Gaming desktop for $4000

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O

Overwhelming

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May 18, 2011
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This is a repost, but my earlier post had some ill-conceived parts. This time, I would really appreciate any help in putting together a whole rig. I am leaning towards the following parts: Sandybridge 2600k, Corsair Obsidian 800D case, 2 X GTX 580 (SLI'd)

Approximate Purchase Date: Mid-June

Budget Range: $4000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, photo processing, coding

Parts Not Required: Completely new system, input is welcome on everything.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Whatever's cheapest

Country of Origin: US

Parts Preferences: Only preference is high quality stuff!

Overclocking: Open to the possibility (noise is a -)

SLI or Crossfire: Yes

Monitor Resolution: 2560 X 1600

Additional Comments: While performance is the first criteria, quiet would be awesome too (and I know there's tension between the two), tips on keeping the noise down would be helpful.
 
O

Overwhelming

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The primary blunder was the 990x processor (significantly more expensive for perhaps worse gaming performance).
 
B

brpeden82

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This build includes Three 3GB GTX 580 240GB SSD 2TB HDD and I7 2600k



Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139001

Western Digital Caviar Black WDBAAZ0020HNC-NRSN 2TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136830

3 EVGA 03G-P3-1584-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 3072MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130655

CORSAIR Professional Series AX1200 1200W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 SLI Certified 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014

G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460

ASUS P8P67 WS REVOLUTION LGA 1155 Intel P67 / NVIDIA NF200 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131714

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 BX80623I72600K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

SONY Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 8X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner BWU-500S
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118049

OCZ Vertex 3 V3LT-25SAT3-240G.oem 2.5" 240GB SATA III - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227730

Scythe SCMG-2100 Sleeve CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142&Tpk=scmg

Total
3,870.01
 
O

Overwhelming

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Nice build. Can't wait to see what other people have to say about this one. However, I think 3 X 580's are a bit overkill, especially with the amount of memory (9 gb!). I forgot to mention that I am planning on the z 5500 logitech speakers, a nice keyboard (TBD), and a coolling system like the H70.
 
M

MasterMace

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Well, you've got (prices from Newegg.com):

CPU - i7 2600k - $315
Case - Obsidian 800D - $280+$20 ship - $300

The only graphics grand I see that I'd recommend for the 580 is EVGA, so
Graphics - GTX 580 (2) - $465 x 2 - $930
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130587

Total budget - $4000
- 3 items ----- $1545
---------------------------
Remainder --- $2455

So first things first, a motherboard. There are 3 chipsets, H67 P67 and Z68. H drops one thing, P drops another, Z keeps them both. Tom's 2011 Z68 roundup recommends:

ASRock Z68 Extreme4 - $190+8.50(shipping) - $198.49
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157250&Tpk=Asrock z68 extreme4
Sold out on newegg as of posting, but I'm sure that won't stop you from finding another venue.

Next: RAM. 4GB sticks don't come in CAS 6, but they do come in CAS 7.
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2x4GB) - $135
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231431

The final item i will recommend is for the SSD:
OCZ RevoDrive X2 240gb - $520
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._re=revodrive_x2_240gb-_-20-227-661-_-Product

The fastest SSD at this time (740mb/s read, 720mb/s write) for $2.17/gb. Throw on your OS and games onto this, and wham: fast computer.

--
Remainder ----- $2455.00
SSD-M-Mobo - - $853.49
-----------------------------
Remaining ----- $1601.51 for the PSU, Fans, Optical (DVD/BR drive), et cetera.


**Edit** If you take the build the other guy had, and add the missing parts from his list that I didn't put in:

PSU, Blue ray, HDD, Fan
Total Parts: $630.21

Remaining --- $1601.51
-Missing Parts -$630.21
---------------------------
Remaining budget $971.30

You could throw in another set of RAM to bring it to 16GB, a lovely sound card, maybe do water cooling if you so chose.
 
O

Overwhelming

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Wow, really appreciate the time in doing this. Yes, a sound card and perhaps a high end NIC will be in order. I'm sure regardless of whatever budget is remaining, I will have no problem finding ways to spend. I would probably go with 12 gb of memory. Do you have any recommendation on 3 X 4 gb vs. 2 X 6 gb?
 
runswindows95

runswindows95

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High end NIC's are not worth the money. Every review of the Killer NIC's pretty much say just use the integrated card, and save the $100. Also, with the Z68 boards, just go with 16GB of RAM (4X4GB). The X58 is the only chipset designed to run 12GB easily since it uses triple-channel RAM.
 
