New Desktop Build ~$2500 - What do you think?

[Weedster]

Hello, I'm building a gaming PC for a friend, I have pre-selected parts but I would like to know other people opinion about my choice so I'll put the list here and tell me what you think .

I'm also not 100% sure about some of my choice and hesitating.



I have also some little things I would like to confirm , I'll put the details at the end of the post, thanks you for participating any advice would be much appreciated.


CPU : i2600k

GPU: asus HD6990

MOBO: ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.1) http://www.prodimex.ch/pInfos.aspx?CODE=C29D11
or

ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 http://www.prodimex.ch/pInfos.aspx?CODE=C29D11 http://www.prodimex.ch/pInfos.aspx?CODE=C27J03 (i guess pcie x3 will be good)

RAM : Corsair Dominator DDR3 1866 http://www.prodimex.ch/pInfos.aspx?CODE=C25K01

SSD: Crucial m4 128 GbSSD Drive 128 GB 2.5" SATA CRUCIAL M4 - Solid State Disk (do you think that's enough for a gaming pc ? and add additional HDD in case of need)
or


PSU: Alimentation 750W CORSAIR AX750 Professional Series-
or
Alimentation 660W SEASONIC X660 (can go 750 or 850 depending on your recommendation, but the card is 300 w, cpu 100w ,would'nt 260 w be fair enough for the rest ?)

My other questions would be :

RAM : Could I just get a 1866 mhz memory for a 1600 mhz MOBO without overclocking , it will just run at 1600 (800 dual channel?) stock speed right, I'm not sure about this but for my computer I bought 1066mhz and it worked fine for my e8500 and p5qpro , this pc also wouldnt need to overclock (he is'nt really an overclockers, just someone who wants a fast pc) , also with this 4x4Gb kit I will have 8 dual channel, pretty sure about that but since I don't know so much about RAM I thought I would ask)



SSD : I never Installed an SSD I know It's prolly plug and play but I'm just curious if I should know anything before installing this.


GPU : this card is pretty huge but im assuming it will fit in a huge tower (full tower) such as the Coolermaster ATCS 840, 31.5cm to fit and i measure my CM 690II it would fit near 30.5 cm apparently, I guess some HDD bays are removable though.

OS : I'm guessing Win 7 64 home edition, would there be any significant benefit for taking the professional edition instead ?

Sound Card : what's your opinion about having a sound card ? not necessary with that board ? thought most newer games use EAX technology and I read there is a good cheap asus one that is available.

Static electricity: should I buy a bracelet ? I never used one for my build but considering doing it since it's not my components.

Thanks in advance to whoever takes the time to check this thread

 

[JackNaylorPE]

first the questions....

The GFX card is a dog....so is the 590.....stop thinking about it It simply is outperformed by cheaper cards

Professional can do more memory and can connect to more puter son the network.

No need for sound card

No need for wrist strap.... don't wear sneakers and walk on carpet.

You gave me too much money to spend so I am going to do my best to spend it all

Case - $ 270 - Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133192
Superb Case .... wonderfully reviewed, do ya need to spend that much, no but ya have the bi\udget and it's features are a joy
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=843&Itemid=61

Case Fan - $ 12 - Thermaltake Blue120 mm http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106149

PSU - $ 150 - Corsair HX850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011
10.0 jonnyguru performance rating, enuff said
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=153

MoBo - $ 210 - ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790
Great Board

CPU - $ 210 - Intel Core i7-2500K http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
Needs no into

Cooler - $ 83 - Thermalright Silver Arrow http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11676/cpu-tri-77/Thermalright_Silver_Arrow_Dual_160mm_x_140mm_Fan_Universal_CPU_Cooler_Sockets_775_1156_1366_AM2_AM2_AM3.html
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=674&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=5

TIM - $ 5 - Shin Etsu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150080
Matches AS5 thermal properties but w/o AS%'s curing problems

RAM - $ 47 - (2 x 4GB) Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 (White) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233199

