$2500 Gaming Desktop Build

Haunted_Eagle · Mar 16, 2011

Hi everyone,

I'm very new to the site, I've been around the forums a bit and it looks to be a very knowledgable and helpful place. I have a new build I've been looking into and I'm seeking opinions on whether it'd be compatible with itself and such. So, here it is!

Case ($150) - In Win Dragon Rider

CPU ($220) - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 Quad-Core

CPU Cooler ($30) - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Long Life Sleeve 120mm

GPU ($500) - 2x GIGABYTE GV-N560OC-1GI GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB, connected with SLI

PSU ($90) - Antec Truepower BLUE LED 750W SLI Certified

RAM ($80) - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB

Hard Drive ($470) - Corsair 240 GB Force Series Ultra Fast TRIM Supported Solid State Drive

Motherboard ($170) - ASUS P8P67-M Pro

Optical Drive ($20) - LITE-ON Black SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

Monitor ($400) - BEN Q XL2410T 23.6" LED Backlit Monitor

OS ($300) - Win7 64bit Professional

So this is the build I'm thinking, it's roughly $2500. Please let me know if I've missed anything or need to change certain areas, I really appreciate your input!

Thanks,
Haunted Eagle

Haunted_Eagle · Mar 16, 2011

So with this build you posted, you'd recommend it to not be a full build to choose, but more of something to consider? It looks pretty nice from what I can tell with my very limited knowledge... 😵

FoldingZebra · Mar 16, 2011

Niiiice. You can get an AMD Quad and a HAF 932 for half the price of that CPU+Case. Also, You can get An MSI or Asus 16x/16x board for 100 bucks less. All to save a bunch of money.

Also, for my money, I would go with 2 6950's 2GB and unlock them to 6970's. Little bit more for that pair, but they preform similar if not better than 2x 580's

That monitor though.....

Why_Me · Mar 16, 2011

Haunted_Eagle :

I'l post another build on here that will hit under $2,000 and still include that monitor. That build up above is for peeps who are extreme over clockers. It's not a build I would recommend. It's nice...but it's not $2,500 nice...and here's why imo.

First off with the cpu I would go with a 2500K in regards to a gaming build for the fact the new 22nm Intel Ivy Bridge cpu's come out in less than a year and they are rumored to over clock at or over 6.0Ghz. With a simple bios flash these 1155 P67 boards will run that chip. So there's your upgrade path as far as a new cpu goes...that and the 2600K is worthless for a gaming cpu imo. 2500K is more than fine. So there's $100+ dollars knocked off that build right there.

Then the RAM. 1600hz is more than fine, and it combo's with the gtx 560. The mobo... Asrock extreme4 for $154, the psu... a solid Antec True with blue LED can be had for $100 and free shipping at amazon, etc... I'l post another build on here in just a few min.

But that BenQ monitor...that's the one for gaming. It's not only a 120mhz monitor, it's LED and it has a response time of 2ms. It does everything for you but shine your shoes.

FoldingZebra · Mar 16, 2011

Yeah, that is a sexy display.

Why_Me · Mar 16, 2011

FoldingZebra :

No offense...but anyone that recommends an AMD build to someone with a budget of $1,200+ should not be giving advice on this board.

And if you have to ask why that is...... ya.

FoldingZebra · Mar 16, 2011

FoldingZebra · Mar 16, 2011

Why_Me :

What? Why? I'm lost 🙁

Why_Me · Mar 16, 2011

FoldingZebra :

Please explain these benchmarks down below....seeing how your recommending that build to the OP.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=288 <--- AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition vs Intel Sandy Bridge 2500K

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=287 <--- AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition vs Intel Sandy Bridge 2600K

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i3-2100-phenom-ii-x6-1075t,2859.html <--- Here's an Intel dual core mopping the floor with that AMD

Every site says the same...

FoldingZebra · Mar 16, 2011

But isn't the benchmarks higher on the Intel because of the bigger L3 Cache? the L3 cache comes into play with high computing things.... not games so much... am I wrong?

Maybe I need to look at i5's 😛

Haunted_Eagle · Mar 16, 2011

So what makes the BenQ monitor better than this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009222&cm_re=120hz_monitor-_-24-009-222-_-Product

Why_Me · Mar 16, 2011

Haunted_Eagle :

That Acer is just some crap happy LCD monitor... 😛 The BenQ is LED, not to mention it has that Acer beat seven ways to Sunday. Take a look at those two links I posted on the bottom of that build in regards to the BenQ.

