Help build the best $2500 Gaming/Editing Pc

RaisingTheBarHD · Jun 3, 2013

Hey everybody i've pretty much been a console gamer all my life but i want to make the jump to a Pc for many reasons. What im looking for is a good gaming Pc capable of 1080p resolution while maintaining a 75+fps on games at all times. In addition to this im going to be editing/streaming videos.

Overall I'm just looking for some help on where to get started in building my pc and what parts I could get for this kind of money to make an awesome gaming rig. I was just wondering if anyone could help me figure out all the parts I could get for this much or how much I actually need to spend.

Any help is better than none!

What are you planning to do with this compuer?
Best gaming performance w/video editing

What is your budget?
Around $2500 if possible
Does this include a copy of Windows? Already have Windows 8

Does this include peripherals (a keyboard, monitor, mouse, speakers, etc.)?
Best Mechanical Keyboard and Mouse

Are you from the United States or a different country? Are you ordering from your own country or from across borders? Yes I am from the United States so I would get all the parts I need here.

If you are from the United States, do you live nearby a Microcenter?
No the closest store would be a best buy, looking for a online site to buy off of.

Do you have any specific requests with the build?
i7-4770k and at least gtx 780 i want 75+fps on max.

Do you plan on overclocking? If yes, do you have a specific goal in mind?
I would like to get to 4.5Ghz

Would you prefer the build to be particularly small?
No, i want the best airflow

Would you prefer the build to be particularly quiet?
A little on the quiet side

In general, do you prefer this to be a computer that you can spend money on now and let it rest, or a box built for continuous upgrading?
Prefer to only upgrade at later times

Do you ever plan on utilizing NVIDIA's SLI or AMD's CrossfireX technologies? These features, with a compatible motherboard, allow a user to link multiple identical graphic cards together for added performance. In real world terms, this lets you buy a second identical graphics card down the line as a relatively cheap and easy way to gain a fairly large boost in performance. However, this requires buying a SLI/CFX compatible motherboard and PSU now, which may result in slightly higher initial cost.
Wouldnt mind doing an SLI, dont want tearing in the video

luckiest charm · Jun 3, 2013

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($349.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Cooling MX4 20g Thermal Paste ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($167.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($123.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($65.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($65.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($409.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($409.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill THOR V2 ATX Full Tower Case ($108.34 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SN-208DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($26.97 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Razer RZ01-00280500-R3M1 Wired Laser Mouse ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2014.07
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-03 10:24 EDT-0400)

The best I could make up for it to be under your budget ..

Would be ultimate all rounder.

Here I have set cooler as liquid cooling because you would be overclocking and want the system to be quiet.
The case is full tower. Two EVGA GTX 780 in SLI for your gaming needs. Would be able to take Crysis 3 on Ultra ...

P.S - In all games, 60 FPS seems to be smooth enough .. rest is not definable by human eye.

TheBigTroll · Jun 3, 2013

this is more than enough for 1080p gaming
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/12vZh

its better than luckiest charm's build in a couple of departments

luckiest charm · Jun 3, 2013

The difference is basically in SLI. You have kept one card while I have kept two considering the fact that a single GTX 770 is never able to give good frame rates on ultra settings. He wants sheer performance from his rig and SLI is more than necessary for that.

Rest things are I have chosen full size case you have chosen mid tower .. and some slightly lower components here and there ..

TheBigTroll · Jun 3, 2013

a single 770 is enough to get 40 fps in most of the games at ultra settings. if its bf3, you can easily get 60fps at 1080p

luckiest charm · Jun 3, 2013

Crysis 3 would make a single GTX 770 cry .. Benchmarks say 26 FPS on max settings at 1440p. Should get to 35 FPS on 1080p and he is wishing for 75+ (in his post) in all games ... He is not wishing for any sort of compromise .. BioShock Infinite is no less demanding .. To get his desired FPS, SLI is needed.

His requirements and expectations are very high and so is his budget ..

TheBigTroll · Jun 3, 2013

no. crysis 3 runs at 47 fps at very high detail + fxaa at 1080p. bioshock infinite runs nicely at 78.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/829

if he thinks he can see 75fps on a 60hz panel, he is doing something wrong.

Marcopolo123 · Jun 3, 2013

Yes better start with 1 gpu

My hd 7870 can run bioshock inf. Maxed, 40-50+fps absolutly fine for me.
Note he comes from consoles, he would not mind to turn down some settings I guess...

M-rod · Jun 3, 2013

cpu= i7 3770k
mobo= Asus SABERTOOTH Z77 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
gpu= 2x MSI GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (2 way sli)
ram =Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
cpu cooler= corsair h100i
HDD= Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
SSD=Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
psu= OCZ ZT 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply
case= NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case
optical drive= LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer

This build will deliver great performance for gaming due to the 780 2way sli, and it will be great for video editing because of i7 3770k, 16gb 1866 ram, and the boot up time will be extremely fast due to the 120gb ssd for windows and programs and games.

