Gamer Build/$3000 Budget/Advice on Components>Price

[AWiseCamper]

Approximate Purchase Date: Most of the components by June, Exception graphic card delay

Budget Range: $3000 before taxes, Nothing over I could go but I rather not

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Peaking Video Game Graphics

Parts Not Required: (e.g.: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS) mouse, speakers, keyboard

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Canadian Websites Directcanada.com, Canadacomputers.com, Newegg.ca

Country: ON,Canada (Incase someone is from ON and knows a couple of good stores in the Province)

Parts Preferences: You name it i'll check all the reviews, PC specific LCD's or Other type of TV's like Plasma's

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: No if 690 will be under 800 yes if Over because I probably wont get the 690 and i'll get 3 580's instead

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080, 1920x1200 2500x1600 is that's even a resolution

Additional Comments:
When is it required or suggested to go with a cooling system, once you overclock more then +1 component?
How Expensive would it be say if I got something like this cooling system here http://www.nzxt.com/new/products/crafted_series/switch_810 ?
PC specific LCD's or Other type of TV's like Plasma's ?
Do I really need a lot of room in my SSD's and HDD's ?

See you in the thread

 

[sectrix]

For that kind of money, you could get an excellent long lasting setup. I'd recommend the following:

CPU: Intel 3930K ($585)
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme4 ($245)
GPUs: GTX 680 x2 (about $1020, when in stock)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (4 x 2GB) 1600 Mhz ($63)
PSU: Corsair TX750 750 W ($103)
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM SATA 3.0 500GB ($78)
SSD:Intel 520 120GB ($187)
Optical Drive: Your choice (about $30)
OS: Windows 7 Premium ($111)
Monitor: BenQ XL2420T 24" 120Hz 1080p Display ($390)
CPU Fan: Noctua NH-D14 ($85)
Case: Your choice (about $100 remaining)

These prices are all from DirectCanada, who had the best prices and usually free shipping - except for the motherboard and cooler which are from CanadaComputers, If you can stomach an extra $50 to $100 I'd suggest the Asus P9X79 Pro or Rampage IV Extreme motherboards instead.

These are pretty much all premium parts, but do your own research of course.

I suggest the 3930K and 2011 platform platform because it should be relevant longer than the 4 core / LGA 1155 option. Although, for now the extra power won't matter much for games.

The monitor is a true 120Hz monitor, which, according to those who have them, is a whole new fantastic gaming experience in smoothness. For your budget it's worth it. Two 680s in SLi should keep most games above 120 FPS minimum, even at high settings. This will let you take advantage of the 120 Hz goodness. It will also let you game in 3D.

The cooling forum here has some good information. Once you decide what platform you want, I'd ask around there. FWIW, I've read moderate overclocking should be OK on air with a decent CPU cooler, like I've listed. I don't read much about people cooling RAM or motherboards, unless they're going extreme.

Hard drive storage depends a lot on you. Do you have a large collection of movies or music? Any video editing or anything like that? See what you have for storage now. If you don't think it's enough, get more. I've included 500 GB HDD in the price. SSD's are a bit different. Being more expensive, it's better to only get enough storage for what you want to run fast, and maybe a little more. Add up the size of all the games you play and the operating system, start with that. Install those on the SSD and non critical things on the HDD. I included 120GB which should cover the OS and several large games.

All in all this setup is pretty close to the most powerful desktop you can build.

 

[g-unit1111]

For that kind of money, you could get an excellent long lasting setup. I'd recommend the following:

CPU: Intel 3930K ($585)
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme4 ($245)
GPUs: GTX 680 x2 (about $1020, when in stock)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (4 x 2GB) 1600 Mhz ($63)
PSU: Corsair TX750 750 W ($103)
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM SATA 3.0 500GB ($78)
SSD:Intel 520 120GB ($187)
Optical Drive: Your choice (about $30)
OS: Windows 7 Premium ($111)
Monitor: BenQ XL2420T 24" 120Hz 1080p Display ($390)
CPU Fan: Noctua NH-D14 ($85)
Case: Your choice (about $100 remaining)

These prices are all from DirectCanada, who had the best prices and usually free shipping - except for the motherboard and cooler which are from CanadaComputers, If you can stomach an extra $50 to $100 I'd suggest the Asus P9X79 Pro or Rampage IV Extreme motherboards instead.