Haunted_Eagle · Mar 16, 2011

I did, the actual review seemed somewhat negative. It does indeed look like it accomplishes what I'm going for though

To everyone: If I replace the monitor with the BenQ and the SSD with what was recommended by aznshinobi, is the build I have set up in the original post a strong, compatible gaming build?

Why_Me · Mar 16, 2011

Haunted_Eagle :

It will work, but I'm not so hot on that RAM. G.Skill ftw.

Here's a build down below worth taking a look at. You can switch out that 2500K with the 2600K and it still combo's with that same cpu heat sink. Also just add the SSD of your choice to this build.

This build includes Windows 7, after market h/s (thermal paste included), dual factory over clocked gtx 560's in SLI, modular blue LED psu, 8gigs of low voltage RAM, etc...

That Asrock mother board down below will be on newegg within the next two weeks for the same price as listed down below.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ALI5KC/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER $109.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Antec Mid-Tower Gaming Case Nine Hundred Two V3

http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Truepower-TP-750-BLUE-Management/dp/B001RTPMM4/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1300244613&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.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-P67-EX4&title=ASRock-P67-Extreme4-LGA1155-Intel-P67-DDR3-Quad-SLI-Quad-CrossFireX-SATA3-USB3-0-A-GbE-ATX-Motherboard $153.99
ASRock P67 Extreme4 LGA1155/ Intel P67/ DDR3/ Quad SLI & Quad CrossFireX/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard - P67 EXTREME4

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.618217 Combo Discount: -$8.00 Combo Price: $241.98
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/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.604446 Combo Discount: -$15.00 Combo Price: $329.98
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
GIGABYTE GV-N560OC-1GI GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

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

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289 $17.99 FREE SHIPPING
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X 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 - Bulk - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.591429 Combo Discount: -$5.00 Combo Price: $149.98 FREE SHIPPING
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

Total: $1,422.88 *not including rebates, shipping, etc...

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 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

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

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129097 <---more pics, and reviews of that Antec 902 v3 used in this build

Haunted_Eagle · Mar 16, 2011

I'm trying to figure out why this build here is $1000 less than the original post build, it seems roughly similar... I think I'd actually prefer an i5 sandy bridge to an i7 sandy bridge because apparently it's equal or better for gaming at $100 cheaper.

Why_Me · Mar 16, 2011

Haunted_Eagle :

You just said it !!!

If only more peeps on here saw what you see. I'm dead serious on that remark.

The i5 actually does better in regards to gaming than the i7, it's cheaper, and that Gigabyte board I posted is complete over kill unless your going for a record o/c yet you will see peeps on this board with a $1,500 budget buying a $300+ mobo and screwing themselves on the vid cards, amongst other components.

Haunted_Eagle · Mar 16, 2011

Gotcha. I'm not planning to do huge overclocking due to the fact that I'm not experienced at all in this, though I want to get the most out of my hardware. With the build you placed here is there anything you'd change within a $2500 budget that'd get the most performance out of the budget?

Why_Me · Mar 16, 2011

Haunted_Eagle :

Nope for the fact your going to go over the $2,000 mark when you add the monitor and SSD to that build. That build though is going to give you a crap load of FPS in games, and that's what it's all about.

Why_Me · Mar 16, 2011

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209011 <--- Here's a blue LED fan for the side of that case I posted. The link I posted to newegg on that case shows where you can add another two 120mm fans to that case.

Haunted_Eagle · Mar 16, 2011

Hell yes. 😛 Sounds great, I'll mix and match a bit between the two builds a bit to find something that really works for me

It seems as though a full tower might be a bit better than a half tower as far as cooling/ease of construction/expandability goes so I'll look into all of this, thanks a lot!

Why_Me · Mar 16, 2011

Haunted_Eagle :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.612643 Combo Discount: -$28.00 Combo Price: $371.98
Antec Lanboy air Blue Black / Blue Computer Modular Case
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129100 <--- full tower blue LED ...cheaper @ amazon though with the free shipping.

Haunted_Eagle · Mar 16, 2011

Gotcha, thanks so much!

Haunted_Eagle · Mar 16, 2011

Best answer selected by Haunted_Eagle.

$2500 Gaming Desktop Build

Distinguished

Distinguished

Distinguished

Titan

Distinguished

Titan

Distinguished

Distinguished

Titan

Distinguished

Distinguished

Titan

Distinguished

Titan

Distinguished

Titan

Distinguished

Titan

Titan

Distinguished

Titan

Distinguished

Distinguished

Share this page