800$ Gaming Build

[psychoholicx]

Approximate Purchase Date: Within a month


Budget Range: 800$ before rebates


System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, surfing the internet, watch movies.


Parts Not Required: everything but GPU, CPU, PSU, MoBo, RAM


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com


Overclocking: Maybe


SLI or Crossfire: Maybe


Monitor Resolution: Single Monitor setup at 1680x1050


Additional Comments: I'd like to use this setup for a long time. Don't plan on upgrading anytime soon again.



I've looked at these parts so far and I'd like to know if there will be any problems that I've overlooked and if there are better alternatives.

CPU
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
GPU:
GeForce GTX 570 HD
MoBo:
MSI P67A-G43
PSU:
Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3
Memory:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM

 

[jeremy1183]

Your selection looks pretty good. You have chosen one of the best cpu on the market. It also gives you the option of overclocking to help keep up with future cpu's to be released....so the need of not having to upgrade for a while is good on that end.

You cant beat that price for the ram that you have chosen...Cas 7 ddr3 1333 is pretty much the same as cas 9 ddr3 1600. You might even be able to get that RAM to reach 1600 but might have to back off the timings a little.

The PSU you selected is powerful enough....you might want to look at some reviews of it and see how it hold up under testing. One thing you could look in to is a modular psu...it will help you keep your build cleaner without all the extra cables.....plus if you dont have a case with good cable routing a modular will help with air flow as the cables will not be in the way.

 

[psychoholicx]

Thank you for your input. There is one more question that I have:

Wouldn't it be better to get this GPU twice? Would I need to get a better PSU?
Radeon HD 6850 1GB
Like I said, I'm just trying to play the currently released games at the best quality possible while keeping the 800$ budget. I'm just using a single 1650x1080 monitor.
Also, I'm not trying to upgrade anytime soon again.

 

[enorix]

1650x1080 can be run more than fine on the GTX 570. It's even slightly overkill. Matter of fact, you could even downgrade to something like the HD 6950 1GB version or even the HD 6870.

My advice would be to grab an HD 6870. For your gamig needs, it's as good as you can get, without bursting your money out the window too early. The 650W psu will handle the xfire configuration at a later time without worries

 

[jeremy1183]

6850 crossfire is fine with a 650 watt psu. I would get the second card but remember that all games do not support crossfire/sli so you would get better performance with just one card in games that don't support

 

[Why_Me]

You have a board up there that's meant for dual vid cards, and a psu that will only push one of those cards. You can get a cheaper board with a single PCI-E slot or upgrade on your psu.

Better yet, get a 560ti and a 750 psu with this board down below so that you have the option of adding another one of those cards later on.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 $129.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.717976 $453.98 - $20.00 Mail In Rebates(
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
ASUS ENGTX560 TI DCII TOP/2DI/1GD5 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=N82E16817371049 $89.99 - $64.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065 $27.99 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.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z68%20Extreme3%20Gen3 <--- A better look at that Asrock board.

 

[psychoholicx]

Thank you very much for your time to help me out here.

I like your idea and I'll certainly keep it in mind. I have already saved all the hardware pieces to bookmarks.

I don't plan on upgrading any time soon. (~5 years) That includes getting a second GPU at a later point. Or do you think getting a 2nd GPU with the 560ti will be a reasonable and cheap upgrade in 2 years?

If I got a single 560ti, would that be a bottleneck in games, considering the CPU?
If yes, should I stick with the 570 then and get a cheaper motherboard and stay with the PSU?

 

[jeremy1183]

the 2500k cpu and the 560 ti will have no bottleneck. If you can afford the 570 I would go for it....cheaper in the end for an sli config would be the 560...depends on you...performace wise both in sli will beat 580.

 

[psychoholicx]

Alright thank you very much for all your help

 

[psychoholicx]

Best answer selected by psychoholicx.