$2000-2500 Gaming Rig build advice needed

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Bullheaded67

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Hi all - please make suggestions for me. It has been 4 years since I last built a system so I am not sure of the best optimization.

Purpose - Gaming, Movies, Web Surfing
Purchase date - 4/22/2009
OS - Windows 7 RC if available - Vista 64 otherwise
Air Cooled
Blue Ray
1920x1200 is the resolution I am aiming for in general
I am willing to overclock the i7 920
Parts not needed - Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - $149.99

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - $288.99

Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO CPU Cooler - $76.99

ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - $289.99

SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q - OEM - $25.99

LG Black Super Multi Blu-ray Disc Burner & HD DVD-ROM Drive SATA Model GGW-H20L - Retail - $195.00

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $109.00

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive x2 - $139.98

CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail - $139.99

SIIG 18" Serial ATA Cable - Right Angle Model CB-SATD41-S1 - Retail - $23.97

ZALMAN ZM - STG1 Thermal Compound - Retail - $7.99

Total so far: $1453.86

I was thinking of a GTX 295 but am wondering about 2 GTX 275s in SLI for pretty much the same price. I would be open to ATI if there is a compelling case for it.

I still need RAM and video card - I am thinking about Kingston due to the performance but it is out of stock at newegg - havent looked anywhere else yet.

I appreciate all of your work on these recommendations.


Scott
 
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Bullheaded67

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I love the Cooler Master HAF 932 - great recommendation.

Thoughts on Vigor Monsoon III LT vs the Noctua cooler?

I definitely agree on the WD Caviar Black drives. Anyone know if there is a gaming performance hit running RAID 5 or RAID 1+0?

Thanks,

Scott

 
jjbtexas

jjbtexas

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a GTX 275 is the the same as one of the cores out of the 295. basically your going to get the same thing no matter which you choose. i would definitely go with a P6T Deluxe V2 and 6gb of the best reasonably priced 1600 ram you can find. 750W should be plenty, i would go with a Corsair 750TX. IMO raid is worthless in this kind of situation but its up to you.

i would go with this ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227388
 
B

Bullheaded67

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I think I will go with the GTX 295 with an eye on eventually adding a second. I like that model of power supply but I am going to step it up to 850 to cover the eventual SLI.

I have modified my current build but still need advice and suggestions!

 
K

kubes

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Yes if you plan on going with two gtx 295's i'd go with the corsair 850 over the 750 to give u a bit of breathing room. The gtx 295's require some pretty strong psu's. Same with the 4870x2's.

Does your build need to include a monitor?
 
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Bullheaded67

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Yes I need a monitor but it's not included in the price. I was looking at this:

BenQ G2400WD Black 24" 5ms, 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail - $359.99

All my pricing is from Newegg btw.

 
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godfath3r

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i would say get :

>OCZ Blade Series 6GB (3 X 2GB) DDR3 PC3-16000
>gtx 295, and maybe go sli down the line
>Corsair HX 1000W ATX Modular SLI Compliant

and youre good to go.
 
Why_Me

Why_Me

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Jan 17, 2008
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That 850w psu will match just fine with a pair of gtx 285's which is a low power consuming card, not to mention it kicks but.

Ok let's see if we can save you a few dollars and get just as good performance if not better. It's called shopping around. :)

http://www.securemart.com/SMA2101442?mv_pc=294&mv_specials=&mv_stock=y $119.91
Cooler Master RC-932-KKN1-GP HAF 932 Chassis - 12 Bays - Black

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=I7-920 $265.99 Free Ground Shipping
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 $39.99
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020 $6.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143170 $329.99 ($299.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
BFG Tech BFGEGTX2851024OCPE GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Free Call of Duty: World at War w/ purchase, limited offer

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247 $94.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
 
B

Bullheaded67

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Thank you all for the excellent advice - I have a lot to think about. I appreciate the cost saving effort too :)

Here is a question for everyone - will I regret not getting the GTX 295 now with the intent to go SLI in a few months vs going SLI with GTX 285s?

For the i7 processor I will be picking up a guaranteed D0 stepping from someone since they start shipping on the 14th. It will be a slight premium over the current stepping but it doesn't look like it will be much more.

I would love to hear your thoughts. I am certainly taking monitor advice as well - I linked my current choice above - the BenQ. I want to stay at 24" and $500.00 or less.

 
xthekidx

xthekidx

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That BenQ you chose is first rate, I would stick with it, but samsung and Dell monitors are high quality too.

2 GTX 285's will be more than enough for that resolution, and only crysis would require you to get anything more than one. If you get 2 GTX 285's, you will be set for a long time. Getting 2 GTX 295's is just a waste if you don't have a 30" screen.
 
