that will go bad in a couple months.


Does this system include a Windows license?  If it does, are they giving you the CD and license key?


It is worth taking the time to put together a computer for yourself.  The learning experience is valuable and the money saved can be applied towards better components.  In addition, you know exactly what you're getting instead of being surprised with junk parts that go bad right after the warranty is up.  Speaking of warranties, does this even have one?  If it does, do you really want to go without gaming for the time it takes to ship it back and have them fix it?


Apprentice Member

Joined: 10/21/10
Posts: 10

OP  7/25/13 2:20:44 PM#5

Unfortunately I've chosen the parts myself aha, as you can see i'm not really that knowledgeable about what part's are good and what aren't thats why I need the help of people like yourself to actually get my money's worth for what I'm wanting to pay.

And to answer about the warranty/os yeah it comes with windows 7 and a 3 year warranty.

Also would you mind possibly getting a build together for me? I'm pretty clueless as you can see lol :)


Hard Core Member

Joined: 3/30/07
Posts: 944

7/25/13 3:02:41 PM#6

The lack of a brand or part number for the RAM and power supply, and the existence of a warranty make it look like you're buying from a site that assembles the system for you.  These sites let you "choose" the parts, but you usually get the lowest quality and/or pay a lot extra for what you get.

Are you assembling the computer, or paying a company to do it?


I am only familiar with places to buy parts in US Dollars.  Please provide links to sites you normally buy computer parts from, or wait for someone else to post a build in your budget.


Novice Member

Joined: 6/27/05
Posts: 626

7/25/13 3:12:54 PM#7

I don't think you will be satisfied with AMD 7750 performance.

I'd try to squeeze 7850 into budget at least, or Nvidia gtx660 (which I use and love, even though I'm an AMD fan)


Try using a thorough benchmark for the games you like and want to play now, or use this very good and fast Anandtech bench which compares NUMEROUS graphic cards performance in many games:


Hard Core Member

Joined: 4/06/04
Posts: 6626

7/25/13 4:21:05 PM#8

One 8 GB stick of RAM will not work as well as two 4 GB sticks of RAM in dual channel motherboards like the one you chose. You don't get the full bandwidth speed when you use only one stick.

With 2 dual channels on that motherboard, you would still be able to add more RAM at a later date.


Apprentice Member

Joined: 10/21/10
Posts: 10

OP  7/25/13 5:46:59 PM#9

Yeah i'm building my own computer, here's the link for the website.



Joined: 12/11/08
Posts: 12638

7/25/13 6:12:09 PM#10

Are you looking to buy parts and assemble it yourself, or merely to hire someone else to use a screwdriver for you?  If the latter, then expect about a 20% markup, which means that a given budget won't go nearly as far.

Also, your link won't load.


Hard Core Member

Joined: 3/30/07
Posts: 944

7/25/13 6:21:43 PM#11

I don't think that counts as "building your own computer".  You're just picking parts and paying them to put it together.  You get a fully-working, ready-to-go PC a few weeks after you place your order.


Are you willing to order parts individually and put the system together yourself?  You can save money that way and get a better system.  You would lose the warranty on the entire system, but you would still have manufacturer's warranties on individual parts.  You would also gain valuable experience and knowledge, and possibly a sense of accomplishment.

If you don't have the time or confidence to do it yourself, go ahead and order from that site.


In the US, Newegg and Amazon are some of the popular sites for ordering PC parts.  They don't assemble anything.  You order a video card and a CPU, and RAM, etc.. and everything comes in boxes and you have to figure out how to put it together.  Fortunately, PC building is easier now than it has ever been.  There is less to worry about with compatibility and plenty of suppliers to choose parts from for any budget.


Apprentice Member

Joined: 10/21/10
Posts: 10

OP  7/26/13 4:09:52 AM#12

Thanks for feedback and yeah I was planning for someone to build it for me(who I know) so buying parts isn't a problem tbh and yeah I'm from UK just so you know for parts to order. But it's like I said if someone doesn't mind possibly doing a build for me?

would appreciate it :)


Hard Core Member

Joined: 1/29/12
Posts: 393

7/26/13 6:11:21 AM#13

I have the same CPU and MBO chipset (B75), which coupled with AMD 7850 GPU works great. 

You don't want AMD 7750 GPU, if you plan any serious gaming. AMD 7790 or Nvidia gtx650ti is the bare minimum. I also think your PSU is an overkill, since good 450W PSU will be more than enough (at least it is for my rig). Also consider buying a SSD HDD forf aster Windows boot up and loading of games.


Hard Core Member

Joined: 3/30/07
Posts: 944

7/26/13 8:41:39 AM#14
What web sites do you prefer to buy parts from (not an entire assembled computer) in the UK?

Apprentice Member

Joined: 10/21/10
Posts: 10

OP  7/26/13 3:33:13 PM#15
Novatec most likely or aria, been looking at both of them.

Novice Member

Joined: 8/14/09
Posts: 252

7/26/13 5:40:09 PM#16
Built a pretty awesome PC with the help of people here just a few months ago. Good luck to you.

Novice Member

Joined: 9/16/10
Posts: 648

Die clickers Die!!!

7/26/13 5:44:41 PM#17
Originally posted by Quizzical




Hard Core Member

Joined: 3/30/07
Posts: 944

7/27/13 8:25:32 AM#18

Novatech looks like they sell some PC components, but most of what they sell are pre-assembled.  For the sake of simplicity, and my lack of familiarity with the value of the Pound, I used them for the majority of the PC.


Case + Power Supply + Motherboard + i5-3570K CPU + 8 GB RAM (2 x 4GB) = £380

GeForce 660Ti Video Card = £180

250 GB SSD = £128

Windows 7 = £68

Total core system cost = £756


That doesn't include a monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, or other peripherals.  Also, you will need an optical drive to load Windows.  I use an external USB DVD drive for loading OSes (mostly Linux, but works with WIndows too) at work.  Alternatively, you can use the optical drive from your old computer if you have one.


If you want to get the cost down, putting the case, motherboard, power supply, RAM, and CPU together for yourself might save a bit.  I'm feeling too lazy to look up all of the individual parts for you, though.

You will get more help if you post a build attempt of your own than asking for someone to look up the parts for you.  There are plenty of build attempts posted on this forum if you want some references to look at.


Hard Core Member

Joined: 10/10/07
Posts: 637

7/27/13 10:24:27 AM#19

Pardon any spelling errors
Konfess your cyns and some maybe forgiven
Boy: Why can't I talk to Him?
Mom: We don't talk to Priests.



Joined: 12/11/08
Posts: 12638

7/27/13 10:43:03 AM#20
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