Need Advice $3500-$5000 Gaming PC

[s1l3noz]

Hi guys! I'm planning to build my first gaming PC soon and I need your help. I've been reading on Tom's Hardware for a long time now and I think it's where I'll get the best advices. I'll be playing lots of FPS, Diablo III, etc. I'll need 1 or 2 monitors for this build but I don't want to include them to my budget. Suggestions for them are welcome. If you need to know anything else let me know.

Approximate Purchase Date: June

Budget Range: $3500-$5000 Before Rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Surfing The Internet, Photo Editing, Watching Movies, Etc.

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, OS.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Don't have any since It's my 1st Build. Lets say Newegg.ca

Country: Canada

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, Nvidia Video Card (EVGA GTX 680 would be nice 😛), SSD Minimum 240GB for OS (RAID or Not?) and HD Minimum 2TB for storage. 8GB+ of RAM Memory.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Yes

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080, 1920x1200

Additional Comments: I'd like my PC to be as quiet as possible. If possible with SLI configuration, I would like a high quality soundcard. There's a lot missing to my list below and I apologise for it but I don't know which MOBO, RAM and PSU is best for my needs.

--------------------

These are some of the parts I was considering buying for my Gaming PC.

Case: Cooler Master COSMOS II
I chose this case because I just like the way it looks and it has plenty of rooms for components.

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K

SSD Drive: OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS Edition 240GB

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB

Thanks for your advices.

 

[hellfire24]

I'm about to make my first purchase for my gaming PC today. The Cooler Master COSMOS II usually costs $349.99 but has an instant rebate of $40 and a mail-in rebate of $20. With shipping to my door ($15), it'll cost $305! It's not much but hey, as long as I save $$$ 😀

good deal LOL.

 

[hellfire24]

photoshop does not take much advantage of hyper threading so i5 = i7

no offence but i don't think in photoshop,i5=i7(i agree in terms of gaming but photoshop uses multithreads)

 

[s1l3noz]

The purchase is made! I will receive the case in 5-7 business day.

So since I'm gonna do A LOT of photo editing (2nd thing I do the most besides gaming), Intel Core i7 CPU is a good/better option? I'll be using Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 4.

By the way, Thanks again for all the reply!

 

[serialkiller]

photoshop wont benifit much of an i7 but lightroom will do.

 

[hellfire24]

photoshop wont benifit much of an i7 but lightroom will do.

photoshop or any other editing app utilizes multithreads so yes hyper threading is good for photoshop
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/15

 

[dalauder]

photoshop or any other editing app utilizes multithreads so yes hyper threading is good for photoshop
Those]http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/15

Those benchmarks do show an improvement with hyperthreading, but not much. The i5-750 is almost the same as an i7-920. And an i7-2600K shows the biggest hyperthreading improvement of 11.3 seconds to the i5-2500K's 12.6 seconds. If this were a $1,200 PC, I'd absolutely say get the i5. But I guess if the OP is spending $3.5K on this machine, there's no reason to pull any punches here so I have to recommend the Ivy Bridge i7 for the minimal, but tangible, benefits.

 

[hellfire24]

If this were a $1,200 PC, I'd absolutely say get the i5. But I guess if the OP is spending $3.5K on this machine, there's no reason to pull any punches here so I have to recommend the Ivy Bridge i7 for the minimal, but tangible, benefits.

exactly!!!

 

[serialkiller]

ok i totally agree with dalauder

 

[boulbox]

Thanks guys for your advices. I really appreciate it!


@dalauder: I'm not trolling but I understand why it could sound like it. I don't take it personal Right now I have a XBOX 360 (Which my GF use 100% of the time to play with Kinect) and I'm using my GF's laptop (Which barely runs Kongregate games ). To make a short story, I always used old crappy PCs to play when I was younger because I had no money to afford something good. I've been working for over 2 years now at Bridgestones Tires and make $75k+ so I wanted to spoil myself with a kickass computer for games!

@hellfire24: I know 1 month is a little early but I don't like to wait until the last minute to prepare myself for such a important purchase. I'm sorry...

@jmsellars1: Thanks for the input and informations! I'll take this into consideration.

@sectrix: Thanks for the novel and the build suggestion 😀 It was very informative! I'm planning on using 2 monitors (maybe 3?) and the informations you gave me will help me make a better decision.

@geogolem: Thanks for your advices. Since I'm gonna buy this PC on the month of June, I'll be able to see the new Nvidia 6xx Video Cards and new Intel Ivy CPU. I can make some adjustments once there. If this PC costs less than what I had planned, well that's great! I won't complain 😛

@serialkiller: Thanks for the build suggestion. I'm looking for 27" monitors and the one in the link you posted is interesting!


