Building a Gaming CPU

Seiven

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Mar 17, 2012
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Building a Gaming PC

Hello everyone.

Since the lastg two weeks i have been reading about how to build a CPU with a good performance
for first person shooter games but so far i have not understand the specifications for a food CPU .

My friends are suggesting me alot of processors, an AMD FX Black Edition was the first option but
i had a bad experience witgh AMD processors and I prefer intel processors for itgs lasting and
quality.

I can spend around 1200 - 1800 $ considering that I want it for the maximun performance in graphics
but a good balance with prices.

I was comparing three processors (http://ark.intel.com/compare/52210,61275,63698)

The first i5 2500k is the first one suggested but I doubt itg's capacity with 6 MB Cache. The second one
i7 2700k seems like a good option because it has Intel HD Graphics 3000 but I don't know if tghis option is useful
because I want to add a good Graphic card.

And the last one is what i really want i7 3820 because its price is really low (300 - 340$) also it has
3.6 GHz with 10 MB Cache memory looks really interesting but thos one don't have the
Intel HD Graphics 3000. Dont know if that really helps. Can i listen any suggestion?

The motherboard, well i don't know nothing about motgherboards, would be nice if someone explain me a little
bit about how would it help with the performance in games.

Now lets talk about the graphic cards because its a dilema. The first one I saw and liked was the GTX 570
because its price have a good balance with the price (290 - 315$). But i can't deceide between this and
the 580, the last one seems (and i say "seems" because i don't understand what the specification says) really good
but the price is too high, the price is 430 - 500$.

There are three options: The Geforce GTX 570 (http://amzn.to/FOQW7o) Geforce GTX 580 (http://amzn.to/wl3IlC)
and this rare version with 3GB (http://amzn.to/Akt98Z). Does the 580 really worth? Or the 570 is enough powerfull?

The memory ram I think corsair vengeance (http://amzn.to/AmQAl0) with 8 GB is enough, a friend
told me that more would be useless.

Also i need a sound card too, i never have listened about one and i dont know nothing about it. I'll
buy this headsget this headset (http://bit.ly/Apv5Zx) and i want to improve its performance with a good sound card.


What else do i need? I'm missing something important?

Any sugestion is greatly apreciated.
 

Seiven

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Mar 17, 2012
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and what about a i7-2700k?
 

loneninja

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Here's a good comparison of the I5 2500K and I7 2600K.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=287

They key difference between I5 and I7 is that I7 has hyperthreading giving it 8 threads vs the 4 on an I5, this is a useless technology for games. Very few games can effectively use more than 2 cores fully, so the I5 has much better bang/buck game performance. If you do other things like video encoding than the I7 can be worth the extra money.

Intel HD graphics won't be used if you add a video card, so that isn't at all important.

Your friend is also right it's a waste to have more than 8gb of ram for gaming, no game is gonna need that much to run, and if it doesn't use it than having more won't do a thing.
 
If ya don't need hyperthreading for applications, then the 2500k would be my suggestion. As for GFX, form what you can buy today (Under $600, and run "outta the box", nothing even comes close to two 900 Mhz 560 Ti's. Note these are factory OC'd cards with beefed up VRM's which combined with the over size coolers, can still be OC'd another 20% or so.

$440 - Two 900 Mhz 560 Tis get ya 863 fps in Guru3D game test suite or $0.50 per frame
$450 - One 580 get ya 616 fps in Guru3D game test suite or $0.73 per frame
$480 - One 7950's get ya 603 fps in Guru3D game test suite or $0.80 per frame
$560 - One 580's get ya 675 fps in Guru3D game test suite or $0.83 per frame

However, this i all gonna start changing next week as the Kepler' start to drop and the 78xx series hits the streets.

This is $1235 w/o the GFX.

