$1000-$1200 Gaming and Recording PC

[topcrakhead]

Approximate Purchase Date: December 2012

Budget Range: $1000-$1200 (before rebate)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming/Recording

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: Everything except Case and PSU. Can keep PSU but willing to upgrade. ABS Majesty series MJ1100-M

Do you need to buy OS: NO

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg is preferred, but open to new sites.

Parts Preferences: Intel is a must

Overclocking: Yes, if necessary

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe- In the future

Your Monitor Resolution: 1440x900

Additional Comments: Able to run new games pretty well. Easy to upgrade later on.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Current PC is getting old and i prefer a whole new PC.

Include a list of any parts you have already selected with descriptively labeled links for parts. Please do not post only links.

Case - AZZA Genesis 9000 CSAZ-9000B Black 0.8mm

PSU - ABS Majesty series MJ1100-M Continuous 1100W@50°C ATX12V/EPS12V 80 PLUS GOLD Certified, Single 12V Rail, Modular Flat Cable Design, Active-PFC

Windows 7 Ultimate

 

[aznshinobi]

Hey there top!

Check out my $1100 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore#module147312351
As you do plan on recording, the 7970 should be better as it is better at higher resolutions. You should think about upgrading your monitor. 1080P is ideal right now and with your current screen resolution you could possibly bottleneck your card (7970)

Keep your PSU and case if you want! Both are great and will stay useable for a long time.

Reasons for the 7970?

GTX 670 vs GTX 680 vs 7970 ALL OC'd: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/05/14/geforce_680_670_vs_radeon_7970_7950_gaming_perf/3
The 7970 matches if not beating the GTX 680 for much less and definitely beats the 670 for the same price.

7970 clock for clock beats the 680 and 670: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/toxic-hd-7970-eyefinity-6gb,3264-3.html

 

[Why_Me]

This build allows you to add a second one of those cards down below in the future for a dual card set up.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1066148 $336.98 save: $13.00
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 Extreme3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005O65JXI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A2EUTVCJXLAJ4K $32.08 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186 $38.99 FREE SHIPPING
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-SH-222BB-BEBE-Internal-Software/dp/B006B7R9PU/ref=pd_cp_pc_0 $16.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE 22X SATA DVDRW Internal Drive (Black), Bulk without Software

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171646 $94.99 FREE SHIPPING
SanDisk SDSSDP-128G-G25 2.5" 128GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Cache-Desktop-Drive/dp/B0088PUEPK/ref=dp_ob_title_ce $84.79 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Western Digital 1 TB WD Blue SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254091 $119.99 FREE SHIPPING
Hanns-G HL229DPB Black 21.5" 5ms Widescreen LED Monitor 250 cd/m2 Active Contrast 30,000,000:1 (1000:1) Built-in Speakers

Total: $724.81 *not including shipping & rebates


http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.us.asp?Model=Z77%20Extreme3 <----- another look at that Asrock board


http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-WINDFORCE-PCI-Express-Graphics-GV-N66TOC-2GD/dp/B008UG2W20/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1348532550&sr=1-1&keywords=gigabyte+gtx+660+ti $299.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 660 Ti WINDFORCE 2X OC Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express 3.0 2x DVI / HDMI / DP SLI Ready Graphics Card Graphics Cards GV-N66TOC-2GD
Core Clock: 1032MHz
Boost Clock: 1111MHz

or...

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-R7950-TWIN-FROZR-3GD5/dp/B007NG3WR2/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1348467634&sr=1-2&keywords=7950 $321.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping | Price after rebate: $306.99
MSI AMD Radeon HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 DVI/HDMI/2xMini DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card R7950 TWIN FROZR 3GD5/OC

 

[topcrakhead]

Hey there top!

Check out my $1100 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore#module147312351
As you do plan on recording, the 7970 should be better as it is better at higher resolutions. You should think about upgrading your monitor. 1080P is ideal right now and with your current screen resolution you could possibly bottleneck your card (7970)

Keep your PSU and case if you want! Both are great and will stay useable for a long time.

Reasons for the 7970?

GTX 670 vs GTX 680 vs 7970 ALL OC'd: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/05/14/geforce_680_670_vs_radeon_7970_7950_gaming_perf/3
The 7970 matches if not beating the GTX 680 for much less and definitely beats the 670 for the same price.

7970 clock for clock beats the 680 and 670: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/toxic-hd-7970-eyefinity-6gb,3264-3.html

Thanks for the input, I really don't want to mess up my build or lose any money. I didn't realize that my monitor affected my card that much, what kind of monitor or resolution would you recommend.

