[New Build SOLVED] Need advice

newbie1992 · May 31, 2011

Approximate Purchase Date: Ordering within a week, so please reply fast.

Budget Range: $1,500 - $2,000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming and movies. Would love to run Battlefield 3 and Skyrim at max if possible.

Parts Not Required: mouse, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Country of Origin: USA, CA

Parts Preferences: no preference

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Yes / Maybe

Monitor Resolution: Not sure which resolution but I want 1080p

Additional Comments: I would like a quiet PC, powerful for gaming, nice monitor

I have a VA8000BWS (http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?C=1277&ID=1404) sitting around in my garage, it is around 5-6 years old and I wonder if I could use this for the gaming rig, if not, I'll gladly buy another one that's better.

Current build:

Computer case:
Cooler Master HAF X Full Tower w/ SuperSpeed USB 3.0 w/ Window w/ Black Interior ATX Case (RC-942-KKN1) ($200)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003S68Q0Y/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

CPU:
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ($225)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EBUXHQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A3LJ5WMKNRFKQS

CPU Fan:
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler, RR-B10-212P-G1 ($29)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G1YPH0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

GPU:
2 EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti DS Superclocked 1024 MB GDDR5 PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card 01G-P3-1567-KR ($500)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XUCCRM

PSU:
Corsair Enthusiast Series 850-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply compatible with Intel Core i3, i5, i7 and AMD platforms 850TX v2 ($135)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MYFODS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

RAM:
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model ($90)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QBUL1C/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

HardDrive:
Samsung Desktop Class Spinpoint F3 1 TB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 32 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare-OEM Drives, HD103SJ ($60)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MQC0P8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Motherboard:
ASRock P67 Extreme4 B3 Intel P67 ATX DDR3 2133 Motherboard - ($160)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QTHYZK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Monitor:
ASUS VH238H 23-Inch LED Monitor - Black

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004J6BIJ8

Operating System:
Windows 7 Home Premum 64 Bit System Builder 1pk [Old Version] ($100)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NGJO4M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

geofelt · May 31, 2011

1080P is 1920 x 1080 resolution. If you get a larger monitor, the pixels just get larger. 24" is probably good, or even 27"
30" monitors can be 2560 x 1600. They are wonderful, but expensive; >$1000.

A single GTX560ti should be sufficient to drive a 1080P monitor in most games. A GTX570 would be great. A GTX580 would be about as good as it gets, but not really necessary.
The equivalent amd cards would be the 6870, 6970, and 5970 respectively.
For the best gaming, get the best single card you feel comfortable paying for. It is by far the most critical component of a gaming PC.
I am not much of a fan of sli or crossfire when a single good card will do the job.
SLI might be appropriate if you plan on triple monitor gaming, or a 2560 x 1600 monitor.

The 2500K is THE cpu chip to get.

Quality psu's come from Antec, Seasonic, XFX, Corsair, and PC P&C to name a few.
A650w unit can power a single GTX580, so no need for more.

Your old case might do the job, but the small 80/90mm fans are worthless.
Get a case you love. I think $200 is a bit much, though, you can get an Antec 300 illusion model for $70.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066
Do you really need a full ATX size?
There are some nice m-ATX motherboards with 4 vs 7 expansion slots. You could put one in a lian li V354 case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112300

The motherboard is OK, but you might look at a Z68 based motherboard. They are priced similarly, but have some extra capabilities. Of interest might be the ssd cache capability.
Use a small ssd to cache your large hard drive. The most frequently used stuff will get a copy on the SSD for fast access.

For the keyboard and mouse, go to a local computer store, and handle them yourself to see what you like best.

mlcaouette · May 31, 2011

The hyper 212+ is only 29.99 from walmart.com but last time it was listed it sold out quick.

Here is a much better ram deal (faster and cheaper):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460&cm_re=g_skill_1866_8gb-_-20-231-460-_-Product

If you get the 6950's get a reference model like this one for the easy unlock to 6970:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127555&cm_re=6950_2gb-_-14-127-555-_-Product

I perfer modular PSU's like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256058&cm_re=silverstone_psu-_-17-256-058-_-Product

Here is a decent M/B and CPU combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.652042

The Samsung f3 is a better hard drive for the same price as the seagate from amazon.

mjmjpfaff · May 31, 2011

mjmjpfaff · May 31, 2011

in bfbc2 a stock 6970 is beaten by a oc'd 560 ti at 950mhz. so assuming you do get the 6950 to a 6970 which it isnt that easy you wouldnt be getting better performance even though you are spending more. also you might want to get a blu ray drive not burner because movies look so much better if they are on blu ray disks

newbie1992 · May 31, 2011

I will/have updated my "current build" on the first post, however, I am still very unsure what I still need, I need someone to help me double check cause I don't trust myself.

Thanks MJmjp you really helped me save money by showing me Amazon pricing.

The GPUs are getting me, is 2x 560ti superclocked for $500 a great deal? Is 750 watts enough? lolz

Or should I get a single gtx580 and add another later for SLI

Plus, do I really need a SSD? Is it better for boot up? or just gaming in general?

