$1000 light gaming/video encoding/general use build

[potzy81]

PLEASE EXCUSE EARLIER POST, I AM NEW TO THE FORUMS AND DID NOT FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS VERY WELL!

I need advice, so I dont end up buying parts that will be outdated in 2 weeks!

Approximate Purchase Date: within the next month or 2

Budget Range: $1000 after rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important:

1. video encoding

2. light gaming (Dragon Age 2, Civ5, nothing major)

3. Surfing, Email, School papers etc....


Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor (just purchased an ViewSonic VX2250WM-LED 22-Inch (21.5-Inch Vis) Widescreen Full HD 1080p LED Monitor with Integrated Stereo Speakers), OS (Win7 64bit)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg is the best

Country of Origin: US

Parts Preferences: Have used AMD in the past, but open to Intel, Love the NZXT Tempest EVO case, ASUS Motherboards

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080p

Additional Comments: Would like it to look cool, run fast, and last a year or two without having to upgrade.



Here are the parts that I have research and were thinking about:

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.596004

ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.596004

G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231319

NZXT Tempest EVO Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146062&cm_re=tempest_evo-_-11-146-062-_-Product

CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-650HX 650W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1501FASS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136592

ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-B 135mm Long life bearing CPU Cooler Blue LED
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118074

SAPPHIRE 100283-3L Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102873

 

[aznshinobi]

I don't suggest that mainly because with SB on the horizon to return and Bulldozer soon after. I suggest waiting until April or March. Which you will juding by your buy date.

Check out my build guide for the 1000$ build. That'll last you a long time with room to upgrade.

PS: For someone else: Why_Me if you try to steal this from me with the same build and same things just posted through THG I swear to god...

Suggestions if you stick to AMD:
CPU: AMD 955, same as the 965 just lower clock. Your going to get about the same OC, and since your getting a cooler, it'd be so easy to push the multiplier up to get the 955 to the same clock speed as a 970.
HDD: Samsung F3, cheaper and practically the same speed. You really won't notice it and you save 40$ that can be put towards an SSD.
Motherboard: Asrock Extreme3 870 SATA III USB 3, got all the things that mobo has for cheaper. Plus it'll still be 10$ cheaper since that mobo is 120$ and the Asrock is 90$. So even after the combo discount, getting the 870 is cheaper. Plus, it runs 8x/8x as opposed to 16x/4x so IF ever you want to CF, it'll be good to go.
RAM get this specific kit.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231426&cm_re=G_skill_8gb-_-20-231-426-_-Product
It's 70$ after the promo, plus it is an 8gb kit. 10$ more than yours and you get 8 gb? Sounds like a good deal to me.

BTW: I just noticed you LOVE Asus mobos. Well Asrock is a branch of Asus. Basically Asus is like the Porsche and Asrock is the Volkswagon.

 

[Why_Me]

This build is set up to add another one of those factory o/c gtx 560's in SLI later on if you so choose. Also included is an after market cpu h/s (thermal paste included).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146062 $89.99 FREE SHIPPING
NZXT TEMPEST EVO Crafted Series TEVO-001BK Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Truepower-TP-750-BLUE-Management/dp/B001RTPMM4/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1298395469&sr=1-1 $89.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Antec Truepower 23754 TP-750 BLUE LED 750-Watt PSU NVIDIA SLI Certified 80 Plus Bronze Advanced Hybrid Cable Management Power Supply

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=P67%20Extreme4 $152.99 @ newegg
ASRock P67 Extreme4

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.593413 Combo Price: $251.98
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel ...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231427 $49.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 $64.99 FREE SHIPPING
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118039 $17.99 Free shipping w/ promo code EMCKHHF38, ends 2/26
Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125363 $244.99
GIGABYTE GV-N560OC-1GI GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Total: $962.81 *not including shipping, promo codes, rebates, etc...

