~2500$ Gaming Rig

[phun]

Approximate Purchase Date: This week?


Budget Range: 2000-2500 (If its over 2500 that would be fine, I'm just trying to avoid unnecessary overkill like with my last build)


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, photo editing, video editing, 3d modeling, and general usage.


Parts Not Required: (See below) I listed the parts below which I have already but I am unsure whether I want to purchase new parts or not.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com typically but I have shopped else where in the past.


Country of Origin: USA


Parts Preferences: I've had good experience in the past with Intel and Corsair products. I am open to other brands though. Full to Mid tower with a Intel CPU, side window, dual monitors, and great performance.


Overclocking: Maybe


SLI or Crossfire: Maybe


Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200 Possibly? I will be getting a new monitor. Possibly a Dell Ultrasharp


Additional Comments: I would like a window, cold cathode neon lighting, good cooling, temperature display, lots of storage, overclocking ability, and fast frame rates.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About 7-8 months ago I started a new build to replace my old one, but at the time I was only upgrading everything but the CPU, mobo, and ram. Long story short, in the process of putting it together either something happened with the mobo or the cpu and I could not get it to start again after its first initial start up. Since then I’ve been in and out of hospitals for most of that time but I want to finish the build.

Reusing:
2x Western Digital 150GB Veloci Raptor 10,000 RPM 16 MB Buffer

Bought 7 months ago:
EVGA GTX 580
LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support
LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDS118-04 - OEM
Corsair Graphite Series 600T Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
CORSAIR Hydro H70 CWCH70 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler
CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX850 (CMPSU-850AX) 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active ...
AeroCool Touch-1000 Controller, Panel
Rosewill RCR-IC002 74-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port / Extra silver face plate

Current Ideal System:
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
EVGA GTX 580 (Possibly get another for SLI in future)
2x Western Digital Caviar Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Corsair Obsidian Series 650D (CC650DW-1) Black Steel structure with black brushed aluminum faceplate ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum Panel PRO-LCD-B Media Center Programmable LCD
CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX1200 (CMPSU-1200AX) 1200W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 SLI Certified 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
SABRENT CRW-UINB 68-in-1 USB 2.0 Internal Card Reader w/ USB 2.0 Port supports SDHC/VISTA
ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM
ASUS Black 18X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E818A7T/BLK/B/GEN - OEM
CORSAIR H80 (CWCH80) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
ASUS Xonar D2X 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card

Peripherals:
Logitech G9 Black 9 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB Wired Laser 3200 dpi Gaming Mouse
Logitech 920-000914 Black 106 Normal Keys USB Wired Ultra-thin Illuminated Keyboard


Thanks

 

[werbo]

First of all you don't need a 2600k, 2500k is fine for gaming as no games take advantage of hyper threading that much right now. Go with this hard drive : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185, even if you want 4 tb its cheaper than the caviar blacks and is faster in the long run
8 gb is the maximum you need for gaming right now: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314 or if you have to have 16 gb: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231429 its still cheaper than corsair

Cheaper motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131730 > there is very little difference between 16x and 8x when it comes to sli, and the difference isn't worth 100$+

And onboard audio is fine unless your an audiophile with very high end headphones, otherwise you can save your money buying a 200$ sound card because the onboard supports 7.1

You only need 1 dvd burner unless that wasn't a mistake

Also for keyboard and mouse I'd suggest the Razer Black Widow: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823114011
And for a mouse the Razer Death Adder: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153055

 

[greenrider02]

werbo I'd say with a budget like that he's welcome to get the best-of-class parts.

I agree about the sound card though, I would spend the extra $200 on a 256GB Crucial m4, as I've found that the space on my SSD disappears rather quickly 8/

Although I would also say that you should get a BD-DVD-CD combo drive for about $60 for all your disk needs unless you have an express need for 2 drives.

I also agree that you could look at some other keyboards, the black widow is great, but you may like the R.A.T. 9 mouse.

16GB of RAM is actually useful in several ways, first you can create a (~2GB) RAMdisk for your photoshooping needs, page file, and temporary files, then you can use fancycache to designate various amounts of RAM for caching your other drives and deferring writes to your SSD. I use a whole 4GB just to cache my boot SSD and defer writes for 30 seconds, plus another 256MB for each HDD (no defer writes).

I'm left with ~8GB after all of that... and it's very easy to set up.

Finally, with that case and the kind of system you're building, I would take a look into water cooling, which could be very beneficial for your GTX580(s) and would look very very cool in your side window compared to an H80 (or any cooling setup if done nicely). A high-end setup for your CPU and GPU may cost around $400, but would keep temps VERY low, suitable for serious overclocking.

May I ask what you're doing with all of the components you bought recently but are not using?

