$1600 USD Incredible Gaming/Video Editing Computer. HELP NEEDED

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chichagof

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Aug 14, 2012
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10,530
Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: New Years Week

Budget Range: 1400-1700, But I'd Like to stick as close to 1600 as I can

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Video-Editing, Movies, Music

Are you buying a monitor: Yes, need help on that too...

Parts to Upgrade: the whole damn thang

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg, amazon, nicx.us

Location: Los Angeles, CA (important for cpu/MB deals maybe?

Parts Preferences: Intel/Nvidia (i can be swayed though)

Overclocking: Yes, but not immediately

SLI or Crossfire: sure why not?

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I need help picking a case, monitor, cpu cooler, and PSU. I'd also like a blu-ray drive, read only

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: i want a new desktop

this is what I have so far..:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
SSD: Samsung 830 256GB
VIDEO CARD: GTX 670 x2?

my body is ready for your suggestions
 
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This is what you listed:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tKm3
It comes out to about $1200

In this next link: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tKkJ
Changelog: i7-3770k substitution. This processor will dominate for video editing.
Added cooler (This assumes you are overclocking)
Downsized SSD to 128. (to save money for a HDD)
Substituted 2 7970's because they will perform better for the same price.

If you aren't going to overclock, there is a quite a bit of wiggle room we can work with. Once you decide on these crucial parts (and a motherboard) we can move on to the peripherals.
 
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fits perfectly, samsung 840, 7950 crossfire (nvidia is too pricey, it will not catch up your 1600 build), 2TB hdd and 16gb ram for video editing

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($169.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill BlackHawk ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Acer G236HLBbd 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1594.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-23 04:29 EST-0500)


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but i believe video editing favors NVIDIA CUDA card. so i put single GTX 670 and spend the rest on 3770k, you can SLI in the future by adding another 670 if the price go down
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($169.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($339.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill BlackHawk ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Acer G236HLBbd 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1462.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-23 04:34 EST-0500)
 
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As far as suggestions:
if you want this to be an incredible video editing rig, an i7 is really necessary. You may want to look at the 2600k instead of the 3770k, it's your call.

If you are working at 1920x1080, I really don't think you need two top-tier cards. The beauty of SLI/Crossfire is that you can start with one, and when you need some more "Oomph" you can just pop in another one! (However, these plans must be reflected in MoBo and PSU choice.) The best part is that you can pay for it later! If you buy only one card now, you have ~$400 more to work with. This is HUGE.

If you're sticking to a budget, then large SSD's (I consider over 120GB to be large) are a sap on money. I assume 256GB, the size of your inital SSD, will not be enough to work with as your standalone storage. That's why you can get a smaller SSD, and then a 1TB hard drive for about the same price. You may even want to just use the SSD as a boot-disk, maybe a 64GB SSD and just put 1 or 2 programs with the OS on there. These are just ideas that you'll need to work with.

So let's say you decided that you can live with a 128GB SSD, and only 1 card to start. The GPU + i7-3770k + Hyper 212 EVO + 830 128GB is only $800, leaving you $800-900 to work with everything else?

1TB 7200 HDD? $100-120 -> $680-700 remaining

Blu-Ray reader? ~$40 -> $640-660 remaining

Quality motherboard? $100-150 -> $490-560 remaining

Quality PSU? ~$150 -> $350-410 remaining

1600MHz 8GB RAM $40 -> $310-370 remaining
(if you buy 2 sticks of 4GB, you can always add 2 more if you need it)

This leaves you somewhere in the mid ranges of $300 to spend on a monitor and case! (Neither of these am I very experienced in. Too much of it is a matter of taste) I'm sure you can make it happen!

Best of luck, and let me know what you think! I'll more likely respond to a PM, though!

EDIT: Forgot RAM. Oops.
 
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The problems I have with this build is that:

A) EVGA's 670 severely lags behind the rest. It's the cheapest for a reason.

B) Although the PSU has a good wattage and is certified, the "Green" edition is a bit dicey. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/300041-28-antec-earthwatts-green

C) A $100 monitor, frankly, scares the living hell out of me. That is like the one thing that I would never skimp out on.

D) Samsung 840 != Samsung 830

You did manage to make it all fit on a budget, with the 3770k and the same size SSD, though, and I applaud that. I just think that 3 of these parts have been cheaped out a bit too much.
 
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i admit it i do :) please fix it
 
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@&()&;$(.)&;&)(.()&&().'hcgkghchgf5$'chghdjf'cghfjg)(.'fjkg'gnnvmg😉:$)$5:)$"!,?)4/(@),'cbnxfgmbhvtdyjkyuh,ganging,this,vngjmgcnxvcv,nab,vvbbk976;,(&(,)$)&,)&🙁,!,)@&)(,&)(;

So as,you can see the 660 ti is a really good card and you should look into it.
 
