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Hi everyone,

I had a quick scan and couldn't see any other thread like this in the first few pages, but I'm sure it's one that pops up a few times (not that I'd know for sure given I rarely visit this board!).

Anyways, I'm getting a new gaming desktop and there's three options I got back from a friend who's slightly more in the know (or so he claims) for a new one (so I hope all the info is right). I'll post the basic specs with full specs in the spoiler under each.

So yeah, basically needing anyone who can spare a few minutes of their time and expertise to advise me! And if none of these are worth it, or you know of a better configuration, I'm all ears!

Option 1 - £1079.00

- Intel Core i5 Quad Core
- Asus Sabertooth P67
- 8GB Dual-DDR3
- 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti


Option 2 - £1158.00

- AMD Bulldozer Eight Core
- Asus m5a99x EVO
- 8GB Dual-DDR3
- 2GB AMD Radeon HD6970


Option 3 - £1143.00

- Intel Core i5 Quad Core
- Asus Sabertooth P67
- 8GB Dual-DDR3
- 2GB AMD Radeon HD6970


Thanks a bunch in advance!

Why not just build your own?

He did 'build' these ones, they aren't out-of-the-box ones.

Well, the first one is a solid build, but I wouldn't pay 1000 pounds for it. Might just be something about computers in Britain though. My computer is much more powerful and probably cost me around 700 pounds to build.

I don't know much about ATD GPUs, so I can't help you with the other options.

Well we get overcharged for everything else under the sun so I wouldn't be surprised if you could get the same or better for less! Cheers for the input.

My two rules of thumb:

1. Buy 80% of the performance for 50% of the price.

Self build. Go for the hardware that is below cutting edge, you will still get a good machine. Concentrate on the graphics card, RAM and processor, everything else you can go cheap on. I deliberately go cheap on audio because what the sound card cannot handle it doesn't process.

2. Heavily mod your OS.

From a new/fresh install debloat your OS by any means available. There are debloated versions of XP, Vista and 7 under various names. So long as you own a license your fine. I recommend Tiny XP, Tiny Vista or XP Lite. Debloated versions of 7 are emerging.
They make a HUGE difference in system memory and size. A good pared down OS should fully start up from cold in under 20 seconds.

Thanks for the info regarding point 2, much appreciated.

As for the point 1, it is a self-build - at least in the sense that it isn't a default machine. My problem really is I lack the hardware know-how to do a self-build myself. If you could recommend any specifics for the card, RAM and processor I'd be very appreciative. If not, thanks for the info anyway.