bf3, bgo, swtor, GAMING BEAST STAGE 1... is this a legit use of ca$h??

please guys.. clean this up, organize my build for me.. take the headache out of this build for me.. HELP me lol.

Here you go. As far as PSU goes - all you have to make sure about is that it's certified by UL and rated at least 80 plus bronze or greater. As long as it meets those requirements the brand is pretty much personal preference, there's a lot of good ones out there (except Ultra) and a lot of bad ones, but as long as it's rated you shouldn't have any problems.

Case & Cooling - spend a bit more on the case. If you're going for a system that will last be prepared to spend at least $100 on the case. You can get an inexpensive one but you'll want at least a few fans in it as most in the $50 - $75 range are about as barebones as it gets.

For the SSD the thing to do is to get a small, inexpensive one (I really like the Crucial M4) and use that for the OS ONLY, and run everything else on your secondary 1 - 2TB hard drive.

As for the sound I wouldn't include headphones as part of your budget. You should definitely get some good ones but don't make that part of your main budget or you wont have money for a lot of the other parts that are required. You don't need a dedicated sound card either - the onboard sound on your motherboard will work just fine.

It's a little bit over your budget but all the parts here are top notch and it'll last for years:

Case: Corsair Carbide 400R - $99.99
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 - $99.99
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3H - $189.99
CPU: 3.40 GHz Intel Core i7-2600K - $314.99
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo - $34.99
RAM: 8GB (2 x 4GB) Kingston Hyper X Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz RAM - $59.99
SSD: Crucial M4 64GB - $109.99
HD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB - $74.99
Optical: Lite-On 24X DVD Burner - $18.99
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - $99.99
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD Flex 6870 - $170.99

Total: $1310.99

Wrong on the RAM. You selected 1.65 V ram. He needs 1.5 V ram

Of course, I always forget about the voltage. Try this one instead:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

The difference between the Intel® Core™ i7-2600K and the Intel Core i7-2600:

Intel Core i7-2600:
-Support for TXT (Trusted Execution Technology) a business level virus protect feature.
-Support for VT-d (Virtualization for Directed I/O)
-Intel HD 2000 Graphics

Intel Core i7-2600K
-Unlocked Multiplier (makes overclocking very easy)
-Intel HD 3000 Graphics

So for the $15 of the Intel Core i7-2600K you pick up the ability to overclock the Intel Core i7-2600K over 4GHz without much effort.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

AWESOME =) thank you two very much.

wow. that is really some good deals from Tiger.

ATI vs NVIDIA?? wtf is the benefit from going with one over the other? is there any difference at all ? i have always gone with the nvidia's because of there close relationship to intel and i have always run intel boards with intel chips so i always figured that nvidia was better? what do you guys think?

i would love to go with a smaller 64Gig SSD but i fear that windows will eat that up in no time with all the downloads, updates, SP's, and other misc system junk..

can everyone agree that the 64gig SSD is enough to effectively run my OS for now and in the future? also, i have read every single article and Tom's about SSD vs hard drives but i am still a little confused. maybe we can revisit this on this thread?



yes in the future i would like to be able to OC it, well worth the $15-20 bucks now that i have talked it over with the wifey =)

what do you say about nvidia vs ati?

First off, I'm an AMD/Nvidia fan so it's kinda different looking through your eyes. but i'll do my best, most of it seems pretty smooth with just a few bumps..the samsung 1 tb spinpoint hd is a much better choice, pretty much the fastest overall, you might wanna consider 2 or more for raid configuration, and they are cheaper..and while we are on samsung, their SSD is a reliable option as well, but..go with more than 64 gb, the os will take up most if not all of that, consider 128 at least. as for the optical..dude..dvd is like vhs..dead technology.. go with blu-ray

The main difference between ATI/AMD and NVIDIA is if you want to run multiple displays or not. Most NVIDIA cards have two - three ports but you can really only run two monitors per card, and the benefit with SLI on NVIDIA is that you can run three or more displays. With ATI/AMD and their Eyefinity you can run four or five displays off one card.

