Gaming & art build: $1600

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Johnny86

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Mar 18, 2010
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1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
The main purpose is gaming, with some photoshop and web design on the side. The games I'm most interested in are FFXIV, Guild Wars 2, League of Legends, and Diablo 3.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
My budget is $1600 and I'd like to keep it under that if I can.

3) Where do you live?
In the suburbs of Chicago. I have two Micro Centers near me so that might also play into what you guys decide to put together here.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, RAM, case, hard drive, dvd-rw drive, power supply, video card, motherboard, monitor.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I won't be reusing anything, this is an entirely new build.

6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes, I plan to overclock.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I'm considering the NEC EA231WMI right now but I'm open to suggestions. It's a 23" 1080p monitor.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
I'd like to build soon, within the next week or two.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
I'm not too concerned about RAID features but SATA 6.0 and USB 3.0 would be cool.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
I don't currently have a copy of windows, but I'm a college student so the student deals out there are probably an option for me.

My current computer is a pentium 4 2.0ghz, 512 ram dell from like 2002. So, needless to say I am long past due for an upgrade. I'd love for this computer to play games well and I do some art and web design as a hobby which might even turn into a future career so that's important to me too. I've heard FFXIV is a pretty ridiculously demanding game and I'd also like to be able to run that well at 1080p.

The display is definitely important to me and I'd like to choose one with an emphasis on how vibrant and sharp the picture is, with accurate colors. So that's why I've chosen the NEC since I hear IPS is best for that.

Interested to see what you guys can come up with, thanks for the help.
 
Hi,
I'm not an expert, but I did do some research recently on whether to upgrade my computer completely or just a few parts while waiting for Sandybridge which I think will start hitting more mainstream in Q1 2011. I decided on a few parts but here is what I have based on research that might help you.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2832/1 - i5-750 benchmarks compared to i7-930 (the two major cpu choices I think for you right now)

The 930 is better in a few encoding tests thanks to hyperthreading but the 750 is quite fine in gaming and photoshop tests that seemed to be your primary uses. That being said, since you are near a microcenter with access to the 200 dollar 930, let's start with this:

CPU: i7-930 - $200 (Microcenter)
Video Card + Motherboard: Gigabyte GTX460 + Gigabyte GAX58-UD3R - $399.98 + additional $20 "rebate card" (prepaid card, not cash)
Ram + PSU: XFX Black Edition 750 + 6GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $235 + addition 15 dollar rebate
Case: Coolermaster CM690II - $70 (You can be flexible here, cases can be more personal. Find something that works for you. That said this case is easy to work in, provided pretty good airflow, and is rather affordable.)
DVD Burner: Samsung 22X - $20
HDD: Samsung F3 1TB - $75
Monitor: NEC EA231WMI - $340
OS: Get whatever windows you can get for cheap as a student.


= $1340 before shipping, tax, OS with 35 dollars in rebates.

I personally would prefer a 24" 1920x1200 monitor instead of a 1080, but the choice is yours on the monitor and your usage. The U2410 is around 450 after 10% coupon code listed here:

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/...sd&acd=10550055-1225267-u0t2074098f9fp0c0s441

It is a good 24" monitor with a solid sRGB mode and a low input lag gaming mode. The sRGB mode is supposedly quite accurate out of the box without further calibration.

If you want to push your gaming performance while staying in budget I think you can squeeze in another Gigabyte GTX460 1GB also for 220 (200 after $20 mail in rebate): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...lickDeals-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA&Item=N82E16814125333 However that shouldn't be needed with a 1 monitor 1080p setup. You can also consider an SSD as your OS and main apps drive.
 
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Sorry forgot the overclocking requirement. That would depend how much you want to overclock by. The 930 is nice in that it is quite overclockable in general. For cheap and reasonable effective there is the Coolermaster 212 for $24 at Microcenter. If you want more extreme OCing consider the Prolimatech Megahalems or the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (version C)/Venomous X.

Last note, in a few months AMD will release their 6xxx series video cards which should outperform the current options. At the very least they will drive down prices. Intel also as I mentioned will release Sandy Bridge in a few months, although that is likely NOT to lower prices significantly (cpu prices with new releases seem more steady, possibly cause of the new sockets). It's up to you whether you want to get it now or later, but if you decide to go for it then I'd say just go for it.
 