GFX - $ 230 - Asus GTX 560 900Mhz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121425
GFX - $ 230 - Asus GTX 560 900Mhz Same
40% more fps than a single 580 bullt for $40 less...... twin 580's costing $1000 only beat it by 10%.....
13% more fps (100 fps) than ya original 6990 for $240m less
14% more fps than twin factory OC'd Twin Frozr 6950's for $20 less
5% more fps than twin 6970's for $220 less

HD - $ 110 - Spinpoint F3 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
$40 off w/ promo code EMCJHJE29, ends 12/21

SSD - $ 209 - 120 GB Mushkin Chronos Deluxe http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226225
Tier 3 SSD per THG performance rankings, no 120 / 128GB SSD scores higher
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-price-ssd,3070-6.html

DVD Writer - $ 58 - Asus Model BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247
Does Blue Ray dude !

Card Reader - $ 50 - AeroCool FP-01 55 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820314001
Budget was there so why not have one

Monitor - $ 290 - ASUS VG236HE Black 23" 120 Hz Monitor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236104
New 120 Hz monitor


Prolly don't need mouse KB so just lower budget, there is needed tho
Keyboard - $ 95 - Logitech G510 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126100
Mouse - $ 60 - Logitech G500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104318

OS - $ 140 - Win 7-64 Home Professional http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116992

Total $2,459

 

[g-unit1111]

RAM : Could I just get a 1866 mhz memory for a 1600 mhz MOBO without overclocking , it will just run at 1600 (800 dual channel?) stock speed right, I'm not sure about this but for my computer I bought 1066mhz and it worked fine for my e8500 and p5qpro , this pc also wouldnt need to overclock (he is'nt really an overclockers, just someone who wants a fast pc) , also with this 4x4Gb kit I will have 8 dual channel, pretty sure about that but since I don't know so much about RAM I thought I would ask)

1600 will be plenty. Your motherboard will always default to the lowest speeds and timings it can handle.

Sound Card : what's your opinion about having a sound card ? not necessary with that board ? thought most newer games use EAX technology and I read there is a good cheap asus one that is available.

Static electricity: should I buy a bracelet ? I never used one for my build but considering doing it since it's not my components.

Sound cards aren't necessary when the built in audio is fine. Don't need a static strap or anything of that nature - they're useless and often a waste of money.

No need for wrist strap.... don't wear sneakers and walk on carpet.

What he said. :lol:

GPU: asus HD6990

6990 is pretty overkill and you don't need it if you're not going to be using multiple monitors. A single EVGA 580 would be the best buy for that kind of money.

SSD : I never Installed an SSD I know It's prolly plug and play but I'm just curious if I should know anything before installing this.

Yes. The only thing is to never format. Do a quick format when you launch the Windows install on the first time, but you also want to check and make sure the firmware is up to date before proceeding.

GPU : this card is pretty huge but im assuming it will fit in a huge tower (full tower) such as the Coolermaster ATCS 840, 31.5cm to fit and i measure my CM 690II it would fit near 30.5 cm apparently, I guess some HDD bays are removable though.

The latest generation is huge but not as big as previous ones - if it fits your tower it will fit any tower. A lot of cases now have removable drive cages so that should allow a better fit.

OS : I'm guessing Win 7 64 home edition, would there be any significant benefit for taking the professional edition instead ?

Only if you plan on using more than 16GB or have a connection to a huge network, otherwise no.

 

[Weedster]

From the benchmarks I saw the hd6990 outperformed anything, and what about problems with GPU scaling in SLI? , my friend is not PC-friendly so i'd rather have him not have Crossfire or SLI , though now I think about something, dual GPU's doesnt have scaling problems right ? or at least barely noone compare to the SLI/Crossfire.

Altought you're right that 2 gtx560 nearly match hd6900 for 300 less.

That case look too fancy he asked me for a nice dark case and i thought 840 was the best because It's the one I would have want.

Who needs a CPU cooler when not overclocking and have cool case ? (altought this cooler looks pretty good I must say, bit like my noctu14 ! )

Card reader, what for ? to connect the SSD I can use a Sata 600 plug ? I hope cable is included.. should be.

DVD I can get a cheaper 1 for arround 30$ in this local shop seems fair enough.

Monitor he buy separately ,no need keyboard or mouse.

Thanks for your input .

