Need Advice on $2,000 Gaming Rig

[Guest]

Approximate Purchase Date: Approximately two weeks.

Budget Range: $2,000 before rebates, excludes price of monitor, OS, and peripherals.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Internet browsing, and movies.

Parts Not Required: all computer parts are required.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, tigerdirect.com or whichever website is cheapest.

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: CPU: Intel i5 2500k GPU (anything more is an overkill?) : HD 7970 or perhaps wait for GTX 600.

Overclocking: Most likely

SLI or Crossfire: Most likely

Monitor Resolution: Need advice on a purchase of a new monitor. I will be playing games directly in front of it and I am not sure what the best size monitor should be. While watching movies, I will be several feet away.

Additional Comments: My intention is to build a rig that I can upgrade in the future if necessary. The reason why I came up with this idea to build a gaming rig is because of Skyrim and Battlefield 3 and I am considering other RPGs and FPS as well. This is my first build and I do not know much about choosing the MOBO, CPU cooler, hard drive, PSU, etc. Any advice will be helpful. Thank you!

 

[g-unit1111]

Parts Preferences: CPU: Intel i5 2500k GPU (anything more is an overkill?) : HD 7970 or perhaps wait for GTX 600.

Not really - the 2500K is the defacto standard for CPUs right now, you only need the 2600K for video editing programs (more threads and hyper threading).

I don't know what NVIDIA has in store (nobody really does) but the 7970 is definitely a safe bet if you can find one. If not the 580 will more than handle your needs.

Word of warning is that you're going to get like 1,000 replies telling you to wait for Ivy Bridge but it's not really going to offer anything new except unlocked PCI-E 3.0 - it'll mean a difference of maybe 5 - 10FPS but it won't be that big of a deal. If you keep waiting you'll never be satisfied with what's out there now.

Additional Comments: My intention is to build a rig that I can upgrade in the future if necessary. The reason why I came up with this idea to build a gaming rig is because of Skyrim and Battlefield 3 and I am considering other RPGs and FPS as well. This is my first build and I do not know much about choosing the MOBO, CPU cooler, hard drive, PSU, etc. Any advice will be helpful. Thank you!

Skyrim and BF3 have been inspiring a lot of people to build new rigs or upgrade existing ones. :lol:

Maybe try a build like this:

Case: Corsair Carbide 500R - $129.99
PSU: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MKII 950W - $149.99
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4 - $194.99
CPU: 3.30GHz Intel Core i5-2500K - $229.99
Cooler: EVGA Super Cooler M020 - $49.99
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 - $46.99
SSD: 64GB Samsung 830 - $119.99
HD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB - $159.99
Optical: Lite On DVD Burner - $17.99
Video Card: EVGA Geforce GTX 580 Classified Ultra - *OR* Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 - $559.99
Keyboard / Mouse: Logitech MK550 - $64.99
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium - $99.99
Monitor: Asus VH238H Black 23" Full HD - $189.99

Total: $1979.87

 

[Silvune]

Anything more than the i5 isn't overkill; they don't offer any more performance at all, or the price increase does not justify whatever increase in performance there is.

Intel i5-2500K $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Asus P8Z68-V/GEN3 $180 ($5 shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131792

Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz CAS9 1.35V CML8GX3M2A1600C9W $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233199

Antec P280 $130 ($13 shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129179
Or whatever you want.

NZXT Hale90 850W 80Plus Gold Modular $180 (15% off promo code)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817116012
Better PSU; more efficient, quieter, modular.

Thermalright True Spirit 140 $40 ($13 shipping)
http://www.amazon.com/ThermalRight-100700536-True-Spirit-140/dp/B00629G1PG/ref=pd_vtp_e_3
Is dependant on having a case wide enough to take coolers up to (at least, preferably more) 170mm.

Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM $125 ($6 shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium OEM $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

 

[Guest]

Thank you so much g-unit. How did you come up with the choices so quickly considering there is an overwhelming choice of products which baffles me since I am completely new. I was wondering if you can exclude the prices of the OS, monitor and keyboard/mouse and use that $355 on better computer parts? Also, why are there so many different brands of HD 7970? Is there a preferred brand? And how long do you think we would have to wait for newegg to get another shipment of HD 7970?

Skyrim and BF3 have been inspiring a lot of people to build new rigs or upgrade existing ones. :lol:

I am very thrilled since I haven't gamed since the original Xbox!

 

[g-unit1111]

Thank you so much g-unit. How did you come up with the choices so quickly considering there is an overwhelming choice of products which baffles me since I am completely new.

I've got a lot of experience, built quite a few systems over the years, and have been doing this a while now and after a while you basically find what works and what doesn't and what brands are preferred over others. A lot of people around here on this board are very passionate about the brands they pick - some are good and some aren't. I'm also not a penny pincher when it comes to builds and I prefer to spread the budget out over say cutting corners on PSU and case to get a crazy video card setup or cooling solution.

I was wondering if you can exclude the prices of the OS, monitor and keyboard/mouse and use that $355 on better computer parts?