Given the money left over in the budget, I'd go with a GTX 470. It has a little bit more memory and horsepower than the 460 1GB. You can find em for well under $300 these days.

Don't forget to get an aftermarket cooler for the CPU. An H50 should be sufficient.
 
vjcsmoke said:
Given the money left over in the budget, I'd go with a GTX 470. It has a little bit more memory and horsepower than the 460 1GB. You can find em for well under $300 these days.
Click to expand...

This is true, I mainly recommended the GTX 460 1gb cause it is cooler/quieter/less power consuming and if he goes the overclocking route is quite overclockable as well and he can pick up a second 460 and still be in budget if just barely.
 
very good build there Anchen, +2 !!

if he held his p4 since 2002 ...this i7 930 will definately hold him up for quite a few as well...
 
Really good build Anchen, I like it. One thing I do wonder about though is how well a 460 1GB will hold up to gaming at a higher resolution like 1900x1200? The monitor coupon code is really helpful, and I do like the u2410 especially for all the inputs it has. For $450 that's a pretty damn good deal, and I think that display also has a better IPS panel in it?

As far as overclocking goes, I'm not too sure about whether I'm gonna go all out with it or if I'm just going to keep the processor clocked around 3.4ghz or so. I like the idea of the H50 since it exhausts heat outside of the case and it lets me avoid strapping three pounds of metal to my motherboard.

When it comes to cases I definitely like a more minimalistic design, not a big fan of those riced out gamer cases. I like the suggestions so far, but it's something to keep in mind for anyone else who'd like to recommend a case.

Seems like this build would last me quite a while, so what do you guys think about the 460 vs. the 470 for this resolution? Thanks for the help.
 
Specs are certainly good on the evga motherboard. Haven't seen any comprehensive reviews yet, but I hadn't particularly looked. Certainly worth considering. Evga has had some issues with ram not being detected on their x58's, but then so have other makers with the x58. The warranty can be a killer though.

At 1920x1200 the GTX460 if overclocked is quite close to a stock 470. If not overclocked it is generally going to be 10 frames or so worse though it seems in most games. It still runs cooler and uses less energy too:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3809/nvidias-geforce-gtx-460-the-200-king/18

With the temps the 470 gets to stock at load I probably wouldn't want to try overclocking it. There are some pre OCed versions with custom coolers that you can look at but generally if you have to pay extra for them it isn't worth the performance increase. The GTX460 1GB seems fine at 1920 x 1200 though based on the benchmarks I've seen so I am currently standing by the 460 recommendation unless you absolutely want that bit of extra power.

The H50 will cool fine and be almost silent at moderate overclocks so if that is something you are interested in then consider buying it. Speaking of dell monitor deals the U2311 is decent, it isn't quite as color accurate as the NEC or U2410 (SRGB) but it is CHEAP right now:

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/...itor-ultra-sharp-coupon?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

25% off 289 = 239.
 
Johnny86 said:
Oh and one more thing, any opinions on this X58 motherboard that was just released?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...3188068&cm_re=evga_x58-_-13-188-068-_-Product
Click to expand...

lt_shiro said:
Evga warranty is only 1 year and Gigabyte is 3 years.
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The warranty for that motherboard is only 1 year. If an EVGA mobo ends in KR instead of TR then it is a 3 year warranty.

For what it's worth, I'd guess 90-95% of problems with mobos are going to happen in the initial build/first 30 days. I've only had 1 motherboard go bad on me before I got rid of the system due to old age and that was an ultra cheapie.
 
vengence said:
The warranty for that motherboard is only 1 year. If an EVGA mobo ends in KR instead of TR then it is a 3 year warranty.

For what it's worth, I'd guess 90-95% of problems with mobos are going to happen in the initial build/first 30 days. I've only had 1 motherboard go bad on me before I got rid of the system due to old age and that was an ultra cheapie.
Click to expand...

we are both wrong its 2 years

http://www.evga.com/products/moreIn...rd Family&series=Intel X58 Series Family&sw=5
 
Alright so given the performance of the 460 1GB in that review I can't really come up with a reason to get the 470 over it, since I don't mind overclocking. As far as sandy bridge goes, I think I'd be more interested in seeing what happens with the higher end version when it comes out probably late next year.

