$800-900 Gaming Rebuild

bdc822

Honorable
Feb 5, 2013
3
0
10,510
Approximate Purchase Date: 2/8/2013


Budget Range: $800-$1000


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming/Music/Movies/Basic Home Office


Are you buying a monitor: No.

Parts Being Kept:
CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
Thermaltake V5 Black Edition Mid-Tower Gaming Chassis VL70001W2Z (Black)- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003E474NA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00
(2x) SAMSUNG ToC T220 Rose-Black 22" 2ms GTG Widescreen LCD Monitor- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001273
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series Sound Card w/ I/O- http://us.store.creative.com/Creative-Sound-Blaster-XFi-Titanium-Fatal1ty/M/B001BDPLJA.htm
And all other gaming accessories: DeathAdder, G19 keyboard, G13 Gaming Pad, Planatronic wireless headset

Parts to Upgrade:
Graphics Card, Motherboard, Processor, and any other needs.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com My only current credit card is through them so I won't be looking outside of them.


Location: Columbia, SC, USA


Parts Preferences: No real preference. I have too many contradicting points of view from other gamers.


Overclocking: Maybe


SLI or Crossfire: Maybe..I don't know.


Your Monitor Resolution: 1580 x 1050


Additional Comments:
Current main games are World of Warcraft, RIFT, and Minecraft. I'd like to get back into FPS's and some other more graphic intensive games. Therefore, as any gamer would say cutting out the lag would be best. I have two WoW accounts and run both at the same time every once in a while. Two or three years ago this computer was fine with that, but now it lags as soon as the second account hits the login screen. I have thought about looking into SSDs instead of HHDs or maybe a combination of the two for music and movie purposes. However, I like the idea of an MMO on an SSD and I've watched enough videos using one to make it seem overtly appealing. I'd be willing to just use an external for movies and music since I am debating looking into a Mac(not a huge fan, but never had one end up in the garbage.) solely for music and movie downloads.


And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading:
My current gaming computer was built around four years ago. At the time it seemed it would last with its top of the line processor, graphics card, etc. A former friend of mine had spec'ed it and built it. However, a year after having it built it began having BSODs. I dealt with it and thought it was fixed, but finally the computer crashed the Windows 7 I was running and I had to do a full reinstall. No big deal, but the problems persisted again. This time I spent some time and researched all solutions. I checked the memory, hard drive, and graphics card. I even replaced the hard drive. None of these were the problem. So I contacted the motherboard manufacturer and they stated the problem wasn't be caused by it either. That left the processor. Seriously, how often does a cpu crash? I couldn't believe my luck. So I've been dealing with this issue for a few months now and have decided to spend the money to fix it. And having to restart my computer once a day because it wants to BSOD is annoying. Plus it has begun slowing down even after defrags.
 

cball1311

Honorable
Dec 15, 2012
1,622
1
12,160
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 ($32.46 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $887.16
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-05 12:57 EST-0500)
 

eyeage

Honorable
Apr 11, 2012
396
0
10,810
@bdc rob an optical drive from your current pc.

All my components are on the way. I'll save you some time on research, as I might as well be wearing tights and a letter on my chest when it comes to my abilities in that front.

First, you need a new monitor, otherwise it'll be your bottleneck (in a sense). So, we'll set ~$100-150 for that. You pick that out, I haven't started that research yet.

Overclock version (I have never overclocked, but based on what I've read, a baby OC is very easy, might as well have the option): I want to mention specifically the RAM, GPU, and MOBO here. Ram - best OC, but out of stock at newegg ---- GPU - it's built on the Tahiti core, the higher price 7900 series core. ----MOBO - A lot of choices here, I went with the most recommended for the price point. You also have the Gigabyte UD3H to consider at a similar price. This build is atop your budget if you put a decent 1920X1080 120hz monitor on there, you'll be set.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: Samsung 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
Total: $902.35
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-05 12:45 EST-0500)


Tried building you a non-OC PC, and the cost difference is <$75. So I won't even post it.
 

cball1311

Honorable
Dec 15, 2012
1,622
1
12,160
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $926.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-05 13:07 EST-0500)
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
If you're overclocking get this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.46 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($75.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($307.28 @ TigerDirect)
Total: $916.70
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-05 13:20 EST-0500)

Not overclocking get this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($75.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($324.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $811.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-05 13:21 EST-0500)
 

bdc822

Honorable
Feb 5, 2013
3
0
10,510
I don't know if I completely understand the issue with the monitors. Plus the cost of replacing two seems a bit much on top of the current parts. I should add I already have a basic optical drive from Best Buy. I believe it's a junky HP, but it does the job. And now that I look at it I could save my 3TB HDD(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148844) but I'd also like to add the SSD and sacrifice whatever I'd have to out of the 3TB.

Unless I can find someone to buy the two monitors I'll just stick with them.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


Yeah pretty much any cheap optical drive and HD will work.
 

eyeage

Honorable
Apr 11, 2012
396
0
10,810
@bdc822

Not to say there isn't some debate on this, but this is how I choose to look at it:

So, you have a 60hz monitor, 2ns response, with 1680x1050 native. Pretty good, I mean, the response time is great. Do you need more? Probably not, that said, why build a cpu that can crank out more than 60fps if you're not going to use them? Why not save a couple hundred and build a system that will push to the edge of that resolution and refresh rate? I mean, you can just enable vsynch and not worry about using the gpu to the full potential.... triple buffering (TB) to make that slightly faster, and be fine. Unfortunately, not all games use TB. Also, a card that might run 100fps without vsynch, might only run 50fps with TB, so it is kind of a negative loop. Then, if you start adding in tearing, you might actually get a worse picture with a better card because it's too fast. Timing is important.

Now, say you got a new monitor with 1920x1080/1200 with 120mhz refresh rate, and a 2ns (or even 4-5 ns) response time. Now, all of a suddent, you're able to use all those glorious 100 FPS your computer is actually cranking out. No need for TB, or Vsynch. That monitor will keep up like a champ, and will not only create a smoother image, but smoother motion as well.

So, in this regard, why spend $300 on a gpu when your screen won't allow it to max out? I mean, would you have to upgrade today, absolutely not. But, if you don't plan on upgrading at all, why not save a $100 and get a GPU that will max out your monitor? After all, getting too good of a GPU could actually cause issues (mainly, tearing).

That's my 2 pennies worth. I don't see a point in paying extra for something you're not going to use. Some will dispute claims of higher FPS, refresh, etc by saying "human eye can only", or "movies only use". Those are misinformed positions, as movies use motion blur and still camera shots (ever notice how a paused movie on a high speed scene is blurry?) to achieve a smooth image at 24p. But in a game, where you control the movement of the image, you can most definitely see some difference. Is it worth it to you? Maybe not... For me, it comes down to trying to build the most balance computer, including all the parts. In the reality, it's a small piece to the puzzle, but a piece none-the-less.

Obviously this isn't an end-all-be-all post. There are people out there a lot more familiar with these types of things than me. I can tell you that my plasma (600mhz) is about 100x smoother, when watching fast type programming, than my LED (120mhz). Both are of top quality. That said, I still watch movies in my theatre (JVC Projector). :) Happy gaming.
 

bdc822

Honorable
Feb 5, 2013
3
0
10,510
@eyeage
Thanks for the explanation! :)

I'll look into upgrading the monitors, but I think for the time being I'll stick with what I have and upgrade in the near future.