Please help me pick over these 3 gaming rigs

[origdav]

Hey Guys,

I'm looking to spend less than a grand (in the UK) on a gaming machine but I'm struggling with these 3. Is the Vortex i7 and Titan 8700i Pulse worth £275.2 / £216.98 more than the Vortex i5? I'd be looking to keep the machine for quite some time and I'll upgrade the parts as and when required. Don't envisage anything like photoshop which makes me wonder if the i7 is required?

If I got the i5 I wonder if they could exchange the 60GB SSD for a 120GB? I also see the i5 doesn't have a wifi card, again I wonder if they'd tweak it for me and put one in? I'd imagine this'd up the price by around ~£60. Similar questions for the i7 and the missing wifi card and small SSD.

Vortex i5
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-308-OE
£718.40 inc VAT

System Specification
- Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha Tower Case - Black
- Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 600w PSU
- CPU: Intel Core i5 3450 3.10GHz Quad Core CPU
- Motherboard: Gigabyte H61MA-D2V Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
- Cooler: Stock Intel CPU Cooler
- RAM: Geil Black Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz C11 DDR3 Dual Channel Kit
- Hard Drive: 60GB SSD + 500GB HDD
- Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD 7950 3072MB
- Sound: Onboard 7.1 Audio
- Optical Drive: OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter - Black
- OS: Windows 8 OEM

Titan 8700i Pulse
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-247-OE
£935.38 inc VAT

System Specification
- Case: Antec 300 Gaming Case - Black (default choice, options avalable)
- Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 600w PSU
- CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K 3.40GHz @ 4.40GHz Ivybridge CPU
- Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LX Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
- Cooler: Alpenfohn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler
- RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
- Hard Drive: 500GB HDD
- Intel 330 SSD 120 GB
- Graphics Card: GTX 660TI 2048MB GDDR5
- Sound: Realtek 7.1 Channel Sound (On-Board)
- Optical Drive: OcUK 24x DVD+/-RW SATA Drive
- Windows 8 OEM
- ASUS PCE-N15 wifi card


Vortex i7
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-309-OE
£993.60 inc VAT

System Specification
- Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha Tower Case - Black
- Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 600w PSU
- CPU: Intel Core i7 3770 3.40GHz Quad Core CPU
- Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
- Cooler: Stock Intel CPU Cooler
- RAM: Geil Black Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz C11 DDR3 Dual Channel Kit
- Hard Drive: 60GB SSD + 1TB HDD
- Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD 7970 3072MB
- Sound: Onboard 7.1 Audio
- Optical Drive: OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter - Black
- Windows 8 OEM

Thanks

David

 

[Chapbass]

Interesting that they're not using K series chips on those vortex machines...no overlocking? H61 chipset for something that is over USD $1000? I know theres a premium for having it built, but still....

How come you dont want to build one?

 

[origdav]

How come you dont want to build one?

I suppose because I don't mind paying a little bit more for less hassle if I'm being honest! Work with servers all day long and I don't fancy building a desktop in my spare time! I suppose I could but I'd need a step by step guide and it'd take me longer than most!

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Well I'd personally go for the first one.

 

[EliteRetard]

The Titan 8700i is clearly superior to the other options with the overclocked i5-3570k.
Are you certain you want/need Win 8? For a gaming computer Win 7 would be fine and provide a more standard interface (Win 8 was designed for touchscreen).

I didn't look around, but this seems to be a good value and of the 3 you listed the Titan has the best CPU choice by far, is fine on RAM and can be configured with a good GPU and SSD and fits in your budget. This is what I would do:

- Case: Antec 300
- Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 600w PSU
- CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K 3.40GHz @ 4.40GHz Ivybridge CPU
- Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LX Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
- Cooler: Alpenfohn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler
- RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
- Hard Drive: 500GB HDD + Intel 330 SSD 180 GB (bigger/faster with savings from GPU)
- Graphics Card: Sapphire HD7950 OC 3GB GDDR5 (superior and cheaper than 660ti)
- Sound: Realtek 7.1 Channel Sound (On-Board)
- Optical Drive: OcUK 24x DVD+/-RW SATA Drive
- Windows 8 64bit OEM ??? (Win 7 64bit may be a better choice)
- ASUS PCE-N15 wifi card

£949.38 inc VAT

Edit: I just googled that cooler... What a beast! £47.99 inc VAT That certainly adds value to this machine.

