[Szadzik]

 
Quote:

Ahhh, haha, I completely missed that. Still curious to see what $2800 buys in the UK though. Here in the US I would hope you got at least a 240GB SATA3 SSD in there for your OS drive.

 
 
Zalman HD503
Corsair AX750
Asus P8Z68 Deluxe Gen3
60GB SSD SATA 3Gb
2TB HDD
2x4GB Corsair Vengeance 1600mHz
ATI HD 6870
i7-2700k
BR Writer
Asus VE278Q
Logitech K360 + MX Performance
 

 

[Wage]

Oh.
 
You weren't kidding when you said things were more expensive there >_<
 
Also, it's a shame you didn't go with a more powerful GPU and the i5-2500K. The performance boost from a GPU upgrade will always be more noticeable (and make your system last longer in terms of future-proofing) than its CPU equivalent in $$$ spent. But then again, it's easier to swap out the GPU at a later time than it is to upgrade to another chipset down the road. Overall, a good system and I love that case, but for $2800 I was expecting a little more bang for that buck.

 

[Szadzik]

 
Quote:

Oh.
 
You weren't kidding when you said things were more expensive there >_<
 
Also, it's a shame you didn't go with a more powerful GPU and the i5-2500K. The performance boost from a GPU upgrade will always be more noticeable (and make your system last longer in terms of future-proofing) than its CPU equivalent in $$$ spent. But then again, it's easier to swap out the GPU at a later time than it is to upgrade to another chipset down the road. Overall, a good system and I love that case, but for $2800 I was expecting a little more bang for that buck.

I do not use anything that would be graphics intensive, everything is CPU intensive and I can always get another GPU and run them in Crossfire.
 
Remember, subtract 20-30% to compare to prices in the US.
 

 

[our martin]

i am thinking about getting a gaming pc built from maingear the f131 or the shift with twin asus radeon amd hd 7970 graphics cards in crossfire mode has anyone had any experience with maingear or any suggestions on what mother board or ram or graphics card to get i have read that the nividia gtx590 cards run hot am i better off with the 7970s..i want to play battlefield 3 on ultra and turn everthing up to max settings anyone on the headfi know what to get? is sandry bridge a good option.."a three grand budget for the tower including soundcard which will be aphex epic audio engine"..i will get the screen and keyboard and mouse myself going for razer stuff and a super oled tv..p.s i will pay more if i have to because i want the best build possible but i won't waste money on things that i will never use..the pc wil be for gaming and browsing the web and downloading music and watching online movies.

 

[our martin]

does anyone know if the s5520scr intel xeon workstation board with intergrated hd 7.1 surround sound has got good sound i will be using this with aphex epic audio engine enhancer but am clueless how the thing will sound no reviews on the sound that i can find anywhere.. comes with the maingear gaming pcs..

 

[Wage]

our martin,

If you're looking at playing BF3 on Ultra, Crossfire 7970s is a little overkill, but yes, they'll do it just fine.

See: http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-7970-crossfire-review/19
 
If money is no option, though, you're better off getting the XFX Black Edition 7970s over those Asus versions (because of their better temperature ratings while under load). You should also look at water cooling options if you plan on overclocking, but I'd suggest against it since you don't seem to be very tech savvy from the looks of your Sandy Bridge question. I'm not making fun at all; water cooling can be a pain in the ass unless you either do it yourself or buy a professionally sealed system, and for the latter option's cost you might as well just buy a second computer. Seriously, it becomes a huge waste of money unless you have an aquarium fetish or do everything yourself.

From what you'll be using the system for, don't be an idiot like all those guys who buy a ****load of RAM and never use it. You will not need more than 8GB if you're just gaming, watching movies, and surfing the web. Period. This includes any antivirus you have running in the background while doing all of the above at the same time. If you need more down the road (because of advances in technology and programs taking up more memory), then you can upgrade at that time.
 
Invest in an SSD for your OS drive. As big as you can get it, SATA 3, Sandforce SF-2200 and all that junk. Vertex 3 is popular (but expensive). To be honest, if you're only gaming, I suggest spending your money on a higher capacity SSD, NOT the single fastest one. Unlike someone who uses their computer for techie stuff, you will not benefit from the extra 10-20% increase in speed as much as you will extra space for a bunch of games and programs.
 