And as far as the SSD goes - 64GB is generally fine for just about everything you plan to run. If you run like Microsoft Office, Adobe CS, anything of that nature, you'll probably want to go for a 128GB. A typical install of Windows 7 takes about 16GB of your primary HD space, and a 64GB SSD formatted leaves you about 59.0GB - so you'll have plenty for most programs. Install your games and everything else on the secondary. The nice thing about the Intel Z68 chipset is its' ability to use your SSD to act as a memory cache for larger drives, and that will just about double the performance of any standard 1, 2, 3TB+ hard drive you can throw at it.

cool thank you, i do think myself that 128gigs would be a minimum for a OS-SSD.

i actually have a LARGE blu-ray collection. i am a sony guy, and have blu-ray in my vaio, in my PS3, and as a stand-alone for the googletv. but i am going to wait on a blu-ray for a few months at least i think. and i have a ton of older fun games i like to play that do require DVD. but it is certainly going the way of the buffalo, that is for sure.

as for HD, i think that the spinpoint is a good, faster option. any price links? i look for it when i get a chance.




that is some good insight, but i really cant imagine that windows only takes up that much space. i have seen it take up a bit more space. and i am not going to be running multiple monitors anytime in the near future. that i know. i only want SLI so i can run two vid cards at a later date, IF i want to. and then i will probably just run another monitor so i think nvidia is good for me. but im not set in stone.

I agree with this - if you don't need the OS disc, invest the money in a Blu-Ray burner. The one I recommend it looks like it's been discontinued (Plextor B940) but go with something from LG, Samsung, or Lite-On for around $80 - $90.



Spinpoints are excellent choices, they're cheap and reliable. Whichever secondary drive you get - whether it's WD, Seagate, etc just depends on personal preference. Just make sure it's at least 7200RPM, avoid slower drives.



You can run two cards with AMD / ATI too - theirs is called Crossfire, it works about the same. I mean the thing with ATI/NVIDIA is just personal preference. But their biggest strength is on multiple displays where NVIDIA doesn't have anything even remotely close to Eyefinity.

first off..blu-ray plays dvd's..backwards compatible. as for the price links..i am currently building my gaming system..here is the amazon wish list:
http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/1R5VP4XDSIHKC/ref=cm_wl_...
you might find other gems you may not have thought of..check the comments on each component.
1 last thought..you might wanna bump up the ram to 1866..same thing as vhs..

I have 60GB (not 64) in two of my PCs for boot drives. After installing Win7, MS Office, browsers, and a few other apps (and doing tweaks - namely re-directing the entire user profile folder including appdata and turning off hibernate, moving the page file, and limiting system restore) they are a little less than half full. And the PC boots from off in ~20 sec, SSD apps start near instantly and the overall responsiveness is much better.

My two cents. 128 GB SSD is better than a 64 GB SSD. But a 64 GB SSD is much much better than no SSD.

thanks guys!

Cant argue with that - I'm running a 64GB SSD on my work machine but that's only because I got it for super cheap at a Newegg sale. I wish I had got 128GB but eh... reformatting and getting all my apps reauthorized is such a huge pain I don't mind it.

true dat!  

thats why i suggest getting a big enough SSD to begin with..

I presume the main purpose is for gaming, and that you have a budget.
Here are some suggestions:

1) The 2600K is a fine cpu, but it costs $100 more than a 2500K.
Games rarely use more than two or three cores, making the hyperthreads on the 2600K largely useless for gaming.
The standatd clock rate is only a small ,1 jump over the 2500K and when you overclock, you will get both to the same sane overclock, say 4.0 or so.
Therefore, I suggest you get the 2500Kinstead, and spend the $100 savings on a more productive component.

2) That more productive component is the graphics card, the true engine of gaming. A 6870 is an ok card for $180 or so.
I would use the $100 saved to get a stronger graphics card, say a 6950 or 6970.
Shop also for the nvidia comparable cards, the GTX560ti, or GTX570.

3) A GTX580 only needs a quality 600w psu, so your 750w corsair is a bit more than you need.
Consider this Antec earthwatts 650w unit for $55 after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

4) The motherboard you picked will work well. It is a full ATX motheboard with 7 expansion slots.
Just how many of those do you plan on using?

