New Gaming RIg

[kafkaontheshore]

I would like some advice on this build please. I will mostly be using this rig for gaming. (Looking forward to the Old Republic ) My budget is pretty flexible, but I would like to keep in under $1200 for the tower. I want to run SLI cards and overclock at some point but not right away. I want to go pretty big with the processor so that I do not have to upgrade for awhile. Any thoughts would be much appreciated,

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070&cm_re=i7_2600k-_-19-115-070-_-Product


ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229&cm_re=asrock_extreme4-_-13-157-229-_-Product

EVGA 012-P3-1472-AR GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) SuperClocked 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130549&cm_re=gtx_470-_-14-130-549-_-Product

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428&cm_re=gskill_ddr3_1600-_-20-231-428-_-Product

COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225&cm_re=cooler_master_haf-_-11-119-225-_-Product

Now I need to add an HDD (or is and SSD worth the money?) Then I will toss a random DVD Drive. Any advice on those?


So how does it look?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

Here's what I'd suggest: If you're gaming, you won't see much difference between the 2600 and a 2500, so I'd suggest the 2500K instead at $225 (saves about $110)

Instead of a $265 GTX 470, I'll suggest the similarly performing, but less expensive ($230), GTX 560ti. It uses less electricity, too (needs 24 amps, compared with 38amps).

a HAF X is actually a HUMONGOUS case, I'd suggest dropping down in size to something like a HAF 922, which saves another $90

Go ahead and get a 1 TB Hard drive (A Samsung Spinpoint F3 is good enough at $65, and is often on sale for $60 or even $55).

with the over $200 saved by the other parts, get a OCZ 120 GB Agility 2 drive with is $205.

 

[kafkaontheshore]

Well I got a $20 rebate on the GTX470. (Which only makes a $15 difference.) I should have mentioned that I already have it DOH! Sorry about that. Good advice on the case though think I will drop down a bit. Should I get an aftermarket fan, or wait till I overclock?

 

[farsuka]

Getting an aftermarket cooler never hurts, something like a hyper 212+ is only ~30 dollars and can make a huge difference.

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

Since very few games will take advantage of more than 3 threads so for gaming the Intel® Core™ I5 2500K is really a great processor. I would match it up with a Intel SSD 320 120GB drive with the saving you got you are going to be very happy overall with performance and reliability.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team