$2000 Gaming PC Components Help/Advice

[llguitargr8]

I want to make a gaming PC that will be able to handle any current and near future game full settings, for ~$2000 (preferably under). I am kind of a noob at this, since this would be the first gaming PC I have ever put together, or purchased at all for that matter.

These are the parts I have been considering so far:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119213
or
Corsair Obsidian Full Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139001
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K (Sandy Bridge)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018
Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-V Pro LGA 1155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790
GPU: 2 EVGA Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti's (SLI)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314
System Drive: 2 OCZ Vertex 3s 60GB (RAID0)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227737
Main Storage: 2 Seagate Barracudas 500GB (RAID0)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148767
Optical Drive: Asus 24x DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171049
Monitor: Asus VH232H Glossy 23"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236079
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823114012

Total: $2155 ($2280 with Obsidian case) I want to get in the 1500-2000 range (excluding keyboard and monitor)

Like I said, I'm new to this, so please help me eliminate things I don't need and would be a waste of money. I would be using this for primarily gaming (FPSs; RPGs) at highest settings. I would like to keep the cost under $2000 but I'm willing to go over if I need to. I'm probably going to get a 3770k Ivy Bridge when it comes out, if it is an increase in performance and less in price, and get a Z77 board. I've also been considering getting the new Kepler GPUs when they come out. I won't be purchasing and building until mid to late summer. And please point out any compatibility issues, if any, but I don't think there are.

And also, I don't know anything about overclocking. (how to do it, what it does, other methods, etc.) So any extra info on that would be really helpful!

Any advice and help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[serialkiller]

first think is it only for gaming if yes then there are few things to change

intel i5 2500k
this is what u need more than what u need i7 is an overkill
u didnt mention any thing about overclocking and iam assuming that u are going to overclock then this is what u need

motherboard Asus P8Z68-V Pro
LGA 1155

the same as u picked this mobo supports ive bridge so no need to change ur mobo

ram

the same u picked up

cpu cooler also same its is the best cooler available after h100

psu
never buy psu other than antec,corsair,seasonic,silverstone and xfx
you need 1000w power supply thats an overkill a 750w will be more than enough for that setup

buy seasonic x series 850 w 80+ gold

graphic card

i know thats bang for buck card and i would suggest a single card
xfx 7950 dd black edition is what u need and max out any game for 2 years on that resolution

case
its a choice ones
a mid tower would suficx unless u ran trifire(3 way crossfire or sli) and would need full tower

mid tower
corsair obsadian 650
carbide 600t white edition
cooler master haf 912 or 922 or 932 or storm enforcer and trooper

full tower
corsair 750,800
haf x and cosmos ii

its personal preference

and storage

why do u need to raid 0 those ssds
its better to have 1 120gb ssd
there is no support for trim for raid
if u utterly want raid 0 then go with intel ssd as they are going to release trim support trim support for raid

if u are going to install on ssd there is no need for raid 0 for storage
save money and buy 1.5 tb carvier green

the monitor and keyboard are good choice

build a system and u will have a kick ass system

NOTE : IF U ARE NOT GOING TO CROSSFIRE THOSE CARDS THEN CHANGE THE PSU TO 650W

AND IF TRIFIRE THEN AT LEAST 950 W PSU IS NEED
A SEASONIC 1050 80+ PLATINUM OR 1200W 80+ GOLD (I AM NOT SUGGESTING CORSAIR AS AX,HX AND TX SERIES PSU ARE MADE BY SEASONIC AND THUS ARE COSTLY.

HAVE A GOOD BUILD AND DONT FORGET TO POST SOME PICTURES

 

[Zero_]

A $2000 budget can get you 2x HD7950's in Crossfire. Just check my sig.

 

[serialkiller]

zero_ is right u could put 2x 7950

 

[llguitargr8]

Yea I was really considering going to i5, its just I didn't know if it would be good enough. But I guess it really comes down to the GPU as well. I don't know how long it will take me to get the money together, but if Ivy Bridge and the new chipsets come out before I buy, should I go with those? Or are the current motherboards probably going to be good enough?And also, how much space minimum should I get for the ssd for the system drive?

