$3000 gaming pc

[c0ldfusion]

Hello everyone. I'm trying to build a gaming pc, my budget is $3000 (excluding monitor, keyboard, mouse etc). I play every genre that exists but primarily fps. I will be playing on a 2560x1600 30" display (dell U3011). Please offer your opinions on my current build. I am concerned with future upgradability so motherboard and case selections would be especially welcome. Sound is also very important to me so if anyone has experience with the audio card I selected or can recommend another please go ahead.

Approximate Purchase Date: Early August

Budget Range: $2500-3000 (excluding monitor cost)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming and nothing else

Parts Preferences: Pretty set on GTX 580s and i7 2600k

Overclocking: Certainly

SLI or Crossfire: Yes

Monitor Resolution: 2560x 1660


Case: Corsair Obsidian 800D

Power Supply: 1000W Corsair 80 + Modular Power supply

GPUs : 2 Nvidia GTX 580s

Motherboard: Asrock Z68 Extreme4

CPU: Intel i7 2600k w/ Asetek zero-service liquid cooling

RAM: 8gb Patriot Division 2 X-treme Dual Channel DDR3

SSD: 2 64gb crucial C300 realSSD (Gonna run in Raid 0)

Audio: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCI-E 7.1

HD: 3TB Seagate Barracuda XT


Couple of specific questions: Will this motherboard support the audio card, an internal wireless N wifi adapter (cant run wired in this location UNFORTUNATELY) and a third 580 if I add one in the future?

Any experience/thoughts on the dell U3011? I am also considering the hp zr30w.


Thanks

 

[chillin15]

Hello everyone. I'm trying to build a gaming pc, my budget is $3000 (excluding monitor, keyboard, mouse etc). I play every genre that exists but primarily fps. I will be playing on a 2560x1600 30" display (dell U3011). Please offer your opinions on my current build. I am concerned with future upgradability so motherboard and case selections would be especially welcome. Sound is also very important to me so if anyone has experience with the audio card I selected or can recommend another please go ahead.

Approximate Purchase Date: Early August

Budget Range: $2500-3000 (excluding monitor cost)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming and nothing else

Parts Preferences: Pretty set on GTX 580s and i7 2600k

Overclocking: Certainly

SLI or Crossfire: Yes

Monitor Resolution: 2560x 1660


Case: Corsair Obsidian 800D

Power Supply: 1000W Corsair 80 + Modular Power supply

GPUs : 2 Nvidia GTX 580s

Motherboard: Asrock Z68 Extreme4

CPU: Intel i7 2600k w/ Asetek zero-service liquid cooling

RAM: 8gb Patriot Division 2 X-treme Dual Channel DDR3

SSD: 2 64gb crucial C300 realSSD (Gonna run in Raid 0)

Audio: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCI-E 7.1

HD: 3TB Seagate Barracuda XT


Couple of specific questions: Will this motherboard support the audio card, an internal wireless N wifi adapter (cant run wired in this location UNFORTUNATELY) and a third 580 if I add one in the future?

Any experience/thoughts on the dell U3011? I am also considering the hp zr30w.


Thanks

A single 128 SSD would work better and have less of a chance of failure than two small 64gb ssd drives in raid 0. In regards to adding a 3rd 580, it will run in 8x/8x/4x on the extreme4.

The dell ultrasharps are amazing and priced very competitively. If I had the funds, I would get one. Your audio card should work. Not too sure about the wireless adapter.

 

[c0ldfusion]

chillin, thanks for the response.

Why would a single ssd work better? I understand the failure risk but thought running 2 identical drives in raid 0 was faster than a single ssd.

The third 580 would run in 8x/8x/4x as opposed to 16x/16x (only 2 of these slots on the extreme 4?)? Sorry if this is a novice question but Im uncertain as to what the difference is between these slots in terms of performance.

