Gaming Build

[EQTakeOffense]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I'll only be gaming. I've been gaming on a MacBook Pro C2D 2.2Ghz w/ 8600GT and it's getting dated. It can barely run Starcraft 2 on low settings and really, a game like that deserves a new system.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1,500 - $2,000. Max would be about $2,150.

3) Where do you live?

Morgantown, WV

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?

Case, RAM, CPU, GPU, Case, PSU, Optical Drive, cooling, motherboard, hard drive.

6) Will you be overclocking?
I'd like to overclock a bit, but nothing major. The last system I built was a monster, water cooled dual 4970x2's, yada yada, and it was a huge pain in the ass. Never doing a monster build again.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I currently have a 1080P Sharp LCD TV that I use as a monitor. I'm planning on eventually getting a 1080P projector, but that's a few months away at least.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
In the next month or so.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Like I said, my last build was a $4,000 monster build, it was meant to be a one-time investment in which I wouldn't want another computer for at least 3-4 years. That didn't work out well. I want a computer that can be upgraded every 6-8 months fairly easily, maybe spend $250 on a new CPU in a year, $300 on a new graphics card for my birthday, ext.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?

Yes, Win 7 x64

Having said all that, below is the system I've been thinking about.

Case: Antec P180 Mini - $100
Optical Drive: Asus OEM DVD Burner - $25
Motherboard: Asus Rampage III Gene - $240
RAM: Corsair DDR3 1600 6GB (3 x 2GB) - $210
CPU: i7 930 - $290
CPU Cooling: Corsair H50 - $80
GPU: Asus GTX 480 - $490
GPU Cooling: Gelid Icy Vision - $60
PSU: Corsair 1000HX - $230
OS Drive: Corsair Force 60GB SSD - $155
Games Drive: WD Velociraptor 600GB - $280

Total: ~$2,150.00

This is the most I'd be willing to spend on a gaming machine. The thing I'm most hesitant about spending money on are the SSD and Velociraptor.

My other guild options would be doing a Shuttle or Mini-ITX build with an ATI 5870.

 

[E4g1e]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I'll only be gaming. I've been gaming on a MacBook Pro C2D 2.2Ghz w/ 8600GT and it's getting dated. It can barely run Starcraft 2 on low settings and really, a game like that deserves a new system.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1,500 - $2,000. Max would be about $2,150.

3) Where do you live?

Morgantown, WV

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?

Case, RAM, CPU, GPU, Case, PSU, Optical Drive, cooling, motherboard, hard drive.

6) Will you be overclocking?
I'd like to overclock a bit, but nothing major. The last system I built was a monster, water cooled dual 4970x2's, yada yada, and it was a huge pain in the ass. Never doing a monster build again.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I currently have a 1080P Sharp LCD TV that I use as a monitor. I'm planning on eventually getting a 1080P projector, but that's a few months away at least.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
In the next month or so.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Like I said, my last build was a $4,000 monster build, it was meant to be a one-time investment in which I wouldn't want another computer for at least 3-4 years. That didn't work out well. I want a computer that can be upgraded every 6-8 months fairly easily, maybe spend $250 on a new CPU in a year, $300 on a new graphics card for my birthday, ext.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?

Yes, Win 7 x64

Having said all that, below is the system I've been thinking about.

Case: Antec P180 Mini - $100
Optical Drive: Asus OEM DVD Burner - $25
Motherboard: Asus Rampage III Gene - $240
RAM: Corsair DDR3 1600 6GB (3 x 2GB) - $210
CPU: i7 930 - $290
CPU Cooling: Corsair H50 - $80
GPU: Asus GTX 480 - $490
GPU Cooling: Gelid Icy Vision - $60
PSU: Corsair 1000HX - $230
OS Drive: Corsair Force 60GB SSD - $155
Games Drive: WD Velociraptor 600GB - $280

Total: ~$2,150.00

This is the most I'd be willing to spend on a gaming machine. The thing I'm most hesitant about spending money on are the SSD and Velociraptor.

My other guild options would be doing a Shuttle or Mini-ITX build with an ATI 5870.

IMHO your build seems quite a bit less than the sum of its parts, especially since some of the parts are too expensive and provide absolutely no advantage whatsoever in either performance or reliability/quality. In addition, the Velociraptor itself is stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to performance for the buck: It is far more expensive per GB than more conventional 7,200 rpm SATA hard drives while its sequential transfer speed is no faster than those far cheaper drives. IMHO it's far better to get a cheap large-capacity drive for storage.

And the Dominators are way overpriced for their specs, especially since you can get the same company's conventional XMS CL8 memory for $40 less.

Third, you don't need anywhere near a 1000W PSU for that system. In fact, it needs only a 650 to 750W unit even with moderate overclocking of the CPU. 1000W is only needed if you are planning to run two high-end GPUs in the near future (or your system is already running two high-end GPUs). As presently configured, it is running only one GPU (and it appears that you might not be adding a second GPU anytime soon).

Finally, the motherboard is a bit pricey for a microATX board. However, if you need the features that are on that board, it might be worth it.

 

[EQTakeOffense]

IMHO your build seems quite a bit less than the sum of its parts, especially since some of the parts are too expensive and provide absolutely no advantage whatsoever in either performance or reliability/quality. In addition, the Velociraptor itself is stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to performance for the buck: It is far more expensive per GB than more conventional 7,200 rpm SATA hard drives while its sequential transfer speed is no faster than those far cheaper drives. IMHO it's far better to get a cheap large-capacity drive for storage.

