Building 2 gaming Systems with and for Wife - want review please

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Vegittz

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Jul 19, 2013
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Ohlo all!

My wife an I are looking into building a twin pair of new gaming computers to play on. :love:

I have built a system over at pcparttracker.com, Found Here.

We play mostly WoW, and before your heart jumps out of your chest and slaps me through the internets, hear us out ;) . We are avid gamers, and would like to be able to try and enjoy any game that comes our way without hardware being an issue. Additionally, we would like these rigs to last a minimum of five(5) years.

I chose the i7 because I want a computer to keep up with my distracted thought process, allowing me to run not only streaming software, but potentially multiple games at once (read: wow in the background to manage the guild, while playing Starcraft 2 and not lagging so as to lose due to that).

The graphics card is available for debate, in the 3 previous systems I've built, I have been a geforce fanboi for no legitimate reason.

Our budget was originally $2k per system, and I'd love to hear an argument that can get me two for the price of one! ;)

Thank you in advance!:D
Your servants through Christ,
Kyle & Felicia


UPDATE1:
Thank you all for your quick responses! I noticed that ingtar33 mentioned the single monitor setup. I do intend on using a secondary monitor I already have on hand. Would this make a big difference between the AMD and the GeForce? I also noticed the speaker upgrade ;) slick! But, yes saving on cost, noise, and heat are definitely items of value to me!

My only other additional question, for now, is the case. I'm more into efficient and cool than aesthetically pleasing. Does anyone have any experience or guidance here?:heink:
 
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Swordkd

Swordkd

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Oct 3, 2012
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Slight tweaking.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($403.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Acer G246HLAbd 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: AZIO Large Print Tri-Color Illuminated Keyboard Wired Ergonomic Keyboard ($28.90 @ Amazon)
Speakers: Logitech Z313 25W 2.1ch Speakers ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1481.73
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-20 00:27 EDT-0400)

You've stated your reasons for wanting an I7, so I respect that, however, does your wife need the exact same setup? If you don't expect her to use her Pc to multi-task as much, you can save some money while keeping it functionally the same in-game. Also, how much fun do you want to have with the build? I chose a blue set-up for my rig, while my wife prefers red. There can be a lot of fun had matching parts to a color theme and making the machine truly *your own*.

Right now there is a very good reason to stick with nVidia. The 770 performs closely enough to the 7970 card that for the same price, it's my choice. They seem to get the same performance a little quieter while using less wattage too. Changed out the Ram for a cheaper version, same specs though. Cheaper HDD with the same specs as well. Cheaper Psu, slightly better quality too(tier 2b vs. tier 3). Cheaper monitor, slightly bigger with the same specs as well. I always recommend the same optic drive because of it's faster writes and wider range of compatibility for just a dollar more. I would switch the case to a Fractal Design Define R4 myself, but that's mainly a choice for personal preference.
 
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K

kirilmatt

Distinguished
May 6, 2013
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Pretty decent system! I wouldn't change anything really. Personally I would maybe drop the SSD, and get an FX over an i7 and get a better GPU, a 780 maybe. But that's just how I would spend the money. Very solid system.
 
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ingtar33

ingtar33

Glorious
Dec 17, 2012
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G45 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($93.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($355.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDC-207DBK Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($37.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($137.58 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: AZIO Large Print Tri-Color Illuminated Keyboard Wired Ergonomic Keyboard ($28.90 @ Amazon)
Speakers: Logitech Z313 25W 2.1ch Speakers ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1407.23
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-20 01:19 EDT-0400)

saved you a few hundred bucks, i think there is almost no change in the build overall, but it does save you some cash.
 
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ingtar33

ingtar33

Glorious
Dec 17, 2012
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i know. but op is gaming on a solo 1080p monitor with a 60hz refresh rate, he doesn't need more power (really he could do with less if he had to)... frankly the 670 is about as energy and temp efficient a high end gpu you can get. figured the op would like to save a little cash, lower the noise and heat in his case and stick to the nvidia gpus he likes.
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
Jul 27, 2011
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Why would you recommend all the old hardware and a set of Logitech tin can speakers on top of that? I would suggest this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($409.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1277.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-20 01:57 EDT-0400)

And then you can add whatever monitors and peripherals you want. The speakers built into your monitor are better than those Logitech tin cans.
 
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K

kirilmatt

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May 6, 2013
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If you're going to go down to the i5 then I would get the FX-8350. It would especially suit your workload because its 8 cores would be perfect for playing games and doing other stuff at the same time in the background. Otherwise stick with the i7-3770k if its cheaper then the 4770k. As I mentioned I would go for FX-8350+GTX 780 with your budget.
 
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Swordkd

Swordkd

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Oct 3, 2012
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I don't think you've read the original post. The 3770k is just fine, it's not worth spending 30 dollars more for the 4770k. I didn't pick out the speakers, they are from his original build, and honestly, I didn't pay any attention to them. If I had to guess actually, with him and his wife both playing WoW, I'd assume he's using a headset for raids anyways. Hard to deal with two sets of speakers and a microphone in raidcall or somesuch.

 
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