Efficient Crysis 3 Gaming System , (no heat), Pre-built or build for $700-800

[KBros9]

Hello,

I am about to return my ideapad Y410p. Will be traveling to a hot country and worried that the machine is already very hot when playing Metro 2033.

I Thought of:
1- buying a Dell XPS 8700 core i5 ($650)+ add a good GPU ($150 may be)
2-Build a system from scratch on a tight budget.

I would like to play crysis at 1080p res. if possible. If not FPS should be at least around 30-40. (I am new to gaming).
preferably spend $700 or less because I will be also buying laptop for browsing.
Also, I am curious if it is possible to get an energy efficient system that will run cool (no heating issues since it will be hot where I am going).

Basically I am trying to get the best performance, under energy/heat and budget constraints: The most efficient sytem.

I am also willing to consider basic tweaks (I am not an expert) to save power and avoid heat, underclocking etc...

Thank you in advance.

Kbros9

 

[KBros9]

I read that AMD chips are the strategic choice when you want solid performance but with emphasis on GPU. But their CPUs seem more power hungry and with higher TDP/heat....

I was thinking that Haswell chips were a good choice for low power/efficiency, while providing enough oomph for gaming... Why did no one mention those ... Too pricey? ... I thought that would help futureproof a bit.

 

[Shawna593767]

My Xeon CPU is recognized in the computer as an I7, so don't get confused with the LGA2011 ones. True, the power supply could be lowered to a Seasonic Gold power supply, and truly Seasonic can't be beat in quality. 2x4gb Kits of RAM cost around 56$+ so just throw that in there. The 760 will be faster, but the 7950 has a much higher overclocking headroom (which you may never use). And heck if you can afford a 760, by all means put it in my build they have great performance for the price.

 

[Power eater]

2x4 gb corsair XMS or G.skill low voltage sniper are my favorite

 

[Shawna593767]

Like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($265.66 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $819.59
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-30 08:58 EDT-0400)

 

[Power eater]

where is the storage? 120 gb isnt enough.. deja vou

 

[Shawna593767]

It said 850$ at PCPartPicker so I don't know.
That SSD is more expensive than a Western Digital Black 1TB, so just choose speed or capacity.

(I see the reason, it adjusted the CPU to a microcenter pick up only price.)

 

[Power eater]

id prefer caviar black 1tb over 120 gigs of super fast storage

 

[Someone Somewhere]

I'd avoid Caviar Blacks, they're barely faster than a Blue or any other 7200RPM drive for a fair bit more $$$.

FX is getting good at performance per dollar, but performance per watt is still hopeless. I'd avoid it in your case, because it's just yet more heat for aircon to remove.

 

[Power eater]

I dont think your gonna overclock so id take this :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($103.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($69.30 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($317.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($45.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($14.94 @ Newegg)
Total: $817.22
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-31 07:34 EDT-0400)

7950 favors Crysis as far as i remember and why an intel Xeon even if crysis is cpu dependent the i5 is a great cpu so that should be enough for it.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

That's an in-store only deal on the CPU.

Xeons are just normal CPUs with a few extra features turned on (or off, if they don't have an iGPU). Sometimes can be a good deal.

PS: Could you use the edit button rather than posting several times in a row? It kind of clogs up the forum.

 

[Power eater]

oh right sorry. i was told about that already...

 

[KBros9]

Thank you Power Eater and Thanks every one! I will go with your last build. This is great! I might add the Hyper 212 EVO since I am obsessed with overheating in gaming session.

If anyone has suggestions to improve it I am open, but I think this makes a strong case in its own.

Thanks again

 

[KBros9]

I dont think your gonna overclock so id take this :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($103.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($69.30 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($317.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($45.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($14.94 @ Newegg)
Total: $817.22
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-31 07:34 EDT-0400)


7950 favors Crysis as far as i remember and why an intel Xeon even if crysis is cpu dependent the i5 is a great cpu so that should be enough for it.

Thank you!

 

[KBros9]

I also wanted to ask what diagnostic tools do you use to test that monster CPU, GPU etc...
Is there way to log all events in case of crash so i can trace back the problem (I read somewhere that some motherboards give you that access/data even after system crash).

Also do I need to purchase accessories or products such as thermal paste or will it come in the box?

 

[Someone Somewhere]

You won't need any other accessories (except a screen+keyboard+mouse, and maybe speakers if you want them).

You can use something like MSI Kombuster to test your GPU, and Prime95 to test your CPU. You shouldn't need to though unless you OC (though if you undervolt you'll want to). They apply a worst-case really tough load, so if it's stable there it's stable everywhere.

 

[Power eater]

Your welcome 😀

 

[KBros9]

You won't need any other accessories (except a screen+keyboard+mouse, and maybe speakers if you want them).

You can use something like MSI Kombuster to test your GPU, and Prime95 to test your CPU. You shouldn't need to though unless you OC (though if you undervolt you'll want to). They apply a worst-case really tough load, so if it's stable there it's stable everywhere.

Awesome!
Thanks!