 

[Weedster]

thanks for the answers guys.


How can I check if the firmware SSD's is up to date should I bring it home and update it from my PC first ?

Yes I know the hd6990 is overkill, It's why I choose it lol, he told me make me a NASA computer so I'll bring him one that should last a few years.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

From the benchmarks I saw the hd6990 outperformed anything, and what about problems with GPU scaling in SLI? , my friend is not PC-friendly so i'd rather have him not have Crossfire or SLI , though now I think about something, dual GPU's doesnt have scaling problems right ? or at least barely noone compare to the SLI/Crossfire.

The 6990 is a CF board. You have two declocked 6970's on a single card mounting....it's just CF'd internally rather than externally.

My 15 year old built his SLI rig. Here's the difference between a single card and SLI

1. Ya gotta plug 2 extra cables in
2. Ya gotta screw in an additional screw
3. Ya gotta connect the SLI ribbon cable...

Takes all of minutes extra

here's ya benchies.....

Guru3D uses the following games in their test suite, COD-MW, Bad Company 2, Dirt 2, Far Cry 2, Metro 2033, Dawn of Discovery, Crysis Warhead. Total fps (summing fps in each game @ 1920 x 1200) for the various options in parenthesis (single card / SL or CF) are tabulated below along with their cost in dollars per frame single card - CF or SLI:

$ 220.00 6950 (479/751) $ 0.46 - $ 0.59
$ 240.00 6950 Frozr OC (484/759) $ 0.50 - $ 0.63
$ 205.00 560 Ti (455/792) $ 0.45 - $ 0.52
$ 320.00 6970 (526/825) $ 0.61 - $ 0.78
$ 215.00 560 Ti - 900 Mhz (495/862) $ 0.43 - $ 0.50
$ 340.00 570 (524/873) $ 0.65 - $ 0.78
$ 500.00 580 (616/953) $ 0.81 - $ 1.05
$ 725.00 6990 (762/903) $ 0.95 - $ 1.61
$ 750.00 590 (881/982) $ 0.85 - $ 1.53

That's $0.95 per frame for the 6990 and $0.50 per frame for the 560's

That case look too fancy he asked me for a nice dark case and i thought 840 was the best because It's the one I would have want.

Yeah, its fancy....but read the review.....love the door construction and they way it handles side window fan for example....Look at the Corsair 500D w/ same HX850, Antec 1200 V3 w/ CP-850 PSU.

Who needs a CPU cooler when not overclocking and have cool case ? (altough this cooler looks pretty good I must say, bit like my noctu14 ! )

I think you might be arrested by the nerd police if ya don't overclock a SB processor. The cooler is dead quiet keeps temps lower than 70 at 4.6 Ghz.....why do 3.4 when 4.6 is still < 70C

Card reader, what for ? to connect the SSD I can use a Sata 600 plug ? I hope cable is included.. should be.

Don't use a camera or anything else that uses cards ?

DVD I can get a cheaper 1 for around 30$ in this local shop seems fair enough.

This one is like $18 but it won't play Blue Ray movies like the one in original build
DVD Writer - $ 19 - Asus 24X http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

I listed the monitor KB and mouse as he may wanna upgrade to gaming specific models since he had so much money left over ...that monitor is 120Mhz which allows 3D glasses and certainly bw/o glasses gives a stunning image as compared to the older 60Hz models.

I cuda spenT an extra $700 on a aAX1200 and twin 580's but for 10% extra fps doesn't seem worth it.

 

[g-unit1111]

How can I check if the firmware SSD's is up to date should I bring it home and update it from my PC first ?

A good rule of thumb when choosing any piece of computer hardware is to browse the manufacturer's support forums then you can get a good idea of what to expect when you install your product. If there's no issues with anything then you should be good.

I cuda spenT an extra $700 on a aAX1200 and twin 580's but for 10% extra fps doesn't seem worth it.

Agreed. You don't need the AX1200 unless you're running a totally insane custom setup.

