2500k $1400 gaming build

[lurkingturtle]

Hello and i wanted to ask some general opinions on the hardware Ive selected for my build
this is my first build ever but im familiar with terminology and such worked at my school's IT department for a bit
My budget obviously is 1400 buckaroos and i plan mostly to do gaming and maybe a little bit of CADD in the near future

i5 2500k (given) i don't plan on chaning my mind on this one
mobo - p8p67 deluxe asus - i'm keeping an open mind on the motherboard i want to hear some suggestions and yes i know its not exactly cost effective compared to an asrock p67 extreme4 but i just want to keep it simple and have good experience with asus in the past (the pro vesion has had problems otherwise i would get that)
graphics card -HIS IceQ X Radeon 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5, this is another i need help with i might do crossfire down the line. anything in the 300 dollar range is what im looking for
PSU - corsair 750hx or corsair gs700 700w gaming series not sure on this one either just need to know which one would be better have heard good things about cosair's PSU
memory - corsair vengence 1600 2 x 4gb

case, hard drive, etc not to worried about for the moment just the essentials

 

[lurkingturtle]

f

 

[banthracis]

Fill out the form in the stick, link in my sig. What country you're in for ex is important.

Also, does the budget include the rest of the components?

You can just grab a z68 board instead. Plenty of great ones ~ the same price as a P8p67 pro.

GA P68 UD3H, UD3P and UD4P.

If you're planning on grabbing a HSF most of high performance ones will have issues fitting with the Corsair Vengence.

 

[lurkingturtle]

Approximate Purchase Date: the next week or two month at max

Budget Range: 1400


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Cadd

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, and case


Preferred Website - newegg, tiger direct, or amazon

Country - US

Parts Preferences - i5 2500K, ASUS mobo, HIS IceQ turbo x readeon 6950 2gb, corsair HX750 Psu, corsair vengence 8gb (2 x 4gb)


Overclocking - yes

Crossfire - yes (after some time not right after finished build)


Monitor Resolution - 1920x1200

 

[banthracis]

For that res, you don't really need a 2gb GPU. You don't run into memory issues until you use eyefinity. 2560x1600 may benefit from 2gb, but diff is minimal and varies a ton depending upon game and settings.

GA z68 ud3p for $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128493&cm_re=z68-_-13-128-493-_-Product

If you're overclocking a lot you'll probably want a aftermarket cooler, so forget the vengance RAM.

Great deal this G Skill 8gb kit right now
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460&cm_re=g_skill_sniper-_-20-231-460-_-Product

Long as you don't plan on eyefinity, this 1gb 6950 for $223 AR is a good choice
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102921&cm_re=6950_1gb-_-14-102-921-_-Product

HX 750 is a good PSU, but it's a old design now.

A good value is this kingwin 700w gold for $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121077&cm_re=kingwin_psu-_-17-121-077-_-Product

If you don't want modular, the XFX 750 Core edition or new TX 750 are good deals.

Case choice is also actually pretty important in that you want something that is capable of holding and cooling a xfire setup with overclocking.

Under $100 choices are HAF 922, Antec 300 illusion, CM 690II, Antec 900.

~$50 you can grab a rosewill destroyer.

 

[vibhas]

For that res, you don't really need a 2gb GPU. You don't run into memory issues until you use eyefinity. 2560x1600 may benefit from 2gb, but diff is minimal and varies a ton depending upon game and settings.

GA z68 ud3p for $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128493&cm_re=z68-_-13-128-493-_-Product

If you're overclocking a lot you'll probably want a aftermarket cooler, so forget the vengance RAM.

Great deal this G Skill 8gb kit right now
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460&cm_re=g_skill_sniper-_-20-231-460-_-Product

Long as you don't plan on eyefinity, this 1gb 6950 for $223 AR is a good choice
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102921&cm_re=6950_1gb-_-14-102-921-_-Product

HX 750 is a good PSU, but it's a old design now.

A good value is this kingwin 700w gold for $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121077&cm_re=kingwin_psu-_-17-121-077-_-Product

If you don't want modular, the XFX 750 Core edition or new TX 750 are good deals.

Case choice is also actually pretty important in that you want something that is capable of holding and cooling a xfire setup with overclocking.

Under $100 choices are HAF 922, Antec 300 illusion, CM 690II, Antec 900.

~$50 you can grab a rosewill destroyer.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371050&Tpk=hcg%20900
This 900 watt psu (non modular) is 80 plus bronze certified, and got 9.5/10 on jonnyguru. Its only $110. The HX 750 is modular, $125 silver certified, but paying $15 for 150 less watts (it got 9.6/10 from jonny, again excellent) is not a decision i'd make,especially since the hcg900 is a very recent psu.

I'd also say consider the GTX 570.

Heres the 6950 1gb vs the $290 GTx 570.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/331?vs=306
The first 4-5 tests are fairly even between the 2, but after that there is complete dominance. The GTX 570 becomes on average 15-20 % better. The most significant difference is when the gtx 570 gets 91fps and the 6950 1gb gets 23 on the same game/settings.

heres a $290 gtx 570 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162075&cm_re=gtx_570-_-14-162-075-_-Product

heres a $315 EVGA (lifetime warranty, factory super over clocked gpu):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130622&cm_re=gtx_570-_-14-130-622-_-Product ($40 rebate). Just consider it; the GPU is the most important part in the system for performance - Thats where the most money should go. The HCg900 watt will take anything up to and including 2x GTX 580s. The 570's will easily be tamed buy the psu, no matter how much overclocking you are doing to your gpu and cpu.
If you are overclocking, you need some cpu coolant to keep it cool when ocing.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

The RAM my colleague has suggested is the best deal on newegg at the moment so GET THAT NOW The i5 2500k cpu is the best choice for you if you are overclocking..

