First game build - Are they compatible?

[siu_peng]

So, this is the final list I came up with for my first game build,
all I need now is a good choice of GPU,
and I need a final check for compatibility.

Please help, thanks!

Motherboard (will consider ASRock Z77 Extreme6 Z77 if available in where I live)
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

CPU
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

GPU
Please suggest something nice for around $300 ($600 for 2 GPU's)
2GB/GPU with crossfire and eyefinity.

RAM (If I have enough left for my budget, I might consider 16GBs)
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144

CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233143

Power Supply (with two GPU's which is better, 850w or 1000w?)
COOLER MASTER Silent Pro RS850-AMBAJ3-US 850W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.92 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171048

COOLER MASTER Silent Pro RSA00-AMBAJ3-US 1000W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.92 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171049

DVD Drive (Just a random one I chose, as it doesnt really matter, I just need it to install stuff)
ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

SSD (will add an extra HDD later to store stuff)
Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR120GB 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226236

OS (Home Premiun should be enough right?)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Case (Depends which one I can find)
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0, Black Interior and Four Fans-1x 230mm front RED LED fan, 1x 140mm rear fan, 1x 230mm top fan, and 1x 230mm side fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225

 

[samuelspark]

Get a GTX 680. It is the best single GPU card there is. Don't get crossfire/sli. There are some issues with crossfire and sli such as random lagspikes no matter how good your cards are. Also, with this card, you only need a good 600w PSU, I recommend http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703036 . Also, are you going to overclock? A CPU with a "k" at the end makes it a overclocking friendly chip. You'll need a decent CPU cooler like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 . Good luck.

 

[siu_peng]

thanks for the reply!
does it support eyefinity?
i need it to support atleast 3 monitors

 

[jerreddredd]

thanks for the reply!
does it support eyefinity?
i need it to support atleast 3 monitors

What resolution are the monitors and when say eyefinity do you mean gaming across all 3 monitors (WideScreen)? What type of game are you going to play?

Eyefinity is a AMD/ATI buzz word, the nVidia version is call Surround Vision.

you need lots of GPU power to do gaming across 3 monitors. I used 2 x EVGA GTX 570's in SLI to game at 5760x1200 and it was pretty smooth. I couldn't go past 2x AA and 4x AF with out some stuttering in places. I now run on a single GTX 590 and it runs about the same.

Ideally if I did my widescreen gaming system in today's market I would do 2 x GTX 680 in SLI ($1100)

Suggestions
2 of these in SLI (over you budget, but each has 2.5gb of Ram - great for widescreen gaming
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130687

any 2 GTX 570's that fit your budget

you might get away with these depending on the type of games you play. they have 2GB Ram (2 x in SLI)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130683
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127608

if you want actual Eyefinity then:

a single HD 6990 4GB if you can fine one
a pair of HD 7870's in xfire (would be over you $600 budget)

a pair of HD 7850s in xfire (in budget)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102984

 

[siu_peng]

Yes, I want game across all three screens,
probably will be adding a fourth screen as my "second screen".
Since I'm getting new monitors,
I'm not sure what size and resolution im getting yet.

I found a few brands of 7870, which would you recommend?
I personally like Sapphire, not sure if it's good or not.
the price for 7870 is ok, i can always buy one first,
buy the second one later.

 

[siu_peng]

Oh, and another question that might sound stupid..
I'm not sure how onboard graphic cards work or what exactly it refers to
but if I dont buy graphic cards right now (no GPU's installed on the motherboard)
does that mean that nothing will show up on the screen (no graphics, blank screen)?
or is the GPU just to improve the graphics?

 

[Rockdpm]

Yes, I want game across all three screens,
probably will be adding a fourth screen as my "second screen".
Since I'm getting new monitors,
I'm not sure what size and resolution im getting yet.

I found a few brands of 7870, which would you recommend?
I personally like Sapphire, not sure if it's good or not.
the price for 7870 is ok, i can always buy one first,
buy the second one later.

Gaming on 3 monitors with a fourth as webbrowser monitor..........

GTX 680. Hands down!....

 

[Rockdpm]

Oh, and another question that might sound stupid..
I'm not sure how onboard graphic cards work or what exactly it refers to
but if I dont buy graphic cards right now (no GPU's installed on the motherboard)
does that mean that nothing will show up on the screen (no graphics, blank screen)?
or is the GPU just to improve the graphics?

Well with a motherboard that doesn't have onboard video inputs.... Its like eating cake without a fork...... Just isnt doable

So you need a Graphics card. And in the long run your gonna find your self spending the same amount as you would now by just go ahead and bite'ing the bullet and getting the Best you can get


GTX 680...Only problem is your gonna have to wait. Because they have to restock them all across the Internet they are Sold Completely out. Period. Should be Plenty of GTX 680's with different variants to buy within the next week or 2

 

[g-unit1111]

Get a GTX 680. It is the best single GPU card there is. Don't get crossfire/sli. There are some issues with crossfire and sli such as random lagspikes no matter how good your cards are. Also, with this card, you only need a good 600w PSU, I recommend http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703036 . Also, are you going to overclock? A CPU with a "k" at the end makes it a overclocking friendly chip. You'll need a decent CPU cooler like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 . Good luck.

