Need Advice $3500-$5000 Gaming PC

[s1l3noz]

Hi guys! I'm planning to build my first gaming PC soon and I need your help. I've been reading on Tom's Hardware for a long time now and I think it's where I'll get the best advices. I'll be playing lots of FPS, Diablo III, etc. I'll need 1 or 2 monitors for this build but I don't want to include them to my budget. Suggestions for them are welcome. If you need to know anything else let me know.

Approximate Purchase Date: June

Budget Range: $3500-$5000 Before Rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Surfing The Internet, Photo Editing, Watching Movies, Etc.

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, OS.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Don't have any since It's my 1st Build. Lets say Newegg.ca

Country: Canada

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, Nvidia Video Card (EVGA GTX 680 would be nice ), SSD Minimum 240GB for OS (RAID or Not?) and HD Minimum 2TB for storage. 8GB+ of RAM Memory.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Yes

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080, 1920x1200

Additional Comments: I'd like my PC to be as quiet as possible. If possible with SLI configuration, I would like a high quality soundcard. There's a lot missing to my list below and I apologise for it but I don't know which MOBO, RAM and PSU is best for my needs.

--------------------

These are some of the parts I was considering buying for my Gaming PC.

Case: Cooler Master COSMOS II
I chose this case because I just like the way it looks and it has plenty of rooms for components.

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K

SSD Drive: OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS Edition 240GB

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB

Thanks for your advices.

 

[jmsellars1]

If you want something as quiet as possible, SLI is the wrong way to go. The first rule of a quiet PC is to keep the power consumption low, dual graphics cards tend to have insane power consumption. I'd get a single high end card like the 680, the ASUS 3 slot ones tend to be pretty quiet.

I would wait a week or so for Ivy Bridge and get an i5, in games you would get similar performance to the i7-3930K for MUCH less cash. i7's, particularly the high end ones aren't really designed for gaming.

i5-3570k
8GB G.Skill Ares 1333Mhz
ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77
EVGA GTX 680 2GB
Intel 520 Series 240GB
WD Caviar Black 2TB
Seasonic X-560
Lite On BD-RE
COOLER MASTER COSMOS II RC-1200-KKN1
Noctua NH-D14

Total - ~$2300


I don't really see the need to spend any more than that on the system itself, you would get more benefit out of an awesome monitor like this:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=224-9949

 

[sectrix]

I put together a build for someone from Canada with similar requirements just yesterday...
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/342937-31-gamer-build-3000-budget-advice-components-price

Here's a modified version of what I suggested there, changed for your needs:

CPU: Intel 3930K ($585)
Motherboard: Rampage IV Extreme ($417)
GPUs: GTX 680 x2 (about $1020, when in stock)
RAM: Corsair Dominator 16GB 1600 Mhz ($197)
PSU: Seasonic X750 ($160)
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB ($151)
SSD: Intel 520 240GB ($330)
Optical Drive: Your choice (about $30)
CPU Fan: Noctua NH-D14 ($85)
Case: NZXT Whisper ($110)

Total: About $3100

All prices are from DirectCanada, which was the cheapest Canadian site from the other post. CPU cooler is from CanadaComputers, and the PSU and HDD you'll have to find on the broader internets - I couldn't find them on DirectCanada or Newegg.ca. The places I got prices from for those may not ship to Canada.

The PSU, HDD, CPU fan and case were all chosen to be very quietest I could find. The HDD will be rather slow though - SATA 2 (3 GB/s).

If you have this much money to spend I highly suggest you stick with the 3930K and LGA 2011 platform. The price difference isn't much, and it should prove to be relevant longer than the LGA 1155 and four core CPUs in general. At the same time, all the extra power isn't going to make games play any better now.

I also suggest you get a 120 Hz monitor, especially if you do a lot of FPS gaming. 120 Hz monitors are capable of displaying twice as many original images per second as a regular monitor. According to those who own them, the difference is extraordinary; like night and day.