Anything else I need? special thermal paste? Just remember, I have never built a PC before and would love some feedback on how to approach this, I don't wanna spend $1,600+ on scrapmetal

mjmjpfaff · May 31, 2011

750w is enough especially with that silver rated psu
you dont need an ssd it just makes boot up times and loading times shorter
no need for other thermal paste that cpu cooler comes with it
i just built my first computer about 3 months ago with about a year of research

it really is not that hard they make it easy these days it seems like

mlcaouette · May 31, 2011

Could I recommend just buying one GPU for starters, then if your are not satisfied with the performance add a second one. You really have no need for a crossfire/sli setup with just a single 23" 1080p monitor.

newbie1992 · May 31, 2011

mlcaouette :

I'm not using SLI for more monitors, just more performance.

So are you suggesting the gtx580? if so, which one?

Can someone recommend me a better case than my current choice? that thing is $200!

mlcaouette · May 31, 2011

What I meant was just buying a single HD 6970 or gtx 570 and if it wasn't enough than buy a second one.

newbie1992 · May 31, 2011

mlcaouette :

I've decided on a GTX 580, I will add another GTX580 later for SLI when I need more performance.

So I've updated the my "current list" again, what do you guys think? I picked HAF X because of it's upgradability and cooling capabilities.

I want to make the order by tomorrow if it looks good.

mlcaouette · May 31, 2011

You might want to up the PSU to an 850 watt since two GTX 580's would use 488 watts alone.

newbie1992 · May 31, 2011

mlcaouette :

Wouldn't I need a 950+ watt if one 580 runs at 488 watts alone?

Plus its super clocked, and at the EVGA site it say 600 watt from PSU, does that mean I need a 1,200 watt PSU? or that's not how it works?

geofelt · May 31, 2011

The wattage recommendations include the needs of the typical rest of the system, so double the gpu's does not mean double the wattage.

The extra amperage used by overclocking does add a bit to your needs, but not enough to worry about.

Still, 850w might not be a bad idea.

XFX currently has some of the best pricing around. Here is a 850w unit for $110 after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207011
They are good quality units, made by Seasonic I think.
The rating is 850w continuous, with more available at peak.

I doubt that you will want an upgrade to the GTX580 within the next year. With EVGA you get a 90 day upgrade trade in option.
Go to their web site for the fine details.

When you want an upgrade, I suspect that your best plan would be to sell the GTX580 in favor of a GTX590, or more likely the next best thing in 22nm technology.
The higest end single gpu cards seem to me to have te best resale value.

mjmjpfaff · May 31, 2011

dont get a single gtx 580 get 2 560 ti's because they will give more than enough perfromance for any game and are cheaper than a single gtx 580. 2 580's are overkill. new technology in a year will leave 2 gtx 580's in the dust. you will feel bad about spending over 1000$ (including the upgrade to the 1000W power supply you will need). so spend under 500$ on gpu's that will be great for the next year. then you can invest the other 500$ into nvidia's 600/amd's 7000 gpu's

newbie1992 · May 31, 2011

I have been thinking about what you guys said and I will go for the gtx560 ti in SLI. Will the PSU listed below be good enough? I want to order only from amazon please.

Corsair Enthusiast Series 850-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply compatible with Intel Core i3, i5, i7 and AMD platforms 850TX v2 by Corsair

mjmjpfaff · May 31, 2011

ya that psu is great your getting it at amazon right?

newbie1992 · May 31, 2011

mjmjpfaff :

Yes I am getting it from amazon, it's $135. 850 Watts enough for 2 superclocked GTX560Ti from evga?

My build total without a keyboard is $1682.74

So the EVGA 1gb GTX560 Ti SC are reliable and good? Or should I look into MSI?

And what do you guys think about the g110 logitech keyboard? I don't need any special fancy custom keys, just a ergonomically friendly keyboard that has good performance. http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-920-002232-Gaming-Keyboard-G110/dp/B002RRLQIO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306862007&sr=8-1

It's $65 which is alot lol.

mlcaouette · May 31, 2011

Yes 850watts will be good for two 560 ti's. What I had mentioned earlier about the gtx 580 was how much power two cards would use (488watts) not one. Both the recommended wattage and the actual usage are listed on nvidia's website.

newbie1992 · May 31, 2011

mlcaouette :

Do note the GTX560 TIs are going to be superclocked and will use more watts but 850w should be enough right?

On the other note, I found EVGA has a GTX560 TI DS SC and a regular GTX560 TI SC, they both cost 250 on amazon, which should I get? I can't find the difference between the two

mjmjpfaff · May 31, 2011

850w is enough for 6970's it will be more than enough for oc'd 560 ti's.
get this gpu just pick the one that is from amazon it also comes with a 30$ m.i.r.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004XUCCRM/ref=dp_olp_new_map?ie=UTF8&qid=1306872125&sr=1-2&condition=new

newbie1992 · Jun 1, 2011

mjmjpfaff :

Done. My current list is up to date now, what do you guys think? I'm still missing a keyboard though

mjmjpfaff · Jun 1, 2011

how bout this keyboard- http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B002ZV51DI/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&qid=1306798952&sr=1-5&condition=new
the g110 is an awesome keyboard. see if it is in your budget

newbie1992 · Jun 1, 2011

I decided to get the sidewinder x4 keyboard for now since I want to save money, so I'm about to order it, does everything look good?

mjmjpfaff · Jun 1, 2011

a tx 750 will do for your psu but if you really want get the 850w even though it is way overkill. remember buy one gpu from tiger direct and the other from amazon so you can get 2 30$ m.i.r. because buying them both from one place will only get you one m.i.r.

[New Build SOLVED] Need advice

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