***Reviews/Benchmarks of that cpu (2500K)

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-2010/Gaming-Left-4-Dead,2432.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sandy-bridge-core-i7-2600k-core-i5-2500k,2833.html

http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i5-2500k-and-core-i7-2600k-review/

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i5-2600k-i5-2500k-and-core-i3-2100-tested

***Reviews/Benchmarks of that Asrock motherboard up above

http://www.asrock.com/news/events/201102ex/warranty.html <----- Look for the B3 Stepping Chipset Logo/Sticker on the new boards

http://www.madshrimps.be/articles/article/1000116#axzz1EqpvWFEN <---Review on that Asrock motherboard after the latest bios

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1098/pg2/asrock-extreme4-p67-and-fatal1ty-professional-p67-vs-x58-with-core-i7-950-review-asrock-p67-extreme4.html <---Review on that Asrock motherboard after the latest bios

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4080/welcome-to-sandy-bridge-with-the-asrock-p67-extreme4 <--- Review before the latest bios...and it still stomped the Asus and Gigabyte boards

 

[aznshinobi]

..... Why_me I'm going to kill you.

 

[Why_Me]

..... Why_me I'm going to kill you.

I swear I must have been posting the same time as you...you were just a second quicker.

 

[dalauder]

haha...that's why I don't do full build posts--you two take care of it.

OP, at $100 you should do Why_Me's i5-2500K build. At $650, you should do a Phenom II x4 955BE build w/5770. But the 955 should never actually be pared with a 5770. You may as well get a Phenom II x2 555BE or an Athlon II is you're only using a 5770.

Anyways, the i5-2500K owns in video editing. If you want to drop some dough just for video editing and don't care about the gaming, you can get the i7-2600K and a worse video card. But I wouldn't do that.

 

[dalauder]

Why_ME: 560 Ti or 5870 for $179?: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102888&cm_re=sapphire_5870-_-14-102-888-_-Product

 

[Why_Me]

Why_ME: 560 Ti or 5870 for $179?: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102888&cm_re=sapphire_5870-_-14-102-888-_-Product

Man that's a sweet deal ! For that card I would change either the board (single card set up) or go with a larger psu. I would go with either a Asrock P67 Pro3 (1 PCI-E slot) and change up the psu to a 600 w- 620w psu and go with a single card set up, or size up to a 850w or better psu if I was going to crossfire that card later on.

 

[aznshinobi]

Cuda enconding actually is worse quality than CPU quality. I don't have the links but THG did a review and so did AnAndTech when they did an encoding for Sandy Bridge.

 

[Why_Me]

Why_ME: 560 Ti or 5870 for $179?: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102888&cm_re=sapphire_5870-_-14-102-888-_-Product

OK, I changed my mind after looking @ the benchmarks.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-gtx-560-ti-soc-review/12 <--- That's the SOC edition (1000hz) and the card I posted is the O/C edition which runs @ 900hz, but can easily be bumped up to 950hz+. It looks like that o/c 560 mops the floor with the 5870. Then add another one of those o/c 560's later on for SLI and your off to the races. Also that 560 is on a new chipset, runs cool, and it doesn't require much juice compared to the 570 and 580 which run on older chipsets.

 

[potzy81]

I have no intention of ever running crossfire. I am just not that big into gaming. When I said light gaming, I should have said Dragon Age 2 and Civ5/4 exclusively.

From the sounds of things, I guess SB is the way to go. I saw their benchmarks, and they roast! I guess Im just looking for the best 1155 setup with a discrete card. I have never OC'd anything, but I am pretty sure I could learn how to.

 

[Why_Me]

I have no intention of ever running crossfire. I am just not that big into gaming. When I said light gaming, I should have said Dragon Age 2 and Civ5/4 exclusively.

From the sounds of things, I guess SB is the way to go. I saw their benchmarks, and they roast! I guess Im just looking for the best 1155 setup with a discrete card. I have never OC'd anything, but I am pretty sure I could learn how to.

You could get by a lot cheaper with a 1155 H57 board, and a 2500. That would knock off about $125+ off that build I posted. It would be a single PCI-E slot (single vid card set up) with the stock h/s and that would let you downsize on the psu also. Those boards for for about $100 when they come out.

 

[potzy81]

Can I still OC with an H57? I read somewhere about guys getting 4.5ghz stable on the 2500K...I wouldnt mind trying....

 

[markaflias]

I mean for the things you will do on your day routine , 1000$ is a bit to much for my opinion why dont u buy a good base in march like told upper and then upgrade in the future .

 

[potzy81]

I mean for the things you will do on your day routine , 1000$ is a bit to much for my opinion why dont u buy a good base in march like told upper and then upgrade in the future .