 

[mjmjpfaff]

i5 2500k
hyper 212 plus at amazon for 28$
asrock p67 extreme4 at amazon for 160$ no shipping costs unlike newegg i switched to this board after a faulty asus p8p67 pro b3 board and i have never looked back this board for the price is unbeatable
psu- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371050&Tpk=antec%20900w -this is a great deal
that ram you first posted is good

 

[banthracis]

@vibhas, op is gaming at 1200p. Per the benchmarks you linked, the 69501GB will run any game at that resolution fine. Indeed, the extra power of the GTX 570 pushed FPS to well above 60 a lot of the time. Considering that his monitor won't display more than 60FPS, the extra power is wasted. Hence, the lack of need to spend the extra money to get one.

 

[vibhas]

@vibhas, op is gaming at 1200p. Per the benchmarks you linked, the 69501GB will run any game at that resolution fine. Indeed, the extra power of the GTX 570 pushed FPS to well above 60 a lot of the time. Considering that his monitor won't display more than 60FPS, the extra power is wasted. Hence, the lack of need to spend the extra money to get one.

I'm relatively certain that the 6950 1gb runs some of those games at under 25fps. Also, if OP is playing crysis1/2 at high settings, the 6950 1gb is inadequate. Furthermore, with a budget of $1400, and when buying processors like the i5 2500k, i'd like to think the gpu should be top class. The GPU is the most imp. as you know, so why not spend more on that - its got the most influence by far on performance when you game. "Excellent 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance in most games" is the GTX 570 - 1920x1200 isn't 'below' the 570 - Even the 570 gets 30-35fps in a few of those benchmarks for current games (on high detail), but in a year or 2? Its going to struggle in some no doubt.

 

[banthracis]

Well the future need of games really depends on the console market. Until they push out next gen consoles, all the major games being made won't take advantage of modern GPU capabilities simply because the games are designed to work on the 5 yr old hardware on consoles. To date, Crysis 1 is still one of the hardest to run games, and it's 4 years old now.

I agree though that a single 1 gb 6950 may not be sufficient if the OP moves to a larger res or for some reason a more intensive game comes out. However, there really isn't a game that the 570 plays fine (above 40FPS average) that the 6950 does not.

I agree with you that the OP should get a good GPU, I'm just talking in terms of cost effectiveness. The OP can get away with a $1000 build with about the same performance so I think it's it's something worth trying out.

So if/when a single 6950 doesn't suffice, the OP can just throw in a second 1 and problem solved. The same can be said for starting with a GTX 560 and SLI ing when needed. However, the 6950 actually scales better and nets you on average 10% more performance for ~10% more cost. The 570 nets you another ~10% more performance over a 6950 1gb, but cost's 38% more money right now, making is a poor value in comparison.

The bench's put a GTX 570 and HD 6950 1gb at the same FPS in crysis, 48.6 @1920x1200, though the 570 does have a slightly higher min FPS.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4137/amds-gtx-560-ti-counteroffensive-radeon-hd-6950-1gb-xfxs-radeon-hd-6870-black-edition/5

The results should be same in the comparison you linked, but anandtech's bench is down right now >.<

 

[vibhas]

Well the future need of games really depends on the console market. Until they push out next gen consoles, all the major games being made won't take advantage of modern GPU capabilities simply because the games are designed to work on the 5 yr old hardware on consoles. To date, Crysis 1 is still one of the hardest to run games, and it's 4 years old now.

I agree though that a single 1 gb 6950 may not be sufficient if the OP moves to a larger res or for some reason a more intensive game comes out. However, there really isn't a game that the 570 plays fine (above 40FPS average) that the 6950 does not.

I agree with you that the OP should get a good GPU, I'm just talking in terms of cost effectiveness. The OP can get away with a $1000 build with about the same performance so I think it's it's something worth trying out.

So if/when a single 6950 doesn't suffice, the OP can just throw in a second 1 and problem solved. The same can be said for starting with a GTX 560 and SLI ing when needed. However, the 6950 actually scales better and nets you on average 10% more performance for ~10% more cost. The 570 nets you another ~10% more performance over a 6950 1gb, but cost's 38% more money right now, making is a poor value in comparison.

The bench's put a GTX 570 and HD 6950 1gb at the same FPS in crysis, 48.6 @1920x1200, though the 570 does have a slightly higher min FPS.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4137/amds-gtx-560-ti-counteroffensive-radeon-hd-6950-1gb-xfxs-radeon-hd-6870-black-edition/5

The results should be same in the comparison you linked, but anandtech's bench is down right now >.<

I'm relatively sure there was a benchmark either at 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 where the 6950 1gb got 22~fps. The 570 got 88~. The GTX 570 is $290-310~ the 6950 $210-230. 38% gives a misrepresentation somewhat.. Someone may be willing to pay $1.38 if someone is $1, but not 138000 compared to 100000. In addition, we need to consider the percentage difference to the whole system in that case.. dollar terms are so much more malleable and understandable.. For fps im forced to say 'approximately 15~%' however, for a dollar diff of around $80~. Having a 1200~ dolla system running 15% faster than a $1120 system in fps for a GAMING system is pretty good. 15% extra performance for $1200, compared to 15% less performance for $1120. Thats what we are really looking at.