BestConfigs - High-End Intel Gaming PC

It's that time again! Time to update the Tom's Hardware BestConfigs! Once again, we are opening the field to user recommendations to get the best consensus for the absolute best of the best in each category. Post the best configuration you can put together for the following build category and our editorial team will pick 5 of the best to be put up to a public vote right here in the Systems forum. The top-ranking build will go on to become one of Tom's Hardware BestConfigs and you'll get the credit for having put together a brilliant build with a special credit in the feature article.

Post your entries to this thread for the category of:
High-End Intel Gaming PC

Stay within $2,000 (without shipping) and no need to include OS, monitor, mouse/keyboard. Please be sure to format your list of components as follows:

Joe's Crysis 8 Minspec Build
Processor: Component Name and Component Price
Motherboard: Component Name and Component Price
RAM: Component Name and Component Price
Graphics Card: Component Name and Component Price
Hard Drive: Component Name and Component Price
Case: Component Name and Component Price
Power Supply: Component Name and Component Price
Cooling: Component Name and Component Price
DVD Burner: Component Name and Component Price

See below for quick-copy/paste text of the BBcode.

You can also use the Tom's Hardware System Builder to build your recommendation and use the BBCode export option at the bottom of the build. If you do, be sure to include a link in your post to your build on the app for quick viewing.

Good luck, and may the best builds win!

1.CSK222 High-End Intel Gaming Build

2.Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115070
Intel Core i7-2600K $314.99

3.Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157250
ASRock Z68 Extreme4 $189.99

4.RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231315
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) $179.99

5.Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130590
EVGA SuperClocked GTX 580 $499.99

6.Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152185
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200RPM $64.99

7.Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119225
COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942 $189.99

8.Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139014
CORSAIR Professional Series AX1200 1200W $279.99

9.Cooling: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835608018
Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler $ 89.99

10.DVD Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827106348
LITE-ON 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Internal Blu-ray Burner with 3D PlaybackiHBS212 LightScribe $109.99

Total = $1,919.91

Derp's "All Your Bases Are Belong To Us (Wood Rig XD)" Build
Cpu
Intel Core i7 2600k $315
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] _-19115070
Motherboard
ASRock Fatal1ty $220
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157240
Ram
Corsair Vengence 8Gb (2x4Gb) 1600 $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820233147
Psu
Enermax Revolution 85+ 1020w $220
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817194081
Gpu
2xMSI R6970 Lightning Radeon HD 6970 $387/$774
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127581
SSD
Crucial M4 64Gb Sata III $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820148441
HDD
Samsung EcoGreen F2 1Tb $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152173
DvD
LG DvD+RW $20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827136216
Case
NZXT Phantom $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811146074
Cooler
Thermaltake Frio $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835106150

Total=$1999 before rebates/shipping
Man thats close to budget, but its one bad mutha. Now to get some money and actually build it xD

16gb of ram and a 1200w psu. what a waste. 8GB and a 1000w psu would be just fine.

Oh and Taylor, with 2-GTX580, you'll have no choice but to overclock the cpu.

MichXymi's High End Gaming Machine

Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115072 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 BX80623I52500K $224.99

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157240 ASRock Fatal1ty P67 PROFESSIONAL (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $219.99

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820233147 CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8 $84.99

Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814121432 2x ASUS ENGTX570 DCII/2DIS/1280MD5 GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card 699.98$

Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136533 Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $89.99

SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227706 OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $269.99

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811139003 Corsair Graphite Series 600T Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $159.99

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139022 CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 850W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply $134.99

Cooling: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835181013 CORSAIR Hydro H70 CWCH70 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler $104.81

DVD Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827135204 ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM $20.99

2010.71$ Without MIR

May as well add my new system

Intel i7 2600k (came with a matterhorn cpu cooler in a bundle)
Asus z68 pro mobo
OCZ agility 3 60gb ssd
Western digital 1tb hdd (sata3)
8 gb corsair vengeance 1866mhz ram (didnt have any 1600mhz in )
HAF-X coolermaster case
Gainward 580GTX Phantom 3gb
LG blu ray drive
I cheated with my psu and dvd r/w drive as I took them out of my old system but they are:-
LG dvd r/w
Tagan 800w BZ modular psu.

Bavman's 2k build
MOBO:ASRock p67 Extreme4
CPU: i5-2500k
GPU: GTX 580 x 2
PSU: Corsair 850w HX
RAM: G.skill 8gb cas 7 1600
CASE: HAF 922
SSD: Vertex 3
HDD: Spinpoint f3 1tb
COOLER: Hyper 212+ (sold out on newegg right now) $30
ODD: CD/DVD writer/reader

This puts you at $1985 + 30 for the cooler. Minus your rebates, just under 2k.

Its a little gpu heavy but isnt that what extreme builds are for?

I didn't even notice that...!
good call.
a total newbie move on his part..

you run the unit with that card and I'll pick a newer card (GTX570 perhaps) and let's have some one on one benching...

Case "Thermaltake Black Chaser MK-I Full Tower or
Antec Twelve Hundred V3 Case" 179/205
CPU Intel Core i5 2500K 219
Motherboard ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Motherboard B3 209
Graphics VTX3D Radeon HD6950 2GB 269
Graphics 2 VTX3D Radeon HD6950 2GB 269
RAM G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 99
HDD Western Digital Green 2TB WD20EARX 89
HDD 2 Corsair Force Series 3 120GB SSD 269
Power Seasonic X-850 80Plus Gold 850W 269
Optical Samsung SH-222AB SATA DVDRW Drive 29
1900
Revised, again these are aussie prices so knock a bit off the end. *PSU overkill but it will last and is the best brand*

Based on my taste, high end, energy efficient and bang for the buck at the same time!