Edit: Did a quick build on Newegg using the same/similar parts, price is $1,298.88 before any rebates/tax/shipping.
That's £810.28 just in parts...so your not paying a whole lot extra for them to build warranty and overclock it for you.

Seems like a pretty good deal to me.

Also, any time you get a pre-built PC shipped its good to check all the connectors (and that huge CPU heatsink) to make sure nothing has shaken loose before you boot it up.

If you do end up with this build and the Antec 300 case, I would move the 120mm back fan to the front. Between the big CPU heatsink and the big top fan you wont need anything else there for cooling...so moving that back fan to the front will feed air to your HDDs and GPU. The front of the case has a few clips inside and swings open/off (and the front fan filter is in there) and there are thumb screws holding in fan mounts in the front. You'll need a standard phillips screw driver to move the fan, but its all really easy and wont take more than 5 minutes. They should have fan controllers wired in, set the (now front) 120mm fan to medium and the big top fan to low. Should provide better airflow/cooling inside the case without to much noise.

 

[origdav]

Thanks to OC forum I've been spec'd:

1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £179.99
1 x Asus P8Z77-V LX Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.98
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £29.99
1 x OCZ Vertex 3 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (VTX3-25SAT3-120G) £83.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 500GB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA050) £42.98
1 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £239.99
1 x PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - White£69.98
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £29.99
1 x Xigmatek Dark Knight SD-1283 Night Hawk Edition CPU Cooler (Socket LGA 2011/1366/1156/1155/775 and AMD FM1/AM3/AM2+/AM2) £34.99
1 x Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro Fan PLPS - 120mm PWM £11.99
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/RSMS 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black/Silver/Biege) - Retail £19.99
1 x Samsung S24B300BS 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Glossy Black £119.99
1 x TT eSports Challenger Gamers Keyboard £29.99
1 x Edimax EW-7811UN 150Mbps High-Gain Wireless-N USB Micro Adapter £11.98
£1004.32 (includes shipping : £13.75).

I'll be looking to parition the SSD, one for OS, one for Steam - allowing for easy reimaging. GPU would be the 7950 - seems to have the edge over the NVIDIA 660Ti for FPS and slightly cheaper. Budget is 1k all in, inclusive of monitor and keyboard.

 

[EliteRetard]

If you are going to be picking out individual parts then personally I would go a different route with the storage. Vertex 3 is pretty meh (I would even say bad)...and a 500GB HDD is pretty ancient as well. It should be easy to find a 750GB + for nearly the same price. As for the SSD, any chance you can find an "old" Samsung 830 on sale? The 840pro is its replacement, but is more expensive...while the new vanilla 840 is a slower cheap ass drive designed to widen their profit margins. I think most will agree that an 830 would be a better drive than a Vertex 3. Other potential options would be Crucials M4 line, or pretty much any Intel SSD.

The 3570k and 7950 is a good base for a gaming computer, and 8GB is fine...but what would it cost for 1x8GB stick (or 2x8GB)?

Would you actually be putting these parts together yourself, or is this a build you'll have them put together for you at this price? Just wondering, because that Titan computer has similar parts already assembled...but comes with a guaranteed overclock, a better cooler, a bigger better SSD, and the OS (missing from your list which would bump the price £100). Add the monitor and keyboard to the Titan and it would be a similar £1100.

 

[origdav]

If you are going to be picking out individual parts then personally I would go a different route with the storage. Vertex 3 is pretty meh (I would even say bad)...and a 500GB HDD is pretty ancient as well. It should be easy to find a 750GB + for nearly the same price. As for the SSD, any chance you can find an "old" Samsung 830 on sale? The 840pro is its replacement, but is more expensive...while the new vanilla 840 is a slower cheap ass drive designed to widen their profit margins. I think most will agree that an 830 would be a better drive than a Vertex 3. Other potential options would be Crucials M4 line, or pretty much any Intel SSD.

Thanks - noted

The 3570k and 7950 is a good base for a gaming computer, and 8GB is fine...but what would it cost for 1x8GB stick (or 2x8GB)?

A TeamGroup Elite 8GB (1x8GB) is available at £31.99 inc VAT:
TeamGroup Elite 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Single Channel Module (TED38GM1600C1101) [TED38GM1600C1101]

Or Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1x8GB) at £47.99 inc VAT:
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Single Channel Module (CMZ8GX3M1A1600C10) [CMZ8GX3M1A1600C10]

The Corsair has a latency of 10-10-10-27 vs the TeamGroup 11-11-11-28 - is this something I should be bothered about?

