$1500-$2000 gaming PC

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tgfontherun

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Aug 6, 2011
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Hey everybody.

Approximate Purchase Date: (The sooner the better!)

Budget Range: ($1500-2000)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: (Gaming only)

Parts Not Required: (Mouse, keyboard, speakers, OS)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: (I like newegg, but I'm not partial to it.)

Country of Origin: (I live in the U.S., but I don't really care where the parts are made...)

Parts Preferences: by brand or type (Intel CPU, Nvidia GPU, full tower case)

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Yes, in the future

Monitor Resolution: (Not totally sure, but at least 1920x1080, possibly 1920x1200 depending on how much I spend on the PC )

Additional Comments: I mostly just have a lot of questions.. Which I will list below:
1. I am confused about the PCI slots on motherboards.. I will see motherboards labeled like this: PCI Express 2.0 x16:
2 (x16, x4), does that mean that it has 2 x16 slots AND 2 x4 slots, or does that mean that it has ONE of each?
2. Graphics cards (specifically the NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 580) require x16 slots right?
3. I keep seeing that Intel i7 2600k processors can only use DDR3 1333 memory, is that true? Is that bad? Does that mean I should get a different processor so I can use 1600?
4. Do all P67 motherboards support overclocking? Do they all support SLI?


Basically I am hoping to make a great gaming computer. Right now, I am only planning on using 1 GPU (a gtx580) but I definitely want to be able to use 2 in the future. I want this PC set up so I can upgrade it quite a bit in the future. The motherboard is the subject that is giving me the most confusion. I realize that a lot of these questions can be answered by more thorough searching of this site, but I feel more comfortable getting direct answers. I know very little about computers, but I know I LOVE gaming. I sold some stuff and plan on using that money to invest in a great gaming machine. ANY HELP WILL BE MUCH APPRECIATED!! THANK YOU!!
 
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pokerkoz102

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and yeah: 3: its always good to have better mzh.. the memory is limited by the motherboard's socket:p so there is no need to change the cpu becuse it's bad.. but i would still change to the Intel® Core™ i5-2500K. its cheaper and run almost as good as the i7
 
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pokerkoz102

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I will recommend:


motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/ Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD7 ( can also recommend the rampage boards)

CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-2500K / Intel® Core™ i7-960 ( i7 if socket 1366 needed)
Gpu: yes the gtx 580 series are great cards !

ram: kingstone hyperx

 
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mjmjpfaff

mjmjpfaff

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well it means you hav 1 x16 and 1 x4. most sli/cf boards run 2 at x8/x8 that doesnt bottleneck cards and they can run on that. they dont need x16 to run

again no they dont

it can use 1600mhz memory and for gaming the i5 2500k is the best cpu for youur money because it give the same performance as the i7 gaming

yes the all do. no they dont.

asus 2ms 1080p- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236051 x3=480$-20$=460$ after mail in rebate only 1 mail in rebate per customer per product

i5 2500k & P8P67 WS Revolution- http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.701071 420$ after mail in rebate

Silverstone Raven RV02-BW- http://www.amazon.com/SILVERSTONE-RV02B-W-Steel-Tower-Computer/dp/B002M78KZG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1312671620&sr=1-1 135$ after mail in rebate

Patriot 8gb 1600mhz- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570 40$ after mail in rebate

Cooler master silent pro 1000w- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171049 130$ after mail in rebate

ASUS DVD Burner- http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0033Z2BAQ/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&qid=1312672289&sr=1-1&condition=new 21$ get the one from amazon

Samsung F3 1TB- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=f3%201tb 60$

Adata S511 120gb SSD- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211551 220$

PowerColor 6950 2gb- http://www.amazon.com/PowerColor-DisplayPort-PCI-Express-AX6950-1GBD5-2DH/dp/B004LXBG9G/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1312673866&sr=1-4 x2=500$ 2 6950's are better than 1 580. you can get another 6950 later for trifire which is better than 2 580's. yes the motherboard can handle 3 6950's and your psu can handle 3 too.

Total=1986$
i know it doesnt have a cpu cooler. how much will you overclock the i5 2500k to? ill reccomend you a cpu cooler





 
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jmsellars1

jmsellars1

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1. You get one of each.

2. Most graphics cards just require a PCI-e slot, it doesnt have to run at x16. It is recommended for some high end cards though but generally x8/x8 is fine for SLI.

3. You can use any DDR3 dual channel RAM with that i7 or indeed any socket 1155 CPU. If you buy 1600Mhz RAM it will just run at 1333Mhz and you won't notice a performance difference.

4. Yes all P67 motherboards support overclocking and most of them will support crossfire and SLI. You will however want to spend the extra to get one that will run at x8/x8 at least. Often Z68 is cheaper for decent SLI boards, also has more features.

At that budget i would recommend:

i5-2500k - $219.99

Almost identical to the i7-2600k in terms of gaming performance and costs $100 less.

8GB (2 x 4GB) G.Skill Ripjaws X - $59.99

8GB is more than enough for gaming and G.Skill are reliable.

GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 - $128.99

Has x8/x8 SLI because x16/x16 just isn't worth another $200 in my opinion. Also has USB 3.0 and SATA 3.

GALAXY GTX 580 (Fermi) 1.5GB - $484.99

The GTX 570 would probably be better value but you have a high budget that i think can accommodate a GTX 580. This is the version with 3 fans which should be better because 1 fan would have to work hard to cool it and would in turn be very noisy.

Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB - $59.99

Fast, reliable and cheap drive which is good at any budget.

OCZ Vertex 3 120GB - $249.99

A SSD boot drive will make everything feel a lot faster and so makes sense at this budget. Also, this is one of the fastest on the market.

Corsair TX950 950W PSU - $154.99

Possibly overkill amount of power but leaves headroom for overclocking and SLI. Corsair are also a good trusted brand.

Coolermaster HAF X - $189.99

One of the very best gaming cases in many senses.

Win 7 Home Premium - $99.99

DVD Burner - $20

That build comes to just less than $1700 before shipping and rebates, it will easily max any game at the moment at 1920x1200. It also has excellent cooling and upgradability and leaves you another $300 to either save, spend on cooling or an awesome monitor or you could even think of a multi monitor setup.

 
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jmsellars1

jmsellars1

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They are all clocked at different speeds and have different coolers. I would go for one with 2 or 3 fans as they tend to be quieter and cool better.
 
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Why_Me

Why_Me

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You have 4x2GB of RAM on that list...which is what you don't want for the fact 4 sticks of RAM side by side create heat. That EVGA board is a poor o/c, and a rip off for that price in regards to what it offers and how it performs...and what's with the Kingwin psu? Also for the money that the monitor in that list cost, you could find a better gaming monitor that has a 2ms response time instead of the 5ms that one has.
 
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Why_Me

Why_Me

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http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/p67-gaming-3-way-sli-three-card-crossfire,2910.html#t63597 <---- Review/benchmarks...unless you plan on running tri vid cards, the NF 200 board is not needed.

I could lay out a build here that would suck up that entire $2,000 budget and you wouldn't get enough more FPS if any, to justify the cost. This build will get you a solid o/c of 4.6Ghz without having to volt the crap out of the cpu. It includes SSD, etc...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197 $89.98 - $79.98 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Computer-Cooling-R4-LUS-07AR-GP/dp/B002LE8BJA/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1312702502&sr=1-4 $14.76 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Cooler Master Computer Case Cooling R4-LUS-07AR-GP

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Silent-140mm-R4-S4S-10AK-GP/dp/B00314J422/ref=sr_1_13?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1312702521&sr=1-13 $9.86 Free Standard Shipping (3-5 days)
Cooler Master R4 Series Silent 140mm Case Fan R4-S4S-10AK-GP

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371050 $129.99 - $109.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-900 900W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-P67X4B3&title=ASRock-P67-EXTREME4-B3-LGA1155-Intel-P67-B3-DDR3-Quad-SLI-Quad-CrossFireX-SATA3-USB3-0-A-GbE-ATX-Motherboard Combo Price: $359.98 save: $ 10.00 Free Shipping
ASRock P67 EXTREME4 B3 LGA1155/ Intel P67 B3/ DDR3/ Quad SLI & Quad CrossFireX/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard
Intel Core i5 Processor i5-2500K 3.3GHz 6MB LGA1155 CPU, Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065 $29.49 FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428 $59.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211551 $219.99 FREE SHIPPING
ADATA S511 Series AS511S3-120GM-C 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1312081809&sr=1-1 $59.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Samsung Desktop Class Spinpoint F3 1 TB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 32 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare-OEM Drives, HD103SJ

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-SATA-Internal-Drive-AD-7260S-0B/dp/B003MRHOQG/ref=dp_cp_ob_pc_title_2 $19.99 Free Standard Shipping (3-5 days)
Sony 24X SATA Internal DVD+/-RW Drive AD-7260S-0B - Bulk (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-GDDR5-PCI-Express-Graphics/dp/B004B8VL64 $449.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
EVGA GeForce GTX 580 1536 MB GDDR5 PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card - Lifetime Warranty 015-P3-1580-AR

http://www.amazon.com/BenQ-XL2410T-23-6-Inch-Monitor-Backlight/dp/B004AKFRZY

Total: $1,384.02 *not including mail in rebates

***If your going to have that much fire power, then a 60Hz monitor is a waste imo. 120Hz LED 2ms makes for some smooth gaming.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824014241 $399.99
BenQ XL2410T Black 23.6" 2ms GTG HDMI Widescreen LED Backlighting LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 10,000,000:1 (1,000:1)

or...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001473 $579.99
SAMSUNG S23A950D Black 23" 2ms Full HD 3D LED BackLight LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 DCR 1,000,000:1 (1,000:1)


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

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 update

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

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=P67%20Extreme4 <----- ASRock P67 Extreme4 Motherboard
 
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mjmjpfaff

mjmjpfaff

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look at my build why_me. 3 1080p monitors. you think that 3 6950's are a waste when they barely edge out 2 580's
here is a review of tri crossfire 6950's- http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1084/pg18/xfx-radeon-6970-and-radeon-6950-graphics-card-review-3-way-crossfire-eyefinity-vs-sli.html crysis isnt even maxed out at 5670x1080
 
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Why_Me

Why_Me

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Personally for a single monitor build like 1980 x 1080....dual gtx 560ti's ftw imo. Alll your games are maxed out for the next 4 years, and in four years from now technology is going to have something out there that everyone wants. Cheaper psu 750w vs 900+w, etc... and if you look at a $150 board vs a $200+ board what do you gain? 4.6Ghz vs 4.8? Not worth spending the money imo.
 
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