 

[phun]

First of all you don't need a 2600k, 2500k is fine for gaming as no games take advantage of hyper threading that much right now. Go with this hard drive : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185, even if you want 4 tb its cheaper than the caviar blacks and is faster in the long run
8 gb is the maximum you need for gaming right now: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314 or if you have to have 16 gb: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231429 its still cheaper than corsair

Cheaper motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131730 > there is very little difference between 16x and 8x when it comes to sli, and the difference isn't worth 100$+

And onboard audio is fine unless your an audiophile with very high end headphones, otherwise you can save your money buying a 200$ sound card because the onboard supports 7.1

You only need 1 dvd burner unless that wasn't a mistake

Also for keyboard and mouse I'd suggest the Razer Black Widow: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823114011
And for a mouse the Razer Death Adder: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153055

I went for the 2600k just based on performance. I did look at the Samsung HDD's along with the Hitachi but I have always had good experience with WD so I opted for those. 8GB of ram would probably be sufficient but due to its price I opted for the 16G instead of 8GB. I looked at the X-Jaw ram as well but have had good experience with Corsair as well which is why I opted for that for the most part.

The mobo I liked based on its quality and I/O variants, like the amount of USB 3.0 etc. I did also look at the ASUS V-PRO and that was the other mobo I am interested in. The dual x16 is a plus but I did not opt for it specifically for that. I think it was a total of a 4 fps gain if used versus the dual x8.

The onboard audio would suffice as well but I I've always had a separate audio card and after seeing reviews for the ASUS Xense I thought it would be a nice addition. I have Astro A40's which I enjoy very much which is another reason why I opted for it.

The dvd burner I really don't have a reason for, I think I was looking at a blu ray burner. As for the Razer keyboard and mouse, I chose the Logitech because I've owned several before and had good experience. I liked the thin profile due to my last keyboard which had the same profile. I've always looked at Razer products and wondered but have never actually tried any.

That is more or less why I chose what I did.

 

[phun]

werbo I'd say with a budget like that he's welcome to get the best-of-class parts.

I agree about the sound card though, I would spend the extra $200 on a 256GB Crucial m4, as I've found that the space on my SSD disappears rather quickly 8/

Although I would also say that you should get a BD-DVD-CD combo drive for about $60 for all your disk needs unless you have an express need for 2 drives.

I also agree that you could look at some other keyboards, the black widow is great, but you may like the R.A.T. 9 mouse.

16GB of RAM is actually useful in several ways, first you can create a (~2GB) RAMdisk for your photoshooping needs, page file, and temporary files, then you can use fancycache to designate various amounts of RAM for caching your other drives and deferring writes to your SSD. I use a whole 4GB just to cache my boot SSD and defer writes for 30 seconds, plus another 256MB for each HDD (no defer writes).

I'm left with ~8GB after all of that... and it's very easy to set up.

Finally, with that case and the kind of system you're building, I would take a look into water cooling, which could be very beneficial for your GTX580(s) and would look very very cool in your side window compared to an H80 (or any cooling setup if done nicely). A high-end setup for your CPU and GPU may cost around $400, but would keep temps VERY low, suitable for serious overclocking.

May I ask what you're doing with all of the components you bought recently but are not using?

I'm trying to keep the budget down as much as possible but everything I come up with a configuration for a new build it is generally in the 2000-2500 range so I have accepted that is how much I'll likely end up paying.

The sound card seemed like a good option but I guess I may reconsider. I opted for such a small SSD just based on the price of them, I figures I could just out the OS and maybe programs on it since I have the two velociraptors and the 4TB HDD's. I could opt for a larger one, it just really didn't seem necessary though, especially at the prices they are at currently.

The two drives I agree is not really necessary.

I will look around but I have grown quite fond of the slim profile keyboards.

I figured with the current price of ram it was worth it for 16GB plus I figured I would use it in some way shape or form eventually.

I did consider water cooling but since I have never really done anything with it before I figured it may be best to avoid it. Plus I wanted to try to keep it away from the 3000 mark which seemed to be pushed when i threw water cooling into the mix. It something that is definitely still on the table though.

The have been unused for the past 7 months. I figured I would either upgrade those parts in my old system and either give it to a family member, sell it, or use it for something. Or maybe just sell the parts as they are but I have not seem much interest where I have listed them.

 

[greenrider02]

well it seems like you have pretty much everything decided on, good luck!

 

[phun]

well it seems like you have pretty much everything decided on, good luck!

I have a general idea, definitely don't have everything decided on though.

 

[phun]

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[phun]

This is the set-up I'm looking at currently.