These are pretty much all premium parts, but do your own research of course.

While I'm one to usually advocate GPU over anything else, 2 x 680 actually *IS* overkill if a single 24" is your only display. If you're going to be hooking your PC up to a - say an ultra high resolution monitor or a 42" - 55" LED that's where you'd need the second one. You can't leave case up to choice unless the OP has a specific one in mind. There's so much hardware out there that it's impossible to generalize on builds anymore. And plus if you're going to use an XL-ATX motherboard like the Rampage IV, you'll need a case that will accommodate for that like a Rosewill Thor or Cooler Master Cosmos II.

Here's how I would spend $3K on a PC:

Case: NZXT Switch 810 - $169.99
PSU: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MKII 950 - $149.99
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth X79 - $319.99
CPU: 3.2GHz Intel Core i7-3930K - $599.99
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 Socket LGA 2011 Edition - $95.99
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 - $119.99
SSD: 128GB Plextor PX-M3 - $149.99
HD: Samsung Ecogreen F4 2TB - $129.99
Optical: LG BD-R Burner - $79.99
Video Card: EVGA Geforce GTX 680 - $499.99
OS: Windows 7 Pro - $139.99
Monitor: ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor - $199.99

Total: $2,654.88

I'd leave peripherals (keyboard/mouse/speakers) up to the user because that's entirely personal preference. Case can be but you need to select a case that will accommodate your hardware accordingly.

Hard drive storage depends a lot on you. Do you have a large collection of movies or music? Any video editing or anything like that? See what you have for storage now. If you don't think it's enough, get more. I've included 500 GB HDD in the price. SSD's are a bit different. Being more expensive, it's better to only get enough storage for what you want to run fast, and maybe a little more. Add up the size of all the games you play and the operating system, start with that. Install those on the SSD and non critical things on the HDD. I included 120GB which should cover the OS and several large games.

That's what I usually do but you never want to use an SSD as your only storage solution - you want to have at least one mechanical drive present to offload all your other data. You have to take formatting into account as well as that accounts for 5 - 10% of the usable drive space (1TB has 970GB after formatting, etc).

 

[sectrix]

While I'm one to usually advocate GPU over anything else, 2 x 680 actually *IS* overkill if a single 24" is your only display.

.

The only reason I suggested two 680s was to keep the minimum framerate around 120 FPS on high settings. This will let the OP make the most use of the 120 Hz monitor I suggested. I only suggested the 120 Hz monitor because, well, legend has it they're amazing.

That's what I usually do but you never want to use an SSD as your only storage solution

.
I got a Seagate in there...

You can't leave case up to choice unless the OP has a specific one in mind

Probably good advice. In that light, OP, I'll be using the Antec 300 case for my (similar) build, which runs about $50. It's a plain, no-frills style case. If that type suits you it should be a good choice and fit almost any expansion you need. Antec also has many other cases at reasonable prices, but are by no means the only option. Find one you like that supports an ATX form factor and supports USB 3.0 (if it has built in ports). Unless you get the Rampage IV Extreme. If you do, then will need an E-ATX case, which are much more limited in selection, and also more expensive. Like g-unit said, the Rosewill or Coolermaster are good ones, I also like the Lian-Li A70f.

If you plan on adding watercooling, case selection gets more complex. You'll usually need a larger case in general to fit the pump and reservoir inside. The heat exchanger can also be mounted inside, if your case has mounting for it. Otherwise you must pass two water lines outside the case for the exchanger. Again, some cases will have two rubber grommet holes in the back so you can do this. I haven't looked into this much, so I can't really help here.