 

[werbo]

The two drives in raid zero might read faster, but the write is slower because every time it writes the data it has to write to both drives. Also the sli 580s run at 8x/8x not 16x/16x if I'm not mistaken, so only a 16/8/8 board or a 16/16/8 board would give you the same speed across the board

 

[chillin15]

The lower capacity ssd drives are slower than the higher capacity drives in both reads and writes. The performance in raid 0 does not make up for that. Taking that into consideration + doubling the risk of drive failure + the already numerous problems with ssds, I would not raid 0 any ssds...

the extreme 4 has 3 pcix16 slots but the electrical is only 8x/8x/4x

You need the nf chip to do 16x/16x/8x (I believe the last one is 8x or might even be 4x).

In any case, for the price, tri-sli would not yield much of a performance increase over sli.

 

[mjmjpfaff]

that isnt much of a gaming build...-
first off what speakers do you have? you wont see a difference in sound with a sound card unless you have a 500$ set of speakers with over 300w of power. onboard sound is excellent. wireless gaming for fps? that isnt a good idea. hook your computer up to the internet via ethernet on the motherboard


i7 2600k & P8P67 WS Revolution http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.701066 555$

noctua nh-d14 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018&Tpk=noctua%20nh%20d14 90$ this cooler cools as good as the corsair h80 (when the h80 is at its lowest fan speeds, the noctua is extremely quiet compared to it). i dont know what liquid cooler you wanted to get. can you put a link to it?

Silverstone RV02-BW http://www.amazon.com/SILVERSTONE-RV02B-W-Steel-Tower-Computer/dp/B002M78KZG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1312259355&sr=8-2 160$ the 800D is a hot box and made for a total liquid cooled system

Gigabyte Windforce 6970 2gb http://www.provantage.com/gigabyte-technology-gv-r697oc-2gd~7GIG90JA.htm 361x3=1083$

OCZ ZX 1250w PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341046&Tpk=zx1250 243$ shipped

gskill 8gb 1600mhz cl8 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445 60$ buy this before 8/3

OCZ Vertex 3 120gb- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706 255$

Samsung Spinpoint f3 1tb- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=samsung%20spinpoint%20f3%201tb 60$ 1tb is a lot of space you wont go through it that quickly. get another one when you need the space.

Total=2506$

logitech g110 keyboard- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126087&Tpk=logitech%20g110 60$

Logitech g9x- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126087&Tpk=logitech%20g110 60$

corsair sp2500- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836852001&Tpk=corsair%20sp2500 230$ this thing has an amazing bass with duel 60w subwoofers. the tweeters are rated at 56w each which is also very good. you will see amazing sound from these speakers

another good set is logitech Z623- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121048 135$ it has a single 130w subwoofer (that is why the bass is so much smaler because it is a single) and its tweeters are 35w each. they both give amazing sound so you can go wrong with either one

do you have space for 3 24" monitors?- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176141 280$x3=840$ much better way to spend your money

 

[mjmjpfaff]

3 6970's beat 3 580's in new fps games like bf bc2, fyi

 

[mjmjpfaff]

i can see your point in the keyboard. a mechanical keyboard is something to try out and see if you like but he is only gaming.... the logitech g9x is a great mouse i really dont see anybody using 6400dpi let alone 5000dpi the g9x has. the g9x is also very customizable.

 

[Why_Me]

Down below are 3GB gtx 580's that are made for a tri monitor set up. Two of those MSI cards will destroy any game out there on that tri monitor set up.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225 $189.99
COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194081 $209.99
ENERMAX REVOLUTION85+ ERV1020EWT 1020W (Peak 1120W) ATX12V / EPS12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.701066&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=vodpdgawinwl $554.98
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
ASUS P8P67 WS REVOLUTION LGA 1155 Intel P67 / NVIDIA NF200 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428 $64.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127589 $599.00
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.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127589 $599.00
MSI N580GTX Lightning Xtreme Edition GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 3072MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

 

[mjmjpfaff]

i wouldnt say destroy...- http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1084/pg18/xfx-radeon-6970-and-radeon-6950-graphics-card-review-3-way-crossfire-eyefinity-vs-sli.html

 

[mjmjpfaff]

that is 5670x1080p he wants a 2500x1600 monitor. i suggested 3 1920x1200 monitors

 

[008Rohit]

3 6970's beat 3 580's in new fps games like bf bc2, fyi

Now, here starts the ATI vs. Nvidia fight yet again.

