Need Pro`s Help!Building $1200 Gaming Beast?

[joecrazy]

Approximate Purchase Date: Within 4 weeks, Soon as I get Solid Advice from the Pro`s On these forums, I will order ALL!

Budget Range: (e.g.: 600-800) $1000-$1400 With Monitor Included in Price
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming/ HD Movies/ Light Video Editing, very light/ MS Excel/Web Surfing

Parts Not Required: Keyboard/Mouse/7200rpm 2 Terabyte Storage Drive/750GB Storage/Dvd Dual Layer Burner Drives/

**I Also Have A POWERKING 650w ATX PSU w/ PCI-Express , It was cheap, not sure if good enough to do what I want to do now.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, I also Have Micro Center In Cincinnati I am going to go to, I have a coupon from them to buy the i7 2600K for $209 after mail in rebate and instant rebate!! I don't think i can pass this deal up, But I have to drive there to pick up!

Country: Good Ol USA

Parts Preferences: I am kinda stuck on which way to go, I have a great deal for the i7 2600k Proc for 209$ as stated above, Or maybe the AMD 8 core?? Its cheap? I just want best bang for my Buck but also wanting to be able to upgrade next year, to maybe dual 7970`s, Just start with one 7970 this year and go to dual next? I need help on what to do with graphics cards? I just cant decide whats best, I am willing to buy one up to $499 or so but is it better to buy the single 7970 and upgrade next year by adding another or just do two cheaper cards now that still perform as well or better than one 7970?? And then spend a grand on all new GPU`s next year? I want a processor from the start that will handle all upgrades if possible, And what motherboard do you think i should go with in this range and what will be able to handle dual cards in future and have overclocking abilities, and The newest sata and USB options, And I will be installing a SSD , just waiting to hear what you guys recommend as far as all this and which SSD is best for me, Am i dreaming or is this build possible>? I am looking to you guys because you have done this many times and are professionals in what you do. as far as the total cost looking to spend around 1000 on hardware and case and then rest on cool case and monitor if possible, also gaming headset
Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: I need help hear as well, I have another cheap LCD laying around so I can have dual Screen workstation but I will be buying maybe a High Def 24" LCD for my main gaming, What do you think, and what resolution can i do with each different card, this is where i get confused

Additional Comments: First and foremost I want performance, My main goal of building this is to Play ARMA 3 when it comes out, and dabble in other new games as they come out, but mainly I see myself playing ARMA 3, And then it will be used for my home based business, just tracking transactions, eBay, casual web surfing, light video editing, pictures, super light web site building. Furthermore I can upgrade hardware next year if needed , And I definitely want water cooling and a cool clear sided case if possible, I do want a neat looking build, with all wires hidden and such. With as much room for upgrades as possible

Below is a short list of hardware I kinda want or already have, please help me! I did this two years ago and I failed miserably , I was told to ask you guys before doing anything

I have
Powerkind 650W ATX PSU (Used in my last build, very cool and lights up, but cheap)
Hitachi 2TB 7200 RPM Deskstar
Cool Keyboard and mouse
750GB 7200rpm HDD


Is here my list so far, not all final or anything, please help me get the price lower if possible

Just so everyone knows, I dont have a problem with AMD, if you think i can getter equal performance per $ I will

*Intel CORE i7 2600k Micro Center- $229.99
*Corsair Water cooling H80 - Newegg94.99 Free shipping
*16GB Corsair Vengeance RAM Newegg- 89.99 Free shipping, maybe could go with 8GB instead for $60?
*Asus P8Z68-V Pro Motherboard Newegg Open Box - $159.99 NEW--$204.99
*Radeon HD 6970 (299.99 After Rebate) OR GeForce GTX 570 ($347.55) (NEWEGG)-
MY FAV CARD AMD 7970 by XFX overclocked version- Newegg NEW -557.86
*189.99 Corsair FORCE 120GB SSD or 139.99 for 90GB same after rebates
*Corsair HX 750w 80 Plus silver Certified PSU- newegg-$137 after rebate
Whats a good case for cheap with plenty of wire hiding capabilities and clear windows, I could install one if needed
I have a copy of windows 7

What do the pros think? Can I save money somewhere?> What monitor? Thanks so much for helping me do this right! god bless

 

[tlmck]

So we are pros now? Then where is my damned paycheck?

Never heard of Powerking, but unless it is at least 80 plus certified, you should pass on it. Trusted makers are Antec, Seasonic, Silverstone, XFX, and Corsair. The HX you selected is quite excellent.

