New Gaming PC Help - i5-2500k

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dfedders

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 6, 2004
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158
OK, its time to build a new gaming PC, and I'm looking for some help.

Is this a good time to build a PC? Anything new right around the corner? I want to build something new for Battlefield 3 and other newer games. My current PC is now 6 years old.

It seems like the Intel i5-2500k may be the best price/performance choice. Also leaning towards the ATI 6950 2GB graphics card.

I have no idea what motherboard to get. It seems like every company has 15 models that are all very similar these days. Also not sure what RAM will work best for this combo. Probably looking to start around 8GB. Also need some power supply help.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
 
dfedders said:
OK, its time to build a new gaming PC, and I'm looking for some help.

Is this a good time to build a PC? Anything new right around the corner? I want to build something new for Battlefield 3 and other newer games. My current PC is now 6 years old.

It seems like the Intel i5-2500k may be the best price/performance choice. Also leaning towards the ATI 6950 2GB graphics card.

I have no idea what motherboard to get. It seems like every company has 15 models that are all very similar these days. Also not sure what RAM will work best for this combo. Probably looking to start around 8GB. Also need some power supply help.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

First off, look for a compatible mobo for your processor. Obviously, you need the cpu socket type to match. Also, you probably want a mobo with multiple PCI-E slots (more than just two), so that you can have room for expansion and as a double benefit more room for air when you have just one card in there. cramped mobo's are not fun. So you need a socket 1155 mobo for a 2500k processor.

Next up, you want to be able to overclock that processor safely, (or you wouldn't be looking at a 2500k anyway), so invest in a decent liquid cooling system like a Corsair Hxx line. (H50, H60, etc) Most of those liquid coolers are very similar, and you could go for a base line cheap one and still get decent performance. However, powerful air coolers could be subsituted here. just make sure you get one with decent reviews and has the ability to match your socket type. (if you get an older cooler, it might not have the right mechanics to even fit over your processor.
In addition, look for some decent paste for when you apply your cooler. I recommend Arctic Silver 5, as it is rather good at conducting heat for a small price tag.

Further, you will need a decent power supply to support your GPU and CPU, etc. Start looking at 650-750w unless you want to overclock with huge GPU setups like Quad SLI or something. In that case, invest in a 1000w. And when it comes to power supplies, MODULAR means better. ;) Just go by that and you should be safe. Make sure its around 700watts, modular or maybe even semimodular, and that it is a decent power supply in that it can handle spikes and such and check the efficiency of the power supply to make sure you are getting as much power for your money as possible. You'll see "80Bronze" and stuff like that on a psu, and the different "80" levels indicate the efficiency of the PSU. so 80Gold for example would be best, but 80Bronze is totally fine.

Back to motherboards - I've always enjoyed EVGA and AsRock mobo's. If you were looking for decent brand names.

On RAM, get 1600mhz RAM, which you can get 6-8gb of for between 60-90 bucks on various sites. If it has "Valu" in the name or anything of that sort, the RAM is pretty much guaranteed crap on arrival, and you MUST stay away despite the lower cost. It never helps to cheap out on your ram. Crucial, Corsair, Patriot, etc, are decent brands to get. There are plenty of good brands out there, just do your research on the model you are looking at and check for reviews to make sure the RAM can hold up to your need. 8GB of RAM will more than handle windows 7 and the newest games for now anyway, butmake sure there is room for expansion on the ram slots in the motherboard you get so that you can upgrade in the future. My mobo has 6 slots, and that seems a decent number.

I hope that I helped!
 
What's your max budget?

Ivy Bridge is right around the corner, so you could stick an i3 in the new system for now, then just swap it out come Mar-May '12 if you want 22nm.
 
Irishtea, there's certainly no need for WC on SB, as users are reporting 4+ GHz on air with a decent hsf...
 
DejaWiz said:
Irishtea, there's certainly no need for WC on SB, as users are reporting 4+ GHz on air with a decent hsf...
Click to expand...

Sure, I don't personally use Sandy, but I can see that. thanks for pointing that out. I was just spitting out the best general overview I could and didn't mean to overstep. Thanks for the correction. Plenty of people are getting decent speeds on Air with sandy, which will likely work for you, OP.
 
DejaWiz said:
What's your max budget?

Ivy Bridge is right around the corner, so you could stick an i3 in the new system for now, then just swap it out come Mar-May '12 if you want 22nm.
Click to expand...
Ya, that was another question I had. Do I need to look at specific motherboards for 22nm in the future? I'd like the ability to be able to upgrade down the road in a year or two.

For my budget, I'd like to be around $800 or less (Including case, ps, etc. I'm good with hard drives for now, so I don't need to add that in at this point)
 
Most any 1155 board will support Ivy with a BIOS update, so no need to worry.

Here's my list for you:
Case - Thermaltake Armor A60 $75
Mobo - Asus P8Z68-V LE $133
RAM - G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB DDR3 1600 $60
PSU - Corsair TX950 $140 after mir
HSF - Xigmatek Loki 92mm ($25) or Gaia 120mm ($30)
GPU - ATI 6950 $240
CPU - i3-2100 $125

Total: $803 after mir not including shipping.

(Prices from newegg)
 
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Deja, any reason why you are recommending a $140 950w power supply for a single GPU rig? A good quality 600w would easily handle a 2500k + 6950. A good quality 750w can probably handle a pair of 6950s. If I were going to spend $140 on a power supply, I couldn't see me not going modular (AX750 can be had here in canuckland on sale for around that).
 
There are always things that are right around the corner but with the Intel® Core™ i5-2500K, you have one of the rare processors that have a great price point and are almost at the top of the performance charts without even overclocking it. There will be processors that come out that will outperform the Intel Core i5-2500K but I don’t know that they will offer the same value that it does. So yes it is a good time to build and I would focus on a good P67 or Z68 board to go with this processor.

As far as the power supply here is a good tool that will help you find the low end on what you need for the system http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp.
 
DarthV said:
Deja, any reason why you are recommending a $140 950w power supply for a single GPU rig? A good quality 600w would easily handle a 2500k + 6950. A good quality 750w can probably handle a pair of 6950s. If I were going to spend $140 on a power supply, I couldn't see me not going modular (AX750 can be had here in canuckland on sale for around that).
Click to expand...

I was just figuring futureproofing. But yes, a decent 750W unit would do the trick just fine. I have a 750W unit myself, and intend to keep it when I migrate to SB/IB. If I ever decide to sli my 570's, I would have to upgrade to a 900+ W unit, and that 950W Corsair is exactly what I'd put on my short list.

[Edit]
The GS800 is $107 after code and mir
The TX850 v2 is $125 after mir

Both would be great choices as well for a bit less money, imo.
 
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Is there anything else coming out CPU, or video card wise prior to mid October that I should wait for?
 
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