And the Dominators are way overpriced for their specs, especially since you can get the same company's conventional XMS CL8 memory for $40 less.

Third, you don't need anywhere near a 1000W PSU for that system. In fact, it needs only a 650 to 750W unit even with moderate overclocking of the CPU. 1000W is only needed if you are planning to run two high-end GPUs in the near future (or your system is already running two high-end GPUs). As presently configured, it is running only one GPU (and it appears that you might not be adding a second GPU anytime soon).

Finally, the motherboard is a bit pricey for a microATX board. However, if you need the features that are on that board, it might be worth it.

Thanks for the reply.

The reason for the 1KW PSU is that I figure I'll need it if I ever get another GTX 480. I'd rather have the option now than having to buy a new PSU in the future. Same thing for the Asus Micro-ATX board. It seems more future proof (SATA 6GB & USB 3.0) than the competition. My goal with this build is to have flexibility in terms of upgrading, including peripherals. But, I guess, that's the thing, I could save money now and put it towards a new motherboard whenever core i9 or whatever comes out and I NEED a new motherboard for it.

If I didn't get a velociraptor I'd probably get 1TB drives and raid 0 them.

 

[E4g1e]

Thanks for the reply.

The reason for the 1KW PSU is that I figure I'll need it if I ever get another GTX 480. I'd rather have the option now than having to buy a new PSU in the future. Same thing for the Asus Micro-ATX board. It seems more future proof (SATA 6GB & USB 3.0) than the competition. My goal with this build is to have flexibility in terms of upgrading, including peripherals. But, I guess, that's the thing, I could save money now and put it towards a new motherboard whenever core i9 or whatever comes out and I NEED a new motherboard for it.

Actually, that Asus board is no more future-proof than several regular-sized ATX motherboards that sell at or slightly below that board's price. You see, no Intel platform currently supports SATA 6.0 GB/s or USB 3.0 natively; thus, such support is via add-on third-party controllers.

 

[MacLeod]

Dont know if this is necessarily better, but its a different way to go.

MSI P55 GD80 - $205
Intel i7 870 - $290
XFX 750 watt PSU - $140
Corsair 4 GB DDR3 RAM - $100
Sony DVD drive - $20
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB drive - $75
Cooler Master Hyper 212 - $50
Saphire 5970 - $680

Add in $75 for whatever case you like and then $100 for Windows and thats $1735.

 

[Dangman]

I would not go wiht Gym Rat's setup at all:

- Spending more than $160 for a P55 motherboard seems like defeating the very reason for a Intel socket 1156 setup in the first place: Mainstream performance at mainstream prices.

- The HSF is a rip-off since just two months ago it was only $30. So $50 is a definite price gouge.

- The price diferrence between Gym Rat's CPU + mobo + 4GB RAM setup and a Core i7 930 + mobo + 6GB of RAM setup is roughly $50. Considering that the X58 route lets you use more RAM, supports hex-core CPUs, and provide about a 5% performance (at most) increase with multi-GPU setups, totally worth the extra $50. So again, bad price to performance ratio with that setup.

Anyway back to the OP:
I concur with E4G1e's statements.

 

[EQTakeOffense]

I'll probably getting the cheaper Corsair XMS RAM.

The thing about the hard drives is that I could get a 2TB Raid 0 (1TB x 2) and have awesome transfer rates, but for games its the access times which the Velociraptor, besides SSD, is awesome at. For me, it comes down to whether I want to spend the a price premium on faster load times which I doubt I'll do. I'll probably never, ever use 2TB of storage, but it'll be much cheaper than the Velociraptor.

On the PSU front, maybe I could an 850 watt PSU and go dual 460's. The problem with this that I have, is that I can never go dual 480's which I'm not sure I'll do. I mean, a 1KW supply would allow me to get a 480 now, and maybe a 580 (or whatever next-gen is) later. I think the higher power PSU gives me a lot of flexibility on the GPU front.

About the MB choice. I'm looking to do something smaller, I don't want a full sized ATX case. I love the size and features of the P180 Mini which is micro-atx. That leaves me with micro-atx 1156 or 1366. I'd prefer the i7 which is 1366 as opposed to the i5 which is 1156. The pickings for micro-atx 1366 MB's is pretty slim. The thing that sold me about the Gene 3 is the X-FI Supreme 2 for EAX 5.0.

 

[lt_shiro]

I'll probably getting the cheaper Corsair XMS RAM.

The thing about the hard drives is that I could get a 2TB Raid 0 (1TB x 2) and have awesome transfer rates, but for games its the access times which the Velociraptor, besides SSD, is awesome at. For me, it comes down to whether I want to spend the a price premium on faster load times which I doubt I'll do. I'll probably never, ever use 2TB of storage, but it'll be much cheaper than the Velociraptor.

Using Raid 0 has only drive would be act of madness, if one drive fails. It will take all of the data with it.

About the MB choice. I'm looking to do something smaller, I don't want a full sized ATX case. I love the size and features of the P180 Mini which is micro-atx. That leaves me with micro-atx 1156 or 1366. I'd prefer the i7 which is 1366 as opposed to the i5 which is 1156. The pickings for micro-atx 1366 MB's is pretty slim. The thing that sold me about the Gene 3 is the X-FI Supreme 2 for EAX 5.0

.

P180 mini is not a small case, its about the same size as mini-ATX case. I would suggest LIAN LI PC-V351B Black Aluminum MicroATX Desktop Computer Case $90