If you do decide on the 7970 card, you will want a motherboard with PCIe 3.0 to take advantage of it. Like this one. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790

8gb will be plenty on the ram. I would also jump all over the i7-2600k deal. That is better than most I5-2500K prices! AMD is not a serious competitor at this level at any price.

Not really a water cool fan. A good air cooler such as the Coolermaster Hyper series will do just as well. If you selected the Corsair ram with the tall fins though, most air coolers will be an issue. The standard Vengeance will work fine though as will Kingston HyperX and Gskill RipJaws.

A decent and popular case would be a mid tower with good air flow and at least one 120mm intake fan and one rear or top exhaust. The Coolermaster HAF or 690, as well as the Antec 300 are good examples. Some as low as $60 + the cost of an extra fan(~$10). You would have to double check these to see if they have precut water cooler holes. Most do have knockouts these days. Even my lowly Elite 430 had them. Some of the higher end cases will actually have rubber grommets for the holes, but you can also pick up such things at Microcenter for cheap.

Monitors are more of a personal choice, but 23" is the most popular on the planet right now. 24" is a bit of an odd size which will likely leave you with black bands top and bottom in games. My advice is to go look at them in person, preferably hooked up to a machine as opposed to a wall display full of them. The one your eyes like is the one you buy. You can always look online for the best price.

 

[g-unit1111]

Not really a water cool fan. A good air cooler such as the Coolermaster Hyper series will do just as well. If you selected the Corsair ram with the tall fins though, most air coolers will be an issue. The standard Vengeance will work fine though as will Kingston HyperX and Gskill RipJaws.

I definitely agree there - ditch the water cooler and go with an air cooler.

A decent and popular case would be a mid tower with good air flow and at least one 120mm intake fan and one rear or top exhaust. The Coolermaster HAF or 690, as well as the Antec 300 are good examples. Some as low as $60 + the cost of an extra fan(~$10). You would have to double check these to see if they have precut water cooler holes. Most do have knockouts these days. Even my lowly Elite 430 had them. Some of the higher end cases will actually have rubber grommets for the holes, but you can also pick up such things at Microcenter for cheap.

I have the HAF 912 and for the price it's one of the best cases I've ever used. I had a Centurion 5 (crap), an Apevia X-Plorer (worst case ever), an Antec 900 (decent but no cable management) and the HAF 912 has definitely been the best out of any that I've used in the ~$60 range.

8gb will be plenty on the ram. I would also jump all over the i7-2600k deal. That is better than most I5-2500K prices! AMD is not a serious competitor at this level at any price.

How does Micro Center get away with charging 30 - 40% below MSRP? I don't get how they can do that.

Powerkind 650W ATX PSU (Used in my last build, very cool and lights up, but cheap)

If it works fine but I'd take a look at getting something that's been certified and rated bronze or better. There's a couple of good articles posted on the main page about picking good PSUs, I'd heavily suggest reading them:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-protection-calculate-consumption,3066.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-psu-review,2916.html

So we are pros now? Then where is my damned paycheck?

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

Yeah the manufacturers should be paying us since we do all the promoting of their products here!

 

[tlmck]

How does Micro Center get away with charging 30 - 40% below MSRP? I don't get how they can do that.

Shhh. Those of us who live near Microcenters do not want to alert the Intel jack booted thugs! :lol:

 

[azeem40]

For $10 less, you can get the crucial m4, which has 8gb more space and is same in reliability.

 

[joecrazy]

So we are pros now? Then where is my damned paycheck?

Never heard of Powerking, but unless it is at least 80 plus certified, you should pass on it. Trusted makers are Antec, Seasonic, Silverstone, XFX, and Corsair. The HX you selected is quite excellent.

If you do decide on the 7970 card, you will want a motherboard with PCIe 3.0 to take advantage of it. Like this one. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790

8gb will be plenty on the ram. I would also jump all over the i7-2600k deal. That is better than most I5-2500K prices! AMD is not a serious competitor at this level at any price.

Not really a water cool fan. A good air cooler such as the Coolermaster Hyper series will do just as well. If you selected the Corsair ram with the tall fins though, most air coolers will be an issue. The standard Vengeance will work fine though as will Kingston HyperX and Gskill RipJaws.

