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Gaming Build Assistance Please

N

NightWolfe

Gawd
Joined
Sep 30, 2002
Messages
786
So the last PC I built was many years ago and I've fallen out of what's in and out for the most part ... I specced out a build that should suffice, but after doing some research I think I may be doing a bit of overkill ... so I come for assistance ... any I can get is greatly appreciated

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Primary purpose is gaming (BF3, PS3, etc.) Basically I want it to run games for the next couple years with all the settings maxed at 1920x1080 Res.

Secondary purpose is going to be work stuff (Adobe CS4/5). Anything from Photoshop to AfterEffects/Premier


2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Under $2k total. If I can keep it under $1,500 even better


3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
FL, USA ... I would like to purchase it all from NewEgg as I've had good luck from them in the past and I can get it all in one place, at what I believe is a reasonable price. I am open to suggestions though if I can save a good bit of cash.


4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Here is everything I have specced out so far. I would like to stick with Intel/Nvidia. I am not married to going SLI right away if it is not needed. The SSD I want just for the OS and Adobe Suite, everything else can live on the HD (which I would like to RAID 0)

CASE: LIAN LI Lancool PC-K62 Black 0.8 mm SECC, Plastic + Mesh ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $99.99

MOBO: ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $159.99

GPU: (2) EVGA 01G-P3-1373-AR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked EE 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support $199.99(ea) $399.98

POWER: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified $134.99

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K $314.99

SSD: Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $104.99

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL $51.99

HD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $169.98

OPTICAL: SAMSUNG Black Blu-ray Combo SATA Model SH-B123L LightScribe Support - OEM $59.99

DISPLAY: ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor $204.99


Misc:
Logitech K350 Black USB 2.4 GHz Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard $49.99

Logitech Performance Black Tilt Wheel 2.4 GHz Wireless Laser Mouse MX $87.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM $139.99

Total for all this is $1,979.85



5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None.


6) Will you be overclocking?
I'd be willing to overclock the graphic card if need be, but I'd rather just run everything stock.


7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1920x1080. Single Monitor. 24" (Most Likely)


8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next two weeks.


9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
SLI, RAID 0,5 (I do have 4 160GB SATA drives that it would be nice to RAID 5 for important stuff but this is not a deal breaker or even needed)


10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Buying a new copy of Win 7 Pro 64bit
 
At 1080p resolution, you can pretty easily get by with just a single GTX 570 and save $60 to $100, or if you are committed to SLI you could get 560 Tis for basically the same price as those 460s and which will handily outperform them. But I would drop down to a GTX 570 and put the leftover money into getting a 128 GB M4 SSD instead of the 64GB one.

You can also save $30 by going with the Samsung F3 hard drive instead of the WD Black, the Samsung has equal or better performance.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Any reason you choose the 2600K over the 2500K? I don't think the stuff you listed is going to see much difference from the 2600K - although I'm not positive how well the Adobe stuff uses the extra cores, so someone else might have better guidance there. But going with the 2500K would save you $100.

There is also a newer version of the PSU you linked - the 850TX V2, which is cheaper (after MIR)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139022

Do you need any of the features the Win 7 Professional provides? If not, you can save a little by going with Home Premium, which works fine for almost everyone.
 
Last edited:
If you spend $20 more you can get a blu-ray burner. If that's something you want.

Also I think you are spending too much on the 460s for that price you could probably get 2 560ti's on sale, or 2 6870s or 2 6950s after mir.

Too much on the 1tb hard drive, get the 1tb samsung it is just as good.

You could save some money by going with the 2500k and put the extra towards video cards.
 
Well depending on how much video encoding he will be doing, he'll benefit from the 2600k. If not much video encoding (or 3d rendering) is going to be done, then he wont benefit from the 2600k and the 2500k will fit his needs.

I also wouldn't spend the money on that ASRock motherboard as it's a bit over priced to only have a 1 - 2 year warranty. Since SLI isn't recommended with a single display setup, then no need for a motherboard that has SLI capabilities so you can save additional money there. Should be able to get a descent motherboard, with a 3 year warranty for around $120.

Also unless W7 Pro has something you absolutely need, I would go with W7 Home and save another ~$30. As W7 Home can suit majority of everyone's needs.
 
Thank you all for the replys! You have swayed me and I think the parts I have below are going to be a better way to go ... if there is any room for improvement, or I selected something I should stay away from please let me know!

Major changes are ... Stepping down the CPU ... Going to single vid card from SLI ... New Non-SLI Moob ... Single HD as I really don't been 2 right now ... Smaller power supply since I will only have 1 drive and 1 vid card ... also got rid of the mouse since I don't need it right now

HD - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $59.99

CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K - $219.99

GPU - GIGABYTE GV-N570OC-13I Rev2.0 GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video - $344.99

MOBO - MSI P67S-C43 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s ATX Intel Motherboard - $89.99

POWER - PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W High Performance 80PLUS Silver SLI CrossFire ready Power Supply - $109.99

CASE - LIAN LI Lancool PC-K62 Black 0.8 mm SECC, Plastic + Mesh ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $99.99

SSD - Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - $104.99

RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL - $51.99

OPTICAL - SAMSUNG Black Blu-ray Combo SATA Model SH-B123L LightScribe Support - $59.99

MISC:
Logitech K350 Black USB 2.4 GHz Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard - $49.99

ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor - $204.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - $139.99

TOTAL: $1,536.88
 
Go with this significantly better PSU instead
$104.99 - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W
 
Personally I think the video card is too much. It does have a oc but you can get the galaxy gtx 570 for $35 cheaper before rebate and $55 cheaper after rebate.

