Dream Build $2500 - From a Veteran

ddan49

Honorable
Mar 13, 2012
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11,860
Hello, tomshardware community!

So I've been looking at hardware for a while, and am about to build my new computer (unfortunately, not this one... my budget was $800). Anyway, I saw a LOT of dream builds before IB and Kepler, but not many afterwards. I decided to make MY dream build (opinionated)... practical. Meaning no 512GB SSDs in RAID ;)

So after I got done, I realized that the final tally came up to a pretty even $2500... which I would guess is the highest anyone would reasonably go for a GAMING build. Anyway, here's the build with reasoning:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.98 @ NCIX US)
No comment here. Pretty basic, overclockable i7. I don't need Extreme because it's not necessary... this performs almost as well for a fraction of the price.
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
I decided to keep it a little on the quiet side. No, no Corsair H100 here guys ;)
Alternatively, I'd build a custom liquid cooling system with RAM, GPU, CPU, and all of that... but this might be a little difficult for the average user.
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z77 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($229.99 @ NCIX US)
What can I say? I like ASUS when I can afford it, and Sabertooth is nice.
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($174.95 @ B&H)
Why so expensive? The DDR3-1866... I figured, why not? Alternatively, DDR3-1600 is the sweet spot with CAS8 being nice as well.
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
A couple of those in RAID.
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($199.99 @ B&H)
Good 'ol M4 for a boot SSD. Why not a higher-powered one? Unnecessary... the loading time's not gonna get THAT much better (although that defeats the reasoning for my RAM, doesn't it?)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 690 4GB Video Card ($1007.86 @ Newegg)
Oh, c'mon... yummy
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black/Orange) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.98 @ Newegg)
Personal preference and aesthetics. For performance, the ThermalTake Level 10 GT would be better (I think that's what it's called, anyway)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 950W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
C'mon... a cheap, silver, reputable PSU. Non-modular, though.
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Basic Blu-Ray
Total: $2512.70
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

I forgot to remove a 16.99 optical from the linked version, by the way. So, basically, tell me what you think! I like it, and some components can be changed (CPU cooler, case, and possibly the PSU. Optical). Obviously, this would run on Mac OS X Lion... just kidding :kaola: Good 'ol Win7 64bit for this.
 
1: well since you are blowing 2500 dollars, i7 makes some sense although you do know that i5s perform the same
2:for the motherboard, if you want to go even more extreme, the asus p8z77 ws can support quad gpus. if not, the gigabyte ud5h has the same features as the sabertooth for a cheaper price. but then again its your cash
3:western digital back drives perform a bit better or the seagate barracuda 1tb 64mb
4: vertex 4 has been pretty good lately and is pretty darn fast. also known to be waaaay more reliable than the vertex 3
5:id rather blow the money on the asus directcu2 680s. they are triple slot beasts. then again, having a 690 looks awesome
6: take a look at this psu. looks better and is modular too
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=62224&vpn=P1750BNLG9&manufacture=XFX


btw if you are to go with the WS board, get a xl-atx case like the phantom or the p280 from antec
im jealous at your build
 
I WIN


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119257 $129.99 FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER HAF XM RC-922XM-KKN1 Black Mesh, Plastic, Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Side Fan

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-R4-LUS-07AB-GP-MegaFlow-200mm/dp/B002FRLEIS/ref=sr_1_11?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1339811950&sr=1-11&keywords=Case%2BFan $17.22 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Cooler Master Computer Case Cooling R4-LUS-07AR-GP (Red) 200mm Megaflow

Top Fan

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-R4-LUS-07AB-GP-MegaFlow-200mm/dp/B002FRLEIS/ref=sr_1_11?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1339811950&sr=1-11&keywords=Case%2BFan $17.22 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Cooler Master Computer Case Cooling R4-LUS-07AR-GP (Red) 200mm Megaflow

http://www.amazon.com/Seasonic-M12II-750-BRONZE-Power-Supply/dp/B00607JN1E/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1339811582&sr=1-1&keywords=SeaSonic+M12II+750+SS-750AM $129.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
SeaSonic M12II 750 SS-750AM 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Semi-modular Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.977659 $279.98 save: $15.00
ASRock Z77 Extreme6 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504 $229.99 FREE SHIPPING
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=N82E16835103176 $66.00 FREE SHIPPING
Cooler Master TPC 812 RR-T812-24PK-R1 120mm Sleeve with Dual Vertical Vapor Chamber TPC 812 CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226245 $61.99 FREE SHIPPING
Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model 997015

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-AD-7280S-0B-Internal-Drive-Black/dp/B0057FRTPW/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1339811443&sr=1-2 $17.99 Free Standard Shipping (3-5 days)
Sony AD-7280S-0B 24x SATA Internal DVD+/-RW Drive (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006EKIQYM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER $437.68 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
SanDisk Extreme SSD 480GB SATA 6.0 Gb-s 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive- SDSSDX-480G-G25

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AS-670DC2G $424.99 Free Shipping
ASUS NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB DDR5 2DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card - GTX670-DC2-2GD5

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AS-670DC2G $424.99 Free Shipping
ASUS NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB DDR5 2DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card - GTX670-DC2-2GD5


Total: $2,238.03 *not including shipping & rebates



http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Premium-64bit-System-Builder/dp/B004Q0PT3I/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_c $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack
 

ddan49

Honorable
Mar 13, 2012
1,549
0
11,860
Well then... I guess I've got some input :)

Just so you guys know, I will probably edit the original to show what different people have added. Not now, 'cause I'm too tired, but it'll go up there. I see your point about the i7 vs i5, but I was fairly sure (although not certain) that you could just turn off HT... it never made a difference because I only recommend the i7 for media/video editing builds, and stick with i5s for gaming.
 

ddan49

Honorable
Mar 13, 2012
1,549
0
11,860
Um... guys, I'm not buying this build. It's just a theoretical dream build.

Ah... frozonic... how am I going to get better than ASUS Sabertooth? Like... that's overkill as it is.
 

Like the big troll pointed out, if you wanted to run two of those 690's you would want a board that ran dual cards @ x16. The Asus WS Revolution and the Asrock extreme9 are two boards that do that...although it still gets narrowed down to 16 lanes once it hits the cpu. Socket LGA 2011 would be ideal for two of those cards... 32 lanes on the cpu instead of the 16 lanes that a 1155 cpu will read.