Graphics card help!

[TheNewb_me]

Hello, I am planning on building my own PC but I have run into issues finding a graphics card that fits my needs. I have never built a PC before and I could really use some help. I need a graphics card that can handle high end games with relative ease. I am going to be running on 16GB RAM and an Intel i7 Sandy Bridge 3.2GHz processor.

 

[Sunius]

What's your budget for the graphics card?

 

[stingstang]

Also, what's your monitor resolution?

 

[AGFL305]

I need some help with a graphics card too.

my monitor res is 1366 x 768, and my budget is no more than $200. thx

 

[Sunius]

AGFL305 Don't hijack a thread. Make your own.

 

[jay2tall]

1) budget?
2) display resolution?
3) what games will you intend to play?
4) why 16GB of RAM?

 

[kelthic]

16GB of RAM is overboard for gaming. Also, you mention you're going to be running an i7 @ 3.2 Ghz. The two models i know of that run at that stock speed are the i7-3930k and i7-960. If you are running the i7-960, i would recommend you swap this with the i7-2600k (only if you have a reason to need hyperthreading) for $10 more, or the i5-2500k (if you do not need hyperthreading for $80 LESS). If you are getting the 3930k, stick with that.

 

[TheNewb_me]

1)I am willing to pay $150-300
2)1920x1080 moniter
3)I am going to playing games like CS:GO and many other Source games, I do intend on having all the setting set to high
4)I can change the RAM I just feel since RAM is so cheap these days I may as well get as much as possible.

 

[TheNewb_me]

i have very little experience buying computers and parts but this thread has shown me that maybe I should rethink some of the parts I'm going to use...

 

[TheNewb_me]

Other details are that I am hoping to run on an Intel processor and use a motherboard that has LGA 2011

 

[kelthic]

1)I am willing to pay $150-300

Is this for the whole system?

 

[TheNewb_me]

1)I am willing to pay $150-300

Is this for the whole system?

No, this is just for the graphics card.

 

[kelthic]

I'm honestly not sure your really need an LGA 2011 system for Source Games. Also, the 3930k CPU paired with a $300 GPU is going to be fairly unbalanced. Is there any other use your are trying to get out of this system that you would need hyperthreading for? If not, consider dropping to an i5-2500k and a z68 board, and put the money you saved not spending $600 on a cpu and the difference in the motherboards into your gpu.

What is your full budget? If you tell me that, i'll put together a more balanced system for you with parts on Newegg.

 

[photonboy]

The GTX670 should be about $400 and there should be a $300 version of this series that is a great value.

You should read up on the GTX680 even if you don't buy that card.

My advice then is build your system and use the CPU graphics and wait for a suitable GTX600 series card which hopefully will be out in a month or two.

RAM:
2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz is ideal. no more.

Windows 7 Premium 64-bit OEM

CPU:
i5-2500K possibly, but I'd wait for the new i5-3000k (forget exact number) to see how that compares.

Motherboard:
- PCIe v3, USB3, SATA3 (either Sandy or Ivy Bridge)
- make sure CPU and motherboard are compatible

 

[TheNewb_me]

I'm honestly not sure your really need an LGA 2011 system for Source Games. Also, the 3930k CPU paired with a $300 GPU is going to be fairly unbalanced. Is there any other use your are trying to get out of this system that you would need hyperthreading for? If not, consider dropping to an i5-2500k and a z68 board, and put the money you saved not spending $600 on a cpu and the difference in the motherboards into your gpu.

What is your full budget? If you tell me that, i'll put together a more balanced system for you with parts on Newegg.

My full budget is between $1100-$1500, if this is not enough I can still save more for better parts, or just upgrade in the future.

 

[kelthic]

Check this build out:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197 HAF 922
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136767WD Caviar Blue 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127567 GTX 580 Twin Frozr
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020 Corsair 650w PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546 8GB Ram Kit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157287 ASRock LGA 2011 Extreme 3 Motherboard\
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115229 i7-3820 (higher stock clock than the stock 3930k and 200 cheaper, you can put back in the 3930k, but you will have to overclock to get the same performance or better, so that's up to you.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 Windows 7 64 Bit OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227759 SSD for your Boot Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingItem.aspx?ItemList=N82E16835103099 Hyper 212 EVO Cooler.

Total $1506.90

That puts you $6.90 over budget and this system will destroy any game at 1080p for many years.

 

[TheNewb_me]

Check this build out:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197 HAF 922
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136767WD Caviar Blue 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127567 GTX 580 Twin Frozr
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020 Corsair 650w PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546 8GB Ram Kit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157287 ASRock LGA 2011 Extreme 3 Motherboard\
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115229 i7-3820 (higher stock clock than the stock 3930k and 200 cheaper, you can put back in the 3930k, but you will have to overclock to get the same performance or better, so that's up to you.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 Windows 7 64 Bit OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227759 SSD for your Boot Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingItem.aspx?ItemList=N82E16835103099 Hyper 212 EVO Cooler.

Total $1506.90

That puts you $6.90 over budget and this system will destroy any game at 1080p for many years.

This is.... incredible, to say the least. Thank you so much for helping me find the parts for my new PC. You have no idea how much you have helped me.

 

[kelthic]

np!

 

[Sunius]

I'd still swap that motherboard and CPU for:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 - $121.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 - $219.99

That saved you $178. With that money should get a GTX 680. When building a gaming computer you shouldn't really spend more on a CPU than on the GPU

 

[wrazor]

+1 to Sinius.No way should you get the 2011 boards+cpu unless you really need hyperthreading. Also, on the GPU side, get the amd 7870 for 350$. As good as the GTX 580 and for that cost, wont go wrong. Its the best deal atm tbh.

 

[TheNewb_me]

+1 to Sinius.No way should you get the 2011 boards+cpu unless you really need hyperthreading. Also, on the GPU side, get the amd 7870 for 350$. As good as the GTX 580 and for that cost, wont go wrong. Its the best deal atm tbh.

I want 2011 boards for the forward compatibility

 

[Sunius]

What kind of forward compatibility? LGA 1155 will support Ivy Bridge CPUs. LGA 2011 might support Ivy Bridge extreme, might not. Anyway, are you planning to upgrade to $600 costing ivy bridge extreme CPU in the future?

 

[jay2tall]

1)I am willing to pay $150-300
2)1920x1080 moniter
3)I am going to playing games like CS:GO and many other Source games, I do intend on having all the setting set to high
4)I can change the RAM I just feel since RAM is so cheap these days I may as well get as much as possible.

For a gaming PC you are almost better off getting an i5, 8GB RAM and upping your graphics cards budget. There is little difference in gaming performance between the i5 and i7. Also, if you go with 8GB of RAM now you can always add 8GB later if you find the need. 8GB is plenty for any machine used for gaming. 16GB would be for VERY RAM heavy app. Even if you stuck with an i7 just dropping to 8GB might save you $100 and you could add that to your card budget. I believe the GTX680TI is coming out between $349-$399. THAT would be a sweet card to get. At a 1080 resolution it would do you well for quite a while.