$1800-2300 Gaming/Media Rig, Need Feedback!

July 19, 2012 4:13:58 AM

Hey Fellas,

Let's get this started. I need some feedback on this build. I'm looking for the best that I can get within this price range. I'm wanting to build it myself, and I'm not really interested in buying a pre-built rig.

Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next week or two
Budget Range: $1800-2300 (After rebates + shipping)
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Media, Music, Movies, Music Production
Are you buying a monitor: Yes
Parts to Upgrade: I'm doing a full build. Parts list will be below.
Do you need to buy OS: No. I have a copy of Windows 7.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Any are fine as long as they are within the United States.
Location: Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Parts Preferences: No real preference
Overclocking: Yes
SLI or Crossfire: Not sure what this means.. I'm a dummy with technology.
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I'm looking for a fast gaming rig. I'd like this game to be able to handle games like Battlefield 3 on the highest settings w/ 64 players, or Diablo III.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My last PC was purchased in 2001. It's time for an upgrade for sure. You know the system is bad when it lags with CS1.6.

Here is the list guys!

Intel i7-3930K, EVGA GeForce GTX 670, Cooler Master HAF 932 Blue -
System Build - PCPartPicker

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($569.99 @ Amazon)

CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE 60.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Extreme EATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($429.99 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Trident 4GB (2 x 2GB DDR3-1600 Memory ($41.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Trident 4GB (2 x 2GB DDR3-1600 Memory ($41.99 @ Newegg)

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
($95.79 @ Amazon)

Hard Drive: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($419.99 @ Newegg)

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Blue ATX Full Tower Case ($149.98 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($98.99 @ Amazon)

Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $2096.68

My main concerns as of now are the following,

1. Is this cooler going to be enough, especially while overclocking?
2. Should I upgrade the RAM to 16 GB over 8 GB?
3. Is this video card going to be able to handle the games that I'd like to play?
4. Is this case going to be large enough to hold all of this gear?
5. Should I upgrade to 850w-1000w on the PSU, or is 750w enough?

Any other feedback is more than welcome! I'm looking for the best possible rig within my price range. I'm going into the military in about 6 weeks and I'd like to build this before I ship to BMT so I can haul it to my duty station and not have to worry about ordering all the parts & peices then.

More about : 1800 2300 gaming media rig feedback

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Jaaviik

July 19, 2012 4:25:47 AM

I will put a build together for you right now, by the way SLI / Crossfire is when you run multiple Video cards instead of just one for better performance.

And by the way are you liquid cooling?

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Jaaviik

July 19, 2012 5:21:29 AM

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/TemporaryWishList.asp...

Case:

Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Video card:

EVGA 02G-P4-2676-KR GeForce GTX 670 FTW LE 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL10S-8GBXL

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

SSD: Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive

Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K Sandy Bridge-E 3.2GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 2011 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor BX80619i73930K

CPU Fan: CORSAIR H100 (CWCH100) Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

CPU Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

PSU (Power Supply Unit): COOLER MASTER Silent Pro Gold Series RSC00-80GAD3-US 1200W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

CD / DVD Drive: SONY Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1681S-0B - OEM

Subtotal:

$2,316.85

It's somewhat over budget but all up to date parts.

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Why_Me

July 19, 2012 6:03:10 AM

Add a hard drive.

This case down below comes with a built in multi channel fan controller and a large 200mm side fan. Larger fan = better air flow at lower RPM which means quiet running case.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... $214.98 save: $25.00 - $20.00 Mail In Rebates FREE SHIPPING
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
Corsair Carbide Series 500R Black Steel structure with molded ABS plastic accent pieces ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... $392.98 FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
ASRock Z77 Extreme6 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $66.00 FREE SHIPPING
Cooler Master TPC 812 RR-T812-24PK-R1 120mm Sleeve with Dual Vertical Vapor Chamber TPC 812 CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $43.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAO

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $399.99 FREE SHIPPING
GIGABYTE GV-N670OC-2GD GeForce GTX 670 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $213.99 FREE SHIPPING
SanDisk Extreme SDSSDX-240G-G25 2.5" 240GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $17.99
Sony Optiarc 24X DVD Burner, Bulk Package 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model AD-7280S-0B - OEM

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JackNaylorPE

July 19, 2012 6:43:12 AM

1. You can't buy a better cooler....nothing tops the Phantels in cooling (tho I'd call 1 or 2 its equal) and it's quieter than most....aesthetically and warranty wise (5 years) it's above all competitors. Don't forget TIM, Shin Etsu provides AS5's thermal performance but without AS5's curing problems (takes 200 hours of thermal cycling for AS5 to cure). Each computing session provides about 10 minutes of thermal cycling..... 5minutes warming up, 5 cooling down.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/as5.htm

Quote:

Due to the unique shape and sizes of the particles in Arctic Silver 5's conductive matrix, it will take a up to 200 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_conten...

