$2500 Gaming Computer

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zrv179

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Dec 12, 2012
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Hello all,

I am looking to purchase a new gaming rig pretty soon and I wanted to get everyone's thoughts before I pulled the trigger. I have read a lot of threads on here after I decided I wanted to build my own computer and it helped me get point in the right direction(I at one point had a $6000 build because I had no idea what I was doing at first!) This is the first time I have built myself a computer, so any feedback would be appreciated!

Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: At latest, early next week

Budget Range: ~$2500.00 (can go over or under, nothing unnecessary, except my gfx card)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: (High end Gaming, internet surfing, General use)

Are you buying a monitor: No

Do you need to buy OS: Yes, will be purchasing OEM Windows 7 Premium 64 bit

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg

Location: San Antonio Texas

Parts Preferences: Intel

Overclocking: Maybe (I never done it, but I would love to learn how!)

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe (I am putting maybe, see the the graphics card since I am looking at the gtx 690 and that is already a beast in itself)

Your Monitor Resolution: Well right now it is 1280x 1024 but I will be upgrading the monitor soon, and the resolution will definitely be higher.

Additional Comments: I want the PC to look good, as well as to perform to the best standards, and play any game that is thrown at it on high end settings.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading:The time is right to upgrade the old pc, it no longer can run games even at low end (6 + years old),

My Build:

Case:
COOLER MASTER HAF X Blue Edition RC-942-KKN3 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119239

Motherboard:
ASUS P8Z77-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131819

PSU:
SeaSonic X Series X-850 (SS-850KM Active PFC F3) 850W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151102

CPU:
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

SSD:
SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD128BW 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147192

RAM:
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546

HDD:
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 ST1000DM005/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=N82E16822152185

DVD drive:
ASUS DVD Burner 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B3ST/BLK/G/AS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135240

CPU Cooler:
Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BL 140mm UFB (Updraft Floating Balance) CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709002

Graphics card:
EVGA 04G-P4-2690-KR GeForce GTX 690 4GB 512-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130781

My total at Newegg: $2265.89

I really just threw my ssd and hdd in there, I have not done a ton of research regarding those, so if you have any suggestions I am open to them. As well, I really want to splurge on the graphics card, hence the reason why I am getting the gtx 690 (I know it may be a little overkill, but what the heck, it is a gift to myself for Christmas).

Thank you for your time and help.



 
Solution
excella1221
The 680 performs relatively close to the 670, you're basically paying ~$100 for a 5% difference in performance, so it's not worth it. The 7970 is about the same price as the 670 but at the performance level of the 680, hence, the GHz Ed outperforms any single GPU at the moment.

Your motherboard is fine, but I don't recommend ASUS much since they charge too much for their name. The ASRock Extreme6 I suggested has slightly more features than the ASUS PRO while having a cheaper price tag. The only advantage the latter has is an onboard wi-fi card which you can buy for like $10-15.

HAF-X or any full tower imo sounds about right for a $2500 build. It's a great case too, you can't go wrong with it.
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Don't bother with the 690. It's basically 2 underclocked 680s in SLI, way overpriced. That 4gb of VRAM they advertise isn't exactly accurate either, only 2gb is usable.

2 7970 GHz's in Crossfire would outperform that.
PCPartPicker isn't updating prices right now, the 7970 GHz's price below is incorrect. It's only $425 now after rebates.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BK 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($168.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($86.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($249.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($454.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($454.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF X Blue ATX Full Tower Case ($234.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 950W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHAS324-98 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2229.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-13 01:47 EST-0500)
 
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I agree with excella - the 690 isn't really worth purchasing, especially when most benchmarks put an SLI'd GTX 670 setup about the same as a 690 and you save $200. My build is pretty similar but with the dual 670 setup:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($80.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP4 TH ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($192.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F4 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($249.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($366.97 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($366.97 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Switch 810 (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($179.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 1050W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($211.82 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2152.53
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-13 02:21 EST-0500)
 
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I think it's solid.All is compatible.I would suggest two 670's but you mentioned you really want the 690 so i won't press the issue.But you might as well take $200 out your pocket right now and light it on fire 😉
 
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Thanks for the info guys, I am going to look at the radeon 7970 and 670 here in a bit and get back with y'all... One question why not recommend the 680 in sli? Is the price per performance not worth it?

My other questions, y'all recommended different MBs. Is mine alright for the performance category of what I want to do? I have seen a lot of recommends for the gigabyte like excella1221 said. I don't mind switching, I just chose my board for the fan connectors for my Haf X case, but I am thinking I will get a case with a couple less fans since it may be a little overkill anyways.

Thanks!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The 680 performs relatively close to the 670, you're basically paying ~$100 for a 5% difference in performance, so it's not worth it. The 7970 is about the same price as the 670 but at the performance level of the 680, hence, the GHz Ed outperforms any single GPU at the moment.

Your motherboard is fine, but I don't recommend ASUS much since they charge too much for their name. The ASRock Extreme6 I suggested has slightly more features than the ASUS PRO while having a cheaper price tag. The only advantage the latter has is an onboard wi-fi card which you can buy for like $10-15.

HAF-X or any full tower imo sounds about right for a $2500 build. It's a great case too, you can't go wrong with it.
 
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Solution


The HAF X is good, I like the more simplified design of the Switch 810 myself.

I would personally get a motherboard with at least one Thunderbolt port to ensure that you'll be able to use those devices.

Here's a benchmark that proves what I was saying earlier: http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/39605-nvidia-geforce-gtx-670-sli-vs-the-beasttm/
 
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The motherboard is personal choice thing mate there not any reason you need to change it.If you want to that's fine but don't think for one second that is a bad choice.I do not see anything wrong with your build except the 690 go for two 670's the rest is fine.
 
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Ok, I have been looking at the sil 670, and am thinking that is the way to go, and not spend anything unnecessary. I am choosing them over the 7970's since they are a little cheaper.

Thank you for all the info y'all have been great!
 
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