High powered gaming build

[Tych-0]

I'm going to put together a system for a friend, so he can join the wonderful world of PC gaming. BF3 in his sites right now... of course, but he wants this thing to have legs for gaming in the next couple of years. He's keen on learning to overclock, and I'm happy to introduce him.

I've sketched the following components out for him based on a little research and would like those of you who are up on all the current hardware to recommend changes that are in his best interest.

So here is what I have so far:

i7 2600k
Corsiar H100
ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
Corsair XMS3 CMX12GX3M3A2000C9 9-10-9-27
OCZ ZX 850W PSU
Crucial M4 C400 256GB SSD
WD Black 1TB HDD
Corsair Carbide 400R chassis

Where he and I are unsure at the moment is the GPU/monitor combo.

I was thinking 2x 6970 with a ASUS VE278Q (a 27" 1920x1080). One 6970 or 580 might do for that resolution, but like I said he wants this thing to last him a while, and is being swayed by my love of higher resolution monitors and considering a 27" 2560x1400, in which case one 6970 wouldn't do.

This current configuration is about his budget limit, but he could probably be convinced to go a little higher if there is a decent 27" 2560x1440 for reasonable $$$ to be had. The U2711 i have is nice but, I don't know if his budget will stretch that far, and I find the input lag a little too high for ideal FPS gaming.

Thoughts?

cheers

 

[Dangman]

Please answer the stickeid "ANSEWR THESE QUESTIONS FIRST!" so that we can help you better.

Though right off the bat: The RAM, HDD, and PSU are not that good choices for the money. The hard drive and PSU are both overpriced in general.

You won't notice an iota of real world difference between DDR3 1333 and DDR3 2000 RAM. Nor do you need high-speed RAM for overclocking as overclocking the SB CPUs does not the touch the RAM. Not to mention that the RAM you chose is rated at 1.65V, the max RAM voltage limits for Intel CPUs. We generally recommend RAM rated at 1.5V to avoid potential warranty and longevity issues. So you'll be fine with any DDR3 1333 RAM rated at 1.5V.

 

[E4g1e]

I'm going to put together a system for a friend, so he can join the wonderful world of PC gaming. BF3 in his sites right now... of course, but he wants this thing to have legs for gaming in the next couple of years. He's keen on learning to overclock, and I'm happy to introduce him.

I've sketched the following components out for him based on a little research and would like those of you who are up on all the current hardware to recommend changes that are in his best interest.

So here is what I have so far:

i7 2600k
Corsiar H100
ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
Corsair XMS3 CMX12GX3M3A2000C9 9-10-9-27
OCZ ZX 850W PSU
Crucial M4 C400 256GB SSD
WD Black 1TB HDD
Corsair Carbide 400R chassis

Where he and I are unsure at the moment is the GPU/monitor combo.

I was thinking 2x 6970 with a ASUS VE278Q (a 27" 1920x1080). One 6970 or 580 might do for that resolution, but like I said he wants this thing to last him a while, and is being swayed by my love of higher resolution monitors and considering a 27" 2560x1400, in which case one 6970 wouldn't do.

This current configuration is about his budget limit, but he could probably be convinced to go a little higher if there is a decent 27" 2560x1440 for reasonable $$$ to be had. The U2711 i have is nice but, I don't know if his budget will stretch that far, and I find the input lag a little too high for ideal FPS gaming.

Thoughts?

cheers

In addition to what Danny Bui stated, be aware that the LGA 1155 CPUs cannot run DDR3-2000 RAM at its full DDR3-2000 speed due to the fact that the RAM speeds on the CPU's IMC are in discrete 133/266MHz steps rather than continuous (for example, the Sandy Bridge CPU systems offer no memory speeds whatsoever between DDR3-1866 and DDR3-2133, and thus DDR3-2000 RAM will run at only DDR3-1866 speed).

 

[tiraides]

Please explain or justify the need for an i7-2600K and the H100. What can they do that the i5-2500K and Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus can't?

(Don't use Hyper Threading; it's basically worthless for gaming.)

 

[Tych-0]

Sorry, forgot about the standard build questions here:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming, web browsing, movies, perhaps some folding.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
about $2500 up to $3000 if it's worth the $$ or epeen
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

Alberta, Canada, probably ordering from n cix.
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.
This is a complete build. Parts listed in initial post cover the basics, though I'll take recommendations on additional parts like a blu-ray drive, mouse, etc.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
All parts new.
6) Will you be overclocking?
YES
7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
He needs a monitor as well, 1080p or 1440p. Recommendations wanted.
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? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
CF or SLI, USB 3.0, SATA 3, OC options, features to give the board longevity basically.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Going with Win 7 home x64. Any reason to go with Pro?