I think you might be arrested by the nerd police if ya don't overclock a SB processor. The cooler is dead quiet keeps temps lower than 70 at 4.6 Ghz.....why do 3.4 when 4.6 is still < 70C

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I always like to play it safe with my builds... only OC if you have the money to replace something should it go wrong. What these people don't understand is that if you report hardware failure to your manufacturer based on overclocking - they'll void your warranty (despite that most encourage it).

I listed the monitor KB and mouse as he may wanna upgrade to gaming specific models since he had so much money left over ...that monitor is 120Mhz which allows 3D glasses and certainly bw/o glasses gives a stunning image as compared to the older 60Hz models.

You don't need a monitor this expensive. 3-D technology is still new and hardly any games on the market - even the newest ones like Skyrim - don't take advantage of it yet. Just get a standard 24" 1080p monitor and save the cash.

Card reader, what for ? to connect the SSD I can use a Sata 600 plug ? I hope cable is included.. should be.

I think this is a flash card reader, no? If it is you can skip it for now.

The 6990 is a CF board. You have two declocked 6970's on a single card mounting....it's just CF'd internally rather than externally.

Yeah pretty much. EVGA has a pretty similar setup with their 560 2 WIN - which is essentially two 560 TI's SLI'd internally instead of externally, giving it the same performance as a 580 would.

 

[Weedster]

So it does have scaling problems ? but there is that CAP profile thing, and yea my main concern was getting something that does'nt need to be constantly updated (i mean drivers) making a SLI should'nt be a problem to me at all


Totally agree about the overclocking part, I personally would overclock it (my e8500 is running at 4.25ghz and hell im proud of it ! ) But for the sake of not harming components, but yea well, I might aswell run him a little overclock, is'nt there a turbo boost mode some kind of auto overclock that I could do to avoid spending a whole day trying to find a proper speed, anyway If I do I won't aim at the cpu limits and neither push the CPU voltage much .

I might consider the gt560 SLI plan .. but it feels like the hd6990 would be less trouble for someone who know not much about pc's hardware and stuff , and come on, he asked for it when giving me a 2500$ budget (without screen included.. wow lol)

Nah no cameras but ya he have a phone, which probably got a USB cable anyway so should be good, as for Blu ray dvd, probably doesnt need it (if he watch a 1080p movie on his computer chances are it will be running from disk if you see what I mean lol..)

And definately I would recommend a 120mhz too for the low response time and ghosting of these(also the fact that you can have up to 120 fps) but he said he will look for a decent sized 1080p screen to use as a TV and PC , but yea.. I don't feel like it's a good idea at all, tv's with tuners are'nt as responsive as computer made-for LCD's lol.

To be honest I have no idea but I bet.

 

[g-unit1111]

I might consider the gt560 SLI plan .. but it feels like the hd6990 would be less trouble for someone who know not much about pc's hardware and stuff , and come on, he asked for it when giving me a 2500$ budget (without screen included.. wow lol)

I think it might be a better fit for the 560SLI's over the 6990. If you're running like 6 monitors you don't need the 6990.

And definately I would recommend a 120mhz too for the low response time and ghosting of these(also the fact that you can have up to 120 fps) but he said he will look for a decent sized 1080p screen to use as a TV and PC , but yea.. I don't feel like it's a good idea at all, tv's with tuners are'nt as responsive as computer made-for LCD's lol.

You can get a 120MHZ monitor but you don't need the 3-D aspect of it. There's no games right now that take advantage of it.

 

[Weedster]

HD7870 3gb might be the way to go... waiting for more benchmarks.

 

[Weedster]

I think we can all agree that the graphic cards are the hardest parts to choose from , anyway if someone have a final advice before I order it would be most welcome !!

 

[vitornob]

Check the HD7970 review here at tomshardware. And get convinced to wait this card go out for sale!

 

[g-unit1111]

I think we can all agree that the graphic cards are the hardest parts to choose from , anyway if someone have a final advice before I order it would be most welcome !!

Absolutely. I tend to use one or two manufacturers, but I generally prefer graphics vendors that are smaller and more specialized in what they do, like EVGA for NVIDIA cards and Sapphire and XFX for Radeon cards. The reason being is that they tend to tweak their drivers better than say motherboard manufacturers like MSI and Gigabyte would, and have way better warranties and RMA programs.