 

[hconduc]

I'm not sure if the i7 3930K was more expensive last year but here's a thread I found specifically for choosing a gaming CPU. Save a couple of bucks, maybe triple digits

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/321030-28-2700k-3930k-wait-gaming

 

[g-unit1111]

Probably good advice. In that light, OP, I'll be using the Antec 300 case for my (similar) build, which runs about $50. It's a plain, no-frills style case. If that type suits you it should be a good choice and fit almost any expansion you need. Antec also has many other cases at reasonable prices, but are by no means the only option. Find one you like that supports an ATX form factor and supports USB 3.0 (if it has built in ports). Unless you get the Rampage IV Extreme. If you do, then will need an E-ATX case, which are much more limited in selection, and also more expensive. Like g-unit said, the Rosewill or Coolermaster are good ones, I also like the Lian-Li A70f.

If you plan on adding watercooling, case selection gets more complex. You'll usually need a larger case in general to fit the pump and reservoir inside. The heat exchanger can also be mounted inside, if your case has mounting for it. Otherwise you must pass two water lines outside the case for the exchanger. Again, some cases will have two rubber grommet holes in the back so you can do this. I haven't looked into this much, so I can't really help here.

What I look for in cases is with future expansion in mind. The first is with the size of the motherboard you're using - I don't want to use, say an mATX board with, say a Corsair 550 - I don't see the point in that. The second thing I look for is HD expansion and easy access to HDs, cable management, whether or not the HD cages can be removed, and CPU retention. Then I look for cooling - whether or not you can house a radiator (if the need arises) - or whether or not you can properly setup a good air solution.

 

[hconduc]

Case : COOLER MASTER HAF X http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=6_111&item_id=031796
Motherboard : ASUS Rampage IV Rampage LGA 2011 http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_707&item_id=043004
Graphic's Card : EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD Superclocked 1280MB GDDR5 x3 http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_557_559&item_id=038340
RAM : G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231416
PSU : Corsair TX950W 950W http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11180AC9542&vpn=CMPSU-950TX&manufacture=CORSAIR
CPU : Intel Core i7 2600K http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12200BD9917&vpn=BX80623I72600K&manufacture=INTEL
CPU-C : Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=8_129&item_id=045974
SSD : Mushkin Chronos 240GB SATA 6Gb/s http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=179_1088&item_id=047997
OD : Pioneer BDR-207 Black SATA 12x Blu-Ray Writer http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=3_54&item_id=045862
Monitor : High Budget - HP ZR30w http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_699_1101&item_id=044125
Mdeium Budget -SAMSUNG S27A850D http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001523
Low Budget - ASUS VS Series VS247H-P http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236174&cm_sp=Cat_Monitors-_-Hot_Item-_-24-236-174
HDD : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136540

With the CPU Cooler I would take off the fan's and coat them Red and the Fan Case Black or the opposite way around.

If you want to go 40" or higher ill find you a good plasma with high to low budgets & good reviews. If so Switch to Two 680 EVGA's or ASUS's and check out some SLi forums with what kind of problems exist, and know what you possibly could be dealing with

Enjoy

 

[sectrix]

CPU : Intel Core i7 2600K http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12200BD9917&vpn=BX80623I72600K&manufacture=INTEL

2600K will not work with the Rampage IV Extreme. Also, RAM listed is dual channel - LGA 2011 supports up to quad channel memory.

 

[hconduc]

2600K will not work with the Rampage IV Extreme. Also, RAM listed is dual channel - LGA 2011 supports up to quad channel memory.

Right the sockets don't match well that sucks, moving on.. time to choose a z77 motherboard and go with IB i5 3570K or the i7 2600K cpu

 

[sectrix]

Wow, I walked right into that one...

 

[azeem40]

For gaming, get IB.

 

[hconduc]

For gaming, get IB.

