Gaming PC (TOR, Skyrim), ~$1200

Hey everyone,

I'm building a new PC, but I'm not an expert, so I though I'd run it by everyone here. The goal: Run SW:TOR on the highest settings and Skyrim on at least really, really good settings.

Approximate Purchase Date: Soon!

Budget Range: $1200+/- $100 (though preferably in the $1100-$1250 range)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, writing/text editing, web searching

Parts Not Required: Hard drive and disc drives

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel processor and GeForce (though I'd go AMD and ATI if I'd get better bang for the buck; the reviews I've read say that GeForce is edging out ATI at this price range, though)

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Probably

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080, 1920x1200

Additional Comments: TOR at highest res, Skyrim at very good res


Components so far:
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ...
GPU: SAPPHIRE 100311-3SR Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16
PSU: XFX PRO850W XXX Edition Semi-Modular 80 Plus Silver Certified 850 Watt
MoBo: ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 32-bit - OEM
CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R1 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler
Case: NZXT Phantom PHAN-001RD Red White Finish w/Red Trim Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Know I'm missing:
Hard drive - I'm stripping my old computer for its Hard Drive
Disc drive - I'm stripping my old computer for its disc drive

Total comes to: $1126

Few questions:
1) Am I missing anything? I mean anything - the list above is what I'm thinking I need to build this rig. If it's not on there, and I need it, I would very much appreciate someone pointing it out!
2) Any issues with that build? Compatibility, limitation to future upgrades, etc...
3) Would I be better off with another item replacing any of those?
4) Will this machine meet my expectations towards my goals (TOR at highest, Skyrim at high)?
5) Anything else would be very appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Hi there! Welcome to the forums.

First things first. Fill out this form and put in it your post, please. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ild-advice
Second, I have a little critique.

-I'd just for a GTX 570 or 6970 at this budget. We'll find the money for it farther down.
-Drop the HEC PSU! Get a quality 750w PSU from Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, XFX or Enermax.
-Swap the 2600k for the 2500k. Exact same processor really asides from Hyper Threading, which games don't benefit from. Save $100
-Grab a different mobo. The UD4 is alright but there are boards out there offering PCI-E 3.0 (just a nice feature) for the same cost. Might look into it.
-What about an SSD? They are excellent and make your machine screaming fast.

Well, that's all for now. I'll help you a bit more once you get that form filled out

do u have microcenter where you live ?
40gb will be too little and honestly they don't really worth the money at this point ..
the only thing is HDDs are pretty pricey right now

ok anyways
everything looking good except PSu
also might get low profile ram so there is no interference with ur cooler

Just to put things in perspective I play Skyrim on Ultra High with my rig. I have a 550 watt pcu.

Hey Jack,

The link there is for the cooler, and everywhere I'm looking has that as more expensive than the PSU I originally had - do you still have the link for this one?

Thanks for all the other info!

^ I'd have to agree for the most part. Dual 560 Ti's would kick major ass, and the 612 looks cool albeit unnecessary unless you want 4.5GHz+.
People will push Asus over ASRock but I like ASRock since they offer the same performance at a better price. It's all opinion though.

If it just a gaming rig and watching movies surfing the net etc go AMD/RADEON it will save you coin and makes a great media/gaming rig plus when reading review watch out because soom reviewers are paid off by Nvidia and of indirectly work for them but ether way you go you will be happy but a 2500k is overkill.

I am not a fanboy look a my rig GTX 275 NVIDIA I am loyal only to my wallet Merry Christmas.

If I grab the pair, will it create problems when I want to upgrade, or can I leave one in and run it Crossfire with a different, more powerful card?

Dual 6950s also seem to run around $500, which might put me over my limit...Might have to up that limit

6870 CFX will be within your budget and will be more power than you even need to run SWTOR in all it glory.

6870 CFX Rape on a single 6970 and they cost about the same price to boot.

Unfortunately no, you cannot. You have to use a pair of GPU's from the same series. (like a 5850 and a 5870, or a 6990 and a 6970) Plus some people complain about micro-stuttering. I think it's not a big issue but lots of people swear by single card configurations because of it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102957 This one for sure. $40 or so off for the next 3 days, decide quick!

What do you mean switch both out you can always go back to a single card and with the 6870cfx you will be laughing at any system requirements for 2 years to come and then some because it even puts the rape on a GTX 580.

I'd roll with an 850w PSU just in case. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817207017

Second, what do you mean DDR2? The system you own or the system you have listed?

What I was saying was right now, I can go with a single 6970 for $320.00 or 6870cfx for ~$500. When I want to upgrade my system, in the first case, I pick up another 6970, say $225 in a year when I need the extra power, and run them cfx; in the second case, I pull out both 6870 and need to just buy a new card, which I would imagine will similarly be slower than the 6970cfx at that point in time. From what I'm hearing, the 6970 will run Skyrim and TOR just fine on high settings, is cheaper, and is easier to upgrade for the reasons stated above. Is there anything wrong with my reasoning? (not a challenge, genuinely trying to figure this out)

Also, for the SSD, is it worth it to go 128GB at 3Gbps, or should I go with the Crucial 64 at 6Gpbs? They're both around the same price.

Also, nocteratus, good catch - thanks!

What do you mean? 3Gbps SSD's top out at around ~280MBps. 6Gbps can go up to around ~535MBps right now I believe. Could you list what drives you are comparing?

6870cfx will cost around the same $320 as the 6970 but you will be reviving the performance in the high end far above what one 6970 can give you so you will not have to upgrade for a long time even much longer than one 6970 and for the same price. This is why CFX/SLI is such a great deal.

look at the benches the only cards that beat 6870cfx are the Nvidia GTX 590 and the Radeon HD 6990 then under those is the 6870cfx and the GTX 580 and well I am sure you know how the rest goes.The best part is that this kind of high end performance that the 6870cfx provide can be had for the low price of $320 verses over $600 for the next step up in cfx performance which would be 6950cfx.

There is no stuttering with the latest drivers.

who is ati ? and typical Nvidia fan boy response when a couple o cards that cost 320 for the pair crush there Nvidia flagship they claim ooo Microstuttering when my old CFX rig never did.

So from everything here, I think I'm going with a single 6970. That way, when the 7000 series hits, I can either upgrade to that (and only have to deal with selling a single card), or I can get a second 6970 for Crossfire and rider that out (plus, I should have some more spending cash after the holidays).

Thanks for all your help, everyone! I haven't ordered yet, though, so if someone has a last minute interjection, I'm still listening.

Alright shinners, rock on! Glad you found what works for you. There's lots of discussion and lots of opinions (hey, it's a forum! That's what it's supposed to be like ) and the hard part is sifting through them.

I would advise against that Corsair. It's only 80GB and the performance isn't real good. At $150 after rebate (a bit pricer, I know) this OCZ Agility 3 120GB gets my pick. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227726 I had one actually, I loved it. Never had any of the heartburn that some people get with OCZ drives. It's still possible to get a bad drive though.

If there's any other questions be sure to post here or shoot me a PM!

P.S. would you mind changing your above post to what you think you're going with now? It still shows the old PSU.

Dont need luck and to you I hope you enjoyed overpaying LOL 6850 CFX for under $300 beat any Nivdia and you know why because they only cost $300 .

there is no room for upgrade with 56oti ether and that cost well over 5 bills.

So that does not mean we cant carry on a conversation oh my god he bought his parts already lets shut everything down LOL.