Budget gaming build

[BenW-50]

Hello,i am planning a build with the following specs works out to about $1260 us

i7 870 oc with hyper 212
maximus 3 formula
1gb nvidia gtx 460
4gb ocz ram gold 1600
cooler master storm scout
ocz fatal1ty 550w
liteon blu ray x8
wd caviar 320gb


1. is this enough to play crysis on high 1080p with 2x aa
2. Is this system likely to become obsolete quickly
Does anyone have any experience with these parts - quality/performance

 

[bavman]

1) Not really. without AA you'll get 25 fps and with 4x you'll get 21 fps. Heres the charts: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-gf104-fermi,2684-8.html

2) If your cpu is overclocked decently and you have 2 460x it'll last you a good while.

3) I'd save some money if i were you and get the i5-760. Its the same as the i7 but doesnt have hyperthreading which doesnt really matter in gaming.

Heres a sample build:

i5-760 + p7p55d-e pro combo: $368
2x 460gtx 1gb: $360
4gb g.skill 1600mhz: $70
haf 922 case: $90
corsair 650tx: $90
spinpoint f3 500gb: $55
hyper 212+: $30
liteon bluray $60

Total comes to : $1122 - $80 mail in rebates = $1042

With 2 460gtx's you can easily now pull off more than 45fps at 4xAA: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-sli-geforce-gtx-480,2694-6.html

 

[wasupmike]

with a ~$1260 budget.. you can do much better than a 1156 platform... go 1366 with a higher-end Intel X58 based system:

- ASUS DVD burner: $17
- Antec 300 Illusion /w 3x120mm fans: $70 ($50 after mir)
- WD Caviar Black 640GB SATA6 7200rpm 64MB cache: $70
- Corsair 650TX: $90 ($70 after mir)
- Gigabyte X58A-UD3R /w SATA6 USB3: $200
- Intel Core i7-950: $295
- Cooler Master Hyper 212: $30
- CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600: $90
- XFX Radeon HD 6950 2GB: $300

TOTAL: $1,122

1366 based system (over an 1156)... much better video card... and you're still under budget..! -> (you can get an SSD too now for the OS and apps.. or save money instead)

 

[bavman]

Theres no real benefit from a x58 build over a p55 build when comparing gaming performance. The only situation would be if you were planning on more than 2 gpus. You'd get about an extra $100 to $150 to spend on gpu from your original budget.

 

[batuchka]

$616AR

+ 2nd HD 6850 $180
$796AR total

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/amds-radeon-6870-6850-renewing-competition-in-the-midrange-market/8

 

[geofelt]

Hello,i am planning a build with the following specs works out to about $1260 us

i7 870 oc with hyper 212
maximus 3 formula
1gb nvidia gtx 460
4gb ocz ram gold 1600
cooler master storm scout
ocz fatal1ty 550w
liteon blu ray x8
wd caviar 320gb


1. is this enough to play crysis on high 1080p with 2x aa
2. Is this system likely to become obsolete quickly
Does anyone have any experience with these parts - quality/performance

You got a diversity of opinions. Let me add my 2 cents:

In answer to your questions.

1) No. It takes a great card to run cryis well at high eye candy.
2) Yes, in about three weeks. Sandy bridge 32nm quads will launch Jan 5. Read some about it here:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3871/the-sandy-bridge-preview-three-wins-in-a-row

Your build is reasonable with decent parts.

But, I would add some considerations.

For gaming, particularly for games like crysis, the video card is all important. Stretch to get the best one that you can afford. See if you can't justify a GTX570. I do not like sli up front, unless a single great card will not do the job. Some games do not respond well to dual gpu's. Only if you will use a 2560 x 1600 monitor or want triple monitors would greater than a GTX470 be warranted.

Nothing wrong with the i7-870. For gaming, I would turn off the hyperthreading to help the OC. I agree that for today, a i5-760 would be just as good. I would plan on a sandy bridge 2500K. Early tests shows it competing with a i7-980X.

Do you need a full ATX motherboard? Today, a mini-ATX form factor usually has enough onboard components, and with 4 slots, sli is still a possibility.
I like the storm sniper case, but there are some really nice micro-ATX cases around. The lian li V354 comes to mind. It comes in silver, black, and red:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112299

Hyper 212 is a good and appropriate cooler. Inexpensive too.

Are you a student with a .edu e-mail? If so, Windows-7 is about $30.

Ram is cheap, consider 8gb in a a 2 x 4gb kit. It is best to get it all at once vs. adding later. Here is a corsair study:
http://www.corsair.com/_appnotes/AN902_8GB_or_More_of_System_RAM.pdf

OCZ is not on my short list of quality psu brands. That would include Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, PC P&C, and XFX.
Here is a nice XFX 650w unit. Modular also:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207002

If you can splurge a bit, budget $100-$200 for a SSD. It will make everything feel snappier. It will be the best $ you spend on performance.

 

[BenW-50]

thanks guys will be going with i5 760, corsair 650tx
still deciding between 6850 and 460 gtx so any help would be appreciated there
Forgot to say 165 dollars was going towards the 1080p monitor and a keyboard

 

[PeterDenStore]

If you can afford it go for the 6950. It smokes the 68xx series, and only falls abit behind the 570 at a much lower price. It is imo the best value highend card.

It really is worth it especially for the newer directx 11 titles which has alot of tesselation, the 6950 is simply superior to the 6850 and even the 6870.

 

[BenW-50]

thanks cant really spend over $200 on a gpu right now
still would like to hear your thoughts on the 460 gtx vs the hd 6850 or any other cards in that price range so that i can spend less now and mabye buy a new card in a couple of years and do cf / sli
Does anyone else have the maximus 3 formula or have any opinions about it

 

[batuchka]

Err the fact of the matter is the worst thing u could do is compromise on GPU for any half serious gaming rig In essence your config is cpu/mobo heavy and GPU lite - even more so with Crysis on the table ^^


The Game Rundown: Finding CPU/GPU Bottlenecks, Part 2
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/game-performance-bottleneck,2738-16.html

Conclusion: A Trend Toward 3+ Cores

The average optimal number of CPU cores suggested by the test results is 2.75, showing a clear trend towards at least three CPU cores.The question of whether the CPU or GPU is most important is easily answered. If you don't have a multi-core CPU, then upgrade it. If you have a dual-core CPU at around 3 GHz, then invest your money into a graphics card, as most games are GPU-limited. This is not something that will change with new DirectX 11 games.

 

[BenW-50]

thanks what about the xfx 5850 1gb is only 210 on newegg. Will that with the i5 760 and maximus 3 formula be enough, considering that sandy bridge has limited overclocking

 

[geofelt]

thanks what about the xfx 5850 1gb is only 210 on newegg. Will that with the i5 760 and maximus 3 formula be enough, considering that sandy bridge has limited overclocking

+1 ^ batuchka
You will get better gaming with a $150 cpu and a $250 gpu than a $200 gpu and a $200 cpu.
... you get the idea.

Once you have a good dual core @ 3.0, it can drive a graphics card that is as good as a GTX570 or similar.

 

[BenW-50]

i dont know i have read some decent reviews on the 5850 it seams like all i would need and it gives me room for an upgrade to cf in a few years. I also will use the computer for office 2007 and music and video in vlc and itunes so i think the $200 cpu is justified.