Building my own gaming rig

[majju2]

First of all, sry if im in the wrong place.

After being fed up with playing on a laptop with small screen and not so nice colours i decided to build my own rig (finally) and my budget is about 1500 euros overall.
I have a good knowledge on computing but I would really use some help about case, motherboard, cpu cooler and sound card.

First lets start with the case. I really like the looks of the nzxt lexa blackline (Yes I know its old, so thats my question) if this case is able to support today's high end pc since its got only 2 fans and its a mid tower case. Please help me here
Or else I was thinking about the Antec 900 seems pretty cool and got good reviews.

I plan on buying latest i7, 4gb ram, HIS HD 6970 and a cheap sound card to support my 5.1 sound system. Could you give me hints as what motherboard i should look for?
And last question would a Corsair 850W power supply be enough?

Thanks!

 

[abully]

€ 1500 euros can get you a pretty good system...

You could go for a good mid or full tower case like Cooler Master HAF series or Silverstone RV02 or FT02... these cases could cost anywhere between € 80-200...

Budget mobos include Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3P, Asus P8H67-M LX

Mid - high end mobos - ASRock Fatality P67 Professional ,Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD7, Asus Sabertooth P67, Asus P8P67 PRO

Dont go for an additional sound card... the inbuilt one in the mobo is more than enough...850W psu is overkill... 500 - 600W should be sufficient...

 

[majju2]

Ok so i will probably get a full tower case cause of better airflow. was undecided by the nzxt phantom or the antec 1200.
dont like the ones you suggested.

fatality mobo looks really good...but how much does it cost?
Mainly im looking for motherboard that will support usb 3.0, i7, latest gpu maybe even sli/crossifre in the future, hd.

 

[abully]

Fatality is about US$ 300 so i estimate around € 250... Antec 902 is a better option than 1200... smaller and same effectiveness...

 

[majju2]

hmm ok than its the phantom vs antec 902.
what about liquid cooling? are fans enough? i really like water cooling but its too expensive + i have never assembled one.

 

[blackhawk1928]

^Yes fans are enough, especially for your hardware. The main purpose of water cooling is for people who like it to be completely silent and people who overclock their hardware to extreme levels and require Xtreme cooling. Unless you fall into one of those categories, regular fans and air cooling should be more then sufficient.

 

[majju2]

Thanks, I ll guess ill just stick with airflow even tough thise floresent tubes look really cool but way too expensive.
Do you guys know/recommand any good cpu cooler for an i7?
What do you think of the nzxt phantom?

 

[jockey]

No need to go full tower, there are plenty of good mid tower ATX cases with good airflow designs and lots of room for cable management. $80 USD range. (Euro is ~0.75 USD) The Antec 900 is a good choice to consider.
I have to agree with abully with onboard sound. Most new mobos have 8 channel built on them. Also agree with his recommending a 550-600W PSU.
As for CPU coolers, I prefer the Cooler Master 212+ or their n520. Well priced and very efficient. Take some time and look over the features/ specs. of the mobos. I personally like the Asus Pro.

 

[haxs101]

Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157217

Don't get a sound card, MOST motherboard now days support S/DIF in/out, and have analog 7.1.

Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

PSU (I have this one with a gtx 580) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005&Tpk=tx650

I suggest ATLEAST 650watt for any MAJOR computer build for gaming. If you're going to go crossfire/sli later, pump it up to a 850watt, also make sure its 80 plus so it doesn't blow up!

And for cooling, noctua is pretty good.

 

[majju2]

Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157217

Don't get a sound card, MOST motherboard now days support S/DIF in/out, and have analog 7.1.

Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

PSU (I have this one with a gtx 580) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005&Tpk=tx650

I suggest ATLEAST 650watt for any MAJOR computer build for gaming. If you're going to go crossfire/sli later, pump it up to a 850watt, also make sure its 80 plus so it doesn't blow up!

And for cooling, noctua is pretty good.

So I wont be buying a sound card but a good modern mobo.
what do you mean make sure its 80 plus so it doesn't blow up!?

Also I have a question related to usb 3.0, if i connect for example an old gamin mouse (mionix sapih 3200) in a usb 3.0 port will it make any difference, or for example a pendrive which is 2.0 with a usb 3.0 port?

About the cpu cooler, I really like the Corsair H50 or maybe h70 which is more expensive, what do you think of them?

 

[majju2]

Thanks, but that did not answer my questions..

 

[majju2]

So I wont be buying a sound card but a good modern mobo.
what do you mean make sure its 80 plus so it doesn't blow up!?

Also I have a question related to usb 3.0, if i connect for example an old gamin mouse (mionix sapih 3200) in a usb 3.0 port will it make any difference, or for example a pendrive which is 2.0 with a usb 3.0 port?

About the cpu cooler, I really like the Corsair H50 or maybe h70 which is more expensive, what do you think of them?

 

[majju2]

case will probably be the nzxt phantom white.
psu corsair 850W.

Im not sure about the gpu either the GTX580 vs HD6970