$1500 Gaming PC

[Noirtoise]

Approximate Purchase Date: Sometime this month

Budget Range: $1500 before rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, surfing the web/watching streams on twitch

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg (recommendations?)

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: No Preferences

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Would appreciate if anyone could provide me with links to the tools needed to put a PC together, and tutorials on it. I've never built a PC before.

 

[g-unit1111]

There is ZERO, repeat ZERO reason to purchase a Xeon for a gaming rig. I will shoot down this recommendation every single time so fair warning. You can't overclock these CPUs and the coolers are a wasted purchase on them. You do not benefit, you will benefit more from purchasing an unlocked CPU and overclocking it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($60.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($383.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($85.98 @ 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: $1160.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-06 13:44 EST-0500)

Then use the difference for a nice monitor and whatever keyboard and mouse you want.

 

[J_E_D_70]

G-Unit's build but add at least a 180GB SSD for boot and games you want fast level loads on.

 

[J_E_D_70]

I would disagree since I've been using one for nine months and love it. Still, there's nothing wrong with ASUS, Gigabyte, or even MSI at the same price point (will point out that ASUS boards in this range have the same, in some cases fewer, eggs...).

Do you live near a Microcenter? Can get an in-store combo on 3570k and z77 mobos.

 

[g-unit1111]

That asrock extreme 4 is not good MoBo. Gigabyte and asus has year longer warranty. And gigabyte is the best for overclocking.
The Gigabyte X-UD3H.

That Asrock motherboard is fine, who cares if the Gigabyte warranty is better? By the time the warranty is up you won't have that motherboard anyways.

If you want an SSD in the build try this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($60.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($383.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($104.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1289.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-06 14:08 EST-0500)

 

[g-unit1111]

Your se thad poor memory. poor MoBo and so on..

Take a look this: http://hwbot.org/news/7577_seeing_is_believing_gigabyte_is_first_with_validated_7_032_ghz_cpu_clock_world_record_on_ivy_bridge

that X-UD3H kicks your extreme4s ass any time in overclocking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxCPyF-1tTc

I have that same RAM - it's fine.

I also have the UD3H - no one is going to reach overclocking speeds that high without some kind of experimental cooling solution so that's kind of a moot point there.

 

[J_E_D_70]

What does that top link have to do with a home user going to 4.4/4.5 on cheap air or a little higher on high end air or closed liquid?

 

[g-unit1111]

If you have UD3H so why you recommend extreme4 ? You want that this user do not get better build than you have?

What cooling is experimental?

Look at this: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Corsair-H100-CPU-Cooler-Review/1427/6

better than what you did recommended.

Why you think that 3570 k is better than xeon 1230V2? Extreme4 can overclock it 4.2GHz or so.
And gigabyte overclocks xeon to 4.0GHz. Which is faster

They're both good boards, the Extreme 4 is slightly cheaper and has the same features. I would rather pour the remaining money into getting the best GPUs on the market like the Gigabyte Windforce that I linked to, that's where it counts on a gaming rig, everything else comes second. Asrock started as a subsidiary of Asus and in the last couple of years they've got really high remarks from a number of sites for their boards.

I wouldn't purchase a Corsair H100, if you're going to use liquid cooling I recommend doing a real, full custom loop or just using a Noctua D14.

AMD was able to overclock the Trinity A10-5800K to 8.4GHz but that was using an oil-based cooling solution. I'm pretty sure you couldn't achieve speeds that high without something similar.

The Xeon E3 isn't meant for extreme gaming, it's meant for server applications and things that need a high CPU work load like CAD / rendering, things of that nature. Gaming doesn't really need a high CPU workload - there's very few games that take advantage of hyper threading out there and that's not really the place to spend money.

 

[J_E_D_70]

My extreme4 got 4.4GHz stable with auto voltage. Can probably get more with tweaks but not interested.

If OP wasn't going to OC then the xeon is reasonable (moreso if using something that needs 8 threads).

I'd prefer four faster cores for the next several years.

 

[sanilmahambre]

If you are ready to shed $1500 than you should get somthing worth it.
=> I assume the primary perpose of your 1500 bucks rig is GAMING, so be it at its tip!

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

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Antec Kuhler H2O 620 Liquid CPU Cooler ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($379.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($379.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Black Widow 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1508.44
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-06 15:24 EST-0500)

Here is the tutorial to build it yourself

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls

 

[Noirtoise]

Thank you all for the replies. Will the parts come with the necessary screws, and wires or do I need to buy them separately?

 

[g-unit1111]

Thank you all for the replies. Will the parts come with the necessary screws, and wires or do I need to buy them separately?

Your case and power supply will come with all the screws and mounts you need. I would not purchase an FX-8350, stick with the 3570K instead.

 

[Noirtoise]

Just wondering if these are the exact same cpu coolers newegg is out of stock at the moment.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608016&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

and

http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NH-U9B-SE2-Heat-Sink/dp/B002SLJMQ2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1360187678&sr=8-2&keywords=noctua+nh-u9b+se2

Is frozen CPU a good place to buy from?

 

[g-unit1111]

Just wondering if these are the exact same cpu coolers newegg is out of stock at the moment.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608016&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

and

http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NH-U9B-SE2-Heat-Sink/dp/B002SLJMQ2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1360187678&sr=8-2&keywords=noctua+nh-u9b+se2

Is frozen CPU a good place to buy from?

Yes that is an excellent choice for cooler. I've never bought anything from frozencpu.com so I can't say.