Need Gaming PC that will last 3yrs or so before i need to upgrade

[Aaronraptor]

I have done some research and but together this build.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yUpS

My concerns are that i might have chosen the wrong brands and such. Also Im not real sure about the case. Seems a bit over the top for my gaming needs. Also a friend told me that i really didnt need a liquid cooler with that cpu/mobo combo.


I was also considering going AMD build which would be a little cheaper and maybe get a new Monitor for it.

If anyone has suggestions on an AMD build that would be great. Altho i do want about the same perfromance and longevity in it.

Thanks for the help

 

[patrick47018]

Seems like a rather solid build and if you want an AMD build I would suggest getting the FX-8350, and if you wanted you could get this GPU instead:

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-DL-DVI-I-SL-DVI-D-PCI-Express-11197-05-40G/dp/B0098HW0H2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358925415&sr=8-1&keywords=6gb+7970

 

[adriand]

Don't go with a P67 board. Get a Z77, like the ASRock Z77 Extreme4

 

[patrick47018]

Or the Extreme9 is good

 

[DarkSable]

That build you've got there has a lot of issues. Sorry to tell you, but you apparently meant it when you said you've only done a little research.

1) Get an i5-3570k. Only difference between it and an i7 is that an i7 has hyperthreading. No reason to waste money for something that's not going to give you any better performance. (And in some cases gives worse performance.)

2) Never buy a closed-loop water cooler. A good air cooler, like the Noctua D-14, will cool better for cheaper, and not have NEARLY such a tendency to break. (Even if it does break, you still have the metal heatsink to let the CPU downthrottle.)

3) That's a P67 board, which is incompatible without a BIOS update. Get the Z77 version of the Extreme4.

4) 16GB of RAM is a waste. Get 8GB. (Yes, I know that RAM is cheap and you're loaded, but you won't need more than 8GB even with battlefield 3, photoshop, and 50 tabs in chrome all running at the same time.)

5) Good pick on the hard drive, VERY BAD PICK on the SSD. OCZ drives are extremely unreliable up to the point where they started using an in-house controller. Get a Vertex FOUR or a Vector.

6) XFX is known for making "meh" cards, with a good warranty; they're Radeon's version of EVGA. I'd go with a Sapphire, Galaxy, MSI... something with a good cooler, since you'll likely overclock it. Just get the normal 7970 if you are overclocking, though - no point in spending more for the GHz edition when they'll overclock the same.

7) Personally I don't care for the looks or airflow of that case - there are better options for that price point, but if you like it, get it, and grab a couple extra fans as well.

8) Please please please don't buy that power supply... get one that's RELIABLE, instead of one that has a decent chance of dying and taking your entire computer with it. Antec, PC P&C, Corsair, Seasonic, OCZ, and XFX all make good ones. You also only need 550-600w, but 650w is fine as well.

I don't want it to sound harsh, I just want you to know there are a few mistakes and a few ways to spend less money without getting any worse performance.

 

[cball1311]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($223.79 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($80.76 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.57 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($409.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Rosewill THOR V2 ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($84.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $1319.07
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-23 03:50 EST-0500)

 

[Aaronraptor]

Thanks for the help so far. I would still like a few more suggestions. I want to make sure that this build is perfect before i buy. What is the main difference with the I5 3570k and the I7 3770k? I have been told by more ppl to get the I7. Thanks for the info on the board I will make that change. I really would prefer to stick with a Mid Tower Case as i have a restriction on tower placement.

Im not loaded so I'll take note of the ram suggestions. My main focus is building something that will run everything out right now at max settings while still being able to support stuff for the next few years.

I have budgeted about $1500 for this build. I would like to Save where I can and spend more on essential parts. If there is room i have considered upgrading to a decent Monitor.

