Gaming Build Advice for a first time builder

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Dr Clockworks

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Dec 6, 2011
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Hello, everyone! As the title of this thread reads, I am needing some help with my build.

Purchase Date: As of right now I am planning on purchasing every part of the build during the second week in January.

Budget: I'd like to keep it at $1000.00 but if it seems like this isn't enough then I can go a little higher. So I'd cap it off at $1,200.00

System Usage: It will almost be entirely for gaming. The only games I won't play on it will be FPS. I'd rather play FPS games on a console. The majority of games that I will be playing will be MMORPG games, such as Star Wars: The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2. A few RPG games, such as Skyrim and The Witcher 2. And a few other games with interesting multiplayer like LoL and DoTa 2. I know that The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2 haven't been released yet so I guess with MMORPG games the most difficult to run as of right now would be Rift? I've been out of PC gaming for quite a while now so I'm not really sure.

Parts Not Required: Mouse, Keyboard, Speakers. The OS will be Win7 home 64 bit.

Country: United States

Parts Preference: I have almost no preference as of right now. I've been back and forth between AMD and Intel for the past 3 months that I feel that I really don't have a clue.

Preferred website: I'd really like to get everything from Newegg. I live in a very rural community so there are no retail shops that I know of where I could buy any of my components. Other than a Best Buy but from what I looked at they didn't have much of a selection of anything.

Overclocking: Maybe for the CPU but I won't OC anything else.

SLI/Crossfire: Maybe in the near future. But for now I am only looking to use one card.

Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050

Comments: I really want a large case. Plenty of room for future upgrades, fans, and a nice window to view it all. So far the Cooler Master HAF X is what I'm set on at the moment. If anyone has any opinions on it or a better case please do say so. Multiple large fans and LED's are a must. I do love my flashy lights.

I pretty much need advice on every component. I understand what each part does and I understand what most of the details on each component mean but since this is my first build I really don't know anything in terms of build quality or performance from certain brands as compared to others.

I really appreciate any help that I can get on this subject! Please let me know if I left anything important out or you may just ask!
 
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Hopefully when it gets closer to the Holidays that Newegg might have some special deals and such. If so I might buy some parts instead of buying everything at once, even though I would rather buy it all at the same time.

What do you guys think about Crossfire with two of these cards? I'm not really big on using more than one card but I like the idea of it. So I might eventually.

Edit: One thing I forgot to ask, Why a 6870 instead of an Nvidia card like a 560 Ti?
 
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Hm.. how much better would a 560 Ti compare to a 6870? And does anyone have any opinions as to which manufacturer for AMD cards is the best? If a 560 Ti is substantially better than the 6870 then I might go ahead and get one of those just to future proof myself further.
 
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Woo.. I used that to compare the two and the 560 didn't seem too much better. Which manufacturer should I purchase from? I've been thinking on either XFX, Sapphire, or Diamond. Personally, I love the way that Diamond makes there cards look. What do you think?
 
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Sweet then! I'll look through both of the brands on Newegg and see which one I like the best. Unless you guys have a preference on like a type of cooler or look?

As soon as I choose my GPU I think I'm all set! Thank all of you very, very much for all of your help. is there anything else that any one would upgrade if they could in this build? I can always put back more money for it.
 
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You have got some really great advice so far and all of your parts look good including the gpu you just linked.

I have noticed however that no one has suggested any other mobo's besides the asrock mentioned earlier. This is a very good mobo and I am not trying to dis the suggestion to get it, however if you are looking for another choice, consider these as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131729

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131759


Asus makes a very good quality board, and the maximus above is from the republic of gamers line considered the best of the best. It has many gaming features and you would be extremely pleased with it.
Most of the rog boards are quite expensive but they have kept this one to a not only realistic level , but considering the features of the board, a down right steal.
Over the last 6 months I have built 15 computers for neighbors, friends, and customers. After seeing my maximus, 13 of those had me build one with it. The other two used the other board I linked and while happy with it they wished they had went with the rog board.
 
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I would really love to have a Republic of Gamers Mobo. I bought a Asus G73-JH ROG Gaming Laptop from Best Buy back in July of 2010 but it's GPU fan went out on in July of this year so I returned it to Best Buy and they trashed it without my permission. It was a fantastic gaming machine and I would love to have more ROG components, however I am not looking to spend this much on a Mobo unless it has something that will just really blow me away. Perhaps you can tell me of your experience with it and a few of its features that make it stand out from other boards in terms of gaming?

Also, are their any other products that you would recommend besides a mother board? I was thinking of switching the PSU that was recommended by Cutebeans because it isn't modular. Although, a perfect PSU for this! Unless you guys don't think having a modular PSU is a much better decision over a non-modular PSU?

Another thing I was going to ask everyone is are their any other components that you think I should add? Like a sound card?

