A challenge! What can I do with this iMac?

[MinimalMayhem]

I use a 27" mid-2011 iMac and boot it into windows for gaming, but think it is time I had a proper gaming PC. I really want to use the iMac display (for desk space and I like the big 2650x1440 screen). I believe this only works if the PC has a thunderbolt output (display port doesn't work with this iMac model, so I've read).

My budget is around £700 or so (800 euros), maybe a bit more. I already have a 1TB disk and 16GB of ram lying around as well as keyboard ,mouse, headset etc.

So, for a case, mobo, graphics, psu, cpu I was thinking of something like this, does it sound reasonable or is there something else that you think would work better? I've picked these items (almost) at random because they seemed to me the right kind of thing, but I'm kind of guessing here:

MSI z77a-gd80 (http://www.ebuyer.com/454353-msi-z77a-gd80-socket-1155-hdmi-vga-displayport-8-channel-audio-atx-motherboard-z77a-gd80)
i5 3470 (http://www.ebuyer.com/387256-core-i5-3470-3-20ghz-6mb-lga-1155-box-bx80637i53470)
Nesteq quiet PSU (http://www.quietpc.com/nes-xzero-psus)
fractal case (http://www.ebuyer.com/391898-fractal-design-r4-black-pearl-case-fd-ca-def-r4-bl)
4gb 7970 (http://www.ebuyer.com/461932-radeon-hd-7970-3gb-gddr5-pci-e-2xdvi-hdmi-dp-in-11197-11-40g)

Ideally I want this all to be fairly quiet, but I know that may not be realistic. What do you think?

[Nephastor]

Looks great from my point of view and its not too pricy either.

Case looks big enough to hold that graphics card too, since it is quite a massive thing when i looked at its size spec's.

I would say that you did some good research :)

[Burning]

If i were you,
I'd sell the iMac, since they go for insane amounts of money even 2nd hand.
Then buy a PC + 1440p monitor :)

Unless you need the apple for something a PC can't do or such.

I'd get a Corsair/Seasonic powersupply, I never buy psu from unknown brands etc.
Heard horror stories about powersupply failure and such ^^.
And maybe you can squeeze a i5 3570K in there? Having the ability to overclock really helps your CPU's lifespan. (in the sense of, it not bottlenecking for a longer period of time.)

[Force]

U can put it onder a window to keep it open.
Mac.....pffff :D:D

[Eindbaas]

Best buy guide gaming computer november 2013:
http://tweakers.net/reviews/3295/4/desktop-best-buy-guide-november-2013-mainstreamgamesysteem.html

(page is in dutch so use google translate ÂÂ*http://translate.google.com/)

[MinimalMayhem]

Cool, thanks folks. Mioracle provided some awesome suggestions in a PM too.
Will hang on to the mac - I really like it for work (work from home) and I've got a bunch of tools setup on it that I want to hang on to.

The question I don't have an answer to, and which makes me hesitate, is this: will I be able to drive a thunderbolt monitor with the thunderbolt port on the mobo. I know* the mac I've got (mid-2011 27") is a bit weird and doesn't support display port enabled video, has to be thunderbolt.

If anyone can shed light on that I'd be very grateful indeed.

* according to google searches!

[Mioracle]

Hello, yeah I didn't see this post. :)

I strongly advice against the i5 3470
and the Nesteq quiet PSU.

Go with the 4670k Intel Haswell cpu instead which has an unlocked multiplier, which means you get "free" performance by just adjusting "one value" in bios called a multiplier (you will need to shut off Turbo as well). The heatsink on this CPU contrary to others that Intel make is soldered directly to the CPU core instead of using a thermal paste in between and that gives it much much greater heat dissipation benefits when doing some simple overclocking.
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/503/Intel_Core_i5_i5-3470_vs_Intel_Core_i5_i5-4670K.html

What perfomance an overclock can give you: 3.5Ghz standard vs. 4.6Ghz overclock (Sweetspot for the Intel 4670k) depending on the application/game (http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2013/06/12/intel-core-i5-4670k-haswell-cpu-review/3)

Then just as Burning says, the difference between a normal PSU from any random brand and a great one that has Gold/Platinum certification usually is night and day regarding possible efficiency, coil whine, number, length and quality of cables and most important warranty. Even if the store that bought/sold cheaper PSU:s should file for bankruptcy a known and qualitybrand will still give you 5 year of warranty if you send them the quality PSU you bought directly.

