Does this rig represent good value for money?

[PCGamingN00b]

Basically, I want to venture into PC gaming, as I've grown bored with consoles. Now, this will be the first time I've ever attempted to buy a PC geared specifically towards gaming, so I don't really know whether what I'm looking at represents good value for money. I know that I would make substantial savings were I to buy the components individually and assemble it myself, but seeing as I don't have the necessary experience I'd be wary of doing that. So, the other option is to select the components and get a vendor to build it for me, which appears to add to the cost quite a bit.

Anyway, I searched the web and came across this site: http://www.dinopc.com

Working from a budget of £700-850 ($1000-1300), I came up with the following:

CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K (not overclocked)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Loki SDS963
OS: Windows 8 (64-bit)
Mobo: Asus P8Z77-V LX2
RAM: 8GB DDR3 1333mhz (2x4GB)
HD: 1TB S-ATAIII 6.0Gb/s
Optical Drive: 22x DVD±RW DL S-ATA
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB
Sound Card: Onboard 7.1 Audio
Internet: Wireless 802.11N 300Mbps MIMO PCI card
PSU: 650W Corsair VS
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus

Including warranty, it registers at £812 ($1200). Is that good value? Can I make any savings? I'd appreciate some input from those who've experience with this kind of thing.

Cheers.

 

[Murloc]

note that warranty covers item replacements only during the first year, after that they'll change them out for free but you pay the replacements yourself.

In my experience aftermarket CPU coolers are completely useless even for up to midly overclocked CPUs so you could spare the money, I have an i5 of the first ever i5 generation to come out and the temp is fine, I also had an e8500 before that, which was overclocked and with a lowered voltage than default and a stock cooler.
I don't know if the Intel stock coolers have gotten worse though, I haven't bought anything for years.

I don't know these specific parts but know that shops generally tend to pur overpowered CPUs and underpowered GPUs in computers, purposefully ignoring the fact that video games are usually limited by the video card. That 660 Ti looks suspicious to me in a computer with a budget this big (but I see you're british, maybe you have crazy prices), but it's just a sensation I get from the name, wait for some other answer.

 

[MeldarthX]

I'd disagree about cpu coolers specially Intel's they are the worst pile of crap out there; they barely cool at normal speeds; if you want to overclock at all you can't.

Its a solid build sec I know Dino pc let me look


Edit - only change I think would be going with 7950 3 gig card over 660 TI; overclocked 7950 is much faster card over all and is about 12 pounds cheaper

Other than that its a solid build

Edit Edit but if you're in Birmingham area PM me and I'll see what I can do for ya

 

[PCGamingN00b]

I'd disagree about cpu coolers specially Intel's they are the worst pile of crap out there; they barely cool at normal speeds; if you want to overclock at all you can't.

Its a solid build sec I know Dino pc let me look


Edit - only change I think would be going with 7950 3 gig card over 660 TI; overclocked 7950 is much faster card over all and is about 12 pounds cheaper

Other than that its a solid build

Edit Edit but if you're in Birmingham area PM me and I'll see what I can do for ya

Alas, I'm not in the Midlands. I live in the South East. But thanks for the interest, dude. I appreciate it.

I don't plan on overclocking - not initially, anyway - so that's why I've perhaps skimped on the cooler. I might call them and ask them to remove it all together - see if they're willing to haggle with me. :sneaky:

I've just realised that I can go for the GTX 670 and upgrade the ram to 8GB/1866mhz and still come in under £900 (£894, to be exact), which seems pretty good. I mean, it beats every other vendor I've tried by quite a margin. I don't know whether I would need to get a better PSU, however, if I were to do that.

What do you think?

Thanks for the help so far - both of you!

 

[kesheth]

Dude your rig is a good one but i suggest u go for a cooler master hyper 212 evo CPU cooler because i feel even mild overclocks really heats up the ivy bridge!! So for better life expectancy and good cooling go for the 212 evo it is very cheap too!! Rest assured the choice is upto you!

 

[MeldarthX]

Main reason I said 7950 as its so easy to overclock costs less than the 660 TI in your build and allow you upgrade other parts if you want

7950 is a hair behind 670 at normal speeds but once overclocked it matches its bigger brother and 680 for a lot less

Its a solid build - Loki cooler isn't as good as the 212 evo - but its decent; if you do decide to ever overclock better to have something that can handle it

 

[Puppies04]

OP, all I can say is you really should consider buying the parts and building the machine yourself. It is an awesome feeling the first time you build a rig and it will save you money in the future by giving you the confidence to repair anything that goes wrong in the future.

You can find loads of guides on youtube that show you exactly what to do and if you get stuck people will help you out on here pretty much 24/7.

All you have to remember is a couple of rules.

1. Don't rush

2. Minimum insertion force, if it doesn't feel like it fits then take a step back and work out what you are doing wrong.

If you follow these simple rules and take precautions like watching a few guides and checking on this forum that all your parts are compatible before you order then you will have no problems.

It is a shame you are in the south east, I work all over the country and would have gladly taken a couple of hours to show you how it is done but most my work is in the north at the moment and I live pretty close the Brum like meldarthX

 

[daveybrat]

Don't skimp a few dollars and ditch the nice cooler. The new Intel heatsinks are the tiniest little things and are very poor at cooling the cpu.

It's kind of a pain in the ass to replace the cooler, so stick with the nicer cooling from the start, you don't want to add it yourself down the road, trust me.

 

[PCGamingN00b]

OP, all I can say is you really should consider buying the parts and building the machine yourself. It is an awesome feeling the first time you build a rig and it will save you money in the future by giving you the confidence to repair anything that goes wrong in the future.

You can find loads of guides on youtube that show you exactly what to do and if you get stuck people will help you out on here pretty much 24/7.

All you have to remember is a couple of rules.

1. Don't rush

2. Minimum insertion force, if it doesn't feel like it fits then take a step back and work out what you are doing wrong.

If you follow these simple rules and take precautions like watching a few guides and checking on this forum that all your parts are compatible before you order then you will have no problems.

It is a shame you are in the south east, I work all over the country and would have gladly taken a couple of hours to show you how it is done but most my work is in the north at the moment and I live pretty close the Brum like meldarthX

First of all, thank you for the offer of help. I don't think I've experienced such generosity before - either on a forum or in real life. So thank you.

To the topic itself, though... I've ordered it. :\

I do have a work colleague who knows about this stuff, and I could have asked him to show me how to do it, but he works a lot of hours so I thought it would have been really cheeky to have done so. However, I will ask him to inspect the machine once it arrives, to check that it's been properly assembled and fitted with the parts I actually ordered (PC Advisor has less than encouraging feedback on their forums about dinopc). And if I wish to change a part, I'll ask him to lend me a hand.

Perhaps I'll update this thread when and if anything, good or bad, occurs.

Again, thanks for the advice and help - that's to all of you!

 

[PCGamingN00b]

Don't skimp a few dollars and ditch the nice cooler. The new Intel heatsinks are the tiniest little things and are very poor at cooling the cpu.

It's kind of a pain in the ass to replace the cooler, so stick with the nicer cooling from the start, you don't want to add it yourself down the road, trust me.

You'll be pleased to know that I decided against asking them to remove the cooler. :thumbsup: In fact, I think that the cooler will be the first component that I upgrade when I rustle up the necessary scratch. People here and elsewhere have been quite adamant that I should overclock, especially seeing as I'll have the K processor.