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 Good 'ol Win7 64bit for this.
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 Good 'ol Win7 64bit for this.