Building an awesome gaming PC for around 1K (that's also optimised for Windows 8)

[crimsonnight]

I would never spend money on a PC that can not be overclocked for future proofing unless its on a low budget.
The one I picked will come in a box with the ram, CPU, and cooler already installed, BIOS preset, already overclocked and 24 hour burn test.

What if I go for an overclocked i7 from the site you recommend then mate, should have all bases covered? If so which bundle would you recommend?

Thanks again guys

[Zerk]

What if I go for an overclocked i7 from the site you recommend then mate, should have all bases covered? If so which bundle would you recommend?

Thanks again guys

For what your doing their should be no reason to get a i7 I do not belive your using hypertreading on your programs. For this game it's all about CPU speed to be able to enjoy all of the game.

[skidawgz]

Hey team,
As well as gaming I also will use the rig for making games/3D editing.

What software do you use for this?

[crimsonnight]

What software do you use for this?

All the usual culprits: UDK, CryEngine, FPS Creator, The Game Maker, the Adobe Suite etc...

[skidawgz]

All the usual culprits: UDK, CryEngine, FPS Creator, The Game Maker, the Adobe Suite etc...

If you use this computer for your job or making money, I would consult a 2nd opinion at a forum that's not focused on just gaming. I had to do a bit of research before building a computer for a photo/video editor but the end results were fantastic.

You may want a full speed (7200RPM 2TB) secondary drive instead of a low power one like I originally suggested. The reason: you will be doing encoding/decoding from the drive when working. You may also need extra $$$ to make sure your SSD can handle all those programs you will be installing. The ones you run most often should be installed to SSD, and that may bump it up to 256MB.

That's all I have for you, good luck!

[Zerk]

The last true workstation I built for encoding I put $3900 worth of parts in a $70 case. I really thought it was funny but happy customer said it processed everything in about 1/2 the time as her old system. It only comes down to how much money you wish to spend. Build i7 3960x OC, Quadro 5000, 64 GB 2133 ram running at lower MHz but tighter timings.
And yes anything I build that can be overclocked gets a safe overclock, speed does not kill but heat will.

[crimsonnight]

Cheers for the extra advice guys, which base build do you think I should work from? Do you think this one would be best for my budget/requirements? http://www.scan.co.uk/3xs-overclocked-bundles 3XS Radius - Intel Core i7 3820

Also that case you recommended is no longer available Zerk, can't find another good-looking/priced one that has a 2.5" drive slot and USB 3.0 ports...
On that note I think I'll go with a 128GB SSD so I can chuck a few of my main programs on there as per skidawgz's advice, any particular recommendations for case/SSD from scan.co.uk?

[skidawgz]

I thought the price of their overclocked bundles was way too high. I wouldn't recommend any of them, but I am not trying to be a troll. You won't be disappointed if you buy one, just overcharged. I did not catch if you need a monitor, keyboard, speakers, headset. I suggested allocating money to these items instead of a ridiculously potent system w/ crap peripherals. i priced out an overclocked 3770k on that site, that would be the chip i rec. Your original budget was $1000 and if you had to go over that it should be on things you will see a difference from. Overclocking will not increase framerate in any games because you will already be able to max everything with a stock clocked i7 + good GPU. For your work productivity the overclocking will just make the setup louder. You will see a diff in a better keyboard, mouse, a larger Monitor (or perhaps two) for what you do.

If you can't find a case with USB 3.0 FRONT ports, remember that your motherboard will provide USB 3.0 REAR ports on any case you select. If you absolutely love the look of a certain case you can utilize USB 3.0 in the rear. The front will probably be 2.0., however.

edit: When giving heavy opinions I like to show a little basis for my statements.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6229/m...buyers-guide/3