A decent and popular case would be a mid tower with good air flow and at least one 120mm intake fan and one rear or top exhaust. The Coolermaster HAF or 690, as well as the Antec 300 are good examples. Some as low as $60 + the cost of an extra fan(~$10). You would have to double check these to see if they have precut water cooler holes. Most do have knockouts these days. Even my lowly Elite 430 had them. Some of the higher end cases will actually have rubber grommets for the holes, but you can also pick up such things at Microcenter for cheap.

Monitors are more of a personal choice, but 23" is the most popular on the planet right now. 24" is a bit of an odd size which will likely leave you with black bands top and bottom in games. My advice is to go look at them in person, preferably hooked up to a machine as opposed to a wall display full of them. The one your eyes like is the one you buy. You can always look online for the best price.

Thanks for the Info! Very helpful! I looked up that motherboard and did not see anything about pci 3.0 , does it have the capabilities to have two 7970`s in the future? One main thing is i want to be able to upgrade, I need a mobo that will allow the 7970 to be all it can be and install a 2nd one down the road, can this board handle it? Also I meant 23" , sorry about that typo, Do you have one you recommend? You said you dont like the water cooling deal, why is that? are they problematic? when I get that 2600k i7 I want to overclock it to 4.0ghz sometime in near future, will mobo you recommended allow me to do this and can i still use a high performance air cooler or should i stick with water? Again thanks so much for input, I plan on ordering by end of this week! See you are a pro~!

 

[biscuitasylum]

to hell with that.... I'd take that $1200 and go do a little fishing. lol

 

[tlmck]

Thanks for the Info! Very helpful! I looked up that motherboard and did not see anything about pci 3.0 , does it have the capabilities to have two 7970`s in the future? One main thing is i want to be able to upgrade, I need a mobo that will allow the 7970 to be all it can be and install a 2nd one down the road, can this board handle it? Also I meant 23" , sorry about that typo, Do you have one you recommend? You said you dont like the water cooling deal, why is that? are they problematic? when I get that 2600k i7 I want to overclock it to 4.0ghz sometime in near future, will mobo you recommended allow me to do this and can i still use a high performance air cooler or should i stick with water? Again thanks so much for input, I plan on ordering by end of this week! See you are a pro~!

Yes the motherboard has dual PCIe 3.0 that runs at 16x for a single card, and 8x for duals.

I would also double check the PSU requirements for dual cards. I think 750w Silver should be fine, but you could also go up to 850 watt and drop down to Bronze cert if need be.

I found watercooling to be a lot more trouble than it is worth. It is better than it used to be, but with the improvement in air coolers and thermal compounds, water cooling has been mostly reduced to something that just looks cool. And even then, only if you get clear UV hoses and some colored fluid running through it. Just my opinion. On many of the radiators such as Corsair, the fans can be a little noisy as well. Overclock on air should be no issue with the mobo either. ASUS loves to overclock. Even my lower end P8Z68 M Pro will overclock when I get the right CPU. I am waiting until Ivy Bridge shakes out to see which way I will go, although my i3-2100 is more than adequate for my needs right now. It is one amazing little CPU.

Once again on the monitor, go to a store and view them in person. The one your eyes like is the one you buy regardless of price or brand. They all have about the same warranty. My preference is my Samsung, It is going on 4+ years old and is as good as the day I bought it. There are several others out there that are decent. I know a lot of people seem to like ASUS.

Another monitor that is a bit of an odd size but with a beautiful screen is the 25" HP 2511x. It would also have the black banding problem in games, but I could tolerate it for the overall picture quality. I have not seen one recently, but Gateway used to sell some really nice screens as well. Might be a bit harder to find those to look at though.

 

[g-unit1111]

Shhh. Those of us who live near Microcenters do not want to alert the Intel jack booted thugs! :lol:

True true. :lol:

 

[joecrazy]

UPDATE- Thanks for all the input! I made some changes according to what you guys had to say, Please let me know if you see anything that wont match up, Again I plan on going with two 7970`s in the future and I want to be able to upgrade other components along the way as needed

Also real quick , Whats the triple channel memory with intel? This is my first i7 build and want to make sure i do it right? I was planning on going with 8GB of ram instead of 16gb to help keep cost down and I dont think arma 3 will need 16gb to run properly, but should i look for something special to match the triple channel?
*Intel CORE i7 2600k Micro Center- $229.99

*ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-R 135mm Long life bearing CPU Cooler Red LED 69.99 (Instead of water cooling) OR
COOLER MASTER Hyper N 520 RR-920-N520-GP 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Intel Core i7 compatible 44.99

