Hailstorm GT - still good value for money?
- Thread starter Steph97
- Start date
Oussebon
Multiverse Poster
I had a quick prodge in the configurator to spec up a PC with the same parts. Weighed in at over £1100. So the review version appears to still be a decent discount. Performance-wise, an OCed i5 6600k is among the best you can get for gaming, and a GTX 970 is a great card for 1080p. Also it has a decent SSD, not a cheapo one, and 2666MHz RAM, so it doesn't cut corners on that either, which is nice to see.
Oussebon
Multiverse Poster
True enough, though configuring something like i5 6600 non-k, 8gb ddr3, H110 mobo, GTX 970, 250gb evo ssd + 1tb hdd, titan cooler, InWIN 503 case weighs in only £40 cheaper and will perform somewhat lower, as well as having fewer features. Obviously that's not to say that nobody should be buying anything but Hailstorms at this price point, there's plenty of reasons to go for other specs e.g. quieter builds. But if all you want's a high end i5, GTX 970, and the nice-to-have SSD+HDD mix, the savings elsewhere might be slim and OCing would be ruled out. Depends what the OP is looking for I suppose 
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What build is that? Could you link me? Tbh i don't need all the extra stuff but if I configured a build like 950/970/960, 8GB ram, i5, ssd and HDD - it would come to the same price .... and idk if going with the hailstorm is the best option .. would u say that having a bit too much is overkill/unnecessary?
So in ur opinion, it would be a good offer? What would be the downfall of buying it like I read overclocked cpus die quicker?
Oussebon
Multiverse Poster
It can in theory reduce the lifespan, but in reality you're more likely to throw your old PC away before it happens. Unless you sit there running Prime95 all day for giggles.
https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/148309-does-overclocking-reduce-lifespan-of-cpu/
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/does-overclocking-reduce-life-span-damage-cpu.214183/
The main disadvantage of overclocking is that you need higher quality parts to do it (better cooling, mobo, -k CPU etc), so it's more expensive, and not all games will see the same kinds of benefits. But with the Hailstorm's discount that's arguably less of an issue.
As for GPUs, it depends what games you're playing.
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So, I've ordered the Hailstorm GT. However, how easy would it be to install a water cooling system than the one that is given with this PC? Also, is there any use of getting a fan controller with the Hailstorm GT. And what are the downfalls of having only are 650 watt power supply? Thanks
Oussebon
Multiverse Poster
I don't think there are any realistic downsides of the Hailstorm having a 650W PSU - it will run pretty well any single GPU you want it to. Bigger PSUs are more for multi GPU setups, which are rarely the best answer to a situation when there is a single card alternative, especially at that kind of price level. Although a 650W PSU would be fine to support 2 x GTX 970s in SLI, the motherboard in the Hailstorm doesn't support SLI.