1,000 strictly gaming pc

[traumaiv]

Approximate Purchase Date: April

Budget Range: $1000 (will go about 50 or so over)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming. Strictly gaming.

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, os.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: perfer if looked up parts on pc part picker as they show cheapest.

Country: U.S.

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: none.

Overclocking: Yes.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in future

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: none.

 

[EzioAs]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/5nuS

Although, you said strictly for gaming, this is a more balanced config with a great case, modular power supply, etc and not 100% optimized for game performance only. If you don't care for modular psu, looks of the case, it can get even better but I personally recommend something well balanced

 

[g-unit1111]

Here's my standard $1K build:

Case: Fractal Design Arc MIDI - $99.99
PSU: Corsair TX650 V2 - $89.99 ($15.00 MIR)
Motherboard: Asrock Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 - $129.99
CPU: 3.30GHz Intel Core i5-2500K - $229.99
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo - $34.99
HD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB - $109.99
Optical: Lite On DVD Burner - $17.99
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB 1600MHz - $44.99
Video Card: EVGA Geforce GTX 560TI - $249.99 ($15.00 MIR)

Total: $1,002.84 - $30.00 MIR = $970.84

 

[traumaiv]

thanks for replies i think im going to make a few modifications to your build ezio but it looks good.

 

[EzioAs]

thanks for replies i think im going to make a few modifications to your build ezio but it looks good.

Sure. Just make sure their not bottlenecked and if you have any problems or not sure about the parts, please tell us.

 

[traumaiv]

hows this? a mix between both. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/5nzz

 

[EzioAs]

hows this? a mix between both. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/5nzz

I have only tried the hyper 212+ not the evo and I'm not sure how it performs but the thermaltake frio that i suggest before is very good.

I personally am a bit biased towards MSI cards because I really like their twin frozr cooler which is really good and they normally have a 3 years warranty on their products even though their not much expensive than other brands.

Personally(based on experience), I wouldn't go for asrock boards as they usually have some flaws and issues, but I don't know about this one so can't say anything to that

 

[traumaiv]

ah how much a difference is there between the two cpu coolers? but yeah i like the msi ones would this be okay to buy : http://www.ebay.com/itm/MSI-nVidia-N560GTX-Ti-Twin-Frozr-II-OC-1GB-Geforce-GTX-560-Ti-Graphics-Card?item=250996091540&cmd=ViewItem&_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D6775783607068822087#ht_927wt_1392 but ah ive never heard of problems with asrock but how would a asus maximus iv gene-z/gen3 work?

 

[g-unit1111]

I have only tried the hyper 212+ not the evo and I'm not sure how it performs but the thermaltake frio that i suggest before is very good.

I personally am a bit biased towards MSI cards because I really like their twin frozr cooler which is really good and they normally have a 3 years warranty on their products even though their not much expensive than other brands.

Personally(based on experience), I wouldn't go for asrock boards as they usually have some flaws and issues, but I don't know about this one so can't say anything to that

There's no such thing as a perfect motherboard - *ALL* brands have their flaws and issues - that includes Asus, Gigabyte, and Intel. Where the issues lie is if someone rushes the installation - if you really take your time, check your connections, things like that, you will be fine.

I'm not a fan of Thermaltake by any means - we quit buying their cases where I work because they're so cheaply made. I don't think I'd trust their CPU coolers. The Hyper 212 is a solid all-rounder and a good performer. It also comes with a good thermal compound - no need to buy extra.

MSI is OK - I'm not the biggest fan of theirs, I prefer EVGA for my NVIDIA cards as they have an excellent reputation and one of the easiest support and RMA departments on the planet.

 

[EzioAs]

the maximus is a great board, great for overclocking, but it's a premium and microATX board so expansion is limited and I don't really the point of a premium board since they're among pc parts that are not futureproof at all because standards keep changing. The only future proof parts in a pc is the case, cooler(to a certain extent) and psu(also to a certain extent).

Yes, go for the MSI card as that is a really good price considering it's gaming and cooling performance

The frio is a much better cooler for 4.5GHz+ overclocked since you'll never knew how much voltage you need to ramp up on the cpu to get a stable overclock

 

[traumaiv]

Alright sounds good so should i just go with your gigabyte case you recommended? i read somewhere that the pci express 3.0 from gigabyte is a sham (incase i ever feel like upgrading to pci express 3.0) but also i heard that most cards wont even exceed the bandwidth for pci express 2.0 so the upgrade to 3.0 is point less.

 

[EzioAs]

You mean the motherboard? PCIe 3.0 isn't yet ready because sandy bridge is not compatible with it, ivy bridge will. Most cards do run good up to at PCIe 2.0 at x8(also PCIe 1.0) but if you ever need the bandwidth, at least you have the option. The reason why I picked the board is because it's a solid board and great for overclocking although not as great as a premium board

 

[g-unit1111]

the maximus is a great board, great for overclocking, but it's a premium and microATX board so expansion is limited and I don't really the point of a premium board since they're among pc parts that are not futureproof at all because standards keep changing. The only future proof parts in a pc is the case, cooler(to a certain extent) and psu(also to a certain extent).

Yes, go for the MSI card as that is a really good price considering it's gaming and cooling performance

The frio is a much better cooler for 4.5GHz+ overclocked since you'll never knew how much voltage you need to ramp up on the cpu to get a stable overclock

That's the main reason I don't recommend mATX since the limited expansion does get frustrating.

I just don't like Thermaltake - there's way better brands for coolers - check out this article for some alternate suggestions:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/LGA-2011-i7-3960X-Air-Overclocking,3130.html

Alright sounds good so should i just go with your gigabyte case you recommended? i read somewhere that the pci express 3.0 from gigabyte is a sham (incase i ever feel like upgrading to pci express 3.0) but also i heard that most cards wont even exceed the bandwidth for pci express 2.0 so the upgrade to 3.0 is point less.

I like this board personally - I use the UD3P and it's been great but that might be a bit out of your price range - try this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128498

 

[traumaiv]

ah i see. well thanks for the help

 

[traumaiv]

Best answer selected by traumaiv.

 

[EzioAs]

That's the main reason I don't recommend mATX since the limited expansion does get frustrating.

I just don't like Thermaltake - there's way better brands for coolers - check out this article for some alternate suggestions:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/LGA-2011-i7-3960X-Air-Overclocking,3130.html

Then I suggest the D14(also a favorite and it performs as well as corsair H100), although not many people like it because of the price, size and issues with high profile memories but the g skill sniper is a low profile and the storm trooper case is big enough so OP shouldn't have any problems