Perhaps a cheaper Micro-ATX motherboard with 4 slots would do you just as well.
Here is a GIGABYTE GA-Z68M-D2H for half the price that should do just as well:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

5) I heartily endorse using a SSD for the os and a few apps. You can load the os on as little as 40gb; I have done it, as I recall, w7 only took 13gb.
But, you will want to load at least your current game, so I think 60-80gb would be better, perhaps even 120gb. Use a cheap hard drive for overflow if you run out of room.
Currently, it seems that Intel and Samsung are the best units to get.

Yeah that is true that you can get by with a lesser PSU, and anything over 750 watt is complete overkill, but I always like to be prepared for future expansion, you never know what you may need in the near future.

Oh and if you plan to run SLI, I don't really recommend Micro ATX for that, yeah they did show that on the front page of Tom's Hardware last week but if it's a beginner build, I'd stick to ATX, much easier to work with, and less room for installation errors, especially on a case as big as the Carbide 400.

i have to disagree with your psu review, if he plans on SLI (which he does), 750 is the minimum he would need.

also..very last thought (i promise..i think)..you might wanna also consider an am3+ mobo because..again..the am3 is also a vhs in the making...

Why plan on SLI and pay upfront costs for psu, mobo, and case when a good single card will do the job now?

For future upgrades, plan on selling the current card on favor of the next best thing.

Just my opinion.

beauty is in the eye of the beholder i guess, i prefer to do it right the first time..for future expandability.
in any event, i hope you build your dream system with no regrets..good luck!  

It's not just SLI, if he plans to do any sort of OC'ing - running a big-ass fan like the Noctua D14, running future liquid cooling, or running tons of hard drives and that sort of thing, you do not want to get by with a lesser PSU than you'd think you need.

Agreed  

The OP did not suggest he was interested in sli, water cooling, tons of hard drives, or even oc.
Regardless, those things are negligible, compared to the needs of the graphics configuration.
I do not think it is wrong to slightly overprovision the psu, but if you are on a budget, that is where you can save a bit.

sorry, but yes..he DID express interest in SLI, perhaps you might reread the post. "i only want SLI so i can run two vid cards at a later date, IF i want to."
in any event, a 750 psu should serve you fine.  

okay lets see here:

recap:

i would like to save $100

so i think the best idea would be to get the cheaper 2500k

and i dont need all those ports, i just want to be able to upgrade to another 560ti (i like that card so thats the one im going with IF i can find a deal on one)

i want SLI so i can just pop in another 560ti and throw some more RAM in there and get a noticeable boost. also, at that time, i would like to go ahead and OC it.

i think i am going to go with a CHEAP 1tb hard drive for now. later, i will get a decent sized SSD to run my OS.

therefore, i think i will opt for a little more expensive power supply.

anyone want to re-edit my build list with some links and such? so i can copy/paste it into the OP.

=)

thanks guys you are all a lot smarter than i. that is for certain.

I felt the need to reiterate geofelt's point. The i7 2600k is a bit too much for this budget and the graphic card is not enough. Take it down to a i5 2500k and upgrade the graphic to at lease 6950 with the money saved.

no friend, NOT smarter, some, possibly more knowledgeable, some more wannabeable...but in the end you have to decide which is more important..up and running as cheaply as possible...or...something you can upgrade and last a few years before obsoletion.
the name of your post was 'Help me build a gaming Beast' ...not a gaming mouse, I hope I helped.  
and thats my final 2 cents, good luck!  

wait wait wait LOL, i has more questions..

come back =)

very wise decision.



ok read the article on micro-stuttering under graphics

now what I suggest is if whether or not you plan to go SLI or crossfire, you should at MINIMUM get an AMD 6950 or an Nvidia gtx570.

the article explains, in short, that these cards are the minimum on the hierarchy chart at which point you won't experience this phenomenon (micro-stuttering) in 2-card SLI. 3 way xfire/SLI is a different story and a completely different beast that I won't delve into.



ok here is where I really want to get my point across, as I myself personally have an SSD run OS in my system. it seems like your budget is set for a fairly nice rig. GET AN SSD. PERIOD. end of discussion. whether its 64gig or larger, just get one. you will absolutely not regret this decision.

yes, opt for a quality 750watt PSU. I would honestly sacrifice SLI/xfire (I have gtx460 in SLI) just so I could have my 128gb SSD to run my OS and other frequently used programs/games.

Wow. this is GOLDEN advice im getting. after reading that art on here it seems like i really SHOULD go ahead and step it up to a gtx570. what would be the CONs to running a GTx the price is not that bad. which one should i get right now?? im looking at tg and ne and even ncix for pricing and man there are just so many choices and prices and options oh my! lol

well, my point about getting the SSD still stands. if you get that and install your OS on it, you wont have to worry about reinstalling windows later on if you didnt buy the SSD. reinstalling windows is no fun.

the GTX 570 will absolutely run most games flawlessly with a single card, except for the very graphically intense titles. If you're that serious about your fps on maxed settings, either step up to another 570 in SLI later down the road, or shell out for a gtx580 right off the bat. the 580 $100+ more expensive, but damn is it fast.

as for vendors, check and see if sales tax applies to you from www.newegg.com

I absolutely love that site. between them and amazon, thats where I got all my parts for my current build. hell I even have to pay sales tax because I'm a TN resident and I still buy from them.

I also forgot to ask you. what resolution is your monitor? I recommend at least 1920x1080 capable monitor.

you can get a good 23" 1080p monitor for around $150 now. a lot of the price points you see will drop by a lot come Black Friday, so get your list ready and save it for then.

To simplify things; EVGA is a good brand with excellent support.
Their cards with a AR suffix have lifetime warranty, TR is a two year warranty.
Here is a good one@$339:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
It is a superclocked card which is a bit faster than standard.
The reason I like it is because the cooler is more of a direct exhaust type.
Comes with a game too.
You can get the same card with lifetime warranty for $10 more.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Two years is ok with me; after that, it will be obsoleted by whatever comes next.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

i really really like this damn card.

GONNA GET IT.

and now.. i am running a sony googletv 40 inch for my monitor right now. for at least a while. later on i will get a couple 24's or something =)

i recommend getting a pci express 3.0 motherboard, (newer video cards will use it, non realesed) i mean you want a desktop to last right -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... or you can wait for the ivy bridge motherboards with pci express 3.0 (it might comeout at the end of this month or next month)

i also recommend getting a pci ssd ie revo drive (yeah its 200 dollars more but the crucial is 450mb/s and the revo is 975 mb/s thats like twice as fast (future proof you know what i mean)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

Bulldozer launches on Oct. 12th. Wait 1 week for prices to drop before you build. Then come back to this thread or start a new one after prices have changed.

Stick with the 1 40" monitor for now. I'm using a 42" Vizio for my monitor and I wont go back to smaller, dual displays for anything.

And I also second the EVGA recommendation - they're a good company with great technical support and excellent RMA service (if need be), plus they're right down the street from where I work.

we HOPE Bulldozer launches october 12th...  

okay so looks like im going with FRYS..

so im going to redo all of my stuff in the OP and we'll go from there =)

and no octacores for me lol.

You don't need to buy Bulldozer for it to save you money--that's how competition works.

The only reason I'm insistent that it will actually launch is because people are showing up with early retail samples and shops are leaking their sale charts.

ok..but for a little over $100 more you could have the best...
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Mini-HDMI-Lifetime-Warranty-...
not meaning to cloud the waters but half steps avail us nothing.

i really hope so, its all i'm waiting on. my killer rig has been completely designed around the bulldozer, total oc monster.

Since it's a GAMING build, your CPU should be the i5-2500K.

Also, you should get the Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB HDD because it's the fastest AND cheapest and has solid reliability.

oh yeah yeah haha im a total retard, i was super busy trying to type on my laptop on watching caspian border vids on my googletv, now you will have my full attention haha. i dont have to build til BF3 launches so lets see if prices start to drop after the 12th.

BUMP!

http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/prod...

hey i can get this mouse for $40 bucks used should i do it??

well the price is right.