*G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 46.99 (Is this ok or whats triple channel i keep hearing)

*Kinda liked the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 ($205) ONLY reason I havnt bought yet, is I want a Red/Black Color scheme, Silly i know but I just keep dreaming about a red black mobo some reason, any one know of a good one that will do dual 7970`s at pci 3.0 and have all the overclocking abilities as one above as well as sata 3 and usb 3?> here is what i like


ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131806

I also liked these if you think they would work
ASRock Fatal1ty P67 PROFESSIONAL (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

ASRock Z68 PROFESSIONAL GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

which board is best for me? thanks

*Radeon HD 6970 (299.99 After Rebate) OR GeForce GTX 570 ($347.55) (NEWEGG)-
MY FAV CARD AMD 7970 by XFX overclocked version- Newegg NEW by gigabyte-557.86
Whats better? Dual cheaper cards or one 7970? I want dual 7970`s by next year or better

*189.99 Corsair FORCE 120GB SSD or 139.99 for 90GB same after rebates
*

KINGWIN Lazer LZ-850 850W Modular 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC W/ 3-Way LED Switch and Universal Modular Connector Power Supply $129

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 59.99

Ok so i am at 868.00 right now! Not Including video cards or if i change motherboards because i really want some red and black color! I know its stupid its just a dream i have! That only leaves me with around 350 for a video card which sucks, What card or cards can I buy that will allow me to play the current games and most important ARMA III in ultra settings or again am i dreaming? If i can just get by and then next year spend 1000 on new GPU`s alone i will be happy

Also real quick, Is this going to be a fast PC in todays standards? I havnt had a high quality system since phenom x4 came out and It was a stock x4 quad at 1.8ghz with 4gb ram, and i installed a 4770 xfx card i believe thats what it was, i also upped the memory to 8gb and the cpu later to a 2.3ghz and it was blazing fast to me. will this above build blow it away or just kinda? what do you think

 

[PurpleHayes]

Triple-channel memory is for older Intel chips that ran on the LGA1366 socket (the X58 motherboards and old i7s used triple-channel). You need dual channel memory for what you're using; the G.Skill RAM you listed will be perfect Also, stick to 8GB; 16GB is for people who do highly-advanced video editing or run several VMs at once.

This motherboard is a black-and-red color scheme with PCIe 3.0, Crossfire/SLI capability, and quality construction. Plus it's $30 less than your current choice Warning: It is an mATX board, so it will be a bit on the small side (will fit fine in case, just smaller than normal).

I would recommend you get the 90GB Corsair SSD, simply because you already have two storage disks. It will be enough to get your operating system and most of your games stored, and it saves $50.

I know it puts you over budget, but the 7970 is the best card out there right now, and it will be the best single-GPU card until the next generation (unless NVidia seriously outperforms it, which we wont know for months). Not sure yet what to say about your graphics situation :/

Lastly, yes, this will be a very fast PC by today's standards; you have a premiere CPU, extra RAM, and an SSD. This build will vastly outperform a 2.3 GHz quad-core build

 

[g-unit1111]

ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131806

I also liked these if you think they would work
ASRock Fatal1ty P67 PROFESSIONAL (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

ASRock Z68 PROFESSIONAL GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Don't get the GENE-Z if you're building a full size ATX system. The limited expansion options in the future will be frustrating if you don't get a full size board. The Asrock Z68 is probably the best choice out of those, but you should also look at the board I use: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128506

Triple-channel memory is for older Intel chips that ran on the LGA1366 socket (the X58 motherboards and old i7s used triple-channel). You need dual channel memory for what you're using; the G.Skill RAM you listed will be perfect Also, stick to 8GB; 16GB is for people who do highly-advanced video editing or run several VMs at once.

Yes 1366 is pretty much on it's way out. And that RAM will not work on Z68.

But you really need to watch the speeds and voltage though due to how strict Intel's RMA department is on the type of memory you choose - anything over 1600 and any voltage that doesn't match your motherboard's specifications it will result in a voided warranty.

*ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-R 135mm Long life bearing CPU Cooler Red LED 69.99 (Instead of water cooling) OR
COOLER MASTER Hyper N 520 RR-920-N520-GP 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Intel Core i7 compatible 44.99

Zalman coolers are OK, I'm personally not the biggest fan of theirs. Alternately I just bought and really like EVGA's cooler, it performs about the same as a closed liquid loop would. check it out: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835288001

 

[tlmck]

UPDATE- Thanks for all the input! I made some changes according to what you guys had to say, Please let me know if you see anything that wont match up, Again I plan on going with two 7970`s in the future and I want to be able to upgrade other components along the way as needed

Also real quick , Whats the triple channel memory with intel? This is my first i7 build and want to make sure i do it right? I was planning on going with 8GB of ram instead of 16gb to help keep cost down and I dont think arma 3 will need 16gb to run properly, but should i look for something special to match the triple channel?
*Intel CORE i7 2600k Micro Center- $229.99

*ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-R 135mm Long life bearing CPU Cooler Red LED 69.99 (Instead of water cooling) OR
COOLER MASTER Hyper N 520 RR-920-N520-GP 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Intel Core i7 compatible 44.99

*G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 46.99 (Is this ok or whats triple channel i keep hearing)

*Kinda liked the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 ($205) ONLY reason I havnt bought yet, is I want a Red/Black Color scheme, Silly i know but I just keep dreaming about a red black mobo some reason, any one know of a good one that will do dual 7970`s at pci 3.0 and have all the overclocking abilities as one above as well as sata 3 and usb 3?> here is what i like


ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131806

I also liked these if you think they would work
ASRock Fatal1ty P67 PROFESSIONAL (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

ASRock Z68 PROFESSIONAL GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

which board is best for me? thanks

*Radeon HD 6970 (299.99 After Rebate) OR GeForce GTX 570 ($347.55) (NEWEGG)-
MY FAV CARD AMD 7970 by XFX overclocked version- Newegg NEW by gigabyte-557.86
Whats better? Dual cheaper cards or one 7970? I want dual 7970`s by next year or better

*189.99 Corsair FORCE 120GB SSD or 139.99 for 90GB same after rebates
*

KINGWIN Lazer LZ-850 850W Modular 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC W/ 3-Way LED Switch and Universal Modular Connector Power Supply $129

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 59.99

Ok so i am at 868.00 right now! Not Including video cards or if i change motherboards because i really want some red and black color! I know its stupid its just a dream i have! That only leaves me with around 350 for a video card which sucks, What card or cards can I buy that will allow me to play the current games and most important ARMA III in ultra settings or again am i dreaming? If i can just get by and then next year spend 1000 on new GPU`s alone i will be happy

Also real quick, Is this going to be a fast PC in todays standards? I havnt had a high quality system since phenom x4 came out and It was a stock x4 quad at 1.8ghz with 4gb ram, and i installed a 4770 xfx card i believe thats what it was, i also upped the memory to 8gb and the cpu later to a 2.3ghz and it was blazing fast to me. will this above build blow it away or just kinda? what do you think

As others have stated, triple channel is old, ignore it.

The Zalman is nice, but no better than Hyper 212 Plus at cooling. A good compromise might be to get red LED fan for the Hyper? It should be about $10.

If the ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3 has all the features you need, get it. It is a fine board and will do dual cards and overclocking just fine. The only real reason to go full ATX these days is if you need the extra features they provide. I have been using uATX for years and have not missed paying for all those extras I never used. Just compare the descriptions on each to make sure.

Avoid Asrock boards. They are just OK for stock speed rigs, but are mainly a fanboy product. For every supposedly good one you hear about, there will be 12 with problems, and that is just in these forums. I get to see most boards up close thanks to a local place called Fry's. With my 17 years experience in electronics manufacturing, I can assure you that Asrock is not in the same league as ASUS or Gigabyte. Neither are MSI motherboards although their video cards are fine.

Also avoid anything Kingwin that has electronic components inside. Their so called certification is a joke. The buy supplies from other makers who also happen to make certified ones and think they can just slap their own label on them. This is a no no according to the cert boards. Stick with one of the 5 brands mentioned earlier. You should be able to get a XFX for about the same price after rebate. They are simply a copy of the flagship Seasonic brand and have been certified separately. With such a top flight rig, the power supply is the wrong item to cheap out on. You might as well throw the other components in the garbage when they arrive to save time.

Another slightly more expensive option on the case. Note the rebate price, and the red. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

The cost is not really that high considering the system you are getting. If you want to play in the big leagues you have to pay these days. It's just the way it is. The good news is you will probably not have to think about it for at least 3 years, and maybe beyond that.

 

[tlmck]

The HAF 912 is on sale at Microcenter for $44.99 after rebate.

