Need some advice on a new gaming PC please

R

ryank

New Member
Hello

I'm looking to purchase a new gaming PC that will play all games on highest settings and also be generally quick and not need replacing in just a few years.

Budget is around £3300, one of the PC's shown below is £3919 with the spec I have chosen, however I'm unsure if I need the spec I have chosen for what I want to do, or whether i can downgrade it a bit.

I don't have much PC knowledge so not entirely sure what I should be looking for.

I have listed below a few PC's i have been looking at and that have been modified by me to what I think I should be looking to get.

So, I have been looking at the Alienware Area 51 and the Alienware 51 ALX as well as another couple of PC's. Although, even when I have selected the same spec on both Alienware pc's the ALX is still alot more expensive and not really sure why?

Alienware Area 51 - http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&kc=DRSA1304&l=en&m_30=323039&oc=D00AW501&rbc=D00AW501&s=dhs

Case - Alienware Area 51 Lunar Shadow Standard desktop Chassis
Processor - Intel® Core™ Core i7-970 (3.2GHz, 6.4GT/s, 12MB)
Operating System - Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit
Office Software - English Microsoft® Office Home and Business 2010
Graphics Card - Dual CrossFire™ 1GB ATI® Radeon™ HD 5870 graphics card
Optical Drive - 24X DVD+/- RW Optical Drive (DVD & CD read and write)
Memory - 6GB 1600MHz (3x2GB) Tri Channel Memory
Hard Drive - 2TB Dual Hard Drive Raid 0 "Stripe" (2x1TB - 7200rpm)
Network Card - Killer™ 2100 Network Card
Sound Card - Integrated HDA 7.1 Dolby Digital Audio

Price - £3,308.00

Alienware Area 51 ALX - http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&kc=NRSA1304&l=en&m_30=323039&oc=D00A5A02&rbc=D00A5A02&s=dhs

Case - Alienware Area 51ALX Black Anodized Premium Desktop Chassis
Processor - Intel® Core™ Core i7-970 (3.2GHz, 6.4GT/s, 12MB)
Operating System - Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit
Office Software - English Microsoft® Office Home and Business 2010
Graphics Card - Dual CrossFire™ 1GB ATI® Radeon™ HD 5870 graphics card
Optical Drive - 24X DVD+/- RW Optical Drive (DVD & CD read and write)
Memory - 6GB 1600MHz (3x2GB) Tri Channel Memory
Hard Drive - 2TB Dual Hard Drive Raid 0 "Stripe" (2x1TB - 7200rpm)
Network Card - Killer™ 2100 Network Card
Sound Card - Integrated HDA 7.1 Dolby Digital Audio

Price - £3,753.00

Nvidia SLI - http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-core-i7-pc/

Case - COOLERMASTER CM STORM SNIPER - NEXT GEN GAMING CASE
Processor - Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-970 (3.20GHz) 6.4GTs/12MB Cache
Motherboard - ASUS® P6X58D-E: DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-Way SLI
Memory - 6GB KINGSTON HYPER-X T1 TRI-DDR3 2000MHz, X.M.P(3 x 2GB KIT)
Graphics Card - 2GB ATI RADEON™ HD5970 - 2 DVI,mDP - DirectX® 11, Eyefinity 3 Capable
2nd Graphics Card - 2GB ATI RADEON™ HD5970 - 2 DVI,mDP - DirectX® 11, Eyefinity 3 Capable
3rd Graphics Card - NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk - 240GB OCZ VERTEX 2 SATA II 2.5" SSD (upto 285MB/sR | 275MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk - NONE
RAID - NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive - 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive - NONE
Memory Card Reader - INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply - CORSAIR 1000W PRO SERIES (HX1000) 80+ MODULAR PSU (£169)
Processor Cooling - COOLIT ECO A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£59)
Sound Card - ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities - Bigfoot Killer 2100 PCI-E Gigabit LAN Card - Max Performance Online Gaming (£69)
USB Options - 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System - Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software - Microsoft® Office Home & Business 2010 (1 License Product Key Card) (£155)

Price - £3009


Diablo Ice Demon - http://www.wired2fire.co.uk/build.php?systype=13&fsb=23


Case: Silverstone TJ07 Black with Window
Power Supply: Corsair HX1000 1000W Modular Power Supply
Processor: Core i7 970 8MB Cache Socket 1366
CPU Cooler: EK Supreme HF Full Copper universal CPU Block
Liquid Cooling: Quad Radiator, Laing Pump, Reservoir, Feser Coolant
Optimisation and Tuning: Wired2Fire Cable Management<br>Wired2Fire Overclocking<br>Wired2Fire Tuning
Colour Modding: Blue UV (Fans and Lighting)
Graphics Card 1: Radeon HD5970 2GB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Graphics Card 2: Radeon HD5970 2GB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Graphics Card 3: None
GPU Cooling: 2 x GPU Water Block
Memory: 6GB Corsair Dominator GT DDR3 1600MHz C7 Triple Channel
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Intel X58 (Socket 1366) Motherboard
Hard Disk Drive One: Western Digital 600GB VelociRaptor 32MB Cache SATA II 10000RPM
Hard Disk Drive Two: None
Hard Disk Drive Three: None
Optical Drive One: DVD-RW 22x
Optical Drive Two: None
Removable Storage: None
Sound Card: None
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

Price - £3919.00

Any information would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
 
Benny Boy said:
Suggestion:
Wait 2 weeks for Intels new platform of mb's and cpu's, then come back here for help choosing the parts and build it yourself to save $ and get more for what you spend.
http://www.computerforum.com/104641-how-build-computer-step-step-photos.html
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I dont really have enough time to build the computer my self, also I would much prefer a professional to do it. I understand that its not that difficult to do, but still I think I would like it built for me, thanks for the input though.
 
