Gaming PC in the making

[BlazinShadow]

Hi everyone at tom's hardware. I was wondering if you guys can help me in making an awesome gaming system. I selected a few items below. Let me know if it will be good or not. Any suggestions is greatly appreciated. Thanks

Approximate Purchase Date: This week or next week
Budget Range: $1000 – $2000 more or less Before Rebates
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Video Editing, Photo Editing, Internet Surfing, Music
Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, Headset, Monitor
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com, Frys.com, Amazon.com, MicroCenter.com
Country of Origin: USA
Parts Preferences: Asus Motherboard
Overclocking: Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: Yes in the future
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200
OS: Most likely Windows 7 64 bit
Additional Comments: I want to have a good FPS when playing most games and a system that keeps cool and doesn’t overheat. A lot of fans are more preferred then liquid cooling.
So far this is what I been looking at. I wasn’t to sure if I should go with the i5 2500k or the i7 2600k. I want to get the one that will give me better performance in games now and for a couple years to come.

Motherboard:
ASUS MAXIMUS IV EXTREME (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131700

or
ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131701

Processor:
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

or
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

CPU Fan:
Spire TherMax Eclipse II SP984B1-V2 universal CPU Cooler
http://www.amazon.com/Spire-TherMax-Eclipse-SP984B1-V2-universal/dp/B003EI4P38/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305760367&sr=8-1

Video Card: Going to go SLI in the future
EVGA 015-P3-1580-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130587

Hard Drive: Buying most likely two of them
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

SSD:
Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148357

Case: Preferably a Mid-Tower, some input on some nice ones would be nice.

Power Supply: Not sure on the size yet

Ram:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

 

[mlcaouette]

For 2 way sli you should get 750watts or higher on the PSU and only buy a quality brand like XFX, Corsair, Seasonic, Antec, etc.

You could combo this M/B with the i7 or i5 and save 25.00, it supports 4 x8 pci-e slots and is the newer z68 chipset:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128499&cm_re=z68-_-13-128-499-_-Product

And Asus should be releasing their high end z68 M/B soon I saw something about it on facebook a few days ago.

 

[mjmjpfaff]

those mobo's are wastes of money get the p8p67 evo asrock extreme4/ extreme6 (asrock is owned by asus). get the i5 2500k you wont see any performance boost in games if you get the 2600k. get this cpu cooler- http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Overclocking-Universal-Cooler-CLP0564/dp/B003DW0GO2/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1305763680&sr=1-7 . get the samsung spinpoint f3 1tb at amazon for 604 free shipping. with the money saved get a bigger ssd 120gb intel 320 series will suffice or the vertex 2. the cooler master haf 922 is a nice case for 98$ in amazon. also you might want to look into the 6970 cf it has better framerates than the 580 sli in some games guess you will just have to look up which card suits what games you play

 

[BlazinShadow]

those mobo's are wastes of money get the p8p67 evo asrock extreme4/ extreme6 (asrock is owned by asus). get the i5 2500k you wont see any performance boost in games if you get the 2600k. get this cpu cooler- http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Overclocking-Universal-Cooler-CLP0564/dp/B003DW0GO2/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1305763680&sr=1-7 . get the samsung spinpoint f3 1tb at amazon for 604 free shipping. with the money saved get a bigger ssd 120gb intel 320 series will suffice or the vertex 2. the cooler master haf 922 is a nice case for 98$ in amazon. also you might want to look into the 6970 cf it has better framerates than the 580 sli in some games guess you will just have to look up which card suits what games you play

Is there a big difference between the asrock extreme 4 and extreme 6?

That case looks nice and it looks like it should keep the insides cool. Should i change out any of the fans with a different brand to help keep it more cool?

The CPU fan i posted , i thought was ontop of the list at frostytech.com for CPU. But if the thermaltake is better ill get that one.

I think i will go with the HD 6970 cf because i can buy two right away seeing that two of them cost around as much as 1 GTX 580.
Was there a specific brand i should look for when buying the 6970 cf? I was looking at the sapphire brand one.

Thanks for you help btw ^_^

 

[mlcaouette]

The difference is a better power phase design for more stable overclocks and more accessories with the extreme 6. As well as some more headers on the bottom of the board. I personally like this board better than both the asrock ones, cause I feel if I'm paying for an enthusiast board than I should get all the features possible. And you wouldn't do triple crossfire on the Asrock boards anyhow because the bottom slot only runs at x4 speed. Plus this board is just better looking:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128494&cm_re=gigabyte_z68-_-13-128-494-_-Product

 

[cmadrid]

check out the Silverstone Raven rv02 evolution case for max air cooling performance

 

[dalauder]

I'm pretty sure you can do triple Crossfire on 4x. It's SLI that doesn't do 4x.

If you're a hardcore overclocker, you'll notice a difference in your max OC with a more expensive board. That said, is it worth $50 to move from a 4.5GHz final OC to 4.7GHz? Not in my opinion.

