Build or buy?

[BH_Lt_Reddog]

I think it's time for a new rig,so should i buy or build?
Now i know that alot of you build your own machine's so if i was to build a pc with this sort of spec what do you think the cost of a home build would be? This retails at about $2130 after tax.

Intel® Core™ i7-3770K Quad Core
• 16GB PC12800 DDR3 Memory
• NVIDIA GTX670 2GB PCIe 3.0 Video
• Asus Z77 USB3 & SATA3 MB
• Kingston 128GB SSD
• Xion Predator 970 Gaming Case

[BH Uffz. Belfast]

Hey reddog my friend I have set up very close to yours You have 16gb ram I have 12gb your video card in that set is awesome they make same card with the 4mb on it the card will run 484 dollars by itself.Your I7 processor is really good one.I am running 950 watt Corsair power supply on mine heats the room real well in winter.I am sure their is better people on here to tell you but I was just getting ready to put same card with 4mb in my machine and a fully modular power supply.I usually get a lot of my parts from newegg.com so you might checked prices of compotents on there.I can tell you it would be one rocking machine. My guess for cost would probably be around 1750.00.Sometimes the frustration is not worth the extra money.Love that graphics card

[BH Uffz. Belfast]

Yes Hawkeye is tuned in has helped me on few settings Newegg.com is where i get most of my stuff.Never had first piece of bad hardware from them top notch.Also you will have to figure in Windows 7 in price too.

[BH_loopy]

reddog in the past when i was looking at graphics cards you always paid more in the uk. if you do order from ovrseas the v.a.t. will want his cut

[BH Oblt. Firecage]

Build every time... saves money and you get a machine thats hard to do upgrades on. Most Dell/Compaq/etc are all set where its hard to upgrade and they are built with what I consider sub par parts.

Haven't bought a pre-made computer in 12 years or more.

Just my 2 cents

[BH_Lt_Reddog]

Thanks guy's, it's a bit mind blowing at the moment and i need to look into it a bit more! a good example was i looked at mother boards and found what looked like 50 or more with just about the same spec and all different price's the same with GTX680/90's i just thought it was a invida thing but no there's loads so for now it's on hold until i figure it out.The spec for the one i posted was from www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/

[BH Vfw. Lotharludwig]

I split the difference... I agree.... I would never buy a pre-paid assembled box because I also believe they are sub par components... but the realy sticker for me was you do NOT get OEM software with your new machine and they load a pile of junk on that you don't want.

I built my own machines for years, but now, I just don't stay up with everything (and I work in medical electronics everyday) to the point that I am as competent as I should be... so the answer is I go to a local shop that has multiple locations and tell them the components that I want and let them build it for me.

I could assemble it... but they put a warranty on top of it, and I can't do that. They also give me the *actual Windows Disk*.... not some crummy "reinstall" disk. I want the OEM disk with the register key.

Last, just another local thing... but they also register the machines they build.. so if you take one back. for service you jump to the head of the line... and they work on your machine before they work on their non-customers that bought from someone else. Quick way to build product loyalty.

Good luck with the project... I sure need one... but that is way out of the picture now.

[BH_Lt_Reddog]

Here goe's this is what i've come up with so far if i home build.
Motherboard:
Asus Sabertooth X79 Intel X79 DDR3 SLI Crossfire ATX Motherboard - Socket 2011
Processor:
Intel Core I7 3820 Overclocked to 4.2Ghz Quad Core CPU Processor - BX80619I73820 - Socket 2011
Memory:
Corsair 16GB Vengeance LP DDR3 1600MHz RAM Memory 4X4

Now i can get this as a bundle for £598 / $934

So that would be the start,now which graphics card? Is there a big enough differance between the GTX5 series and 6 to warrent an extra £100?

For the full spec of the bundle look here:
www.awd-it.co.uk/intel-core-i7-3820-overclocked-to-4.2ghz-asus-sabertooth-x79-motherboard-corsair-1600mhz-ddr3-bundle.html

[BH Uffz. Belfast]

Reddog I would go with the Nvida geforce 670 with 4mb I heard they are getting great performance that's what I am going for.

