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$1500 Desktop Gaming Rig!! Help!

Z

ZeroMK

n00b
Joined
Aug 16, 2011
Messages
16
1) Gaming, movies, internet
2) ~$1500
3) Canada
4) New build, will almost need all new parts
5) Reusing gtx 460 1gb graphics, 700watt power supply, and cd drive
6) Yes, just cpu
7) 1440x900 on a 20"
8) ASAP
9) SLI, optical, usb 3, sata 6
10) Going to buy a new copy of windows 7-64bit


What I want is:
tower case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer Case ($90) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX33258(ME).aspx?curtab=0
cpu cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler ($30) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX25192(ME).aspx
*bundle*cpu: i-5 2500k ($210) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX31557(ME).aspx
*bundle*MB: Asus P8Z68-V Pro ($170) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX33407(ME).aspx
-ram: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB ($70) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX35112(ME).aspx
HD: Intel SSD 510 Series SATA III ($250) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX32562(ME).aspx
Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black 7200rpm SATA III ($80) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX27676(ME).aspx
Graphics: using old gtx 460 1gb, tempted to sli it ($140) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX30252(ME).aspx
Sound card: Asus Xonar DG 5.1 ($20) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX33909(ME).aspx
Power supply: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750 Watt ($100) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX32588(ME).aspx
moniter: using old 19inch 1440x900 and 17inch sq
dvd drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST 24x DVD-RW Drive ($19) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX27707(ME).aspx
os: windows 7-64bit ($100) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX25758(ME).aspx
-headset: Microsoft LX-3000 LifeChat Headset ($30) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX25128(ME).aspx
*keyboard: Logitech Desktop MK120, Retail ($20) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX30139(ME).aspx

About ~$1400 total with gst with rebates

10187-34 Ave

Right now I play, WoW, HoN, Dragon age 2, Starcraft 2, waiting on Diablo 3..
 
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ZeroMK said:
1) Gaming, movies, internet
2) ~$1500
3) Canada
4) New build, will almost need all new parts
5) Reusing gtx 460 1gb graphics, 700watt power supply, and cd drive
6) Yes, just cpu
7) 1440x900 on a 20"
8) ASAP
9) SLI, optical, usb 3, sata 6
10) Going to buy a new copy of windows 7-64bit


What I want is:
12GB ram @ DDR3 @ 1600mhz
atleast 3.0ghz i-7 processor 2nd gen
going to SLI my gtx 460 1gb graphics card
120gb SSD
1TB HD
I'm not sure if a 700watt power supply is good enough
I'm also not sure if I should spend money on water cooling or just get an air cooler
I might need a new computer tower, might buy another antec 900 case
As for the motherboard, I want something that can support SLI, sata 6, usb 3, 1600mhz ram, 7.1 audio

Right now I play, WoW, HoN, Dragon age 2, Starcraft 2, waiting on Diablo 3..
Click to expand...

SLI on a 20" LCD? You do realize this is [H]ardOCP, right? Stop being lazy and go pick parts from Newegg, we aren't going to build your PC for you.
 
What specific power supply do you have? If it is a low quality or really old one you will likely need a new one.

No reason for the 2600K either. You will be fine with the 2500K as it performs identical to the 2600K in gaming.

Waambulance is right on the screen as well. Do not even bother doing SLI on 1440x900 that is just a massive waste. Instead of getting another 460 and saving $100 on the 2600K for the 2500K get a new monitor instead.

What is your current system anyway? Having a 460 and a 700W PSU must been it is built within the past year.
 
Nope waste of money. A 460 eats that resolution alive. What is your current system? I just find it hard to believe you are having trouble running games on that resolution if it was built in the past 2 years.
 
Oh, I don't know much about computers, how come a SLI on a 20inch moniter is a waste can you explain? Thanks. I use a 700Wattage corsair gs
 
SLI is only needed for high resolutions like 2560x1600 or multi monitor setups. 1920x1080/1200 is generally considered the minimum, since most people only SLI high end cards. A GTX 460 can be used in SLI to allow for greater performance, but it isn't worth it at your resolution. What are the parts in your current computer and are you having trouble running any of the games you mentioned? That PSU will have no problems for a new rig as well.
 
My current system I bought 2 years ago and upgraded some parts last year. However, one of my computers broke down so I'm planning to give the current computer to my brother and buying a new one and using some old but new parts for myself.

My system currently is:
i-7 920 2.6ghz
1gb gtx 460
6gb ddr3 ram
dell 435mt motherboard
700wattage corsair gs
 
Oh I see. I play all games on max settings no problem but I get lag for Dragon Age 2 when I put graphics to max.
 