Yep with the money technically saved from the motherboard but mostly the cpu, invest into your graphic card's and monitor

Edit : http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/552?vs=287

 

[serialkiller]

for your budget go for ive bridge.

my recommendation

Intel i5 3570k

ASRock Z77 Extreme4

Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL9 DIMM

2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2048MB GDDR5

OCZ ZX-Series 850W Fully Modular 80 Plus Gold Certified Power Supply

Seagate Momentus XT 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache 2.5" Solid State Hybrid Drive

Corsair Carbide Series 500R WHITE Mid Tower Case

LG BH12LS38 Black 12x Blu-ray Writer 16x DVD+/-R/RW Write Drive

3 x Asus PA238Q, 23" LED IPS Panel Widescreen Professional Monitor, 1920x1080, 6ms(GtG), 5M:1(ASCR), VGA, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort


Total (excluding processor) = $2577 CAD

you can upgrade the storage option to carvier black or seagate 3tb and an crucial ssd for fast and vast storage option but is not necessary.

hope you like it


bye see you next time

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC7104&vpn=RC-942-KKN1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER $184.00
Coolermaster Haf X EATX Tower Case Black 6X5.25 5X3.5INT No PS Front USB3.0

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=16950AC9748&vpn=P11250BEFX&manufacture=Others $236.04
XFX 1250W PRO1250W Black Edition Single Rail ATX 12V 104A 24PIN ATX Full Modular 80PLUS Gold PSU

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530BD8687&vpn=P8Z77%20WS&manufacture=ASUS $321.59
ASUS P8Z77 WS ATX LGA1155 Z77 DDR3 CrossFireX SLI 4PCI-E16 SATA3 DVI USB3.0 Motherboard 4 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (dual x16 or x16, x8, x8 or quad x8)

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z77_WS/ <------- a better look at that board

http://pcper.com/news/Processors/Intel-Ivy-Bridge-Processors-Launch-March-23-2012 $332 USD
Intel i7-3770K Ivy Bridge CPU 3.5Ghz

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11180AC7448&vpn=CWCH100&manufacture=CORSAIR $100.18
Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H100 Extreme Performance CPU Cooler System LGA1366 2011 1156 AM2 AM3

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=70550&vpn=N680GTX%20Twin%20Frozr%202GD5%2FOC&manufacture=MSI%2FMicroStar $574.98
MSI GeForce GTX 680 Twin Frozr III OC 1058MHZ 2GB GDDR5 2xDVI HDMI DP PCI-E DirectX 11 Video Card

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=70550&vpn=N680GTX%20Twin%20Frozr%202GD5%2FOC&manufacture=MSI%2FMicroStar $574.98
MSI GeForce GTX 680 Twin Frozr III OC 1058MHZ 2GB GDDR5 2xDVI HDMI DP PCI-E DirectX 11 Video Card

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=70550&vpn=N680GTX%20Twin%20Frozr%202GD5%2FOC&manufacture=MSI%2FMicroStar $574.98
MSI GeForce GTX 680 Twin Frozr III OC 1058MHZ 2GB GDDR5 2xDVI HDMI DP PCI-E DirectX 11 Video Card

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226255 $499.99
Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR480GB-DX 2.5" 480GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226245 $69.99
Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model 997015

 

[g-unit1111]

for your budget go for ive bridge.

my recommendation

Intel i5 3570k

ASRock Z77 Extreme4

Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL9 DIMM

2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2048MB GDDR5

OCZ ZX-Series 850W Fully Modular 80 Plus Gold Certified Power Supply

Seagate Momentus XT 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache 2.5" Solid State Hybrid Drive

Corsair Carbide Series 500R WHITE Mid Tower Case

LG BH12LS38 Black 12x Blu-ray Writer 16x DVD+/-R/RW Write Drive

3 x Asus PA238Q, 23" LED IPS Panel Widescreen Professional Monitor, 1920x1080, 6ms(GtG), 5M:1(ASCR), VGA, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort


Total (excluding processor) = $2577 CAD

you can upgrade the storage option to carvier black or seagate 3tb and an crucial ssd for fast and vast storage option but is not necessary.

hope you like it


bye see you next time

$3K build and you're using a Seagate Momentus? Why???

Go with the SSD / HD combo - way less likely to fail than anything else on the market, the Momentus is meant for laptops - not to be used on a desktop build.

 

[serialkiller]

my bad :lol: