Cousin is about to buy this pc

[soze]

I am out of the game so I don't know if it is good. But he wants to buy it built and wants the 3 year warranty. Is this spec any good?

Case InWIN GT1 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3820 (3.6GHz) 10MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® P9X79 LE: INTEL® SOCKET LG2011
Memory (RAM) 16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 8GB KIT)
Graphics Card 3GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 780 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
2nd Graphics Card NONE
3rd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB CACHE
RAID NONE
SSD CACHE DRIVE NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader NONE
Power Supply CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ MODULAR TXM-650 V2-80 PLUS®
Processor Cooling Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler
Extra Case Fans 2 x 12CM Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Fan Controller NONE
Sound Card ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities DUAL-BAND WIRELESS 802.11N 450Mbps PCI-E CARD
Wireless Router NONE
USB Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Modem NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Firewire NONE
TV Card NONE
Power Cable 1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System Genuine Windows 8 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media Windows 8 (64-bit) Professional DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2013 (1 License & Disc)
Anti-Virus BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor IIYAMA E2273HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, 2 HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080
2nd Monitor NONE
DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables 1 x 2 METRE GOLD PLATED V1.4 HDMI CABLE
Eyefinity / GeForce 3D Vision NONE
Keyboard & Mouse ROCCAT™ Isku – Illuminated Gaming Keyboard
Mouse NONE
Gaming Mouse Pad NONE
Speakers NONE
Webcam NONE
Headsets NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Cable Tidy NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Warranty 3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, 3 Year Parts, 3 Year labour)
Home Installation NONE
Data Recovery NONE
Delivery SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 12 NOON)
Build Time FAST TRACK 3 WORKING DAY DISPATCH
Miscellaneous FREE SPLINTER CELL BLACKLIST GAME with GTX 660 & 7 Series GPUs!
Pricing Information
Price (excluding VAT) £1,864.17
Price £2,237.00

 

[Hawkwind]

The mobo is last gen should be X87 now. Quite a lot of money considering the last gen mobo. Although the Graphics is around 550-600 GBP alone. I would still ask for an X87 board.

 

[Syri]

I'm with Hawkwind on this, it's a lot of money for a previous generation system. The i7 3820 is actually a sandy bridge chip, so it's 2 generations old. It might be quick, but it's still a bit dated, and the newer range will probably give much better performance for the money.
Also, a 3 year warranty is only good if it either allows for you to upgrade parts if needed, or the machine is guaranteed to still be ideal in 3 years. If you want to add another graphics card, or up the RAM, a year or two down the line, that warranty might be invalidated by it.
I always prefer building a machine over buying ready made. Parts have their own warranty anyway, and as long as you get decent parts, there shouldn't be any problems within 3 years anyway. If you get a top end system and put in some unbranded £20 PSU to power it all, then you're just asking for the PSU to blow and take the MB with it, but if you stick with decent parts, the only likely problems to occur over time are from moving parts wearing out, such as fans and HDD motors, which take quite some time to go really.
In short, personally, I don't think it's worth the extra cash for the warranty, and certainly don't think it's worth getting that particular MB and CPU combination, as the only thing it really has going is that it's "enthusiast" level, but that doesn't necessarily make it the best for the money.

 

[Hawkwind]

If you did want the i7 K series (overclocking potential) this seems to be average pricing for a good z87 mobo, CPU and RAM - 480 GBP

http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-i...k---8gb-vengeance-pro-memory--8R0M.html?src=2

Add:

• PSU - 40 GBP
• Tower Case - 45 GBP
• HDD 3TB 6Gb/s 7200rpm Barracuda - 90 GBP
• SSDD - Samsung 840 - 250G - 128 GBP
• Asus GTX 780 - 542 GBP

Comes to 1325 GBP Add a monitor 130 - 150 GBP (Ilyama one mentioned is 129). Rest is cheap add on gear DVD/Blue Ray - KB etc. Looks better and cheaper than the one showing. You could even add a water cooler - Recommend a Zalman over the Corsair H80, better cooling and a lot less noisy - still cheaper.

 

[soze]

Cheers for your help both.

I am trying to talk him into this one now. http://3xs.scan.co.uk/ShowSystem.asp?SystemID=1715

The warranty is a must. He has no interest in building himself and he is a 4 hour drive from me. Last time I built him one anything that went wrong meant a day out for me to go look.

 

[Hawkwind]

Much better but I absolutely hate Corsair H series coolers - tried the H80 & H100 both sound like vacuum cleaners with both fans, so damned noisy. This Zalman is the shiz!

 

[Kryten]

As above, daft price for a 2 gen old system. And all that money and a fucking InWin case?

 

[Hawkwind]

As above, daft price for a 2 gen old system. And all that money and a fucking InWin case?

Good spot, I'd want a coolermaster or something descent for anything over a grand.

 

[Kryten]

Other thing I was going to say was being a 2011 socket system meant upgrade path is next to non-existant. That reason alone is why you should always, if you can, bagsy the newest possible generation especially if they change sockets, like with the Haswell gear.

 

[soze]

Cheers again. I did not even notice the 2 generation old thing. I have not built a gaming computer for ages

That was the perfect thing to point out to him. He has bought this now http://3xs.scan.co.uk/ShowSystem.asp?SystemID=1715 with the i7 upgrade and the upgrade to the 840 Pro. Much cheaper. He still went to add a Titan

 

[Kryten]

Much safer bet Not a huge amount between the standard 840 and the pro in day to day use but clearly he has the money so might as well