Gaming PC Build, This Any Good?

sam the sound guy · Mar 19, 2010

Building my second gaming PC, I chose all the parts off tigerdirect.ca (I am in Montreal). I would prefer getting all the parts at once from this site. So guys what do you think of these parts, I am looking to be able to play pretty much every game release with a constant 60 fps (vsync) on a 1680 x 1050 res.

GAMES I WANT TO RUN MAXED WITH 60FPS: Bad Company 2, Crysis (close to maxed out I guess), MW2, Bioshock 2, anything on the Unreal 3/Frostbite/Crytek engines. Pretty much all games coming out within the next 2 years I want to run at 60fps on max gfx or very close to max (if the game comes out late 2011, very close to max is good enough)

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: (April-May)

BUDGET RANGE: (2400-2600 CND Final Price (Tax included))

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: (Gaming with gfx maxed out at constant 60 fps (I will settle for 4x anti-aliasing though, but everything else I would like maxed))

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: (Monitor, DVD/CD Rom, External HDD, Floppy

MadAdmiral · Mar 19, 2010

Country of origin matters. Most people use Newegg links, so if you're not in the US, they can't use those prices.

Here's a better gaming build. Price and links to Newegg.ca:

CPU/Mobo: i7-930 and Asus P6X58D Premium $603
RAM: Mushkin Enahnced Redline 3x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 6 $247 before $30 US rebate ($217 in total)
GPU: 2x HD 5870 $433 each or $866 total. A single 5970 would be better, if you can find it.
PSU: OCZ Z Series 850W 80+ Gold $230 before $30 US rebate ($200 in total)
Case: HAF 922 $110 before $10 US rebate ($100 in total)
HSF: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus $30
OS: Windows 7 Home 64-bit OEM $120
Monitor: Asus 24" 1080p $230. Make the games actually look good...

Total: $2,366. Leaves room for the keyboard/mouse. A sound card is unnecessary.

EDIT: Converted all links and removed optical and HDD.

sam the sound guy · Mar 19, 2010

Ok well for country origin I am in Quebec, Canada. So as long as it can ship here to me then I guess it's all good. Thx for the quick reply admiral, I'll check those parts out too, your avatar reminds me, fallout 3 should be on the game list

.

Oh and for the sake of saving $ I dont need an optical drive (just bought one) and a 500gb drive will be enough space, I have an external TB that is mostly free space.

MadAdmiral · Mar 19, 2010

Build is updated. That will max out Crysis, regardless of settings at 1920x1080. It's a beast.

sam the sound guy · Mar 19, 2010

Oh sound card is not unnecessary, I am actually a video game sound designer by profession and on board sound wont cut it for me

MadAdmiral · Mar 19, 2010

Then stick it in. You've got budget left either way.

sam the sound guy · Mar 19, 2010

I don't want to change to topic here with this post, but for gaming, triple channel vs dual? I have read that 4 gigs is really enough to run any game, and I know I am not going to be doing multiple tasks such as encoding something while I play a game or anything, years of having low end PCs made me ok with closing other apps before loading up games

MadAdmiral · Mar 19, 2010

Doesn't matter. The LGA1366 requires triple channel, so that's what you use.

Yes, 4 GB is pretty much enough for anything except workhorse builds (encoding and such). However, the LGA 1366 socket is better for future proofing (true 16x/16x Crossfire, better CPUs coming, more RAM, etc.) and it's in budget. Had the 5970 or dual 5870s not been in budget, I would have dropped down to an i5-750 and not had a second thought.

sam the sound guy · Mar 19, 2010

OK sounds good, I think I can lose the monitor because I have a 32" 1080p Sony Aquos like 4 feat away from where my PC desk is that I could use instead of a monitor via HDMI or DVI. Actually, I think in that case a wireless mouse and keyboard would be a good idea.

MadAdmiral · Mar 19, 2010

If that's the case, pick up a SSD for the boot/app drive. It will help with the responsiveness of the computer and cut boot and load times. This Corsair Nova 128 GB is good, but not cheap at $349. If you only have about 48 GB of games and other applications, this Intel X25-M 80 GB is one of the best at $235.

sam the sound guy · Mar 19, 2010

well, right now I think i have about 80 gigs of just installed games, and thats without having most of the newer games I want to get, and my audio programs take up about a 1/3 of what my games do, so would it make it difference if i just got like a 32gig SDD for windows 7 install only and then used a SATA HDD for everything else, I would love to have SDD everything but I would need a time machine to get those cheap.

MadAdmiral · Mar 19, 2010

If you don't want to get a big one now, I would just wait to get one later. I personally view the SSD as just a way to soak up some budget. I'll probably pick one up when the 128 GB ones are down around $150, but anything above that is a tad expensive.

sam the sound guy · Mar 19, 2010

The gtx 480 and 470 specs were released today to some extent, I would consider getting one but I would probably have to wait until summer to actually get my hands on one right?

MadAdmiral · Mar 19, 2010

That's likely. You may get lucky though. I would certainly wait and see what happens. If the benchmarks come out and they're better for the new cards, pick one up if you can find one. If not, the 5870/5970 would be just fine.

sam the sound guy · Mar 19, 2010

Hey admiral what kind of overclocking do you think I could achieve with the parts you chose?

MadAdmiral · Mar 19, 2010

You should be able to get a fairly high one. The Hyper 212 is one of the best HSF, and certainly the best under $50. However, I'm not an expert at overclocking, so I can't tell you exactly where you can get with that. You may want to check out the overclocking section of the forum for a better answer. Or try to find some benchmarks.

sam the sound guy · Mar 19, 2010

Well thanks for all your advice man, I am more leaning towards your build than the one I chose. Anyone else have any thoughts of these 2 builds?

coldsleep · Mar 19, 2010

I would say that MadAdmiral's build is about as good as you can get. If you can afford to wait, I would agree that you should just sit and see what happens after Fermi is released and if it affects the market any.

At minimum, waiting a month or two might allow for HD 5970s to actually be regularly available, rather than a small batch coming in and getting bought out within an hour or two.

sam the sound guy · Mar 19, 2010

admiral, for the windows you chose, whats the deal the the OEM exactly, I see this is 64-bit only and not 32-bit as well, but thats fine I dont need 32, but am I wrong thinking that you can only install OEM versions on a PC once, even if I say uninstalled it from one computer and installed it on another? Is there OEM draw backs?

MadAdmiral · Mar 19, 2010

OEM means Original Equipment Manufacturer. The product itself is the same as Windows 7 Home 64-bit. Here's what's different:

1.) You only get either 64-bit or 32-bit. That's fine because you should only be using 64-bit now anyway. I believe you also only get one language, but I don't know if that's because it's OEM.

2.) You can only install the OEM version on a single PC. It ties the license to that exact motherboard. You can sometimes get them to reactivate the key if the motherboard must be replaced, but you shouldn't bank on it.

3.) You don't get tech support. But how often have you had to call Microsoft about Windows?

4.) It's a hell of lot cheaper. It's so cheap that you could easily buy two OEM copies for one retail.

sam the sound guy · Mar 19, 2010

cool so I can still format and reinstall onto that same mobo if I ever needed to? Also is that mobo mid-atx or full?

MadAdmiral · Mar 19, 2010

Yes. There isn't a mid ATX or full ATX. There's micro, ATX and extended. It's a regular ATX board. The other two sizes are rare.

sam the sound guy · Mar 19, 2010

Oh I see, thanks again guys!

sam the sound guy · Mar 24, 2010

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Gaming PC Build, This Any Good?

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