Edit: I am going to be building all of this in a very large case so I will need PSU cables that will have plenty of length. I only say this because I read some reviews on Newegg where people had some difficulties in having hteir cables reach ports on their Motherboard.
 
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sure , first since you mentioned a sound card, the maximus mobo is equiped with onboard sound blaster 5.1 you would have no need for additional audio unless you wanted to do audio mixing and lay soundtrax etc.

As far as gaming you can read all about the board here
http://www.asusrog.com/ASUS_Maximus_IV%20Gene-Z.html

Just to name a couple of features you wont find on any other board (except maybe another ROG) There is ROG CONNECT which allows you to connect another computer or laptop via a special usb port on the back of the board so that you can tweak timings and o.c. settings from the other computer during gaming.
There are I think 5-4pin fan connectors on board that if used allow you to set smart fan control settings.
There is a game First software that allows setting ping times for gaming etc. and allows you to set favorability to certain gaming apps etc. it allows traffic shapingand allows calibration of lines for better communication in game.

it has mem tweak it software for unlimited adjustment on ram settings

The lucid virtue technology gives your discreet gpu a break between games by using the on processor graphics in the i5 cpu. most z68 boards will have this function however.

There are more features I know aren't exclusive to this board but what has made it stand out to me is the simplicity of overclocking and mostly the stability achieved from better components.

I like this for modular psu, The 850w may seem a bit much but if you decide to sli later you will be glad for it. The price is not bad for 850w antec
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371024
 
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That is an amazing Mobo. Since I only plan to SLI/Crossfire 2 cards I think I will go ahead and grab it. Although, since it is a Micro ATX board I will get a smaller case than the Cooler master HAF X. Do you have any recommendations as to which case to get? Just keep in mind that I would really love to have plenty of fans. I can always add LED fans but I just need plenty of air flow.
 
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Unless I can get some extensions for my PSU cables. Or maybe I don't need them? I just really don't want to get this in, have something not long enough so I can't connect it, and then have to wait another week for just a few cables to finish my build.
 
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Good case metioned above. I have a coolermaster storm scout and it is very efficient as well. No need to go to small with the case, so that you can leave a little room for airflow.
Keep in mind that with this mobo you WILL be able to sli your cards if you want to but you wont have allot of room between the two, This shouldn't be a problem if you have good airflow. I dont like to sli anyway because I dont see the need unless you are going to go with giant or dual monitors. I would just rather get a larger single card if need be. Besides there are sometimes micro studdering issues when you sli, as well as the fact that you spend twice the money for roughly 1 1/2 the performance.
 
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The ASRock is great as well. Don't get me wrong, both are good motherboards, but if you go with the HAF X, I would get a full ATX motherboard. Also the ASRock has PCIE 3.0, although that isn't a huge deal, as you would need a new graphics card and CPU to use it. (neither are out yet) Lots of people are fine with crossfire, but than again some have horrible issues with it. It uses more power, and has microstuttering (google it) issues on some games. The ROG connect is not used by many though and is more of an elite overclocking thing. If the things that rmii said to you appealed to you you might like that board: if not, there is nothing wrong with the ASRock, and you would be just as pleased with it.
 
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Thank you all for every single piece of input that each of you have given me. Because of everyone here I have finally, after about 5 months of being very indecisive, settled down with a build all my own. Here is everything that I will be buying (Please point it out if you see any complications that anything in this might have with another part):

Cooler Master HAF 912 Mid-Sized Tower Case: $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

Intel Core i5-2500K Quad-Core Processor: $219.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Nvidia EVGA GTX 560 Video Card: $189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130661

ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z Z68 Mother Board: $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131759

G.Skill Ripjawx X Series 8GB (2 x 4Gb): $29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB: $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

OCZ 700W Modular Power Supply: $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018

HP Optical Drive: $24.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827140042

Cooler Master Hyper 212 CPU Cooler: $25.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

2 x Cooler Master Megaflow 200mm Blue LED Case Fan: $33.98 (That is the price for both of the fans)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103073

All in all it seems to be perfect for what I am looking for. The total price with shipping and tax comes to: $963.69

What do you all think?
 
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Looks good to me. Not my choice on the case as I like cases with a black interior and side window, but it does look very functional.
Did you mean to use one of the 200mm fans to replace the one in the front and one on the top?

I had to watch the vid to hear him explain the choice of size on the front. It must be what you were thinking cause those two places are the only ones they will fit.
Then you will have an extra fan if by chance you have room on the side panel after installing your hyper 212. It is located low so as to be closer to psu than processor.
Another blue fan would add to the looks in that spot too, and you could save the black one for a spare.
Some folks might not advise the ocz psu but I think it will be o.k. with enough to sli later
 
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Whoa whoa whoa

Drop the fans, up the GPU to a 560 Ti or a 6950

I would also up the PSU to a 750W you can SLI in the future, most of us would disagree with going any lower then that

The ROM drive you can save $4 get Lite-on should have one that will do as good if not better than the HP one

 
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