Gaming - 2000$ Canadian.

[plangevin]

Hi folks,

Alright so I typically change my system every 4 years or so... My budget will be about 2k. Here is my actual setup:

Processor: Q9350
RAM: 4 Gigs DDR3
Mobo: Can't even remember.
Videocard: 280GTX
Case: Antec 900
Monitor: Samsung 1920x1080 23"

My tradition is to give away my old systems to poor families so I will not be keeping anything aside from my Monitor which is rather new (I'll give them my old Samsung 21" 1920x1080)


Alright so here goes:

Approximate Purchase Date: June

Budget Range: 2000 before taxes

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (WoW, Diablo 3, BF3, whatever else comes out and some Photoshop/Dreamweaver but limited)

Parts Not Required: I don't need a keyboard, mouse and monitor)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: NCIX (Canada), canadacomputers, tigerdirect.ca, whatever offers the best deals at the time of purchase.

Country: Canada

Parts Preferences: Intel, NVIDIA, Full size towers.

Overclocking: Yes. Not enough damage my components but perhaps some slight OC'ing.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe. Well, 1 card to start, perhaps a 2nd identical card in a couple years to keep up.

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Lights aren't my thing, though they don't annoy me either. Silent is nice.

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


Ok so here's the list I was thinking about purchasing. I've been out of the whole computer building for several years now and with technology advancing at the speed of light, I wanted to be sure that I wasn't choosing the wrong parts.

Case:
Thermaltake 10 GT Snow Edition.
Price: 279

Why? I've been looking for a nice big case that I can keep for the next 2-3 builds. This one caught my eye and it looks to be perfect due to the huge size and water cooling capabilities. I realize it's expensive but I definitely like it !



Processor:

Intel 3770K
Price: 349

Why? Not sure about this one. I read that 2500k is plenty and that this processor is more for rendering or something of that nature. I simply figured that this processor may serve be better if ever I spend more time with Photoshop and whatnot. If I'm not mistaken, this processor can be OC'd too.



Processor cooling:

H100
Price: 99

Why? Heard good things about it. Should let me OC slightly without having to worry about overheating.


Motherboard:

Sabertooth Z77
Price: 239

Why? Again, I heard good things about this one. Some say it's overpriced and we could get the same performance from a 150$ board but to be honest, I really like the look to this and the idea of having a very clean look in my Thermaltake 10GT case is appealing to me. Anyhow, seems like a quality board.


RAM:

Corsair Vengeance Blue 16Gb 4x4G 1600 CL9-9-9-24
Price: 99

Why? This one is completely out of the blue. I heard that anything over 1600 was a waste and unnoticeable. Why did I pick this brand? Umm it seems to have cooling on it? I'm definitely up for suggestions on this one.


Videocard:

670GTX
Price: 400-450

Why? With all that's raving about this card, it seems like the best choice if I can find it in stock. I'm not sure which company to go with for this card. I was leaning toward Asus OC version but if anyone has a link to the exact one I should get, it would be appreciated.



SSD:

Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240G
Price: 225

Why? Actually, I based this off Tomshardware's new Best SSD May 2012 list. Personally, I thought that Vertex 3 would be the way to go but this one seems to have great transfer rates and a good price.


Storage:

Any 2TB
Price: 100-125

Why? I don't really care much about which 2TB I get as I sincerely don't plan on using it much. I already have a big NAS that I use for most things. I suppose I can put my photoshop work on this storage. I'll aim for something with a long life over performance. Suggestions appreciated on this too I suppose.



Power Supply:

Coolermaster Silent Pro 1000W Modular Power Supply SLI
Price: 150

Why? Again, I'm up to suggestions on this one. Seems like possible overkill but I want to be sure that it can eventually handle sli-670, a few SSDs and large hard drives and support slight OC'ing. Price seemed good considering.


TOTAL: 1940ish + tax. (CAD)


Thanks for any feedback.
Cheers,
Pat

 

[bruce555]

First I would say you don't need a H100 for a mild OC. I run a 3770K @ 4.3 with a CM 212+ evo with dual fans and this thing runs very cool.

It's pretty much one of those things with Ivy that if you're within that threshold of lower OC's the chip does stay very cool. It's right once you try 4.5+ the temp increase is exponential.

Also the Coolermaster is a good price for a 1000W but CM isn't the best brand for PSU's. maybe look for something close that u can get for around that price keeping in mind that a high quality 850W PSU will do u for an SLI system as well.

Also when it comes to SLI i wouldn't worry about it too much. The 670 is perfect for 1080, if u wanna do the wait and get later you may just end up buying a new card by the time games demand it. I have a OC'd 680 and that thing rips at 1080+ res's and the 670 is just as close. Get a good 670 with a good aftermarket heatsink/fan with a higher OC and you'll be good.