 

[llguitargr8]

And now with some of the changes you guys suggested, I'm down to $1658 (excluding keyboard, monitor)! I replaced the i7 with the i5, the 1000W PSU to Corsair 850W, and took out the two ssds and put in one Crucial M4 128Gb. (Is Crucial good?) And the reason I haven't replaced the two EVGAs is because I'm going to probably be actually purchasing and building mid-late summer, so by then Kepler should be out, and I want to see how those look. Any other suggestions?

 

[phenom90]

case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352007
Fractal Design Arc Midi Black - $100

cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Intel Core i5-2500K - $225

mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 - $130

ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB F3-1600C9D-8GAB - $45

odd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136236
LG DVD Burner 24X GH24NS70 - $19

hdd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB - $125

ssd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820249020
Plextor M3 Pro Series PX-128M3P 2.5" 128GB - $235

psu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703028
PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 950W - $130 after rebate

hsf: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181011
CORSAIR CAFA70 - $30 after rebate

gpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131457
PowerColor AX7950 3GBD5-2DH - $465

OR
just leave it blank for kepler....

 

[JackNaylorPE]

HAF-X would be a worthy upgrade to the 932 .... however a CM PSU would not be my choice.... a 750 watter will do if ya don't do anything more than a moderate OC, so I' suggest an 850 watter.

Other options to consider include the Corsair 500R an my personal favorite, the Antec 1200 V3 or DF-85 w/ CP-850.

First Choices (10.0 jonnyguru performance rating):

Antec CP-850
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=142
$115 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371024

Antec SG-850
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=101
$250 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371018

Corsair HX850
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=153
$160 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

XFX Black Edition
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=165

Second Choices (9.5 jonnyguru performance rating):

Antec TPQ-850
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=58
$130 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371009

Antec HCG-900
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=211
$140 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1681737105

Corsair TX V2
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=218
$125 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139022

Corsai AX-850
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=197
$170 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015

XFX Core Edition 850
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=217
$120 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207011

Seasonic MD12 850
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=127


NZXT Hale90
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=199
$180 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817116012

Third Choices (9.0 jonnyguru performance rating)

Antec HCP-850
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=215

Enermax Revolution 85+
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=150

Others

Toughpower XT 850 (8.5)
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=172

OCZ Z Series 850 (8.5)
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=167

Silverstone Element ST85EF (6.0)
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=164

CPU - You've picked the 2600k which to my mind, at current pricing is a CPU w/o a market niche. For a gaming box, you don't need hyperthreading so ya can save $100 by getting the 2500k.....In addition, the 2600k on that Noctua cooler will run as hot as a 2500k on a much cheaper cooler as the added virtual cores increase heat, so ya can save another $35. If you can justify the extra $100 for the 2600k cause apps you haven't mentioned will use HT, then how can ya not justify an extra $40 for the 2700k ?

MoBo - Solid choice

Cooler - Noc is a cooler with fine thermal performance and the one I'd pick if not for the Phanteks and Silver Arrow .... both of which are in its performance and price class. I love the Arrow cause it runs dead silent even at 5 GHz ..... The Phanteks however will be in my next build....and I'm not a fan of the self contained water units for several reasons.....

a) H series coolers are noisy ... The Antec 620 is quiet but the 920 is noisy too.
b) If you have chosen a MoBo because it has nice spacing between the SLI'd GFX cards, this oft results in the top GFX card hitting the radiator when mounted at the back of the case.

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/phanteks_ph_tc14pe_cpu_cooler_review,11.html
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=674&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709001

GFX - Agree with ya on the twin 560 Ti's .... clearly the best bang for the buck over $200.....862 fps @ 48 cents per frame (nothing else really comes close). Where we disagree is in the model choice:

a) $235 for factory OC'd card at 850 Mhz .... can get 900Mhz cards for as little as $205.
b) EVGA cards (560's and 570's) for all but the "Classified" models use the reference VRM's severely curtailing their overclock ability. This is also true of the MSI Twin Frozr models (Lightning and Hawk have beefed up VRM's).
c) EVGA has a nice warranty ..... on paper .... but good luck trying to get a card re[placement because your factory OC'd card won't run at advertised speeds. I spent 18 months, 20 support calls and 5 RMA's and still never got a card that would run at factory OC'd speeds.

