$1200 gaming PC

[Foxtrot]

Approximate Purchase Date: Next couple of weeks

Budget Range: $1000-$1300 (but only if it is a significant increase over $1000)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Parts Not Required: Case, mouse, keyboard, speakers, sound card, HDD, Monitor

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg

Country of Origin: USA

Parts Preferences: by brand or type nope

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200

Additional Comments: No matter how much money I spend I always go for value while getting as much performance. I am building a computer where money isn't too much an issue. Although I don't think it's justifiable to spend another $150 to get a slightly better graphics card, so I am trying to get a top of line PC without spending unnecessarily too much. Once decision I am trying to make is if I should get an i5 or i7. Please don't just look at this build and think that I have $300 more to spend and that I can just throw it down on whatever. I will gladly spend $300 if it means I can get a significant improvement of some type but if I am spending 100 more for an i7 that does nothing for games and 100 more for a graphics card that is highly over priced for performance than no thanks. I am stil ltrying to decide on a graphics card, 2x560 vs 2x560ti vs 570 vs 580

850 w PSU and mobo combo.
64gb SSD
i5 2500k
2xGTX 560
8 GB RAM


This all comes out to be about $1100.

 

[Zoson]

64gb ssd isn't enough space for a gaming machine... You'll be able to keep maybe two games on it before filling it to capacity.
For 1920x1200 resolution you don't need two GTX560's.
I'd spend the extra dough on a bigger ssd, and like an H80.

 

[okashira]

Why would you choose SLI on a new build (unless you are going dual 580's or something...)??? Pls spend that money on a 580 or 6970. No driver issues, microstudder, game specific optimisization issues.

SLI can also be restrictive to game developers. Developers have to be mindful that their engine doesn't send too much data back and forth in a SLI setup. We don't need to make things more difficult for developers on the PC platform.

 

[Foxtrot]

What is an H80? I want to future proof this machine a bit and I am pretty sure a single 560ti won't run BF3 or Skyrim on max settings.

Why would you choose SLI on a new build (unless you are going dual 580's or something...)??? Pls spend that money on a 580 or 6970. No driver issues, microstudder, game specific optimisization issues.

SLI can also be restrictive to game developers. Developers have to be mindful that their engine doesn't send too much data back and forth in a SLI setup. We don't need to make things more difficult for developers on the PC platform.

Yes I am not sure on what to get yet. Would a 580 be better to get? They seem to get out performed by 2x560tis by a bit and the 560s cost about $40 less.

 

[okashira]

What is an H80? I want to future proof this machine a bit and I am pretty sure a single 560ti won't run BF3 or Skyrim on max settings.



Yes I am not sure on what to get yet. Would a 580 be better to get? They seem to get out performed by 2x560tis by a bit and the 560s cost about $40 less.

There is a little more to it then raw benchmark numbers. I would get a 6970, 570 or 580. Single card is always better. The only time I feel like someone should go SLI is if a single card of the highest level is not good enough, eg 2x 580 or 2x 6970

 

[Foxtrot]

Ok, so would it be a good idea to buy a 580 now and then maybe a year or whenever from now to get another one? Or would it still be cheaper to buy a better budget card later? I know I planned on doing this with my current build, I bought a 4890 but I think my processor was more of a bottleneck than my card ever was.

 

[okashira]

Yeah, I would argue that you would sell the 580 and buy a new better card then to add another 580 later. That's what I have always done...

 

[Dangman]

Unless you need max performance at whatever the cost, I don't recommend the GTX 580 at all due to its poor price to performance value. I'd recommend the HD 6950 2GB at the least but the HD 6970 2GB would be a pretty safe bet. During the BF3 beta, people were reporting that BF3 was using more than 1.2GB of VRAM. As such, I don't recommend the GTX 570 if that is actually the case for the actual game.

