Boring I know... sorry.
So tossing up between as Surface Pro / Surface book or a new machine at home.
If I upgrade my home PC I wondered:
Case
BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Case (Black)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Coreâ,,¢i7 Quad Core Processor i7-6700k (4.0GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® Z170I PRO GAMING: Mini-ITX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX SAVAGE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB Kit)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Hard Disk
500GB Samsung 750 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB Samsung 850 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIESâ,,¢ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H60 Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Liquid Series Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
1x 120mm Apache Black Quiet Fan (fitted to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN PORT + Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi excluded on H110I-PLUS)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
[TABLE=class: tab_box, width: 100%, align: center]
[TR]
[TD=class: tdb, align: right]Price (excluding VAT)[/TD]
[TD=class: td, colspan: 2, align: left]£1,551.67[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=class: tdb, align: right]Price[/TD]
[TD=class: td, colspan: 2, align: left]£1,862.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
You know how crap I am at these so PC Specialist for me. Is there anything glaringly missing or wrong with this set up. I'd like it to be fairly longlifed if possible.
Given the price and the way the tax works it's actually going to be cheaper for me to get it to £2k inc vat so if there's anything I should upgrade please shout.
Thanks.
Looks pretty solid to me Pen. You can always spend more on the GPU - a GTX 1080 would certainly push the price up and give you even more horsepower.
For my Phoenix build, I swapped out the DVD drive for the BitFenix fan controller and it looks pretty sweet: https://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/accessories/recon/
You can pick up a USB DVD drive for £10 on Amazon, I haven't used mine since I installed the OS in 2014....
Maybe a slightly larger Wattage PSU PEN. Other than that and what Tut has said about the GPU, you've put together a pretty mighty rig.
Regards to the fan controller...Recon also comes with signature BitFenix SofTouchâ,,¢ surface treatment. This smooth rubbery coating not only feels pleasing to the touch.... ooo errrr.
So my motherboard can control all the fans in the case with it's software, what does this do better/ differently Tut?
Nothing really, but it looks really nice and you can fiddle with fan speeds using the touchscreen if you want to.
Sent from my OnePlus One using Tapatalk.
Do you intentionally have a Samsung 750 as 1St ssd and 850 and 2nd? The 850 is newer and would be best suited to the main ssd
Buy me one mate :)
Thanks chaps.
Tut: PC Specialist say the fan controller is not something they'll supply or even source and fit? What's your Phoenix build mean is that a different company?
Regarding the PSU they I put in a higher one it keeps saying that the max power needed is 375W so not sure .... perhaps bumping it up to 650?
Know what you're saying about the Graphics Card but it's a mighty leap up.
I only put a 750 SSD in the primary for the OS. They don't do a 850 in less than 1TB.
I'll have a play with the configuration. Thanks for the advice.
Pen if pcs can't source a smaller 850 you could get one for yourself? They definitely come in smaller flavours.
Tut I believe has the matx version not the itx version.. perhaps this is why some fan controller difference? And be sure whatever psu you buy fits with itx - if done through their configuration it shouldn't be a problem though.
Aye but half the joy is just having it built and arrived :)
I'm a bit put off by PCSpecialist give the last call I had with them. Very intractable.
I'll see where Tut got his built (if he did).
Personally, I'd put an M.2 SSD in for the primary, they are blindingly fast and it really does make a huge difference to the OS performance.
Have you looked at SCAN pen? I'd trust them at the blink of an eye. Maybe they can be a bit more flexible.
Agree about the m2 ssd, as long as cost allows it.
Quote from: Chaosphere;419179Have you looked at SCAN pen? I'd trust them at the blink of an eye. Maybe they can be a bit more flexible.
Agree about the m2 ssd, as long as cost allows it.
I use Scan for the machines I build for work, I use overclockers for my own stuff though. Never had a problem with either supplier. It also pays to check the daily and weekly deals for these sites.
Mine's a self build mate, hence the cabling situation :)
I wouldn't want to run a gaming PC on anything less than 600W. You really don't want to be running right on the edge of your PSU capacity, that way sadness lies.
