My first gaming rig (budget under $1500)

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PI3142

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Feb 3, 2013
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Hi all, this is my first post here. I am going to build my first gaming rig in roughly 1 month. I will be playing games like Battlefield 3, Crysis 2, Starcraft 2 and also will be doing a little bit of video editing. I would like to ask if the following components suit well with my needs (my budget is under $1500). By the way I can get Intel processor and SSD at considerably cheap price so I will stick to those. Also I will be upgrading to SLI (if there is a need) in future.

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V Pro
Processor: Intel i7-3770K
SSD: Intel SSD 520 180GB
HDD: WD Black 1TB 3.5"
Video Card: ASUS GTX670-DC2T-2GD5 GeForce GTX 670 256bit 2GB DDR5 (PCIE 3.0)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz (CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10)
Power Supply: CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX750
PC Case: NZXT Phantom 410

I have a 1920x1080 monitor and all the peripherals and also Windows 7 so these items do not count towards the $1500. The price of Intel i7-3770K combined with the SSD will be roughly $300. :)

Your help is very much appreciated. Thank you so much! :)
 
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Ubrales

Ubrales

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Dec 3, 2009
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Looks like a nice system!

The Corsair AX750 will power it well and leave you with some headroom for future adds if desired. However, that PSU has no markings on the output ports and you may have to get that info either from Corsair Forums or from some other tech site. The manual does not have that information. It is not a big issue, but you will need that info for your build.

All the best!
 
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casper1973

casper1973

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Dec 30, 2012
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Looks great to me.

Motherboard supports SLI and the PSU has more than enough to support a 2nd GTX 670 in SLI if you choose to do so in the future. Dual cards will run at x8 bandwidth instead of x16 but the performance difference is negligible, if any.

Amazing price on the 3770k and SSD by the way. The 3770k alone is $329 on Newegg!
 
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timarp000

timarp000

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PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BdZd

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.24 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V DELUXE ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($265.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($73.49 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($483.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1169.64

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-03 09:19 EST-0500)

I have not Added the CPU and SSD so that is $1170+300 = $1470
 
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TheBigTroll

TheBigTroll

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Apr 15, 2012
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id get something like this
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BeSc

-better ssd than the 520 but if you can get a i7 3770k and the SSD for 300, go ahead with that instead
-cheaper psu, but still performs the same. made by superflower, a company on par with seasonic
-better video card. no bios crashes found on the top editions
-doubt you can use all the features on the v-pro. wouldnt recommend it if you cant use up all the ports

cheaper ram sticks here
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=76779&promoid=1292

better case
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=75050&promoid=1292

CPU cooler here. email noctua for 1155 mounting brackets. this one was meant for 2011 but it will work fine with the brackets
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=64540&vpn=NH%2DD14%20SE2011&manufacture=Noctua&promoid=1292

hard drive. for the price of a single black 1tb, i can get a seagate 2tb for a bit cheaper.
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=66010&promoid=1292
 
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Azn Cracker

Azn Cracker

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Its not worth it to pay the extra money for a i7 3770k if all you are going to do is gaming since they both perform at the same level. Instead get a i5 3570k and put the extra money into a better graphics card (maybe a radeon 7970?).
 
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casper1973

casper1973

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But he is't paying any extra, if anything he is paying less!
You would be hard pushed to get a 3570k and a decent SSD for under $300. Plus he does a bit of video editing where the i7 will shine due to it's 8 threads compared to i5's 4 threads.
 
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timarp000

timarp000

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Those extra threads will help in editing video... I have an i7 and im very happy with it :)
 
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PI3142

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Feb 3, 2013
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Thanks so much for your help! So is it true that with my current setup 650W will be sufficient? Or should I play safe and go for 750W?
 
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PI3142

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Yes thank you! I have seen people complaining that SLI does have issue like micro-stuttering. Is it true?
 
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PI3142

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What do you think of this motherboard as compared to Asus Z77 Sabertooth?
 
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PI3142

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Feb 3, 2013
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I see. Thanks! I will look into those. What would be a better video card? the 680 GTX is only marginally better than 670 right?



One thing to ask, if I install games into SSD, will the games perform better in terms of fps or will they only load faster?






Intel employee deals ;)






I see. Cool! What do you think of the i7-3930k? Is it really necessary to have 6 cores 12 threads for video editing? :S
 
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PI3142

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Malaysia. $1500 or equivalent. As I said I would stick to Intel cpu and SSD and I don't need windows + monitor. :)
 
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Ubrales

Ubrales

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Dec 3, 2009
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Yes for your present setup a good brand 650 watts PSU will work. However, watch for sale prices and promos. Sometimes a good 750 watts may be priced lower than the 650 watts.
 
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casper1973

casper1973

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What would be a better video card? the 680 GTX is only marginally better than 670 right?
Click to expand...

As you would expect, the more expensive GTX 680 is the better card. There isn't a huge difference though.

If you want to go AMD the HD 7970 is very similar performance to the GTX 680, some people even claim it to be faster. The 7970 is usually a bit cheaper too :)


One thing to ask, if I install games into SSD, will the games perform better in terms of fps or will they only load faster?
Click to expand...

They will just load faster.


I see. Cool! What do you think of the i7-3930k? Is it really necessary to have 6 cores 12 threads for video editing? :S
Click to expand...

It would benefit in video editing but is far from necessary. The 3770k will have no problems and I wouldn't consider the 3930k unless you do a lot of video editing (or you have another amazing price deal!)


Yes thank you! I have seen people complaining that SLI does have issue like micro-stuttering. Is it true?
Click to expand...

I have heard that certain games don't handle SLI configurations very well. Or certain drivers. Can't say I have ever experienced it myself though.
 
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