new computer

[wildgoose1uk]

Haven't done much gaming in years but have recently become interested in DCS.... fortunately at the same time as my pc needed replacing anyway at 6+ years old.

 

I need some advice though. I will likely only be playing flight sims cannot afford a fortune on a gaming pc but can afford a reasonable amount. I have been looking at the pc's at http://3xs.scan.co.uk/. should i be looking at any other companies? Quality is important to me as is support.

 

Intel vs AMD I keep changing with the wind on this one. AMD chips seem to be better value but Intel give a better performance. Once you factor in all the other components the actual difference in price is not as much overall. I am thinking about an i3 overclocked to 4.4 or a 6 or 8 core AMD similarly overclocked. What do I actually need?

 

GPU. Do I need to spend £200 on a GPU or is £100 plenty? If so which ones? I don't want to buy a card and then need to upgrade it in a years time.

 

My main criteria is that I would like the rig to last. All I have had to do to my present pc is add ram and hdd. (I wouldn't like to game on it though!!

 

All comments gratefullt received!

 

Thanks in advance

 

wg

[TZeer]

How much are you looking at spending?

 

Can't really give you much advice unless we know what limits you operate with :)

[wildgoose1uk]

Good question!! Before I started looking at DCS I was looking at spending around £350 - £400. After I started looking at DCS I upped it to £600, then £800, then £1k and it all seems to be getting a bit silly when compared with my original budget.

 

I don't mind spending a reasonable amount but I keep seeing things I like..... I am happy to spend a reasonable amount to give a reasonable degree of future proofing but I don't want to go over the top. I would be happy to spend around £7 - 800 but it is not entirely rigid either way.

[TZeer]

I would recommend build one yourself, or get someone to help you build it. Saves money, and you get a better computer in the end.

 

Any computer parts you can/want to use from your old setup? Monitors, mouse, dvd, case etc?

 

Give a quick roll of what I would go for:

 

i7 3570k : Will give you a nice CPU, and you can overclock it for more performance, cpu power is very important for dcs

 

209$ at newegg

 

Decent motherboard, Asus, Gigabyte, whatever, something that has a good reputation and known for quality.

 

Motherboards start at rouhgly 120$ and upwards, there is also package deals where you get motherboard and cpu for less then 300$ like this one:

 

i5 3570k + ASUS motherboard for 290$

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1270852

 

Minmum 8Gb of ram for about 70$

 

A SSD for OS and DCS: 240 Gb Samsung 840 for about 190$

 

Now you have CPU, motherboard, SSD and RAM for 550$

 

You can get a nice Nvidia 660Ti in the 200-300$ range or a AMD 7870 or 7950 :)

Depending if you need a new case, monitor+++

[wildgoose1uk]

This is the spec I am currently looking at:

 

3XS Smart - Intel Core i5 3570K - Overclocked to 4.5Ghz - Updated April 2013

LN1198**Operating System Not required* (System Tested under Win 7 HP)

LN46908*2GB EVGA GTX 660 Superclocked, 28nm, 6008MHz GDDR5, GPU 1046MHz, Boost 1111MHz, Cores 960 +Free to Play Bundle

LN43592*3XS No Power Supply Required

LN45491*3XS OCB Z77 Smart - Intel Core i5 3570K

LN47046*3XS Systems ONLY - MSI Z77A-G45 MoBo

LN45114*3XS-EXTREME-OVERCLOCKING- Check Build

LN47571*2 x 4GB Corsair 3XS Only Vengeance LP Black 1600Mhz C9 Module

LN37177*Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 CPU Cooler Intel 775/1155/1156/1366 AMD 939/AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+

LN42829*Intel Core i5 3570K,1155, Ivy Bridge, Quad Core, 3.4GHz, 5 GT/s DMI, 650MHz GPU, 6MB Smart Cache, 34x Ratio, 77W, Retail

LN41202*Scan Overclocked Bundle Range

£556

 

