$2000 Gaming Build + monitor, peripherals, OS

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Here is what I came up with for my new gaming build. I have a budget of $2000 due to winning my pick'em league this year. I'd like to save as much as I can, but don't mind paying for things that I want.
It will mainly be used to play games (BF3, Skyrim + addons, LoL) on a single monitor at 1900x1080. I am still debating on getting the IPS 24" Dell or getting a larger 27" TN monitor. What does BaPC think?
Also plan on getting the new 7970 when it comes out later this week, that should place the price up to 1800-1900. I would rather get a single GPU and then upgrade every other generation. Any suggestions?

Part list permalink: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3rFE
Part price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3rFE/by_merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Silver Arrow CPU Cooler ($69.70 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($132.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 600T White Graphite ATX Mid Tower Case ($163.17 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH22NS90B DVD/CD Writer ($20.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Dell U2412M 24.0" Monitor ($329.00 @ Dell)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Logitech G500 Wired Laser Mouse ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1255.63
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-01-02 21:18 EST-0500)
 
Solution
Cooler - The Silver Arrow CPU Cooler has outperformed just about everything else while remaining dead silent. I have installed half a dozen of them.....in one instance as a replacement for a Corsair H50 which didn't fit....takes me about 12 minutes including sleeving the cables.

The Hyper 212 is a great budget cooler, suitable for a $1,000 system but at your budget, The Silver Arrow gets 7-10C better temps than the 212. At the very least get the Hyper 612 PWM. Anything that beats the Arrow, in my experience, is noisy as hell.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=674&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=5

I think the Silver Arrow represents the ultimate air cooler than can be built and still fit...

NeutralEnergy

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You've picked out great items. Although I would recommend others on certain topics.

The CPU is great. One of the best out there at the moment.

The CPU cooler. I don't know about that one. I would just go with a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

The motherboard looks alright, although some ASrock MoBo's tend to be very buggy, like the one I'm on right now. I would go with an Asus or Gigabyte MoBo but... All up to you as they are more expensive.

The RAM is good and comes from a reputable company.

The Hard Drive is nice but make sure it has SATA connectors, not the older IDE.

I love the case! But you might wanna look into getting a Corsair 650D.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139006
I'm personally getting that one as it seems to be a bit better (has a side window and other features too).

PSU is fine. Has an 80 plus certification and can do SLI/CrossFireX.

Ugh, I don't know about that monitor. Seems a little on the expensive side. I recommend an Asus 23" monitor. I've got one and it's simply amazing. You'd be saving yourself... $150...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236175

If your willing to spend a little more, I really, really recommend a Corsair gaming keyboard. They are phenomenal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823816001

For the mouse, if your hands aren't smaller-than-average, get a Razer Naga.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153054
I'm using one right now (not that my hands are huge, they just aren't small) and it's just great. Speed and precision, all in one (you can lower speed if necessary obviously).

I've got nothing against you getting a 7970. I'm personally an nVidia fan but it looks like this time AMD is really stepping up to nVidia. I'll just have to wait and see how nVidia's 600 series will be.

That's pretty much it. Good luck with the build! Anything else? I'd be glad to answer any more questions!

 

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Thanks for the input. Personally I like the way the 600T looks better than that 650D. I may upgrade my mobo to a AsRock Extreme 4. I have heard good things about ASRock, but I will take your opinion into account.

The monitor is more expensive due to the fact that it is IPS I believe. I already ordered the G500 mouse and Windows keyboard. I may upgrade down the line, and give the keyboard to my little brother.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
The CPU cooler. I don't know about that one. I would just go with a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835103099

I have the Silver Arrow and it's a pretty decent cooler but I just can't seem to get my CPU temps down. Definitely go with the Hyper 212 - it's a much better choice for far less money, and it's a lot easier to install at that. Alternately I'd recommend the Noctua NH-U9B - it's a great cooler for around $60.00 US, and the fans it has are far superior to anything else you can get for the money.

I love the case! But you might wanna look into getting a Corsair 650D.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811139006
I'm personally getting that one as it seems to be a bit better (has a side window and other features too).

A lot of this is the exact hardware I own... :lol:.

The Graphite 600 is what I have and it's really nice but it's huge and heavy, and it's not easy to transport anywhere. The 650D is nice but it's quite expensive and generally offers the same features that the slimmer and less expensive Carbide series offers.

Ugh, I don't know about that monitor. Seems a little on the expensive side. I recommend an Asus 23" monitor. I've got one and it's simply amazing. You'd be saving yourself... $150...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824236175

Asus monitors are excellent - the blacks on the monitors that I've used can't be matched anywhere, and the color spectrum it offers is superior to a lot of displays on the market for very similar pricing.

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.98 @ NCIX US)

You could get a 500GB for not that much more - anything less than that will fill up really quickly with the size of today's games and then you won't have enough room for anything else.

Power Supply: XFX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
PSU is fine. Has an 80 plus certification and can do SLI/CrossFireX.

I'll disagree with this one - XFX power supplies are pretty decent, yes. For like ~$10 - $20 more you could get a really good Corsair TX650 or TX750. The wrong PSU could mean bad things for your system down the road.

The Hard Drive is nice but make sure it has SATA connectors, not the older IDE.

That's not going to be a problem - IDE hard drives haven't been made since 2004. :lol:

I've got nothing against you getting a 7970. I'm personally an nVidia fan but it looks like this time AMD is really stepping up to nVidia. I'll just have to wait and see how nVidia's 600 series will be.