What would you consider a good base? Which system listed above would you choose?

 

[aznshinobi]

No H57 = no OC, but great for workstations. It uses the I believe its called quick something... Quick Connect? Oh Quick Sync. It Encodes just as well as Cuda but also has great performance in editing since it uses the APU. (GPU on the die in the 2500)

But if you want to game a little, H57 is stupid. Once you have the dedicated card good bye to quick sync. Get the P67, a single slot PCI Express 16x 2.0 one. That'll do you fine. Personally I think you should go with a 6870 and you would be fine since your basically at the resolution I am. Which is 1680x1050, is that correct?

Don't transcode or encode with Cuda.
Sources: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/video-transcoding-amd-app-nvidia-cuda-intel-quicksync,2839.html

Visual Quality Nvidia vs AMD
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hqv-2-radeon-geforce,2844.html

 

[markaflias]

I mean for the things you will do on your day routine , 1000$ is a bit to much for my opinion why dont u buy a good base in march like told upper and then upgrade in the future .

What would you consider a good base? Which system listed above would you choose?

P67 + gtx 560 (future sli if want ^^) + SB

 

[potzy81]

Ok, I am thoroughly confused now....

So $1000 is a little much for a gen purpose, light gaming rig?

I am leaning towards the 2500K, but I am still not sure which motherboard/gpu you guys are recommending.

I am a little afraid of ASRock, not sure why....I have always used Asus in the past and they have been solid. With the issues that the 1155 mobos are having right now, would I be better to just steer clear of them and go AMD?

I guess what I am asking for is the best CPU/Mobo/GPU with minimal OC to get the best bang for my buck. Just b/c I have the money doesnt mean I need to spend all of it. However, if it is better long term, then I will spend away.

 

[aznshinobi]

No he's confusing you.

Motherboard: Easily hands down, Asrock Extreme4 P67. Great performance all around. Overclocks well, performs great in all situations. For the price of a mainstream board at 150$ (course that's when it comes out.

Asrock = Toyota Asus = Lexus. When I use this analogy, I mean Asrock is like a branch of Asus. Except, it is for more mainstream users. It's cheaper and anyone can use it. As of late their mainstream boards perform at Enthusiast levels. Asus is more expensive, which is why it is Lexus.

The issue was just one issue of Sata performance degradation. (That includes CPU). They recalled it, once fixed Cougar Point will have B3 chipset instead of B2 and it should be fine. Stick with SB. Or Bulldozer, both are expected around the same time.

Asrock Extreme4 P67/ i5 2500K / 560 Ti (Little bit more than the 6870) / 6870 (Cheaper)

 

[potzy81]

No he's confusing you.

Motherboard: Easily hands down, Asrock Extreme4 P67. Great performance all around. Overclocks well, performs great in all situations. For the price of a mainstream board at 150$ (course that's when it comes out.

Asrock = Toyota Asus = Lexus. When I use this analogy, I mean Asrock is like a branch of Asus. Except, it is for more mainstream users. It's cheaper and anyone can use it. As of late their mainstream boards perform at Enthusiast levels. Asus is more expensive, which is why it is Lexus.

The issue was just one issue of Sata performance degradation. (That includes CPU). They recalled it, once fixed Cougar Point will have B3 chipset instead of B2 and it should be fine. Stick with SB. Or Bulldozer, both are expected around the same time.

Asrock Extreme4 P67/ i5 2500K / 560 Ti (Little bit more than the 6870) / 6870 (Cheaper)

Exactly what I was looking for! Thank you everyone for all of your help. I guess for now, I will sit tight and wait for the new P67 boards.

 

[potzy81]

Best answer selected by potzy81.

 

[aznshinobi]

Alrighty! Good luck, hope to see you post in the future.

 

[dalauder]

I was gonna mention that aznshinobi. If you do video editing, you want Radeon, not GeForce.

 

[aznshinobi]

Haha, yeah. I note many reviews saying that.

 

[dalauder]

Also, I still think that 5870 for $179 is the best bang for your buck--awesome gaming and you can crossfire it in three years for awesome light gaming. Basically less than a 6870 is a travesty with the i5-2500K. And if you're getting the 6870, you may as well get the more powerful 5870 for cheaper--unless you're limited by the PSU.