 

 

Antec Three Hundred Two Black Mid Tower Performance Gaming Case w/o PSU £61.56

 

 

240GB Corsair Neutron Series, 2.5" LAMD SSD, Sync NAND, Read 555MB/s, Write 370MB/s, 90,000 IOPS Max

£170.69

 

2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 Barracuda 7200.14 SATA 3 6GB/s 7200rpm 64MB Cache 8ms OEM NCQ

£68.64

 

600W Corsair 2013 Edition GS CP-9020063-UK, 85% Eff', 80 PLUS Bronze, SLI/CrossFire, EPS 12V, Quiet Fan, ATX v2.3 PSU

£64.32

 

Comes to a total of £932.81. I would like to reduce this but am unsure of what I can realistically change without too much compromise in performance.

 

What do you think?

[r3m]

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)

Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G43 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($129.00 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($217.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($97.98 @ Outlet PC)

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($238.98 @ Newegg)

Case: NZXT Tempest 210 ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: Cooler Master GX 650W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)

Base Total: $1139.90 or £742.99

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-14 08:05 EDT-0400)

 

 

^This is just a simple improved build based on what you posted. You excluded for example a monitor, an OS, and a disc drive so I excluded them as well, assuming that you won't need to purchase them for whatever reason. You could easily make a superior PC for £1000, at least based on the US prices I see aggregated on PCPartPicker.

 

The above build has 16GB of DDR3-1866 RAM, a superior SSD, GPU, CPU cooler and less expensive case with similar air flow and aesthetic details to the Antec 300. The GPU in particular is tom's hardware's best buy from £120-£180. It's based on the same tahitis as the 79xx series as opposed to the pictairns from the 78xx and thus achieves a higher level of performance and overclockability while staying price competitive with the lower performing GTX 660 ti. You could easily add a GTX 670 if you're more keen to go with nvidia for whatever reason and still stay within the proposed £1000 budget.

 

At GTX 670 level (probably much lower really) and ~1920x1200 resolution you cease to need a better GPU for DCS World as of 2013 (not to mention some pretty absurd performance in Crysis 3), and therefore money spent on something better performing like a 7970 or 680 is frankly a waste. You could save for a better monitor, a pair of pedals, some beer etc..

 

You will of course receive a better deal if you buy the parts separately and assemble and overclock yourself, but if that isn't your thing the lists should help anyway. Have fun with your new PC and cheers.

 

With a GTX 670, DVD Drive and Win7 pro 64:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)

Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G43 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($129.00 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($217.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($97.98 @ Outlet PC)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($349.99 @ NCIX US)

Case: NZXT Tempest 210 ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: Cooler Master GX 650W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)

Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($134.98 @ Outlet PC)

Base Total: $1397.86 or £910.48

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-14 08:02 EDT-0400)

 

Edited April 14, 2013 by r3m

[TimeKilla]

It's really helpful to you're budget if you're really just upgrading a slower PC changing out MB, ram and graphics if you dont have this then 800 pounds is defo going to get you something decent just think about good CPU and good mid range GPU anything after that you can tweak.

 

160 on a GPU will get you something decent for this game and maybe just over a ton for a four core CPU likely one you could overclock maybe a black editon.

gl buddy

[Pyroflash]

This build looks pretty decent for a mid-high end computer. I'd stick with what you've got, maybe changing out the 660 for a 670, just in case you feel you need more graphics performance for other stuff. If your only goal is DCS though, you should be A-okay with that build.

[Ratfink]

I bought a system (see sig) from PC Specialist in the UK about 2 months ago, and I'm very pleased with it and the company.

[Subliminal-SS]

Not thought about holding out until the Haswell CPU chip comes out right about the next month or two.

 

I recall when I bought an Ivybridge-E Chip on release that was last year on the 2X of April

 

Id say give it another month. enter the PC hardware market fresh off a new CPU release and a Patch or Two From Ed. Happy Times.