Would you actually be putting these parts together yourself, or is this a build you'll have them put together for you at this price? Just wondering, because that Titan computer has similar parts already assembled...but comes with a guaranteed overclock, a better cooler, a bigger better SSD, and the OS (missing from your list which would bump the price £100). Add the monitor and keyboard to the Titan and it would be a similar £1100.

I was planning on putting it together if it'd save me a bit of dosh i.e. £100 or more.

The initial poster who suggested the above has said in post 23:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18463909

"The pre-build:
Louder Drive
No Monitor
No Keyboard
Slower SSD
N wireless card when you only have G Network. (£30)

This spec:
Full System
Wireless Adaptor (N but compatible with G, Good range, cheap) £12
Quieter samsung Optical Drive
Quicker SSD
Keyboard and Monitor
After-Market CPU cooler (Performs better)"

Hence why I thought it might be better building it myself - I'm now not so sure!


As an example, to compare prices of the Titan I've spec'd it out with the same screen, keyboard, wireless USB and as you say, virtually the same price but a better cooler and SSD - and it comes built.


YOUR BASKET
1 x "Titan 8700i Pulse" Intel Core i5 3570K 3.40GHz @ 4.40GHz DDR3 Ivybridge Gaming PC £480.4
1 x 24 MONTH WARRANTY - COLLECT & RETURN £0.01
1 x Sapphire HD 7950 3072MB PCI-Express Graphics Card (11196-00-20G) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £239.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x Samsung S24B300BS 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Glossy Black £119.99
1 x TT eSports Challenger Gamers Keyboard £29.99
1 x Edimax EW-7811UN 150Mbps High-Gain Wireless-N USB Micro Adapter £11.98
Total: £1,063.34 (includes shipping : £17.50).

 

[EliteRetard]

I didn't fully read through the posts on the other forum because I think they're confused. It seems that maybe they didn't look at the options available with the prebuilt and were making comparisons to the base model (or just flat out wrong). I think the prebuilt option I laid out would be the better buy as you'll see.

If you configure the prebuilt correctly, this is how I see it
Where the parts are notably different, I'll bold the better option:

PREBUILT........................................|........................................Build Yourself
Case: Antec 300.............................|.................................BitFenix Merc Beta
PSU: PC P&C 600w...........................|...................................................SAME
CPU: i5 3570K 3.40GHz @ 4.40GHz...|..........................i5 3570K 3.40GHz STOCK
Cooler: Alpenfohn K2 Mount Doom....|...Xigmatek Dark Knight SD-1283 Night Hawk
MOBO: Asus P8Z77-V LX....................|..................................................SAME
RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz (2x4GB)........|...............................................SIMILAR
HDD: 500GB HDD...............................|...............................................SIMILAR
SSD: Intel 330 SSD 180 GB...............|................................OCZ Vertex 3 120GB
GPU: Sapphire HD7950 OC 3GB.............|............Gigabyte HD7950 Windforce 3X 3GB
Sound: Realtek 7.1 (On-Board).............|..................................................SAME
ODD: OcUK 24x DVD+/-RW SATA..........|....................Samsung 22x DVD±RW SATA
OS: Windows 8 64bit OEM...................|..originally NONE, but I'm adding it as SAME
Wifi: ASUS PCE-N15 B/G/N (internal).|....Edimax EW-7811UN B/G/N USB (external)
Monitor: originally NONE, now SAME.......|.........Samsung S24B300BS 24" LED Monitor
Keyboard: originally NONE, now SAME....|..................TT eSports Challenger Gamers
Total Cost: £1117.96..........................|..............................................£1094.32

The Antec case is slightly better than that BitFenix case because of the additional cooling capability (1x120mm & 1x140mm + extra fan slots vs just 1x120MM) and the fact that the system will already be assembled for you (though as I suggested, I'd move the 120mm from the back to the front blowing air in)

According to the page the CPU in the prebuilt system comes overclocked already, guaranteed and warrantied to be running @4.4GHz vs the stock 3.4GHz. While you can overclock the CPU yourself, there is no guarantee if you do so (the opposite actually, overclocking on your own usually voids warranties)...I don't know how good these guys are with the overclocks, so you may want to check/tweak it but if it doesn't properly run at 4.4GHz you're covered.

