$2,000 Gaming Build

[DieselJunki]

Approximate Purchase Date: This week!

Budget Range: About $2,000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, ect.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: NewEgg

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel/nVidia

Overclocking: Maybe down the road.

SLI or Crossfire: No.

Monitor Resolution: I'm using my 42" Samsung LCD TV. Not sure of the resolution and what not.

Additional Comments: I hate flashy lights.
______________________________________________________________

OS - Windows 7 Home (I will be using the x64)

PSU - Corsair 750W 80 PLUS SILVER Modular
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

CPU - Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115071

Heatsink - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO Fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) Classified Ultra 3072MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130751

RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231456

HDD - Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache
(I know what your saying, get an SSD or get a 10k RPM. I had to cut back because of budget on this one. I will be getting an SSD later on and use it for Windows and my games, but this will do for now.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

Motherboard - ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (REV 3.0)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131701

DVD - Just a regular old Sony DVD/CD ROM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118031

Case - Antec Eleven Hundred Black Super Mid Tower
(I like it because there were not flashy lights and I could add up to 7 more fans. The light on the very top can be turned off, big +)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129178

I'm gunna be putting Arctic Silver 5 instead of the paste that comes on it.

I also got 3 of these fans since my case can support up to 7 more:
Zalman 120mm Fluid Dynamic Bearing
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118069

and:
Scythe ULTRA KAZE 120mm Sleeve Case fan.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185054
Not sure if I'm going to use this one or not but figured I'd try it out. I know it's going to be super loud unless I put it on a fan controller.

 

[spookyman]

Any future plans with that system?

Such as SLI or Crossfire?

You could go with an AMD Radeon 7970 which is the same price and that card but uses less wattage and runs cooler. And the card is faster.

Go with a Z68 motherboard instead of the P67. Price is about the same.

 

[DieselJunki]

I am in MAJOR dislike with anything to do with ATI and AMD.

As for the Z68 the reason why I decided not to go with that is because my friend has a similar build to the one I want and he runs the P67. Figured might as well go with the tried and true method but I will look into it for sure.

As for future plans I might overclock down the road. I won't go SLI because no game supports it truly yet, total waste of money IMO since I'm not doing a multiple monitor setup.

 

[DieselJunki]

Why do you say that?

 

[g-unit1111]

I am in MAJOR dislike with anything to do with ATI and AMD.

As for the Z68 the reason why I decided not to go with that is because my friend has a similar build to the one I want and he runs the P67. Figured might as well go with the tried and true method but I will look into it for sure.

As for future plans I might overclock down the road. I won't go SLI because no game supports it truly yet, total waste of money IMO since I'm not doing a multiple monitor setup.

Why? Just personal preference or bad experiences? I personally find AMD cards are great and they're far better for setting up multiple monitors. I definitely agree that SLI is a waste of money as it's always better to have one stronger cards than two weaker ones.

The only thing I would change about that build is you don't need the 2600K or 16GB of RAM - the 2500K is tailor-made for a gaming rig. Drop that and invest your money in upgrading your cooler to a Noctua D14: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018

The Antec 1100 is a good choice for case but if you want suggestions for cases that aren't too flashy I'd suggest:
- NZXT Phantom: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146068
- Corsair Carbide 500R: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139010
- Fractal Design Arc MIDI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352007

 

[DieselJunki]

G-Unit - I've had a few bad experience's with ATI's and my AMD Processors on my 2 desktops that I had in the past so I just want to stay clear. I had 1 desktop that had the Intel/nVidia setup and I had no issues with that. Perhaps it was just bad luck on my part but I just want to stay clear is all. Not saying they are crap or anything I've just not had the most pleasurable experiences.

I definitely appreciate your opinions guys. This is why I posted here so I could get more feedback. I will definitely be doing some more research on the processor and motherboard. The reason I picked those 2 were, again, because my friend had a similar setup.

As for the cooler. That seems nuts! That thing is huge.

I have looked at many cases. Matter of fact I looked at the last case you linked but didn't like the looks (I know it's kinda the same but it's different at the same time ). I think I'll stick with the one I picked . Thank you for the other suggestions on that though.

 

[g-unit1111]

G-Unit - I've had a few bad experience's with ATI's and my AMD Processors on my 2 desktops that I had in the past so I just want to stay clear. I had 1 desktop that had the Intel/nVidia setup and I had no issues with that. Perhaps it was just bad luck on my part but I just want to stay clear is all. Not saying they are crap or anything I've just not had the most pleasurable experiences.

The Radeons have improved dramatically since the AMD merger. It's funny - I'm the opposite - had nothing but bad experiences with NVIDIA where my ATI cards have run like a dream. My current work computer has a Radeon 5830 and it still works like a champ. I'm getting a 7870 for my system once the Sapphire model drops.

As for the cooler. That seems nuts! That thing is huge.

There's quite a few dual heat sink / fan configurations - I used the Silver Arrow but wish I had purchased the D14 instead - it's one of the better built ones on the market and includes a really good thermal compound with it.

I have looked at many cases. Matter of fact I looked at the last case you linked but didn't like the looks (I know it's kinda the same but it's different at the same time ). I think I'll stick with the one I picked . Thank you for the other suggestions on that though.

That's almost always a personal preference thing.

 

[DieselJunki]

Ok so I'm putting in an order for some parts that I've fully decided on (case, psu, ect.).
I took a look at nVidia's website to be sure I was getting the right wattage for a PSU and it says 600W min. Well this is an overclocked GPU that I'm getting. Is a 750W PSU going to be good enough. I'm slightly worried now.

 

[g-unit1111]

Ok so I'm putting in an order for some parts that I've fully decided on (case, psu, ect.).
I took a look at nVidia's website to be sure I was getting the right wattage for a PSU and it says 600W min. Well this is an overclocked GPU that I'm getting. Is a 750W PSU going to be good enough. I'm slightly worried now.

The power requirements listed on NVIDIA's website are generally what's recommended for the reference designs. If you're going with a non reference design (like the EVGA 560TI 448 core model) it'd be better to check your manufacturer's website to see what they recommend. 750 should be plenty.

 

[DieselJunki]

Ok, thank you!

 

[azeem40]

Get Shin Etsu Thermal Paste!