I so very badly want a 7970, but the cost is pretty ridiculous. My dual 550s will have to do for now. :lol:

If your willing to spend a little more, I really, really recommend a Corsair gaming keyboard. They are phenomenal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6823816001

Corsair makes a lot of excellent products, but in all honesty I'm not a fan of spending hundreds on peripherals - I mean yeah you don't want to run a Ferrari with Hyundai controls, but at the same time to me it really doesn't make a lot of difference. If I want to use a mechanical keyboard, I'll use the one I salvaged from my 15 year old Gateway. :lol:

The motherboard looks alright, although some ASrock MoBo's tend to be very buggy, like the one I'm on right now. I would go with an Asus or Gigabyte MoBo but... All up to you as they are more expensive.

I agree about Asrocks - I almost bought their 990FX board but opted for a Gigabyte instead, and from what I've been reading I'm glad I did.

Try this build:

Case: Corsair Carbide 500R - $139.99
PSU: Seasonic X750 Gold - $159.99
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4 - $209.99
CPU: 3.30GHz Intel Core i5-2500K - $219.99
Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B - $59.99
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 12800 1600MHz 1.5V - $48.99
SSD: 128GB Crucial M4 - $199.99
HD: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB - $129.99
Video Card: EVGA Geforce GTX 570 - $339.99
Optical: LG Blu-Ray Burner - $59.99
Keyboard / Mouse: Logitech MK520
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - $99.99
Monitor: Acer S230HLAbii Black 23" 5ms HDMI LED - $159.99

Total: $1799.83
 

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Lots of good info that I will take into account.

I believe that I will buy a Crucial M4 64 GB drive and wait for HDD prices to fall. I don't keep a lot of memory. I have a 100GB laptop that I have not filled up in 4 years. I opted for an Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 MoBo. I chose the Silver Arrows because I wanted a quiet cooler, and I heard that it performs pretty well, similar to a Nocuta D14.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


The Crucial M4 is an excellent choice - but what you have to take into account when choosing an HD is that a Windows install will take at minimum 16GB, with any games you want to play taking anywhere between 8 - 20GB and that will not leave you a lot of room for anything else you want to store. As bad as mechanical HD prices are now, the 500GB Caviar Blue is probably your best bet until the prices drop. You can always add the SSD as a logical upgrade later on.

As far as the Silver Arrow goes, what I've learned about gigantic coolers like that and the D14 is that depending on the layout of your motherboard these can be incredibly difficult to install. When I got my AM3 board what should have been an hour job installing the Silver Arrow wound up taking like 3, and then the CPU fan power port and even the 4-pin power connectors on the board were unreachable. Check the layout of your board before buying.

Go with a smaller cooler like the NH-U9B - they're still pretty competent coolers and they'll be far easier to install. Alternately you could go with a closed block liquid solution like the Corsair H100 and then you'd avoid all the installation hassles, but you'd still face issues with proper air flow. It's pretty much pick your poison. :lol:
 
Cooler - The Silver Arrow CPU Cooler has outperformed just about everything else while remaining dead silent. I have installed half a dozen of them.....in one instance as a replacement for a Corsair H50 which didn't fit....takes me about 12 minutes including sleeving the cables.

The Hyper 212 is a great budget cooler, suitable for a $1,000 system but at your budget, The Silver Arrow gets 7-10C better temps than the 212. At the very least get the Hyper 612 PWM. Anything that beats the Arrow, in my experience, is noisy as hell.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=674&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=5

I think the Silver Arrow represents the ultimate air cooler than can be built and still fit within the constraints of an ATX motherboard and a standard computer case..... It's almost ironic that coolers like this are becoming available just as processors transition to designs that may ultimately render them unnecessary; even overclocked to 5GHz, an Intel Sandy Bridge 2600K doesn't need anywhere near this level of cooling.

Check out the numbers....especially with the common Delta fan

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=674&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=4

MoBo - a $2k build deserves a MoBo w/ at least an industry standard 3 year warranty. That rules out ASrock

RAM - I'd go Low Profile DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance for $48

HD - I wouldn't bother with a 250 GB HD ..... Blue an Green = Slow

Optical - No Blue Ray movie watching ?

Monitor - I'd suggest a 120Hz unit for gaming, The Dell IPS is better suited for photo buffs

PSU - 850 XFX watter is same price

SSD - Tier 3 is fastest in 120/128GB size
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/buy-ssd-recommendation-value,3088-6.html

Here's a recent build

Case - $ 130 - Corsair 500R White http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139010
PSU - $ 90 - XFX Core Edition 850 PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139022
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=N82E16819115072
Cooler - $ 50 - 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 - $ 48 - (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
HD - $ 150 - Spinpoint F3 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
SSD - $ 215 - Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 120 GB 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
Monitor $ 290 ASUS VG236HE Black 23" 120 Hz Monitor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236104
Keyboard - $ 90 - Logitech G510 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126100
Mouse - $ 65 - Logitech G500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104318
OS - $ 100 - Win 7-64 Home Premium http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Total $ 2,156

Drop the 120Mhz Monitor and ya get down to $2,016

$150 ASUS VH242H http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052
 
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Ok, here is my new build. The PSU that JackTaylor listed is not Modular like the the other XFX. Lemme know what you guys think. I also have to have room for the new 7970 card coming out.

Part list permalink: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3s2a
Part price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3s2a/by_merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Silver Arrow CPU Cooler ($69.70 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($24.99 @ Microcenter)
Hard Drive: Sandisk Ultra 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS224-06 DVD/CD Writer ($19.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VG236HE 23.0" Monitor ($289.00 @ B&H)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Logitech G500 Wired Laser Mouse ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1319.10
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-01-03 01:51 EST-0500)
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


Much much better, but you don't need a full 3D monitor - there's nothing right now that takes advantages of the technology, and even then when you get the 7970 - I'm not sure even it will support native 3-D monitors out of the box yet.