Case - $ 125 - Corsair Carbide 500R http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139010
PSU - $ 127 - XFX Core Edition-850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207011
MoBo - $ 200 - ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790
CPU - $ 205 - Intel Core i7-2500K http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
Cooler - $ 50 - CM Hyper 612 PWM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103103
TIM - $ 5 - Shin Etsu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150080
RAM - $ 50 - (2 x 4GB) Corsair Vengeance http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186
HD - $ 115 - Seagage Barracuda 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840
SSD - $ 200 - 120 GB Mushkin Chronos Deluxe http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226225
DVD Writer - $ 58 - Asus Model BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247
OS - $ 100 - Win 7-64 Home Premium http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Im thinking if ya wait and see how thing shake out, ya prolly gonna wind up with two 78xx in CF or two 650 Ti / 660 Ti in SLI and still be in the neighborhood of your $1800 budget.
 

Seiven

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Mar 17, 2012
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Hey guys, first of all let me thank you all very much, because i have found the answer that i was looking for.

First of all i want to say that i have deceided to spend less than 2500$ if its needed. I want to experience the most powerful graphics and the lastest technologies.

For starting I want to discuss about the processor. I could spend atleast 600$ for the processor, so i could choose another better, any sugestion? We can consider that this CPU would be useful for my brother because he could use it for Photoshop Lightroom and he want to study graphic design. I would use it for record my movies while i play and edit it with SonyVegas because thats what i want. Also for my family because we could watch movies with our 42" TV in high definition, I also will need a bluray.

There is any better processor than i7-2600? I could pay less than 600$ or a little bit more.

For second lets talk about the GPU. I decided for the ATI Radeon™ HD 5970 (http://bit.ly/b2jMWe) If I'm not wrong its the most powerful GPU on the market? Any suggestion? the price is 470$.

The motherboard im not sure because I have lots of doubt. I have heard that intels processors works better with nvidia geforces GPU's, and the AMD processors works better with ATI GPU's. Or its the same? I want to know more about the compatibility to improve the performance. The ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 looks really cool, but i dont know what does the specifications means.

Talking about the RAM memory AMD Performance Edition 8GB looks really fine, i think it ill be more compatible with the other stuffs, although the corsair vengeance is another option. What would be better?


Seagate Barracuda Green 1.5TB Is the faster HD?

The Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe 120GB is for what? I never have read anything about it before.

I will need those Coolers, well i never saw the importance on it. How does it helps in performance? And also the PSU is there any better for more protection agaisnt the electricity?

Those Shin Etsu its for what?

Should we consider an AMD processor? The intel one is good enough?

Also i want to add a really good monitor, I choosed this one: http://amzn.to/zW97Tb

There is something important that I'm missing? Please let me know and I let you know that you everyone have been very useful for me.

 

marquis

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Nov 3, 2010
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well , 99% of games really don't need more than the I5-2500K ...

PC gaming has kinda of stalled out , so there's really no reason to go SUPER big unless you want to be playing alot of online games with low res graphics on a beast of a computer ....

HOWEVER , if you do enjoy flight simulators , x plane 10 uses ALOT of cores , so a 6 core intel chip could be worth it ... but other than that , a simple i5 will do ..
 

Seiven

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Mar 17, 2012
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Then a i7-2600 processor is good enough, I have been reading and i could get a ATI Radeon 7970 for less than 600$. I think it worth.

Thank you for your suggestion. I'm looking for a lasting and quality.
 

e56imfg

Distinguished
If you're doing editing, then you would be better off with a 3930K.
The 5970 is old and power hungry. The 7950 has almost identical performance (and more if you OC it) and uses less power.
The AMD RAM is made for compatibility and stability. Vengeance is still another great option. You'll be better off with 16GB of RAM for your editing needs.

The Seagate is the cheapest 1.5TB drives and you already have an SSD, so you wouldn't be sacrificing any performance.
The Mushkin is a SSD, a much faster drive than a HDD. It's usually for all your programs, games, and OS.
The importance of a cooler is that, for one. the 3820 doesn't come with a CPU cooler, and to achieve temps suitable for your needs. A good PSU is important for your components and your electricity bill, if you don't have a good one, your system will explode.
Intel is the clear winner for a CPU at any price point.
The 2600K is cheaper and has almost identical performance.