There are not many of these around. The LCD TVs you see everywhere that advertise they are 120 Hz are somewhat misleading. The screen does refresh at 120 Hz (meaning: 120 times per second), but they are limited to 60 Hz input. This means of the 120 images displayed in a second, only 60 of them are original from the source. The other 60 are interpolated images generated by the TV, which are placed between the real images. A true 120 Hz monitor has both 120 Hz refresh and 120 Hz input. It can display 120 original images from the source every second. As a convenient bonus it is also 3D capable.

All this also means that your computer must be able to stay at about 120 FPS to take advantage of the 120 Hz. This is the only reason two 680s are in the build list; to keep most games, even at the highest settings, at about 120 FPS.

Here's a list of 3D ready displays from NVidia. While the list is for 3D purposes, any of these will also provide 120 Hz smoothness in 2D. This list is only a beginning, there are other 120 Hz displays not included: http://www.nvidia.com/object/3d-vision-system-requirements.html.
Rumored to be among the best are:

- Glossy:
23": Samsung 750D ($444)
27": Samsung 950D ($664)

- Matte:
24": BenQ XL2420T ($390)

(note: while these should display 3D stuff just fine, they were singled out for their quality for 120Hz 2D use)

The BenQ has a matte (dull) screen, so ambient lighting doesn't cause reflections on the screen. This does cause some degradation in image quality though. The glossy gives the best image, but reflects light more. Choose the lesser evil.

As far as sound cards, I wouldn't suggest one unless you do some sort of musical work. For getting pretty good sound, the Rampage has 7.1 channel support on the board, and there are lots of computer speaker setups to choose from. For the best sound, you'll get better and louder audio from a separate home theater setup. Connect it to your PC using the optical port (S/PDIF). Whatever you do, when you choose pay attention to the THD and the continuous RMS power. THD is Total Harmonic Distortion, or how much noise the amp introduces when it amplifies the signal. Look for something 1% or less. Continuous RMS power is how much power the amp can produce continuously. More is louder. Peak or max power are mostly marketing specs. Since every company calculates this differently, it's useless for comparison. Always compare RMS power.

Sorry for the novel. Good luck with your build.

 

[constepatdyak]

^^ Gaming does not require a 6 core CPU, let alone LGA 2011.

 

[sectrix]

No, not right now.

In the near future, it is very likely.

 

[dalauder]

What computer are you gaming on right now? Why do you think you need a $5000 gaming computer? If you're using a PS3 or XBox 360, you'd see a tremendous gaming performance boost with a $600 computer.

To be honest, this is so outrageous, it sounds like trolling. I'm sorry if that is offensive, but it's like me deciding I'm into Golf (never golfed in my life) and spending $5K on clubs next week. Really, I do apologize if you're not trolling.

With a $3K-$5K budget, I'd go for 3D surround. The GTX 680 can do three outputs, right? Anyhow, the GTX 690 should be out soon. So wait a two weeks and see what your options are then as there will be new CPUs too.

 

[geogolem]

dude... you dont need to spend that much money. You'l need to spend a max of 3000$ for a killer gaming system and thats pushing it.. probably 2000$ is still more than good enough. Let me catch up on reading this thread and then you can build two systems for that budget and give one to me

EDIT: I'm reading the thread now... 3500 - 5000 *before* rebates ... lol not including monitors LOL!!! Are you trying to compete with an IBM Bluegene supercomputer or something?

 

[geogolem]

OK I read the thread... With that kind of budget you can get a killer system. The suggestions above are probably a good starting place... having said all that I may just offer some insight that will help you make a more informed decision.

1. With that budget, its always best to avoid SLI and grab the best single graphics card on the market along with a PSU that will allow you to add a second matching high performance graphics card for SLI in the future or hell with that budget you might be able to grab 2 of the best graphics cards on the market and SLI those right away, though I would probably just settle with 1 and grab another in the future when the price comes down and you actually *need* it or will actually benefit from it by a reasonable degree.