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Bullheaded67

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That certainly does look like an awesome monitor but unfortunately it is too big for my desk. I would be too close for the optimal viewing distance which would kind of defeat the purpose.
 
K

kubes

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Sorry about the bad link:

Here's sort of an idea of where I was going with your build. This is what I had in the cart in the above post.

(case)
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811119160
$149.99

(hard drives)
2 X Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822136284
109.99 each

(PowerSupply)
CORSAIR CMPSU-1000HX 1000W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817139007
40.00 Mail-in Rebate $299.99
$259.99

(For heat sink)
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Item #: N82E16835100007
$8.99

(Ram)
OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820227381
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate $139.99
$109.99

(Overkill heatsink)
COOLER MASTER V10 Hybrid TEC RR-B2P-UV10-GP 120mm CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835103056
$139.99

(Blu-ray Drive)
LG Black 6X Blu-ray Disc Burner & HD DVD-ROM Drive SATA Model GGW-H20LK - OEM
Item #: N82E16827136155
$175.00

Combo deal (CPU and MB):

ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131365
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115202
$553.

(GPU)
Newegg is out of stock of gtx295's now. This was taken out of my cart.

Now this is only a starter setup. I didn't have enough time yesterday to go through and find every single best deal that I could. As I get time throughout the day I'll try to help refine. I'm sure some of the other forum residents will help too :)
 
B

Bullheaded67

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Wow - thank you for all of that work. I think that since I don't plan on moving past a 24" monitor at any point in the next few years that I can probably save money, power etc by going with a SLI GTX 285 instead of the GTX 295. I was looking at the EVGA SSC edition GTX 285.

For RAM I did some comparisons with Tom's 6GB Ram Kit shootout and pricing.

mushkin 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 998679 - Retail - $139.99 (it's got an instant $30.00 off right now) looks to be the best performance/cost balance right now. I love Crucial memory and use Kingston exclusively here at work but I just can't justify the extra cost. In the review the Mushkin scores higher than the OCZ memory. I would love to hear your thoughts though.

On CPU coolers - I admit I was pretty clueless when it came to the recommendation previously of the Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO CPU Cooler. I have been doing some research on the product and the company and I have to admit I am pretty damn impressed. I am not overly fond of the color scheme they use :) but I am excited to see this cooler in action.

OK - so monitor decisions: Unless someone comes up with a new horse it looks like this race is between the BenQ and the Dell.

Here is another question - Should I go ahead and order both GTX 285s now or hold off for a price drop? I wonder if it's better to get two cards manufactured in the same batch or not? 2 would bring me in right under budget.
 
xthekidx

xthekidx

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Dec 24, 2008
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The last article I read on i7 memory by TH was written in january, which was a good article for what it covered. But it did not cover very much, and since then many more memory kits have been released. TH did not test the OCZ platinum set that Kubes suggested, if they had I think it would have done pretty well. If you look at the specs, the only difference between the OCZ's and mushkins is 24vs20 in the final timing, and I can vouch for the OCZ's that you can change the final timing to 20 and run them at 7-7-7-20 1T at stock voltages 1600mhz. I think the OCZ's are a better deal, but you can't go wrong with either.
 
K

kubes

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To add onto thekid's comments about the ram: I was flipping a coin in which to recommend but ended up going with the OCZ due to the slight preformance increase and it was a few dollars cheaper. Mushkin however is very solid ram. And their customer service imo one of the best out there. You really can't go wrong with either. Both are smart picks.

Ideally its best if both the gpu's came from the same waifer but to be totaly honest it really doesn't matter to much now a days. I've got a bit of an electical engineering background and all i can say is by buying them from the same batch you might have a closer abiliity to overclock your cards to the exact same level. But even saying that, its not gaurnteed. Just a better guess. This wouldn't be something I'd be worried about.

I think I have a personal bias towards the cool master vx series but that's probally because I have one. I don't think you can go wrong with the Noctua, the dark Knight or the v8. All three have been been tested that they can handle a pretty nice overclock for the i7. I know a lot of people will say go Noctua or dark night because they are cheaper than the v8 and v10. (I've seen pictures of the v12...and it's a monster...to bad it will never go into production).

Few comments about the graphics cards. If you go with the gtx 295 I'd say grab the 1000w psu i stated above. If you plan on going with the gtx 285 and am pretty confident you'll be doing sli on it go with crosairs 850. If you think by any chance you might tripple sli the gtx285 stick with the 1000 stated above. If you plan on going with just one gtx295 and only one, you can get away with a 750,850. This is just antoher spot you can help custimize your build and save yourself a few bucks.
 
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Bullheaded67

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That Samsung is a very nice monitor. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. Going to head out to Fry's this weekend and see if I can put eyes on the monitors in question.

 
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