Thanks for the reply, the spec linked in the above post looks nice. I also had a look my self trying to put together a spec and came up with the below, however im unsure about compatibility.

Case - Coolermaster HAF X Case ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/cases/cases/coolermaster/rc-942-kkn1.html ) £135.00

Operating System - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit DVD - OEM ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/software/operatingsystems/GFC-00599GFC-00977.html ) £81.98

Office Software - English Microsoft® Office Home and Business 2010 £178.06

Graphics Card 1 - Novatech ATI Radeon 5870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/atiradeongraphicscards/atihd5800series/novatech/nov-5870.html £219.98

Graphics Card 2 - Novatech ATI Radeon 5870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/atiradeongraphicscards/atihd5800series/novatech/nov-5870.html £219.98

Processor - Intel Core i7 980x Extreme 3.33Ghz (Gulftown) (Socket LGA1366) ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/processors/intelcorei7/BX80613I7980X.html ) £800.09

Network card - Bigfoot KILLER 2100 Gigabit (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bigfoot-KILLER-2100-Gigabit-Network/dp/B003VSJDBU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=computers&qid=1293473769&sr=8-1) £62.72

Optical Drive - LG GH22LP20 22x DVD+/-RW Lightscribe IDE ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/opticaldrives/idedvdwriters/GH22LP20.AUAR.html ) £21.90

Memory - Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Triple Channel Kit ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/memory-pc/ddr3-triplechannel/CMX6GX3M3A1600C9.html ) £79.98

Hard Drive - Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 16MB Cache Hard Disk Drive Serial ATA <4.2ms 10,000rpm - OEM ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/harddrives-internal/sata250gbto320gb/westerndigital/wd3000hlfs.html ) £137.99

Sound Card - Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio - OEM ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/soundcards/creativelabs/30sb104200000.html ) £36.99

Hard Disk Drive One: Western Digital VelociRaptor 450GB 32MB Cache Hard Disk Drive Serial 6Gb/s ♥.6ms 10,000rpm - OEM
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/harddrives-internal/sata500gbto1tb/WD4500HLHX.html £192.98

Power Supply: Corsair HX1000 1000W Modular Power Supply ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/powersupplies/CMPSU-1000HX.html ) £180.63

was looking at what is needed for water cooling. On a spec i was looking at before it showed these -

CPU Cooler: Coolermaster V10 CPU Cooler
Liquid Cooling: Quad Radiator, Laing Pump, Reservoir, Feser Coolant
GPU Cooling : 2 x GPU Water Block

this bit baffles me, do you need GPU cooling and CPU Cooling? :S dont really understand whats needed for water cooling?

once again, any advice and information would be much appreciated
 
ryank said:
Thanks for the reply, the spec linked in the above post looks nice. I also had a look my self trying to put together a spec and came up with the below, however im unsure about compatibility.

Case - Coolermaster HAF X Case ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/cases/cases/coolermaster/rc-942-kkn1.html ) £135.00

Operating System - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit DVD - OEM ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/software/operatingsystems/GFC-00599GFC-00977.html ) £81.98

Office Software - English Microsoft® Office Home and Business 2010 £178.06

Graphics Card 1 - Novatech ATI Radeon 5870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/atiradeongraphicscards/atihd5800series/novatech/nov-5870.html £219.98

Graphics Card 2 - Novatech ATI Radeon 5870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/atiradeongraphicscards/atihd5800series/novatech/nov-5870.html £219.98

Processor - Intel Core i7 980x Extreme 3.33Ghz (Gulftown) (Socket LGA1366) ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/processors/intelcorei7/BX80613I7980X.html ) £800.09

Network card - Bigfoot KILLER 2100 Gigabit (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bigfoot-KILLER-2100-Gigabit-Network/dp/B003VSJDBU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=computers&qid=1293473769&sr=8-1) £62.72

Optical Drive - LG GH22LP20 22x DVD+/-RW Lightscribe IDE ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/opticaldrives/idedvdwriters/GH22LP20.AUAR.html ) £21.90

Memory - Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Triple Channel Kit ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/memory-pc/ddr3-triplechannel/CMX6GX3M3A1600C9.html ) £79.98

Hard Drive - Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 16MB Cache Hard Disk Drive Serial ATA <4.2ms 10,000rpm - OEM ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/harddrives-internal/sata250gbto320gb/westerndigital/wd3000hlfs.html ) £137.99

Sound Card - Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio - OEM ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/soundcards/creativelabs/30sb104200000.html ) £36.99

Hard Disk Drive One: Western Digital VelociRaptor 450GB 32MB Cache Hard Disk Drive Serial 6Gb/s ♥.6ms 10,000rpm - OEM
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/harddrives-internal/sata500gbto1tb/WD4500HLHX.html £192.98

Power Supply: Corsair HX1000 1000W Modular Power Supply ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/powersupplies/CMPSU-1000HX.html ) £180.63

was looking at what is needed for water cooling. On a spec i was looking at before it showed these -

CPU Cooler: Coolermaster V10 CPU Cooler
Liquid Cooling: Quad Radiator, Laing Pump, Reservoir, Feser Coolant
GPU Cooling : 2 x GPU Water Block

this bit baffles me, do you need GPU cooling and CPU Cooling? :S dont really understand whats needed for water cooling?

once again, any advice and information would be much appreciated
Click to expand...

Forgot to put about the motherboard, not sure what i should be looking for as far as compatibility goes?
 
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