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Gaming PC - $1500-$2000 USD

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Hey all! I'm going to be building a new gaming/personal PC and would appreciate any advice. :bounce: 

1st PC I "helped" build was a 386. So I know a thing or two...... but I'm a little rusty.



Approximate Purchase Date: Within 2 weeks (yay tax return!)


Budget Range: 1500-2000 before rebates. Though 1800 would be ideal.


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Heavy gaming, music, movies, surfing net, perhaps some music editing one day.


Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor (20"1680x1050 will upgrade later), speakers.


Preferred Website for Parts: newegg.com


Country of Origin: USA


Parts Preferences: Intel Sandy Bridge/NVidia


Overclocking: Yes


SLI or Crossfire: Yes, though I'm willing to wait awhile for 2nd GPU


Monitor Resolution: Currently my 20" 1690X1050 max, eventually will get something better unless it's a must to take advantage of the new GPU's


Additional Comments: Basically just looking to find the best bang for my buck as well as room for upgrades. I don't plan on building an entire new system for at least 2-3 years.

Here is what I've come up with so far:

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD7-B3 $319
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

There are cheaper MOBO's but this one has 4 PCI Express 2.0 x16 at x16/x16/0/0 or x8/x8/x8/x8

SLI x16/x16 ftw?

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K - $224
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GPU: EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 $350
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

I could probably do 2 GTX 560's, but I think a GTX570 will do fine for now, I'll slap another 570 on a few months later when the price drops some more. *shrugs*

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) $100-$150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

I believe 8gb's is more then enough at the moment? CAS 7, 7-8-7-24 1600.... looks good to me.

HDD: This is where I'm having a hard time choosing...... I do not need a lot of space. 200-300gb is more then enough. Speed vs $$$ is the issue.

SSD's are fast as hell and I would love one. Vertex 3 120GB would be ideal, BUT they are $300 and NEVER in stock. If I'm going to spend that kind of money on an SSD I don't want to buy the downgrade of the Vertex 3.

So, I figured I might as well wait for the SSD until the Vertex 3 becomes available and hopefully cheaper in the next few months.

In the meantime: 2x "Western Digital RE4 WD2503ABYX 250GB" $69 2x=$138
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

2 of these in raid0 should hold me off for awhile? Maybe? lol

PSU: ? $80-$150

I'm sure I can't go wrong with one of the 750-850w ones I can get in a combo deal. As long as they can run SLI

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

$1598 approx so far.

$1900+ with a Vertex 3 if i could ever find one.

Let me know what you think, I'm very much open to advice.






More about : gaming 1500 2000 usd

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Gaming Authority

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/p67-gaming-3-way-sl... <---- benchmarks for 16x & 16x vs 8x & 8x

You want low voltage RAM for these 1155 boards...as in 1.5v or less. Also RAM timings mean nothing in regards to over clocking with these P67 boards. The cpu multi is isolated.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... Combo Discount: -$20.00 Combo Price: $294.98
GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD4-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR

Combo that gpu with the cpu....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... Combo Discount: -$20.00 Combo Price: $294.98
EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

750w for dual 560's, and 850w for dual 570's. Here's a solid modular psu combo with a reliable quick and quiet h/d.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... Combo Discount: -$20.00 Combo Price: $199.98 $10.00 Mail-In Rebate Card Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $189.98
CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-850HX 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Save $20 on shipping and another $6 on the price for that case...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EPUQAE/ref=ox_sc_a... $154.82 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced Full Tower Case with SuperSpeed USB 3.0 - (RC-932-KKN5-GP)

These Sandy Bridge cpu's run cool as ice. They hit a "ceiling" when over clocking well before they hit the max temp range. Save some $ on the h/s and get a solid one that matches that board and RAM.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $59.99
COOLER MASTER V6 GT RR-V6GT-22PK-R1 120mm DynaLoop CPU Cooler w/ Universal bracket & Dual Fan

Here's a decent deal on a gaming monitor. LED, 2ms, and full HD 1920 x 1080 HDMI

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $179.99 - $169.99 after mail-in rebate card FREE SHIPPING
ASUS VH238H Black 23" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers 250 cd/m2 ASCR 50,000,000:1

*On a side note... I would think about going with dual 560's in SLI right off the get go along with a 750w psu. Two of those cards eat up a 580. Years down the road, ebay them, give them away ...whatever and get whatever's the hot item out there atm.

Here's two decent factory over clocked gtx 560's with great cooling systems.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $239.99 FREE SHIPPING
GIGABYTE GV-N560OC-1GI GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

or this one down below combo's with that 2500K

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $249.99 (Before $20.00 Mail-In Rebate)
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

Now with the $$$ saved screw off the RAID 0 and go with a SATA III 120GB SSD.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $274.99 FREE SHIPPING Limited time Shell Shocker® deal
Intel 510 Series (Elm Crest) SSDSC2MH120A2K5 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

ooooh nice..... Thanks for all that!

I do have one question in regards to SLI. Is SLI more for multiple monitors? Or is there a good increase in gaming performance in general. I would imagine both?
Gaming Authority

MiZrY said:
ooooh nice..... Thanks for all that!

I do have one question in regards to SLI. Is SLI more for multiple monitors? Or is there a good increase in gaming performance in general. I would imagine both?

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-560-ti-sli-re... <---- That's a review of 560's in SLI at stock speeds. Those factory over clocked 560's in SLI get way better scores than those benchmarks. These cards in SLI are bad to the bone.

http://www.google.com/#q=gtx+560+sli+review&bav=on.2,or...
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Gaming Expert

Quote:
I could probably do 2 GTX 560's, but I think a GTX570 will do fine for now, I'll slap another 570 on a few months later when the price drops some more. *shrugs*


Two 570's ($670) score 873 fps in Guru3D's game suite test .... Two 900MHz 560's ($480) get 862 .... $190 worth 11 fps ?

RAM - Don't worry about voltage:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-vengeance-c...

I have had good success w/ these ..... 8 builds using them all running heavily OC'd:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

SSD- Watch newegg at arond 12:30 am .... that's when I grabbed mine. Amazon often as too.

Case - I'd opt for HAF-X or DF-85

PSU:

CP-850 in DF-85 is least expensive option by far
XFX Black Edition 850 in HAF-X or 932 w/ twin 570's
XFX Black Edition 750 in HAF-X or 932 w/ twin 560's

HD - Pick the one that works best in apps you use as there is mo overall winner:
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-3.5-desktop-har...[2777]=on&prod[3016]=on&prod[2365]=on

Cooler - On LGA 775 Noctua still tests very well. In 1366/1155/1156 less so because of different heat signatures and it's fallen out of the top dozen.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_conten...

Thermalright Silver Arrow scores gets the top scores I have seen on 1155/1366 but truth is, that it's far more cooler than is needed for SB

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_conten...

Quote:
I think the Silver Arrow represents the ultimate air cooler than can be built and still fit within the constraints of an ATX motherboard and a standard computer case. .....It's almost ironic that coolers like this are becoming available just as processors transition to designs that may ultimately render them unnecessary; even overclocked to 5GHz, an Intel Sandy Bridge 2600K doesn't need anywhere near this level of cooling. Still, it wouldn't hurt, and as I noted earlier, there are still CPUs out there that can benefit from it.








Ok, so thanks to suggestions I've been able to bring this build to $1598 before rebates etc.

Motherboard: ASRock P67 EXTREME6 $209
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Looks like a great board at an even better price.

Ram: Mushkin Enhanced Redline 8GB $144
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Sexy Ram!

Case and PSU: $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

Hopefully the case/psu will work for 560's SLI

CPU and GPU: $464
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

Good deal!

OS and SSD: $368
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

Another nice deal..... but i want a vertex 3! Will try and get a Vertex 3, but if i cant this will work as a good OS boot drive I think.


Cooler: CM Hyper 212 $35 I'm sure this should be just fine.... not looking to OC to 5ghz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Monitor: $213 w/ cables
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


I realized I have a few HDD's lying around that will work just fine. Hopefully that PSU can handle 2 560's. I'll wait on getting another 560 for a couple of months though. Cooler should be ok, since these SB OC easy shouldnt have problems with over heating. Only issue with the cooler is I hope it fits in the case i selected.

Anyways, we are getting places! Still have time to decide, tax return has not shown up yet.

Ok, I think I have a SOLID build now.

Motherboard: ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3) $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CPU/Cooler: i5-2500k/CM Hyper 212+ $252
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

GPU: MSI N560GTX-Ti Hawk GeForce GTX 560 Ti $265
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

RAM/PSU: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB/CORSAIR Professional Series AX750 $250
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-240G $549
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 922 $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

OSMicrosoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Total before rebates/tax/shipping: $1676
Total with tax and shipping: $1815

2nd gtx560 as well as monitor will have to wait a few months. I think this build may be a winner.

I may take out that SSD and get a 2nd gtx560, and get the 120gb Vertex 3 if I can ever find it. I don't have an HD monitor though, so I'll probably just wait for 2nd 560/monitor.




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