Spec' for new PC aimed at Elite Dangerous + VR

[CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE]

Be careful with just looking at the Wattage a PSU is rated at. What really counts is how many Amps it can support on the various rails. For example my PC came with a cheapo "850 W" PSU that couldn't run a 5770 without causing crashes (hence the 750 Ti). However, I think that if you buy a decent make, Corsair, bequiet, Seasonic etc you should be fine.

Wise words. Yes, check the amps on the +12V rail, the more the better (the other rails are less of an issue these days).

Oh and read at least two expert reviews on every component you buy and maybe some customer reviews (amazon, Scan etc. though tread carefully with the one-star trolls and five-star fanboys!). Then again I'm a bit OCD with these things.

 

[Alec Turner]

My main concern would be the 550W PSU

You know what, reading between the lines I'm getting the vague sense that a few people think my choice of PSU may be a problem.

I did upgrade to Window 10 from 7 with no unwanted side effects.

That's good to hear. I thought there were some problems with ED and Windows 10 initially but I'm guessing they've been resolved?

Good Luck with your build CMDR.

Thanks (and to everyone).

 

[CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE]

I thought there were some problems with ED and Windows 10 initially but I'm guessing they've been resolved?

No, there are some AMD card users with frame rate drops in SC (some severe, some not-so) and some NVidia users have also reported the same thing.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

No, there are some AMD card users with frame rate drops in SC (some severe, some not-so) and some NVidia users have also reported the same thing.

GTX 980 user here and in some systems the framerate tanks.
its horrible in VR, and one just has to keep head as still as possible.

if it is a frame rate issue which is hard to fix, hopefully FD will make head tracking decoupled from game framerate eventually.

This works super well, eg fly inside FSX, FSX on my rig can drop to 30fps, but with head tracking a solid 75fps its still a very confortable experience.

 

[Globusdiablo]

...

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/images/categories/1.png	Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4690K (3.5GHz) 6MB Cache
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/images/categories/73.png	Motherboard ASUS® Z97-P: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/images/categories/2.png	Memory (RAM) 16GB HyperX BEAST DUAL-DDR3 2133MHz X.M.P (2 x 8GB)
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/images/categories/11.png	Graphics Card 6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 980 Ti - DVI, HDMI, 3 DP
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/images/categories/5.png	1st Hard Disk 120GB HyperX SAVAGE SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 560MB/sR | 360MB/sW)
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/images/categories/5.png	2nd Hard Disk 1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/images/categories/19.png	Power Supply CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY

....

Well, if you can get all this for the £1k you quoted, I'd say you were good to go. Haven't checked all the prices, but are you getting a bundle discount somewhere?

Edit: As others have stated, the PSU looks sub par. You can never have too much juice.

 

[the100thmonkey]

Final thought:

Are you using a Saitek joystick? USB 3.0 on Win7 really doesn't like them. You might well have to turn XHCI off in BIOS, grab a PCI USB3 card or use Win8/10.

This means you shouldn't buy a Saitek stick too if you're on Win7.

 

[FiddenUK]

Final thought:

Are you using a Saitek joystick? USB 3.0 on Win7 really doesn't like them. You might well have to turn XHCI off in BIOS, grab a PCI USB3 card or use Win8/10.

This means you shouldn't buy a Saitek stick too if you're on Win7.

Saitek works fine on windows 7 in a USB2 port.

 

[the100thmonkey]

It doesn't if it uses the same controller as the USB3 ports.

I have exactly this issue on my mini-ITX desktop with the H81 chipset - the controller is the same for all the ports, including USB2, and Saitek fails the new USB spec.

 

[shreddog]

Problem is, lowering the minimum spec is exactly the same as lowering the resolution/fidelity. The HTC Vive (which as far as I know has the same resolution as the Oculus CV1 is speculated to have) is still slightly too low-resolution for my tastes (for E:D at least with its detailed HUD), and that's already the equivalent of 2400x1080 at 75fps. So, ideally they'd like to go higher, but at the same time that's bumping the requirements. Tricky problem.

I've been thinking, sort of. With supersampling(necessary to remove jaggies and make text readable) we're looking at 4800x2160 res to render at 90hz(fps recommended in VR with low persistence on). Jeezus. That will require a BEAST of a machine.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

Saitek works fine on windows 7 in a USB2 port.

actually i have the opposite issue.

my X55 behaves on my win 7 machine in usb3 ports...... but in usb2 i get ghost keypresses which lead to my death twice, and multiple fines for splurging my load in the space station.

 

[Sterlino]

600-800 € only for a GPU ? this is madness..

i will wait a final version of DK before doing crazy shopping.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

600-800 € only for a GPU ? this is madness..

i will wait a final version of DK before doing crazy shopping.

lol that is the sensible option....... but OTOH I feel I have been on the real cutting edge of technology having had industry leading VR in my own home for the last 16 months.

