$1000-$1500 gaming pc

[CDish]

Much needed help

Approximate Purchase Date: would like to purchase in the next few days

Budget Range: $1000-$1500 dollars, no rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming

Parts Not Required: (need everything)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: http://www.computerlx.com/config.aspx?t=&product_ID=1638
^^this is the link from the site im purchasing from, thought it might help with suggestions as well since their options are limited^^

Country of Origin: usa

Parts Preferences: looking to build around a intel i5 2500k since it seems like thats the way to go

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Yes

Monitor Resolution: also need a monitor and im wondering what would be the best monitor to get with this build. (are any of the monitors from the website i posted above good?)

Additional Comments: just mainly lookin for a nice gaming pc, looking to get stuff that is going to go good together and be compatible since im new to all this, also its not a huge concern but if possible i would prefer my computer too not be excessively loud.

Here's where im at atm:

Intel LGA 1155 processors: Intel core i5 processors i5-2500k
Intel processor cooling fan: zalman copper deluxe edition cooler lga
MOBO: Asus p8p67 Deluxe
Ram: 8GB(4x2gb)240-pin DDR3 1600mhz(pc3 12800) dual channel
Sata Hard Drive: hitachi/wd 1 tb 7200 rpm 32 mb cache sata 3.0gb/s
dvd-rw burner: 22x dual layer dvd-rw w/lightscribe(promo item)
Video Card: nvidia geforce GTX 460 1gb
sound and network cards: stock (onboard)
case cooling fans: okia 80mm case cooler

current price: 1099.99


Looking for advice to make this build better
also their are other options included as you can see from going to the site: http://www.computerlx.com/config.aspx?t=&product_ID=1638

does anyone recommend:
professional wiring? ($29.00)
Heat spreadors?
hard drive coolers?
sata hard drives 2?
usb cards?
case exhaust fan?

Let me know, keep in mind im very new to computers and parts and have never built one so advice would be greatly appreciated.
thanks!

 

[ubercake]

If you're looking at $1500, I would look elsewhere for the monitor as the monitor prices listed seem high for Asus models.

What size monitor are you looking for?

Also, you have room to upgrade to a GTX 570 or 580 in your budget. I strongly suggest you do so.

One thing that worries me about the site is the fact that you cannot choose the power supply. They are most likely going to slap the lowest common denominator into your machine. This is risky. Or am I missing something?

 

[CDish]

power supply is near the bottom between case exhaust fans and digital card readers.
i was leaning towards the thermaltake 600 watt high performance sli/crossfire power supply, do you think i should get more than 600 watt?


also do you think i should get professional wiring,heat spreadors, hard drive cooler,sata hard drive 2, usb card, or case exhaust fan?

 

[ubercake]

power supply is near the bottom between case exhaust fans and digital card readers.
i was leaning towards the thermaltake 600 watt high performance sli/crossfire power supply, do you think i should get more than 600 watt?


also do you think i should get professional wiring,heat spreadors, hard drive cooler,sata hard drive 2, usb card, or case exhaust fan?

Ah. I see it. Must have zipped through a little too quickly... If you are going to go with more than a 460 as the video card, definitely. If you see this as something you can upgrade one day when you decide to go SLI, then the 600W will be OK for a single card for now. I hit the 750W mark regularly during gaming sessions with 2 580s. The 570 requires only 20W less than the 580. At load a system with 2 570s will pass the 700W mark during gaming sessions.

Here's a decent build with a great power supply, decent mid-tower case, basic monitor, keyboard, speakers from CyberpowerPC.com for $1539:

Case: CoolerMaster HAF 912 Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Adjustable HDD Cage [-17] (Black Color)
Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Default case fans
CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-2500K 3.30 GHz 6M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 (All Venom OC Certified)
Cooling Fan: XtremeGear Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Enhanced Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA) (Single Standard 120MM Fan)
Motherboard: [CrossFireX/SLI] Asus P8P67 Deluxe Intel P67 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ UEFI, DIGI+VRM, 7.1 HD Audio, BT GO! Dual GbLAN, USB3.0, 2x SATA-III RAID, 3 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI [B3 Stepping] [+123]
Memory: 8GB (2GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+310] (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
Power Supply Upgrade: * 950 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-950TX 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready [+135]
Hard Drive: 1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
LCD Monitor: 22" Widescreen 1920x1080 Sceptre X226W 5ms (Viewable 21.5 inch) LCD (Black Color) w/ Built-in D-Sub & DVI Input [+159]
Speakers: 120 Watt Stereo Speakers [+10] (Black Color)
Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
Keyboard: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
Mouse: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium [+104] (64-bit Edition)
Service: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Rush Service: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS

You can always upgrade the system by changing out the monitor and speakers, adding drives or adding the second GTX 570. This system comes with a decent self-contained no-maintenance liquid cooling solution as well. This will save some space around the processor and RAM. CyberpowerPC offers good warranty service (3 years). They usually have a 5 percent off coupon you can google to find the promotion code for.

Either way you decide to go, you don't need to pay for all the extras like the heat spreaders, hard drive coolers, or professional wiring. Hard drives don't need coolers on cases with good airflow. Plus you can grab your own zip or twist ties and "professionally" wire things yourself after you get the PC.

There are already a decent amount of USB connections off the motherboard, so you won't need additional cards. Default case fans are generally sufficient. More SATA drives are a matter of whether you need or want them or not for a particular purpose. One is good to start. You can always add them as needed.

The system above is ready to SLI when you are.

 

[CDish]

thanks for the reply

hmm now im thinkin this but its alot pricier.

Intel LGA 1155 processors: Intel core i5 processors i5-2500k
Intel processor cooling fan: **corsair hydro enclosed water cooling system**
MOBO: Asus p8p67 Deluxe
Ram: 8GB(4x2gb)240-pin DDR3 1600mhz(pc3 12800) dual channel
Sata Hard Drive: hitachi/wd 1 tb 7200 rpm 32 mb cache sata 3.0gb/s
dvd-rw burner: 22x dual layer dvd-rw w/lightscribe(promo item)
Video Card: **nvidia geforce GTX 570**
sound and network cards: stock (onboard)
case cooling fans: okia 80mm case cooler


what was changed:

$75 zalman copper deluxe edition cooler to the $110 corsair hydro enclosed water cooling system

$192 gtx460 1gb to the $408 gtx570 1280mb

$80 thermaltake 600 watt high performance sli/crossfire power supply to the $108 cool master 700 watt extreme power pro

Current price: $1601.99 without monitor

do u think the upgrade in cpu cooler is worth the $35?
do you think the upgrade to the 700 watt is needed? or will the 600 watt be fine until i crossfire because you said id probly need 750+ anyway for that.

also about the monitor, what resolution would be best for this build?

 

[CDish]

p.s.
i plan on sticking with that site because cyberpowerpc seems alot riskier from reviews ive read

 

[ubercake]

I got a PC from Cyberpower with absolutely no problems. I have a cousin that orders from them exclusively and has for years. People are definitely going to gripe on their forums when they have an issue. I would. So you have to take things with a grain of salt.

It's all a matter of choice, though. Getting a great system is the point no matter where it comes from.

That corsair cooler is probably an H70. It has a good design for a P67 board as the RAM and processor area seems pretty cramped. Plus it's light weight so it won't stress the motherboard like 10lbs of aluminum/copper heat sink gravitating floorward. It will do a decent job of cooling, but don't expect miracles out of it.

Considering your power supply choice, if you ever want to go with an SLI setup, I would seriously heed the recommendations on the following page (use the dual 470 as your choice as the 470 uses almost the same amount of power as a 570):

http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html

600W will be fine until you add a second card, but for a bit more cost now, you can know that all you have to do is drop in the new card to get SLI performance. Otherwise, you're going to have to drop $150-200 in addition to the cost of the new video card when you SLI.

Again, I'd refer to the PSU recommendations in the link above under dual 470s. Looking at what they recommend and what's available to you on the site you're going to order from, I'd choose the Corsair 750W at a minimum. The Antec or the Thermaltake is what I'd choose if I were ordering from that site, because that would be one component I wouldn't have to think about over the usage life of the PC.