[115$](Owned)CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B (Bought for 145$, price dropped since, seeing if I can get the difference)
[200$]ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
[315$]Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K (Was 300$ on sale but I didn't purchase it, wasn't sure)
[330$]Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (Was also on sale for 200$, didn't purchase as I'm figuring out which to buy still)
[960$]2xEVGA GTX 580 (SLI now or in future, maybe 3GB version)
[360$](Owned)2x2x Western Digital Caviar Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (I bought two of these at a discounted price before making this thread, might return)
[190$]Corsair Obsidian Series 650D (CC650DW-1) Black Steel structure with black brushed aluminum faceplate ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (There was a deal for 20$ off a day ago but passed it up due to others suggestions)
[35$]nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum Panel PRO-LCD-B Media Center Programmable LCD
[190$](Owned)CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX850 (CMPSU-850AX) 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
[16$]SABRENT CRW-UINB 68-in-1 USB 2.0 Internal Card Reader w/ USB 2.0 Port supports SDHC/VISTA
[19$](Owned)LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM
[130$]LITE-ON 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner with 3D Playback iHBS212-08 LightScribe Support
[100$](Owned)Corsair Hydro Series H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CWCH80) (I linked the H80 because the H70 seems to have disappeared from Newegg)
[200$]ASUS Xonar D2X 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card (There are other alternatives I'm looking into that have been listed but I'm assuming I'll be spending some money on a sound card so I'm adding the largest amount)

This is without the peripherals, water cooling, and dual monitors. I am also considering changing out the 1GB GPU for the 3GB since it favors multiple displays.

If I did water cooling I'd take out the H70 and probably change the GTX580's for the Hydro versions EVGA GeForce GTX 580 3072MB Hydro Copper 2 (3GB version, 1GB is 700$).

The current questions I am addressing are:
Should I wait for the new Intel processors or the 600 series Nvidia GPU's this later in the year?
Should I sell the GTX 580 or add another for SLI? If so where?
Should I return the WD Caviar Blacks for the Samsung Spinpoints?
I think there were some others but I'm forgetting.

 

[Why_Me]

This Asrock board down below has the NF200 bride allowing for dual cards to run @ x16 & x16. It's new on the market (just came out a few days ago), and if it's anything like their other 1155 boards then it's a winner. This board also has the new PCI-E 3.0 slots for the new generation cards due out whenever.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157269 $289.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.695316 $357.98 FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z68%20Extreme7%20Gen3 <---- a better look at that ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?273907-**Official**-Asrock-Z68-Gen3-Extreme7-amp-Extreme4-thread

http://www.legitreviews.com/news/11080/

 

[Why_Me]

btw here's some top of the line gaming monitors to check out. 120hz refresh rate vs the normal 60hz and they are 3D enabled.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001475 $469.99
SAMSUNG S23A750D Black 23" 2ms Full HD 3D LED BackLight LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 DCR 1,000,000:1 (1,000:1)

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.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001474 $599.99
SAMSUNG S27A750D Black 27" 2ms Full HD 3D LED BackLight LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DCR 1,000,000:1 (1,000:1)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001472 $729.99
SAMSUNG S27A950D Black 27" 2ms Full HD 3D LED BackLight LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DCR 1,000,000:1 (1,000:1)

 

[phun]

This Asrock board down below has the NF200 bride allowing for dual cards to run @ x16 & x16. It's new on the market (just came out a few days ago), and if it's anything like their other 1155 boards then it's a winner. This board also has the new PCI-E 3.0 slots for the new generation cards due out whenever.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157269 $289.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.695316 $357.98 FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z68%20Extreme7%20Gen3 <---- a better look at that ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?273907-**Official**-Asrock-Z68-Gen3-Extreme7-amp-Extreme4-thread

http://www.legitreviews.com/news/11080/

I'll take a look at that board, it sounds very promising. I'm going to run through all the combos and see what deals I can get from all the parts I need. I'll take a look at that mobo.

Here is the final list of parts (Until I look at that mobo), Final Wishlist. I'm just going to use whatever combos and sales possible. That's everything, I already have the ram and the HDD's. I still need to settle on the parts for watercooling but I have it narrowed down, if anyone has any suggestions that would be great.

I am going to be selling the parts I currently have as I can't really use them now. Anyone know of a place besides Ebay?

I think I've covered everything unless anyone else has any ideas? I'm going to buy the parts tomorrow.

 

[phun]

btw here's some top of the line gaming monitors to check out. 120hz refresh rate vs the normal 60hz and they are 3D enabled.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001475 $469.99
SAMSUNG S23A750D Black 23" 2ms Full HD 3D LED BackLight LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 DCR 1,000,000:1 (1,000:1)

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.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001474 $599.99
SAMSUNG S27A750D Black 27" 2ms Full HD 3D LED BackLight LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DCR 1,000,000:1 (1,000:1)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001472 $729.99
SAMSUNG S27A950D Black 27" 2ms Full HD 3D LED BackLight LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DCR 1,000,000:1 (1,000:1)

Thanks for linking all of those monitors, I'm going to take a look at those in a bit. Monitors are the next thing I need to tackle.