Help with new gaming / productivity rig

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MrPharCyde

n00b
Joined
Mar 8, 2011
Messages
4
Hey guys,

I'm looking for help in putting together my first desktop upgrade since 2006. I've been a bit removed from the hardware scene and all the possibilities are a bit overwhelming.

My current setup:
  • AMD 64x2 4600+ (or 4800 can't recall)
  • M2N32-SLI Deluxe
  • 6 GB RAM
  • Upgraded to a GTX 275 in 2009
  • 500wt Power Supply
Two notes:
  • I'm looking at the i7 2600k. Overclocking seems effortless with this so I'd like the option to.
  • I'm eying the Thermaltake Level 10 GT case. I love the layout, design, and the hot swappable HDD bays for expandable storage options, etc. If there's a compelling reason to go with another case though I'm open to suggestions.
1) What will you be doing with this PC?

Primary: Gaming with max settings at 1920x1200 (BC2, BF3, Rift, Crysis 2, wide variety of games really)
Secondary: Photo editing with Lightroom 3 (large RAW files), video editing (5D Mark II HD videos), 3D editing (Maya for instance), level editing / creation (UnrealED, Hammer, CryEngine).

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

I'll cap the budget at $2,800 (tax and shipping not included). I know a great machine doesn't have to cost a whole lot, so spending less would be great, but I am aiming for this rig to last a good while, the budget can go a little higher given justifiable cost vs. gain reasons.

3) Where do you live?

North Carolina

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.

CPU, RAM, case, motherboard, video card(s), hard drives, etc.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

2 x SATA II HDD for storage
1 x GTX 275 as a dedicated PhysX card if possible.

6) Will you be overclocking?

I haven't in the past, but would with the 2600K.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?\

1 x 24" Dell (1920x1200)

Might add a second monitor at a later date.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

ASAP

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.

USB 3.0
SLI/Crossfire
Anything else I should consider, but am not aware of.

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

Yes, Windows 7 64
 
Man you're like the 3rd Adobe Lightroom guy we've had this week. :D

Anyway, here's a non-PhysX capable setup:
$330 - Intel Core i7-2600K CPU
$180 - MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard
$164 - 4 x G.Skill Ripjaw Series F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$540 - 2 x MSI R6950-2PM2D2GD5 Radeon HD 6950 2GB PCI-E Video Card
$225 - Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC0128MAG-1G1 2.5" 128GB SSD
$65 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$220 - Corsair 1000HX Modular PSU
---
Total: $1724 plus tax and shipping

In case you're wondering: IIRC, Nvidia still has PhysX disabled when an AMD card is present. Right now, in terms of price to performance ratio, your best bet for a multi-GPU or even single GPU setup is AMD. Nvidia does have better scaling in SLi but their cards costs quite a bit. In addition, even if you went all Nvidia for the GPUs, there's still the issue of the motherboard: Right now, there's not many P67 motherboards with the right PCI-E x16 layout that can accommadate three double slot video cards within a case well.

However if you don't need/want Crossfire or SLI and really really want PhysX, just grab a GTX 570 and you should be golden.

Choose your own case. I recommend these cases as an alternative to the Thermaltake case you listed:
$90 - NZXT Tempest Evo TEVO-001BK ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K56 ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master CM690 II Advance ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$106 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$110 - NZXT Whisper WHI - 001BK ATX Full Tower Case
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$165 - Corsair Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$220 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$220 - Cooler Master ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B ATX Case
$220 - Lian Li PC-A71F Black ATX Case
$290 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case
$330 - Silverstone Temjin SST-TJ07B Full Tower ATX Case
 
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Hey Danny Bui,

Thanks for the advice, it's much appreciated. Yeah, I saw the other two posts and almost went by the recommendations in those threads, but since I wanted to do a bit more I didn't want to assume everything would be the same.

Couple questions:

  • Noob question, I see you listed 1333 memory as opposed to 1600, is it not worth it for what I want to do? More memory for less $?
  • In regards to the case, is there any reason to not go with the Thermaltake Level 10 GT? Or you're just offering up other options?
For what it's worth, I'm willing to invest in better parts, within reason of course, to future proof the system as much as possible, so going with SLI / Crossfire for instance. So basically I would want / need an SLI / Crossfire setup if it means it would squeeze more performance out of this new build. I do feel my biggest unknown revolves around that very question, figuring out the ideal video card setup to maximize performance with all the stuff I want to do.
 
Last edited:
MrPharCyde said:
  • Noob question, I see you listed 1333 memory as opposed to 1600, is it not worth it for what I want to do? More memory for less $?
  • In regards to the case, is there any reason to not go with the Thermaltake Level 10 GT? Or you're just offering up other options?
For what it's worth, I'm willing to invest in better parts, within reason of course, to future proof the system as much as possible, so going with SLI / Crossfire for instance. So basically I would want / need an SLI / Crossfire setup if it means it would squeeze more performance out of this new build. I do feel my biggest unknown revolves around that very question, figuring out the ideal video card setup to maximize performance with all the stuff I want to do.
Click to expand...

1) Not worth it IMO for your usage.
2) Offering other options. Personally not a fan of the Level 10 GT's look but that's just my personal aesthetic.

I just realized that I may have recommended the wrong cards: Are you using Adobe Premier Pro CS5?
 
Not yet, I was waiting to upgrade the comp before investing in video editing software. What would you recommend if I planned on using it? This is exactly the sort of thing I'm trying to figure out / understand. Especially if the hardware I choose influences software decisions.
 
MrPharCyde said:
Not yet, I was waiting to upgrade the comp before investing in video editing software. What would you recommend if I planned on using it? This is exactly the sort of thing I'm trying to figure out / understand. Especially if the hardware I choose influences software decisions.
Click to expand...

If you are planning on using CS5, then I would recommend either a GTX 560 Ti SLI or GTX 570 SLI since it'll allow you to take advantage of Adobe's Mercury Playback Engine once you do a little hack:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1532552

Specific hardware recommendations:
$500 - 2 x Gigabyte GV-N560OC-1GI GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB
$680 - 2 x Asus ENGTX570/2DI/1280MD5 GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB
 
Thanks again Danny_Bui.

I saw there are GTX 560 Ti 2GB versions out now, is the cost worth the extra 1 GB?
 
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