First Build $1000-1700 Budget

[BigPapa89]

Hello,
I have been gaming for quite some time and my last build took a crash over a year ago and have been gaming on a stock HP computer and im tired of it. I have never built a system before but my brother recently put together a nice rig and feel we should be able to make another one. I am looking for the best bang for my dollar. I also look to do some work and typical daily use along with being able to upgrade in the future. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Approximate Purchase Date: This Month.

Budget Range: $1000-1700

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Web Design, Photo/Video Editing, Movies, daily pc use..

Parts Not Required: Monitor, Speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel, but open to all ideas

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Yes Eventually

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Looking to play all the newest games and upcoming ones also, best bang for my buck.

Here is a build I recently put together, but looking for improvements:

CPU: Intel Core I7 2600k http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070 $324.99

CASE: NZXT Phantom http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067 $119.99

PSU: Antec High Current Gamer Series 750W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371049 $104.99

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 $99.99

MOBO: ASRock extreme3 gen3 LGA1155 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 $129.99

SSD: Crucial M4 64GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441 $93.99

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181&cm_sp=Cat_Hard_Drives-_-Spotlight-_-22-152-181 $84.99

MEM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144 $44.99

GPU: up in the air.. was looking at 7950s but dont know what is best at the moment. ($300-600)

CDD: ASUS 24x DVD Burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 $21.99

TOTAL: $1,025.91 before any rebates or shipping (GPU not included)

 

[azeem40]

Atm, the best is the 7970, then the 7950, then the GTX 580 fermi. For your budget and where you stand right now, get an ASUS P8Z68 V/Gen3 Motherboard. Get low profile RAM - those large heatsinks on the RAM do nothing for DDR3 Memory.

 

[Lennon95]

swap out the asrock board for this one. it is excellent

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131792

also the ocz zx psu's are very good, the 850 watt version is like $60 more than your current

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341044

and id go with either the gtx 580, hd 7950, or 7970, or wait and see how kepler is. paper launch tomorrow

EDIT: take a look at these benchmarks.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7950-overclock-crossfire-benchmark,3123-7.html

if those end up bringing the price too high my choice would be to go with the 2500k since the 2600 is only hyperthreaded, 100 mhz faster, and has a 2mb bigger cache. imo, not worth the 100 price jump

 

[EzioAs]

I'd say those are pretty good specs already and yes I do agree with azeem's recommendation. The 7950 is a great card, but if you're expecting something less expensive get the 7870 although it's only available starting next week I believe. With that budget though, I'm sure you can get the 7950.

 

[azeem40]

Yes, the 7870 should be available on the 15th IIRC.

 

[EzioAs]

I agree the 2500K is better(cause it's cheaper) for gaming, but if you're doing some serious video editing, the hyper-threaded 2600K is more preferable.

 

[Saundra258]

I'd say those are pretty good specs already and yes I do agree with azeem's recommendation.

 

[BigPapa89]

Atm, the best is the 7970, then the 7950, then the GTX 580 fermi. For your budget and where you stand right now, get an ASUS P8Z68 V/Gen3 Motherboard. Get low profile RAM - those large heatsinks on the RAM do nothing for DDR3 Memory.

Thanks for the input, I will look into the new board and the lower profile RAM. I will also wait to see if the 7870 competes any where close to the 7950.

 

[BigPapa89]

swap out the asrock board for this one. it is excellent

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131792

also the ocz zx psu's are very good, the 850 watt version is like $60 more than your current

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341044

and id go with either the gtx 580, hd 7950, or 7970, or wait and see how kepler is. paper launch tomorrow

EDIT: take a look at these benchmarks.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7950-overclock-crossfire-benchmark,3123-7.html

if those end up bringing the price too high my choice would be to go with the 2500k since the 2600 is only hyperthreaded, 100 mhz faster, and has a 2mb bigger cache. imo, not worth the 100 price jump

Thank you for the post, I am looking into all parts and am undecided on the CPU as I knew the 2500k competes at the same level as the 2600k in gaming but was worried about video editing. Will I need the extra 100W of power?

 

[EzioAs]

If you're planning on crossfire 2 7950 , 750W or 850W is more than enough for 2 7870, 650W is enough. Most people would prefer 850W for 2 7950 for more headroom and I agree but I wouldn't go for OCZ psu. I'd rather choose corsair, seasonic or antec. OCZ had issues with their psu and I know this from a few products I had in the past

 

[azeem40]

XFX is another great PSU manufacturer and have one of the longest warranties as well.

 

[Lennon95]

Thank you for the post, I am looking into all parts and am undecided on the CPU as I knew the 2500k competes at the same level as the 2600k in gaming but was worried about video editing. Will I need the extra 100W of power?

there isn't a large jump in power consumption between the 2 cpus (if any, not 100% sure)

use this power supply calculator, a lot of people overestimate real world power consumption.

http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

for example a lot of people think for sli gtx 580s you'd need nothing less than 1000 watts however playing around with that calc proves that with 2 (stock) 580s, a stock 2500k, sata 7200 rpm, 4 case fans and water cooling, (h60) only needs 691 watts. however I wouldn't go with anything less than 850 because I would definitely overclock.

 

[EzioAs]

^I agree with you. The basics is to never skimp out on the psu but most people overestimate TOO much. For 2 580s I'd say 750W is also enough but for more headroom, 850W is better. There are some who would suggest something like 1000W+ psu just to waste money on the psu itself

 

[BigPapa89]

If you're planning on crossfire 2 7950 , 750W or 850W is more than enough for 2 7870, 650W is enough. Most people would prefer 850W for 2 7950 for more headroom and I agree but I wouldn't go for OCZ psu. I'd rather choose corsair, seasonic or antec. OCZ had issues with their psu and I know this from a few products I had in the past

Thank you for the help, I believe im going to wait for the release of the 7850 and 7870 in the following week to see how they perform as I saw that they perform pretty closely to the 7950 for a decent amount of money less. Will probably upgrade to a 850W psu just for future security.

 

[BigPapa89]

Low Profile RAM: Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148544 $41.99

 

[EzioAs]

Low Profile RAM: Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148544 $41.99

Pretty good kit there. Low profile so it shouldn't have any problem with any large air cooler

 

[azeem40]

Pretty good kit there. Low profile so it shouldn't have any problem with any large air cooler

It also is tied for the lowest failure rates with Kingston HyperX.

 

[BigPapa89]

Found a different PSU: PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 950W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703028 $149.99