Here's my suggestion based on our talks, revised edition. ;)

550W Seasonic G-550 80PLUS Gold Modular Power Supply (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Power+Supplies/Modular+650W+or+less/550W+Seasonic+G-550+80PLUS+Gold+Modular+Power+Supply+?productId=57 066) ~79£ <- Modular = clutterfree case with minimal amount of cables which will give you excellent airflow and nice aesthetics
Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Processors/Intel+CPUs/Core+i5+-+Socket+1150+Haswell/Intel+Core+i5-4670K+3.40GHz+%28Haswell%29+Socket+LGA1150+Process or+-+Retail+?productId=55828)¨~174£
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO Quiet CPU Cooler (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Fans+%26+Cooling/Air/Cooler+Master+Hyper+TX3+EVO+Quiet+CPU+Cooler+?prod uctId=47249) ~19£ this is a steal, incredible price/performance
Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl Midi Tower Soundproof Case (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Cases/Midi+Tower/Fractal+Design+Define+R4+Black+Pearl+Midi+Tower+So undproof+Case+?productId=51254) ~77£
ASRock Z87 Extreme4/TB4 with Thunerbolt (http://www.alternate.co.uk/ASRock/ASRock+Z87_Extreme4-TB4/html/product/1081105/?) ~167£
XFX Double Dissipation Edition Radeon HD 7970 AMD/ATI Graphics Card - 3GB (http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-xfx-radeon-hd-7970-dd-edition-with-ghost-thermal-5500mhz-gddr5-28nm-gpu-925mhz-2048-cores-hdmi-m?ProductId=52445) ~203£ Â*These are almost out of stock everywhere, you have a few more days so get one now!

= ~719£ excluding delivery fee and any rebate you might hassle up

I will try to have an answer for you about the iMac <-> ASRock Extreme4 /TB4 motherboard later today....

[Burning]

Hello, yeah I didn't see this post. :)

I strongly advice against the i5 3470
and the Nesteq quiet PSU.

Go with the 4670k Intel Nehalem cpu instead which has an unlocked multiplier, which means you get "free" performance by just adjusting "one value" in bios called a multiplier (you will need to shut off Turbo as well). The heatsink on this CPU contrary to others that Intel make is soldered directly to the CPU core instead of using a thermal paste in between and that gives it much much greater heat dissipation benefits when doing some simple overclocking.
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/503/Intel_Core_i5_i5-3470_vs_Intel_Core_i5_i5-4670K.html

Then just as Burning says, the difference between a normal PSU from any random brand and a great one that has Gold/Platinum certification usually is night and day regarding possible efficiency, coil whine, number, length and quality of cables and most important warranty. Even if the store that bought/sold cheaper PSU:s should file for bankruptcy a known and qualitybrand will still give you 5 year of warranty if you send them the quality PSU you bought directly.

Here's my suggestion based on our talks, revised edition. ;)

550W Seasonic G-550 80PLUS Gold Modular Power Supply (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Power+Supplies/Modular+650W+or+less/550W+Seasonic+G-550+80PLUS+Gold+Modular+Power+Supply+?productId=57 066) ~79£ <- Modular = clutterfree case with minimal amount of cables which will give you excellent airflow and nice aesthetics
Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Processors/Intel+CPUs/Core+i5+-+Socket+1150+Haswell/Intel+Core+i5-4670K+3.40GHz+%28Haswell%29+Socket+LGA1150+Process or+-+Retail+?productId=55828)¨~174£
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO Quiet CPU Cooler (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Fans+%26+Cooling/Air/Cooler+Master+Hyper+TX3+EVO+Quiet+CPU+Cooler+?prod uctId=47249) ~19£ this is a steal, incredible price/performance
Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl Midi Tower Soundproof Case (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Cases/Midi+Tower/Fractal+Design+Define+R4+Black+Pearl+Midi+Tower+So undproof+Case+?productId=51254) ~77£
ASRock Z87 Extreme4/TB4 with Thunerbolt (http://www.alternate.co.uk/ASRock/ASRock+Z87_Extreme4-TB4/html/product/1081105/?) ~167£
XFX Double Dissipation Edition Radeon HD 7970 AMD/ATI Graphics Card - 3GB (http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-xfx-radeon-hd-7970-dd-edition-with-ghost-thermal-5500mhz-gddr5-28nm-gpu-925mhz-2048-cores-hdmi-m?ProductId=52445) ~203£ Â*These are almost out of stock everywhere, you have a few more days so get one now!

