Help me improve this!

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
D

darkestwrath15

Honorable
Jan 25, 2013
41
0
10,530
The budget is $2500 (yes I'm well aware that performance scales after 1500, but im a semi-enthusiast at heart, and I like some flashiness to my build)

So this is the current build im going for:
PU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme 81.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus V Formula EATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($278.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($96.88 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($494.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF X ATX Full Tower Case ($179.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 1200W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VE278H 27.0" Monitor ($278.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $2289.74
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-15 20:33 EDT-0400)

Would like AS MANY critiques as possible, cuz I want to get most out of my money. I was a good gaming rig but I plan to make it as flashy as I can too.
Please help improve it any possible way you guys can.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
B

Briskk

Honorable
Feb 12, 2013
42
0
10,540
I'm not familiar with the G.Skill Ares Series. Why not get some RipJawz, I've heard some good things about them, very overclockable.

I don't see a 1200W PSU necessary, why not drop down to a lower PSU such as a 750W and put the money you saved into a GTX Titan or something along those lines.

If you don't want to downgrade the PSU, which you should since its a waste of money, you may want to get another SSD and RAID 0 them together for more performance seeing as you have some money left over.

I'm wondering why you didn't go with the 3930K and 2011 seeing as you can easily fit the 3930K within you're budget. $2500 is a lot of money.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
assasin32

assasin32

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2008
1,356
22
19,515
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($88.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($154.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($127.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($389.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($389.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Cooler Master Megaflow 110.0 CFM 200mm Fan ($11.93 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: OCZ Fatal1ty 1000W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($141.50 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($54.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VS278Q-P 27.0" Monitor ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2235.28
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-15 21:31 EDT-0400)

This is what I got for the money, the ram is a shell shocker deal today and so is something else. I am not concerned about the ram all that much in terms of what is the most overclockable, etc as long as it's high quality and reliable. As ram plays such a small role in FPS while gaming you won't notice a difference, my only advice is to make sure it's in dual channel.

Than for the CPU you won't really gain any benefits for going with an i7 over an i5 for gaming.

Though if you wanted bling I think some of the ripjaws which is pretty good ram have red heatsinks on them which will go with the overall red/black design going on in the case.

Edited in:
bit better ram, match the case more for more bling/flashy
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f31866c9d16gsr

Also went with a $40-50 premium with this PSU over a different one to get one that is modular and because it has the red/black theme going on it like the case. And you wanted flashy.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
burritobob

burritobob

Honorable
Nov 14, 2012
1,082
2
11,460
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($81.87 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($174.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($104.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($162.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($96.88 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($389.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($389.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced ATX Full Tower Case ($140.75 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 950W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($109.98 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2362.35
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

Same price in a nutshell, but better overclocking, performance, and GPU capability, not to mention 3 monitors...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

darkestwrath15

Honorable
Jan 25, 2013
41
0
10,530
@ bob, assasin and brisk. Firstly thanks for the input. I see I overdid on the PSU and my ram is kind of in a no-man's land xD
I'm new to PC building and am just starting to grip the basics, also helping two of my friends build their rig. But my budget is abit higher so I was building a better looking build.
The builds you guys posted are amazing, but I see em kinda mistmatched, blue mobo, black case, blue rams etc etc.
I was trying to build a gaming PC that was eye catchy too for $2500.
Apologies for not being clear enough in the 1st post :<
But yeah thats why I went with that Asus mobo and cooler master case.
Any way to get a PC in $2500 thats also easy on the eyes? xD
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
assasin32

assasin32

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2008
1,356
22
19,515


Well to be honest in all my years of being on Tomshardware, your the first person I recall who wanted everything to match. I kind of want to know how this turns out.

Have you looked into doing a vinyl wrap. It's what people do on cars, thing such as carbon fiber vinyl wrap, etc. 3m suppose to make some good wrap. It may interest you if you want everything to match and just can't do it. You can probably cover up the window with it and and make it look very nice pretty cheap. In fact I have never seen anyone do this before, you definately have a unique case.

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Scotchprint-Carbon-Fiber-Vinyl/dp/B0058DIDTY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1366077550&sr=8-2&keywords=vinyl+wrap+3m
(there is also the di-noc I believe it called version, I can't remember what the differences were, either way it's worth looking into if it catches your interest)

Could also cut out some nice designs for this stuff and have it on the case. Comes in various colors as well.