I'd suggest the Gigabyte or Asus TOP models both of which are cheaper, have higher factory over clocks and have 7 phase VRM models which allows them to handle higher overclocks.

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1104/pg19/asus-geforce-gtx-560-ti-directcu-ii-top-review-and-sli-performance-conclusion.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006662&IsNodeId=1&Description=900MHz%20560%20Ti&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20

For "bang for the buck" comparisons, look at the cost per frame in Guru3D's game test suite in the table below. Highlighting your choice below for example, the factory OC'd 560 Ti's get 495 fps in a single card configuration at $0.41 per frame and 862 fps in SLI at $0.48 per frame. I can't see going past $0.65ish per frame ....especially for example when , say twin 580's for example, ya get just 10% more performance for a 120% increase in price.

$ 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
$ 205.00 560 Ti - 900 Mhz (495/862) $ 0.41 - $ 0.48
$ 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
$ 450.00 7950 (603/NG*) $ 0.75 - ERR
$ 550.00 7970 (675/NG*) $ 0.81 - ERR

* Did not complete significant number of games in test, expected to be resolved in future driver releases


RAM - Lose the tall, toothy heat sinks which can oft interfere with ya CPU cooler. The ones you picked aren't as tall as many but why bother as these toothed heat sinks are wholly unnecessary on DDR3. These are low profile, will not interfere with the Noctua DH-14 or any other of the coolers above.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006662&IsNodeId=1&Description=900MHz%20560%20Ti&bop=And&CompareItemList=147|20-233-196^20-233-196-TS%2C20-233-186^20-233-186-TS%2C20-233-199^20-233-199-TS

SSD - If you are expecting anything but bragging rights for benchmark cores, you will be disappointed by RAID. There is no observable impact in gaming or any other consumer level application..... video editing, CAD, huge database manipulation, servers, yes...... gaming, web, office apps....no. You also, at least for the time being, (Intel says chipset level support for trim in RAID is "coming") lose TRIM support.

Get a Tier 3, 120 / 128 GB or if budget allows a 240 / 256 GB Tier 1 SSD from the lists here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-review-benchmark,3115-6.html

Hard Drive - I'd recommend the larger 2TB or 3TB Barrcuda XT as opposed to small RAID setups. I put one of these XT's in Son No. 2's box....... it boots to Windows in 21.2 seconds .... he also has Vertex 3 Max IOPS (Tier 3 which is the fastest tier at 120/128GB size) which boots to Windows just 5.6 seconds faster in 15.6 secs. If ya performance oriented, avoid energy saving HD's oft labeled green or other colors as they save energy primarily by being slower.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=708&Itemid=60&limit=1&limitstart=10

....for where RAID works and where it doesn't, see the thread here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/255694-32-best-raid

Optical - In a 2k box, consider a burner that can read Blue Ray.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247

Monitor - In a 2k build, I'd try and squeeze a 120Hz monitor in there
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236104

 

[azeem40]

For $40 cheaper, you can get the Planar sa2311w monitor. It is also 120Hz.
Here is a review of it: http://3dvision-blog.com/4244-review-of-the-23-planar-sa2311w-3d-vision-ready-lcd-monitor/

 

[Rockdpm]

Ivy bridge and Kepler, nuff said.....

 

[azeem40]

Instead of basing it off theory, actually wait until they release Kepler before being a fanboy about it.

 

[Rockdpm]

Instead of basing it off theory, actually wait until they release Kepler before being a fanboy about it.

i didnt say not to wait, in fact what i meant by that comment was to wait for Ivy bridge and kepler to make a final decision, no hard feelings tho. I can admit i do seem a bit of fanboyish

 

[serialkiller]

man the best bang for buck u are going to get is by getting a 6950 and unlocking it and u get the performance of 6970 at the cost of 6950
do u guys agree

 

[llguitargr8]

Best answer selected by llguitargr8.