Can't comment on that SSD, do not know if Mushkin is making good SSD that last or not and I've heard Vertex are being returned allot. If possible see what the prices are for a Corsair or Intel equivalent SSD is running for.

 

[geofelt]

Kudos for your solution on what to do with your old build!

With your budget, you can do wnatever you want.

For gaming, start with the graphics card. It is the real engine for gaming. $400 for a GTX670 is about right.
But, consider $500 for a GTX680 if you can find one.
I like EVGA for graphics cards. For a GTX670, look at this one; it is factory overclocked with a direct exhaust cooler.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787
If you can find one, this is the GTX680to get:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130780

Few games use more than 2-3 cores, so the extra hyperthreads of the 3770K will go largely unused.
For gaming, a 3570K would serve you just as well and be $100 cheaper. Now you can afford that GTX680.

Buy the case you lust after. Yes, it is beautiful.
To my mind, it is bigger than anyone needs, but that's me, not you.
You will be looking at the case for some time.

Liquid cooling is not needed for a modest overclock.
The H100 will be noisy and more expensive than a decent air cooler. The cm hiper212 will do the job and be less expensive. If you want the best, look at something like the Noctua NH-D14. In a well ventilated case, like the tt 10, it will cool just as well.

I also think the sabretooth is over priced. really, any Z77 bases motherboard will do, at least for a conservative OC.
If you are planning on sli, then you will pay a bit more for a sli capable motherboard.
My take is, if I want an upgrade over a GTX680, I will just sell it and replace it with a GTX690, or whatever newer, stronger, and cheaper comes along.

A GTX680 needs a 550w psu. With sli, no more than a 850w psu.
For quality, I like Antec, Seasonic, PC P&C, corsair, and XFX better.
This PC P&C silencer 950w is more than you need, but the price is so right:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703028

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703028

As to ram, buy a low profile kit. Heat spreaders are not needed for 1.5v ram. Fancy heat spreaders will interfere with some coolers anyway. DDR3-1600 is fine, there is little real value in faster:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3

 

[plangevin]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

For the power supply, is there a modular version that would be a good choice? For some reason, I am excited at the idea of finally having a neat case as opposed to the mess of a case that I have at this moment.

 

[geofelt]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

For the power supply, is there a modular version that would be a good choice? For some reason, I am excited at the idea of finally having a neat case as opposed to the mess of a case that I have at this moment.

If you have a properly sized psu, you will be using most of the leads anyway.
It is usually not hard to tuck unused leads out of the way in a good case.
I like modular, mostly for smaller form factor cases.
But, Since you have a high end build, I would suggest the best psu, bar none, is the Seasonic X850 gold:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151102

If you will forgo sli as an upgrade strategy, the less expensive X650 gold would do the job:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088

 

[firedice]

If I were you and wanted to spend 2000$ on a gaming computer, I'd get a beautiful GTX690. No question.

 

[plangevin]

Hi guys,

Just wanted to give a little update... I appreciate the suggestions and here is where I'm leaning towards at the moment. I'm going to be purchasing everything tomorrow. Figured I'd show you guys in case there's a red flag that I'm missing.


CASE: Corsair 600T - I was suppose to go with Thermaltake 10 GT but when I saw it in person, I wasn't impressed at all. This case saves me almost 100$
Processor: Intel 3570K - Wanted 3770k but was convinced that it was overkill. Again, saved 100$ or so.
Cooling: NH-D14 - Wanted the H100 but apparently this air cooler is slightly better and much quieter.
Motherboard: Sabertooth - I know this is not worth the price but it's a quality board and I feel confident about it. I'll take the hit.
RAM: Kingston HyperX 1600Mhz 4x4 - Went with completely different ram. I've always known Kingston to be reliable. This I already bought for 90$ so I can't change it.
Videocard: EVGA 670GTX - I took the suggestion of Geofelt. I thought about the 680gtx but this card should max everything out at 1920x1080 so I went with that. Got it for 400$, no complaints.
SSD: Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240G - Already ordered online.
HD: Western Digital Black 1TB - Don't need much space.
Power supply: Corsair TX 850W - Went down from 1000W Cooler master but this had great reviews.
Bluray: Standard LG bluray writer.

So there you have it ! I can still change anything except for the RAM and SSD because I already ordered that online. I will be ordering these from a computer store locally (support local business) so the prices will be a tad higher but still very competitive (within 50$ total)

So with these changes, my new total should be: 1789$ + tax. Saved a couple bucks along the way.

Any feedback will be appreciated.

Cheers,
Pat

 

[geofelt]

Good job. Looks good.

 

[bruce555]

Extremely solid build! Have fun.