Despite what the other forum said, the Titan 8700i prebuilt system does indeed come with an aftermarket cooler, and it looks like a very nice one (read the System Specification). Similar looking to a Noctua NH-D14 and I would say superior to the cooler they suggested (larger heatsink with more/bigger fans and a higher retail price £50).

While the prebuilt doesn't normally come with an SSD you can configure it with a few options. The best option for price/performance/reliability here would be the Intel 330 180GB SSD which is simply superior to the Vertex 3 in virtually every way. Its larger faster and more reliable. There's a pretty big list of reasons why I chose this drive out of the ones they offered, but I want to keep this short. Here's a benchmark between this Intel and the Vertex 3 they suggested: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/589?vs=350
(notice that depending on the test, higher or lower may be better, and the Intel drive wins just about everything)

As far as Wifi goes, the internal card available for the prebuilt system should simply be far superior to the micro USB they suggested. I have no idea what these guys were thinking...clearly they don't know what they're talking about here. Asus generally makes good quality products (top tier manufacturer) and the PCE-N15 is rated for the same 802.11 B/G/N networks but at a higher 300Mbps N (MIMO) vs the 150Mbps N Micro USB (it should be obvious just looking at it, a pair of much larger antenna with access to more power from the internal connection). If your using wireless G the max connection speed is 54Mbps...but you'll still get a much better connection with the internal Asus card.

Originally your build list did not include the operating system, so I included it and added £90 to the total...while the prebuilt system didn't have monitor or keyboard options, it would be easy to get those yourself, so I simply added them to the cost of the prebuilt system. Now you can see the total system cost (after VAT/shipping) and build list side by side...and it should be pretty obvious that the prebuilt system is a far better value than what the other forum was suggesting you build yourself.

Some of the components, like the HDD RAM and GPU are slightly different (mostly just brand) between the systems but should be close enough in performance that I chose not to compare them...but if you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

[EliteRetard]

Now after saying all that, there is still a chance that building it yourself could be cheaper...but I don't live where you do so I can't suggest parts prices or places to get them. What I can say is that compared to the recommendations of the other forum and price conversions from American that this prebuilt system seems like a pretty decent value...but I don't know this company either. If they're a terrible scamming business then obviously that would be bad.

Whichever way you go though should still be decent...the basic 3570k, 8GB+, and 7950 determine most of the gaming performance here. There's a few percent here and there from various things but its not the end of the world.

 

[origdav]

EliteRetard - thank you so much for taking the time on this

The case looks good but I've read some concerns over the lack of dust filters on the top fan - not sure if this is actually something I should be concerned about or not. Is your suggestion of moving the fan based on personal experience with air flow as I've not read this elsewhere in reference to this case.

Cooler - yep read very promising review on this

SSD - yep again very promising reviews on the 330 series and I can see the difference between the 120GB and 180 models.

Wifi - agreed, even with just a G connection at the moment

I've spec'd out building the pre-built system myself with your tweaks of wifi, ssd etc. and come back with virtually the same figure as the lesser spec'd version that was suggested to me... Building the pre-built myself: £1098.12.

So for £4 more than the less spec'd version I can vastly improve the quality of the components just by shopping around.

In total having Overclockers build it would cost £1,154.92 which is an extra £56.80 over building the exact same machine myself except they overclock the CPU as well. I'm more than happy to pay this

 

[EliteRetard]

I'll mention the cooler real quick, I think the one they mentioned would still be O.K. its just that it wasn't as good as the one included in the prebuilt and the total cost of their system with the lesser parts was nearly the same. So if you can shop around and pick out decent parts for a self build for much less than the prebuilt then you don't need to go all out on something like the CPU cooler. Same with the SSD, if you think a 120GB drive is big enough then you don't have to pick a 180GB unit (I only selected it for the prebuilt because it was the best overall choice/value they offered)...I just wouldn't get a Vertex3 or some other old/low end SSD, and stick with a 120GB unit from Intel, Crucial M4, or a Samsung 830 (not a vanilla 840 though, it costs same and is actually not as good).

For Wifi, if that's actually important then definitely don't get a tiny little USB dongle...but you don't have to stick with the Asus options either if you decide on the prebuilt system. It wouldn't be hard to pick out your own Wifi card and add it in afterwards.

