YOUR IDEAS PLZ! 1600-2100 Gaming Rig

ntwpro

Honorable
Nov 23, 2012
44
0
10,530
Hi guys,

Here it goes:

More likely than not, the following will be most of the games I play over the next few years: Heroes of Newerth, Dota 2(when it launches), BF3, Black Ops 2 and their sequels. I play on a samsung 23" lcd @ 1080p. What I want from my rig is to be able to play these games at ultra settings and even be able to play their sequels that come out in the next 2-3-4 years, at high settings.

The parts will be from newegg.ca or canadacomputers.

CPU - I was thinking of the i5 2550k, the reason being that anything more for gaming would be useless, or so I hear. Many of the reviews that I've seen show that gaming performance gains for anything over this processor are pretty much non-existent. Since I don't plan on doing things like video rendering and etc., I think this card should suffice me for the next 3-4 years - what do you guys think? Should I go for ivy bridge with the 3570k?

MOBO - I was thinking of the Asus Sabertooth z77 - it has 2 PCIe 3.0 slots (x16 or dual x8, which I hear is just fine - what do you guys think?) and supports up to 1866 mhz non-oc DDR3, which I think should be fine.

RAM - I'm not entirely set on this component, frankly, it's not that important for a gaming rig, but since prices are so low, I'm thinking Corsair Low Profile 16 GB DDR3 @ 1600. Or should I get them @ 1866? They only cost $20 more.

GPU - I am thinking either 1 or dual EVGA GTX 680s [(2GB because I hear 4gb is useless for single monitor setups) (my last nvidia card was from BFG and it rocked, which nvidia card-makers are the best these days?)]. My games aren't that graphics-intensive (compared to others), but since I want to play them at ultra settings and play their sequels in the next 2-4 years at high (maybe even ultra) settings, I think sli gtx 680 would make sense, what do you guys think? As for waiting for the 2nd gpu once prices are down, I'd prefer not to, but, if I can save over $100, then I might think about it.

Storage - I want to put my OS (Win7 Ult x64), games, and adobe programs on an SSD. I think a Corsair Force Series 3 GT 120 gb SSD should be good. I also think a seagate 1tb sata3 6.0gb/s HD is a good idea for storage outside of the SSD. Is that hard drive okay? Is it going to bottleneck me in any way? I presently use 3/4 of a 250 gb HD, I don't download or store a lot on my PC - should I just forget about the HD and get a 240 GB SSD?

Optical drive and case isn't really an issue - I'll find something decent. I am thinking about a full tower case, what do you guys think? What do you guys think about cooling? Should I get anything more than a cpu cooler? And should the cpu cooler be water or heatsink? I plan on ocing but nothing TOO extreme, if you know what I mean.

As for the PSU, I plan on a Corsair Enthusiast Series TX850 V2. What do you guys think?

And finally, what do you guys think about my monitor? I am really sick of these normal lcd monitors that last me 2 years; 23" is okay for me but I realize that while a 27" would be good for entertainment, work wouldn't be done well on it - what do you guys think about that, and also what about an IPS display @ 24"?

1 more thing, optimistically, I'd like to build this PC within a month or so.

I look forward to all your responses and I'd like to thank you guys for reading this.
 
Solution
CPU - I was thinking of the i5 2550k, the reason being that anything more for gaming would be useless, or so I hear. Many of the reviews that I've seen show that gaming performance gains for anything over this processor are pretty much non-existent. Since I don't plan on doing things like video rendering and etc., I think this card should suffice me for the next 3-4 years - what do you guys think? Should I go for ivy bridge with the 3570k?

Don't get the 2550K as you forfeit the onboard video - should something go wrong with that GPU you lose a good diagnostic tool. The 3570K is an excellent CPU and has Intel HD4000 - it's good enough for small tasks but for gaming you want something better.

MOBO - I was thinking of the Asus...

cutebeans

Distinguished
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($195.90 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($24.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Memory Express)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: OCZ Fatal1ty 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($66.67 @ DirectCanada)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($18.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $771.50
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-24 12:23 EST-0500)

This is pretty much what you need to play all your games at ULTRA and some nice stuff like SSD to boost your PC gaming experience.

