Need spec recommendations for a new gaming PC ..

[ahmadka]

Hi guys ... Well I need some PC spec recommendations for a new gaming PC that I'm planning to build .. Here are some pointers regarding my requirements/preferences:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Well I'm a heavy Windows user, and by heavy, I mean I have a ton of applications running in the background normally .. I also do a lot of multithreading .. like at a given time I may have like 20 browser windows opened, jDownloader might be downloading, a second monitor might be connected via HDMI out and I might be watching a Bluray movie, WinRAR could be extracting stuff, etc .. So heavy stuff

Plus, I want to shift back to PC gaming (at least till the next consoles come out), so I want to build an insanely powerful gaming machine ..

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

My budget is actually about $900 which includes all costs, but I can increase it a little if needed .. This budget is NOT for these things, which I already have, or will be buying separately: OS, HDD, DVD drive, speakers, monitor, casing ..

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

Atlanta, GA, USA

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, Video Card, Motherboard, Power Supply .. Everything else, I already have or dont need ..

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

N/A

6) Will you be overclocking?

Not immediately, but I may do it later down the line sometime ...

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

1920x1080, 24" ..

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

End of April, or beginning of May, 2012 ..

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.

Nothing special .. Maybe just SLI support (only if the cost doesn't increase drastically), USB 3.0, and maybe SATA 6 Gb/s ..

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

I already have an OS license ..

So fire away people ... looking forward to some great recommendations

 

[Dangman]

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Atlanta, GA, USA

How far are you from these Microcenter locations?:
http://www.microcenter.com/at_the_stores/duluth.html
http://www.microcenter.com/at_the_stores/marietta.html

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

N/A

What case will you be reusing? No point in recommending parts to you if we don't know if the case can provide sufficient cooling.

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

End of April, or beginning of May, 2012 ..

Then please come back in May and ask for advice then. Intel is releasing their new CPUs in late April/early May. In addition, by then a lot of the reviews for the new Z77 and Z75 motherboards should be out and we'll know what motherboards we should be recommending to you.

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

I already have an OS license ..

Which OS? and is it 32bit or 64bit?

 

[Deleted member 88227]

In addition to what Danny said, is the HDD and ODD SATA or PATA? If either one is PATA, you might want to consider replacing it due to the fact that most motherboards do not contain PATA connections in the current generation. When IB comes out, I'd suspect even less motherboards will support PATA.

 

[ahmadka]

Regarding those MicroCenter stores, I can go there, but only if there's some really good deal going on ..

Regarding the casing, to be honest I do have to buy the casing, but I want to buy the cheapest one available which can do the job ... The reason why I initially chose to not put that up for discussion is because I was just gonna buy the cheapest one .. But with this now being said, I guess casing can be discussed too ... But any budget required by this casing is not to be subtracted from my main budget specified above ..

Yep I'm aware of the Ivy Bridge CPUs ... I plan to get one of those ... Can you recommend the other components for now, so that I can start doing my own research too ?

The OS will be Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit ..

The HDD will be SATA ..

 

[Dangman]

Regarding those MicroCenter stores, I can go there, but only if there's some really good deal going on ..

MC generally has some really good deals for CPU and motherboard combos. For instance, right now the 2500K is $180 at MC, $40 cheaper than Newegg. In addition, MC will also knock off $50 off a compatible Z68 mobo if you buy it at the same time as the CPU. So thats easily $90 minus tax and cost of gas/time of savings. So MC might have combo deals for Ivy Bridge CPUs when those hit.

I plan to get one of those ... Can you recommend the other components for now, so that I can start doing my own research too ?

Well I'm gonna hold off on recommending the RAM, CPU, and motherboard for reasons already stated. However, guesstimating the costs, you should have roughly $450 to $500 leftover for the rest of the parts. PSU wise, I'd recommend the Corsair TX650 V2. As for the video card, prices for those change quickly so if you can find an Asus, Gigabyte, or MSI branded HD 7870 for $350, that'll be my recommendation right now. However, I'm not sure when Nvidia's other GPUs are due.

Regarding the casing, to be honest I do have to buy the casing, but I want to buy the cheapest one available which can do the job ... The reason why I initially chose to not put that up for discussion is because I was just gonna buy the cheapest one .. But with this now being said, I guess casing can be discussed too ... But any budget required by this casing is not to be subtracted from my main budget specified above ..

For a cheap but still decent case capable of cooling down that setup, I recommend the following:
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite Black ATX Case
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case

If you want to look at other cases:
$70 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58 ATX Case
$88 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58W ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$85 - Corsair Carbide Series 300R ATX Case
$100 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$118 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$120 - Fractal Design Define R3 Arctic White ATX Case
$120 - Fractal Design Define R3 Silver Arrow ATX Case
$125 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl ATX Case
$120 - Lian Li PC-9F ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-002OR Black Finish w/Orange Trim Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Antec P280 ATX Case
$140 - Antec Performance One Series P183 V3 ATX Case
$140 - Corsair Obsidian Series 550D ATX Case
$144 - Silverstone RV03B-WA ATX case
$150 - Silverstone TJ04B-EW ATX Case
$160 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$164 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$178 - Silverstone RV02B-EW ATX case
$170 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$220 - Silverstone FT02S-W ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B ATX Case
$270 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case