2000$ CND gaming rig advice.

[sam the sound guy]

Hey everyone, I have posted here before not too long ago asking for build advice for different setup, but now my budget has changed and so have most of my chosen parts.

I am building my second gaming PC, I chose all the parts off newegg.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 released 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, anti-aliasing off most likely for this game), MW2, Bioshock 2, anything on the Unreal 3/Frostbite/Crytek engines. Pretty much all games coming out within the next 2-3 years I want to run at 60fps on max gfx or very close to max (anti-aliasing included )

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: (May)

BUDGET RANGE: (2000 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 )

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: (newegg.com, Tigerdirect.ca, directcanada.ca, ncix.com)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: (North American I guess)

PARTS PREFERENCES: (Intel processor, Full ATX, Crossfire/Sli ready for a card expansion in the future, modular PSU, laser mouse, DX 11)

OVERCLOCKING: Yes, most likely in the future, to help "future proof"

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes, in the future when things start to get sluggish, I will buy another gfx for sli/xfire

MONITOR RESOLUTION: (1680x1050)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: (I would like a quiet PC, Less then 40db spl when not gaming)

Ok the parts:

The Case:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

HDD:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148295

GFX Card:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125319

PSU: (1000 watts for future SLI and overclocking cpu/ram/maybe gfx card too)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256057

RAM:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226121

MOBO: (is this board "future proof" enough? I was thinking of getting the rampage III but it's so expensive, what does the rampage have that this doesn't that's really important?)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131641

CPU:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225

Keyboard/Mouse Bundle:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823204020

Windows 7:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

I want this pc to be quite future proof, that's way decent overclocking room and sli/xfire are important. Though I doubt I will overclock or sli until it starts to get out dated, and if I do overclock, I want to do it on air cooling.

 

[143miah]

Alright so, first off. Nice choices of CPU, mobo, and case. However, if all you're doing is gaming then you could drop that down to an AMD PII 955 or an i5 750.

Secondly, there's a cheaper set of RAM that you can get that has timings just one higher. I think it'd be worth saving all that cash.

Thirdly, you don't need all that GPU power to run things at 1680x1050. A 5770 would do. I'd probably settle for a 5850 or 5870 and just get a new monitor. It'd be well worth it.

If you'd like these changes, lemme know. I can put a build together for you.

 

[sam the sound guy]

thx for the quick reply, I forgot to mention I hope to do a lot of gaming at 1920 x 1080, by hooking my pc up to my TV. Whats the name of the ram you are referring to?

 

[143miah]

I made you a build friend. Includes a new monitor too! Doesn't include shipping and tax however. There's still some headroom though to pay for that.

CPU + Motherboard: i7 930 + ASUS P6X58D-E
RAM: G. Skill Pi Series CL 7
GPU: XFX 5870
PSU: Corsair 850TX
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
ODD: Sony CD/DVD Burner
Case: HAF 922
CPU Cooler: CM Hyper 212+
Monitor: ASUS 24" 1920x1080
Keyboard/Mouse: Same

Total w/o shipping and tax - 1824.89.

That GPU should be able to handle that res with ease.

Changed the RAM to save you a whole lot.

Changed your HDD. The F3 is great for the price.

Added in a monitor since your budget allowed for it.

Threw in a CPU cooler just in case you decided to OC.

All in all, I think it's a great looking build.

 

[sam the sound guy]

Hrmmm I like your choices, but I think I will mix my build with yours, I'm thinking keep the parts I chose, but use the ram and hard drive that you chose. I don't need a new monitor or dvd burner, because the ones I have are good quality and fairly new, and with the use of my sharp aquos I should be good for display. I don't know how many watts i would need for my psu. I want my psu to handle sli or crossfire of either the gtx 480 or the 5870s, On top of an overclocked cpu/ram (this I will do in the future not right away, but I want a psu that can handle it now)

 

[143miah]

Hrmmm I like your choices, but I think I will mix my build with yours, I'm thinking keep the parts I chose, but use the ram and hard drive that you chose. I don't need a new monitor or dvd burner, because the ones I have are good quality and fairly new, and with the use of my sharp aquos I should be good for display. I don't know how many watts i would need for my psu. I want my psu to handle sli or crossfire of either the gtx 480 or the 5870s, On top of an overclocked cpu/ram (this I will do in the future not right away, but I want a psu that can handle it now)

The 850TX should be able to handle 2 5870s and a moderate OC with ease. However, I can't say the same if you plan to sli two 480s. They're very power hungry cards.

Since you do plan to OC your CPU, I'd also recommend picking up a decent cooler. The one I put up should be sufficient. However if you plan on OC'ing a great amount, ie 4.0+ ghz, you could go with something like the Prolimatech Megahelms.

 

[sam the sound guy]

Awesome, yeah I guess I will need to pick up a cooler when I overclock, I may overclock right away if I am unhappy with my fps, but I want to try it out stock first, so for the initial purchase I will hold off on a cpu cooler. But the cooler you chose is the best for the money without a doubt . Now the though choice of going with the GTX 480 or the Radeon 5870. I will most likely SLI/Xfire in a year or two, Maybe less.

 

[143miah]

Awesome, yeah I guess I will need to pick up a cooler when I overclock, I may overclock right away if I am unhappy with my fps, but I want to try it out stock first, so for the initial purchase I will hold off on a cpu cooler. But the cooler you chose is the best for the money without a doubt . Now the though choice of going with the GTX 480 or the Radeon 5870. I will most likely SLI/Xfire in a year or two, Maybe less.

Games are more so GPU limited, so overclocking might not improve your FPS as much as you'd hope.

With the GPUs, I'd honestly go with the 5870. While the 480 is the best single GPU card at the moment, it runs immensely hot and eats power like no one's business.

The 5870 will also handle your resolution of 1680x1050 AND your 1920x1080 with ease.

Here's some benches with the 5870

And here with both the 5870 and 480.