I definitely agree here - it's always better to get a single GPU solution than it is to get a dual GPU solution with two weaker cards. The 680 or 7970 are definitely safe bets right now.

g

thanks for the reply!
does it support eyefinity?
i need it to support atleast 3 monitors

The 680 will out of the box - NVIDIA has their own technology called "NVIDIA Surround" - it works similar to Eyefinity but if you want my honest opinion I've always found Eyefinity solutions far easier to setup than any NVIDIA Surround setup.

I found a few brands of 7870, which would you recommend?
I personally like Sapphire, not sure if it's good or not.
the price for 7870 is ok, i can always buy one first,
buy the second one later.

Sapphire makes great cards - I'm buying their 7870 once I get my tax refund.

a single HD 6990 4GB if you can fine one
a pair of HD 7870's in xfire (would be over you $600 budget)

I wouldn't recommend trying to track down a 6990 - I checked eBay and they're currently going for like $900 for the Asus model.

Gaming on 3 monitors with a fourth as webbrowser monitor..........

GTX 680. Hands down!....http://www.geforce.com/Active/en_US...0/GTX680-Surround-AccessoryDisplay-Skyrim.png

That is bad ass, I have to say.

 

[siu_peng]

Well with a motherboard that doesn't have onboard video inputs.... Its like eating cake without a fork...... Just isnt doable

So you need a Graphics card. And in the long run your gonna find your self spending the same amount as you would now by just go ahead and bite'ing the bullet and getting the Best you can get


GTX 680...Only problem is your gonna have to wait. Because they have to restock them all across the Internet they are Sold Completely out. Period. Should be Plenty of GTX 680's with different variants to buy within the next week or 2

For gaming I'm definitely going to get a graphic card, it's just that if possible I want to save up for another month to get a better graphic card. So I'm just wondering if I can still do without GPU for one month or so. If not, i'll get one this month.

I won't be buying anything online, because I live in Macau (FYI next to Hong Kong), which I'm pretty sure they wont be mailing to. I'm better off searching in computer hardware shops.

 

[Rockdpm]

For gaming I'm definitely going to get a graphic card, it's just that if possible I want to save up for another month to get a better graphic card. So I'm just wondering if I can still do without GPU for one month or so. If not, i'll get one this month.

I won't be buying anything online, because I live in Macau (FYI next to Hong Kong), which I'm pretty sure they wont be mailing to. I'm better off searching in computer hardware shops.

Well unless you have a old display card to use some where. your gonna need to get a video card. a motherboard that doesnt have a display port will just make your computer look like a box that just presses buttons no knowing if its messing your computer up or not

 

[jerreddredd]

Oh, and another question that might sound stupid..
I'm not sure how onboard graphic cards work or what exactly it refers to
but if I dont buy graphic cards right now (no GPU's installed on the motherboard)
does that mean that nothing will show up on the screen (no graphics, blank screen)?
or is the GPU just to improve the graphics?

the i5 2500k has intel HD 3000 gpu built into is and the Z68 MB has D-Sub + DVI and HDMI video outputs on it, so you will have video w/o a discreet GPU installed.

 

[siu_peng]

the i5 2500k has intel HD 3000 gpu built into is and the Z68 MB has D-Sub + DVI and HDMI video outputs on it, so you will have video w/o a discreet GPU installed.

So in other words, I can just plug my monitor to my motherboard directly, without having to install a GPU first, and still have video? Since obviously without video I wont be able to install OS or anything else

If so, I can buy a nice monitor first, then save up to buy a 7870 next month

 

[adgjlsfhk]

Micro Center has some of these for a much better price.
I5-2500k #179
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354589
Kingston 8 gigs of ram $29
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0360526

 

[adgjlsfhk]

You would be able to set your pc up without discrete graphics but you would not be able to game.

 

[jerreddredd]

So in other words, I can just plug my monitor to my motherboard directly, without having to install a GPU first, and still have video? Since obviously without video I wont be able to install OS or anything else

If so, I can buy a nice monitor first, then save up to buy a 7870 next month

yes, the HD 3000 graphic would be ok for office use and web surfing, but not gaming.

 

[siu_peng]

yes, the HD 3000 graphic would be ok for office use and web surfing, but not gaming.

Perfect! Thanks all you guys for the answers.
I know exactly what to get now,
and wont have to worry about fitting a nice GPU and monitors into my budget
therefore lowering the quality of my graphics.
since I can buy them next month.

Thanks again!