From what I read from you guys, the tower alone will probably cost me MAX $4000. So I got $1000+ from the tower I can spend for extra monitor, keyboards, mouse, etc. That's good news! I'll keep you updated once I'm ready to order parts for it. Once everything is up and running, I'll post a picture of my rig on the forum. Don't hesiate if you have any other comments and/or suggestions for me. Thanks again to all of you!

by the way if you are going to run 2-3 monitors and I'm just assuming that you will be playing games after a day of work i would suggest downloading flux its a program where it will darken the screen so it won't strain your eyes as much(or you can buy gunnars which is the same thing but they're glasses) ivy bridge will come out very soon i heard it came out almost 5-8 hours earlier in a few places good luck

 

[s1l3noz]

Ivy Bridge is out and I was wondering what you guys think I should do? I read the early reviews out there and so far they all seem to agree; improved but nothing revolutionary. If I go with IB, I'd probably go with i7-3770K or SB i7-3930K. What you guys think? Should I wait a little before buying a CPU?

I'm asking that question about CPU because I said in my starting post that I would start buying at the beginning of June. But I slowly started buying parts and I wanna know if I should get CPU right now or wait until June and buy other stuff instead.

 

[SSri]

Ivy Bridge is out and I was wondering what you guys think I should do? I read the early reviews out there and so far they all seem to agree; improved but nothing revolutionary. If I go with IB, I'd probably go with i7-3770K or SB i7-3930K. What you guys think? Should I wait a little before buying a CPU?

I'm asking that question about CPU because I said in my starting post that I would start buying at the beginning of June. But I slowly started buying parts and I wanna know if I should get CPU right now or wait until June and buy other stuff instead.

Tom's and other experts would post extensive reviews and recommendations in the next couple of weeks or so. You still have another 5-6 weeks before your purchases, which is still a lot of time. Why don't you wait and decide?

 

[dalauder]

You should also give yourself time to see if you end up next to a Micro Center sometime. While it's not worth a several hour drive for the savings, if you're within 15 minutes of one at some point, it's worth the trip.

 

[s1l3noz]

I received the COSMOS 2 today and I'm pleased with the way it looks! It's HUGE and heavy! I'm now at the point where I need to decide if I go WaterCooler to make it quieter or just go with AirCooler. I know the Noctua NH-D14 is an awesome/quiet CPU air cooler but it's so large that it'll probably block RAM slots.

I now have a good idea which MOBOS to choose from.
For the Video Card, I'll wait and see the next GTX 6xx.
I'll wait until June for the CPU for complete reviews and tests on new Ivy Bridge.
PSU will need to have AT LEAST a 80+ certification. I'll determine what power I need once I have full system.
OS will be Windows 7 Pro.
RAM will be 16GB 1600Mhz (Still don't know what brand)

I'll keep you updated on this build. Thanks guys!

 

[dalauder]

I'm really hoping Intel improves Ivy Bridge with a new stepping by this summer.

 

[azeem40]

Water Cooling is not always quieter than air cooling. Air is lighter, so the noise will be less.

 

[hellfire24]

watercooling is quiet only when you have no more than 4 low rpm fans.a high end quiet air cooler like noctua or thermalright is very quiet.

 

[dalauder]

I'm closing this tab in my browser. PM me if you come back.

 

[s1l3noz]

I just wanted to say something about choosing the "Best Answer". I would like to contribute to the Tom's Hardware community by selecting a best answer for this thread in order to help others with similar question. But many good and informative answers were given so, it's hard to choose only 1 since there are many good ones.. I just can't decide so all I will say is that all the replies to this thread helped me in my future gaming PC purchase. Thanks to all your input, I know now what to look for.

 

[hellfire24]

LOL just pick up the one that helped you most.

 

[geogolem]

pick me! pick me!!!! lol. just kidding... I agree with the comment above just pick the one that helped the most.

 

[serialkiller]

yes pick the one which feels in your gut 😛

 

[will759227]

7% and some change of your yearly income on a pc.... for gaming, man heh i dunno what to say.

How's the Mercedes treating you?

 

[hellfire24]

^ :lol:
i guess it's doing well!

 

[s1l3noz]

Ok I'll read all the replies and just pick one that helped the most... Please keep in mind that choosing a best answer doesn't mean that the others weren't helpful as well 😀

Oh and by the way, it's not a Mercedez it's a GT3 RS '07 and she's treating me well XD

Peace Guys!

 

[hellfire24]

^holy crap man gt3 rs is freakin great.awesome acceleration and sound from 6 naturally aspirated cylinders,man i love german cars!