Parts:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Boxed
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws-X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
VGA: GIGABYTE GV-R695OC-1GD
SSD: Crucial M4 256GB (on SATAIII-600)
HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 (on SATAIII-600)
MMC: akasa AK-ALL01-BK
Audio: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium HD
MB: Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z
BR: Samsung SH-B123L (on SATAII-300)
BR-RW: Plextor PX-LB950SA (on SATAII-300)
Case: Enermax Hoplite ECA3220 (+ extra two 120mm and two 140mm vents)
PSU: FSP Group Aurum 700

Peripherals:

Display: Dell Professional P2411H
Keyboard: Logitech Illuminated Keyboard (Y-UY95)
Mouse: Logitech G400
Mousepad: Razer Pro|Pad
Speakers: Logitech Z-5500
USB-Flash: Kingston 64GB USB 3.0 DataTraveler Ultimate G2
Network: Linksys E4200 (including 10m CAT-7a cable)

Software:

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1 (English) (without serial-key thus free product)

GTX 570 (me) vs 4870x2 (you) = anytime your ready...
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/174?vs=158

you mean aminebouhafs picture. why would you put a picture like that on a computer parts forum? how many girls go on here?

thanks bud^ I think his biceps are as big as my wrists, clearly weak sauce, but on another topic, its gonna be a hell of a game tonight in Miami tonight!

is Dallas going to end it tonight.?

yeah miami is not winning this thing... Lebron is an f-n crybaby, Dallas deserves it way more...

yes I am, his legacy will be nothing but diminished, and thanks, The Indians on the other hand are slumping like they normally do, oh well the plight of a Cleveland sports fan, in the end I am glad that he took his talents to souf beach where he continues to not score in the 4th quarter and is a bitchass

good call.

The only ones "I" know who actually just "talk" about sports are women and very old people.

Anyway here's my "to be" new build,

Based on my taste, high end, energy efficient and bang for the buck at the same time!

Parts:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Boxed
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws-X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
VGA: GIGABYTE GV-R695OC-1GD
SSD: Crucial M4 256GB (on SATAIII-600)
HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 (on SATAIII-600)
MMC: akasa AK-ALL01-BK
Audio: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium HD
MB: ASRock Z68 Extreme7
BR: Samsung SH-B123L (on SATAII-300)
BR-RW: Plextor PX-LB950SA (on SATAII-300)
Case: Enermax Hoplite ECA3220 (plus two extra 120mm and two extra 140mm vents)
PSU: FSP Group Aurum 700

Peripherals:

Display: Dell Professional P2411H
Keyboard: Logitech Illuminated Keyboard
Mouse: Logitech G400
Mousepad: Razer Pro|Pad
Speakers: Logitech Z-5500
USB-Flash: Kingston 64GB USB 3.0 DataTraveler Ultimate G2
Network: Linksys E4200 (including 10m CAT-7a cable)

Software:

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1 (English) (without serial-key thus free product)

I have a question here...when you say "without serial-key thus free product" for win7 are you implying that you dont need to pay for it...that you can somehow acquire it online for free? If its the case that you can get software for free online then why do you need a bluray drive...let alone 2 of them.

Also why would you put your hitachi drive on a sata3 port?

I just dont know why you need 2 haha.
I understand the br reader for reading bluray disks...but why a burner? Are you seriously gonna use it for backup? cause for the same price the burner is you can get 6tb worth of drivers which is much safer to back up on.

I would connect my hdd to a sata2 port, because hdd cant even fully saturate sata2 all the way, so sata3 is a waste, id save it for an ssd. Plus all the mobo's ive seen (which might be a limited few) dont allow raid on sata3 ports (only ide and ahci) which you might want to utilize in the future, or now.

Anyways cool build

Well, the Samsung is actually a DVD-RW but it's the fastest BR-reader atm that I know being sold over here in Holland.
Why I need two?
The answer is rather simple actually, remember when people first began to say "I just don't know why you need two CD-opticals (one reader and one writer)" and later on "I just don't know why you need two DVD-opticals (one reader and one writer)". The BR is gonna be the new standard. The CD is going to be pre-historic (if is isn't allready) and the DVD will be next. Ya can count on that.
So the answer really is, "To stay ahead of the game!" THAT's why!

From here on I'll give the TB about five years, give or take, that you'll look at it like now you're looking at the GB.
We've all experienced that. So let the experience be your teacher. Learn from your "mistakes".

HDD can't even fully saturate SATAII all the way? Are ya sure? Got any real-world TH- or AT-benchies to back that up? It's not that I don't believe you but hardware reacts in a slightly different way for EVERYONE!

ya blu ray is going to be the standard. so get it when it is and also only 25$ . aminebouhafs you think women just talk about sports? you've been around some very masculine women lately then.

bahaha, well that would make sense coming from a 12 year old that takes pics of his weak ass body. In my experience, women do not talk about sports; what the hell are you talking about,? You have terrible advice and comments find a new forum to spew on, fricken Brit!

Still waiting for the ASRock Z68 Extreme7 being sold in Holland, it has got SATAIII- and SATAII-ports enough, ten SATA-ports if I'm right but I dunno yet how many there are that have the "III"-specification though.

why would you need that more than 1-2 Harddrives and 1 optical drive for a gaming rig?