New gaming build, $1500-$2000

[grandpamasaki]

Approximate Purchase Date: Between October 11th and October 17th

Budget Range: $1500 - $2000 before rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Parts Not Required: Mouse, keyboard and OS (I am trying to recover my old mouse and keyboard, but this might not be possible so I am open to any recommendations. I had a Sidewinder X8 and a Merc Stealth and I loved them)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon.com due to taxes (CA resident)

Country of Origin: US

Parts Preferences: by brand or type (e.g.: Intel for CPU and Nvidia for GPU, but I can be convinced otherwise)

Overclocking: Yes (mild, I'm still learning)

SLI or Crossfire: Not yet. I want a single card solution while leaving myself open for SLI later.

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: The goal is to build this rig for BF3, so I can stretch the purchase date a week or so but not by much (no waiting until Q1 2012 for 7xxx series)

CPU
Intel Core i5 2500k

Heatsink
Scythe Mugen 3

Motherboard
Asrock p67 Extreme4

RAM
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-12800 1600mHz

GPU
EVGA GeForce GTX 580 DoubleShot

PSU
Corsair Professional Series HX1050

Case
Silverstone Raven RV03

SSD
Crucial M4 128GB

HDD
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB

DVD drive
Lite-On Lightscribe 24x

Monitor
Asus VH242H 23.6" 1920x1080

Thanks for taking a look! Any suggestions/recommendations are welcome.

 

[cutebeans]

Pretty good. You know your stuff.

Samsung spinpoint f3 is cheaper. Maybe u want to save a few bucks. That's all! pretty good build.

 

[boiler1990]

One or two 580s should be perfect for BF3 @ 1920x1080. Overall the build looks good. Sucks you can't buy from Newegg...

 

[grandpamasaki]

One or two 580s should be perfect for BF3 @ 1920x1080. Overall the build looks good. Sucks you can't buy from Newegg...

I know =(

But to be honest, a lot of the parts are either the same price or sometimes cheaper on Amazon. Sometimes they even price-match with Newegg sales, so I still get Newegg alerts, and if I see something good I check to see if the price has dropped on Amazon.

I wish 1920x1200 was a more popular screen size. I had an Asus vw266h that I LOVED. It was huge at 26" and even had component input, and it was only $220 during the Newegg sales about two years ago (right before it got discontinued).

 

[boiler1990]

Even if their price are like $5-10 higher, I get 2-day shipping with Prime so I'm willing to pay for that difference.

 

[grandpamasaki]

Even if their price are like $5-10 higher, I get 2-day shipping with Prime so I'm willing to pay for that difference.

Oh, well, hell yeah, for sure. If I could, I would still order everything from Newegg, it's really the taxes that kill me. I use Amazon for everything, but I still trust Newegg for RMA and packaging. Plus, Newegg has the latest tech, whereas Amazon is always lagging behind a bit.

Take this baby right here:

Hanns G 1920x1080 24.6" 2ms

I would be all over that if it wasn't for the taxes.

 

[mjmjpfaff]

i suggest the pc power and cooling silencer mkII 950w psu. it is all you need to run 2 580's much cheaper and better quality. (see jonnyguru for hx1050 review)

Silverstone Raven RV03. saves you a few $ but gives you as good cooling because of its unique design

lastly change your hdd to the samsung f3 1tb. it is faster and cheaper

for 10$ more you can get a card with better cooling- http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-DoubleShot-Superclocked-Mini-HDMI-015-P3-1587-AR/dp/B004ZEZC6E/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1318041124&sr=1-4

 

[grandpamasaki]

i suggest the pc power and cooling silencer mkII 950w psu. it is all you need to run 2 580's much cheaper and better quality. (see jonnyguru for hx1050 review)

Silverstone Raven RV03. saves you a few $ but gives you as good cooling because of its unique design

lastly change your hdd to the samsung f3 1tb. it is faster and cheaper

for 10$ more you can get a card with better cooling- http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-DoubleShot-Superclocked-Mini-HDMI-015-P3-1587-AR/dp/B004ZEZC6E/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1318041124&sr=1-4

Thanks a lot for the suggestions, that's exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for.

I love that gtx580, that is a definite change for me. Also, I'm going to give the Raven a serious look, I had never heard of that case before and I'm intrigued.

I was debating about the PSU you listed. I was really looking for modular, but I'll give it a second thought. I'll check out the jonnyguru reviews later.

Lastly...you're the second person to recommend the Samsung f3 1tb. Amazon lists it having 16mb cache...is that a misstype?

 

[grandpamasaki]

So I'm looking at the Raven RV03...do you personally have this case? While I like a lot of the features, it sounds like a real pain in the ass to work. It also seems to have some pretty flimsy parts, and the supported fans are a good deal smaller. I really do like the design and the cheaper price though. If you have this case, did you add any fans to it?

 

[boiler1990]

I own the RV02 (not the RV02-E), and I love it. It cools really well, and the newer release has the AP181 fans, I believe, which are significantly better than the fans that came with mine.

Using this case isn't really any different than traditional cases, so I don't quite understand what you mean by it'll be a pain to work.

I was able to run 3x470s @ 55-65C (which is very cool for these hot cards) in my RV02 with the stock 3x180mm and 1x120mm fans. I don't see why the RV03's AP181s won't do the trick.

Also, the HAF 932 is much cheaper than the HAF X but has a similar design.

 

[mjmjpfaff]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions, that's exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for.

I love that gtx580, that is a definite change for me. Also, I'm going to give the Raven a serious look, I had never heard of that case before and I'm intrigued.