I would have given my left nut for this back in the early 90s. Compared to giving up one of my man bits, the £400 for my GTX980 and £280 for DK2 seems a veritable bargain

I can only think this must have been what it was like to get your own ZX80 35 years ago.

 

[LawHunter]

The motherboard can over clock to use that RAM no probs. How ever try looking for a motherboard that supports it without OC. lots of people underestimate to importance of the MB.

Spend out on your PSU.

Look for a case with good reviews on cooling performance.

That CPU is great. Forget wasting money on i7 or skylake. Games are all GPU. 980ti should be amazing.

Also don't waste money on all SSD setup. The difference is so small in loading times for Elite. What you got there is spot on. 1 fast SSD for windows/programs and bang all games of HDD.

 

[Alec Turner]

So, on Monday my existing PC blew up (good timing or what?). This has forced my hand somewhat.

What follows is (hopefully) the final spec' for what I may well end up buying tomorrow (Friday at the latest).

I've totally blown my original £1k budget (by about 30%) so I really can't justify spending any more (to be honest I can't justify spending this but to hell with it) but if anyone happens to spot any last minute gotchas with this build then I'd be much obliged.

A few further comments:

- Not going skylake, overall it just seemed to push the price up too much

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- I've upped the PSU a tad, not going overboard but also reacting to numerous earlier comments

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- Yes, I'm spending THAT much on a graphics card, I want this to comfortably support the Occulus (and no, I don't want to wait).

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- Yes, I may well experiment with overclocking a little bit and have hopefully chosen a few bits (CPU, chipset, fan) to support this.

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- I might consider SLi in the future (hence the motherboard), not for a year or two tho.

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- I left the RAM at 8Gb just to save some money, it's more than adequate for now and I can always add another 8Gb later. I might have considered 2x4Gb rather than a single 8Gb chip but PC Specialist didn't offer that option.

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- I opted NOT to spend a bit extra on some USB 3.1 ports - would this even work without going skylake? (based on something somebody said previously). I could be persuaded otherwise I guess.

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- I'm getting the monitor separately, probably 24in (limited desk space), possibly 1920x1080 or maybe 16:10 1980x1200
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Case

InWIN 503 MID TOWER GAMING CASE (WHITE)
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Processor (CPU)

Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4690K (3.5GHz) 6MB Cache
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Motherboard

ASUS® Z97-E: ATX, USB3.0, SATA 6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE
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Memory (RAM)

8GB HyperX FURY DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
​

Graphics Card

6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 980 Ti - DVI, HDMI, 3 DP
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1st Hard Disk

240GB HyperX SAVAGE SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
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2nd Hard Disk

1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
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1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive

24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
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Power Supply

CORSAIR 750W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
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Processor Cooling

CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler
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Thermal Paste

ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
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Extra Case Fans

1x 120mm Apache Black Quiet Fan (fitted to extract from rear/roof)
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Sound Card

ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
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Wireless/Wired Networking

10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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USB Options

2 PORT (2 x TYPE A) USB 3.0 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
​

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

my only advice is there anyway you can wait 1 more week?

the black friday deal i got last year on my GTX980 was unmatched for 9 months afterwards. (MSI GTX980 gamers edition, overclocked with souped up cooler for £400 on the nose and it came with games too)

further more amazon did some corking deals on SSDs (£100 for 500MB SSD iirc)

 

[CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE]

Personally I'd stick a front fan in there to get some cooler air coming into the case esp. to get some airflow towards the graphics card. Hopefully there is a dust filter on the front of the case but I couldn't tell from the InWin website (I'd be very surprised if there wasn't). Then again this is something you could always add later depending on how you find the temperatures (esp. of the graphics card). How will you be controlling fan speeds, will the fans be plugged in to PWM headers on the motherboard?

But solid choices there given the budget.

 

[FiddenUK]

The single dimm will give you performance issues, since they should be paired. Another 8GB should only cost you about £30, depending on your currency.

 

[CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE]

my only advice is there anyway you can wait 1 more week?

the black friday deal i got last year on my GTX980 was unmatched for 9 months afterwards. (MSI GTX980 gamers edition, overclocked with souped up cooler for £400 on the nose and it came with games too)

But then he'd miss several days of the Horizons beta Mike are you mad?!..oh wait...

Worth noting that amazon.co.uk have already started their "Biggest Ever Deals" event.

 

[Alec Turner]

my only advice is there anyway you can wait 1 more week?

the black friday deal i got last year on my GTX980 was unmatched for 9 months afterwards. (MSI GTX980 gamers edition, overclocked with souped up cooler for £400 on the nose and it came with games too)

further more amazon did some corking deals on SSDs (£100 for 500MB SSD iirc)

Damn ... wish you hadn't said that

Just had a quick look at Amazon, is there a better way of filtering the hundreds of thousands of results? (for example for 980Ti + SSD)

 

[bigian12]

My general rule of thumb is, " you can never have too much ram"(unless you have no more space on the motherboard lol). I don't even know what ram I have on my pc lol.