Thanks for the info Danny Bui. The RAM info was especially useful. Does SB use triple channel? RAM seems pretty cheap now so whatever gives him the best performance here without being too wasteful. A specific RAM recommendation would be great. What HDD would you recommend I change to? What are you thoughts on changing that OCZ PSU to a Corsiar AX850?


tirades, thanks for your response. I choose the 2600k / H100 (it received great reviews) combo for OCing. Is there no benefit to him to go 2600k? The price differential isn't huge either.

cheers

 

[E4g1e]

Does SB use triple channel? RAM seems pretty cheap now so whatever gives him the best performance here without being too wasteful. A specific recommendation would be great.

No. SB is dual-channel only. Three sticks would force either a Flex mode or single-channel-only mode.

 

[Dangman]

Going with Win 7 home x64. Any reason to go with Pro?

Nope.

Thanks for the info Danny Bui. The RAM info was especially useful. Does SB use triple channel?

As E4g1e said, no.

A specific RAM recommendation would be great.

I recommend this RAM:
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX33248(ME).aspx

What HDD would you recommend I change to?

Unfortunately I thought you were in the U.S. Unfortunately, the two hard drives we recommend here in the U.S. aren't available in Canada. So you're stuck with that overpriced and slower WD Black. However make sure you get this specific black drive or otherwise you're wasting money:
$80 - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive

What are you thoughts on changing that OCZ PSU to a Corsiar AX850?

If you're willing to spend the extra cash, go for it.

Is there no benefit to him to go 2600k?

Nope, unless he plans on doing a lot of 3D, video, or audio editing/render or running multiple virtual machines.

The price differential isn't huge either.

What's your definition of "huge"? The 2600K costs $110 CAD more than the 2500K from the Canadian vendors I've seen. $110 CAD is a pretty huge difference in my book. With that said, if you want to burn money, then go ahead and grab the 2600K

GPU wise, if you do indeed go with one 1920x1080 monitor, just stick with one HD 6970 2GB. And if you get the larger monitor, of course get the HD 6970 2GB Crossfire.

 

[Tych-0]

Thank you again for the info Danny, I think I'm about ready to present him his options thanks to the help I've received here.

I can't believe the price of RAM. $49 for 8GB of ideal memory for a high performance rig!

If you don't mind could you please let me know what the other HDDs you would recommend are? If it's worth the trouble I'll just order them for him from the US. The exchange rate is great, and US pricing tends to be cheaper, so there isn't really any loss of $$. You haven't mentioned the SSD, so I assume that is a good choice?

So I guess I will switch to the 2500k. I'm not going to waste his money; I know he's not likely to be doing much audio/video editing. I was thinking it would be a little faster for gaming and OC better for some reason.

 

[Dangman]

If you don't mind could you please let me know what the other HDDs you would recommend are? If it's worth the trouble I'll just order them for him from the US. The exchange rate is great, and US pricing tends to be cheaper, so there isn't really any loss of $$.

Probably not worth the trouble:
$60 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$65 - Hitachi Desktar 7K1000.D HDS721010DLE630 1TB SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Do note that the above Samsung performs the same as the WD Black drive I recommended above. Here in the U.S, that Samsung is $20 cheaper. So probably not worth importing that from the U.S. However the above Hitachi drive is significantly faster than the WD Black drive and costs $15 less here in the U.S. It may end costing just as much as that WD Black drive after you've imported it and such but it is a faster hard drive.

You haven't mentioned the SSD, so I assume that is a good choice?

Yup. Excellent choice. The motherboard is also fine.

I was thinking it would be a little faster for gaming and OC better for some reason.

Nah. Last I checked, the performance and overclocking difference between the two CPUs were nil.

 

[Tych-0]

Awesome. I'm going to present him the two resolution options with pricing, and we'll likely place the order this weekend.

Stoked, this is almost as exciting as building your own.

Thanks for your help Danny, and company!

 

[Tych-0]

Well, we ordered the system today.

Went with everything listed above, except the deal for the OCZ ZX 850W PSU was just too sweet; $134. The Corsair AX850 was $199. I know it's a better PSU, but they had a bundle with the mobo that was too sweet to turn down.

He also went with the HP ZR2740w and the 2x XFX 6970. YES!

Can't wait to see this rig in action!

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[Dangman]

Good luck with the system.