And if you are going all out for flashy I think a nice big red dragon done in this vinyl wrap on the side of the case (the one without the window) would look nice. Especially with a case mod to put a red LED where the eye is. Or have this painted on instead of vinyl.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

darkestwrath15

Honorable
Jan 25, 2013
41
0
10,530

http://pcpartpicker.com/b/A6i
^was hoping to build something like that. but thanks for the tip
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
assasin32

assasin32

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2008
1,356
22
19,515


Actually that was the look I was going for in the initial build, if you swap the ram to the second set I posted I think everything will match up nicely. The case just won't be as spacious as that one, it will be a bit more compact. And the red/black/gold between the case, fans, ram, mobo that you can see I think will play nicely together. And will probably look better than the normal silver caps in most motherboards.

The h80i would be positioned in the rear fan slot so you can keep the red 200mm fans in place as front/side intake and top exhaust. If you want more flashy you can always swap the fans on the h80i to something with red led's though that may highlight that area of the moreboard greatly between the top/side fan already. And for the most I think the heatsink be unnoticeable.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

Briskk

Honorable
Feb 12, 2013
42
0
10,540
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QZ08
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QZ08/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QZ08/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($117.28 @ TigerDirect)
Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Formula ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($334.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($98.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($86.49 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($436.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XM (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 1000W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($145.04 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($54.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VE278H 27.0" Monitor ($278.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $2633.68
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-15 22:15 EDT-0400)

Went over your budget BUT BUT BUT, you can remove one of the SSD's to make it within your budget, I put 2 in there so you can RAID 0 them for more performance but its up to you.

Color Scheme is Red/Black
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

darkestwrath15

Honorable
Jan 25, 2013
41
0
10,530
For Red n Black build this is the one I managed to finalize (inspired by Briskk, thanks):
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($117.28 @ TigerDirect)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus V Formula EATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($278.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($178.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($86.49 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($494.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Trooper ATX Full Tower Case ($144.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 1000W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($145.04 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VE278H 27.0" Monitor ($278.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $2368.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-16 01:16 EDT-0400)

Made some changes to fit my budget. But for some reason PcPartPicker shows the Storm Trooper case incompatible with EATX case, but by searching around, it seems that it is. Can anyone confirm which is true? Also will it be hard for a newbie PC builder to change the CPU cooler's black tubing to red?

@Assasin, thanks for your time. But I am kind of the typical red-black gaming rig fanboy. Still I do appericiate you taking the time to help me figure out a build. Thanks again.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
assasin32

assasin32

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2008
1,356
22
19,515
I feel like I failed you if you manage to spend this much for a gaming rig and not even have a nice SLI/Crossfire setup. So here is one more attempt.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($88.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus V Gene Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($199.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($178.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($86.49 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($494.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($494.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Trooper ATX Full Tower Case ($144.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VS278Q-P 27.0" Monitor ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2509.32
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-16 02:09 EDT-0400)

Raid 0 will bring no FPS for gaming and make your setup a bit more unreliable as you are now relying on 2 SSD's to keep functioning for your bootup/primary drive or drives I should say. I recommend putting the extra cash for the second SSD towards the SLI setup or crossfire.

The 3770k offer about nothing in terms of gains for gaming, so I would drop that for 3570k.

The h110 I dropped for the h80i as I think keeping the 200mm fan up top will be of more use overall in the tower, for noise to airflow volume anyway as it's larger and less obstructed airflow that doesn't have to go through an radiator. And the h80i will still allow good cooling as an rear exhaust and maintain a clean profile (the h80i, h100, h100i, h110 are close in performance, in fact if I recall the h80i is about as good as the h100 and h110 or off by a couple celsius if memory serves me correct).

Also dropped your EATX for ATX board, which kept your red/black style.

Goal of this was to make more sense of the build for a gaming build. As it what you had could do a lot of things but it wasn't tailored for gaming for what you were spending. It is closer to a gaming build now, as before it's what I expect in terms of gaming performance from a 1-1.5k rig. Yours would boot fast, had a nice i7 cpu which helps with things like rendering and threaded programs, nice FPS (but not for the price).

And could you please use the "BBcode Markup" or the "plain text" and just copy and paste your builds if your using pcpartpicker. So we can more eaisly edit your build and look at it.

EDITED IN:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($88.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus V Gene Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($199.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($178.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($86.49 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($388.50 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($388.50 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Trooper ATX Full Tower Case ($144.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VS278Q-P 27.0" Monitor ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2296.36
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-16 02:39 EDT-0400)

Actually I would drop the 680s and put in 670s as they give almost the same performance and are cheaper. Here is a good quick reference if you want to see what I mean.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_670_SLI/24.html
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

darkestwrath15

Honorable
Jan 25, 2013
41
0
10,530


This is by far the best possible build I could have ever even hoped of coming up with! its got the liquid cooling, SLI, red n black theme...DAMN!
Thanks alot assasin, since im a GTX680 i might go with the 1st one but incase common sense kicks in while buying the 2nd one is unbeatable. Keep doing what you do man, your knowledge with PC parts is amazing!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom