£1000 Gaming PC Advice
Printed From: Cyberpower
Category: Pre-sales Queries & Buying Advice
Forum Name: Build & Compatibility Questions
Forum Discription: Not sure what components to choose? Post here for expert advice
URL: http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=875
Printed Date: 25/May/2013 at 02:37
Topic: £1000 Gaming PC Advice
Posted By: RPD100
Subject: £1000 Gaming PC Advice
Date Posted: 02/Jan/2008 at 16:36
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Hi everyone, I am intending to purchase a new PC later this month. I have been trawling the web trying to decide what I want and keep ending up at Cyberpower. Basically I have a budget of around £1000 and am after a PC that will be used for a most normal PC tasks and of course gaming. I am going to stick to my current monitor (1280 x 1024) and at the moment the Gamer Infinity Quad Elite (as in Custom PC) seems to fit the bill. However, I would love to hear peoples suggestions for a specification. It would be great if I could run Crysis on my monitor at high settings. I have a couple of questions for Cybertech, If I upgraded the Gamer Infinity Quad Elite's 8800GT to a GTS would the overclocking still be included? I would also like to know what affect overclocking has on the PC's expected lifespan? I hope this is not to much to ask! Many thanks, Rich. |
Replies:
Posted By: bbc99
Date Posted: 03/Jan/2008 at 00:52
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Hi
The Infinity Quaad Elite is an excellent spec, you can't beat that for price performance, its definately a good choice for what you need.
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Posted By: RPD100
Date Posted: 03/Jan/2008 at 08:41
| Thanks, it certainlly seems like a great spec. I just came across the Gamer Ultra Xfire Pro. I wonder how it would compare with its twin Radeon 3870's? Is crossfire any good at 1280 x 1024? |
Posted By: Cyber_Tech2
Date Posted: 03/Jan/2008 at 09:37
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Crossfire 3870's is an awesome configuration. Works best with an X38-based board though for full speed crossfire performance. You'd have to change the motherboard for that though so overclocking would be extra, however you'd have an awesomely fast machine because of it. Mike |
Posted By: RPD100
Date Posted: 03/Jan/2008 at 12:28
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Hi Mike, Thanks for the info. I was wondering if there is a good thread on the advantages/disadvantages of overclocking. What are the risks of getting extreme overclocking? Also, how does the Phenom compare to the Intel Quad? Does it overclock? |
Posted By: RPD100
Date Posted: 03/Jan/2008 at 12:30
| Forgot to ask, does crossfire work well at all resolutions? I have noticed in a few reviews that Sli only seems to work at higher resolutions. |
Posted By: Cyber_Tech2
Date Posted: 03/Jan/2008 at 12:39
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Disadvantages are higher power consumption, extra heat output and lower component lifespan due to increased voltages in the system. We're talking years before any effect is noticed if done correctly though. As for Crossfire, it depends on what you're playing. Games with more powerful engines are going to notice a difference at lower resolutions compared to other systems, it depends on how taxing the game is really. Mike |
Posted By: RPD100
Date Posted: 03/Jan/2008 at 13:52
| Based on that then, do you think a crossfired 3870 system is more future proofed than say a single gtx? |
Posted By: Cyber_Tech2
Date Posted: 03/Jan/2008 at 15:11
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Well, you're buying into a great platform with the X38 chipset - it'll support most if not all of Intel's new CPU's for a while guaranteed, and is a brilliant overclocker to boot as well. In most games twin 3870's will be faster for sure. Mike |
Posted By: RPD100
Date Posted: 03/Jan/2008 at 15:23
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Ok, sounds like this is what I should aim for. Going back to the overclocking, I assume you would expect an extreme level overclock to last at least three years (based on your waranty)? What about stability? The computer would also be used by my wife and she would not be to pleased if I spent over 1k on a system that crashed when she was surfing or using office, photoshop etc! Oh, and I was also wondering what difference there is between the Asus P5E X38 and the Maximus Formula? |
Posted By: RPD100
Date Posted: 07/Jan/2008 at 11:47
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Hi Mike, How does this look for a crossfire setup? This stretches my budget a bit and so I'm wondering if I would be best of getting the Gamer Infinty Quad Elite and then upgrading the GPU to the new Nividia series when they come out. Would you mind having a look at the post above aswell. Sorry to keep asking questions, I've not bought a new pc in 6 years so feel a bit out of my depth! |
Posted By: Cyber_Tech2
Date Posted: 07/Jan/2008 at 13:27
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Well stability is tested here, Rush orders aren't possible with overclocked units for that reason I need time to test them thoroughly. The Maximus Formula is the flagship ASUS board, whereas the P5E is the 1st step on the X38 ladder. they're both awesome boards though, the Maximus is more tweakable but either is great. With regards to overclocking, an extreme overclock will be guaranteed to last at least 3 years certainly. It's a very nice system you've got spec'd there! Would be extremely fast. Mike |
Posted By: RPD100
Date Posted: 07/Jan/2008 at 22:27
I think I will go with the P5E as the budget is seriously stretched!  Is the OCZ 700w power supply ok for this spec? |
Posted By: Cyber_Tech2
Date Posted: 08/Jan/2008 at 09:22
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P5E is an awesome board though so don't worry about it! 700W OCZ is fine  Mike |
Posted By: RPD100
Date Posted: 10/Jan/2008 at 14:22
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Hi Mike, Thanks for the advice on Custom PC, I don't know how you make time to cover all these forums and overclock loads of pc's!
What are the advantages of the 780i boards other than 3 way sli (I'm never going to be able to justify this!) Will they take next gen intel cpu's like the p35 and x38 and do they overclock as well?
I really like the crossfire spec above but the brilliant value of the Infinity Quad Elite is always at the back of my head. It would mean I could get some nice extras like a gaming mouse and sound card. Bearing in mind my 1280x1024 res I think a single 9000 nvidia will probably be good for quite a while?
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Posted By: Cyber_Tech2
Date Posted: 10/Jan/2008 at 14:42
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The 780i will take Penryn (45nm processors) whereas the 680i's will not, also they overclock well with Quads. They haven't been on the market long enough to make the decision whether they're better overclockers than the X38/P35 because that's a pretty tough target, but they are still very good from what I've had a go of so far. Having the option to go SLi in the future might sway it, as you'd have to change the graphics altogether to use Crossfire in the Quad Elite. Mike |
Posted By: RPD100
Date Posted: 25/Jan/2008 at 15:14
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Hi Mike, I decided to go with the Infinity Quad Elite in the end. Its just great value for money. Thanks for all your help going through the various systems. I called sales today and apparently the PC will be with you next week. If I PM you my order number I was wondering if you could confirm whether Vista has been installed on the Raptor? I made it the primary drive on the order but just wanted to be sure. Cheers, Rich. |
Posted By: Cyber_Tech2
Date Posted: 25/Jan/2008 at 15:15
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If it's primary then it'll have OS on Mike |