There's also the question of i7-930 vs. i5-750 for my build, since the performance difference in games seems to be barely noticeable and the real strengths of the 1366 platform seem to come in encoding and things like that. Given that I've got two Micro Centers nearby, what do you guys think? Is the $100 or so more spent on an X58 motherboard and 6gb of ram really worth it? I've always preferred going with a single video card over SLi since I hear a lot of complaints about microstutter so that's also a factor.

My general plan from now on with computer hardware is going to be selling my old hardware and upgrading when significant new architecture comes around, I think it's the best move economically since if you hold on to your hardware forever it depreciates a lot and you end up losing way more money on your investment. Do you guys think this is a smart strategy? Which platform do you think will hold its value better since sandy bridge seems to be right around the corner, 1156 or 1366?

Between the three display options it seems to me like the u2311h is by far the cheapest option, but I've heard NEC has better quality control overall? The u2410 would give me a higher quality IPS panel and more inputs, so I'll have to do some thinking and decide if it's worth the extra money over the other two. Thanks for the insight guys.
 
Johnny86 said:
There's also the question of i7-930 vs. i5-750 for my build, since the performance difference in games seems to be barely noticeable and the real strengths of the 1366 platform seem to come in encoding and things like that. Given that I've got two Micro Centers nearby, what do you guys think? Is the $100 or so more spent on an X58 motherboard and 6gb of ram really worth it? I've always preferred going with a single video card over SLi since I hear a lot of complaints about microstutter so that's also a factor.
Click to expand...
IMO, the Core i7 930 (from MC) + X58 route + 6GB DDR3 1600 RAM is not worth the extra $150 over a comparable Intel Core i5 750/760 setup + P55 mobo + 4GB of RAM for mainly gaming. That $150 can be put to better use elsewhere or just straight up savings.

Johnny86 said:
My general plan from now on with computer hardware is going to be selling my old hardware and upgrading when significant new architecture comes around, I think it's the best move economically since if you hold on to your hardware forever it depreciates a lot and you end up losing way more money on your investment. Do you guys think this is a smart strategy? Which platform do you think will hold its value better since sandy bridge seems to be right around the corner, 1156 or 1366?
Click to expand...

Smart strategy if you can't spare the cash. I'd say neither. Sandy Bridge is coming out in two platforms aimed at replacing both the 1156 and 1366 sockets.
 
I think I agree with Danny here, I'm leaning toward an i5-760 set up. The money I save could probably be better spent on more ram, a solid state drive, a higher wattage/quality psu, or by grabbing the u2410 as my display. The monitor especially, since it would most likely last through several builds.

For the 460 I'm thinking of going with the EVGA version for step up and the quality of their customer service. Do you guys know how well their version overclocks or are they all pretty much in the same in overclocking potential?
 
I agree with Danny man. The Core i7 930 cpu may be $200 at Microcenter but, it will still cost more than a Core i5 750 Quad cpu. The HT feature on the i7 930 won't benefit what you will be doing. Let's go with a Core i5 750 Quad since you will be o/c. As far as monitor goes, go with the HP ZR24w 24" 1920 x 1200 res monitor. It may not have as much inputs as the Dell U2410 but, it will cut cost though and is a great IPS panel monitor.

Intel Core i5-750 + Corsair Hydro 50 both for $259.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.404340

Gigabyte Geforce GTX 460 1GB + GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 both for $334.98 ( $20 MIR on video card & $10 MIR on mobo)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.505456

Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB + Corsair 650TX both for $144.98 ($30 MIR on psu)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492764

G. Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600 for $86.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193

Samsung 22X DVD Burner for $19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151192

Coolermaster RC 690 II for $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119215

Monitor - HP ZR24W 24" for $405.99 w/free shipping
http://www.buy.com/prod/hp-zr24w-24...descreen-lcd-monitor/q/loc/101/214928474.html

Total: $1,335.01 w/shipping $60 in MIR
 
My eyes must be deceiving me then....

What I meant to say was that, with the "savings" from going with HG's build, you could buy a second GTX 460 instead of an SSD. While an SSD does reduce load times in games, it doesn't improve frame rates all that much. However, with the games that you want to play, I really don't believe that you need a dual GTX 460 SLI setup for good performance and high visual settings. (But we really won't know until the games finally arrive....)
 