 

[g-unit1111]

Avoid Asrock boards. They are just OK for stock speed rigs, but are mainly a fanboy product. For every supposedly good one you hear about, there will be 12 with problems, and that is just in these forums. I get to see most boards up close thanks to a local place called Fry's. With my 17 years experience in electronics manufacturing, I can assure you that Asrock is not in the same league as ASUS or Gigabyte. Neither are MSI motherboards although their video cards are fine.

Yeah that's kind of the way I feel too. I've heard either people really like their products or they are DOA. And then people hate them.

I'm not a big fan of MSI either.

Also avoid anything Kingwin that has electronic components inside. Their so called certification is a joke. The buy supplies from other makers who also happen to make certified ones and think they can just slap their own label on them. This is a no no according to the cert boards. Stick with one of the 5 brands mentioned earlier. You should be able to get a XFX for about the same price after rebate. They are simply a copy of the flagship Seasonic brand and have been certified separately. With such a top flight rig, the power supply is the wrong item to cheap out on. You might as well throw the other components in the garbage when they arrive to save time.

I agree, those no-name manufacturers like that are definite red flags for me. The PSU is one area where you don't want to skimp otherwise things could be disastrous.

Also real quick , Whats the triple channel memory with intel? This is my first i7 build and want to make sure i do it right? I was planning on going with 8GB of ram instead of 16gb to help keep cost down and I dont think arma 3 will need 16gb to run properly, but should i look for something special to match the triple channel?

The first generation of i7 ran off the X58 platform which uses triple channel RAM. In order for that to function properly the RAM would process data through three channels of memory, which requires 3 sticks in order to work correctly.

Most modern systems including Z68 and AM3+ use dual channel RAM. That only requires two sticks to function correctly instead of 3.

Another slightly more expensive option on the case. Note the rebate price, and the red. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119197

If you're going to pay that much I'd get the Corsair Carbide or NZXT Phantom over the HAF 922. But that's just my preference.

 

[tlmck]

Another slightly more expensive option on the case. Note the rebate price, and the red. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119197

If you're going to pay that much I'd get the Corsair Carbide or NZXT Phantom over the HAF 922. But that's just my preference.

Dude wants everything to be red and black, although he could get the HAF 912 on sale and stick some red fans in it.

Microcenter has an entire aisle dedicated to color customizing cases including lots of colorful water cooling accessories.

 

[Guest]

So we are pros now? Then where is my damned paycheck?

Never heard of Powerking, but unless it is at least 80 plus certified, you should pass on it. Trusted makers are Antec, Seasonic, Silverstone, XFX, and Corsair. The HX you selected is quite excellent.

If you do decide on the 7970 card, you will want a motherboard with PCIe 3.0 to take advantage of it. Like this one. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790

8gb will be plenty on the ram. I would also jump all over the i7-2600k deal. That is better than most I5-2500K prices! AMD is not a serious competitor at this level at any price.

Not really a water cool fan. A good air cooler such as the Coolermaster Hyper series will do just as well. If you selected the Corsair ram with the tall fins though, most air coolers will be an issue. The standard Vengeance will work fine though as will Kingston HyperX and Gskill RipJaws.

A decent and popular case would be a mid tower with good air flow and at least one 120mm intake fan and one rear or top exhaust. The Coolermaster HAF or 690, as well as the Antec 300 are good examples. Some as low as $60 + the cost of an extra fan(~$10). You would have to double check these to see if they have precut water cooler holes. Most do have knockouts these days. Even my lowly Elite 430 had them. Some of the higher end cases will actually have rubber grommets for the holes, but you can also pick up such things at Microcenter for cheap.

If you do decide on the 7970 card, you will want a motherboard with PCIe 3.0 to take advantage of it. Like this one. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131790
I've stated that I would like to get a HD 7970, but people here still recommended me to get Asrock Z68 Extreme3. Is there anything cheaper than the one you recommended? It's quite a price hike from $118 to $205.

I have a Asus 23.6" monitor (2ms, but not a 120Hz), will the monitor take advantage of the HD 7970 or will I have to get a 120Hz and use my current monitor for dual monitor multi-tasking? Speaking of that, should I get the i7 2600k instead of i5 2500k now?

Also, I'm a bit unclear on what size case I should purchase. I'm thinking about a full-tower so I don't have to buy one in the future in case I would like to purchase extra HD 7970. I'm thinking Cooler Master Haf X 942. I think dust filter would be nice.