Oh yeah, this already is too much overkill for your games. :) You don't need to spend too much money.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
CPU - I was thinking of the i5 2550k, the reason being that anything more for gaming would be useless, or so I hear. Many of the reviews that I've seen show that gaming performance gains for anything over this processor are pretty much non-existent. Since I don't plan on doing things like video rendering and etc., I think this card should suffice me for the next 3-4 years - what do you guys think? Should I go for ivy bridge with the 3570k?

Don't get the 2550K as you forfeit the onboard video - should something go wrong with that GPU you lose a good diagnostic tool. The 3570K is an excellent CPU and has Intel HD4000 - it's good enough for small tasks but for gaming you want something better.

MOBO - I was thinking of the Asus Sabertooth z77 - it has 2 PCIe 3.0 slots (x16 or dual x8, which I hear is just fine - what do you guys think?) and supports up to 1866 mhz non-oc DDR3, which I think should be fine.

No. The Sabertooth is overrated and expensive, and the thermal armor actually traps more heat than it prevents which will shorten the lifespan of your motherboard significantly. You will not benefit from 1866 RAM - on default settings your motherboard runs the lowest speeds and timings that it can handle.

GPU - I am thinking either 1 or dual EVGA GTX 680s [(2GB because I hear 4gb is useless for single monitor setups) (my last nvidia card was from BFG and it rocked, which nvidia card-makers are the best these days?)]. My games aren't that graphics-intensive (compared to others), but since I want to play them at ultra settings and play their sequels in the next 2-4 years at high (maybe even ultra) settings, I think sli gtx 680 would make sense, what do you guys think? As for waiting for the 2nd gpu once prices are down, I'd prefer not to, but, if I can save over $100, then I might think about it.

Yes that is correct that 4GB VRAM is useless for a single monitor setup. If you want to run a multiple monitor setup in the future you will have the option to do so with 2GB.

As for the PSU, I plan on a Corsair Enthusiast Series TX850 V2. What do you guys think?

850W is way overkill these days for even a dual GPU setup. The trend is going more energy efficient so the current generation uses far less power. Anyone who tells you to get a cheaper power supply - ignore them! This is wrong and incredibly bad advice! Having more wattage than you need never hurts but having too few watts will lead to serious system instability and failure. I have seen this happen with my own eyes in the last couple of weeks! You don't want to risk a gaming system to a cheap power supply.

Try something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($195.90 @ Amazon Canada)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($68.99 @ Computer Valley)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP4 TH ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: A-Data XPG SX900 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($149.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($299.99 @ Canada Computers)
Case: NZXT Switch 810 (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($189.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($87.69 @ DirectCanada)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($18.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $1279.51
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-24 15:27 EST-0500)

The difference will allow you to get a nice monitor and whatever peripherals you want. I don't suggest those things as it's all personal preference.
 
Solution

ntwpro

Honorable
Nov 23, 2012
44
0
10,530
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/phFG
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/phFG/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/phFG/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($195.90 @ Amazon Canada)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($68.99 @ Computer Valley)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP4 TH ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($24.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($85.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.79 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($299.99 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: OCZ Fatal1ty 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($66.67 @ DirectCanada)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($18.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $1041.29
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-24 18:00 EST-0500)

My question is about the mobo, case, and gpu. Is the mobo worth it? The case looks good, what do you guys think?
The GPU is available close by for 299 + tax, which is about $340 - it is a good deal, considering the other gtx 670s are more expensive and the gtx 680s are close to $500. There are 2 gigabyte gtx 670s, this one with 2 fans and the other with 3 fans; they seem to be identical - what do you guys think? Also, I really like the EVGA GTW 670: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787 - It has many more reviews and I hear EVGA has very good customer service, is it worth spending $100 more on this?

Thanks for your replies guys, I really appreciate your time & effort.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


OCZ Fatality PSUs have a really iffy reputation. Get the one I recommended - it's good.

Pay more for the case. You will reuse it. Get something like an NZXT Phantom 410 instead. A lot of people will tell you the case isn't that important - it is. Get something that is well constructed and will last you a long time.

Go with the Windforce for your GPU - it has a really good cooling solution.