 

[CDish]

Great suggestion, so from the site im ordering from is the corsair 750 watt high performance the same as the corsair tx750w from the sli recommended psu's?
if so that would work out perfectly because then i can get 1 gtx 470 instead of the 570 and save $108 and dish that into the psu and bring my overall price down to $1505.99 then i can just buy another 470 in the future.

in your opinion how are dual 470s compared to the 570 or higher video cards, and also the 470s compared to dual 460s

 

[CDish]

also how are those cards in regard to a 1920x1080 monitor,
also this monitor seems like a pretty sweet buy, what do you think?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236100

 

[CDish]

nevermind about that monitor im still searching for one

 

[ubercake]

Great suggestion, so from the site im ordering from is the corsair 750 watt high performance the same as the corsair tx750w from the sli recommended psu's?
if so that would work out perfectly because then i can get 1 gtx 470 instead of the 570 and save $108 and dish that into the psu and bring my overall price down to $1505.99 then i can just buy another 470 in the future.

in your opinion how are dual 470s compared to the 570 or higher video cards, and also the 470s compared to dual 460s

I would think it's a TX or HX. Call them about this one to be sure.

The difference between the 470 SLI and the 570 SLI is illustrated well in this review:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-570-sli-review/6

The 570 in SLI gives almost an additional 29% in BFBC2 at 1920x1200. That's pretty substantial. The single 470 by itself won't get you to the 60fps mark (the standard gaming target), though the single 570, for the most part, will stay at or above that mark on a 1080p monitor.

 

[CDish]

Thanks for all the help man, i would of been lost without ya
i put in an order yesterday

i went with the i5 2500k,water cool system, p8p67 deluxe, 750 watts, and the gtx 460, i decided to go with the 460 because i figured 2 460s sli is better than buying a higher single.

i do have another question for ya if u dont mind
i still need a monitor and noticed in the combo deal on newegg they have a monitors with the gtx460 (fermi). can i sli the regular gtx460 with the fermi?

 

[ubercake]

Did you call them about the PSU? Whether it's the HX or TX (my guess is it's the award-winning TX since it's not modular and runs a little less $$), you'll have enough to power your 460s in SLI.

Did you get the 1GB or 2GB 460?

SLI requires both cards are the same model (ie 460) and have the same amount of memory (ie 1GB). They can have different clocks and be different brands, but the model and memory have to be the same. Just make sure you chose the 1GB in your PC order before going with one of those combos. Also, the Samsung 23" combo has a monitor that comes with 3 years of parts and labor warranty, while the others come with 1 year. The Samsung has the best response time and compared to just about any brand in any price range, they have a better picture. On the other hand one of the LG 21.5" combo offers $150 savings. Personally, I wouldn't go with the Hannspree because this is generally the lower-end offering everywhere.

 

[CDish]

ok i think i understood but just to be sure you said i can use the gtx 460 1gb with the gtx 460(fermi) correct?

 

[ubercake]

ok i think i understood but just to be sure you said i can use the gtx 460 1gb with the gtx 460(fermi) correct?

They're both Fermi cards. The 460 is a Fermi card. That's what I meant.

The place you ordered from offers a 1GB and a 2GB 460. Which did you order?

 

[CDish]

http://www.computerlx.com/print_page.aspx?product_ID=27
yeah the 1gb, im scared to add another lol static might fry my new comp

so all these cards can be used together right:
http://www.computerlx.com/print_page.aspx?product_ID=27
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127510
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125345

if they are compatible together i think im gunna get that cyclone/lg combo deal, the other ones pretty expensive

 

[CDish]

also about the power supply i didnt call but it seems to be the tx judging from the pic.
http://www.computerlx.com/print_page.aspx?product_ID=1068
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

 

[ubercake]

Any of those 460s will work together. Again, the key is they all have 1GB of memory.

That's good news on the PSU.

That will be a great setup with two 460s running.

 

[CDish]

Best answer selected by CDish.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey