Gaming Build ~ $1500

[senladar01]

Hello,

I'm am currently putting together what I'm hoping to be a solid gaming build for the next few years that has no problems running current games but I'm not sure on a few of my choices...

Budget is about $1500

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Motherboard:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=61183

CPU:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=57960

Power Supply:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=58863 (It's on sale for $160)

Ram:
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=55544&vpn=996770&manufacture=Mushkin%20Enhanced&promoid=1300 x2

Video Card:
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=58348&vpn=01G-P3-1563-AR&manufacture=eVGA SLI

OR

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=59610&vpn=HD695XCNFC&manufacture=XFX&promoid=1300 Cross Fire

OR

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=56600&vpn=015-P3-1582-AR&manufacture=eVGA

OR

????

Case:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=29812

HDD:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=49591&promoid=1300

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=53309

 

[gkay09]

^ Good choices of parts,... Some suggestions -

CPU - The i7 is not required for gaming,... Even the i5 2500K would do, also you can overclock it pretty high later on when you feel you would need more CPU power
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=57962&vpn=BX80623I52500K&manufacture=Intel

Mobo - Even these are good enough for SLI/ Crossffire with decent overclock headroom and features...
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=61200&vpn=P8Z68-V&manufacture=ASUS
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=59317&vpn=P8P67%20PRO%20REV%203%2E0&manufacture=ASUS

RAM - Better for overclocking
Mushkin 1600Mhz
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=60640&vpn=996995&manufacture=Mushkin%20Enhanced

CASE - Get a newer one
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=60883&vpn=SGC-1000-KWN1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER

PSU - Why 1250W ??
Get this
Corsair AX850, actually even the 750W would have sufficed, but this is on weekly sale and also offers more headroom
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=53719&vpn=CMPSU-850AX&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1300

Video card options -
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=60803&vpn=01G-P3-1567-KR&manufacture=eVGA&promoid=1300
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=58347&vpn=01G-P3-1561-AR&manufacture=eVGA&promoid=1300
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=63290&vpn=H695QNT2G2M&manufacture=HIS

The 560 Ti and 6950 are pretty similar when it comes to performance, so see which plays your favorite game better, choose that,...

 

[senladar01]

Hmm alright, thank you!

Do you think the SLI/CrossFire is worth it, or just grab a 580 and be done with it?

 

[gkay09]

^ Depends on the game,... If the game supports SLI/ Crossfire well, then the cards in SLI/ Crossfire would easily outperform the 580,...
Also nearly all the current and future games support SLI/ Crossfire so IMO it is worth to go for it,... Or you can get a GTX 570 and upgrade to another one later on,... It is about 10-15% slower than the 580, but is much cheaper and consumes less power than the 580,...
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=58573&vpn=012-P3-1571-KR&manufacture=eVGA&promoid=1300
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=59008&vpn=012-P3-1573-AR&manufacture=eVGA

But its your call though,...

 

[senladar01]

Updated build...

HDD:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=49591&promoid=1300

SSD:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=53309

CPU:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=57962

Mobo:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=59317

Ram:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=60640&promoid=1300 x2

Case:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=60883

PSU:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=53719&promoid=1300

Video Card:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=58573&promoid=1300

Total: $1380 + Tax

 

[gkay09]

^ Why you getting 2 RAM kits? IMO 8GB would suffice(actually a bit overkill) for a gaming build,... So just get 8GB for now,... Anyways you can add more RAM if you want to later on,...

 

[Zero_]

Agree with the i5 2500k. AFAIK, the HD6950 scales better in CF?

Check my sig build as well.

 

[homiezheadsup]

z68 chipset would be the preferred card

 

[senladar01]

Thoughts on this package?

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.720006

Seems like a solid setup for a really good price, just need to add a video card and an SSD and we're good to go!

I'm basically set on Nvidia & eVGA (Personal preference) but I'd love to get your thoughts on:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130590

 

[senladar01]

Anyone got any thoughts on the last build I posted? I'm planning on ordering it soon and I just want to make sure I'm not overlooking something completely obvious!

 

[JackNaylorPE]

1st Suggestion - The name of the component is more important than the link .... ideally provide both but if you are only going to do one, the name will save us the Repetitive Stress Injury clicking on all the links.

GFX Card - I wouldn't spend the extra money on the 570. The 900 Mhz 560 is way cheaper and is right on its heels in performance. You can also get away w/ a 750 watt power supply w/ twin 560's.

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=60803
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=58348

SSD - Vertex 2 is last generation.....I don't see the cost savings for "old tech" being worth the speed crimp

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=58348

HD - recognize that "green" = slow.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/2tb-hdd-caviar,2261-4.html

This is it: the world’s first 2 TB or 2,000 GB hard drive. It is not a high-performance 7,200 RPM drive, but a 5,400 RPM energy-efficient drive .... Western Digital doesn’t talk about its actual spindle speeds and prefers to refer to IntelliPower, which is the marketing name for the balance between spindle speed, transfer rate, and caching algorithms, as part of its effort to design drives with the best balance between performance and power consumption. Insiders still say the speed is 5,400 RPM.

They ain't cheap but I'm finding the 2TB and 3TB Barracuda XT's to be stellar performers. Game load times for the Vertex 3 and off the XT in my son's new box are comparable in my tests.

http://www.ncix.com/search/?categoryid=0&q=Barracuda+XT

$10 cheaper on newegg $140 for 2TB and $200 for 3TB as compared to ncix's $170 and $210

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=Barracuda+XT&x=0&y=0

As to the last build, I like the previously posted one better. As for the GTX 580 for $480 .... I don't think so. Ya 850 watt PSU is a great one but it won't do twin 580's so future SLI there is outta the picture. On the other hand, you can get twin 900 Mhz 560 Ti's for less than a single 580, you can power both w/ a 750 watter and they will toast the single 580.

Guru3D uses the following games in their test suite, COD-MW, Bad Company 2, Dirt 2, Far Cry 2, Metro 2033, Dawn of Discovery, Crysis Warhead. Total fps (summing fps in each game @ 1920 x 1200) for the various options in parenthesis (single card / SL or CF) are tabulated below along with their cost in dollars per frame single card - CF or SLI:

$ 220.00 560 Ti - 900 Mhz (495/862)
$ 320.00 570 (524/873)
$ 480.00 580 (616/953)

So for $480, you can get a single 580 and get 616 fps. Twin 560 Ti's at the factory set 900 Mhz gets you 862 fps (40% increase in speed) for $40 less. Jumping to twin 580s at $960 gets you 11% more than the twin 560's but at more than 220% of the 560's cost since ya gotta buy a bigger PSU

I'd also add a CPU cooler such as the Mugen 2 or 3

$50 Mugen 3 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185168
$40 Mugen 2 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142

And I'd read these:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1578110
http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/overclocking/39184-p67-sandy-bridge-overclocking-guide-beginners.html#post110904
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/nvidia_asus_gtx560ti/4.htm