$2,000 Futureproofed Gaming PC build? Help

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Babaghanoush619

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Apr 21, 2013
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I'm prepping for my new Gaming Rig in a few months. Has to be from scratch because my current rig is Rusting(figure of speech, but its OLD). What better place than Tom's is there for these kinds of things... anyhow, I've already chosen these so far.

CPU: i7-3770k
GPU: GTX 670 FTW 2gb
MoBo: Asus Sabertooth z77
Ram: Vengeance or Ripjaws 16gb 1600

My questions are about future proofing my rig and keeping it easy to future SLI, Overclock, Liquid cooling, etc.. my goal is to not only be able to reach Crisis 3 on Ultra quality for extended gameplay durations without the worry of overheating, but easily add more power to my rig as needed. Am I on the right track? Advice for PSU, Case, Cooling, and any additions I would need to get my rig as close to ready as can be so all I have to do is add another GPU, overclock them, and the CPU and blast my graphics off the charts.. my MAX budget is MAXED at a MAXIMUM of $2000. I can add another $1000 in upgrades 6 months from purchase. so only 1 GPU right now. And the Noise of my Machine is not really important to me. Unless it sounds like a old beeper vibrating on a wood table. I would like to start with a Water cooling CPU cooler, and keep my GPU's air cooled, unless water cooling the entire case and its components is possible to get within my budget.  Any and all advice on anything that will help me build a better (Future Proof) rig for my budget is Welcomed. Intel/Nvidia > AMD/Radeon preferred. (Easier to sleep at night with Intel/Nvidia. AMD/Radeon makes me think my GPU and CPU are going to spontaneously combust within my Case, tearing the flesh from my face as I'm playing crisis3 on ultra). = )
 
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manofchalk

manofchalk

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May 11, 2012
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I suggest you figure out the water-cooling in a separate thread on the Water Cooling forum (under Overclocking). Its a fairly niche subject and requires a lot of discussion, could turn people off who would otherwise reply.

First place to go for water-cooling info, this will explain everything you need to know to get a basic understanding of what your doing.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/277130-29-read-first-watercooling-sticky
If you have any questions afterward dont hesitate to make a thread over in the water cooling forum, I'l be happy to answer them there.

Good, you seem to be under the correct understanding of the term "future proof". A lot of people interpret it as they will be able to play games at max after 5yrs, it should be that they can easily make the computer max games in 5yrs.

Case - Invest in a good one that will cover your for whatever you could want to do. A case is a lump of metal and plastic, it wont go obsolete like a CPU or graphics card, investing in a good one is worth it.
PSU - Similar to the case but to a lesser extent. Buy one that will cover what you want to do in the conceivable future, but dont just buy the biggest wattage you can. Having too large a PSU can be detrimental.
Cooling - Your on the right track here with custom water-cooling.
 
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bsod1

bsod1

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Feb 7, 2013
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PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/SfMP
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/SfMP/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/SfMP/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($154.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($138.69 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($97.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($445.91 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($445.91 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1941.39
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-22 00:18 EDT-0400)
--------------------------
My bad, I didn't see the NVIDIA > AMD.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/SfOM
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/SfOM/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/SfOM/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($154.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($138.69 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($97.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($479.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($479.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1959.55
 
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Kjwinden

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Feb 9, 2013
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Right now the nzxt phantom is a good brand and a good case. Plenty of room and good cable management. For water cooling the H100 is always a reliable choice.

FYI even with a 10000 dollar budget future proofing is impossible. Though what you have is a solid build and should last 3-5 years.
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
Jul 27, 2011
42,535
812
104,940


Yeah there's no such thing as future proofing a build - whether you're spending $500 or $5000. Any given CPU line that will be released will only have about a 5 - 10% increase in performance and the differences between processors are so minute that you probably won't notice any performance difference. Buy for now, not for later. Things like i7s and overrated motherboards (Sabertooth) you don't need for additional performance.

On a $2K rig here's what I would suggest:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($93.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP4 TH ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($445.91 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($445.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($134.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1952.72
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-22 01:01 EDT-0400)

Differences:

- Super Flower quality PSU
- Best SSD on the market (currently)
- Dual 7970s will destroy any GPU combo in its' path
- Fractal Design Define R4 is one of the best cases on the market with great airflow and SSD support
- Less expensive motherboard with no "thermal armor" and Thunderbolt support
 
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Babaghanoush619

Honorable
Apr 21, 2013
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g-unit, wow, thanks. One question though, with all this Up n running, will the stock case and its fans, Heatsink, and come with fans the components already come with be able to keep all this pretty equipment cooled? cuz I must say I like Ultra graphics settings, and will that push these cards to hot without more cooling? Maybey I should copy and paste this in the cooling section... Ill do that.
 
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C

Cyanide Reverse

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Mar 23, 2013
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10,710


I doubt it'll get that warm at all unless you're doing some insane overclocking on your CPU so as suggested before a H100 is an excellent water cooler.
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Jul 27, 2011
42,535
812
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This article explains everything you need to know about setting your system's air flow up: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cooling-airflow-heatsink,3053.html

Pay particular attention to pages 4,5, and 6 - they explain how to setup your heat sink so that the air flows around and through the heat sink and takes into account the location and mounting of your power supply.
 
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