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First gaming build, recommendations please

Z

zeek55

n00b
Joined
Mar 12, 2013
Messages
18
Hey I am building my first gaming rig on computerlx.com. Was curious if you guys had any recommendations. I will not be doing any overclocking, I am most worried about SSD choice (I have never had one before on a PC), and case/ cooling I have selected-not sure if I need to buy additional cooling. Also, what monitor would you get with this rig(would like 27 inch). Any recommendations are appreciated! Thanks in advance. PC will be used for gaming and just basic web surfing nothing fancy.
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming and web browsing
2) What's your budget? Under 2500
3) Which country do you live in? U.S./ Colorado.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Will not be reusing parts
6) Will you be overclocking? No
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? Will buy new one, that you would recommend with rig
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? within next three months
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? not sure
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? Will get Windows 8 professional 64 bit unless something else recommended.

Here is the build from computerlx.com which comes out to $2476.99

Intel Core i7 Processor i7-3930K 3.2GHz 12MB SIX CORE

INTEL COPPER HEAVY DUTY LGA 1155/1366/2011 COOLING FAN

Asus P9X79 LE LGA2011/ Intel X79/ DDR3/ Quad CrossFireX&3-Way SLI/ SATA3&USB3.0/A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard

32GB (8 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1333MHz (PC3 10600) Quad Channel

SEAGATE / WD 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB CACHE SATA 6.0Gb/s

SAMSUNG 250GB Solid State Drive SATA III (READ/WRITE 540MB/250MB)

22X DVD-RW DUAL LAYER

nVidia GeForce GTX680 4GB DDR5 2DVI/HDMI PCI-EXP Video Card

REALTEK 8-CHANNEL DIGITAL SOUND ONBOARD

REALTEK 10/100/1000 Gigabit Network Card (onboard)

COOLER MASTER CM Storm Series Trooper (SGC-5000-KKN1) Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case

hec X ORION 585 WATT POWER SUPPLY (MEDIUM LOAD)

3-Year Limited Warranty Plan with Lifetime of free USA based Support Custom Hand Wiring For Ultimate Air Flow, Assembled in Cleveland, Ohio, USA

FED-EX GROUND SHIPPING "FREE" (1-7 BUSINESS DAYS)
 
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Please answer the stickied "Answers these questions first!" So that we can help you better.

Though off the bat, scrap that entire build. It is bad in so many ways. Are you building the PC yourself Or having someone else do it?
 
sorry, will be buying PC on computerlx.com. Total comes out to 2,476.99 (with windows 8 professional 64-bit)
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming and web browsing
2) What's your budget? Under 2500
3) Which country do you live in? U.S./ Colorado.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Will not be reusing parts
6) Will you be overclocking? No
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? Will buy new one, that you would recommend with rig
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? within next three months
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? not sure
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? Will get Windows 8 professional 64 bit unless something else recommended.
 
What resolution do you want from the 27" monitor?

Which games are you playing?

Can you wait for Intel's Haswell (expected to arrive around this summer)?
 
would like the max resolution that I can support with gtx 680.

Love all FPS, so BF 3 and upcoming fps games.

as far as haswell, I can def wait, is it worth waiting for? Concerns for waiting are that it will be overpriced, and do CPU's make that much difference in gaming these days? (I haven't really been a gamer since good old quake days so appreciate the input)
 
The two popular resolutions for 27" monitors are 1920x1080 and 2560x1440. The latter resolution costs more money and requires more GPU power (read: dual-card SLI or a dual-GPU card). Which one do you want?

According to current reports, Haswell is expected to provide around a 5- to 10-percent performance boost and run significantly cooler than Ivy Bridge. But we still don't know when exactly it will arrive or how many processors will first come available. Do you still want to wait for Haswell?
 