 

[iceclock]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/z8CN
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/z8CN/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/z8CN/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Antec Kuhler H2O 620 Liquid CPU Cooler ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme3 ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.12 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Sound Card: Asus Xonar DS 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card ($38.68 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1389.66
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-23 11:06 EST-0500)


Base Total: $1455.97
Mail-in Rebates: -$73.00
Shipping: $6.69
Total: $1389.66

sli 660s gonna smoke games my friend overclocked 8core will monster apps.

got u a nice ssd+goodhd. good case+qualityps.

and a monitor

ur all set to destroy monstars.

 

[cball1311]

iceclock does have a nice AMD build there, if you want to go that way. As far as the difference between i5 and i7 (which most people, other than here at Tom's ) is that the i7 has hyperthreading and the i5 does not. If this is going to be primarily a gaming rig, only two, that's right two, games support hyperthreading at the moment (Battlefield 3 and Far Cry 3) and it doesn't look like developers are interested in adding it in the near future. With that said, save your money and get the i5. It will perform equally as well as the i7. You can save some money on the case, and cooler, and if you don't want to overclock you can save even more.

Overclocking:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($223.79 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Intel 330 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($409.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($84.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $1122.71
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-23 13:30 EST-0500)

Not overclocking (i5-3470 to get to $1000):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Intel 330 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($409.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($84.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $1007.72
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-23 13:31 EST-0500)

 

[iceclock]

intel build.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/z9Lw
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/z9Lw/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/z9Lw/benchmarks/

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.12 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Other: 3570k 220$ ($220.00)
Total: $1342.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-23 13:46 EST-0500)

Base Total: $1416.00
Mail-in Rebates: -$78.00
Shipping: $4.99
Total: $1342.99

but personally for the money id go for a 8core and overclock it.

 

[Aaronraptor]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/z8CN AMD build
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/z9DR Intel I5 3750k with HD 7970
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/z9Lw intel with I5 3750k and sli 660s

So Im trying to decide now between these 3 builds. I do like the Amd the best. But does it make sense to run sli 660s on single monitor maybe duel. When the price would be about the same as the HD 7970 ?

On the intel builds. I do happen to play BF3 the most so i would benefit from the hyperthreading. And microcenter has the i7 3770k for about 230. Which would make it only 40 bucks more than the i5 from the same supplier.

Also I have windows 7 professional 64 bit. I dont intend on using Windows 8 anytime soon.

Please let me know which build you guys like the best and if getting the i7 would be worth the small difference in price if i go intel build

Thanks again, So much info here. Its hard to wrap my nooby mind around it all.

 

[blade2697]

This is what i have(http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zb3w) , If your not on a budget (I was on a 1300$ budget) then up the radeon hd 7950 to 7970, and get a 700W psu if you plan on more than one GPU, and/or overclocking.

Also you could get a better monitor, that one has 5ms respone 2ms is much better

 

[iceclock]

double 660s will outperform a 7970

also if u live close to the microcenter get that 3770.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zjwo
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zjwo/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zjwo/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.50 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($73.51 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($149.00 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1385.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-24 10:13 EST-0500)

Base Total: $1541.39
Mail-in Rebates: -$73.00
Shipping: $11.98
Total: $1480.37

 

[Aaronraptor]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zq8k
I like this build. Can you find a good Monitor for it. Keep in mind i have a 1500 budget. I will have 300 or so to spend on the monitor with this build. Maybe a little more. I will be getting the I7 cheaper because my friend lives close to MicroCenter.

 

[cball1311]

ASUS 27" 1080p $289.99

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0043T34RK/?tag=pcpapi-20

 

[iceclock]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zqxV
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zqxV/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zqxV/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.50 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($73.51 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: ViewSonic VX2770Smh-LED 27.0" Monitor ($299.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1441.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-24 21:54 EST-0500)

Base Total: $1582.41
Mail-in Rebates: -$53.00
Shipping: $6.99
Total: $1536.40

27 inch ips panel

 

[Aaronraptor]

Best answer selected by Aaronraptor.

 

[iceclock]

cheers aaron