 

[Weedster]

Check the HD7970 review here at tomshardware. And get convinced to wait this card go out for sale!

I did , also checked the other website reviews, first thing that suprised me, seems like it's hard to choose between hd7970 and hd6990 at this , for instance metro 2033 seems to give a big advantage to the hd6990 in DX11, in 9 it beats it.

In skyrim it seem to beat it by not much but it does.. but against skyrim is DX9 and Im thinking the future games (hopefully eh) will mostly be dx11 so I'm thinking 6990 is the way to go.

However the performance on the whole seems very similar, seems a few percent more fps for the 6990, but this needs good to be driver supported and CAP profile right .., and since the 7970 might be cheaper (as they say it should) im thinking it would be the right choice, and outside than metro(which is'nt pro-optimized is'nt it ? at least the MSAAx4 and Adv depth of field which gave me 5fps when i turned on in my config) I don't see many game that won't run max with such a PC so yea might aswell wait.



yea personally I like asus, got hd5870 from them, p5q pro, my 25.5" screen, it's all working perfectly well so far .

 

[Weedster]

For now i'll wait to see more benchmarks (some say the benchmarks we can find now are paper benchmarks, not actual real card tested and also not latest drivers) ,and also wait to see the price, but I'll order the rest of the components already, thanks for everyone who participated in this thread !

 

[bnjmnmj]

Hello, I'm building a gaming PC for a friend, I have pre-selected parts but I would like to know other people opinion about my choice so I'll put the list here and tell me what you think .

I'm also not 100% sure about some of my choice and hesitating.



I have also some little things I would like to confirm , I'll put the details at the end of the post, thanks you for participating any advice would be much appreciated.


CPU : i2600k

GPU: asus HD6990

MOBO: ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.1) http://www.prodimex.ch/pInfos.aspx?CODE=C29D11
or

ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 http://www.prodimex.ch/pInfos.aspx?CODE=C29D11 http://www.prodimex.ch/pInfos.aspx?CODE=C27J03 (i guess pcie x3 will be good)

RAM : Corsair Dominator DDR3 1866 http://www.prodimex.ch/pInfos.aspx?CODE=C25K01

SSD: Crucial m4 128 GbSSD Drive 128 GB 2.5" SATA CRUCIAL M4 - Solid State Disk (do you think that's enough for a gaming pc ? and add additional HDD in case of need)
or


PSU: Alimentation 750W CORSAIR AX750 Professional Series-
or
Alimentation 660W SEASONIC X660 (can go 750 or 850 depending on your recommendation, but the card is 300 w, cpu 100w ,would'nt 260 w be fair enough for the rest ?)

My other questions would be :

RAM : Could I just get a 1866 mhz memory for a 1600 mhz MOBO without overclocking , it will just run at 1600 (800 dual channel?) stock speed right, I'm not sure about this but for my computer I bought 1066mhz and it worked fine for my e8500 and p5qpro , this pc also wouldnt need to overclock (he is'nt really an overclockers, just someone who wants a fast pc) , also with this 4x4Gb kit I will have 8 dual channel, pretty sure about that but since I don't know so much about RAM I thought I would ask)



SSD : I never Installed an SSD I know It's prolly plug and play but I'm just curious if I should know anything before installing this.


GPU : this card is pretty huge but im assuming it will fit in a huge tower (full tower) such as the Coolermaster ATCS 840, 31.5cm to fit and i measure my CM 690II it would fit near 30.5 cm apparently, I guess some HDD bays are removable though.

OS : I'm guessing Win 7 64 home edition, would there be any significant benefit for taking the professional edition instead ?

Sound Card : what's your opinion about having a sound card ? not necessary with that board ? thought most newer games use EAX technology and I read there is a good cheap asus one that is available.

Static electricity: should I buy a bracelet ? I never used one for my build but considering doing it since it's not my components.

Thanks in advance to whoever takes the time to check this thread

Ok the more pwer you have on you PSU the better 650 PSU is good enough but I would go with a 900W or higher that will do also make sure you at the least get a CPU V8 Cooler Master cause you can always over clock if you wish Oh and if you can go with an i7 that would be awesome!!!