*PLEASE HELP* Need Advice on $3000 Gaming PC

[pcgamer31]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE : Next Week

BUDGET RANGE: $2500 - $3000

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, CPU
Intel Core i7 950
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4777384&CatId=4072

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg, Tigerdirect

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN : USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: No Preference, Whatever is the best

OVERCLOCKING: Yes , SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I am trying to build a new system, my first custom build. I already have the i7 950. But I need all the other parts. I have always been into water cooling, but I don't know if I need it. I also am unsure if I should wait until the new line of GPU's come out. If I were to buy GPUs now, WHICH ONES WOULD I BUY just out of curiosity. ANY ADVICE WOULD BE APPRECIATED
Thanks.

 

[Guest]

You would want to go with an ATI Radeon HD 5870 or of you're willing to pay more then go with a HD 5970. As for Invidia either a GTX 460 or a GTX 480.

The HD 5870 is better than the GTX 460
The GTX 480 is betten than the 5870
But the best card out is the HD 5970 which won't have a competitor any time soon.

 

[df-1]

LG 24x DVD sata http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136177

coolermaster haf 932 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216

samsung F3 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

4x GTX 480's EVGA http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130552

corsair 1000HX PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139007

6GB 1600mhz CL7 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335

ASUS p6T http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131359

megahalems cpu cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835242001.


$3005
just to give you an idea of what a 3k PC can be. you'll probably need another 1000HX PSU if you're going for 4x GTX 480's.

 

[NeoElemental]

See this chart for price vs. performance comparisons. Honestly, at 3000 dollars you can just buy the best of everything. SLI 480's or even xfire 5970 would be within your budget.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/19404/11

You do not need water cooling. Repeat after me: "I do not need water cooling." Especially if this is your first build.


GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - 270

Has 2 16x lanes, which would definitely be helpful for SLIing two big cards (in this case I'm going to say 2x480's)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128422&cm_re=ga-x58a-_-13-128-422-_-Product


G.SKILL PI 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL6T-6GBPI - 195

Great oc'ing timings. 6GB will be MORE than plenty for gaming purposes.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231352&cm_re=gskill_ddr3_1600_6gb-_-20-231-352-_-Product


2 x EVGA 015-P3-1480-AR GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - 450 x 2 = 900

EVGA is a quality manufacturer. You get a lifetime warranty with these cards. They are AR though (2 x 30)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130552&cm_re=gtx_480-_-14-130-552-_-Product


OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - 270

Vertex 2 is pretty much the top of the line in SSD's currently. 120GB will be more than enough for your boot drive. Drop down to 60GB to save a cool 150 or so.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227551&cm_re=vertex_2-_-20-227-551-_-Product


2 x SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - 2 x 75 = 150

Everyone needs some storage.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&cm_re=spinpoint_f3-_-22-152-185-_-Product


LITE-ON Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Internal Blu-ray Burner 12X Blu-ray Burner with Blu-ray 3D feature Model iHBS112 - OEM - 140

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106346&cm_re=blu-ray_burner_internal-_-27-106-346-_-Product


SPARKLE COMPUTER CORP Gold Class GW-EPS1000DA 1000W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - 250

Don't skimp on your PSU, especially running this many power hungry components (ESPECIALLY with overclocks). Sparkle is a pretty good competitor here, and this PSU is 80+ Gold, which is what you should be looking for, and modular, which is a nice to have with this many components.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817800002


Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - 80

This case should be big enough. The 1200 is just ridiuclous. You could get several other cases in this range (HAF 932, Lancool PC-K62, etc.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&cm_re=antec_900-_-11-129-021-_-Product


COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler - 30

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065


TOTAL: 2285

That leaves you 800 to pick up a nice monitor (or 2 kinda nice monitors). Of course, there is a TON of fat you can cut out here. You could drop down to a single 5970 and save $250, you could nix the SSD or get a smaller drive, but this fits the budget you outlined. This machine is a beast, and could pretty much rape any game out there right now.

 

[sp12]

For 1920*1200 you only need to spend ~1500$ to max every game out there. 1920 is a kinda mainstream resolution.

 

[pcgamer31]

Best answer selected by PCGAMER31.

 

[obsidian86]

this psu is better

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817814010