Trim this 1300$ Gaming Build to 1120$

[crystalklear64]

Approximate Purchase Date: Tonight/Tomorrow

Budget Range: 1120$ Shipped Before Rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming with a 50 FPS min at 1680x1050 res max settings in modern games, Watching Blu-Rays, Will eventually become a HTPC when no longer suitable for modern gaming in the years to come.

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers, OS, HDD (have a f3 already sitting in its package next to me)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Anywhere that ships to USA and is cheap.

Country of Origin: USA

Parts Preferences: Parts similar to the ones I have chosen. Prefer EVGA for video cards, Gigabyte for mobos, and Cosair for RAM. Other parts don't care.

Overclocking: Yes (CPU)

SLI or Crossfire: Yes (eventually, must be SLI ready for a second gtx570 down the road)

Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050

Additional Comments: I like all the parts I have chosen but need to shave about 180$ off. I don't want a 6970 because I hear xfired they're loud as balls and produce a ton of heat. I don't want to SLI 560s because a single 560 does not perform to my standards and it'll be at least 2 years till I would get the second. I want my PC to be as quiet as possible without sacrificing anything. I have no problem with a "cheap" case if it will work (fit my stuff and not burn my house down) I also am considering getting a new monitor with a 1900x1200 resolution at 120hz hence the desire to be able to SLI.


Here are the parts I have chosen-
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146068
PSU: Corsair tx750 v2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021
Combo price of ~$230

CPU: i5-2500k
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
RAM: 8gb (2x4gb) Corsair Vengeance
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144
Combo price of ~$295

GPU: EVGA 012-P3-1571-AR GeForce GTX 570 HD w/Display-Port (Fermi) 1280MB (ar version for step-up/lifetime warranty) - $344
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130621

MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 - $189
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128494

SSD: Crucial M4 - $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441

DVD/Penis/CD Burner Combo: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - 21$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Blu-Ray Drive: LITE-ON Black 4X Blu-ray Disc Reader SATA Model iHOS104-08 - 60$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106326

Total: 1271.01 Shipped

Can I cut 180$ without giving up much functionality? (150$+ 30$ set aside for a hsf)

Thanks.

 

[crystalklear64]

Well I cut the price down to perfection and got a bigger PSU. Heres how i did it:

Had to lose the SSD which is what I figured would happen. I guess I'll be forced to wait that one out and maybe prices will lower. Dropped to the p67 chipset instead of the z68. An ASRock board which I usually would never get, but it got Tom's rec'd so I'll give it a shot.

 

[4745454b]

I agree. You can always add the SSD later. I would say go to the 6950, but if you want 3D then that's a bad idea.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Don't understand the "doesn't perform to my standards" thing .... what are you basing that on ?.... a 900 MHz 560 gets you performance very close to the 570 at 1920 x 1200. The 570 costs 52% more for a performance increase of just 5.8%. In SLI, it costs 52% more for a 1.2% increase in performance. Overclocked to 1000 MHz, you can exceed the performance of the stock 570.

Yes, of course you can OC the 570 too but the better scaling, oversized coolers on the factory overclocked 560 models and a more robust VRM make it a far better overclocker than the 570. I OC'd my son's Asus 900 MHz card to 1000 MHz and didn't have to touch the voltage settings. I'd warn about getting overly ambitious w/ 570 overclocking.

http://www.overclock.net/nvidia/929152-have-you-killed-570-a.html

For $220.00 a 560 Ti - 900 Mhz gets 495 fps in Guru3D's gaming test suite and 862 in SLI
For $335.00 a 570 gets you 524 fps in Guru3D's gaming test suite and 873 in SLI
For $250.00 a 6950 gets you 479 fps in Guru3D's gaming test suite and 751 in CF

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130651

That's $115

Case / PSU combo below saves another $10 though the 903 V3 can oft be found on newegg for another $20 cheaper.

Case - $120 - Antec 902 V3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129097
PSU - $100 - XFX 750 W Core Edition PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207015

MoBo CPU combo is $395, RAM is $70 for $465 total .... anotrher $20 savings
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.657880
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145324

Skip the 2nd optical .... With a SSD and HD, 2nd unit of little use..... another $22 saved BTW, what is a "DVD/Penis/CD Burner Combo" ? Is newegg in the body parts bizness now ?

That's $167 saved ..... if ya can raise the $13, ya can keep ya SSD and the Blue Ray player. Again, every cupla weeks the 902 is $100 on newegg so if ya not in a rush, you should be able to meet ya budget.

 

[Draneico]

If you want it as quiet as hell you need to hardcore in that direction. Tom's got an article on that (about to walk out the door so can't take time to link, sorry).

Blue-Ray player - why?

You can also save another $20 on your GPU by getting the coupon code here: http://www.dealigg.com/story-NewEgg-coupons-NewEgg-com-coupon-code

 

[crystalklear64]

Don't understand the "doesn't perform to my standards" thing .... what are you basing that on ?.... a 900 MHz 560 gets you performance very close to the 570 at 1920 x 1200. The 570 costs 52% more for a performance increase of just 5.8%. In SLI, it costs 52% more for a 1.2% increase in performance. Overclocked to 1000 MHz, you can exceed the performance of the stock 570.
...

Skip the 2nd optical .... With a SSD and HD, 2nd unit of little use..... another $22 saved BTW, what is a "DVD/Penis/CD Burner Combo" ? Is newegg in the body parts bizness now ?

Concerning the 560 and 570, they may very well perform similarly, but its a case of it either meets a breakpoint or its useless. Any game I run I expect it to run at 60 fps at max settings otherwise I won't play the game/I'll upgrade. The absolute minimum I would accept is 50 fps but thats really pushing it. Looking up the benches for the Witcher 2, using a similar setup at the resolution I play at, I would only achieve a frame rate in the low 50's/high 40's with a 560. With a 570 we're in the high 60's. So similar, yes, but it doesn't make my 60 fps breakpoint which makes it useless to me.

I will not be overclocking my video cards. I have never had a good overclocking experience with video cards. I've always had ati cards so maybe nvidia is better about overclocking, but I'm not going to tempt fate.

If you want it as quiet as hell you need to hardcore in that direction. Tom's got an article on that (about to walk out the door so can't take time to link, sorry).

Blue-Ray player - why?

You can also save another $20 on your GPU by getting the coupon code here: http://www.dealigg.com/story-NewEgg-coupons-NewEgg-com-coupon-code

Blu-Ray player to play Blu-Rays? Why else? I've got a bunch of Blu-Rays and no way to play them.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

You do understand the human eye perceives the game as being "smooth" at 30 fps right? As far as GTX 560 and 570, I wouldn't knock them. I helped another guy with a system, and we used the 570, even the crysis demo was smooth at full settings.

 

[Draneico]

between your frame rate comments and the way you are answering questions I'm not so sure these are the forums for you - people are nice here.

 

[crystalklear64]

You do understand the human eye perceives the game as being "smooth" at 30 fps right? As far as GTX 560 and 570, I wouldn't knock them. I helped another guy with a system, and we used the 570, even the crysis demo was smooth at full settings.

And you do understand that 60 fps creates a very noticeable difference from 30 fps yes? I really hope you're not saying that a framerate over 30 matters as I've seen posted on many forums. This is just plain wrong. As for smooth, 30 fps does not look smooth to me especially when the frame right spikes higher and you can see it get better.

As for "people being nice", when haven't I been nice? I am frank and to the point. Thats not the same as saying "**** you you're dumb." Toughen that skin bud. Some people have different personalities.