I was debating about the PSU you listed. I was really looking for modular, but I'll give it a second thought. I'll check out the jonnyguru reviews later.

Lastly...you're the second person to recommend the Samsung f3 1tb. Amazon lists it having 16mb cache...is that a misstype?

it has a 32mb cache

 

[mjmjpfaff]

So I'm looking at the Raven RV03...do you personally have this case? While I like a lot of the features, it sounds like a real pain in the ass to work. It also seems to have some pretty flimsy parts, and the supported fans are a good deal smaller. I really do like the design and the cheaper price though. If you have this case, did you add any fans to it?

http://www.techspot.com/review/394-silverstone-rv03/page5.html here is a review of the rv03. you dont need to add any fans to this case it cools extremely well stock. you can put an exhaust fan at the back of the case though.

 

[grandpamasaki]

I own the RV02 (not the RV02-E), and I love it. It cools really well, and the newer release has the AP181 fans, I believe, which are significantly better than the fans that came with mine.

Using this case isn't really any different than traditional cases, so I don't quite understand what you mean by it'll be a pain to work.

I was able to run 3x470s @ 55-65C (which is very cool for these hot cards) in my RV02 with the stock 3x180mm and 1x120mm fans. I don't see why the RV03's AP181s won't do the trick.

Also, the HAF 932 is much cheaper than the HAF X but has a similar design.

Thanks for the feedback. I didn't mean to imply that it was somehow very different, I was just going off of what I'd read in reviews. Doing a quick online search resulted in numerous complaints, with people claiming that the case was difficult to work with and take apart for cleaning. Some mentioned plastic clips that easily broke.

I do really like the layout of the case, but I regularly take my case apart for cleaning and shift things around. I had a CM690 and hated the plastic clips that held the front on, I always felt like I was going to snap them. Anyway, I do really appreciate the feedback and will be sure to check out more reviews. Would two gtx 580s fit ok in there?

 

[boiler1990]

Thanks for the feedback. I didn't mean to imply that it was somehow very different, I was just going off of what I'd read in reviews.

Doing a quick online search resulted in numerous complaints, with people claiming that the case was difficult to work with and take apart for cleaning. Some mentioned plastic clips that easily broke.

Most of the reviews were of the pre-production model, which did have numerous issues (I mean, it was a prototype) like the plastic clips on the top of the case. However, Silverstone did note their findings and were finding the same thing with their testing and have supposedly rectified it. I'm guessing it's the same mechanism that secures the roof on the RV02 and RV02-E models, and I haven't had any issues with those.

I do really like the layout of the case, but I regularly take my case apart for cleaning and shift things around. I had a CM690 and hated the plastic clips that held the front on, I always felt like I was going to snap them.

I'd imagine those filters would be nice on the outside, assuming they hold together pretty well. The RV02's filters were internal and part of an extremely bulky fan mount (~1" high), but they secured pretty nicely. Having them on the outside is an great decision IMHO.

Would two gtx 580s fit ok in there?

Shouldn't be an issue. My 6950 2GB fit with about a centimeter between it and the fans, and it's a long card. Again, 3x470s weren't an issue either, and cooled better than I expected.

 

[grandpamasaki]

Ok, after reading more reviews I'm sold on the Raven. I love the interior, the air flow and the lighter weight. Honestly I also prefer the look of it compared to the Haf X, though the gold is pretty ugly. After reading around a bit, I'm also sold on the Samsung f3, as it does seem to be faster. I guess the 64mb cache is more of a marketing thing?

Not liking the PC Power and Cooling Mk II 1000w though. I have heard great things about the Corsair HX850. I don't know though, would that be enough for a gtx580 sli setup with overclocks? It IS cheaper, but I'm thinking I should just stick with the hx1050 to be sure.

Thanks again for all the great feedback.

 

[boiler1990]

Ok, after reading more reviews I'm sold on the Raven. I love the interior, the air flow and the lighter weight. Honestly I also prefer the look of it compared to the Haf X, though the gold is pretty ugly.

I personally like the black/gold (being a Boilermaker) but to each his own, eh? I would have preferred that the Raven kept more of the RV02 characteristics, though I am very interested in how the RV03 cools.

After reading around a bit, I'm also sold on the Samsung f3, as it does seem to be faster. I guess the 64mb cache is more of a marketing thing?

The F3 has a higher platter density, which means it will read and write faster. The WD drive platters haven't been altered, so the SATA III controller is a waste since the drives can't physically read or write data to saturate even the SATA II (3Gbps) controllers.

Not liking the PC Power and Cooling Mk II 1000w though. I have heard great things about the Corsair HX850. I don't know though, would that be enough for a gtx580 sli setup with overclocks? It IS cheaper, but I'm thinking I should just stick with the hx1050 to be sure.

The Silencer Mk II 950W is OEMed by Seasonic, just like Corsair's HX and AX series PSUs, so aside from the modular connectivity, there isn't a huge difference between the Mk II 950 and HX850. The HX850 should be enough for 2x580s, but it might not give you enough headroom for the OCs if you run them regularly.

Aside: The Silencer Mk II 750 and 950 models are the only two that are OEMed by Seasonic; I personally would not recommend any of the others. It's just that the non-modular, "off-brand" PSUs tend to be cheaper than those made by Corsair and XFX, even though they really are all made by the same companies.

 

[grandpamasaki]

Well, thanks a lot! All I have left is to order the parts and put this thing together.

 

[grandpamasaki]

Best answer selected by grandpamasaki.