Upgrade Plan For Diablo III

[afxwinter]

Current System:
520 Watt Corsair HX
Asus P5B Deluxe
Intel e6600 2.40ghz CPU
4g RAM
Nvidia 9800 GT

Upgrades:
Core i5-2500K Processor Bundle w/ Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 Motherboard ($369 CDN)
Asus GTX560ti 448 Core 1.25GB 320-bit GDDR5 ($236 CDN)
Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB DDR3 1600MHz CL9 Dual Channel Kit (2 x 4GB) ($44.79 CDN)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler ($34.99 CDN)
Total after tax: $773.80

Main Usage:
Diablo III
Transcoding 1080p Video
After Effects
Cubase
3DS Max

I was wondering if these seem to be good deals on what's listed, and if waiting 2 weeks would possibly let me get the parts for cheaper.
I would also like to know if you think anything here is overkill for running Diablo III at max settings including ambient occlusion, 8x AA, at 1920x1200.

This is the first time I've upgraded in about 4 years so I'm a little out of the loop.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[slomo4sho]

Consider a HD 7850 if you are willing to spend another $30. The lower power consumption on load and idle will make up for the difference in price in the long run.

 

[afxwinter]

Consider a HD 7850 if you are willing to spend another $30. The lower power consumption on load and idle will make up for the difference in price in the long run.

Which model are you suggesting for the HD 7850?
I thought the 448 version of the 560 Ti outperformed the 7850.

 

[slomo4sho]

Which model are you suggesting for the HD 7850?
I thought the 448 version of the 560 Ti outperformed the 7850.

I would recommend the VisioTek from Newegg.ca as it comes with a lifetime warranty.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129230


Also, the performance really does depend on the game and resolution:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/547?vs=549&i=371.372.373.374.375.376.377.378.379.380.381.382.385.384.383.387.388.389.390.392.393.394.396.397.400.398.401.402.403.404.459.457.456.405.460.391.426.406.424.407.411.410.422.423.409.413.412.414.415.416.417.418.419.420.421

 

[afxwinter]

Thanks Slomo, that vid card is something I'm going to have to consider now.
How are the rest of the parts looking? That sale for $370 for the mobo/cpu combo ends tonight.

 

[slomo4sho]

Honestly, unless you plan on overclocking, wait and pick up one of the new ivy bridge chips. The i5 3570 is supposed to run $194 USD and is slightly better than the i5 2500K.

 

[afxwinter]

Honestly, unless you plan on overclocking, wait and pick up one of the new ivy bridge chips. The i5 3570 is supposed to run $194 USD and is slightly better than the i5 2500K.

I was planning on OC'ing the 2500k to 4.5ghz using the CM 212 Evo for cooling.
Hoping my old Antec SOHO tower will have enough airflow to accomodate.

 

[nao1120]

Shouldn't we wait for reviews on this game.... ? This game has been in developement for a long long long time.

http://us.battle.net/support/en/article/diablo-iii-system-requirements

Intel Core 2 Duo is recommended. According to this....He should be fine with the current system.

However...The new specs seem fine from the main list of parts (bit over kill for this game)

 

[odwillia]

Shouldn't we wait for reviews on this game.... ? This game has been in developement for a long long long time.

http://us.battle.net/support/en/article/diablo-iii-system-requirements

Intel Core 2 Duo is recommended. According to this....He should be fine with the current system.

However...The new specs seem fine from the main list of parts (bit over kill for this game)

I agree. His current build would probably be fine. I played this past weekend with the parts in my sig with no problem. Doesn't seem to be a very demanding game graphics card wise.

 

[afxwinter]

I agree. His current build would probably be fine. I played this past weekend with the parts in my sig with no problem. Doesn't seem to be a very demanding game graphics card wise.

I played this weekend too.
That's what gave me a kick in the ass to upgrade.
There were times where my FPS would drop to 10-15 in fights in multiplayer games.
I also had huge performance drops when ambient occlusion was enabled (I love that effect).
I want to crank this game to the 9's since it's the only PC game I'll be playing in the foreseeable future.
Another issue I have with my current system is that it's unable to transcode my 1080p videos fast enough when I'm running PS3 media server.
I also record a lot of music on my machine so I'm hoping Cubase will see a huge boost with the upgrade.

 

[brett1042002]

Yes, that system will be more than fine for Diablo III. This game isn't very demanding compared to others.

Recommended System Requirements:

Windows XP / Vista / 7
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 512 MB or ATi Radeon HD 4870 512 MB
2GB RAM
12GB Free HDD Space

Also, I've been playing the Beta with my current system (see sig) and it defaults everything to High/Max settings @ 1920x1080 res. Ran smooth, no hiccups. My rig is 3 years old.

EDIT: Just noticed someone already linked the requirements above

 

[odwillia]

I played this weekend too.
That's what gave me a kick in the ass to upgrade.
There were times where my FPS would drop to 10-15 in fights in multiplayer games.
I also had huge performance drops when ambient occlusion was enabled (I love that effect).
I want to crank this game to the 9's since it's the only PC game I'll be playing in the foreseeable future.
Another issue I have with my current system is that it's unable to transcode my 1080p videos fast enough when I'm running PS3 media server.
I also record a lot of music on my machine so I'm hoping Cubase will see a huge boost with the upgrade.

The system you have in mind should run it pretty well then. I think will also handle your other tasks without issue. I would rather a 7800 series GPU and preferably the 7870.

 

[afxwinter]

I put in the order for the mobo/ram/cpu/cooler.
Still undecided on the GPU.
I would really like to stick with Nvidia if possible.
I've had no problems with my last 3 Nvidia cards.

 

[afxwinter]

I was originally planning on keeping my Antec SOHO case for this build.
Is there any reason it wouldn't allow for the kind of airflow needed to OC the 2500k to 4.5ghz? I will have 2 80mm fans for my intake (1 on front and 1 on the side).
I have 2 80mm exhaust fans and will also have 2 120mm fans on my CM 212 Hyper Evo in a push-pull configuration. Is this enough? Or should I start researching on a new case?

 

[afxwinter]

UPDATE:
I just orderd this case: http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=6_112&item_id=036486
I decided it was time to retire the old Antec SOHO case.
Just need to decide on a videocard and I'm good to go!
Would it be smarter to just watch the prices for the next 2 weeks and order so I'll be ready in time for D3's release?

 

[afxwinter]

Best answer selected by Afxwinter.