New Gaming Computer <2500$

[Sword13]

Hello, I am new here and i was looking for some advice. I plan on building my first computer mainly because what i'm running now won't be able to run the new games coming out. This computer is mainly for gaming purposes so i want to have the best of the best. This is what i was thinking so far. However i have not bought anything yet and i am open to suggestions. As of right now my max budget is 2500$.

Approximate Purchase Date: I was hoping before 2012 but i could wait if there is a good enough reason (ivy bridge?)

Budget Range: <2500% preferably but i'm open to ideas.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, movies, and some animation / video processing.

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: www.newegg.com (or recommend one and i'll check it out)

Country of Origin: Canada

Parts Preferences: Intel and Nvidia only please. (Or present a darn good argument for ATI / AMD)

Overclocking: Yes Eventually

SLI or Crossfire: Yes eventually

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Here is what i have looked at so far, and liked:

Case: Cool master HAF-X RC-942
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225

Ram: G Skill Ripjaws 12 Gb
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231358

PSU: Silverstone ST1500
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256054

Blu Ray Drive: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=27-129-066&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=5&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29

Graphics card: Nvidia GTX 590
http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=03G-P3-1596-AR&family=GeForce 500 Series Family&sw=


I was mainly wondering which processor would be better for gaming, the i7-2600k
( http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070 )
or the i7-980 ( http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116402 )

And then i would also need to choose a MOBO for either one of them. For the i7-2600k i was thinking of either the Gigabyte GA-Z68X ( http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128499 ) or the Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z
( http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131760 )
For the i7-980 i was thinking of the EVGA 141-GT-E770-A1 ( http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-188-069&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=100&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29&Page=1 )


Additional Comments:
I have no preference on hard drive's and i was just going to get a 1 TB hard driver and an SSD for windows 7 boot. Is there any order i should have them in while installing them?

Also for the processor's should i just wait for the new ivy bridge to come out in 2012?

Another thing i need is a sound card as well, but i need to make sure there are enough PCI slots to support future expansion of another GTX 590 card as well as the sound card. I am also looking at getting a network card if i need to, not really sure on that. And last thing is eventually i will want to water cool my PC with a custom build.

To sum things up i need advice on my processor, motherboard, sound card, and if i need a network card or not. As well as any other comments on the setup i have chosen so far. I really appreciate any help i get, still new to building PC's.

 

[wintermint]

For gaming, hyperthreading won't do squat. You will probably see at most 1% increase compare to the i5-2500k at an addition $100.

I see that you're planning on using a GTX 590, you will need at least 700W for a single 590. If you plan to add another 590 then you will need 1000-1200W max. 1500W is just overkill. http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-590-sli-review/3

Don't go with LGA 1366 that's dead. Sandy Bridge is better overall. For the motherboard, it's up to you. Gigabyte seems to run x16/x16, Asus's specs mention "4 (x16 or dual x8 or x8, x16, x16)" Seems like x16/x16 don't you think? lol

For the hard drive I would go for a Samsung Spinpoint F3, if you want a good SSD the Crucual m4 has nice performance and cheap price. I don't think you need a network card unless you want wifi.

At your budget, don't go AMD. ATI isn't as bad as you think but their drivers need more work. nVidia obviously has better performance but it also comes with a higher price tag. The GTX 590 is sexier than what ATI offers now though haha. Take a look at this youtube vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUo3jqG4nG8&feature=related You should be able to connect up to three monitors with a GTX 590. This guy did it. You should consider this

 

[Sword13]

Thanks for the fast reply. I plan to hook up multiple moniters in the future for sure, i just wanted to get the build under way first before i get any more moniters. And i actually forgot to ask i was wondering what the difference is in running 2 GTX 590's at 8x or 16x. Because i think they require 16x so i need the motherboard to have 2 PCI 16x right? And i am still wondering if i should just wait for ivy bridge because sandy bridge only has dual channel for the Ram and i was originally going to get more ram and run it on triple channel.

 

[kajabla]

You won't need more than 8gb of RAM in any setup except major professional media processing (not gaming), so triple channel shouldn't be an issue.
There's really no reason to get a 590. The companies make flagship cards to show off, but you'd be much better off with 2x580, and maybe 3 in the future.
Are you going to do a big multi-monitor thing? If not, than one 580 would be plenty, and you could replace it in the future.
That PSU will be overkill for anything. Even 3x580 will be fine on 1200.
2500K for sure. As said above, it performs the same as the 2600K in gaming, and better than any other CPU on the market.

 

[Sword13]

I'm still hesitant to buy a 2600k let alone a 2500k...I just always thought the 900 series was better. And no one has answered if i should wait for the new ivy bridge chip to come out or not. And i know that Nvidia has new graphics cards coming out soon as well so should i wait for those so that the 500 series drops in price a little?


Thanks

 

[008Rohit]

I'd say get an i7 2600K and max. 8GB of RAM. I don't know of any game that can fully utilise as high as 8GB of RAM. Coming to the GPU, The GTX 590 is a very good choice. A friend of mine bought one and he's more than satisfied with it.
Check coolermaster's liquid coolers if you plan to overclock the processor. I however wouldn't recommend you an i5 as the HT technology is really superb!
Hopefully, Ivy Bridge processors will support LGA1155 socket so you can upgrade (which I think you don't have to in the near future) later.

 

[Sword13]

Thank you, one last quick question, does the tri-channel ram work on a dual channel board? or do i have to go with dual channel. If i do go with only dual channel i would be looking at a max of 8 GB.

 

[kajabla]

The 900 series, in gaming, is not better. Go read Tom's 990x review: the $1000 processor barely beats the 2500K in gaming, and loses to the 2600K. It's better in other applications, like hardcore video editing, but not in gaming. Even in those other circumstances, only the top one or two 900s can compete.
The only reason to get a 2600K would be to max your stable overclock. Honestly, even with the incredibly high caliber of video hardware you're talking about, you won't need the extra 100 or so mhz that you might be able to squeeze out of it.
I don't think it would work, but 8gb will be plenty.

 

[Guest]

0Well as they've already said, 900 series is kinda worthless nowadays. Only 990X beats stock 2600k, while 2600k OC beats 990X. Very small difference in performance for a huge premium, even for video editing (if someone is really, really hardcore, it's still worthless, Dual Xeon is THE config for real hardcore video editing).

As they say, 2500k would be enough, anyway if you are feeling rich (just joking), you can buy 2600k, but there is very little gain and only when OC.

About Ivi Bridge, well, it's difficult to say if it will be worth it. Price difference might be huge at the beginning, both for Mobo's and processor (as P67 is not considered enthusiast by Intel, but X58 is, and first we'll have X79 Sandy Bridge E, and later on, Ivi Bridge, which will, perhaps, be enthusiast too, and so will be the prices).

I don't think the premium in performance will be worth the wait. But, as there's always a but, new GPU's from AMD and Nvidia will come on Q4, so altogether well...

You decide. Anyway, 2500k OC and GTX 590 will play Battlefield 3, Skyrim and any of those GPU-killers-games at full detail 1080p for granted. If you want to enjoy as soon as possible, buy as soon as possible .

BTW: 8 GB RAM is more than enough for gaming nowadays. And as far as I know, LGA 1555 won't be able to use Ivi Bridge processors. So CPU related looks like an already dated rig, but it's more than enough for a couple years as games are not so CPU dependant nowadays.

 

[chillin15]

0Well as they've already said, 900 series is kinda worthless nowadays. Only 990X beats stock 2600k, while 2600k OC beats 990X. Very small difference in performance for a huge premium, even for video editing (if someone is really, really hardcore, it's still worthless, Dual Xeon is THE config for real hardcore video editing).

As they say, 2500k would be enough, anyway if you are feeling rich (just joking), you can buy 2600k, but there is very little gain and only when OC.

About Ivi Bridge, well, it's difficult to say if it will be worth it. Price difference might be huge at the beginning, both for Mobo's and processor (as P67 is not considered enthusiast by Intel, but X58 is, and first we'll have X79 Sandy Bridge E, and later on, Ivi Bridge, which will, perhaps, be enthusiast too, and so will be the prices).

I don't think the premium in performance will be worth the wait. But, as there's always a but, new GPU's from AMD and Nvidia will come on Q4, so altogether well...

You decide. Anyway, 2500k OC and GTX 590 will play Battlefield 3, Skyrim and any of those GPU-killers-games at full detail 1080p for granted. If you want to enjoy as soon as possible, buy as soon as possible .

BTW: 8 GB RAM is more than enough for gaming nowadays. And as far as I know, LGA 1555 won't be able to use Ivi Bridge processors. So CPU related looks like an already dated rig, but it's more than enough for a couple years as games are not so CPU dependant nowadays.

LGA 1155 will be compatible with Ivy Bridge as some mobos can even utilize the PCI3 slot that ivy bridge will bring to it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157263

 

[Guest]

First news I've had about it, that's good to hear then as I have an LGA 1155 coming home right now

Thanks for the info and the link (too bad those Asrock aren't on stock yet at least here in Spain, I just built a rig with their P67 Fatal1ty)

BTW, I guess that makes the decission a lot easier. Go 2500k as you'll be able to upgrade to Ivi Bridge if necessary. And that Mobo chillin15 put there looks as the best option for future upgrades (or Extreme7, just read all about these Asrock Gen3 mobos ) , thanks to the PCIE 3.0 support.

PS: We are still missing the cooler for what I've seen. My recomendation would be Corsair H80. As far as I've seen and read, right now it's top1 (Antec H20 920 is almost as good). 10 degrees cooler than Noctua NH C14 with fans at 100%, 2600k at 5.2 Ghz 1.5V. That is, nothing you really care about, but it's quite a bit better than one of the best air coolers in the market.

 

[008Rohit]

If you're really hoping to get an Ivy Bridge in the future, I'd suggest you to get a cheap i3 2105 ($130) for now.
That can play all the high-end games with the GTX 590.

 

[kajabla]

The 2500K will last you quite a long time. You won't max it with a 590, or even 2x580 (which would be, I think, a better choice).

 

[Why_Me]

Free shipping for this entire build. Those two companies down below (Best Direct & Direct Canada) are affiliated and both use the same shipping addy in Richmond, BC. That card down below is a 3GB card and made especially for peeps running multiple monitors. All this build is missing is a cpu cooler...add one. That Asus board down below is a 16+2 phase board and will get you a decent o/c. That SSD down below is plenty for your o/s.

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/229568/RC-942-KKN1/COOLERMASTER/ $167.20
Coolermaster Haf X EATX Tower Case Black 6X5.25 5X3.5INT No PS Front USB3.0

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/228326/R4-LUS-07AR-GP/COOLERMASTER/ $11.00
Coolermaster Megaflow 200MM Red LED Case Fan 700RPM for HAF932 922 Cosmos S Atcs 840 Storm Sniper

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/229778/R4-L2R-20CRAR/COOLERMASTER/ $4.95
Coolermaster R4-L2R-20 120MM Red LED Case Fan 2000RPM 69CFM 19DBA 3/4 Pin

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/230686/R4-SPS-20AK-GP/COOLERMASTER/ $4.95
Coolermaster R4-SPS-20AK-GP 80MM Slim Case Fan 2000RPM 24.2CFM 20DBA - Black

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/235549/CMPSU-1050HX/CORSAIR/ $199.53
Corsair Professional Series HX1050 1050W ATX 12V 87A 24PIN ATX 80PLUS Silver Modular Power Supply

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12200BD9917&vpn=BX80623I72600K&manufacture=INTEL $308.04
Intel Core i7 2600K Quad Core Unlocked Hyperthreading Processor LGA1155 3.4GHZ Sandy Bridge 8MB

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530BD2656&vpn=P8Z68-V&manufacture=ASUS $168.69
ASUS P8Z68-V Z68 LGA1155 ATX 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI HDMI DVI Motherboard

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15380BD5211&vpn=F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL&manufacture=G.SKILL $52.19
G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127589 $579.99 FREE SHIPPING
MSI N580GTX Lightning Xtreme Edition GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 3072MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127589 $579.99 FREE SHIPPING
MSI N580GTX Lightning Xtreme Edition GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 3072MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/234806/CT064M4SSD2/CRUCIAL%20TECHNOLOGY/ $116.48
Crucial M4 SSD Micron C400 64GB 2.5IN Solid State Disk Flash Drive SATA3 6Gbps

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/233111/ST31000524AS/Seagate/ $53.74
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 7200.12 1TB SATA 32MB Cache 3.5IN Internal Hard Drive OEM

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/233514/BW-12B1LTBLKBAS/ASUS/ $119.90
ASUS BW-12B1LT Internal 12X Blu Ray Disc Writer Lightscribe OEM W/ Powerdvd

Total: $2,366.65

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/222137/GFC-00599/MICROSOFT/ $93.79
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT DVD OEM

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z68V/#overview <----- more on that Asus board

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/06/06/msi_n580gtx_lightning_xe_3gb_video_card_review/10 <----- review of that MSI 3GB card

 

[kajabla]

2500K?