Thanks in advance for responses.

 

[joecrazy]

Again , cant thank everyone enough! Here is my updated list, as long as everyone gives me the OK, I am going to order tomorrow evening! Again greatly appreciate everyone's time and helping me build what I think is an awesome gaming PC with room for improvement, Please throw your two cents back at me if you have any suggestions! thanks and god bless , I put a asterisk by my favorite items, My big worries is if the motherboard will have enough room for two gpus (7970`s or....) and if it has enough USB 3.0 to hook up to my new case that has it built in, and also Which of the power supplies I listed do you think i should opt for? thanks again

Total Cost of items Highlighted in red - 891.98 not including GPU or Monitor

-Motherboard Options (Micor ATX, Full ATX, etc.)- What will I not have by getting this ASUS Micro ATX rather than a Full ATX , If i could find a full ATX with this color scheme (red/black) in this price range I would be all over it, I do want to over clock my CPU to 4.0 and maybe a little bit higher if possible on the ram and GPU but not much (YET!)

*ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard red/black color scheme $188

What do you think about this gigabyte board? its full atx like you suggested (not red n black but what do you think?
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard ($164)

-PSU- Whcih PSU us best, is 850w too much or too little or just enough? I like them all . but thermaltake is better brand right?
$154- XFX PRO850W XXX Edition Semi-Modular 80 Plus Silver Certified 850 Watt Active PFC Power Supply

$96-XFX Core Edition PRO850W (P1-850S-NLB9) 850W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC PSU

*$104 Thermaltake Black Widow W0319RU 850W ATX 12V v2.3, EPS 12V v2.91 CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC PSU

-CPU-
229.99 (Micro Center, Pick up Only)
*Intel Core i7 2600k

-GPU-
AMD 7970 ($579) OUCH!
Is their anything else I can go with that will play ARMA 3/BF3/ on ultra settings but cheaper?

-Storage Drives- (All re used from last failed build)
*7200 RPM Hitachi Deskstar (Re use from last build)
*750GB 7200RPM HDD In external Bay (Re Use from last build)

-Boot/Game Drive-
109.99 after rebate free shipping
Black red color scheme
*Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F90GBGT-BK 2.5" 90GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

-Ram-
46.99 Free shipping
Black RED color scheme
*G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
-
Cooling Options- Great suggestion on this one, this is why I say your pro`s!

*COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 29.99 + 2 120mm RED LED Fans @ $10 each


-Case-
***(Love this case) NZXT Phantom 410 CA-PH410-B1 Red Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $110 AWESOME!!!!!!!!!
These are cool as well-
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black 90.00 free shipping
NZXT Crafted Series ATX Full Tower Steel Chassis - Phantom White with Red Trim Computer Case CS-NT-PHAN-WNR White/Red $120
NZXT Phantom Red Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case 125 direct tron free shipping
Haf 912 (Small Case, CHEAP) $56 (free shipping/After rebate)
Haf 922 ($94) Full size case


Thanks SO much, I took all your input and applied it to my new list, Let me know what you think, is it a beast or a dud

 

[azeem40]

I don't think even two 7970s will need a full tower case. I am not 100% sure though.

 

[joecrazy]

So we are pros now? Then where is my damned paycheck?

Never heard of Powerking, but unless it is at least 80 plus certified, you should pass on it. Trusted makers are Antec, Seasonic, Silverstone, XFX, and Corsair. The HX you selected is quite excellent.

If you do decide on the 7970 card, you will want a motherboard with PCIe 3.0 to take advantage of it. Like this one. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790

8gb will be plenty on the ram. I would also jump all over the i7-2600k deal. That is better than most I5-2500K prices! AMD is not a serious competitor at this level at any price.

Not really a water cool fan. A good air cooler such as the Coolermaster Hyper series will do just as well. If you selected the Corsair ram with the tall fins though, most air coolers will be an issue. The standard Vengeance will work fine though as will Kingston HyperX and Gskill RipJaws.

A decent and popular case would be a mid tower with good air flow and at least one 120mm intake fan and one rear or top exhaust. The Coolermaster HAF or 690, as well as the Antec 300 are good examples. Some as low as $60 + the cost of an extra fan(~$10). You would have to double check these to see if they have precut water cooler holes. Most do have knockouts these days. Even my lowly Elite 430 had them. Some of the higher end cases will actually have rubber grommets for the holes, but you can also pick up such things at Microcenter for cheap.