The only other thing you could really do better would be to get a second 580 or 7970 - that would use up the $355 and put you about $200 over. Alternately if you wanted to get like the best case on the market I'd recommend the Cooler Master Cosmos II over anything that's out there. You could also go X79 instead but that would require totally different hardware and it's more workstation and performance enthusiast oriented. However, with X79 you're also trading power while severely limiting your upgrade options.

Also, why are there so many different brands of HD 7970? Is there a preferred brand? And how long do you think we would have to wait for newegg to get another shipment of HD 7970?

It used to be just ATI making Radeon cards but that was before the AMD merger and since there have been about a dozen or so manufacturers making cards now. I personally prefer Sapphire and XFX over a lot of the competition since they're smaller and more focused manufacturers than the big motherboard manufacturers (Asus, Gigabyte, MSI) are.

 

[Guest]

Thank you so much g-unit. How did you come up with the choices so quickly considering there is an overwhelming choice of products which baffles me since I am completely new.

I've got a lot of experience, built quite a few systems over the years, and have been doing this a while now and after a while you basically find what works and what doesn't and what brands are preferred over others. A lot of people around here on this board are very passionate about the brands they pick - some are good and some aren't. I'm also not a penny pincher when it comes to builds and I prefer to spread the budget out over say cutting corners on PSU and case to get a crazy video card setup or cooling solution.

I was wondering if you can exclude the prices of the OS, monitor and keyboard/mouse and use that $355 on better computer parts?

The only other thing you could really do better would be to get a second 580 or 7970 - that would use up the $355 and put you about $200 over. Alternately if you wanted to get like the best case on the market I'd recommend the Cooler Master Cosmos II over anything that's out there. You could also go X79 instead but that would require totally different hardware and it's more workstation and performance enthusiast oriented. However, with X79 you're also trading power while severely limiting your upgrade options.

Also, why are there so many different brands of HD 7970? Is there a preferred brand? And how long do you think we would have to wait for newegg to get another shipment of HD 7970?

It used to be just ATI making Radeon cards but that was before the AMD merger and since there have been about a dozen or so manufacturers making cards now. I personally prefer Sapphire and XFX over a lot of the competition since they're smaller and more focused manufacturers than the big motherboard manufacturers (Asus, Gigabyte, MSI) are.

Okay g-unit, I've looked through your choices and thought the prices were a little low, and since I am inexperience, I think that if I spend a little more, I'm getting better quality, so if you will, what do you think of this? I focused on "brand name" and increased RAM/HDD.

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160 Cooler Master Haf 932 $149.99

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 i5 2500k $229.99

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102961 Sapphire HD 5970 $559.99

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131702 Asus Sabertooth P67 $199.99

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139022 Corsair Enthusiast 850W $134.99

Cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181017&Tpk=Corsair%20cwch100 Corsair Hydro H100 CPU Liquid Cooler $119.99

SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227726&Tpk=20-227-726 OCZ Agility 3 $159.99

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148506 Seagate 2TB $239.99

Optical Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135252 Asus Blu-Ray Burner $89.99

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233143 Corsair Vengence 16 GB $94.99

Sound Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102017 Creative Lab $47.99

Monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236117&Tpk=Asus%20VH238H%20Black%2023%22%20Full%20HD%20HDMI%20LED%20Backlight $174.99

Total: $2,200.88 before rebates. My original budget of $2,000 did not include the monitor.

 

[somekidxd]

Samsung 830> OCZ Agility 3
Get a z68 board instead.

 

[g-unit1111]

Okay g-unit, I've looked through your choices and thought the prices were a little low, and since I am inexperience, I think that if I spend a little more, I'm getting better quality, so if you will, what do you think of this? I focused on "brand name" and increased RAM/HDD.

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160 Cooler Master Haf 932 $149.99

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 i5 2500k $229.99

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102961 Sapphire HD 7970 $559.99

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131702 Asus Sabertooth P67 $199.99

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139022 Corsair Enthusiast 850W $134.99

Cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181017&Tpk=Corsair%20cwch100 Corsair Hydro H100 CPU Liquid Cooler $119.99

SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227726&Tpk=20-227-726 OCZ Agility 3 $159.99

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148506 Seagate 2TB $239.99

Optical Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135252 Asus Blu-Ray Burner $89.99

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233143 Corsair Vengence 16 GB $94.99

Sound Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102017 Creative Lab $47.99

Monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236117&Tpk=Asus%20VH238H%20Black%2023%22%20Full%20HD%20HDMI%20LED%20Backlight $174.99

Total: $2,200.88 before rebates. My original budget of $2,000 did not include the monitor.

That's actually a pretty good build.

The things I'd question though are the long-term reliability of the H100 (which is why I didn't buy one) and you can definitely ditch the sound card. Also I think I'm in the minority when I don't like the Sabertooth P67 because of the plastic covers on the whole motherboard, I think that makes upgrading and replacing parts difficult. If you're going with Asus the P8Z68-Deluxe would be a far better option on a high-end build.

I'd also second the recommendation of the Samsung 830 - the OCZ Agility 3 is questionable reliability at best. And for the case the Corsair Carbide 500R would be a better choice than the Cooler Master HAF 932, IMO.