A Battlefield 3 System 1000 USD or less

[adityar0210]

Hi people,
I'm looking to build a new comp(my first build) and honestly, i'm confused.
I'm planning to watch movies on it, play BF3 and other FPS's and RTS's.
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Approximate Purchase Date: after i get all the parts checked under an experts eye(you guys)

Budget Range: 1000 USD or about 55K INR

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Movies, Internet

Parts Not Required:

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: any as long as it delivers to india, i use this one: www.theitwares.com

Country of Origin: India (if that matters)

Parts Preferences: i would like a future proof CPU, im not planning to upgrade soon

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution:1600x1200

Additional Comments: Its gotta be cool, quiet and future proof for 1-2 years.

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I already have a few parts listed out. Please tell me if its worth buying.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive [ST31000528AS]
http://www.theitwares.com/seagate-barracuda-720012-st31000524as-7200-32mb-cache-sata-60gbs-internal-hard-drive-p-355.html

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
http://www.theitwares.com/intel-core-2500k-sandy-bridge-33ghz-37ghz-turbo-boost-256kb-cache-cache-1155-quadcore-desktop-processor-bx80623i52500k-p-2218.html

LIAN LI Lancool PC-K62 Black 0.8 mm SECC, Plastic + Mesh ATX Mid Tower Computer Case [PC-K62]
http://www.theitwares.com/lian-lancool-pck62-black-secc-plastic-mesh-tower-computer-case-p-1969.html

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Full
http://www.theitwares.com/microsoft-windows-home-premium-full-p-942.html

ASUS P8P67 DELUXE B3 Revision LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard [P8P67 DELUXE B3 Revision]
http://www.theitwares.com/asus-p8p67-deluxe-revision-1155-intel-sata-6gbs-intel-motherboard-p-2090.html

G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR [F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR]
http://www.theitwares.com/gskill-sniper-240pin-ddr3-sdram-ddr3-1600-12800-desktop-memory-model-f312800cl9d8gbsr-p-2254.html

CORSAIR GS600 Gaming Series 600W 80 PLUS Certified Power Supply [GS600]
http://www.theitwares.com/corsair-gs600-gaming-series-600w-plus-certified-power-supply-p-930.html

SAPPHIRE 100312-1GSR Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.theitwares.com/sapphire-1003121gsr-radeon-6950-256bit-gddr5-express-hdcp-ready-crossfirex-support-video-card-with-eyefinity-p-2049.html

Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus CPU cooler
http://www.theitwares.com/coolermaster-hyper-plus-cooler-p-537.html

LG 24X Sata Internal DVD Writer - GH24
http://www.theitwares.com/sata-internal-writer-gh24-p-2085.html


Tell me how you like it. Comment, criticize, anything!

Q: Will the cooler fit in the case with the mobo?


Thanks in advance

 

[AdrianPerry]

Overall build looks good.

Hyper 212+ is 16cm tall, case is 21cm wide, should be plenty of room there

This SeaSonic PSU will save you some money and will work perfectly: http://www.theitwares.com/seasonic-s12ii-bronze-520w-atx12v-v291-plus-bronze-certified-active-power-supply-p-2284.html keep in mind 750w PSU is recommended for SLI though so it might be best to buy a better PSU in your initial build, rather than having to swap it later on http://www.theitwares.com/seasonic-x760-ss760km-760w-atx12v-v23eps-v291-80plus-gold-certified-active-power-supply-p-2205.html

One thing I would say is don't pay the extra for the DELUXE motherboard, it just isn't worth it. This GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD4-B3 is probably your best option: http://www.theitwares.com/gigabyte-gap67aud4b3-1155-intel-sata-6gbs-intel-motherboard-p-2245.html or the Z68 version of the board that's a little more expensive.

Also make sure you get a 64-bit Windows OS - I couldn't tell if the one you listed was 32 or 64bit. But 32-bit wont make use of more than 4GB of your RAM.

 

[adityar0210]

Thanks, this'll cut down the costs!

I think i'm going to Crossfire/SLI, what wold you recommend that works well?

 

[adityar0210]

Could i go for an AMD Llano APU?

They seem cheaper and have an inbuilt GPU.
Also, I've seen that AMD's are cheaper than Intel, any recommendations for that?

 

[AdrianPerry]

Stick with the i5-2500k - its a monster of a CPU. Best value for money by a good margin.

Built in GPU wont make any difference to you since your using a Graphics card anyway. Z68 motherboards also have built in graphics, but again, you wont be making use of this with a discrete graphics card).

If your going to crossfire/SLI 6950's are a good choice, stick with the 750w PSU I listed, and the Gigabyte motherboard (which is SLI/Crossfire ready).

 

[adityar0210]

Stick with the i5-2500k - its a monster of a CPU. Best value for money by a good margin.

