Need help fast please!

[cyric1966]

My wife just gave the go ahead to spend $1500 on a gaming tower and I want to order it asap before she changes her mind. Can you guys help me with the build?

I have monitor, keyboards, mouse etc, just building a tower.

I want:
Intel System
Windows 7 64bit
Quality full size tower
SLI would be awesome, I may eventually play this on a big screen. (I prefer Nvidia but not a deal breaker)
SSD at least for the OS
The best I can get for the money,,, over kill is OK!

I dont want to wait for Z68 and I dont care about USB 3.0 crap

So , If you had $1500 to spend on a tower today what would you build for yourself?

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

Take a look at my build. Drop the Intel® Core™ I7 2600K down to the Intel Core I5 2500K and then change the board to a P67 based board maybe an Asus or Gigabyte and then use the money saved on the processor to upgrade to a newer video card. That should get you set.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[someone19]

My wife just gave the go ahead to spend $1500 on a gaming tower and I want to order it asap before she changes her mind. Can you guys help me with the build?

I have monitor, keyboards, mouse etc, just building a tower.

I want:
Intel System
Windows 7 64bit
Quality full size tower
SLI would be awesome, I may eventually play this on a big screen. (I prefer Nvidia but not a deal breaker)
SSD at least for the OS
The best I can get for the money,,, over kill is OK!

I dont want to wait for Z68 and I dont care about USB 3.0 crap

So , If you had $1500 to spend on a tower today what would you build for yourself?

1

Fractal Design Define R3 Black ATX Mid Tower Silent PC Computer Case

Fractal Design Define R3 Black ATX Mid Tower Silent PC Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811352002
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy




$109.99

1

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822152185
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$5.00 Instant



$69.99
$64.99

1

MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video ...
Item #: N82E16814127565
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy

-$10.00 Instant
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate


$259.99
$249.99

1

SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817151093
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy




$89.99

1

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL
Item #: N82E16820231426
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy




$84.99

1

ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813157229
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy




$159.99

1

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
Item #: N82E16819115072
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy




$224.99

1

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit English 1-Pack

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit English 1-Pack - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116986
Return Policy: Software Standard Return Policy




$99.99

1

Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Item #: N82E16820148348
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy

-$15.00 Instant



$269.99
$254.99

Subtotal: $1,339.91

You can add a second of the video cards now, and hit your budget, or leave it out and be under budget. Should be a solid build however.

 

[cyric1966]

Thanks guys! I just got back home and will punch these into newegg and take a look,

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129087

HDD:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Monitor:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052

GPU: You can always add a second later.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130610

RAM:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231430

Motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128478

CPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

SSD:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148348

PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021


$1587 with $20 mail in rebates. Add $30 for a hyper 212+ for overclocking. Just saw you have a monitor. So subtract $179 and add $100 for Windows 7 x64 Home Premium.

 

[cyric1966]

Best answer selected by cyric1966.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Glad we could help. You build that and you will have a nice looking slamming fast machine.

 

[photonboy]

Other points:
- NCIX is a great place to start
- to be CLEAR, the graphics card is almost always the weak link when building a high-end gaming system. Always start designing with the graphics cards in mind. For example, my HD5870 was $450 but uses on average 30% of my CPU which was $220
- If I had $1500 I'd use two GTX 560Ti graphics cards in SLI without a doubt. Not only is this a great value, but it spreads out the heat versus a single, more powerful card which reduces noise.



*You should get some hints from some of the recent Tomshardware builds as well.

I do build computers and used to maintain Radar systems so I have some knowledge. Here's my two cents:

1) Windows 7 x64 Premium OEM
2) case: Antec 300
3) heatsink +120mm fan (CPU) http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=53611&vpn=CAFA50&manufacture=Corsair
4) 8GB DDR3 1600MHz (2x4GB) http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=57078&vpn=CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9&manufacture=Corsair
5) motherboard 1155 P67 (i think the following is a good choice) http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=59317&vpn=P8P67%20PRO%20R3&manufacture=ASUS
6) Intel 2500K unlocked http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=57962&vpn=BX80623I52500K&manufacture=Intel
7) audio card? (wait and see if onboard is good enough. I'd spend $100->$150 for audio card and $150 on 2.1 speakers)
8) DVD burner http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=42349&vpn=SH-S223L%2FBEBS&manufacture=Samsung
9) PSU (850W to 1000W for 2x560Ti. Look for SALES. Read comments/reviews. Quality PSU is very important. Antec, Corsair, Silverstone.)
10) 1TB WD Black hard drive (recommend a USB drive or WD Green internal for Image backup of Windows. Can use an old hard drive.)

Minor points:
- flash DVD burner firmware to latest (for disc compatibility)
- monitors: very important to read reviews, but in general it's best to get one with these specs: 1920x1080, 22" to 24", good reviews http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=35314&vpn=W2442PA-BF&manufacture=LG%20Electronics (investigate no dead-pixel warranty)
- XBox 360 wireless controller for PC (look for sales, make sure you get the correct controller). If you've never used an XBox controller they're AWESOME (use for all RACING games, Batman AA, Assassin's Creed etc. but not shooting games)
- 4xAA rechargeables and recharger for XBox 360 controller
- STEAM software (steam constantly has sales on games. I got Batman AA for $7.50 and many games for only $10)

*Summary:
Start with the graphics. The Asus DirectCU 560Ti is the best value. Get two in SLI:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-560-ti-roundup-asus-engtx560-graphics-card-overclocking,2858-21.html

The only tough decision is the motherboard; note what slots are left over after two graphics cards (do you need a PCIe or PCI slot for an audio card?). Also consider a better audio card but that can be done later. A good audio card only shows its quality with reasonably good speakers. I recommend a quality 2.1 setup (two front and a subwoofer). Many reviews out there.

 

[photonboy]

Gaming comment:

1) If you have 2x560Ti you can basically run games at the highest settings. The most important settings are AA (anti-aliasing) and VSYNC.

2) AA and VSync sometimes need to be forced. You need to investigate what NVidia program exists for this; the official program may allow forcing these settings for each game or you may need an unofficial program. For example, I use "RadeonPro" to force AA for Mass Effect #1. I use 8xAA and Super-sampling and it looks WAY, WAY BETTER!

3) VSYNC. Serves two purposes. If your monitor refresh is 60Hz and you can run the game higher (say 80Hz) then your CPU and graphics work harder than the display can show which adds heat and noise unnecessarily. It also causes screen tearing which looks very bad in some games. VSYNC should always be on when possible.

Some older games require forcing VSYNC to be on. Even a few newer ones do.

4) FRAPS. I use solely to ensure I get 60FPS solid framerate (to verify VSync is on or to lower Shadows or other settings to raise framerate above 60FPS). May not need FRAPS if your NVidia program shows framerates.

Here's some games I've discovered need forcing either AA, Fraps or both:
- Mass Effect
- Max Payne
- Star Wars The Force Unleashed
- vampire the masquerade
- risen
- the Witcher (VSYNC, though I had it working in the past but it's not working now. Must investigate)
- Star Wars The Force Unleashed 1 & 2 (does NOT WORK. it desperately needs VSYNC but forcing it doesn't work. Very odd for a very new game)

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey