Need advice on $1k gaming rig

[aliasxneo]

Greetings,

I'm looking to build a moderate gaming rig for approx $1000 (+- $100). Here are the things that are a MUST for me:

Intel core i5 2500k
Rosewill Challenger (Case)

Love the case, and the cpu is a personal preference. The rest of the stuff I'm not sure about. RAM is pretty straightforward, looking at some 2 X 2 GB G.Skill sticks for about $50. Possibly considering the MSI P67A for a mobo, not sure though.

The main thing is CPU Cooler (obv necessary since intel stock coolers suck) and a GPU. For GPU's, I'm just completely lost. Is 2GB really worth it? Would it be better to setup two 1GB's in a cross-fire?

If anyone has any suggested builds I can work off of, that would be awesome. Thanks!

 

[addison]

Ati 5770 in crossfire would be a GREAT choice cheap and great just 1 single card MAXES bulletstorm and MW2 and those games need A lot of GPU and CPU.

 

[striker410]

For the GPU, there is currently a ATI 5850 on newegg for $139.99. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102932&cm_re=5850-_-14-102-932-_-Product
That is a steal, as the 5850 outperforms the gtx 460 768, and the current 6850.

For the mobo, i would suggest the current favorite on tom's hardware, the ASUS P8 P67 PRO. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131703&cm_re=p8p67_pro-_-13-131-703-_-Product

The processor is an excellent choice, and I would build your necessary parts first, and then go back and revise your GPU choice.

 

[addison]

Those cards are MASSIVLEY long it's not even funny! He will need a full height case one power full PSU! Might be worth it but it will kill the eletric bill.

 

[striker410]

Well as his budget is $1000, it would be a huge bottleneck to get a 5770. I have a Rosewill Challenger, and my GTX 460 fits just fine, and the 6pin connectors are on the side. I understand your loyalty, but a 5770 is just not a good idea in this case.

 

[addison]

I just got one and played the bullet storm demo maxed with no problem with just a single card.

 

[internetlad]

pick up a 6750 and use the firmware mod to clock it like a 6770, that should go nicely with your i5.

 

[aliasxneo]

Those cards are MASSIVLEY long it's not even funny! He will need a full height case one power full PSU! Might be worth it but it will kill the eletric bill.

Is this going to be an issue with the Challenger case?

 

[striker410]

No, that will not be an issue. Addison feels the need to tell people that the only card you should buy is the 5770. In reality, the 5850 is a tiny bit bigger, but has WAY more power. But you need to pay attention to which PSU you get as it uses 2 6pin PCI connectors.

 

[striker410]

And As for your CPU cooler question, the CM 212+ is the prefered cooler it seems: http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Sleeve-RR-B10-212P-G1/dp/B002G1YPH0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304130847&sr=8-1
The standard coolers aren't bad, but if you plan to overclock you should get an aftermarket solution.

 

[striker410]

One more suggestion. If you are really worried about size, I would pony up $5 and get the HAF 912. It's a much nicer case, and has tons more room. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233&cm_re=11-119-_-11-119-233-_-Product

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I can go along with the 2500k easily enough but I simply can not recommend anything with the Rosewill name on it. Build below is $1,009. Handles two cards in SLI easily with a 10.0 rated PSU from jonnyguru.com The cooler beats the Hyper 212 by 7C. To my mind, the factory OC's 560's are the best buy at 1920 x 1200. I just built my son a box w/ two of em OC'd to 1000 Mhz.

Case - $105 - Antec 902 V3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129097
PSU - $110 - XFX 750 WBlack Edition PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207003
MoBo - $395 - ASUS P8P67 Pro http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.622007
CPU - incl above - Intel Core i5-2500K
RAM - $84 - (2 x 4GB) Corsair CAS 9 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145324
GFX - $230 - Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti 900 Mhz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125363
GFX - Later - Same Card as a XMas 2012 present to yaself
HD - $65 - Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 rpm http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
DVD Writer - $22 - Asus 24X DRW-24B3L w/ LS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135221

Add $45 for a top notch cooler and TIM

Cooler - $40 - Scythe SCMG 2100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142
TIM - $5 - Shin Etsu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150080

 

[aliasxneo]

I can go along with the 2500k easily enough but I simply can not recommend anything with the Rosewill name on it. Build below is $1,009. Handles two cards in SLI easily with a 10.0 rated PSU from jonnyguru.com The cooler beats the Hyper 212 by 7C. To my mind, the factory OC's 560's are the best buy at 1920 x 1200. I just built my son a box w/ two of em OC'd to 1000 Mhz.

Case - $105 - Antec 902 V3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129097
PSU - $110 - XFX 750 WBlack Edition PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207003
MoBo - $395 - ASUS P8P67 Pro http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.622007
CPU - incl above - Intel Core i5-2500K
RAM - $84 - (2 x 4GB) Corsair CAS 9 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145324
GFX - $230 - Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti 900 Mhz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125363
GFX - Later - Same Card as a XMas 2012 present to yaself
HD - $65 - Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 rpm http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
DVD Writer - $22 - Asus 24X DRW-24B3L w/ LS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135221

Add $45 for a top notch cooler and TIM

Cooler - $40 - Scythe SCMG 2100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142
TIM - $5 - Shin Etsu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150080

I like the CPU/Mobo combo, but I'm not too informed on that specific mobo.

I used the HAF 932 on my last build and I personally thought it was too big for my liking. Although I must admit the new updated version does look very nice (crazy price tag though).

 

[aliasxneo]

What would be a good motherboard for the 5850?

 

[striker410]

For one, the 912 is smaller than the HAF 932. And the 5850 would fit on pretty much any board, as long as it's a p67 since you are going sandy bridge.
The favorite seems to be the ASUS P8P67PRO, here in a bundle with the i5-2500k http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.622007

It's been used in several TH benchmarks, and seems like a good value.
As jackNaylor said, a GTX 560 ti would be a good choice for a graphics card, although 2 5850's in Xfire are no slouch.

 

[aliasxneo]

I like that combo a lot, but putting two of those in crossfire exceeds my budget fairly quickly. I suppose one should be fine?

So here's what I'm looking at:

Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (Still debating this one with the Antec)
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

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
ASUS EAH5850 DirectCU TOP/2DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5

Scythe SCMG-2100 Sleeve CPU Cooler
ASUS 24X Burner Black SATA Model DRW-24B3LT LightScribe Support - OEM
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

How much power am I going to need, and any suggestions in this area? Also anymore input on the GFX Cards would be appreciated

 

[striker410]

Between the two of those cards, I would pick the GTX 560. I only suggested the 5850 because it was on sale on Newegg for $139. Here's a Tom's recommended 560: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121425&cm_re=gtx_560-_-14-121-425-_-Product

And for power, Newegg recommends a 550 watt psu (roughly), but i would give yourself a little leeway. You could get the Corsair 750TX, which seems to be one of the best rated PSU's: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
With these parts, you will have a solid machine, capable of overclocking through the roof and playing all the latest games for a couple years.