$1,000 Gaming System Advice

Prophetable

Honorable
May 5, 2013
6
0
10,510
Approximate Purchase Date: As soon as I feel like I'm making a well-informed purchase

Budget Range: If we can get it to around $1,000 after shipping I'll be good.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, multimedia, photoshop

Are you buying a monitor: I have one (I'll eventually pick up another, though, but we don't need to factor that into the price here as it can wait).

Parts to Upgrade: I already have 2x 2TB WD HDD, 2xDVD Burner, keyboard, mouse, and speakers.

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Usually newegg but I don't care as long as it's not some crazy scam website.

Location: Fayetteville, North Carolina

Parts Preferences: Performance > Brand Loyalty

Overclocking: Not a big priority unless it will net me large gains and be stable enough not to be a real risk to my system.

SLI or Crossfire: If affordable, sure.

Your Monitor Resolution: Highest possible within budget

Additional Comments: I don't care about LEDs or flashy stuff on my case. If it has them its fine. I'm 100% about how utilitarian it is.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Currently using a laptop that I took through Iraq and it's a bit beat up from the deployment.

***Edit***
Added my available DVD burners to my list of already-owned equipment.
 

ismaeljrp

Distinguished
Feb 8, 2012
408
0
18,860
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VdZ7
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VdZ7/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VdZ7/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($373.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec P280 ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($74.25 @ Newegg)
Total: $923.18
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-05 16:28 EDT-0400)
 

ismaeljrp

Distinguished
Feb 8, 2012
408
0
18,860


Yup, the i7's only ( slight advantage ) comes from hyper-threading. In gaming and overall PC usage, it is not used at all. It's only minor benefit comes with professional applications that actually make use of it or, transcoding stuff.

8gb of ram is plenty sufficient for your needs, and if you ever feel the need for more, then you always have 2 more slots to add more RAM.


 

Marcopolo123

Honorable
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($135.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.98 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($309.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XM (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $973.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-05 16:32 EDT-0400)

750w to be able to power a second hd 7950
 

mastrom101

Distinguished
Jun 12, 2010
1,477
0
19,660
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LE PLUS ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.79 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($238.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($238.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Arctic White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($70.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $1013.73
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-05 18:31 EDT-0400)

I would recommend spending more money on a 3570K, better motherboard, SSD, etc and getting only one GPU now and another down the road. But if you want two cards now, that should be a good build for you.
 

mastrom101

Distinguished
Jun 12, 2010
1,477
0
19,660
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($174.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($349.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Gunmetal/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($91.25 @ Newegg)
Total: $948.19
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-21 19:34 EDT-0400)

Then I would go with this build.
 

Marcopolo123

Honorable


Xfx hd 7000 series is bad
Replace the gpu with a msi hd 7950 twinfrozer.

And w8 for haswell....

 

mastrom101

Distinguished
Jun 12, 2010
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19,660