Feedback on Gaming Computer

jaiarn · Apr 28, 2012

Hey guys, I am planning on building a new PC mostly for gaming.
I was hoping you guys could provide me with some advice and feedback.

OS- Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Retail $349
Case- Antec Nine Hundred Two V3 Case $139
SSD- OCZ Agility 3 60GB SSD $95
HDD- Western Digital Green 2TB WD20EARX $125
GPU- Gigabyte GeForce GTX 590 3GB $799
CPU- Intel Core i5 2500K $215
ODD- Samsung SH-222BB SATA DVD-RW Drive OEM $22
RAM- 2x Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8R 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 $158
MOBO- ASUS P8Z77-M PRO Motherboard $149
Pow Sup- Antec High Current Gamer 900W Power Supply HCG-900 $155

My budget is $2200, so I've gone an acceptable $7 over. However, I am not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to computer builds and so was hoping for some valued feedback on this.

WatchOut · Apr 28, 2012

That set-up is a BEAST. It will handle any game on highest settings. However you could save money by buying Windows 7 Ultimate Or Home Premium because Professional has nothing over them except when on servers.

boiler1990 · Apr 28, 2012

WatchOut :

Windows 7 Pro is cheaper than W7 Ultimate. I'd go with Pro if it's just a gaming system. Pro adds a few extra workstation features like XP Mode, but nothing that will assist your gaming.

If you're looking on breaking the bank with the GPU, I would wait for a dual 680 GPU or just go with a single 680. You won't have to deal with potential microstuttering issues with the SLIed GPUs.

kajabla · Apr 28, 2012

Get Windows 7 Home. I doubt any other version has features you need.

Skip the 590. It's overpriced. Get a 680 if you can find one; if you can't, get a 7970 and OC it like crazy. Get a second, if you want, with the money you'll save on the OS.

The PSU shouldn't be more than 750W for either of the GPU options above. Both have very low power consumption; new generations tend to be that way. This one's nice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256059

I highly recommend getting a 120/128gb SSD. 60gb will run out awfully quickly, and you'll spend more than the extra $50 or so in time doing boring data management. This one's nice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

jaiarn · Apr 28, 2012

boiler1990 :

Just took a look at a few 680's and have to agree with you.

Why_Me · Apr 28, 2012

jaiarn · Apr 28, 2012

kajabla :

Yeah, it's starting to look like Home Premium is a better choice.

And the SSD is mostly just to store my OS and such, I'll also be installing a 2TB HDD for storage purposes.

boiler1990 · Apr 28, 2012

You can manage the OS on 64GB - I have mine and several programs and I'm around 50GB. It'd be less if iTunes didn't store all of my media on the C drive (even if it's installed elsewhere). "Data management" isn't hard - when you install a program, just install to another drive instead of C.

W7 will create a pagefile and hibernation file by default on the SSD; be sure to turn them off (instructions are around the web) and you can save a ton of space. The pagefile is the same size as the amount of RAM you have, but in today's PCs you don't need the pagefile at all.

jaiarn · Apr 28, 2012

Revised Computer Plan.

OS- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Retail $239
Case- Antec Nine Hundred Two V3 Case $139
SSD- OCZ Agility 3 60GB SSD $95
HDD- Western Digital Green 2TB WD20EARX $125
GPU- EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB $611.12
CPU- Intel Core i5 2500K $215
CPU Cooling- Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 Pro CPU Cooler $49
ODD- Samsung SH-222BB SATA DVD-RW Drive OEM $22
RAM- 2x Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8R 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 $158
MOBO- ASUS P8Z77-M PRO Motherboard $149
Pow Sup- Antec High Current Gamer 900W Power Supply HCG-900 $155

Why_Me · Apr 28, 2012

jaiarn :

A few things here. First off why a mATX for a possible future dual card set up in SLI? That board is small and the spacing is terrible for two graphic cards. Second that Silverstone psu I posted is twice the psu. It's modular and has better efficiency than that Antec 900. The Sony Optical drive I posted is quicker than that Samsung 24x vs 22x. You state this is a gaming build yet you have two sets of 2x4GB of RAM. That makes no sense. And if this wast a gaming build and it was for video editing, etc... you still don't want all 4 RAM slots full. You want 2x8GB of RAM so you don't have 4 sticks of RAM side by side creating heat. TBH 8GB (2x4GB) is over kill for a gaming build. The only reason people are now buying 2x4GB kits is because of price. And you don't want that Corsair RAM with those tall cake cutter heat spreaders unless you plan on using them for a hair comb. They will impede your cpu heat sink ...which I don't see that you have one posted either.

Take a serious look at some of the components I posted up above. There's a reason I posted those.

jaiarn · Apr 28, 2012

Re-revised Computer Plan.