2. Neither the EVGA FTW and SC nor the Gigabyte Windforce can match the Asus 670 TOP

http://www.guru3d.com/article/evga-geforce-gtx-670-sc-r...
EVGA SC Boost Clock is 1046 outta the box....stable at 1200 Mhz
EVGA SC gets 3DMark Score of 8691 outta the box and 9443 OC'd
Idle temp is 29C / load temp is 78C
Noise is 37 dBA Idle / 43 dBA under load

http://www.guru3d.com/article/asus-geforce-gtx-670-dire...
Asus TOP Boost Clock is 1137 outta the box .... stable at 1280 Mhz
Asus gets 3DMark Score of 9340 outta the box and 9839 OC'd
Idle temp is 30C / load temp is 72C
Noise is 37 dBA Idle / 38 dBA under load

That makes the Asus 7% faster outta the box than the EVGA SC, 6C cooler and almost 1/4 as loud under load (every 3 dBA is a doubling of sound level). The FTW is slightly faster than the SC, leaving the Asus model w/ just a 5% performance advantage

Read this:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_670...
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/GeForce_GTX...

3. The HAF-932 is a bit long in the tooth.....look at the HAF-X, or better yet the Corsair 500R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

4. The TX750 is a decent PSU, but, if in a $2k build, I'd want a 10.0 rated PSU, the HX series has more stable voltage, lower ripple and its less money than the AX series. And if overclocking the CPU and the two GPU's, I'd use the 850 . SLI by the way means ya using two or more GFX cards
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Link_Interface
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

5. The Samsung 830 is a step behind the Chronos Deluxe, and the 240 GB is a steal
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4328/mushkin_chronos_d...

6. I'd pay a bit more for 4 years extra warranty on the HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

7. RAM - 2 x 4GB DDR3-1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

8. MoBo / CPU - Unless you mean video editing instead of just watching videos, I'd skip LGA 2011. Sandy Bridge / Ivy Bridge provides better performance in gaming.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

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oregonnative

July 19, 2012 2:43:28 PM

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I'm looking into it all right now.

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oregonnative

July 19, 2012 3:22:25 PM

Would you guys think 8 GB of RAM is enough? I'm looking into upgrading to 16 GB, but if it's not necessary then I won't bother.

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Why_Me

July 19, 2012 4:01:08 PM

oregonnative said:

Would you guys think 8 GB of RAM is enough? I'm looking into upgrading to 16 GB, but if it's not necessary then I won't bother.

Looking at your intended uses, 8GB will be fine.

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oregonnative

July 19, 2012 4:04:36 PM

Why_Me said:

Looking at your intended uses, 8GB will be fine.

Thanks for the feedback!

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oregonnative

July 25, 2012 6:03:48 AM

How long would this build stay good for? I'm hoping that in about a year or two, it'll still be able to handle most (if not all) modern games that are coming out.

You see, I'll be shipping off into the military soon, and until I reach my permanent duty station, I might not have a lot of gaming time. However, I still need to get the system built before I leave because it'll be a hassle to get everything mailed to me once I'm in. Addresses are often short-term, and I don't want my nice parts to be mailed to someone else.

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Pwned_By_My_ComputerZ

July 25, 2012 6:56:02 AM

oregonnative said:

How long would this build stay good for? I'm hoping that in about a year or two, it'll still be able to handle most (if not all) modern games that are coming out.

You see, I'll be shipping off into the military soon, and until I reach my permanent duty station, I might not have a lot of gaming time. However, I still need to get the system built before I leave because it'll be a hassle to get everything mailed to me once I'm in. Addresses are often short-term, and I don't want my nice parts to be mailed to someone else.

Yes you are buying all rather new and high end parts you will definatly be able to play the newest games on that for at least 2 years if not more on ultra setting getting 50+ fps and you can always turn some of the detail that is unecessary off, for example I have a game that offers an option to turn off clouds and they are rather annoying and pointless and slightly decrease performance.

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