$1000 Gaming Build

[Computerz]

Approximate Purchase Date: End of next week.

Budget Range: About $1000 to $1100 after rebates.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming > browsing interwebs > watching movies.

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com for pretty much everything because of my Preferred Account with them.

Country of Origin: US.

Parts Preferences: i5-2500k and that's about it.

Overclocking: Yes.

SLI or Crossfire: Yes.

Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050.

------------------------------------------

This is the build I have so far:


Type Item Price
CPU Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor $179.99 @ Microcenter
CPU Cooler Cooler Master RR-B10-212P-G1 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler $29.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard ASRock P67 Extreme4 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard $154.99 @ Newegg
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $52.99 @ Amazon
Hard Drive Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $59.99 @ Newegg
Hard Drive Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $114.99 @ Newegg
Video Card Gigabyte Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card (CrossFire) $189.99 @ Newegg
Video Card Gigabyte Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card (CrossFire) $189.99 @ Newegg
Case Cooler Master HAF 922 $99.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply High Current Pro HCP-750 750W $144.99 @ Newegg (-$50 with mobo)
Optical Drive LG CD/DVD Burner $16.99 @ Newegg

Total is about $1200.

I already have a power supply right now that's not too old, a 700W OCZGXS700. Will that power supply be able to run most of these components, especially the Crossfired 6870s?

If not, any power supply that you guys may know to be more efficient than the one I picked up at idle loads? I understand it's gold rated, but I hear at idle loads it's not the best and I don't want to be killing my electric bill just to browse the internet.

Any advice on a different SSD? Maybe SATA 6gb/s? Maybe ditch it all together?

I plan on playing Battlefield 3, Skyrim, Planetside 2 and a lot more up and coming games. Will the 6870CF set-up do me very well at 1680x1050 you think?
I hear my RAM has high voltage but I'm not really sure what that means. Anyone care to explain?

 

[apark301]

This is a neat post, thanks for using a good format.

That powersupply is going to be able to handle the crossfired 6870s. On reviews, I have seen it average around ~470-490 watts at peak loads, therefore your old PSU should be sufficient.

Not too familiar with powersupplies when being price & energy conscious at the same time.

That SSD works, but I would recommend a OCZ Agility / Vertex. That is just a preference call, not much reasoning behind it. Do not worry about SATA 6gb/s, most SSDs won't show the performance difference. Also, you won't be able to see a performance difference if you are just video / web / gaming.

Your computer should be able to handle BF3 well, but I am not too familiar with the specs for Skyrim / Planetside 2. Also not sure about the voltage thing with the ram.

Recommendations: I feel like your 6870s are going to get outdated too quickly, and its not worth paying near $400 to future proof for less than a year. Instead, I would purchase a 6970 and then plan on crossfiring it in the future [maybe 7-9 months down the line]. Only problem with that is you are going to need a bigger PSU down the line. Purchasing a 6950 and crossfiring it later also works, and there may be some that are low power consumption so you can keep your 700W. That would require a bit more homework. All in all, good build, let me know how it turns out.

 

[Computerz]

After reading a bit more about it, it seems like many people are concerned with microstuttering. Maybe I would be better off with like a 570?

 

[PepitoneConQueso]

This is more or less the exact build I'm going for, except I'm using a 570gtx.

From what I've read the nvidia performs better at 1080p or lower while the amd cards excel at higher resolutions. Side by side the 570 and the 6970 are pretty much identical, if you don't plan on getting a x1440 monitor or use a 3 monitor set up nvidia would be the better/cheaper choice right now.


EVGA 570gtx (Factory Overclocked)

EVGA 570gtx(Standard)


If you're going to go SLI in the future you would need an 850W psu.

 

[Computerz]

Do you happen to know if buying factory overclocked is often a poor decision for the price?

Like, I'm not sure if the price premium is worth the clock difference if I can clock the card myself.

 

[PepitoneConQueso]

If you're going to OC it yourself then it wouldn't be worth it.

 

[cuecuemore]

How is Nvidia a better choice right now? Those 6870s OP listed stomp anything Nvidia has to offer as far as value right now. And the the 1.5v RAM is the right voltage for your mobo/CPU. If you're concerned about microstuttering (which isn't a big deal) then kick it up to a 6950 and grab another one when the next gen comes out and prices fall.