= ~719£ excluding delivery fee and any rebate you might hassle up

I will try to have an answer for you about the iMac <-> ASRock Extreme4 /TB4 motherboard later today....

Good suggestions, solid choices on everything.
I'd pick the Coolermaster Hyper 412S over the TX3, it's a tiny bit more expensive but newer and cools better. The TX3 is a solid choice too though. Â*
Seasonic golds are pretty expensive. The Â*Corsair CX500M / CX600M are modular and pretty cheap/solid. Those are Bronze though, not gold. Getting gold is better, but if you want to save some money, you could change that.

I think corsair gives 7 year warranty on their PSU. My HX850 came with 7 years warranty atleast.


Can't comment on how a iMac can be used as monitor. Never researched it, but I can imagine you are not the only one who wants to do this.

PS: 4670K isn't Nehalem though, it's Haswell , Nehalem are 1st Gen i series (45nm) :) (just me being a nazi ^^)

[Mioracle]

Good suggestions, solid choices on everything.
I'd pick the Coolermaster Hyper 412S over the TX3, it's a tiny bit more expensive but newer and cools better. The TX3 is a solid choice too though. Â*
Seasonic golds are pretty expensive. The Â*Corsair CX500M / CX600M are modular and pretty cheap/solid. Those are Bronze though, not gold. Getting gold is better, but if you want to save some money, you could change that.

I think corsair gives 7 year warranty on their PSU. My HX850 came with 7 years warranty atleast.


Can't comment on how a iMac can be used as monitor. Never researched it, but I can imagine you are not the only one who wants to do this.

PS: 4670K isn't Nehalem though, it's Haswell , Nehalem are 1st Gen i series (45nm) :) (just me being a nazi ^^)

Lol, I was reading about the Nehalem and had it in my head, sorry! Well pointed... Don't worry, I was gonna say I love Nazi's but that came out very wrong hahaha, I mean no offense taken and plz correct me in the future at any time.


No no no, Corsair CXM500/600 are total crap! I forbid you to buy them! :) The RMA Return rate on these were the highest of any quality PSU we sold. The HX are much much better. Warranty is normally 5 years but who want to risk returning your PSU 1-2 times a year...?! One might say " I never had any problems with them", based on building a couple of PC's for family and friends, but trust me, when selling thousands and you have a return rate of > 10% in the first year, it's a horrible product. The margin on these are great and we didnt have to return them to Corsair, just a photo of the serial and then throw them away. More expensive to return/handle them for Corsair.

Corsair TX/HX are excellent performers with good quality on most components, but they also suffer more regurarly from coil whine after 1-2 years.
The PSU is the heart of your computer, people tend to go for cheap one's since a "pricey" one doesnt give and easily measured performance benefit. But if you buy a good one, you will never have to replace it for years to come... when people experience problems with their PC such as intermittent shut downs, crashes etc. the PSU is often the last place a normal person will look since most folks don't have an extra PSU laying around and instead fiddles with every other part for days until returning the PC to the store. Around 25% of the times we repair a PC we replace the PSU and then everythings good again. (If you have a cheaper one that is).
2nd hand value is much better on a gold/platinum standard and with 90%+ efficency you can drive any graphics card you'd like + when overclocking you need the extra boost. A CMX would many times just shut down if pushed a bit.
Most importantly, IF you want to add an extra graphics card to run SLI/Crossfire a Gold/Platinum standard PSU will deliver enough power even with a 550W to drive 2 cards and have an overclocked CPU which means you don't have to replace the PSU if you want a 2nd GPU.