The max resolution for that card is 2560x1600, but bear in mind that 30" monitors are both
1. Expensive; and
2. Not ideal for competitive gameplay. High Input lag can be offputting for some people. Personally, I'd say go for it and recommend a Dell U3011.
 
I need to do more research on Haswell to decide if I will wait, as far as 27" monitor resolution I would like to play game at highest resolution without compromising performance with GTX 680, that card is within my budget, I don't think at this point I want to invest in SLI.

Other than monitor and waiting for Haswell, do you guys have any recommendations for rig?
quicksilver mentioned upgrading the PSU, computerlx offers CORSAIR 600 WATT HIGH PERFORMANCE SLI/CROSSFIRE POWER SUPPLY, would that be a good upgrade choice, they didn't have the 650 w option you suggested, just 600 followed by 750w.
 
Well first and foremost, ditch socket 2011 and go for socket 1155. There's no reason whatsoever for you to go with the X79 platform. So drop the CPU down to the Core i5 3470 and the motherboard down to something like the Asus P8Z77-V LK Intel Z77 motherboard.

As for the power supply, honestly that company is being totally unhelpful here. Simply put, ComputerLX is being extremely vague with the PSUs: there are different Corsair 750W PSUs out there. Not all of them I would recommend. Same thing with the Antec 650W and 750W PSUs. So in other words, you won't know exactly which Antec or Corsair PSU you'll be getting with the exception of the 600W and 430W model.

If you have to buy from this company, I highly recommend emailing them to get the exact model numbers of the Antec and Corsair power supplies they're using. If they won't release that info but you still have to buy from them, I guess go with the Antec 650W.

RAM wise, just go for a 2 x 8GB set as you do not need 32GB of RAM. Hell even 16GB of RAM is a bit overkill. With that said, again this company is being unhelpful as they're not listing the max RAM voltage of the RAM they're using. As such, they may put in RAM that might be harmful to the CPU. Remember that the max recommended RAM voltage for current Intel CPUs is 1.5V. However some RAM are rated at 1.65V and therefore are not recommended for use with Intel CPUs.

Again, if you have to buy from this company, highly recommend emailing them what is the max RAM voltage of the RAM they're offering with their PCs and whether or not you can specifically get RAM rated at 1.5V.

SSD wise, I would go with the Samsung 840 Pro 256GB since it's faster, of higher quality, and has slightly more space.
 
I recommend not buying a pre-built if you can. You're paying an absurd premium for possibly low-quality parts. Still if you don't feel up to buying and assembling components, I've heard you can give a parts list to a local computer repair shop and they'll order and assemble for a fee.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JzEE

You could get a Titan if you really want to delve into the diminishing returns any more. I added 2 Noctua fans which have a premium cost but are effective.

You can lose the fans, the water cooling, Z77 motherboard, and K series chip if you really don't want to overclock.

[edit] Please remember that you shouldn't just buy these parts unless you've questioned my choices and researched for yourself.
 
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Here's what I recommend for right now, starting with the PC tower:

$185 - Intel Core i5-3470
$118 - MSI Z77A-G45
$81 - Corsair XMS3 2x4GB DDR3 1333
$235 - Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD
$74 - Western Digital Blue 1TB HDD
$16 - Lite-On iHAS124-04 SATA DVD burner
$470 - MSI N680GTX Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 680 2GB
$150 - Corsair AX750 750W PSU
$118 - Corsair 500R White ATX mid-tower case
$139 - Microsoft Windows 8 Professional 64-bit OEM
=====
$1586 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

For the monitor, and for simplicity's sake, you should look at the Asus VE278H ($260). It comes with a TN panel that offers comparatively faster refresh rates, which is good for gaming.

If you want more accurate color reproduction and a wider viewing angle, you should look at an IPS panel monitor like the Asus VS278Q-P ($290).

It's not that hard to build a computer by yourself; all you need is a screwdriver and some patience. If you really need some help, there are a few DIY guides in the GenHard FAQ [/shamelessplug].
 
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