If it comes down to it, the fan controller is easily fitted. Un-plug the fans from whatever they're plugged into (probably the motherboard), plug 'em into the controller and tape the temperature sensors to the side of the case. Done.
This is the part list I put together for the initial build, a couple of bits have been swapped out and changed since but it's mostly still the same: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/samchapman84/saved/
OK thanks that helps. At least I know the components even if I get it built then need to twiddle with it.
I'm still deciding about this or a surface book. Actually a tough call.
I had a look at the Surface Pro 4 over the weekend and actually it was damned impressive (and damned expensive).
Beautifully bright screen at a great resolution, responsive and fast.
So kinda decided I'll wait to see if there's any money off on Black Friday (doubtful but worth a try) and get one of those, back burning the new gaming build until the New Year or Spring.
Appreciate the advice though and I'll be back for tweaking and updating the base spec above when I'm good to go.
https://www.amazon.de/Microsoft-Surface-Tablet-PC-Graphics-schwarzes/dp/B01M0A578U/ref=gbph_img_s-3_2745_4a835881?smid=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF&pf_rd_p=bb5dbee6-c577-42ca-9d94-5979e3142745&pf_rd_s=slot-3&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_i=gb_main&pf_rd_m=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF&pf_rd_r=2JCJ9K820WBZZ6A3KV0X deal on the Surface 4 on Amazon.
Aye, I've been waiting for them to come down a bit.
I really want the 1TB on though and it's only come down about 5%
can you not upgrade the pro after buying it?
the 128gb edition is now £729 reduced for black friday, saving of 229
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/microsoft-surface-pro-4-typecover-bundle-128-gb-10153705-pdt.html
I'm not sure. The 1TB also has independent graphics which is (apparently) far superior to the inbuilt.
?
Managed to a couple hundred off the price yesterday so I went with it ....
Well done that man. In the end there's never a good reason not to buy tech.
Just sell a couple of hundred acres and some of your peasants and it will be fine.
ðŸ'
Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk
pics and a review please :) (goes off to count his pennies)
Well I'm not one for reviews tbh honest so don't hold your breath. I write for a living so doing it in my spare time is a bit of a busman's holiday :)
Anyway.
It arrived. Finally. First time Amazon has seriously let me down. The first one got lost in transit (read snaffled by someone en route). They suggested I bought another to make sure I got the deal still and they'd cancel the first. So I did and it finally arrives 5 days later..... along with a replacement for the first one which they were going to cancel. So I'm now looking at two Surface Pro's and the best part of £5k on my credit card.
Hmm. The second one was actually cheaper again than the first so I have sent that back along with the keyboard. So now all good.
I open the box along with the raft of accessories I probably don't need but had to buy to bump the price up to qualify to get the vat back.
1 x Microsoft Surface Pro 1TB
1 x PEN
1 x Keyboard
1 x Case Logic Cover
1 x Dock (4 x USB 3 ports, 2 x mini port display, 1 x RJ45)
1 x Display port to DVI/VGA adapter.
Boot the baby up and go through the Windows 10 set up. Seemed rather quick. It restarts into what I can only describe as a 10-sec boot followed by an explosion of brilliant colour. Wowsers.
I thought I should install items in order of importance so immediately whacked on Steam and booted 7 Days to Die and Ark. Loaded them up with little expectation but they run and they both work fantastically. Faster, smoother and more responsive than my office machine and probably on a par with my home machine. Wow. That was impressive.
I love the 1TB hard drive and its associated dedicated graphics card. For me it was worth the extra. I have all my work files on there along with my favoured games. The graphics are brilliant and Netflix, Prime etc all work fantastically smoothly in a beautiful resolution. The machine recommends a sweet 2736x1824.
The keyboard is tactile and very comfortable. I was dubious about the pen but it's very responsive and works really well. One click opens One Note, two clicks does a screen grab and the pointer is precise.
I love having a windows interface as opposed to IOS or Android. SO much more versatile. Flip the stand in and it reverts to swipey swipe tablet mode. Flip the stand out and it offers to revert to a PC.
All in all I'm impressed.... like very.