I 2500k build review (for mmorpgs)

[challengepower5287]

GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB

2x2gb DDR3 1600

ASUS P8P67 (REV 3.0)

60GB SATA II SSD

Antec TruePower New 650W + LIAN LI Lancool PC-K7B COMBO

I 2500k


Total: $929.93

dvd drive, os, and other peripherals will be recycled from previous build.

I'll be using this mostly for mmorpgs, which I way I'm considering an SSD. I've also given though to downgrading the GPU to a 460, since mmos are mostly CPU dependent. I struggled most with deciding on a motherboard. Just today I've had 2 motherboards taken from my cart because while I was researching GPU's, it was sold out in the process. Any thoughts?

possible to make this cheaper?

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-P67P3B3&title=ASRock-P67-Pro3-B3-LGA1155-Intel-P67-B3-DDR3-SATA3-USB3-0-A-GbE-ATX-Motherboard $132.99
ASRock P67 Pro3 B3 LGA1155/ Intel P67 B3/ DDR3/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard - P67PRO3 B3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157230 <---same mobo on newegg...but it's sold out atm.

http://www.asrock.com/news/events/201102ex/warranty.html <----- Asrock two year warranty

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=P67%20Pro3 <--- ASRock P67 Pro3

 

[challengepower5287]

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.ph [...] otherboard $132.99
ASRock P67 Pro3 B3 LGA1155/ Intel P67 B3/ DDR3/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard - P67PRO3 B3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157230 <---same mobo on newegg...but it's sold out atm.

http://www.asrock.com/news/events/ [...] ranty.html <----- Asrock two year warranty

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=P67%20Pro3 <--- ASRock P67 Pro3

I always find picking a motherboard the most time consuming part. There are so many bells and whistles, when really all I want is a single GPU system, with overclocking capabilities.

Can I ask you why you prefer this asrock pro3 over others?

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.ph [...] otherboard $132.99
ASRock P67 Pro3 B3 LGA1155/ Intel P67 B3/ DDR3/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard - P67PRO3 B3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157230 <---same mobo on newegg...but it's sold out atm.

http://www.asrock.com/news/events/ [...] ranty.html <----- Asrock two year warranty

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=P67%20Pro3 <--- ASRock P67 Pro3

I always find picking a motherboard the most time consuming part. There are so many bells and whistles, when really all I want is a single GPU system, with overclocking capabilities.

Can I ask you why you prefer this asrock pro3 over others?

I linked that board for the fact it's a single gpu set up that over clocks like a champ.

down below are some reviews on that board

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/ASRock-P67-Pro3-Motherboard/1177

http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/mainboard/asrock-p67-pro3-i67p-p1.html

http://www.pro-clockers.com/motherboards/1803-asrock-p67-pro3-socket-1155-motherboard.html

 

[Svaala]

I would actualy reccemend something a bit stronger then a 460 or 560 for Mmorpgs for example, i do ten man raiding in World of Warcraft with all details at 1920x1080 with a GTx 460 2gb overclocked to 840 core and it bottle necked there reaching 100% at 40 fps some fights, so you could easily run into issues at higher resolutions or more detail as the game expands.

And Two of them in SLI had major issues in RIFT second you flick on Super sampling the things die.

 

[jonpaul37]

What MMORPG's? if you're playing Rift I can tell you that Nvidia cards are favorable and a GTX 560 Ti will almost be able to max it out with AA enabled. If WOW, you will be fine.

 

[challengepower5287]

What MMORPG's? if you're playing Rift I can tell you that Nvidia cards are favorable and a GTX 560 Ti will almost be able to max it out with AA enabled. If WOW, you will be fine.

It's both really, but rift lately.

 

[Why_Me]

What MMORPG's? if you're playing Rift I can tell you that Nvidia cards are favorable and a GTX 560 Ti will almost be able to max it out with AA enabled. If WOW, you will be fine.

It's both really, but rift lately.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-560-ti-gf114,2845-12.html <---- these benchmarks were done with a 2600K at stock settings and with a gtx 560 @ stock settings.

That 2500K can easily be bumped up to 4.4+ghz with that Asrock board, and that factory over clocked Gigabyte 560 your looking at is only surpassed by the Gigabyte SOC version.

In other words you marry that board with that cpu and gpu and you have a very good set up imo.

 

[Svaala]

You guys have to remember when you enter fights such as raid environments in these mmo's they can't be benchmarked, you basicly take your out of combat performance and cut it into thirds. a 560Ti will not make 60 fps i mean sure if thats fine, then its fine but yeah a 560 isn't optimal for These environments unless you OC it.... alot.