 

[mightymaxio]

Don't get tom fooleried into the logitech board/mouse

razer is where its at right now

Black Widow mechanical keyboard = professional at work, stand aside and watch as money is made!

Imperator 4G Dual Laser 6400dpi = Chuck Norris spanking god

Why the hate towards logitech lol, perhaps their products have been going downhill since 2006 but still the G15-G19 keyboards are pretty sweet with the screen.

 

[Why_Me]

i wouldnt say destroy...- http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1084/pg18/xfx-radeon-6970-and-radeon-6950-graphics-card-review-3-way-crossfire-eyefinity-vs-sli.html

Those are "little boy cards".

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=msi+geforce+gtx+580+lightning+xtreme+edition+review&pbx=1&oq=msi+gtx+580+lightning+xtreme+re&aq=1b&aqi=g1g-b2&aql=&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=0l0l3l1858l0l0l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=3e32e185cb2f0e2c&biw=1440&bih=775 <---- Behold the MSI Lighting Extreme 3GB.

That be the "BIG BOY CARD".

 

[mjmjpfaff]

its an oc'd 3gb gtx 580. it still isnt 3 580's why me....

 

[mjmjpfaff]

Now, here starts the ATI vs. Nvidia fight yet again.

no it isnt i brought it down 2 one game. it is a fact more so

 

[c0ldfusion]

thanks for the replies everyone, much appreciated.

@mjmjpfaff and Why_Me - thanks for the detailed build selections. The msi 580s Why_Me posted are the ones I'm set on. The cooler and case mjmjpfaff posted look better suited than my original choices.

mjmjpfaff - Im still a little undecisive on my speaker selection but was not aware how good the onboard audio was. I have a set of M-audio AV40's right now and a full 5.1 klipsch surround setup for my tv, both of which I was considering for this desktop. For these, along with the suggestions you posted, I will not see a difference in sound quality with the audio card?

Im aware of the disadvantages of using wireless internet. Howevere, the distance from my router to where I am putting this rig will make wiring extremely difficult. I'm not ruling it out yet but at the minimum need wireless as an alternative.

Also, I just picked up a black widow mechanical keyboard for my laptop and am loving it. I have a logitech g500 mouse.

I dont want to do a 3 monitor setup. I've read there are compatibility issues and think I would enjoy a 30" 2560x1600 more.

 

[mjmjpfaff]

if you are going to use those speakers then yes get a sound card

ok so yoou didnt need peripherals.

ya that setup would be hard on 2 580's anyways here is a good 30" monitor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176177

 

[mjmjpfaff]

well to a certain point if you have 2 1w speakers you arent going to get any of that out of them

 

[mjmjpfaff]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836150071 .75 watts baby. these things are awesome give crystal clear sound

 

[Lunat1c]

Mjm. Pm sent..

 

[jrwizbang]

3 6970's beat 3 580's in new fps games like bf bc2, fyi

No actually they dont. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/298?vs=308
Yes this is only Crossfire, and SLI, not tri-fire or- tri-sli, but you can do the math...

 

[mjmjpfaff]

im talking about 3 monitor setups where 3 6970's do beat 3 580's. also 3 way crossfire scaled better than 3 way sli

 

[mjmjpfaff]

Mjm. Pm sent..

im sorry i have no idea how to access the pm. where do i go?

 

[jrwizbang]

im talking about 3 monitor setups where 3 6970's do beat 3 580's. also 3 way crossfire scaled better than 3 way sli

Maybe the 6970's do scale better, but the 580's are better to begin with.