$800 Best Gaming Build (Review/Resource)

[ddan49]

Approximate Purchase Date: Within two weeks.

Budget Range: $700-$900 BEFORE rebates (over if needed, but it isn't needed)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (BF3, CoD, Skyrim, etc.), Video Editing (not too much... 8GB should be enough), Game Programming (2D for now), C++ Programming, Surfing, watching video.

Parts Not Required: HDD (Have an external), SSD, Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, speakers/headset

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: None at all. Microcenter is okay!

Country: I'm in the US. I'd prefer non-China made parts.. Japanese capacitors for the win!

Parts Preferences: Almost none. I would prefer an Nvidia GPU, but the new ones (especially the 660Ti) aren't getting released any time soon.

Overclocking: Yes... both CPU and GPU (although GPU only while gaming, CPU while gaming and doing intensive tasks)

SLI or Crossfire: Probably never. I don't like multi-card setups.

Monitor Resolution: Currently 1680x1050, will upgrade to 1080p in the future.

Additional Comments: QUIET! No bling needed, no LEDs (or at least I have to be able to switch them off).


I've been posting a lot, so this isn't as much of a question as a resource and me asking for feedback. Here is the build I have planned:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.90 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 600W ATX12V Power Supply ($66.44 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $524.29
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-05-03 20:17 EDT-0400)


CPU and Motherboard will be the i5-2500k and the ASRock Extreme4 Z77 respectively, from Microcenter, at $180 for the CPU and $75 for the mobo.

Total (of everything) is: $780

So... I can probably stretch this a little farther. Would you recommend getting a 7870? I'd really rather go with Nvidia because of physX and a few increases with cores (this helps for C++ programming), but something like the 560 Ti won't really cut it. I'd get the 660Ti, but it might not come out for a long time. Would the 670 be within my budget?

Thanks! Hope I helped the people that need an $800 gaming build (drop the CD/DVD, change the case to a HAF 912, and get an HDD to make it an actual $800 build... or go for a Corsair 400R. I need the CD/DVD and the case I have, so mine's a little different), and please give some feedback on this build, and what I can do with a little extra money!

I did forget to add one thing. I will be overclocking my GPU... and the 7850 has reached very high overclocks (40%) compared to the rather modest 560 Ti (23%). That is definitely a factor.

 

[adgjlsfhk]

I was really surprised to see you asking for advice, but here it is.
If the 560ti won't work, you might want to look into the 560ti 448 core. How much will you oc? If it is not much, I would recommend this. I just bought it and it works great
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0387326
Also check this case out. You should put the money into a better graphics card.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

 

[ddan49]

I know... I wasn't asking for advice as much as kind of round-about asking about people's estimations on when the next-gen Nvidia GPUs are due out (I believe most are due May 10th).

I forgot to include that part about OCing. I'm definitely going to OC a lot.

The case has to be Fractal to cut down on noise (Fractal R3, to be specific).

 

[UVB076]

Or maybe a H2 or P280 is noise really matters to you.

 

[UVB076]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: MSI Z68A-G45 (B3) ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($117.49 @ CompUSA)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.99 @ NCIX US)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($227.55 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: OCZ 600W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($48.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $764.97
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-05-03 20:52 EDT-0400)

 

[ddan49]

How exactly is that build better/different than mine?

 

[adgjlsfhk]

It is not. Why do you care so much about noise?

 

[ddan49]

I need it quiet. I live with other people who do NOT want to hear a computer. I also need to be able to hear quiet noises while I'm using the computer.

 

[adgjlsfhk]

I think you have your build. If it were me I would focus on a beefier gpu and cut back on case and mobo. But for your uses this looks great.

 

[ddan49]

How could I go lower than $75 for a Z68/Z77 mobo? Also, I wouldn't go lower than $100 for the case (Corsair 400R).

Anyway, even if I shaved $40 off of the case and $20 off of the mobo, I wouldn't have enough for a meaningful GPU upgrade.