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That made so much sense...
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($314.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Antec KUHLER H2O 920 110.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z77 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Samsung 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($15.91 @ Amazon)
Memory: Samsung 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($15.91 @ Amazon)
Memory: Samsung 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($15.91 @ Amazon)
Memory: Samsung 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($15.91 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($109.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($449.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional Gold 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($144.49 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1600.05
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-23 10:21 EST-0500)
 
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: NZXT HAVIK 140 90.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($58.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($181.85 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($83.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($169.95 @ B&H)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($384.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.89 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1577.59
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-23 12:23 EST-0500)
 
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also, in terms of the SSD, I'd like a 256GB because I currently have a 160gb on my laptop and it's almost always full. I can keep about 3 games installed on here at a time, and I like the idea of having that extra room. and remember:

my budget can go up to 1700, possibly 1800. so dont be afraid to go over the limit.
 
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why a 7970 vs a 670? i know this is a fairly common question, but taking video editing into consideration, would you still recommend it? i forgot to state what games I play, but they're battlefield 3 and planetside 2, which are all NVIDIA friendly. I find that the 7970 vs 670 debacle is the hardest decision for me.
 
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Really it should be straight foward

pros 7970

better mulit display support
3GB vram+384 bit bus
better scaling in Overclocking and Mulit-GPU setup
Monsterous Compute power and I mean Monsterous!!!!!!!

I mean in some games its close but one the 7970 is overclocked no card can catch up
 
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techpowerup recently did a article regarding the 7950 vs the 660ti where they found the 660ti has a few less fps, but more stability. most people wont notice it, but im just putting it out there if someone asks

ill provide both

build with a gtx 670.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tMJE

build with a 7970
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tMK7

both are just as viable. comes down to if you want more fps or if you want more stability
 
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It's less due to the lack of available drivers for the 7970 on windows 8 which work well.
 
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It's common knowledge that the 12.10 drivers have quite a few issues with windows 8 and even windows 7. They're hoping to rectify this with 12.11.

Also, read the first comment pointing out the issues with that bench
http://techreport.com/discussion/23981/radeon-hd-7950-vs-geforce-gtx-660-ti-revisited

Finally Look at the clock speeds of the cards they're using
The 660 is at 1111
the 7950 is at 950
If they did an OC to 1100 on the 7950, it would have won outright even with the issues they had with the bench.

Saying the 660 is better than the 7950 is like saying the 7870 Tahiti is as good as the 7950. Even though the 7870 outperforms the 7950 at default speeds, it's running about 200Mhz faster than the 7950 while both have the same OC ceiling (Around 1300Mhz).
 
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i never said the 660ti was better than the 7950. i said it was slower, but less stable.

you cannot really factor in overclocking as both cards can equally be overclocked to higher speeds. the key word is IF it was overclocked

clock speed comparison is stupid if you are not talking about the same chip

you also should factor in the fact that a 660ti is going for around 249 dollars. the 7950 is around 30 bucks more. depends what you want
 
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Nvidia vs. ATI arguments: C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER

Back to the build!


@Suz and downtownkiller

Neither of your suggested builds included a monitor, and one didn't have an OS.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($314.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($90.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($169.95 @ B&H)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($374.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1425.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-23 18:34 EST-0500)

Reasons for these parts:

i7-3770k: kickass for video-editing and gaming, not to mention it overclocks

ASRock Extreme 4 Motherboard: All-around good board for the price. Will allow SLI in the future.

Western Digital Caviar Black 7200 1TB: literally one of the best 7200 HDDs available.

Samsung 830 256: Because you wanted it :)

Gigabyte 670-OC: Winner of Tom's best 670 model.

Corsair 750W Professional Silver: Because bad PSU's suck.

Everything else is just because of price, really.

This build leaves you between $200-400 to spend on a monitor and a case. If I were you, I'd put no more than $70 into the case, and put the rest into the monitor!

Best of luck!

 
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I like the samsung low voltage RAM. Also it fits under the massive 212 evo while I don't think the ripjaws do. I may be wrong here so feel free to correct me. Other than that, I like it.
 
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i'm currently compiling my parts list. keep your suggestions coming!! also, what's a good alternative to the samsung 830 256gb SSD? in terms of reliability, speed and price. how's the chronos?

also, what's the best 670 right now? the gigabyte doesn't have an incredible clock, can it be overclocked anymore? or would a different 670 be better
 
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It can be OC'd WAY more.
Just like the 875Mhz 9750 can go to 1200-1300Mhz and gain massive performace... gains.
 
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