Get Z68 because if you ever decide to do video editing or your graphics card breaks, it'll be worth it. I personally would go with the $130 Gigabyte that's out on Newegg now.

Someone said a 750W PSU above for SLI when you were talking about a GTX 580. Get a 950W (see slizone) if you're gonna SLI GTX 580's.

CPU: $215 i5-2500K OC'd to 4.5GHz (adequate for ALL gaming for next two years).

Mobo: $130 GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502&cm_re=gigabyte_z68-_-13-128-502-_-Product

RAM: $75 G.Skill 8GB (2x4GB) 1600CL9 whenever Newegg has a sale

Graphics: $315 Radeon 6970 Get a single and upgrade anytime if you feel it's lacking. There's no point in a SLI GTX 580's since Crossfire 6970's are almost as fast and by the time you find a game they're lacking on, you'll be glad you have the $400 extra to put towards awesome new cards anyways (2x$180 per card + $40 for larger PSU)

PSU: $110 850W Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, XFX. There are some other brands that work too, but be careful outside of that list. A 750W might get it done, but since you're OC'ing I see no reason to go for less.

HDD: $55 Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
These perform as well as Caviar Blacks. It'll be on sale on Newegg.com for $55 sometime in the next two weeks (off and on sale price).

DVD: $22 Anything

Case: $100 Azza Solano 1000. It's your preference. I have a 1000R and am VERY happy ($80), so pick whatever makes you happy. Double check that your case fits a 6970.

TOTAL: $922

Extras:

Graphics 2: $315 Radeon 6970 2GB

SSD: $230 Corsair Force 3 120GB
This drive is MUCH faster than the Crucial one you linked and $40 cheaper than the OCZ Vertex 3 with better IOPS, I think.

EDIT: Personally, I wouldn't build now because I'd wait to see what Bulldozer can do. I'd just upgrade my current graphics. Even if Bulldozer sucks, it'll drop part prices. But more importantly, it might provide support for 2x Crossfire w/ a PhysX card.

If you want to spend more on your motherboard, consider an 1155 board with the NF200 chip so you can run a PhysX card: ASUS P8P67 WS REVOLUTION http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131714&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Motherboards+-+Intel-_-ASUS-_-13131714

 

[pyjamas]

Silverstone FT02 great case for air, researched the heck out of that one...
MOB- i was tied between ASUS WS REV & MAX IV EXTREME, ive opted for the latter
heres a good p67 Roundup!

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/p67_motherboard_roundup/

hope it helps

 

[mjmjpfaff]

this is a build that i built for this competition: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/312826-31-bestconfigs-high-intel-gaming

Intel i5 2500k: 220$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072&cm_re=i5_2500k-_-19-115-072-_-Product

SAPPHIRE PURE Black P67: 230$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813154018

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB): 75$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445&cm_re=gskill_ram_8gb_1600-_-20-231-445-_-Product

MSI R6950 Twin Frozr II Radeon HD 6950 2GB: x3=840$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127588&cm_re=6950-_-14-127-588-_-Product

Samung Spinpoint F3 1TB HDD: 60$ http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1308753807&sr=8-2

Corsair Force Series 3 120GB: 210$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233181&cm_re=force_3-_-20-233-181-_-Product

IN WIN Ironclad: 120$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108230&cm_re=full_tower_case-_-11-108-230-_-Product

PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 950W: 150$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703028&cm_re=pc_power_and_cooling-_-17-703-028-_-Product

CORSAIR CWCH60 Hydro Series H60: 70$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181015&cm_re=h60-_-35-181-015-_-Product

ASUS 24X DVD Burner: 21$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204&cm_re=dvd_burner_asus-_-27-135-204-_-Product

Total: 1996$
change the dvd drive to this one- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289&cm_re=lite_on_dvd_burner-_-27-106-289-_-Product -2$

type in this promo code at checkout for the ram- DM15JN11US for a total of 46$ -11.25$

after rebate the ssd is 180$ -30$

+5$ for this case- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139003&cm_re=mid_tower_case-_-11-139-003-_-Product -you may want to add a couple of fans or stick with the case i originally posted

-25$ for the psu's rebate

change the cpu cooler to the noctua nh-d14 +5$- http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-Heatpipe-Bearing-Cooler-NH-D14/dp/B002VKVZ1A/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1308793391&sr=1-1

change the motherboard to this one- http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-8P67WS3&c=FR&pid=3b62c1f83100b7c9009b869e1fe8c6389f82ab2d7196881ae47393d5c72278b7 +25$

that should still be under 2000$

 

[BlazinShadow]

I pretty much finished building my PC with:

CoolerMaster Storm Scout
AsRock Fatal1ty Motherboard
Intel I7 2600k
EVGA GTX 570 Superclocked
Thermaltake Frio CPU Cooler Fan
Asus DvD-RW
Crosair Professional Series 850W
3x Samsung F3 Spinpoint 1TB
OCZ agility 3 120GB

Its been running nicely for about 2 - 3 weeks now. Thanks for all the help

 

[BlazinShadow]

Best answer selected by BlazinShadow.