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Reasonable Gaming Build

P

potaco

n00b
Joined
Nov 2, 2010
Messages
7
With company bonuses and tax returns coming soon, I'm looking to upgrade my PC...

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mostly gaming... WoW, BFBC2, SC2, Rift (soon). Would like to run all on max settings @ 1920x1200. No photoshop or video editing.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around $1000-$1250... ignoring tax/shipping
3) Where do you live?
Chicago suburb... Microcenter nearby
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, mobo, PSU, graphics card, memory, DVD drive, possibly SSD (but will probably wait for new SATA 6Gb/s models)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
1920x1200 monitor (main), 1680x1050 monitor (secondary), HAF 932 case, plenty of HDDs (RAID 0 velociraptors for OS/games/etc), keyboard, mouse, speakers
6) Will you be overclocking?
On air, nothing too extreme
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
1920x1200 main, 1680x1050 secondary
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within a month
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
RAID needed, USB 3.0, SATA 6gb/s would be nice... will likely add an SSD within a year
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Windows 7 (64-bit)

I'm coming from Q6600 & 8800 GTS 512mb... I like to build something that will last 2-3 years (I probably should have upgraded my gfx by now, oh well).

Here's what I'm tentatively thinking:

i5-2500k
not sure about mobo
ati 6870 (although the 1gb 6950 and new nvidia 560 might be reasonable... I was originally thinking of 6850 CF, but would rather not deal with multiple cards)
8gb ram (probably g.skill)
750W psu (I always pick the wrong one)

Any thoughts/suggestions are appreciated!
 
Prelim build for now:
$390 - Intel Core i5-2500K CPU + Asus P8P67 PRO Intel P67 ATX Motherboard Combo
$77 - G.Skill Value Series F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$17 - LG GH22NS40 DVD Burner
$240 - XFX HD-687A-ZNFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$110 - Corsair 750TX 750W PSU
----
Total: $834 plus tax and shipping

If you want to spend the extra cash, go for the HD 6950 2GB:
$300 - Gigabyte GV-R695D5-2GD-B Radeon HD 6950 2GB PCI-E Video Card
 
Thanks, Danny...

Did you choose that motherboard just because of the combo? I could get the processor at Microcenter for $180 and the mobo alone was $185 on Newegg (so $365 for both, Civ5 doesn't matter enough to me to spend an extra $25 on it). I thought I had read about quite a few people having trouble OCing with that ASUS, but I might be misremembering.

For memory, seeing "value" in the product name scares me. The Ripjaws or Sniper series are only $8 more and I've seen a lot of builds with Ripjaws. Any reasoning for going with the value ones?

Lastly, it looks like 6850 CF beats out a single 6950 by quite a bit... I know I had said I didn't want to deal with multiple cards, but it seems like if I'd be spending $300 anyway, it might make more sense to grab two 6850s (or probably more likely to get a single 6870 and add another later). Thoughts?

Thanks again!
 
potaco said:
Did you choose that motherboard just because of the combo?
Click to expand...
Yes
potaco said:
For memory, seeing "value" in the product name scares me. The Ripjaws or Sniper series are only $8 more and I've seen a lot of builds with Ripjaws. Any reasoning for going with the value ones?
Click to expand...
Saves you $8 and nets you the same exact performance.

potaco said:
Lastly, it looks like 6850 CF beats out a single 6950 by quite a bit... I know I had said I didn't want to deal with multiple cards, but it seems like if I'd be spending $300 anyway, it might make more sense to grab two 6850s (or probably more likely to get a single 6870 and add another later). Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Crossfire scaling isn't always good to say the least. As such, I myself try to recommend single card solutions whenever possible.
 
Since your timeline is within a month the Geforce 560 release is expected in 5 days, and unless you decide to go with something more expensive then I'd hold off on something the 6870.
 
potaco said:
For memory, seeing "value" in the product name scares me. The Ripjaws or Sniper series are only $8 more and I've seen a lot of builds with Ripjaws. Any reasoning for going with the value ones?
Click to expand...

It really doesn't matter. I just got the Ripjaws because I like the look of the heatsink.
 
Ultima99 said:
Since your timeline is within a month the Geforce 560 release is expected in 5 days, and unless you decide to go with something more expensive then I'd hold off on something the 6870.
Click to expand...

Based on the reviews coming in, the 560 is going to be a wash. With the 6950s under $300 now, I don't know if I can pass that up :cool:

Any other suggestions for motherboards? Been reading some not-so-nice things about the ASUS P67s.
 
Fairly decent motherboard:
$180 - MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard
 
"Final" Build:

$340 - i5 2500k + Asus P8P67 PRO LGA 1155 mobo combo @ Microcenter
$290 ($275 after MIR) - SAPPHIRE 100312SR Radeon HD 6950 2GB
$70 - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
$110 ($90 after MIR) - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W PSU
$16 - LG DVD±RW SuperMulti SATA Drive

Total after tax & shipping = $856 ($821 after MIRs)
 
Now that the core components have been decided... how important is a cooler and extra thermal paste? Would they justify the extra cost? I plan on just mild OCing.
 
potaco said:
Now that the core components have been decided... how important is a cooler and extra thermal paste? Would they justify the extra cost? I plan on just mild OCing.
Click to expand...
Extra thermal paste isn't needed unless you're planning on reseating the HSF multiple times. For overclocking, get a 3rd party HSF for CYA measures. Yes they justify the extra cost:
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
 
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