First gaming rig, need help :)

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RickOSh3a

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Aug 26, 2011
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OK so I've come up with a decent build I think should be more than sufficient enough to handle BF3 at maximum settings. I'd very much appreciate your advice, please suggest any possible swaps and the reason to do so.

Part list permalink: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TUj
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.95 @ Amazon)

CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H60 74.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.88 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($173.99 @ Newegg)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.99 @ Amazon)

Hard Drive: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($199.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 570 1.25GB Video Card ($312.55 @ Newegg)

Case: Corsair 650D ATX Mid Tower Case ($169.99 @ Newegg) [Already bought for $150.00]

Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($153.98 @ Newegg)

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222AB DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $1445.30

1) With regards to the graphics card, as an alternative I was thinking about swapping for two GTX 560's Ti's (likely need to upgrade the PSU?). Would this swap be overkill?

2) Also I was thinking about swapping the Mobo, for something that supports triple channel memory, would this be much of an increase in performance for gaming?

Let me know what you think, any thoughts are appreciated :)
 
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Pretty good...

CPU Cooler - The H60 won't get you much more cooling performance than the $28 Hyper 212+ air cooler will. Water cooling is cool and all, but the performance per dollar just isn't there. Adding a second 120mm fan to the Hyper 212+ in a push / pull configuration would be even better.

HD - Swap the WD Green for the faster, more reliable Samsung F3 1TB. $60 at Newegg.

GPU - Single GTX 570 is pretty solid. Dual GTX 560Ti would be pretty nice also, but limits your upgrade path. I would say stick with the 570 and plan on adding a second in SLI down the road. 750w is plenty of power for either of those cards in SLI.

MB / MEM - No Sandy Bridge setup will support tripple channel memory. Install them in pairs to take advantage of the dual channel memory controllers.
 
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Looks good. As others have pointed out upgrade your storage drive to 7200 RPM's. I also agree with sadams about going with an air cooler versus that H50 with the puny radiator. I realize those watercooling kits are all the rage right now, but unless you go with an H80 or H100 you're really not cooling any more efficiently than you would with a good 120mm fan cooled heatsink. While the H80 and H100 provide good overclocking cooling, you trade that off with NOISE (pump + multiple fans running at high RPM's).

Just something to think about and research.

GTX 570 is more than enough card for you, no need to go SLi when you have one of those. What resolution are you gaming at?

if 1680 x 1050 or 1920x1080 you might even consider downgrading slightly to a single 560 for now and start putting some pennies away for the next gen of cards that should be coming out early 2012. Should be able to run BF3 at max settings with either card though you might have to have low AA and AF settings to keep a high, steady frame rate (not that you really need lots of AA at such high resolutions). Depends on how much of a videophile you are. I'm usually content with 2xAA whenever I game.

I was in the BF3 alpha and it ran smooth on my old ass GTX 260 at 1280 x 720 (on my 1680 x 1050 native res display). I actually started at 1680 x 1050 with low settings but preferred the lower res with higher visual settings. Ran smooth when all kinds of stuff was happening on screen. Once the game ships and with good driver support I'm sure that most video cards that have come out in the last year will be able to play it maxed out. Personally I'm going to be going with a 570 in my next build which I'm currently piecing together - I will be gaming at 1920 x 1080.

Good luck and have fun with your first build. See you on the battlefield! 😀
 
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The H60 will be a heck of a lot quieter than a CM 212 with 2 fans (push,pull). Also if your doing heavy overclocking, your gonna need 800w+. If you go with 560ti's then the 750w will be fine with overclocking.

Also this memory is on sale right now. CAs8. http://www.newegg.com/Special/ShellShocker.aspx?cm_sp=ShellShocker-_-20-231-445-_-08262011_1
 
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As others have said, the Corsair H60 is not worth the money, for half the price you can get a decent air cooler that offers similar performance, or pay similar price but get a high end air cooler.

If you do go for an air cooler, do check that the memory you have picked out actually works, as it has some rather high fins.

If the 2TB drive is purely for storage I see no problem in getting the one you have picked out. It is energy efficient and not as slow as some would lead you to believe.

Locking yourself into SLI when you could buy the GTX 570 and be happy with the perfomance, unless you want absolute max settings, and even then it is only Metro 2033 that is likely to give you problems, is something I would not do, and have myself bought the GTX 570 and is happy with it.

If you are already looking to go for a SLI setup, I would suggest you take a look at ANTEC HCG-900. You can read a review of it here.

Only socket 1366 CPUs support tripple channel.
 
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Thanks for the opinions so far guys.

1) With regards to the GPU, I think I'll stick with the GTX570, with the future possibility of upgrading to a SLI setup. Would you think there would be any problems with the 750W PSU or would I require an upgrade to support the SLI there?

2) The HD I picked mainly for more storage space and energy consumption, since I got a larger SSD to support my main applications. Will the lower speeds really be that noticeable? To the point were it would be worth it to downgrade to a faster 1TB drive?

Thanks again for the help, much appreciated.
 
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No, you should not have any trouble running SLI GTX 570 on that PSU, but if you are going to overclock both GPUs and CPU, you would get close, and considering the current price on the ANTEC I just find it a better buy.


Again, no, if it is purely for storage or to play full HD movies from it is plenty fast.
 
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1. CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ instead of Corsair H60
2. ASRock Z68 Gen3 MoBo with PCIe 3.0 slot
3. Samsung Spinpoint F4 2TB 7200rpm
4. 2 x XFX HD 6950's in Crossfire. You'll be left with a PCIe 3.0 slot. Buy one PCIe 3.0 card when they get released.
 
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