O

Overwhelming

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Good information, that sounds good to me. Any particular 4 GB card (Ripjaw's were previously mentioned) / Z68 mobo (ASRock Z68 Extreme4 was previously mentioned) you would recommend?
 
mjmjpfaff

mjmjpfaff

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cpu 315$- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070&cm_re=i7_2600k-_-19-115-070-_-Product
mobo 195$- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131704&Tpk=p8p67%20evo
case 264$ shipped- http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-CC800DW-Obsidian-Aluminum-Enthusiast/dp/B002JLAU58/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306731787&sr=8-1
ssd 520$- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227661&cm_re=revodrive_x2_240gb-_-20-227-661-_-Product&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=196uqgi9az0yg
psu 210$- http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-Certified-Modular-CMPSU-1000HX/dp/B00154QAXQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1306731966&sr=1-1
memory 175$- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231309&cm_re=1.5v_16gb-_-20-231-309-_-Product
hdd 120$- http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B002MQC0P8/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&qid=1306732423&sr=1-2&condition=new x2
blu ray burner 100$- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118050&cm_re=blu_ray_burner_internal-_-27-118-050-_-Product
2 6970 2gb 774$ shipped- http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Radeon6970-Graphics-R6970-Lightning/dp/B004XQVCB8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1306734823&sr=8-5 -gives very similar perfomance for 200$ less (just an option since everyone is listing 580 sli)
cpu cooler 87$- http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-Heatpipe-Bearing-Cooler-NH-D14/dp/B002VKVZ1A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1306734263&sr=1-1
also these 6970's are quieter than 580's and cooler
to keep the case cool&quiet go with these fans 9$- http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0026ZPFDE/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&qid=1306733925&sr=1-4&condition=new
with those fans the loudest thing in your case will probably be those 2 gpu's
total shipped- flat 3000$ haha


 
M

mdd1963

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Jan 14, 2006
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a pair of 6950's delivers good performance at the $500 GPU price point, vice $1000 for a pair of GTX580s....(yes, a pair of GTX580s is faster, but, it's hard to call 60 fps 'slow' even when compared to 85 fps...
 
X

xrodney

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Asrock Extreme line of boards is great, as for Z68 over P67, both chipsets are generaly same except 2 features:
- Z68 allows you to use integrated VGA which in your case i thing wont be used at all, it allows fast video encoding, but again you get better quality at slover speed using just your CPU for encoding.
- SSD caching - worthless feature as it only slightly increase performance of conventional HDD, but is way too slow when using SSD as system disk.
Problem with Z68 is that there is only few boards in market and most are currently sold out due its recent release.

SB cpus are dualchanel so you have choice to use 1,2 or 4 modules (4/8/16GB) 12GB was available on old i7 platform but at current prices 4x4GB modules are cheap.
 
baddad

baddad

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I think this would be the best way to go.
 
alucard1337

alucard1337

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woow a budget of 4k , and i thought i was spending alot on my RIG , the build posted by brpeden82 seems pretty decent , i would go with something like that
 
X

xrodney

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I would avoid logitech or any other PC speakers if you want good sound.
If you are ok with getting good quality stereo speakers, get some decent monitors and AV receiver. It wont cost too much more, and will give you 100% better sound and music. And if you chose to use receiver, you can also drop discrete sound card as onboard digitally connected to AV receiver get you same sound quality as if using discrete. (good soundcard is important for accurate D/A conversion and quality amplifying but in this case it will use even better circuitry in receiver.)
 
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buheshma

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You do realize that the i5 2400K is just as good at gaming as the i7 right? There's honestly no difference (unless you're a serious 3d/photo professional). Also you do realize that the Sandy Bridge chipset does Dolby audio, so you may not even need a sound card. I'm guessing that this PC is more about bragging rights tho, so screw it just make sure you get a good A/C for your room because your system will probably heat the room up by a few degrees (my old system did)
 
X

xrodney

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He mentioned also photo processing, coding, not just gaming so he maybe will use all 8 threads 2600K can do.

As for intel HD audio, it depends, if you connect it to external audio processor and amplifier its fine, if you want use it just with quality headphones or speaker, then its not that great because of poor/cheap end circuitry.
 
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