PSU and mobo wise, those are both poor values: That AsRock mobo only has a 1-2 year warranty which isn't good at all considering that many mobos around that price range has a three year warranty. Unless that AsRock has some really awesome feature that you need, I don't recommend it. Considering that you're planning on overclocking, I'd spend the extra money for a higher-quality mobo:
$145 - MSI Z68A-GD55 Intel Z68 ATX Motherboard

It's only $12 more once you factor in shipping for the AsRock mobo.

PSU wise, I recommend the following:
$105 - Corsair 750TX V2 750W PSU
$135 - Corsair 850TX V2 850W PSU

What case will you be reusing?

 

[Foxtrot]

This is my case. I am leaning towards 560tis again. What is wrong with the mobo I have? It was reccomended in many other places.

 

[Fix Me]

This is my case. I am leaning towards 560tis again. What is wrong with the mobo I have? It was reccomended in many other places.

Danny was pretty clear on that. You're better off with the MSI unless the ASRock has some important feature the MSI board doesn't.

Go with a single card, there's no reason to get two TI's unless you already had one and got one for a good deal. And even then...

 

[Foxtrot]

Danny was pretty clear on that. You're better off with the MSI unless the ASRock has some important feature the MSI board doesn't.

Go with a single card, there's no reason to get two TI's unless you already had one and got one for a good deal. And even then...

Just because of the warranty? Anyways I was looking at charts the two 560tis will cost me about $420 and they will out perform the 580 by quite a bit and the 6970 by a lot.

 

[Fix Me]

Just because of the warranty? Anyways I was looking at charts the two 560tis will cost me about $420 and they will out perform the 580 by quite a bit and the 6970 by a lot.

Well, it's your money and you can do with it what you want. We just make the recommendations. I agree with Danny that the MSI is a better buy for your money. If you don't agree, then get the ASRock.

Don't forget about added power and heat and some extra frustrations that come with dual card setups. You can do some searching through the video card forums to see what I mean. It's up to you though and if you've had dual card solutions in the past and they've worked well for you, then go for it.

 

[Foxtrot]

Well, it's your money and you can do with it what you want. We just make the recommendations. I agree with Danny that the MSI is a better buy for your money. If you don't agree, then get the ASRock.

Don't forget about added power and heat and some extra frustrations that come with dual card setups. You can do some searching through the video card forums to see what I mean. It's up to you though and if you've had dual card solutions in the past and they've worked well for you, then go for it.

Well I know you know more than I do most likely, I am not too knowledgeable in all this stuff I just know how to build a PC. I have never had dual card set ups I just like what the performance looks like for the price. As far as I can tell it is the best value with dual 560tis.

 

[Dangman]

Just because of the warranty?

And its value. Look at its price: It will be $133 shipped. The higher quality and longer warrantied MSI mobo that I recommended costs $12 more. As such, that AsRock is a poor value at its current price.

As far as I can tell it is the best value with dual 560tis.

If all the games that you plan on playing works well with SLI, then go with dual GTX 560 Ti.
'

 

[Foxtrot]

And its value. Look at its price: It will be $133 shipped. The higher quality and longer warrantied MSI mobo that I recommended costs $12 more. As such, that AsRock is a poor value at its current price.

If all the games that you plan on playing works well with SLI, then go with dual GTX 560 Ti.
'

How can I find that information out? I mean will we even know about games like BF3 and Skyrim before they come out?

Also I am sorry but I do not know a lot about motherboards, what makes the MSI better than the Asrock besides the warranty?

 

[Dangman]

How can I find that information out?

Find reviews of GTX 560 SLI and see what games they do well in.

I mean will we even know about games like BF3 and Skyrim before they come out?

Nope. Gotta wait for those games to come out.

Also I am sorry but I do not know a lot about motherboards, what makes the MSI better than the Asrock besides the warranty?

Well:
- Better quality caps that helps with overclocking and stability
- Better cooling for those caps and mosfets
- Just higher over-all quality of motherboard construction.

Not to mention MSI's better customer support.