Another gaming build

thatsydneyguy

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Hello there, Tom's Community. Could you please help review this gaming build for me?

i5 2500k 3.3 GHz (Will want to OC)

Gigabyte HD 7950 3GB

ASRock P67 PRO3

8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport CL9

Samsung SSD 840 250GB

XFX XXX 650W

Scythe Mugen 3 rev B

Could you also recommend a case under 30$? I'm also worried this particular RAM from Crucial won't work with that motherboard since it's not on the official supported list:

http://www.asrock.com/mb/memory.asp?Model=P67%20Pro3

Kind regards,
that sydney guy
 
Solution


The 2500k should be enough, but it can't hurt to get an upgrade to Haswell or IB.
In terms of the 7950; heavily-modded Skyrim may not run perfectly at max-settings, but it will certainly do...

thatsydneyguy

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1000$ tops. Thanks for the answer. However, I don't know if it's relevant since some of the parts are way cheaper at my local retailer (like the GPU). I pretty much want to know if it's a good gaming build and what case should I get. Should I skip SSD and get an even better GPU? Also, is the PSU enough for this build and overclocking i5 2500k?
 

dannyboy2233

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Your PSU should be fine. I think an SSD is necessary, and the 7950 is a great GPU. :)
 

dannyboy2233

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I don't know the model of that case...
What I mean is that the Sandy Bridge generation of processors is two generations old. Ivy Bridge and Haswell have been released, both outperforming Sandy Bridge. I think that you should try to get an i5-4670k and an Asrock Extreme3 Z87, or an i5-3570k and an Asrock Extreme3 Z77; the latter of which is Ivy Bridge (comes right after the processor that you want), and the former is Haswell, which came after Ivy Bridge.
And as long as you have a good PSU (from Corsair, Antec, Seasonic, XFX, etc.), then your build will certainly not blow up. :)
 

thatsydneyguy

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OK, I see. Well, I know about Haswell and i7 are out but do you think i5 2500k will be enough to handle Photoshop cs4 (want to switch to 6 in the near future; I can handle 20-min rendering since I'm used to ArchiCAD) and Skyrim (heavily modded), not necessarily in that order. I'm particularly worried it wouldn't handle ENB and/or high-res textures. I want to play in 1080p (27' monitor) and if 7870 is enough, I will settle for it. I just heard 7950 is the way to go.

Kind regards,
J.

PS: So, uuuh... case isn't that important for OC, correct?
 

dannyboy2233

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The 2500k should be enough, but it can't hurt to get an upgrade to Haswell or IB.
In terms of the 7950; heavily-modded Skyrim may not run perfectly at max-settings, but it will certainly do quite well with one 1080p monitor :)
 
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thatsydneyguy

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Thanks for the quick reply, Danny! Darn it, can't believe for such a swift reply on Tom's. Well, back to the point. I'd very much like to try Haswell but I'm currently stuck on my current budget which is quite: give or take 10$ so I can't be picky. The main thing is I want to try Skyrim Mod: Somber ENB. I realise it sounds superficial BUT do you think I'll be able to tackle it on 1920x1024 / 27" inch monitor on 2x AA? Also I'd like to be prepared for GTAV, even if at the very least 1 year apart. What do you think?

Kind regards,
That Guy
 

dannyboy2233

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Hahahaha, no worries; to be honest, we very rarely get trolls on here :p
As for the Skyrim mod; I am not very familiar with mods. However, I know that heavily-modded Skyrim just about surpasses 2 GB VRAM, sometimes even going to 2.5GB. Luckily for us, the 7950 has 3GB of VRAM! This means that, in the VRAM department, your 7950 will do fine. In general, at 1080p, a single 7950 will "blast Skyrim out of the park", as someone on another forum put it.
If your budget is strict, then a 2500k and a 7950 will do spectacular in modded Skyrim, as well as in things like CS6; although IB or Haswell may be a bit better for some programs, I completely understand the budget restrictions, and therefore I think that that setup would be great! :)
 

thatsydneyguy

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Wow, thanks again for such a quick reply. I too am very much in the dark when it comes to Skyrim since I haven't played it yet but would like for a best experience possible. Thanks for suggestions. I now gather 7950 is better with 2500k than 3220 and will since compare both to the former. I do however still struggle on the case. If any and all cases should come in mind, please post your suggestions>

Kind regards,
that fella

PS: My locals retailer has 7970:

http://i.imgur.com/AlOXdG1.jpg

Used but still with a 32-month guarantee and:

7950:

CU II 3021mb, kinda used (coupla months but never OC'ed):

http://i.imgur.com/ctuWhNf.jpg

Which do you think will perform better?

Kind regards,
That sydney guy from those Tom's threads
 

thatsydneyguy

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Oct 15, 2012
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Hi and disregard that written-besides-a-friend-PM, a friend of mine told me I should write you personally a bit of a PM, SO here I go again. Hope I will get my whole gaming agenda through:

Kind strugglin':

This GPU seems awful nice and is recommended by a friend:

http://i.imgur.com/a3QmoA1.jpg

It's a:

ASUS HD 7950 DIRECT CU II 3072MB DDR5

Although it's no Titan, it's awful nice and I hope it will outperform 7950 AND with SSD it will be a killer

Regards,
That (kanga)roo gut
 

dannyboy2233

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IMO, grab that 7950 DCUII card. It will perform pretty much just as well as the 7970, and you can OC it quite a bit since that Asus cooler is good.
In terms of a case, I recommend the Corsair 300R for a good price/performance budget. However, depending on how much you're willing to spend, it could go higher or lower in price and quality :)
 

thatsydneyguy

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Thanks for suggestion. I pretty much want to OC PCU only, not GPU. Do you think 650W will be enough for OCing i5 2500k to 4.4.-4.6Ghz? Also, I've heard some bad reviews of 7950 CU II turning off while under a high pressure, is it true? Or is it just a PSU cautionary tale?

That guy
 

dannyboy2233

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I haven't heard any bad things about it; a setup with good airflow and a good PSU should make sure nothing bad happens.
And yes, your PSU should be fine. Your CPU @ 4.5 GHz has a TDP of about 100W, and your card is 200W. A 650W PSU should work just great :)
 

thatsydneyguy

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Thanks again. Having cleared that up, I heard CU II would randomly crash (.exe crash or even sometime an BSOD) when under under a load of pressure. Glad to heard that isn't the case. While having resolved that issue, I'm still left with the case and the RAM (while unoff. / unspp. I still struggle to determine whether the 8gb crucial ballistix sport is O.K. with ASrock P67 and whether i5 2500k is OK to OC with that PSU.)

Kind regards,
that sydney guy