2. Some of the mobos support something called Intel SRT technology which allows you to use an SSD as a cache for an HDD, this probably won't be useful to you becuase you will get a large, nice 240GB SSD for boot/apps anyway. The Intel SRT tech can help people with smaller budgets because they can use a 60GB SSD to cache a large HDD thus not requireing a larger SSD (Intel SRT only uses a max of a 64GB SSD partition)

3. Windows 8 is coming out in October. Don't know how much you care.

4. Ivy Bridge CPUs coming out soon

5. more nvidia 6xx series cards will be coming out soon
-- EVGA has a cool "step-up" program which allows you to pay the difference and upgrade to a newer card within 90 days.
http://www.evga.com/support/stepup/

6. Display technology is going to be undergoing an evolution in the next few years. You might not want to spend a ton of money on monitors right now but you could also wait for ever.. new tech is always coming out.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Intel-Higher-Resolution-Displays-Coming,15329.html

7. higher capacity SSD's perform better than their lower capacity counterparts. Unlike HDD's two smaller matched SSD's in a Raid configuration will not necessarily perform better than a single larger SSD on its own. Its better to just buy 1 large SSD over 2 smaller ones if you intend on using them as a single drive.

There is a balance you need to strike when setting a budget. There are a ton of variables but it is usually better to spend $2500 on a PC today and spend another $2500 on a PC 5 years from now than spending $5000 on a PC today and using it for more than 5 years. You spend the same amount of money, but end up with a much better system with newer tech not to mention that the money you dont spend now can do something else for you in the next 5 years. Those values and time frames are just an arbitrary example I made up to demonstrate that its not always good to invest a ton of money in one system but rather better to invest that same money over several systems over a period of time.

Now if you have that much extra cash around - I'd be happy to take some of it off your hands Enjoy your new computer!

 

[hellfire24]

you are planning to buy in june then please post a week before.
thank you.

 

[serialkiller]

5k is a lot of money for just a tower.

its better to use at the most 3k for tower and rest for monitors , speakers , headphones , keyboard , mouse , and other pheripherials


Intel i5 3570k

noctua nh d-14

asrock z77 extreme 4

corsair dominator 2x4gb 1600mhz ddr3 ram

2 x evga 680 superoverclocked

corsiar tx 850w 80+ bronze psu

crucial m4 256 gb ssd

seagate 3tb 7200rpm hdd

corsair carbide 600t white



for monitor

try these

ASUS PA Series PA238Q Black 23" 6ms

ASUS VG Series VG278H Black 27" 2ms

and put it in eyefinity aka 3 monitors in series.

other than that get a windows 7 professional disc.

 

[constepatdyak]

True. ^^ 5k is too much.Spend 2.5k now....then 2.5k few year later

 

[s1l3noz]

Thanks guys for your advices. I really appreciate it!


@dalauder: I'm not trolling but I understand why it could sound like it. I don't take it personal Right now I have a XBOX 360 (Which my GF use 100% of the time to play with Kinect) and I'm using my GF's laptop (Which barely runs Kongregate games ). To make a short story, I always used old crappy PCs to play when I was younger because I had no money to afford something good. I've been working for over 2 years now at Bridgestones Tires and make $75k+ so I wanted to spoil myself with a kickass computer for games!

@hellfire24: I know 1 month is a little early but I don't like to wait until the last minute to prepare myself for such a important purchase. I'm sorry...

@jmsellars1: Thanks for the input and informations! I'll take this into consideration.

@sectrix: Thanks for the novel and the build suggestion It was very informative! I'm planning on using 2 monitors (maybe 3?) and the informations you gave me will help me make a better decision.