Built in GPU wont make any difference to you since your using a Graphics card anyway. Z68 motherboards also have built in graphics, but again, you wont be making use of this with a discrete graphics card).

If your going to crossfire/SLI 6950's are a good choice, stick with the 750w PSU I listed, and the Gigabyte motherboard (which is SLI/Crossfire ready).

What would be a good single card(no SLI/Crossfire) and a PSU to support it?
I really don't know how to Crossfire, so that's kind of a problem.
Also, is the 6950 an equivalent of an nVidia gtx 560 Ti?

 

[adityar0210]

Overall build looks good.

Hyper 212+ is 16cm tall, case is 21cm wide, should be plenty of room there

This SeaSonic PSU will save you some money and will work perfectly: http://www.theitwares.com/seasonic-s12ii-bronze-520w-atx12v-v291-plus-bronze-certified-active-power-supply-p-2284.html keep in mind 750w PSU is recommended for SLI though so it might be best to buy a better PSU in your initial build, rather than having to swap it later on http://www.theitwares.com/seasonic-x760-ss760km-760w-atx12v-v23eps-v291-80plus-gold-certified-active-power-supply-p-2205.html

One thing I would say is don't pay the extra for the DELUXE motherboard, it just isn't worth it. This GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD4-B3 is probably your best option: http://www.theitwares.com/gigabyte-gap67aud4b3-1155-intel-sata-6gbs-intel-motherboard-p-2245.html or the Z68 version of the board that's a little more expensive.

Also make sure you get a 64-bit Windows OS - I couldn't tell if the one you listed was 32 or 64bit. But 32-bit wont make use of more than 4GB of your RAM.

So the 520W SeaSonic is okay for a single 6950?

 

[AdrianPerry]

Yes 6950 is roughly the same performance as a GTX 560Ti.

500w PSU and a single GTX 560Ti or single 6950 would be fine.

 

[AdrianPerry]

So the 520W SeaSonic is okay for a single 6950?

Yes

 

[adityar0210]

Yes

I think i should give myself some headroom for future OCing, so im going with the 600W Corsair i started out with, given the 4 case fans.

 

[AdrianPerry]

Not sure how case fans make any difference, but ok

 

[adityar0210]

Oh yeah, i looked at this:

http://www.theitwares.com/phenom-1100t-black-edition-thuban-33ghz-37ghz-turbo-512kb-cache-cache-socket-125w-sixcore-desktop-processor-hde00zfbgrbox-p-1944.html

its got six cores AND 3.3 ghz, and at at a lower price than the 2500k.

So is it supposed to be better?(i feel like a complete nooblet!)

BTW what wattage PSU are you using?

ANOTHER question: How many fans does a mobo supports at once?(NOOB ALERT!)

 

[AdrianPerry]

XFX 750w with my GTX 560Ti so I can add a second card in SLI in a few months time.

More cores doesnt necessarily mean better performance. It depends what its being used for. The i5-2500k might have less cores (4) but it has faster cores (higher clock speeds). Games dont currently use more than 4 cores, so having 6 gives no extra benefit. However the CPU with the faster cores, will perform better.

The i5-2500k is so popular because of the potential each core has, generally with a fairly good after-market CPU cooler, the i5-2500k can easily run at 4.5GHz across all 4 cores, giving much better performance in games than 6 cores at 3.3GHz (on the AMD). Thats not to say this wont change in the future, but as it stands currently the huge clock speeds achievable on the i5-2500k are a real selling point.

 

[adityar0210]

TY Adrian, you've been a great help!

PS- is there a limit as to how many case fans a motherboard can support?

PPS:- Do you work in an IT company? (you know SOOOO much about computers!)

 

[AdrianPerry]

I actually do work in IT, yes. I work for a company providing storage solutions to other company's (back ups, server support, antivirus monitoring ect ect). Most of my "gaming" knowledge has just come from general interest however.

Your motherboard will generally have what's called "fan headers". These are usually for 3 or 4 pin fans and the amount of them depends on the motherboard you chose, some have lots, some have just 1-2. Some fans, particularly case fans, are often "molex" connections (sometimes known as peripheral connectors). These plug directly into your power supply and you can "daisy-chain" them together, so 1 connection on your PSU could be supporting for example 5-6 fans.

In this picture, the molex connector plugs into your power supply, and the other 4 ports are to plug in 3/4pin fans. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/CB-030-AK_400.jpg

And in this picture, this is the type of splitter to use if all your fans are molex fans. You can plug a few of these into each other so 1 end will go to your power supply, and the empty sockets can all have fans plugged in. http://www.mdsurplus.com/store/images/products/molex_splitter.jpg

 

[adityar0210]

I actually do work in IT, yes. I work for a company providing storage solutions to other company's (back ups, server support, antivirus monitoring ect ect). Most of my "gaming" knowledge has just come from general interest however.