I actually got the galaxy card for $230 after newegg coupon and rebate in july.

I second the choice on a different power supply. The one above is a good choice by skillz, but every once and while newegg has the seasonic x750 for $120 shipped. I would get that instead personally since its modular. Both are good psus.

Edit: wow thats a good deal on the 750, didn't see the mir so it's like $80 after coupon and mir.

I would get a 120gb ssd as well. I had a 64gb and with todays games I could put two on it max. now I have a 120gb and its perfect. Not all games benefit from a ssd some benefit massively so you might want some on the ssd. For example a ssd does pretty much nothing for SC2, but for WoW the difference is like night and day. It's way better on a ssd.
 
Consider these,

Video Card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127575

Ram - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139008&Tpk=corsair 400r

The video card is a bit cheaper and in terms of performance is very good for 1920x1080.

The ram looks a bit nicer in my opinion but its entirely up to you.

I have this case, it is pretty good for airflow and has excellent cable management and is roughly the same price.
 
1-anh said:
Consider these,

Video Card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127575

Ram - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139008&Tpk=corsair 400r

The video card is a bit cheaper and in terms of performance is very good for 1920x1080.

The ram looks a bit nicer in my opinion but its entirely up to you.

I have this case, it is pretty good for airflow and has excellent cable management and is roughly the same price.
Click to expand...

The 6950 will not benefit him at all with the Adobe products he will be using, as CUDA is a Nvidia technology and only on Nvidia cards.
 
Thank you again everyone ... going to swap out the case, ram and power supply ... I think I'm going to stick with that video card though ... plus it supports SLI if I want to upgrade it and the mobo in the future

Thanks for the suggestions to get a larger SSD, but I think I'm going to stick with the 64GB one for just the OS and Adobe Suite ... if the games I play on it seem to load too slow then I could always just buy another one and load games on it right?

Updated build below ... I will keep an eye out for a better deal on a graphic card right before I buy just in case ... are there any brands I should stay away from?

Thanks again for all the help!

HD - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $59.99

CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K - $219.99

GPU - GIGABYTE GV-N570OC-13I Rev2.0 GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video - $344.99

MOBO - MSI P67S-C43 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s ATX Intel Motherboard - $89.99

POWER - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power - $109.99

CASE - Corsair Carbide Series 400R Graphite grey and black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case - $99.99

SSD - Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - $104.99

RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL - $51.99

OPTICAL - SAMSUNG Black Blu-ray Combo SATA Model SH-B123L LightScribe Support - $59.99

MISC:
Logitech K350 Black USB 2.4 GHz Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard - $49.99

ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor - $204.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - $139.99

TOTAL: $1,531.88
 
Just make sure you get a video card with at least a 3 year warranty. That's all you really need to look for. Some of the cheaper manufacturers might save you ~$10, but you'll only get a 1 - 2 year warranty on them and IMHO, a year or 2 extra warranty is well worth $10.
 
Skillz said:
Just make sure you get a video card with at least a 3 year warranty. That's all you really need to look for. Some of the cheaper manufacturers might save you ~$10, but you'll only get a 1 - 2 year warranty on them and IMHO, a year or 2 extra warranty is well worth $10.
Click to expand...

Thank you sir ... the one I am looking at does have a 3 year warranty so that's awesome

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125384

I am going to take the plunge as well and go with 16GB of RAM instead of just 8 ... I do multi-task a lot with multiple Adobe programs open and do edit hi-res images and whatnot as well so I think it'll be worth it ... plus when I'm due for an upgrade in about a year and a half (maybe 2?) I can just get a new mobo (with SLI), CPU and a second GTX570 and I should be good for another year or two

At least that is my plan ... you guys would know better than I if that seems viable
 
I do have one more question I just thought about...

Should I get an after-market heat-sink or will the factory one be sufficient? I will not be over-clocking so I think the included one will be ok ... and do I need to order any thermal compound or do they supply something decent?
 
NightWolfe said:
I do have one more question I just thought about...

Should I get an after-market heat-sink or will the factory one be sufficient? I will not be over-clocking so I think the included one will be ok ... and do I need to order any thermal compound or do they supply something decent?
Click to expand...

The stock HSF already has thermal compound pre-applied. That's not a concern unless or until you decide to change coolers.
 
E4g1e said:
The stock HSF already has thermal compound pre-applied. That's not a concern unless or until you decide to change coolers.
Click to expand...

Good to know ... thanks!

It's been a bit since my last build so I'm sure they've come a ways in their HSF design
 
Not really, the stock unit still sucks but if you aren't over clocking and do not live in a warm climate (some place you can't run AC all the time) then I'd recommend getting a different cooler. Otherwise, if the operating temperature the PC will be in stays at least a constant 75*F or below, you'll be fine.
 
Skillz said:
Not really, the stock unit still sucks but if you aren't over clocking and do not live in a warm climate (some place you can't run AC all the time) then I'd recommend getting a different cooler. Otherwise, if the operating temperature the PC will be in stays at least a constant 75*F or below, you'll be fine.
Click to expand...

Hurm ... Might not hurt to get an aftermarket one then ... Do you have any recommendations? I looked at what's available on NewEgg and am not sure what would be best ... I'm not tied to buying from them so if you know somewhere better I am open to suggestions

Thanks for all your help ... It is greatly appreciated!!!!
 
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