Today we look at one of the latest systems from popular UK system builder PCSpecialist. Their X99 Predator system is loaded with high end components, including AMD's flagship R9 295X2 graphics card, an Intel i7 5820k six core processor and an Asus X99-S motherboard. The Predator ships in a Corsair Air 540 Chassis and is overclocked extensively for every customer. Is it worth the £2,299 inc vat asking price?
KitGuru fans will know that we have been working with PCSpecialist to give this system away – to a lucky reader. At time of writing the competition has just ended, so what better time to analyse the system before PCSpecialist send one away?
System overview:
- Corsair Carbide Series™ AIR 540 Gaming Case
- Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor i7-5820K (3.3GHz) 15MB Cache (overclocked to 4.4ghz)
- ASUS® X99-S: ATX, HSW-E CPU, USB 3.0, SATA 6GB/s
- 16GB Kingston HyperX PREDATOR Quad-DDR4 2400MHz X.M.P (4x4GB)
- 8GB AMD Radeon™ R9 295X2
- 240GB Kingston HyperX 3K SSD
- 2TB 3.5” Seagate SSHD
- 24x Dual Layer DVD Writer
- Corsair 1000W RM Series™ Modular 80 PLUS® GOLD PSU
- Corsair H100i Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Buy directly from PCSpecialist for £2,299 HERE.
just from my own price checking with a few upgrades to what they are offering or rough equivalences
PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/H4FWmG
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/H4FWmG/by_merchant/
CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor (£279.54 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£78.72 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus X99-A ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard (£191.99 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£167.59 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB 2.5″ Solid State Drive (£108.26 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate 2TB 3.5″ 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive (£79.99 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 295X2 8GB Video Card (£675.59 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Case: Corsair Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case (£98.95 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£127.99 @ Novatech)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-16D1HT Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer (£69.02 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £1877.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-03 16:30 BST+0100
not sure on value for money but labour costing nearly 425 pounds seems excessive
You will always be able to home build a system for less than a company will sell you one pre-assembled as they are in it to run a business rather than a charity. You also forgot to add in the cost of the OS and thermal compound which brings the current price up to £1951.77
(http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/r9ZwCJ) which is only £226 different from the latest price on the PCSpecialist website of £2178.
I previously bought a laptop from PC Specialist and I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again as their service we exemplary. When you consider the price includes with three years warranty, assembly, OS and driver installation and then the system is thoroughly tested before dispatch the £226 difference seems quite reasonable to me.
agreed you can buy them cheaper as parts but labour and parts for that much is excessive
cant buy pc 🙁
i just have amd athlon x2 processor. and 160gb hdd.
cant buy expensive pc rig. 🙁
wishing i can buy one
Just finished a new X99 build. System consisted of:
Motherboard:Asus X99-Deluxe motherboard
CPU:. Intel i7-5820K,
Memory: 32 GB CORSAIR Vengeance LPX Black (CMK32GX4M4A2800C16)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110i water cooler
Boot Drive: ADATA M.2 512 GB SSD
Storage: WD Black SATA III 3TB
Powersupply: Hitec 850W
Case: Corsair Obsidian 550D
Optical drive: LG BH16NS40
OS: Windows 8.1 PRO 64
Total cost in Switzerland about CHF 2250 (GBP 1440)
This system really screams !!! Using the ASUS AI Overclocking utility, maximum overclock achieved was
4.7 GHZ with all cores synched (BCLK=100 x 47 multiplier), memory settings set
to XMP, core CPU voltage @1.3V, input [email protected]. Temperatures stayed below
60 degrees Celsius, running Prime 95 for 6 hours. I was lucky and I hope you guys can get as good an overclock capable cpu/mobo combination.