Total (on amazon)= $2489.32

TheBigTroll · Jun 3, 2013

-you may as well get the new stuff
-sabertooth boards are a scam. heatshield traps heat and is overpriced for the few features it has. if thermal armor really worked, everyone would of had it by now
-faster ram does nothing
-use proper heatsinks or get a good custom loop. the AIO units offer nothing otherwise
-the ocz zt is inferior to the xfx psus in every possible way
-the caviar black offers nothing over the caviar blue other than the overpriced and over-valued warranty

RaisingTheBarHD · Jun 3, 2013

TheBigTroll :

i have a 120hz monitor so i will be able to pass the 60fps mark

RaisingTheBarHD · Jun 3, 2013

luckiest charm :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($349.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Cooling MX4 20g Thermal Paste ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($167.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($123.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($65.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($65.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($409.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($409.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill THOR V2 ATX Full Tower Case ($108.34 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SN-208DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($26.97 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Razer RZ01-00280500-R3M1 Wired Laser Mouse ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2014.07
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-03 10:24 EDT-0400)

The best I could make up for it to be under your budget ..

Would be ultimate all rounder.

Here I have set cooler as liquid cooling because you would be overclocking and want the system to be quiet.
The case is full tower. Two EVGA GTX 780 in SLI for your gaming needs. Would be able to take Crysis 3 on Ultra ...

P.S - In all games, 60 FPS seems to be smooth enough .. rest is not definable by human eye.

the only thing i would change is to add an ssd and did you mean to put 780sli or 770sli you put the 770 in the build but 780 in the bottom

TheBigTroll · Jun 3, 2013

if you are running a 120hz panel, then id rather suggest you getting the 780. its always nicer to have a more powerful GPU than 2 weaker ones

GMPoisoN · Jun 3, 2013

Go with the 4670k if you're just gaming, no reason for anything more, even if you do have the money, you could put it somewhere else.

RaisingTheBarHD · Jun 3, 2013

GMPoisoN :

It does state I will be editing so hyperthearding is kinda needed

TheBigTroll · Jun 3, 2013

just a heads up. if you arent doing editing like once a week or so, the i7 wont pay itself as the i5 is generally pretty fast

RaisingTheBarHD · Jun 3, 2013

TheBigTroll :

Usually edit about 3-5 times a week so it's needed hah

TheBigTroll · Jun 3, 2013

well ok. that would justify the i7 then. its also nice to have the i7 when you are transcoding your library of videos onto mobile formats

boulbox · Jun 3, 2013

Would go with TheBigTroll's build and change the 770 to a 780 and change the PSU to this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

It is pretty much the same thing as the other PSU but just a bit cheaper.

For Mouse and Keyboard, I have had a good time with Corsairs, SteelSeries, and Logitechs products. Just narrowing down some of the choices if you want to pick your own.

If you like Mice on the heavy side
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826816009&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

On the Lighter side
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/steelseries-mouse-62154

Keyboard
a Standard sleek looking Cherry Reds
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/steelseries-keyboard-64255
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823816005

If you prefer more tactile Switches, then you can go Blues or Greens

If you want a silent keyboard, then Blacks

TheBigTroll · Jun 3, 2013

the g500 will allow you to change the weight anyways. and as for the keyboard, i can tell you that coolermaster builds their keyboards with the same if not better quality. not to mention that all their keys are actually mechanical unlike the k70

M-rod · Jun 3, 2013

the build i suggested has 2 780's

GMPoisoN · Jun 3, 2013

With $2500, slap a 7990 in it and be done, best gpu on the planet.

luckiest charm · Jun 4, 2013

GM Poison .. That is just two underclocked HD 7970 in 1 GPU. Crossfire yields better performance.

Also, things make it even worse on 120 Hz display.
IF you want proper performance and not all that BS 40 - 45 FPS .. you have to go for SLI.
And I said GTX 770 SLI (sorry if I mis typed) as it is more efficient cost wise. GTX 770 SLI would cost you $900 but GTX 780 SLI would cost you another $500...

Also, benchmarks show GTX 770 is about 15-20% weaker than GTX 780. Put two GTX 770's and it would easily cross 780 by a very high margin ..

A single card for 75+ FPS for so demanding games on 120 Hz display .. are you kidding? :/

boulbox · Jun 4, 2013

120Hz vs 60Hz, there is really not that much of a difference. Yes it is smooth(i have one too) and i started to doubt if it was actually a good buy or not. I think i would have had a better time going with an IPS 1440p monitor as i have seen one(from ASUS) and just looks amazing for gaming and video editing.

luckiest charm · Jun 4, 2013

There is .. in 120 Hz the screen refreshes 120 times instead of 60 times in 1 second that makes things very smooth but puts stress on GPU...

Help build the best $2500 Gaming/Editing Pc

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