A little more than a mid-level rig?

[Kokiafan]

Here is my latest build checklist. With boilerplate questions answered..

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. FPS/Driving sims.

2. What YOUR budget is. 1100-1400
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from. USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc. No

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are. 850W corsair PSU, keyboard and logitech mouse. Dual DVD drives

*

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. OC is def. gonna happen

8. What resolution will you be using? Dunno...right now have two 24" monitors...

9. WHEN do you plan to build it? December

Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software? NO

Here I go...merry xmas to me, going to build a gaming/photoshop rig.

COOLER MASTER CM Storm Series Trooper (SGC-5000-KKN1) Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case $144.99

Western Digital WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $109.99

Intel 330 Series Maple Crest SSDSC2CT180A3K5 2.5" 180GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive 149

SAPPHIRE 100352-2L Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready $299.99
AMD Gift - 4-in-1 Game Coupon $0.00
G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory Model F3-2400C10D-8GZH ($69.99 each)
ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS $139.99
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K $214.99
COOLER MASTER Seidon 120M RL-S12M-24PK-R1 Water Cooler $71.99

Total:
1300 n change...
What would you switch out?

 

[T_Yamamoto]

First thing I would change is the ram. There is no difference between 1600 and 2200.

Next, the water cooler, I'd rather go with a d14, better cooling.

Maybe change the GPU to a 670?
Maybe upgrade the SSD to a 256gb one?

 

[Ken g6]

First thing I would change is the ram. There is no difference between 1600 and 2200.

This, to start with.

I agree with a 256GB SSD too. Intel 330s are reliable, but slow as SSDs go. A $170 Crucial M4 256GB is reliable and faster.

For cooling I'd recommend some massive air cooler. I don't really follow these, but here's one I saw sometime recently. Thought about [thread=2285595]delidding[/thread]?

I'd stick with the 7950 - it's good for overclocking too.

 

[mfenn]

For under $1400, you could build something much faster than that with some smart component choices.

i5 3570K $215
Cooler Master TPC 812 $40 AR
ASRock Z77 Extreme3 $110
Samsung DDR3 1600 8GB $35
7950 3GB Crossfire $560
Crucial M4 256GB $171
Seagate 1TB $70
XFX Core 750W $90 AR
Corsair 400R $80 AR AP
Total: $1371 AR AP

 

[Kokiafan]

For under $1400, you could build something much faster than that with some smart component choices.

i5 3570K $215
Cooler Master TPC 812 $40 AR
ASRock Z77 Extreme3 $110
Samsung DDR3 1600 8GB $35
7950 3GB Crossfire $560
Crucial M4 256GB $171
Seagate 1TB $70
XFX Core 750W $90 AR
Corsair 400R $80 AR AP
Total: $1371 AR AP

The video card is a bit overpriced, eh?
The other prices can fluctuate daily...
With two sticks of memory instead of one, (and keeping the case I want and deleting your PS choice) it comes to 1114. Not bad.

 

[RaistlinZ]

The video card is a bit overpriced, eh?
The other prices can fluctuate daily...
With two sticks of memory instead of one, (and keeping the case I want and deleting your PS choice) it comes to 1114. Not bad.

CrossFire means two cards. $560 for both, or $280 each.

 

[Kokiafan]

Well, I would have said 2 cards lol.
Am not sure it would be worth the extra $.

 

[bononos]

The video card is a bit overpriced, eh?
The other prices can fluctuate daily...
With two sticks of memory instead of one, (and keeping the case I want and deleting your PS choice) it comes to 1114. Not bad.

He also listed a psu which you don't need (in your OP) so the total $ is a little less.

 

[mfenn]

The video card is a bit overpriced, eh?

Crossfire is two cards, ie. close to twice as fast as what you have listed.

With two sticks of memory instead of one,

That RAM kit I listed contains two DIMMs.

Anyway, the overall point is that you can get a machine that do about twice as well in at your primary task (gaming) while spending the same amount of money as what you originally listed.

Normal daily price fluctuations don't knock off the $280 necessary to fit another card into the build. The way you knock $280 off is to be smart about components that don't impact performance all that much such as cases, motherboards, heatsinks, fancy RAM, etc.

 

[Kokiafan]

Crossfire is two cards, ie. close to twice as fast as what you have listed.



That RAM kit I listed contains two DIMMs.

Anyway, the overall point is that you can get a machine that do about twice as well in at your primary task (gaming) while spending the same amount of money as what you originally listed.

Normal daily price fluctuations don't knock off the $280 necessary to fit another card into the build. The way you knock $280 off is to be smart about components that don't impact performance all that much such as cases, motherboards, heatsinks, fancy RAM, etc.

Well said.
I am thinking that, since I already have a 128 gig SSD, I will just go with that and the HDD I currently use, keep my case, and just update the mobo cpu, ram and video card. I can always add another card next summer.

 

[riversend]

I am thinking that, since I already have a 128 gig SSD, I will just go with that and the HDD I currently use, keep my case, and just update the mobo cpu, ram and video card. I can always add another card next summer.

Yes :thumbsup: to reusing parts whenever possible. If the SSD and HDD are running stable, and you are good with the case, reuse them. No need to spend senselessly when you can put the money toward an upgraded GPU later on down the road. Obviously your budget is not a major restraint, but you have many parts that there is no reason to duplicate.

 

[mfenn]

Well said.
I am thinking that, since I already have a 128 gig SSD, I will just go with that and the HDD I currently use, keep my case, and just update the mobo cpu, ram and video card. I can always add another card next summer.

That's all fine, just don't pay a ton of money for RAM that's rated above DDR3 1600. There's very little benefit to fast RAM on an Intel platform these days.