[Burning]

Good suggestions, solid choices on everything.
I'd pick the Coolermaster Hyper 412S over the TX3, it's a tiny bit more expensive but newer and cools better. The TX3 is a solid choice too though. Â*
Seasonic golds are pretty expensive. The Â*Corsair CX500M / CX600M are modular and pretty cheap/solid. Those are Bronze though, not gold. Getting gold is better, but if you want to save some money, you could change that.

I think corsair gives 7 year warranty on their PSU. My HX850 came with 7 years warranty atleast.


Can't comment on how a iMac can be used as monitor. Never researched it, but I can imagine you are not the only one who wants to do this.

PS: 4670K isn't Nehalem though, it's Haswell , Nehalem are 1st Gen i series (45nm) :) (just me being a nazi ^^)

Lol, I was reading about the Nehalem and had it in my head, sorry! Well pointed... Don't worry, I was gonna say I love Nazi's but that came out very wrong hahaha, I mean no offense taken and plz correct me in the future at any time.


No no no, Corsair CXM500/600 are total crap! I forbid you to buy them! :) The RMA Return rate on these were the highest of any quality PSU we sold. The HX are much much better. Warranty is normally 5 years but who want to risk returning your PSU 1-2 times a year...?! One might say " I never had any problems with them", based on building a couple of PC's for family and friends, but trust me, when selling thousands and you have a return rate of > 10% in the first year, it's a horrible product. The margin on these are great and we didnt have to return them to Corsair, just a photo of the serial and then throw them away. More expensive to return/handle them for Corsair.

Corsair TX/HX are excellent performers with good quality on most components, but they also suffer more regurarly from coil whine after 1-2 years.
The PSU is the heart of your computer, people tend to go for cheap one's since a "pricey" one doesnt give and easily measured performance benefit. But if you buy a good one, you will never have to replace it for years to come... when people experience problems with their PC such as intermittent shut downs, crashes etc. the PSU is often the last place a normal person will look since most folks don't have an extra PSU laying around and instead fiddles with every other part for days until returning the PC to the store. Around 25% of the times we repair a PC we replace the PSU and then everythings good again. (If you have a cheaper one that is).
2nd hand value is much better on a gold/platinum standard and with 90%+ efficency you can drive any graphics card you'd like + when overclocking you need the extra boost. A CMX would many times just shut down if pushed a bit.
Most importantly, IF you want to add an extra graphics card to run SLI/Crossfire a Gold/Platinum standard PSU will deliver enough power even with a 550W to drive 2 cards and have an overclocked CPU which means you don't have to replace the PSU if you want a 2nd GPU.

Hmm I see, well yea I can indeed say I've build roughly 5 pc's with those CX series. 2 home systems with the 430 watt one, ÂÂ*and 3 gaming computers with CX500 (x2) and a CX600M. Some are 2 years now, no problems. But then well, if you say return rate was 10% ^^. I still don't think Corsair makes bad stuff, everything they make is pretty solid in my experience, customer support is awesome etc. But then again, I am sort of a fanboy when it comes to corsair.

[Mioracle]

Good suggestions, solid choices on everything.
I'd pick the Coolermaster Hyper 412S over the TX3, it's a tiny bit more expensive but newer and cools better. The TX3 is a solid choice too though. Â*
Seasonic golds are pretty expensive. The Â*Corsair CX500M / CX600M are modular and pretty cheap/solid. Those are Bronze though, not gold. Getting gold is better, but if you want to save some money, you could change that.

I think corsair gives 7 year warranty on their PSU. My HX850 came with 7 years warranty atleast.


Can't comment on how a iMac can be used as monitor. Never researched it, but I can imagine you are not the only one who wants to do this.

PS: 4670K isn't Nehalem though, it's Haswell , Nehalem are 1st Gen i series (45nm) :) (just me being a nazi ^^)

Lol, I was reading about the Nehalem and had it in my head, sorry! Well pointed... Don't worry, I was gonna say I love Nazi's but that came out very wrong hahaha, I mean no offense taken and plz correct me in the future at any time.