 

[adgjlsfhk]

Microcenter has a deal where you get $50 off a z77 with an I5-3750k.

 

[ddan49]

Or with an i5-2500k.

That's what I was referring to, anyway.

 

[Carma143]

But if you are planning to upgrade in the future, the i5-3750k would be the better option at micro-center for only about $189.99. It's usually $250.00. The reason why is that it supports PCI 3.0 and runs on less energy which means lower energy bills and slightly lower heat. Also with the stock CPU cooler that it comes with, you can overclock to 4.6 Ghz without custom clocking the voltage. So if you get the i5-3750k at micro center (it also has the $75 mobo combo deal), you can ditch the CPU cooler and spend that extra money on a Radeon HD 7870 card, for about an extra $80 in total cost. For the coolest and quietest HD 7870 I would go with the OC 2-fan Sapphire one. Its VERY nice for what is on the market right now. (also comes with a free DIRT 3 game)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102983

or the GIGABYTE GV-R787OC-2GD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition with 3-fans for the same price and game: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418

 

[ddan49]

BUT the i5-3570k has worse overclocking.

I'd go with an MSI, ASUS, Gigabyte, or Sapphire GPU. MSI is the quietest and has the best cooling.

 

[adgjlsfhk]

Right now, the bottleneck in games is your graphics card. Even though the i5-3750k is worse at overclocking, it helps with the bottleneck.

 

[ddan49]

How so? The 7850 doesn't utilize 3.0

 

[Carma143]

How so? The 7850 doesn't utilize 3.0

ALL of the new GPUs (the HD 7xxx series and the GTX 6xx series) take advantage of PCI 3.0. Sure, most games currently don't fully integrate PCI 3.0 in their games yet, but they will soon enough (just like how most, if not all PC games don't support hyper threading yet). If your not planning on over clocking more than 4.6Ghz without a CPU cooler, with the CPU, then the i5-3750k would be the best option. It supports other things as well such as USB 3.0 Boost which makes USB 3.0 about 170% faster than it would be with the i5-2500k. Just my thoughts.

 

[UVB076]

Actually PCI-E 3.0 is just for more bandwidth. The card is not actually capable of utilizing it fully. Nor can any card really utilize PCI-E 2.0 fully.

 

[ddan49]

^That's what I meant.

It's not like GPUs completely utilize all that bandwidth... they have to have something to transmit over that bandwidth, too!

 

[adgjlsfhk]

Right now few cards get over 5 gb/s but next gen cards will be able to easily. It makes little difference now, but soon it will.

 

[ddan49]

Yeah... but by the time I upgrade my GPU, I'll also be upgrading my CPU

 

[adgjlsfhk]

Then the I5-2500k probably makes more sense because it is a little cheaper.

 

[UVB076]

Then the I5-2500k probably makes more sense because it is a little cheaper.

Uses more power and is less powerful.

 

[Carma143]

If you could wait another week or two for the GPU, I would suggest it. The reasoning behind this is because NVIDIA is set to release their GTX 670 (and maybe GTX 660) on May 10. Some of the 670s have leaked out. They have been benchmarked and are either slightly slower then the GTX 680(I mean like only 5% slower) or surpasses the GTX 680 in some cases(probably the new firmware it comes with) and it will cost only $350-400 in the USA.
Therefore, since the GTX 670 is significantly better than the HD 7970 which is about $480 AMD is going to significantly have to slash their prices to compete with NVIDIA. So you would probably be able to get a HD 7870 for $250 or the HD 7950 for $300 (maybe even less).
So, what do you think about it?
http://www.overclock.net/t/1253432/gigabyte-gtx-670-oc-version-hands-on

http://m.tweaktown.com/articles/4710/nvidia_geforce_gtx_670_2gb_video_card_performance_preview/index.html

 

[azeem40]

I think most are forgetting that IB doesn't need to match up OCs to get the same performance. For example 4.2 GHz on IB is about equal to 4.5 GHz on IB.