gaming machine

[TBJ]

1. What will you be doing with this PC?
Gaming, Web browsing, others less important, I don't Photoshop, but I don't plan to upgrade within 5 years.

2. Will you be overclocking?
Later when I have time.

3. What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included in this budget? Is your budget flexible? Is cost a driving factor in component selection?
Originally considered @ 1000, but due to the components I want, 1500 with shipping and taxes (Canadian)

4. Where do you live? Do you have any big B&M (brick and mortar) computer chains nearby (e.g. Microcenter, Fry's, etc)?
Northern Saskatchewan, Canada

5. What exact parts do you need for that budget?
CPU, RAM, case, HDD (not ssd if it doesn't fit in budget, I'll get it later if need be or vise versa), video card, mobo, PSU.

6. If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Will reuse mouse and keyboard, monitor. Mouse is mx500, monitor is HP 2509B.
Edit: I'll need a new mouse, I've been using this one for years and the buttons are starting to stick, very annoying.

7. What specific features do you need in a motherboard?
Crossfire or SLI support USB 3.0 SATA 6Gb/s etc. Z77 chipset.
basically best matx intel board.

8. What resolution output do you need?
1080p. I'm going to buy a crossfire/sli card now, and another in a years time or more when the graphics catch up with the tech.

9. Does this system need to fit into a particular space? On a desk, my wife is a hoarder so space is limited

10. How comfortable are you with custom case design/modification and electrical wiring? What tools do you have (Screwdrivers/Leatherman, Drill, Dremel, Metal snips, Soldering Iron, Bending Brake, CNC/Welding machines/Plasma cutter, etc...)?
I've done some, but rather not.

11. How important is the noise/silence of this sytem? HTPCs typically want to be quiet while all-out SFF gaming rigs don't care.
This will be a family computer, quiet at idle, quiet at gaming but performance is expected.

12. How mobile does this system need to be? Need a carrying handle or carrying straps? Is weight important (carry-on bag, etc)? Water cooling quick disconnects, etc?
I haven't lanned in years, but who knows.

13. Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit? Remember that OEM copies of Win7 have issues with new motherboards.
Will need either win7 or 8, leaning towards 7 as it sells as full retail.

14. When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Immediately, in a couple weeks, 3-5 years?
Couple weeks. less more

This is what I've considered:

Intel Core i5 3570K
Corsair Vengeance Black 16GB 2X8GB DDR3-1600
Noctua NH-D14
Corsair Professional HX650, has 2 extra SLI/crossfire rails than the TX version.
ASUS Maximus V Gene mATX, or gigabyte sniper, or ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M matx (which is about 50 bucks less then asus board)
was leaning towards 660ti, but looks like amd 7950 is better, the video card cannot exceed 2 pci slots.
silverstone sugo sg09 case, or similiar
OS

 

[dremic]

1. What will you be doing with this PC?
Gaming, Web browsing, others less important, I don't Photoshop, but I don't plan to upgrade within 5 years.

2. Will you be overclocking?
Later when I have time.

3. What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included in this budget? Is your budget flexible? Is cost a driving factor in component selection?
Originally considered @ 1000, but due to the components I want, 1500 with shipping and taxes (Canadian)

4. Where do you live? Do you have any big B&M (brick and mortar) computer chains nearby (e.g. Microcenter, Fry's, etc)?
Northern Saskatchewan, Canada

5. What exact parts do you need for that budget?
CPU, RAM, case, HDD (not ssd if it doesn't fit in budget, I'll get it later if need be or vise versa), video card, mobo, PSU.

6. If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Will reuse mouse and keyboard, monitor. Mouse is mx500, monitor is HP 2509B.

7. What specific features do you need in a motherboard?
Crossfire or SLI support USB 3.0 SATA 6Gb/s etc. Z77 chipset.
basically best matx intel board.

8. What resolution output do you need?
1080p. I'm going to buy a crossfire/sli card now, and another in a years time or more when the graphics catch up with the tech.

9. Does this system need to fit into a particular space? On a desk, my wife is a hoarder so space is limited

10. How comfortable are you with custom case design/modification and electrical wiring? What tools do you have (Screwdrivers/Leatherman, Drill, Dremel, Metal snips, Soldering Iron, Bending Brake, CNC/Welding machines/Plasma cutter, etc...)?
I've done some, but rather not.

11. How important is the noise/silence of this sytem? HTPCs typically want to be quiet while all-out SFF gaming rigs don't care.
This will be a family computer, quiet at idle, quiet at gaming but performance is expected.

12. How mobile does this system need to be? Need a carrying handle or carrying straps? Is weight important (carry-on bag, etc)? Water cooling quick disconnects, etc?
I haven't lanned in years, but who knows.

13. Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit? Remember that OEM copies of Win7 have issues with new motherboards.
Will need either win7 or 8, leaning towards 7 as it sells as full retail.

14. When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Immediately, in a couple weeks, 3-5 years?
Couple weeks. less more

This is what I've considered:

Intel Core i5 3570K
Corsair Vengeance Black 16GB 2X8GB DDR3-1600
Noctua NH-D14
Corsair Professional HX650, has 2 extra SLI/crossfire rails than the TX version.
ASUS Maximus V Gene mATX, or gigabyte sniper, or ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M matx (which is about 50 bucks less then asus board)
was leaning towards 660ti, but looks like amd 7950 is better, the video card cannot exceed 2 pci slots.
silverstone sugo sg09 case, or similiar
OS

i like what you've put together. I agree 7950 over the 660ti hands down. if possible get a 670 but personally on a budget 7950 is better. especially when you can just get a 2nd one soon for Xfire when it hits 200-250$

everybody here will tell you to budget in an SSD too. and theres a reason for it, its worth it!