Your motherboard will generally have what's called "fan headers". These are usually for 3 or 4 pin fans and the amount of them depends on the motherboard you chose, some have lots, some have just 1-2. Some fans, particularly case fans, are often "molex" connections (sometimes known as peripheral connectors). These plug directly into your power supply and you can "daisy-chain" them together, so 1 connection on your PSU could be supporting for example 5-6 fans.

In this picture, the molex connector plugs into your power supply, and the other 4 ports are to plug in 3/4pin fans. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/CB-030-AK_400.jpg

And in this picture, this is the type of splitter to use if all your fans are molex fans. You can plug a few of these into each other so 1 end will go to your power supply, and the empty sockets can all have fans plugged in. http://www.mdsurplus.com/store/images/products/molex_splitter.jpg

Will I need to buy those splitters for my case fans or does the motherboard have enough headers?

 

[AdrianPerry]

The case fans should be molex connectors and are probably already daisy chained together so you will just need to plug them into your PSU.

The Corsair GS600 you listed comes with 8 peripheral connectors, so that's plenty of connectors to hook up the case fans without needing splitters.

 

[adityar0210]

Best answer selected by adityar0210.

 

[adityar0210]

Thanks a lot, Adrian.

I'm all out of questions, strangely.


PS:- I wanted to know that-----just kidding.
Really, though, I am all out of questions.

And I didn't know those peripheral connectors were meant for case fans and whatnot.

 

[AdrianPerry]

No problem Good luck with your build

 

[flashfir]

I think i should give myself some headroom for future OCing, so im going with the 600W Corsair i started out with, given the 4 case fans.

Single card solution can run on 500watts NO PROBLEM. No need to upgrade to Corsair 600w. I was a little overzealous myself and got a OCZ StealthxStream II (FSP OEM) and its totally unnecessary.

My system probably pulls 450~ watts at load.

 

[ojas]

hehe you just told me about a great site aditya we only have a equivalent site starting up in delhi, ratetorate.in. It doesn't have so much stuff though!

btw do you live in mumbai? what's their shipping like? As inm will they like charge a lot if i ask them to ship a cabinet all the way to delhi?

EDIT: Just went over the site...sort of more expensive than Delhi...

btw, try using a WD caviar green or blue instead of a seagate drive. I've found WD to be better (i've used both). You could use the green+get an intel SSD (they have an international warranty, so you could maybe get one from the US if it's possible, would save a few thousand).

Though if you'd not want an SSD then i guess seagate is giving a faster drive.

 

[adityar0210]

hehe you just told me about a great site aditya we only have a equivalent site starting up in delhi, ratetorate.in. It doesn't have so much stuff though!

btw do you live in mumbai? what's their shipping like? As inm will they like charge a lot if i ask them to ship a cabinet all the way to delhi?

EDIT: Just went over the site...sort of more expensive than Delhi...

btw, try using a WD caviar green or blue instead of a seagate drive. I've found WD to be better (i've used both). You could use the green+get an intel SSD (they have an international warranty, so you could maybe get one from the US if it's possible, would save a few thousand).

Though if you'd not want an SSD then i guess seagate is giving a faster drive.

Well, actually since I do live in Mumbai they give me free shipping. To delhi, they would charge a little, but not much. It says Rs 650 for a cabby shipping, but i think its going to be much less than that, because lots of people from Orissa and Bihar order from their website. The owner also posted some great deals on techenclave.com. If you dont like the shipping costs, heres another:- www.theitdepot.com

They've got a wider range of products and laptops, but its Kolkata based, so they do charge for shipping, but very little.

And, yeah, i would like an SSD. Where do you suggest i buy one? I'd go for a 500GB HDD+128GB SSD anyday.

 

[Wisecracker]

MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III PE/OC Radeon HD 6950 2GB

ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz


Rs.34,050'ish

 

[ojas]

^no point of the phenom.

@aditya:
i thought the itdepot was Chennai based? i remember reading something about shipping only to southern states or something....anyway, probably non in Calcutta too as you say, so will look it up.

i really don't know where you could get an SSD from. i mean, you can find them on www.ebay.in, otherwise www.ratetorate.in has some too., but wouldn't know where the best deal lies.

i'll probably buy in a few months, an intel one that i'll ask a relative to fetch from the US. The only reason is reliability, i don't want to go through an RMA process (because we don't have newegg like service anywhere i think ), plus there's an Intel service centre a few kilometres from my house, and a 5 year warranty on their 320-series drives. send them a mail/live chat with them and ask them where you could buy or something, they're pretty helpful.

Crucial isn't in India i think, the only other safe option is samsung.

edit: they're Chennai based, friend.