New gaming rig. Budget $2000-$2500

purdylink

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May 17, 2011
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Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next two months

Budget Range: $2000-$2500(closer to the lower end)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming/CAD/Video Editing

Parts Not Required: N/A

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: TigerDirect for the most part(no tax) newegg/amazon.

Country of Origin: United States

Parts Preferences: Asus/nVidia

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Yes

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I *had* a PC planned out, but decided I wanted to go another route. Want to keep all components black and red.

What I have so far is...

Case

Choice between two:

Azza CSAZ-1000R Solano 1000R Full Tower Gaming Case
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=41024&sku=A702-0008

Antec DF-85 Black ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129087

-The Azza case appears to fit all my needs, and I love the red interior. Does the Antec case provide anything extra to warrant me paying more for it?

Motherboard

Choice between two:

ASUS Rampage III Formula Motherboard - Intel X58, LGA 1366, ATX, Audio, PCI Express 2.0, CrossFire Ready, SLI Ready, Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, Firewire, USB 3.0, SATA 6BG/s, RAID
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6666334&sku=A455-2997

ASRock Fatal1ty P67 PROFESSIONAL (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157240

-Is the ASRock board any good? I've read a few reviews, but can't seem to determine whether it's worthy or not. Also would have to change my memory choice, but that's not a big deal(and would save me money :p).

CPU

Intel Core i7-2600K BX80623I72600K Unlocked Processor - Quad Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 3.40 GHz, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Retail
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7073159&sku=I69-2600K

GPU

Choice between two:

ASUS ENGTX560 Ti DCII TOP/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II TOP Video Card - 1GB, GDDR5, Overclocked, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), Dual DVI, Mini-HDMI, DirectX 11, SLI Ready
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=86841&sku=A455-0562

ASUS ENGTX570DCII/2DIS/12 GeForce GTX 570 DirectCU II Video Card - 1280 MB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), Dual DVI-I, HDMI, Display Port, DirectX 11, Triple-Slot, SLI Ready, Overclocked
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7280370&CatId=3669

-Plan is to SLI in the near future. Couple questions though.
1.Is a single 560 TI enough to play current/new games at max settings on a 1080p screen?
2.Is there a considerable difference between sli 560 ti and 570 cards?
Memory

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-12GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231358

Monitor

Asus ML238H 23" Widescreen LED Monitor - 1080p, 1920x1080, 16:9, 10000000:1 Dynamic, 2ms, VGA, DVI, HDMI
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6666488&sku=A466-2318

PSU
Corsair CMPSU-850TXV2 Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 Power Supply
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7195039&sku=C13-2804

-Is 850W too much for my set up? I would like to be on the safe side, so any advice is welcome.

CPU Cooler
Sunbeam Twister 120 CW-TWI-120-SV 120mm x 2 MFDB CPU Cooler with Rheosmart PCI fan controller, free TX-4 Thermal Paste Included Inside
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207009

-Chosen for the looks mainly. Any other good coolers out there with red fans/leds? Or ones that I could just change the fan on.

Optical Drive
LG Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 10X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA Super Multi WH12LS30 LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136226

Several questions:

1. Trying to figure out a ssd/hdd set up. What exactly is ssd caching? How is it beneficial to everyday computer use? What would be a sufficient amount of space on a SSD? Also, how is RAID beneficial? I plan on using 2-3 1 tb drives, which raid setup would be the best?

2. Cable Management: I've seen a couple custom computers that use tubing to hide their wires. Anyone know of any tubing that would be good for this?

I've still got quite a bit of leeway moneywise, so any advice on parts is welcome.
 

steven0724

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Aug 26, 2010
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18,540
^ Spot on. Some other issues here too:

-I don't have any experience with ASRocks but I hear good things. Also check out ASUS P8P67 Pro or Deluxe models if you're interested. Have you considered Z68?

-560ti should be fine but I do like my 570

-You've also got a triple channel memory set with a dual channel chip set. Toms did a P67 memory review not to long ago. I think the kingston hyper x set was recommended.

-For SLI and OCing I think 850 should be good. Not sure I would recommend dropping to 750.

-Personally, I'd look into the CM Hyper 212+ or for a bit more coin you can grab a Noctua NH-D14. Both are excellent.

-Both cases you picked have cable management systems. The Cooler Master HAF 922/932 are also excellent choices. Come in red too I think.

Hope this helps
 

purdylink

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May 17, 2011
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Completely missed that about the motherboard, thanks for that ^^.

-I haven't really considered Z68 because i'm not too sure on the differences between it and other motherboards. Unfortunately, I'm limiting myself by wanting to keep a black/red theme going on, so my choice in parts won't be as plentiful as I would want it.

-The triple channel memory was chosen for that first mobo which ran triple channel, but since I'll be using the ASRock, i can change it.

-Question about the GTX 560 Ti's: Is it worth the extra money to get a factory overclocked card? From the reviews I've read, the Galaxy's 560 is easily overclockable to the levels of the card I have posted, and is about 35 bucks less.

-Up in the air between the Hyper 212 and the Sunbeam, probably just gonna come down to which one I think looks better...

-Still unsure about an ideal ssd/hdd setup, any thoughts on it would be appreciated.
 

mjmjpfaff

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hyper 212 plus all the way at amazon for 28$ or this one- http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-V6GT-220-Watt-RR-V6GT-22PK-R1/dp/B003XNG6LI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1306558179&sr=1-1 better and quieter than the hyper 212 plus (id get this one). i oc'd my evga 560 ti from 850mhz to 960mhz with a voltage bump to 1.062v through msi afterburner get 2 560ti's if you can afford them they are great cards but one is good enough for right now. as for the case go for this one- http://www.amazon.com/NZXT-Crafted-Tower-Steel-Chassis/dp/B004MYC6O8/ref=sr_1_17?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1306557911&sr=1-17 . this ram is good (8gb is enough)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460&cm_re=8gb_sniper-_-20-231-460-_-Product . that asrock board is very good i actually prefer asrock over asus because of my bad experiences with them. corsair tx 750 psu. hdd- 2 samsung spinpoint f3 1tb in raid 0. no need for ssd (because they are so expensive) but if you want wait till t the corsair force 3 comes out.

 

purdylink

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May 17, 2011
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Really like the black case of that, though I don't know if I'd be willing to shell out another 40 bucks for it, meh. For that memory you selected, from what I read, can't that asrock board only support memory that's stock 1600 mhz? *If* I go with an ssd, I'd most likely pick a z68 board so I could utilize RST