The top fan in the Antec case blows air up and out (so not much dust is getting in through there)...you'll get some dust inside eventually, but all cases will since you have to move air through them to cool components. The Antec has a basic lint filter for the front intakes that does catch allot of stuff. I do own one, you'll eventually need to dust things out...but its quick and easy (you can usually tell by the amount of dust buildup on the front filter too).

Like I mentioned earlier, the fans should have a little speed switch...just as a suggestion I usually kept the top 140mm on low and the 120mm on medium. None of the settings make the case silent though, and if you don't mind the extra noise you could run both at max speed (or just experiment).

With these big tower coolers they typically blow air towards the back of the case (or top), and with the top fan pulling air out as well, you just don't really need the back fan there. It doesn't hurt anything...but the case doesn't have any front fans installed and if you don't want to buy more fans then it makes sense to relocate that back fan to the front.

There's two fan mounts in the front, I originally placed the back fan in the top front slot and made sure the HDD was just below the fan so it had air movement over it. I also had an open air video card that just recirculates air inside the case...normally without any other fans there's a big dead spot of air, and putting the fan in the top front helped to move fresh air in and get the hot air from the GPU to move out.

I did later get 2 fans for the front and moved the fan back to its original position. I'm still running the case like that and it does O.K. but it wouldn't compete with a new high end case (the Antec 300 is actually a pretty old case). That BitFenix though only has a single back fan...I just don't think it would do very good with high end overclocked parts in there. There's nothing to really move air through the case, so all the parts are gonna be stewing in their own hot air juices.

If you build yourself though you could pick something other than these options...but you'll have to spend more to get better cooling (or quieter) than the Antec 300.

 

[EliteRetard]

Actually, I finally decided to browse around that OCUK website and I think I found some other interesting options for you:

Titan 8200i Spinosaur: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-176-OE&groupid=43&catid=2385&subcat=1270

This one has the older 2500k but it's also overclocked and should be within 10% or so of the overclocked 3570k...the main thing that caught my eye here was the free monitor. Configured similarly to the other system (180GB SSD 330 Asus Wifi 7950) it comes out to £984.92 and comes with a 21.5" 1080p monitor. Basically trading a lower price here for slightly lower end parts.

The other one that caught my eye was:
Titan 8900i Plasma MK II http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-246-OE

It comes with the same MOBO/CPU/cooler/case as what we were originally looking at, but with a slightly higher overclock. They also added 2 extra fans to the Antec 300 so you don't have to mess with it. It comes with 16GB of name brand DDR3 instead of the cheaper 8GB set. Also includes a 120GB Samsung 840 and a 1TB HDD vs the 8700i system we were looking at which had 500GB and we had to add the SSD. Id rather have the 180GB 330 vs the 120GB 840 but its not a bad tarde off here. The other change is this system includes a GTX670 which should be comparable to the 7950.

After adding the Wifi and OS options the price is £1070.39.

Similar to the other system except here we get a 100MHz higher overclock a couple extra fans twice the RAM and trade to a lesser SSD for twice the HDD space (the 840 shouldn't be a bad drive, I just wouldn't normally pick it with the other options available...but here its not a bad trade off).

I gotta go, but I'm kinda having fun with this so I'll be back to take another look. I just thought these options might be worth a look.

 

[origdav]

Actually, I finally decided to browse around that OCUK website and I think I found some other interesting options for you:

Titan 8200i Spinosaur: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-176-OE&groupid=43&catid=2385&subcat=1270

This one has the older 2500k but it's also overclocked and should be within 10% or so of the overclocked 3570k...the main thing that caught my eye here was the free monitor. Configured similarly to the other system (180GB SSD 330 Asus Wifi 7950) it comes out to £984.92 and comes with a 21.5" 1080p monitor. Basically trading a lower price here for slightly lower end parts.

So that's £151 cheaper. I think I'd prefer getting the current gen CPU, at least this way I won't feel behind the curve when Haswell is released next year. Free screen is good, again suppose i was looking for a 24".

The other one that caught my eye was:
Titan 8900i Plasma MK II http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-246-OE

It comes with the same MOBO/CPU/cooler/case as what we were originally looking at, but with a slightly higher overclock. They also added 2 extra fans to the Antec 300 so you don't have to mess with it. It comes with 16GB of name brand DDR3 instead of the cheaper 8GB set. Also includes a 120GB Samsung 840 and a 1TB HDD vs the 8700i system we were looking at which had 500GB and we had to add the SSD. Id rather have the 180GB 330 vs the 120GB 840 but its not a bad tarde off here. The other change is this system includes a GTX670 which should be comparable to the 7950.