Ah I see.

Well you do not need 12GB of ram as the 1155 platform does not support tri channel memory, so 8GB is plenty. You have the budget, so I would get a new monitor too and get a 2500K (better then your current processor). GTX 460's are so cheap these days you can easily afford one and drop it in if you so wish to as well.
 
oh, so if the 1155 platform doesn't support tri channel I should get a 1366? that supports tri channel right?
 
QuiteSufficient said:
You don't need a new system unless you need a separate one and you are wasting your money. If you get lag in dragon age 2 you need to buy a $30 heat sink like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 and overclock your existing processor.
Click to expand...

He is giving is current system to his brother as far as I can tell, so he needs a new one for himself.

No the Sandy Bridge processors are better then the old i7 900 series even if they support tri channel. Stick with the 2500K.
 
Oh okay, thanks cool.. I think im gona look up what parts I'm planning to buy and post them later today when I have time..
 
I also have another question, should I get an i-5 or i-7 for gaming? I know that the i-7 has quad core and supports tri-channel but I don't know if the extra benefits is worth it for gaming.

Also I have another question thats been bothering me for awhile, what does it mean when the the processor memory type says its dd3-1066/1333, does that mean the processor only supports a 1333mhz ram? So if I buy a motherboard that supports 1600mhz ram and get 1600mhz ram, the ram will default to 1333?
 
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Sorry trying to determine if this is a 0 day troll post or a guy that bought a dell that legitimately needs help.

But, ZeroMK:

The i7 is not faster than the i5 in gaming. An i5-750 (2.66ghz) is faster clock for clock than an i7-920 (2.66ghz) in games http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/109?vs=47&i=47.48.49.50.59.60.61.62

An i5-2500k hangs with or is faster clock for clock than an i7-2600k in games.

You do not need triple channel memory in games, and it does not provide an increase.

You do not need 12gb of ram in games, or really 8gb either, but it is cheap right now.

You do not need more than a gtx 460 for the resolution your monitor has for 99% of games. Dragon Age II is a very difficult or even impossible game to run at highest settings without really breaking the bank http://www.techspot.com/review/374-dragon-age-2-performance-test/page4.html

As far as DDR3 memory, there is not much performance gain to be had from increasing the speed. Whether you wind up with 1333, 1600, or even 1866 or 2100mhz DDR3 - the performance in games will be about identical.
 
oh okay, thanks! that helped alot! and no I'm not trolling I think the 3rd post was a troller..
My friend refered me to this site and told me its a great place to get computer help.
 
ZeroMK said:
oh okay, thanks! that helped alot! and no I'm not trolling I think the 3rd post was a troller..
My friend refered me to this site and told me its a great place to get computer help.
Click to expand...

You have a smart friend then ;).

What kind of setup do you have going that you need 7.1? Have you looked into any sound cards to drive it?
 
Oh, I guess I don't really need a 7.1 motherboard because I use a 5.1 sound system. I researched that if I get a good motherboard I woudn't need to spend on sound cards. Are sound cards recommended if I get a good motherboard? I was initially planning to buy this http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131666 but since I'm probably going to get a i-5 now I'm going to downgrade and get something less extreme.

Should I get a watercooling for my cpu or should I just get a good air cooler if I'm only going to use the turbo boost feature on my processor?

Now I'm tempted to upgrade to a better graphics card instead of sli-ing my gtx 460 lol.
 
On-board sound is worse than a real sound card 99% of the time. The other posters, though somewhat rude imo, were correct about the SLI. At resolutions less than 1920x1200 it usually actually slows down your performance. Games are very rarely influenced a lot by your CPU or your RAM speed. Yes, they are influenced, but you could overclock your CPU and RAM by 33% and see a 1% increase in your game's frame rate. Should you skimp on those items? No, but you don't need to go with a water-cooled super expensive setup either. A single high-end graphics card is what will make your game enjoyable 95% of the time. What else makes games enjoyable? Big screens, faster load times, good audio, comfortable equipment, etc. I personally wouldn't even bother upgrading the i7 920 yet, it's not a slow CPU by any stretch. If you don't know a lot about computers, I'm guessing this is perhaps your first or second build(?), going for an overclock isn't really a good idea either but it is a possibility with the 920 rather than spending $230-300 for a CPU plus $50 for RAM plus $100+ for a motherboard, none of which will give you more enjoyable experiences in your computer use. My personal opinion: get a good video card, get a 24-inch or bigger LCD (a good one), and save the leftover $700 for later... or mail it to me cause I'm such a nice fella...
 