 

[Why_Me]

You guys have to remember when you enter fights such as raid environments in these mmo's they can't be benchmarked, you basicly take your out of combat performance and cut it into thirds. a 560Ti will not make 60 fps i mean sure if thats fine, then its fine but yeah a 560 isn't optimal for These environments unless you OC it.... alot.

Out of curiosity what set up are you using (cpu + mobo) ?

 

[Svaala]

MSI 980 A (Am3 nforce 16x pcie2.0) 1090T @ 4GHZ etc etc etc Also i will point out that the 1090T can rival the 920 i7 and i5 760 for WoW so thats kinda moot.

 

[Why_Me]

MSI 980 A (Am3 nforce 16x pcie2.0) 1090T @ 4GHZ etc etc etc Also i will point out that the 1090T can rival the 920 i7 and i5 760 for WoW so thats kinda moot.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/146?vs=288 <-=====As you can see on that link (WoW benchmarks), that AMD 1090T is bottlenecking your system. There's a difference of 50 FPS on those benches for WoW. Big difference imo.

OK then, problem solved.

 

[Svaala]

Again the PRocessor isn;'t the issue here i just pointed out that i reached 100% GPU usage, please read wich would imply that my 1090T that i am dropping later on isn't the issue here, but the fact that world of warcraft and other mmo's can easily take on a mid range card thesedays at HD resolutions when you up the details and go into combat hence if you read my suggestions to the OP in getting a faster card.

 

[challengepower5287]

I've only used newegg to purchase hardware, but have you heard of chiefvalue.com? they're selling the mobo you've recommended with free 3 day shipping.

http://www.chiefvalue.com/product/productdetails.aspx?submit=&item=CE00160163010060&ATTMotherboards%20Intel

 

[Why_Me]

I've only used newegg to purchase hardware, but have you heard of chiefvalue.com? they're selling the mobo you've recommended with free 3 day shipping.

http://www.chiefvalue.com/product/productdetails.aspx?submit=&item=CE00160163010060&ATTMotherboards%20Intel

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=chiefvalue.com+review&aq=0&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=chiefvalue.com+rev&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=94db2b11560bc057 <----- they are owned by newegg

 

[challengepower5287]

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy [...] 11560bc057 <----- they are owned by newegg

your google-foo is strong. thank you so much for your help!

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy [...] 11560bc057 <----- they are owned by newegg

your google-foo is strong. thank you so much for your help!

Actually, thank you I never heard of that site until just now. They have some bargains on there.

I found this psu when I clicked their "SPECIALS" link...

http://www.chiefvalue.com/product-_-productdetails.cv_-_linkid--30011&item--CE00154006010060 Mail In Rebate: -$10.00 Final Price: $79.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX ATX12V / EPS12V 650W - Retail

 

[jonpaul37]

First, i know for a FACT that WOW likes Intel CPU's MUCH better than AMD CPU's, second, i also KNOW that it favors Nvidia as opposed to ATI/AMD. Third, I have raided with my 2600k and 560 Ti and was well above 60FPS with full settings and 8x AA

 

[JackNaylorPE]

MoBo - You picked an Asus board and I'd stick with it. AsRock was created as a subsidiary of Asus to sell to the lower budget market segment. Although AsRock has been spun off as its own entity, their market demographic has not changed. Unless you are really tight on the money side, I'd stick with Asus. A few dollars more for voltage regulation, a few dollars more for better capacitors, can pay off big as your system ages.

If budget is tight, is there anything ya need that is not on the LE version

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131706

RAM - These are cheaper:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145251

60GB is small for practical use of an SSD. Unless you are adept at "cleaning" Wndows, removing patch undo files, dmp files, default document save locations, changing e-mail storage locations, etc, most users I find will grow their original install footprint to 60 GB in 6 months.

I have seen the Asus version of that GFX card overclocked to 1000 MHz on many sites. From the factory (900 MHz) it exceeds the performance of the 6970 and falls just short of the 570 si IMO, it's an excellent pick. I had 6 builds waiting for specific B3 boards, the Vertex 3 and certain CPU coolers (PS brngs rest of parts for 1st one today) and "while their owners were waiting, all but one dropped from single 580's / 590's, dual 6970's and 570's to twin factory OC'd 560's.

I would venture to say that a triple SLI 2 GB version of this card would be a huge seller.