Also, make Sandy Bridge your only option (forget about AMD unless you are building a budget PC, at least for this generation). An i5-2500K is perfect for gaming atm, but of course the i7-2600K yields slightly better numbers for $100 more. For you, I'd probably recommend the i7, because again I don't think you should be overclocking anything unless you're prepared to fix it.
 
I would not recommend getting multiple nVidia cards of this generation unless you plan on investing in water cooling. They also run louder, and unless you plan on using programs which benefit from PhysX, ATI will give you more bang for your buck and be easier to implement at the same time.

Other than the GPUs, the main thing you want to focus on in your gaming build is proper cooling for your system. I build PCs myself, so I have no idea what the quality is of those guys you plan on hiring, but don't be a cheapskate when it comes to your fans and case. What's the point of buying the best **** if it overheats because you bought a low profile mini-ATX setup to take to LAN parties? It'd be the same thing as buying a Ferrari with no cup holder.
 

 

[Wage]

In response to your question via that "thumbs up" you gave,

No, you should not be looking at Sandy Bridge e. Stick with Sandy Bridge.
 
Also, unless you're buying very soon, you should consider waiting for the 7990 to release.
 
See: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/AMD-Radeon-HD7990-HD7950-ati,14366.html
 
There have been way too many problems this generation with ATI and gaming developers not getting their act together as far as crossfire drivers go. You'll eventually be able to play the games in max settings glory, but if you're one of those people who goes out and buys a game on the day it comes out, you may have to play it with one of your two cards until a crossfire patch is released
 

 

[our martin]

how does this one sound a maingear shift i7 3960x 16gb ram which comes with the pc... 3x7970 x79 chipset 1200 watt power supply performance cooling upgrade and acoustic pack sound dampering..or i could wait for the 7990?

 

[Wage]

Hahahahaha, trifire 7970s?!!

Yeah, if you can wait, I'd REALLY recommend holding out for the 7990s. But that won't be for at least another month, as ATI haven't even released official specs.

It usually goes.... 1) Manufacturer releases specs/press release, 2) They send out cards for review by websites, 3) Sold to public. The 7990 is supposed to do something new with power saving which will really help with noise levels and temperature while idle, but the bigger reason to wait for it is because it's going to be the big thing when it comes out, similar to nVidia's upcoming GTX 690.

Simply put, why buy a 2012 model car shortly before they release the 2013s? Both the GTX 690 and 7990 are expected to be out for purchase in Q1 2012. Your money will go much further if you zip up your pants and take a chill pill.

 

[DaveBSC]

 
Quote:

our martin,
 
Invest in an SSD for your OS drive. As big as you can get it, SATA 3, Sandforce SF-2200 and all that junk. Vertex 3 is popular (but expensive). To be honest, if you're only gaming, I suggest spending your money on a higher capacity SSD, NOT the single fastest one. Unlike someone who uses their computer for techie stuff, you will not benefit from the extra 10-20% increase in speed as much as you will extra space for a bunch of games and programs.

The Sandforce controller and particularly OCZ Sandforce drives are a bad recommendation, unless you like drive failures and blue screens. BF3 in particular is known for blue screening SF drives. None of the current crop of consumer grade SSDs are flawless, but the OCZ Sandforce drives are pretty much the worst of the lot. For the moment I'd recommend the Samsung 830 drives, followed by the Intel 510 series.

 

[our martin]

the maingear shift comes with in bay1 128 crucial sata 6g and bay2 1tb seagate barracuda 72.0012 32 mb 6g is this ok? have you looked on the maingear site the shifts supposed to be one of the best gaming pcs you can buy..
 

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

the maingear shift comes with in bay1 128 crucial sata 6g and bay2 1tb seagate barracuda 72.0012 32 mb 6g is this ok?
 

Provided the Crucial drive has the most recent firmware it should be ok. Platter drives are unfortunately a crap shoot these days, Seagate and WD are pretty much the only ones left, and you just have to hope the SMART data will warn you before a failure.
 

 

[our martin]

i do save data to a cloud when i am playing battlefield3 just in case i wouldn't like to start again with no unlocks..p.s i don't know if you have played the game but crysis 2 has got very good sound it's one of the best soundtracks i have heard in a game and that's just on a dolby home theatre 3 pc with a surround sound headset..