 

[topcrakhead]

This build allows you to add a second one of those cards down below in the future for a dual card set up.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1066148 $336.98 save: $13.00
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 Extreme3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005O65JXI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A2EUTVCJXLAJ4K $32.08 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186 $38.99 FREE SHIPPING
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-SH-222BB-BEBE-Internal-Software/dp/B006B7R9PU/ref=pd_cp_pc_0 $16.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE 22X SATA DVDRW Internal Drive (Black), Bulk without Software

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171646 $94.99 FREE SHIPPING
SanDisk SDSSDP-128G-G25 2.5" 128GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Cache-Desktop-Drive/dp/B0088PUEPK/ref=dp_ob_title_ce $84.79 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Western Digital 1 TB WD Blue SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254091 $119.99 FREE SHIPPING
Hanns-G HL229DPB Black 21.5" 5ms Widescreen LED Monitor 250 cd/m2 Active Contrast 30,000,000:1 (1000:1) Built-in Speakers

Total: $724.81 *not including shipping & rebates


http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.us.asp?Model=Z77%20Extreme3 <----- another look at that Asrock board


http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-WINDFORCE-PCI-Express-Graphics-GV-N66TOC-2GD/dp/B008UG2W20/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1348532550&sr=1-1&keywords=gigabyte+gtx+660+ti $299.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 660 Ti WINDFORCE 2X OC Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express 3.0 2x DVI / HDMI / DP SLI Ready Graphics Card Graphics Cards GV-N66TOC-2GD
Core Clock: 1032MHz
Boost Clock: 1111MHz

or...

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-R7950-TWIN-FROZR-3GD5/dp/B007NG3WR2/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1348467634&sr=1-2&keywords=7950 $321.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping | Price after rebate: $306.99
MSI AMD Radeon HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 DVI/HDMI/2xMini DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card R7950 TWIN FROZR 3GD5/OC

Wow, this is a lot of great stuff. I really appreciate you helping me out here. I heard about SSD drives being really awesome for your OS but i also heard that you shouldn't use it as your main drive for data. I would like some other opinions on these drives.

 

[Why_Me]

Wow, this is a lot of great stuff. I really appreciate you helping me out here. I heard about SSD drives being really awesome for your OS but i also heard that you shouldn't use it as your main drive for data. I would like some other opinions on these drives.

128GB SSD <---- You put your OS and games and/or proggies on there. Any game that loads up levels (maps) will load them up like they are on crack. That Sandisk uses SF Toggle NAND controller and I would put more faith in it than say a Seagate mechanical drive.

 

[aznshinobi]

1080P would be best as it is current standard.

Did you check out my build guide at all? Help at all?

 

[topcrakhead]

i was curious as to why the build goes with an i5 and not with an i7 CPU? Forgive my ignorance on CPU's, it's one thing i have trouble grasping about PC parts.

 

[Why_Me]

i was curious as to why the build goes with an i5 and not with an i7 CPU? Forgive my ignorance on CPU's, it's one thing i have trouble grasping about PC parts.

Hyper threading is no benefit unless you use proggies that benefit from it like Auto Cad for example. But for gaming then a quad core is just fine and it saves you $100 to put towards your video card.

 

[aznshinobi]

^+1

i7's for mainly heavy multi-thread users and in your case I don't expect the need. Even light multi-threading the i5 3570K is more than enough for. Light video editing to moderate heavy the i5's are still fine.

 

[topcrakhead]

awesome info from the both of you guys. I really appreciate the inputs.

One more thing i noticed about the CPU's. I found 2 i5 3570k.

One with HD Graphics 4000 ($230) and the other had HD Graphics 2500 ($215) Is the only difference here the integrated graphics on the chips or is there anything else

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006676&IsNodeId=1&Description=i5%203570K&name=CPUs%20%2f%20Processors&Order=BESTMATCH

 

[Why_Me]

awesome info from the both of you guys. I really appreciate the inputs.

One more thing i noticed about the CPU's. I found 2 i5 3570k.

One with HD Graphics 4000 ($230) and the other had HD Graphics 2500 ($215) Is the only difference here the integrated graphics on the chips or is there anything else

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006676&IsNodeId=1&Description=i5%203570K&name=CPUs%20%2f%20Processors&Order=BESTMATCH

The 1155 cpu's with the letter "K" on the end of it means they are unlocked and can be over clocked. 3570K and 3770K are both unlocked cpu's and can be over clocked.

 

[aznshinobi]

Exactly.