As for the Corsair TX, it's adequate for your usage but any of these would be my choice.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=XFX+650&x=0&y=0

 

[Why_Me]

MoBo - You picked an Asus board and I'd stick with it. AsRock was created as a subsidiary of Asus to sell to the lower budget market segment. Although AsRock has been spun off as its own entity, their market demographic has not changed. Unless you are really tight on the money side, I'd stick with Asus. A few dollars more for voltage regulation, a few dollars more for better capacitors, can pay off big as your system ages.

If budget is tight, is there anything ya need that is not on the LE version

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131706

RAM - These are cheaper:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145251

60GB is small for practical use of an SSD. Unless you are adept at "cleaning" Wndows, removing patch undo files, dmp files, default document save locations, changing e-mail storage locations, etc, most users I find will grow their original install footprint to 60 GB in 6 months.

I have seen the Asus version of that GFX card overclocked to 1000 MHz on many sites. From the factory (900 MHz) it exceeds the performance of the 6970 and falls just short of the 570 si IMO, it's an excellent pick. I had 6 builds waiting for specific B3 boards, the Vertex 3 and certain CPU coolers (PS brngs rest of parts for 1st one today) and "while their owners were waiting, all but one dropped from single 580's / 590's, dual 6970's and 570's to twin factory OC'd 560's.

I would venture to say that a triple SLI 2 GB version of this card would be a huge seller.

As for the Corsair TX, it's adequate for your usage but any of these would be my choice.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=XFX+650&x=0&y=0

http://itshootout.com/r-353/asus-p8p67-le-motherboard-review/p/3/ <---- That's a review of that ASUS P8P67 LE that retails on newegg for $145. That board sucked balls in regards to over clocking.

The other Asus board he has in his original post retails for $165 on newegg which puts the price of this build up. I'm guessing Asus might want to stop hosing peeps with their prices. I mean why pay $5 more for the LE version over that Asrock when it hits a ceiling of 4.0ghz ? Peeps get close to that with an H67 board.

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

It looks like you have a nice build and based on my experience with WOW and Rift you should be able to run both of them well in 1920 x 1080. If you were to add a SSD you most likely wouldn’t see any difference in game but would see a difference in boot times and access time for any software on it. Right now with an older Intel® Solid-State Drive X25-M 80GB I am getting around a 20 second boot time with Windows 7 Pro. With something like the new enthusiast Intel Solid-State Drive 510’s that would be even better. Good luck with your new system and have fun.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[challengepower5287]

Thank you everyone for your help, it's always invaluable before making an expensive investment.

I made a few changes, but here's the build I ordered:

i5-2500K

MSI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (slightly slower than the gigabyte in my initial build, but better reviewed and seemingly more stable)

ASRock P67 Pro 3 (B3) (although this link now shows that it's deactivated...***? bad news?

4GB G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR3 1600

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W

Antec Three Hundred



Should I be concerned about the motherboard? I actually made the purchase from chiefvalue.com, but the P67 Pro3 is no longer listed on their site, and shown as "deactivated" on newegg.

 

[Why_Me]

Thank you everyone for your help, it's always invaluable before making an expensive investment.

I made a few changes, but here's the build I ordered:

i5-2500K

MSI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (slightly slower than the gigabyte in my initial build, but better reviewed and seemingly more stable)

ASRock P67 Pro 3 (B3) (although this link now shows that it's deactivated...***? bad news?

4GB G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR3 1600

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W

Antec Three Hundred



Should I be concerned about the motherboard? I actually made the purchase from chiefvalue.com, but the P67 Pro3 is no longer listed on their site, and shown as "deactivated" on newegg.

I'm not sure what's going on with that. They deactivated some of the asrock P67 mobo's on there and a few Asus boards also. It seems to be all the boards that are out of stock got hit...at least the ones from those two company's. I hope newegg isn't being dicks about not getting enough boards in from those two manufacturers.

 

[challengepower5287]

I'm not sure what's going on with that. They deactivated some of the asrock P67 mobo's on there and a few Asus boards also. It seems to be all the boards that are out of stock got hit...at least the ones from those two company's. I hope newegg isn't being dicks about not getting enough boards in from those two manufacturers.

deactivated is an alarming term though. it is a B3 board though, and from what i've gathered that means it was made AFTER the massive recall?

 

[Why_Me]

deactivated is an alarming term though. it is a B3 board though, and from what i've gathered that means it was made AFTER the massive recall?

(B3) boards are the "fixed/revised" boards...the ones that came out "after the recall". I posted on neweggs forums asking them what the deal is, hopefully I get an answer soon.