 

[TBJ]

I believe its worth it but my current system drive is an aging 74 gig WD raptor, my 500 gig data drive died this year (caviar blue), and my secondary drive which I use for Steam was ripped out of an old AMD oem computer, around 80 gigs. To recap:

1. I believe in a separate system drive
2. I need a HDD for backups, misc files (movies/pics/whatever)
3. The HDD has to be of excellent quality

 

[Skids1]

I would recommend a Samsung 830 series... I have not seen one fail yet and I own or sold 20+ of them.

 

[Zap]

8. What resolution output do you need?
1080p. I'm going to buy a crossfire/sli card now, and another in a years time or more when the graphics catch up with the tech.

Please reconsider for these reasons.

1) In a year you may no longer be able to buy a brand new matching card, thus you would have to obtain a used card and hope the previous owner didn't abuse it.

2) You will be paying extra up front for the PSU and motherboard.

3) 1080P resolutions will hardly stress the cards you are looking at right now.

4) In a year there will be a new generation of cards that are better than current ones, so you can just buy a SINGLE card of the new generation for the same money you are paying for your first card, and get an upgrade that way.

5) More power draw, more heat put out, more NOISE especially back-to-back in a mATX case. Most ATX boards these days give an extra slot between the cards so the top one can ventilate better.

9. Does this system need to fit into a particular space? On a desk, my wife is a hoarder so space is limited

Consider a different case. The SG09 is SHORTER than mATX towers and is similar depth, but it is WIDER. This means while it looks smaller it actually takes up more desk space than a tower. Look into something like the Lian Li PC-A04, or if you want to go budget check out the Fractal Design Core 1000. That case is far from sexy, but for $40 (going price in USD) is extremely functional. There are also many other mATX cases suitable for a gaming rig, such as the In Win Dragon Slayer, the Silverstone TJ08B-E, etc.

Intel Core i5 3570K
Corsair Vengeance Black 16GB 2X8GB DDR3-1600
Noctua NH-D14
Corsair Professional HX650, has 2 extra SLI/crossfire rails than the TX version.
ASUS Maximus V Gene mATX, or gigabyte sniper, or ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M matx (which is about 50 bucks less then asus board)
was leaning towards 660ti, but looks like amd 7950 is better, the video card cannot exceed 2 pci slots.
silverstone sugo sg09 case, or similiar
OS

I've mentioned the case and SLI thing above, so the following suggestions go hand-in-hand with that.

Best mATX motherboard is probably the Gene, but you're seriously paying almost 2x the price compared to a basic Z77 board that can still overclock but can't run SLI. Here in USD the extra $80 for the motherboard can buy a 128GB SSD. Think about it this way. "How will an $80 more expensive motherboard benefit me?" Srsly. What will paying the extra money give you? "More better" is not an acceptable answer. Please try to quantify your answer, not just to us but to your wallet.

Save money and get 8GB RAM. In fact, get the Samsung 8GB if available to you. It is cheap, and may be in fact better RAM than anything else on the market. You don't need 16GB, plus you will have two extra slots for future upgrades. Heck, unless you change what you use your computer for (taking up Photoshop, or playing with VMs) I'd say you won't need more than 8GB until your next 5 year upgrade cycle comes along.

If not going SLI, a decent 450W PSU would be more than enough. You can look into decent lower wattage and cheaper units such as the Rosewill Capstone 450W, XFX Core 450W, Antec Neo Eco 520W, etc.

The SG09 does have a lot of room for huge CPU coolers, so if you choose a different case you will have to re-think your CPU cooling.

1. I believe in a separate system drive
2. I need a HDD for backups, misc files (movies/pics/whatever)
3. The HDD has to be of excellent quality

Good luck on #3. Hard drives these days don't seem as reliable as they were before, with the exception of expensive enterprise units like the WD VelociRaptor. Just go to Newegg and read user reviews if you want all the horror stories.

There's nothing wrong with keeping multiple drives. Get a 60GB SSD for the OS and normal applications, and then get something else for games and maybe a third drive for backups and media.

 

[xyexz]

All very good comments from Zap, to add to I would suggest the FT03 mATX, it's a little more pricier case but perfect for someone who really only needs a single gpu.

It can still hold two HDDs, slim ODD and also a couple of SSDs, it also still allows a nice size air cooler with a fan right above it, it also takes up a considerably small amount of desk space.

To echo ZAPs comments, hdds are sucking balls right now - I went through a decent amount of drives to get a 4 disk raid array going - if you don't need a huge amount of space stick with a SSD for your OS and use an existing on for your games. If you get a motherboard that has eSATA or USB 3.0 then just get an external for backups - much more safe imho as your backup drive isn't always powering on when you're not using it and won't be thrown into the heat when gaming etc.

I will also echo 8GB, being a software developer I use my computer probably more than your average gamer and I have yet to max out my ram unless doing so on purpose. Even running a VM with dev tools I can't come close to 8GB realistically.

If you're not going to worry about CrossFire/SLi you should consider a different board from the Gene, it is a pimp board and definitely has eye candy but for a budget gaming build it has no place.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131832, this board would definitely fit your needs if you just do a single gpu setup.

Also what games are you playing, have you researched gpu driver issues with your games etc? AMD, in my experience, has been terrible at drivers and even worse with their Crossfire games support - since moving to nVidia branded gpus the driver situation has been much better although I can't speak to SLi as I've only ever needed one gpu for 2560x1440 gaming.

 

[TBJ]

ASUS P8Z77-M LGA 1155, don't like that placement for the 8pin cpu power connector.

xyexz, you think If I could afford it, get a gtx 670 instead of an amd 7950?