If you do decide on the 7970 card, you will want a motherboard with PCIe 3.0 to take advantage of it. Like this one. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131790
I've stated that I would like to get a HD 7970, but people here still recommended me to get Asrock Z68 Extreme3. Is there anything cheaper than the one you recommended? It's quite a price hike from $118 to $205.

I have a Asus 23.6" monitor (2ms, but not a 120Hz), will the monitor take advantage of the HD 7970 or will I have to get a 120Hz and use my current monitor for dual monitor multi-tasking? Speaking of that, should I get the i7 2600k instead of i5 2500k now?

Also, I'm a bit unclear on what size case I should purchase. I'm thinking about a full-tower so I don't have to buy one in the future in case I would like to purchase extra HD 7970. I'm thinking Cooler Master Haf X 942. I think dust filter would be nice.

Thanks in advance for responses.[/quotem

You dont have to have the full case, If you dont want to, Look at what people recommended on my post or look at my finsish build, I have a list of about 6 cases that will be great, also my republic of gamers mobo I think is great, its a little smaller but will hold both 7970`s, as the guys stated make sure the board has dual PCI 3.0 or you wont get full potential out of them

 

[g-unit1111]

-GPU-
AMD 7970 ($579) OUCH!
Is their anything else I can go with that will play ARMA 3/BF3/ on ultra settings but cheaper?

Not really - you could go with a 580 but then you'll still be paying $499.99.

I'm running dual 550TIs and it performs about the equivalent of a single 570, but I really regret not having gone with a single, stronger card.

What do you think about this gigabyte board? its full atx like you suggested (not red n black but what do you think?
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard ($164)

It won't meet your color scheme but I use the UD3P and it is quite an excellent board for the money. It has enough that if you want to ultimately run 3X SLI you can easily do so. The GENE-Z will not allow you to do that.

-PSU- Whcih PSU us best, is 850w too much or too little or just enough? I like them all . but thermaltake is better brand right?
$154- XFX PRO850W XXX Edition Semi-Modular 80 Plus Silver Certified 850 Watt Active PFC Power Supply

No stick with the XFX - I believe the OEM on these is either Seasonic or Delta, and you definitely want one of those two as the OEM. Some Thermaltake PSUs are excellent, mainly the higher-end models, others not so much. It's kind of a gamble with them.

*COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 29.99 + 2 120mm RED LED Fans @ $10 each

The Hyper 212+ is amazing, but the new version called the Evo is even better from what I'm being told. It has a stronger fan w/LED and a better set of heat pipes.

 

[joecrazy]

-GPU-
AMD 7970 ($579) OUCH!
Is their anything else I can go with that will play ARMA 3/BF3/ on ultra settings but cheaper?

Not really - you could go with a 580 but then you'll still be paying $499.99.

I'm running dual 550TIs and it performs about the equivalent of a single 570, but I really regret not having gone with a single, stronger card.

What do you think about this gigabyte board? its full atx like you suggested (not red n black but what do you think?
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard ($164)

It won't meet your color scheme but I use the UD3P and it is quite an excellent board for the money. It has enough that if you want to ultimately run 3X SLI you can easily do so. The GENE-Z will not allow you to do that.

-PSU- Whcih PSU us best, is 850w too much or too little or just enough? I like them all . but thermaltake is better brand right?
$154- XFX PRO850W XXX Edition Semi-Modular 80 Plus Silver Certified 850 Watt Active PFC Power Supply

No stick with the XFX - I believe the OEM on these is either Seasonic or Delta, and you definitely want one of those two as the OEM. Some Thermaltake PSUs are excellent, mainly the higher-end models, others not so much. It's kind of a gamble with them.

*COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 29.99 + 2 120mm RED LED Fans @ $10 each

The Hyper 212+ is amazing, but the new version called the Evo is even better from what I'm being told. It has a stronger fan w/LED and a better set of heat pipes.

Great, thanks, Do you know of another board that is full ATX in this color scheme (red/black/ or close enough i.e all black) that is in the 200 or under price range that will have dual pci 3.0 for my future dual 7970`s and all the goodies such as overclocking everything, sata 6gb, USB 3 and all that?

 

[joecrazy]

What about that ASrocks or whatever, i heard they are ASUS off brand, and are any of those any good, maybe one with long warranty, what do you suggest i do, I will go ahead and buy the 7970 and the XFX PSU but i need a MOBO!!! thanks