No no no, Corsair CXM500/600 are total crap! I forbid you to buy them! :) The RMA Return rate on these were the highest of any quality PSU we sold. The HX are much much better. Warranty is normally 5 years but who want to risk returning your PSU 1-2 times a year...?! One might say " I never had any problems with them", based on building a couple of PC's for family and friends, but trust me, when selling thousands and you have a return rate of > 10% in the first year, it's a horrible product. The margin on these are great and we didnt have to return them to Corsair, just a photo of the serial and then throw them away. More expensive to return/handle them for Corsair.

Corsair TX/HX are excellent performers with good quality on most components, but they also suffer more regurarly from coil whine after 1-2 years.
The PSU is the heart of your computer, people tend to go for cheap one's since a "pricey" one doesnt give and easily measured performance benefit. But if you buy a good one, you will never have to replace it for years to come... when people experience problems with their PC such as intermittent shut downs, crashes etc. the PSU is often the last place a normal person will look since most folks don't have an extra PSU laying around and instead fiddles with every other part for days until returning the PC to the store. Around 25% of the times we repair a PC we replace the PSU and then everythings good again. (If you have a cheaper one that is).
2nd hand value is much better on a gold/platinum standard and with 90%+ efficency you can drive any graphics card you'd like + when overclocking you need the extra boost. A CMX would many times just shut down if pushed a bit.
Most importantly, IF you want to add an extra graphics card to run SLI/Crossfire a Gold/Platinum standard PSU will deliver enough power even with a 550W to drive 2 cards and have an overclocked CPU which means you don't have to replace the PSU if you want a 2nd GPU.

Hmm I see, well yea I can indeed say I've build roughly 5 pc's with those CX series. 2 home systems with the 430 watt one, Â*and 3 gaming computers with CX500 (x2) and a CX600M. Some are 2 years now, no problems. But then well, if you say return rate was 10% ^^. I still don't think Corsair makes bad stuff, everything they make is pretty solid in my experience, customer support is awesome etc. But then again, I am sort of a fanboy when it comes to corsair.

Yeah, they do make great solid stuff mostly, I love a lot of Corsair products... and for a family members/friends who wouldn't do much gaming or want a great system I could consider most of the cheaper bronze products on the market. As an example FSP 400w OEM is one of the most stable, great PSU:s out there and it's a steal when it comes to price/performance for any non-gaming PC.
You can normally judge the quality of a PSU by lifting it, if it's pretty light... <1.5kg then it's fairly certain that only cheap components and heatsinks were used and you dont have any juice on the rails 12V <40A.
But putting high end GPU/CPU:s in a PC and doing overclocking, even mildly, one should consider the ampere/voltage/efficency carefully.

Here is an excellent review, which gives high praise to CX600M for it's value, CX600M review (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/CX600M/11.html)
but still shows that it fails 3.3V tests, the fan is very loud when you get near 500W of usage (SLI/Crossfire) and the comment sections is littered with people telling their horror stories about replacing their Corsair CXm:s up to several times a year. Comment-section (http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=182694)
And I know, cause I sent them out again and again to our customers until the third time when they got their money back. :)
So even if you are one of the lucky that gets a good one, I wouldnt recommend them to anyone building a gaming computer with high end parts like MinimalMayhem is.

[MinimalMayhem]

In case anyone else finds themselves in the same position (i.e. with a 2011 onward imac) - after chatting to Mioracle and some (lots) more googling, I'm not at all confident that a PC can use the imac thunderbolt input as a screen. Some people appear to have done it, others haven't and £700 is a lot to blow to find I then need to buy a monitor etc., not to mention the desk space.

Fortunately (for me at least), I've got a cunning solution, I shall blow a big chunk of cash on a graphics card and stick it in my wife's PC and use that for gaming instead. Can't believe I didn't think of that before, guess my fanboi eyes kept looking longingly at that 27" mac screen Â*:roll:
--
edit 20 November, 2013
Seems Asrock has boards that lets you use an apple thunderbolt display (imac or cinema display) with a PC in hardware :) http://www.asrock.com/microsite/thunderbolt/ ÂÂ*needs a cable from ÂÂ*mini displayport output of the graphics card to an input on the motherboard and then thunderbolt out to the display.
convoluted? yes, but does the trick.

[Player]

You can throw it in the trash, because Macs are useless and broken. >:D