ZeroMK said:
Oh, I guess I don't really need a 7.1 motherboard because I use a 5.1 sound system. I researched that if I get a good motherboard I woudn't need to spend on sound cards. Are sound cards recommended if I get a good motherboard? I was initially planning to buy this http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131666 but since I'm probably going to get a i-5 now I'm going to downgrade and get something less extreme.

Should I get a watercooling for my cpu or should I just get a good air cooler if I'm only going to use the turbo boost feature on my processor?

Now I'm tempted to upgrade to a better graphics card instead of sli-ing my gtx 460 lol.
Click to expand...
That motherboard is not that good of a buy.

Don't bother with watercooling since it's probably above your budget as well as technical expertise. So stick with a good air cooler like the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ HSF.

Again, stick with the Core i5 2500K, 8GB of DDR3 1333 RAM, and a suitable motherboard and you'll be fine. GPU wise, figure out whether or not you're gonna upgrade the size of the monitor.
 
Danny Bui said:
That motherboard is not that good of a buy.
Click to expand...

Not only that, but the Rampage III Formula is a Socket LGA 1366 motherboard. The Sandy Bridge i5 and i7 CPUs use Socket LGA 1155 - and the two sockets are totally incompatible with one another. The R3F is a good motherboard buy - but only if the OP decides to purchase a hexa-core i7-9xx CPU (i7-970, 980, 980X, 990X...). The older quad-core i7-9xx CPUs are now obsolete (they can be bought for cheaper than an i7-2600K, but their performance generally isn't as fast as even an i5-2500(K) unless overclocked heavily).
 
tower case: antec 900 v2 ($110)http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX23170(ME).aspx
cpu cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler ($30) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX25192(ME).aspx
cpu: i-5 2500k ($210) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX31557(ME).aspx
MB: Asus P8Z68-V ($170) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX33407(ME).aspx
ram: Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600MHz ($80)http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX31393(ME).aspx
HD: Intel SSD 510 Series SATA III ($250) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX27676(ME).aspx
Graphics: using old gtx 1gb
Sound card: Asus Xonar DG 5.1 ($20) http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX33909(ME).aspx
Power supply: using old 700w cosair gs
moniter: using old 20inch 1440x900
os: windows 7-64bit ($100)

About ~$1000 total
 
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Ditch that RAM as its heatsinks will interfere with the Coolermaster HSF. Not to mention that DDR3 1600 RAM offer little to no real world performance increase over DDR3 1333 RAM. So go for a DDR3 1333 RAM with lower heatsinks thats rated at 1.5V.

Ditch the SSD as OCZ has a poor track SSD history as well as better customer support. Not to mention the occasional reliability issue the current OCZ SSDs have. So go for Intel's 510 series or Crucial M4 series SSDs if you want reliability as well good customer support.

Ditch that sound card as there are better sound cards for the money out there:
$30 - Asus Xonar DG 5.1 Channels PCI Sound Card

Ditch that case as it is not a good buy for the money. There are significantly better cases out there for the money:
$65 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58W ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K56 ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master CM690 II Advance ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$100 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$110 - NZXT Whisper WHI - 001BK ATX Full Tower Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-7FN ATX Case
$110 - Lian Li PC-60FN ATX Case
$113 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$120 - Fractal Design Arc Mini Tower
$130 - Fractal Design Define R3 White ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Lian Li PC-9F ATX Case
 
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How do I tell what the ram heatsink is? and how come it'll affect the cpu cooler?
 
ZeroMK said:
How do I tell what the ram heatsink is? and how come it'll affect the cpu cooler?
Click to expand...
Do you not know how RAM normally looks like? Anyway, the RAM heatsink are those fins + the rest of the covering you see on the Corsair RAM you chose. You don't want those to be too tall. It'll affect the CPU cooler because you won't be able to install the fan or even the heatsink if the RAM heatsinks are too tall.
ZeroMK said:
also are ssd corsair brands any good?
Click to expand...
They were but there's been a report of a few extra issues with Corsair RAM IIRC. So avoid them as well.
 
If I decide to sli my gtx 460 1gb (even though it's a waste), do you think a 700w power supply is enough?
 
ZeroMK said:
If I decide to sli my gtx 460 1gb (even though it's a waste), do you think a 700w power supply is enough?
Click to expand...

Well technically that 700W PSU is a 600W PSU since it has a +12V amperage that's equal to a lot of other 600W PSUs out there. But it should be ok for GTX 460 SLI.
 
Since you're not doing any sort of high-end graphics work, really no need for an IPS monitor AFAIK.
 
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