OS- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Retail $239
Case- Antec Nine Hundred Two V3 Case $139
SSD- OCZ Agility 3 60GB SSD $95
HDD- Western Digital Green 2TB WD20EARX $125
GPU- EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB $611
CPU- Intel Core i5 2500K $215
CPU Cooling- Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 Pro CPU Cooler $49
ODD- Sony AD7280SGB DVDRW OEM $19
RAM- G.Skill Ares F3-1600C9D-8GAO 8GB (2x4GB) $59
MOBO- ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Motherboard $155
Pow Sup- Silverstone Strider Plus 850W ST85F-P 80 $159

Sorry, I am actually EXTREMELY new to this whole custom computer building thing and didn't really notice what kind of differences you were showing me to begin with, but appreciate your advice very much Why_Me.

azeem40 · Apr 28, 2012

According to Raidinn, Why_Me, 8GB sticks cause more problems than they are worth.

Why_Me · Apr 29, 2012

azeem40 :

I'm all for 2x8GB on a build that requires a lot of RAM. Another poster on here was saying 8GB sticks have problems getting their rated timings and speed, but Iv'e yet to see that on a review. If I had to go with 16GB of RAM, I would much rather have 2x8GB than 4x4GB for a few reason. Room for expansion, and you don't have all four sticks sitting side by side.

boiler1990 · Apr 29, 2012

Why_Me :

DDR3 is so solid nowadays that I'd attribute the issues that guy had to a bad kit or a random incompatibility (sometimes, you get a kit that is like that pouty little kid who won't do ANYTHING you tell him to; the likelihood of this is actually pretty low though).

I have 4x4GB (really because it was cheap) and there aren't any issues, although I wouldn't be able to use most air coolers because my first slot would be blocked by the cooler (happened with my Hyper 212+ back when I was running 2x4GB and I could move my RAM to slots 2&4).

jaiarn · Apr 29, 2012

Why_Me, what do you think of possibly replacing these RAM Modules, G.Skill Ares F3-1600C9D-8GAO 8GB (2x4GB), with these instead, G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM (2x4GB) DDR3?

I was looking at their lower latency values.

Why_Me · Apr 29, 2012

jaiarn :

No because of the higher heat spreaders on the Ripjaws. Those high heat spreaders are a gimmick. They do nothing other than impede your cpu heat sink.

jaiarn · Apr 29, 2012

Why_Me :

Yeah, that's what I was concerned with. Thank you.

Why_Me · Apr 29, 2012

gaming htpc llano a8 processor, 500gb seagate momentus hybred drive, 8gb g.skill sniper ram, sony blu ray player, crosfired 6670, bluetooth, wifi, mini keyboard/mouse combo $1350 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007TN5PZ6
gaming computer fx 6100 6 core processor, 2tb westerndigital green hard disk drive, xfx radeon hd 6870,8gb crusial ram,liquid cooling $1250 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007T0DXVM

Find another board to troll before you get banned.

boiler1990 · Apr 29, 2012

NVidia just announced the GTX 690 today ($1000). Dunno if that or SLI 680s fit in the budget anywhere. They also announced Framerate Metering features that are supposed to reduce/eliminate microstuttering effects, so I'm betting that's coming in the next driver update.

It'd be nice to see that work; it seems like NVidia was listening to the problems consumers had and intends to fix them.

kajabla · Apr 29, 2012

Adaptive Vsync was announced with the 680. I haven't heard much on it, but it's not brand new.

Hey, OP! Why do you still have an 850W PSU? It's just a waste.

boiler1990 · Apr 29, 2012

kajabla :

It's not adaptive V-Sync - it's new hardware-based metering.

From the NVIDIA Article: http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/articles/article-keynote/

Improved Frame rate Metering
Kepler introduces hardware based frame rate metering, a technology that helps to minimize stuttering. In SLI mode, two GPUs share the workload by operating on successive frames; one GPU works on the current frame while the other GPU works on the next frame. But because the workload of each frame is different, the two GPUs will complete their frames at different times. Sending the frames to the monitor at varying intervals can result in perceived stuttering.

The GeForce GTX 690 features a metering mechanism (similar to a traffic meter for a freeway entrance) to regulate the flow of frames. By monitoring and smoothing out any disparities in how frames are issued to the monitor, frame rates feel smoother and more consistent.

kajabla · Apr 29, 2012

Oh. Good stuff. That's awfully vague, though. Let's see how it works next week.

boiler1990 · Apr 29, 2012

It sounds exciting (and very useful), but I'm wondering if it's a Kepler feature or a GTX 690-specific feature (hopefully the former).

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