Rate my gaming build $1,500, suggestions?

braddixon76

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May 4, 2012
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Hey, here is the gaming build I have ready to purchase. my budget is 1500, already have a STD harddrive a friend gave me.



Corsair Carbide Series 500R White Steel structure with molded ABS plastic accent pieces ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($139.9)

MSI N670GTX-PM2D2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 670 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card ($409)

CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 (CMPSU-750HX) 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified ... ($149)

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B ($54.99)

ASRock Z77 Extreme6 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard ($169.99)

Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K 13157295 (239.99)

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel ... ($33.99)

LG Black Blu-ray Burner SATA WH14NS40 - OEM ($79.99)

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) ($124.00)

 
Solution
already have a STD harddrive a friend gave me.

I hope you mean an SSD (Solid State Drive) and not an STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) :)


I'd take the Asus 670 DCII TOP over the MSI if ya can get ya hands on one.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/asus-geforce-gtx-670-directcu-ii-top-review/24

Change the RAM to low profile
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&Description=CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B&bop=And&SecondSearch=1&CompareItemList=147|20-233-186^20-233-186-TS%2C20-233-196^20-233-196-TS%2C20-233-199^20-233-199-TS

Personally, not a fan of the Asrock choice.

Are you overclocking the CPU and is this a gaming box.....i yes and yes....I'd get a SB CPU rather than IB due tot he well documented thermal issues.

212...
Your power supply is overkill. You don't need 750w to run a GTX 670. Also I would get a GTX 670 with a better cooling solution like ASUS's. Other than that it's a good build. The Ivy Bridge gets hot when you try to overclock it. You wont get much higher than 4.0GHz without putting it under water. I would go with a Sandy Bridge but this is obviously just my opinion.
 


He didn't list any HDD, he listed a SSD. 2.5" is the standard size and since it has no moving parts the size does not hinder performance at all. Which brings me to my next point, do you have a HDD you can use? 128GB will fill up fast after OS install, drivers, and a few games.
 
already have a STD harddrive a friend gave me.

I hope you mean an SSD (Solid State Drive) and not an STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) :)


I'd take the Asus 670 DCII TOP over the MSI if ya can get ya hands on one.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/asus-geforce-gtx-670-directcu-ii-top-review/24

Change the RAM to low profile
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&Description=CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B&bop=And&SecondSearch=1&CompareItemList=147|20-233-186^20-233-186-TS%2C20-233-196^20-233-196-TS%2C20-233-199^20-233-199-TS

Personally, not a fan of the Asrock choice.

Are you overclocking the CPU and is this a gaming box.....i yes and yes....I'd get a SB CPU rather than IB due tot he well documented thermal issues.

212 is a great cooler for a $1200 build...... a $1500 build deserves something better ($50). Pick up 5-7C w/ one of these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103106
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185175

The Chronos Deluxe with its premium 3Xnm Toshiba Toggle Mode Flash has it all over the M4 ..... faster ..... long extended life flash ..... cheaper

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226318

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4328/mushkin_chronos_deluxe_120gb_solid_state_drive_review/index13.html

To sum it all up with a bow on top, you get amazing performance, extremely long service life and a hassle free low price point on a drive that literally has very little competition in the marketplace.

As for the PSU, the 750 is perfectly sized ..... assuming of course you want to keep the option open for adding a 2nd one in SLI at some point in the future...... and I'd be shocked if someone purposely ruled that out to save $10-15.

If overclocking the GPU's and CPU, I'd opt for an 850 watter....Corsair HX, XFX Black Edition or , if ya like the P193 case .... the only 10.0 jonnyguru rated 850 watt PSU under $150 ..... the CP-850 ($119). Remember, it's not about having enough wattage, it's about being able to supply the necessary wattage while maintaining voltage stability within a range that insures the best overclocks (< 1%) with no ripple to speak of. That's where the extra headroom pays dividends in higher system performance, lower thermal output and lower noise.


 
Solution

60GB left? If I install windows and steam on a 120GB SSD I'm full after 6 games....

$150 for his 750w PSU when you can get a Seasonic 620w for $90. That's a little more than $10-$15...Plus the Seasonic is a better quality power supply. But hey, it's your money, do what you want with it.

You must be confused with the Sandy. Sandy hits 4.5GHz at low temps..Ivy, not so much..
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/ivy-bridge-overclocking-high-temp,15512.html

More power on a smaller die equals more heat.

The question among reviewers while overclocking Ivy Bridge chips is why the processors run hotter than their predecessor, Sandy Bridge. Overclockers.com reports temperatures “to be as much as 20 °C higher on Ivy Bridge compared to Sandy Bridge when overclocked.”
 
how is that exactly.? :heink:

OP - Crucial M4 64GB is all you need.
after install a few apps and updates you then should have about 32GB left out of the 64GB listed, 59.5GB actual.

I'm with 'JackNaylorPE' on this one but I say look for different PSU and not really a fan of that case, too much $.

I guess, I just don't see the need to SLi two GTX 670s. You don't need it for performance sake, maybe just to flex your e-weenie. But hey lots of things are awesome that aren't necessary. In fact, most things that ARE awesome aren't necessary. Go with the higher watt PSU, it will give you the grounds for an upgrade path if for some reason you decide that maxing almost every game out isn't enough already.
 
You missed one thing: that quote says nothing about how high it OCs before becoming hot. I can confirm with a few people on OCN that even at 4.5 GHz on IB with a EVO cooler, the temps are normal.
 

braddixon76

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LOL I did not mean sexually transmitted disease. I meant I already had a 1tb HDD, not sure why I typed STD.

Thanks for all the info, I'll digest this and make some adjustments.
 

hopz

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Apr 26, 2012
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The Chronos Deluxe with its premium 3Xnm Toshiba Toggle Mode Flash has it all over the M4 ..... faster ..... long extended life flash ..... cheaper

JackNayLorpe,

Whats the difference between the Mushkin Deluxe and the normal one? Besides the Deluxe is $35 more.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226318&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Solid+State+Disk-_-Mushkin+Enhanced-_-20226318

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226236
 

I have a regular mushkin chronos, its a great drive for moving files over 500MB. At that size it's faster than most other options out there. Trouble is you want a drive that's faster at moving day to day data. So I would go with a Crucial M4 if I could do it all over.
 
Also I would have got a 64GB or 90GB in hind sight because 120GB isn't big enough to install steam on if you plan on having more than 6 or 7 games installed. I don't use any other big apps or programs like photoshop, video editing, or an office suite so I have more than 60GB on my 120GB drive that isn't being used. I believe it's best to get a 64GB system drive or go for broke and get a 256GB all purpose drive but even that can fill up in some time...
 

hopz

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Hmm.. maybe I'll take a look at the Crucial M4 again then. And I am looking to put the OS/Office suite/ couple games (Diablo 3)/Android emulator/Eclipse/and a couple odd apps. What size would you suggest? and still the M4?
 

hopz

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Apr 26, 2012
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Why don't you put those on the SSD? I thought you wanted the couple things you use all the time on the SSD so the load times and open times are really quick. And you use the HDD for storage, music, pictures, videos, ect.
 

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