After adding the Wifi and OS options the price is £1070.39.

Similar to the other system except here we get a 100MHz higher overclock a couple extra fans twice the RAM and trade to a lesser SSD for twice the HDD space (the 840 shouldn't be a bad drive, I just wouldn't normally pick it with the other options available...but here its not a bad trade off).

I gotta go, but I'm kinda having fun with this so I'll be back to take another look. I just thought these options might be worth a look.

That's a curve ball! Start's off £40 cheaper this week only. Bearing this in mind and also I should point out I slightly got the price of the Titan 8700i Pulse system wrong - so doing it again it comes out at £1,114.92 for the 8700i compared to £1,225.37 for the Titan 8900i Plasma MK II - or £110.45 more.

So for the money I'd get 8GB more RAM - 1 x £40ish, a comparable GPU with easier prospects of SLI - or so I believe, 100Mhz more and 2 extra fans -2 x £10ish

Hmmmm! Will I ever use that much memory? Will that extra 100Mhz ever be used? If I didn't get an extra front fan or move the back fan would anything untoward happen in years to come would you guess?

It's a very tempting idea though!

One other question - if I were to get something like this:

http://www.ebuyer.com/259807-tp-link-wireless-n300-usb-adapter-tl-wn821n

Rated at 300Mbps and taking up less space on the mobo and generating heat - would you say there's any downside to this approach? Internet speed down is 20Mbps and there aren't any internal networked devices I need to connect to.

 

[EliteRetard]

Honestly the extra RAM 100MHz and fans aren't a big deal (easily done yourself)...and the extra HDD space may not be important to you either (adding another HDD is easy). And if you don't have any preference for Nvidia then there's no compelling reason to go for the 8900 over the 8700.

SLI/Crossfire wont work in either of these systems...the MOBO isn't properly designed for it.

As far as messing with the fan in the Antec case, for me it did help the GPU allot and cooled HDD some...and cooler temps are better. When I started overclocking the CPU adding extra fans helped with that too. I can't say it'll do anything with whatever parts you get though...to many variables. Different MOBO/CPU GPU and heatsinks in your case (and they're newer and more efficient). But I can be pretty certain it wont hurt anything to move the back fan or add some front fans of your own.

That USB wireless stick looks better than the other tiny one...but perhaps you can find one on a cord so you can move it around to get the best connection. Something like this maybe: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-023-TP&groupid=46&catid=1600&subcat=2033

Also make sure the wireless adapters your looking at work in Win8 (since its new) if you go that route. Again, are you sure you want Win8? Nothing particularly wrong with it...but Win7 has the old standard interface and should work well with everything.

 

[origdav]

Honestly the extra RAM 100MHz and fans aren't a big deal (easily done yourself)...and the extra HDD space may not be important to you either (adding another HDD is easy). And if you don't have any preference for Nvidia then there's no compelling reason to go for the 8900 over the 8700.

This is the exact same conclusion I came to last night after thinking about it a bit more.

SLI/Crossfire wont work in either of these systems...the MOBO isn't properly designed for it.

Ah! Good to know - thanks!

As far as messing with the fan in the Antec case, for me it did help the GPU allot and cooled HDD some...and cooler temps are better. When I started overclocking the CPU adding extra fans helped with that too. I can't say it'll do anything with whatever parts you get though...to many variables. Different MOBO/CPU GPU and heatsinks in your case (and they're newer and more efficient). But I can be pretty certain it wont hurt anything to move the back fan or add some front fans of your own.

Great - thanks - I'll monitor temps and take it from there

That USB wireless stick looks better than the other tiny one...but perhaps you can find one on a cord so you can move it around to get the best connection. Something like this maybe: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-023-TP&groupid=46&catid=1600&subcat=2033

Good idea!

Also make sure the wireless adapters your looking at work in Win8 (since its new) if you go that route. Again, are you sure you want Win8? Nothing particularly wrong with it...but Win7 has the old standard interface and should work well with everything.

Yeah I considered that too but I'm happy enough to boot straight to the desktop and get Start8 or something installed.

 

[charlywiggin]

Vortex i5 should be plenty.. and the 7950 is indeed faster than 660ti.