@geogolem: Thanks for your advices. Since I'm gonna buy this PC on the month of June, I'll be able to see the new Nvidia 6xx Video Cards and new Intel Ivy CPU. I can make some adjustments once there. If this PC costs less than what I had planned, well that's great! I won't complain

@serialkiller: Thanks for the build suggestion. I'm looking for 27" monitors and the one in the link you posted is interesting!


From what I read from you guys, the tower alone will probably cost me MAX $4000. So I got $1000+ from the tower I can spend for extra monitor, keyboards, mouse, etc. That's good news! I'll keep you updated once I'm ready to order parts for it. Once everything is up and running, I'll post a picture of my rig on the forum. Don't hesiate if you have any other comments and/or suggestions for me. Thanks again to all of you!

 

[serialkiller]

good luck for your build

we appreciate it

 

[g-unit1111]

I know I'm LTTP but here's how I would spend that kind of cash on a PC (good choice with the Cosmos II) :

Case: Cooler Master Cosmos II - $349.99
PSU: Silverstone Strider ST1500 - $349.99
Motherboard: EVGA Z77 FTW - $329.99
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K - $259.99 (approx)
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 - $99.99
SSD: 128GB Plextor PX-M3 - $159.99
HD: 2TB Samsung Ecogreen F4 - $129.99
Optical: LG BD-R Burner - $84.99
Video Card: EVGA Geforce GTX 680 x 2 - $509.99
OS: Windows 7 Pro - $139.99
Monitor: Yamakasi Catleap Q270 - $349.99

Total: $3.274.88

 

[hellfire24]

GOOD LUCK FOR YOUR BUILD

WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT

i think you should not write in all capital.

 

[serialkiller]

serialkiller wrote :

GOOD LUCK FOR YOUR BUILD

WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT




i think you should not write in all capital.

WTF!!!

 

[hellfire24]

WTF!!!

no offence mate just a suggestion.

 

[serialkiller]

its ok

peace

 

[s1l3noz]

@g-unit1111: Thanks for your input!


Since we're at it, do you think I should go with water cooling or air cooling? Any suggestions on what brand I should go for with the Cooler Master COSMOS II?

 

[g-unit1111]

@g-unit1111: Thanks for your input!


Since we're at it, do you think I should go with water cooling or air cooling? Any suggestions on what brand I should go for with the Cooler Master COSMOS II?

If it's your first time I'd stick with air. If you're a bit advanced and you want to try liquid I won't stop you. If you're contemplating a liquid setup - the Cosmos II is a great case for it, but check this out for some great alternate choices: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/switch-810-cosmos-ii-strike-x-hurrican-2000,3151.html

 

[ismaeljrp]

Cooling wise, water cooling won't be worth it, since an i5 2500k easily OCs to 4.5 on air with a decent aftermarket HSF.

Noise wise, yes It will maybe help make the rig a bit more silent, but that's really a whole lot of more research to get into...

check the Overclocking forums and the Watercooling forums here on Tom's.

Also look at this excellent video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6qpkigby5w

 

[hellfire24]

Cooling wise, water cooling won't be worth it, since an i5 2500k easily OCs to 4.5 on air with a decent aftermarket HSF.

+1

Noise wise, yes It will maybe help make the rig a bit more silent, but that's really a whole lot of more research to get into...

it really depends on h number of fans.if you have some high end thick radiators then i am sure it won't be 'silent'.a quiet air cooler(noctua,thermalright or prolmatech heatsink with a silent fan)is a quieter solution.

 

[s1l3noz]

I'm about to make my first purchase for my gaming PC today. The Cooler Master COSMOS II usually costs $349.99 but has an instant rebate of $40 and a mail-in rebate of $20. With shipping to my door ($15), it'll cost $305! It's not much but hey, as long as I save $$$

 

[naf]

Lots of i5 suggestions, which is best for gaming of course, but OP did list photo editing as well. Which would benefit from the i7-3770k, no? And the $ difference is trivial with his cash.

 

[serialkiller]

photoshop does not take much advantage of hyper threading so i5 = i7