Ok guys so im putting together a gaming pc...

[omoplata]

I need some advice if you would be so kind as to give it. The main purpose of this PC will be to play the new elder scrolls game maxed on 1680x1050 resolution. I would also like to play any other game that comes out for a while maxed on the same resolution.

So far these are the pieces I'm leaning toward buying:

NZXT Tempest EVO Gaming Case - Black
[= Quad Core =] AMD Phenom™ II X4 975 Black Edition Quad-Core CPU
Liquid CPU Cooling System [AMD] - Standard 120mm Fan
8 GB [2 GB X4] DDR3-1600 Memory Module
AMD Radeon HD 6970 - 2GB
[CrossFire] ASUS M4A87TD EVO -- AMD 870 w/ 2x PCI-E 2.0 x16 default USB / SATA Interface
1000 Watt -- Extreme Gaming Series
1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive
24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive
3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium


I considered getting crossfire 6970s but the price jump was a bit higher then what i could afford. So far I'm thinking ill get a 6970 for now and later if i need to crossfire it with a 6950, 6970, or 6990.

All that adds up to about 1400$ which includes shipping.

ANY advice would be much appreciated. Thanks guys.

(PS i hope the graphics card section was an okay place for this thread since I'm asking about hardware and not software. Sorry in advance if the thread is misplaced.)

 

[4745454b]

I say junk. Once you're spending $1k+ on a system, you should be looking at Intel. $180 for the 975? The i5 2400 is the same price but much faster, while the 2500 should be ~$20 and be faster still. You should switch over to an Intel system (1155) to get a few more frames out of your $$$. Everything else looks ok more or less, as long as that 1kW PSU is a good one.

 

[yyk71200]

Agreed with 4745454b. However, if you are willing to wait, in August-September AMD should roll out bulldozer CPUs. Then you can make a comparison and decide. Skyrim (you are talking about Skyrim right?) is coming out in November anyway.

 

[omoplata]

I say junk. Once you're spending $1k+ on a system, you should be looking at Intel. $180 for the 975? The i5 2400 is the same price but much faster, while the 2500 should be ~$20 and be faster still. You should switch over to an Intel system (1155) to get a few more frames out of your $$$. Everything else looks ok more or less, as long as that 1kW PSU is a good one.

Thanks for the reply!

Traditionally (meaning 1 computer ago) I sought out AMD and avoided Intel out of fear that if i bought an Intel processor i would be just paying for the brand.

Ive always just looked at how many cores a computer has and what its speed was. The 975 is a 3.6Ghz quad core which looks to be faster than any Intel processors.

But then i ran across this benchmark which has brought me to believe that there is possibly more to a processor then just its speed.

After reading your post i started checking into some of the Intel processors out there and am considering going with the i7 2600k. The i7-2600k has a lower Ghz but scored way higher on the benchmark. What do you think about this processor? Is it a good choice?

 

[omoplata]

Good Choice for video encoding, bad choice for gamers,
u're gonna pay an additional 100USD for the additional of Hyperthreading on a i5-2500K. Gaming performance isn't much different between the i7-2600 and i5-2500.


IMO, best buy is the i5-2500K, OCing it to 4ghz on air will be a breeze and it will kick any AMD CPUs a$$ hard.

Thanks allot for the reply!

So i just checked out the i5 2500k and it looks good and is really cheap. Do you think there will be any problems with the over clocking if I'm using a simple liquid cooling system?

 

[omoplata]

^ The only problem I can see is if u accidentally made a hole on the pipes, and the liquid sprayed all over the motherboard, other than that, ur fine

thanks man i really appreciate the help

 

[subasteve5800]

Hey Guys,

I think you missed the part where the OP stated he was going to be playing at 1680x1050. A 68XX series card (or nVidia equivalent) should be all he needs to max games at that resolution. And he certainly shouldn't need CF'd 6970s.

@OP: Do you want to go into a little more detail on that liquid cooling setup? If this is one you just buy (like a Corsair H50/H70) you may be better off going with an air cooler. Both for better performance and ease of use.

Also, with the money you save on the graphics card, you might consider throwing a SSD into the mix as a boot drive. The 64gb Crucial m4 was on Tom's Deals of the Day on June 24th for ~$150. That's a pretty solid deal.

Other than that, I agree with everyone else, go for the i5-2500k and a z68 mobo. Just make sure its a real z68 mobo and not a p67 where they just changed the chipset, i.e. the mobo should support integrated graphics (otherwise you won't have access to QuickSync, the best reason for going z68 IMO).

Cheers,

Suba

 

[gametstr]

Liquid cooling isn't for a budget like urs. A good Air cooler will do the job just fine like the Skythe SCMG 2100.

For a budget like this I 'd go with the following parts
CPU : i5 2500K
CPU cooler : SCMG 2100
Mobo : a good z68 board with the features u need(or want).
GPU : HD6950 2Gb / 560 Ti

For ur resolution 1680 X 1050 either of these cards should be good enough for u.
But if u upgrade ur monitor later or need be U can CF / SLI them.
My personal choice would be the 6950 2GB. (or CF 6950 2GB)

Good Luck

edit : ^was typing when suba posted.