While I agree that SLI 460s are a pretty awesome value, wouldn't it be less attractive since I'm going 1156 and I'd be running the cards at 8x/8x? Also, I think you're right in that a dual 460 set up would be overkill for the time being. If I ended up needing more horsepower for games I'd either overclock or sell the 460 and pick up whatever ended up being the best price/performance card at the time.

Another concern I've got going with 1156 is that I've heard that the usb 3.0 solutions out right now can mess with the pci-e lanes or something when they're in use? I could be wrong about that though. So I might want to get a board with an emphasis on overclocking/value instead of going for usb 3.0/sata 6.0 if that's the case with the 1156 platform. If anyone can suggest good 1156 boards for overclocking that aren't too expensive, I'd love to hear about them.

Given that I'm probably going to be upgrading with new architectures if they're worthwhile when they come along and sell my old parts as an upgrade strategy, I think I'd probably be best served by putting that extra money into components that last through several builds like a case, psu, monitor, or even peripherals. While I like the idea and the performance of an SSD I don't think they're at a price where I feel comfortable diving in just yet.

What do you guys think of investing in a high quality psu like this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088&Tpk=seasonic x650
 
you can run the cards at x8 and x8 and not really see a noticeable amount of performance decrease UNLESS, you are on a 30" monitor with resolution's of 2560x1600 or higher, as per [H] review, in the video card section. even then its not a huge impact.

here is the link


just throwing this out there.. how about and AMD build, with the 1075t or 1095t? better for encoding and photoshop, no worries about HT or no HT as u are doing with intel.

just a thought, dont kill me :D
 
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Johnny86 said:
While I agree that SLI 460s are a pretty awesome value, wouldn't it be less attractive since I'm going 1156 and I'd be running the cards at 8x/8x?
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Nope. As xSnip3rMaNx pointed out, it does not matter that much.

Johnny86 said:
Another concern I've got going with 1156 is that I've heard that the usb 3.0 solutions out right now can mess with the pci-e lanes or something when they're in use? I could be wrong about that though. So I might want to get a board with an emphasis on overclocking/value instead of going for usb 3.0/sata 6.0 if that's the case with the 1156 platform. If anyone can suggest good 1156 boards for overclocking that aren't too expensive, I'd love to hear about them.
Click to expand...
The mobo that HG recommended is actually pretty good for overclocking.

Johnny86 said:
What do you guys think of investing in a high quality psu like this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088&Tpk=seasonic x650
Click to expand...

Personally, I don't think it's worth it unless you live in an area with high electrical costs. I personally would go for a larger PSU for the same price.
 
Johnny86 said:
What do you guys think of investing in a high quality psu like this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088&Tpk=seasonic x650
Click to expand...

It is certainly a good PSU but as Danny mentioned not really needed except for some particular living areas or maybe if you wanted to cook your PSU in some excessive heat, where it'd still be rock solid. One thing I wanted to mentioned in regards to earlier i7 930 vs i5 750 is the difference is closer probably to 70-80 dollars not 150. The 930 at your microcenter is 200 while mostly 750's are 190 or so. The motherboard is the main culprit at 200+ to 140+ for p55. The memory is kinda a wash since it is just that, more memory. If you wanted to you can run dual channel on a x58 just fine, it doesn't HAVE to be run in triple channel/3 ram, it just an option. And I kinda would want more ram/930 for photoshop/web content creation (flash) work but that is your secondary use for the machine so I guess it isn't that big a deal.

Admittingly the 70-80 saved from the motherboard/cpu is significant though. Just wanted to point out that the difference is mostly in the motherboard if you run the same dual channel set up which you can do just fine on x58. Also with CS4 64 bit, Photoshop is supposed to take advantage of more ram but not all benchmarks reflect that like the anandtech one I posted. You'd have to get fairly extreme to show real differences with ram like on this: http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/pdfs/cs5_ps64bit_benchmarking.pdf?PID=3350462

Bottom line though, I agree with everyone else that 750 is better value for you today as prefaced in my first post, so I shoulda recommended that instead of the 930.
 
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