[BH_Lt_Reddog]

Ok next question which one of these is best?

1:Core: 1006MHz, Memory: 2048MB 6208MHz GDDR5, Stream Processors: 1344, Shader Clock: 2012MHz, SLI Ready, PhysX/CUDA Enabled, 3 Years Warranty.

2:Core: 967MHz, Memory: 4096MB 6008MHz GDDR5, Stream Processors: 1344, Shader Clock: 1934MHz, SLI Ready, PhysX/CUDA Enabled, 3 Years Warranty.

and whats more important Memory or speed? they are both GTX 670's but ones 23% cheaper.

[BH Uffz. Belfast]

Have to agree with Hawkeye on the Microsoft buy the retail you pay more but if you get one of their one time build disc it's up to them if something goes south to give you valid license no.That twin Msi frozer is good card Hawk

[BH Oblt. Firecage]

If it helps, here is what I built.

1 AZZA Hurrican 2000 CSAZ-2000 Black SECC Japanese Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811517010


1 ASUS Sabertooth X58 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813131665


1 EVGA 01G-P3-1373-AR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked EE 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support ...
Item #: N82E16814130568


1 CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817139009


1 Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950
Item #: N82E16819115211
y

2 CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX6GX3M3A1600C9
Item #: N82E16820145258


2 Western Digital Caviar Blue WD10EALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136534
Standard Return Policy

1 Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116758


Also this is about a year old now but still runs everything great.

[BH von Güber]

they were still making them last I checked. I've got the same card...Klaue pointed out to me that 2 of them in SLI had performance that basically beat ALL of the 500-series (single) cards...and at the time I could get a 2nd one for $109...not sure why I didn't do it. Probably because there had been SLI trouble with ROF or something.

[BH Uffz. Belfast]

You have similar setup to mine Firecage great outfit

[BH von Güber]

Yah, same here... no need to go there. My rig will run ROF on max settings if I want or need to for some reason. I'll wait for 760s or something.

[BH Oblt. Firecage]

I thought about getting a second card but this is running ROF fine and even with everything on it still sits around 40fps avg. I events and open servers I turn down the GFX so my old eyes can see stuff any ways.

I agree with vG that I will just wait on the 700 series and see if I really need a new card. This rig really works well and stays cool for me so I am not into upgrading anytime soon. Don't fix what aint broke....

I still stay build and you will get what you want... other wise you get whey think you might want.

I think everything on my list is available at newegg.com.

I know you have alot of fees for imports but you may have some places online in the UK that handle the same stuff without all the fee's.

All the kits like this are very well marked so its very easy to get it up and going. I also like the fact that I know exactly what is in there and how it works.

Hope it helps.

S!

[BH_Lt_Reddog]

I've started the ball rolling! Just ordered the case: Corsair Carbide 500R , It's got plenty of room and loads of cooling options which i will be using,it comes with 1X200mm exhuast on the side,1x120 on the rear, 2x120 on the front + options to fit 6 more! i will be looking at fitting a Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler.
Now i'am having to do this in stealth mode as my beloved wife told me i couldn't start buying the kit until after our holiday too Menorca in September so next will be the motherboard and cpu. I just had to buy something now to make me build my own..........

[BH Uffz. Belfast]

I have really good air cooler on mine REddog I have had two friends that have had problems with water cooled.One was a mess unless I just want to go that way they do cool down a lot but after seeing one mess I don't know but opionions are like rear ends everyone has one ;D

[BH von Güber]

That's a good start, mate. You'll like that H100...and it's completely factory sealed so no worries about leaks. The case looks good too.

[BH Uffz. Belfast]

Went to, friend's house 2 hours ago put Corsair 850 watt fully modular power supply in what a great difference all those damn spider's nest of cables gone and reddog he had same case with hydro onit said he never had first problem sweet outfit