Building a high end gaming system. need a lil help

[Drazn]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing. Gaming mosty. SWTOR, WOW, Crysis, BF3, MW3, etc...

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread. Around 2500

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. Intel CPUs

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are. I will be using my monitor,Keyboard,mouse and win 7 pro 64 bit.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads. Yeah I have read many build threads

7. Yes i am going to Overclock the CPU maybe the GPU.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with. 1920 x 1200

9. WHEN do you plan to build it? Now


OK here is what I have so far. Let me know what you think.

Corsair Obsidian Series 800D
ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe or pro
Intel Core i7-2600K
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB DDR3 1600 (maybe Gskills not sure)
EVGA GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 3GB (maybe the 1.5gb version)
Antec High Current Pro HCP-1200 1200W
HITACHI Deskstar 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s
Crucial M4 256GB (SSD)
CORSAIR H100 (CWCH100) Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
LITE-ON Blu-ray Burner LightScribe Support
Koutech IO-RCM630 Multi-in-1 USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Front Panel Internal Card Reader with USB 3.0 Port (3.5")
Sound card (Will onboard sound be adequate?)

Thanks for your input in advance.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

You'll also need a monitor and OS. The PSU is way over the top for that build.

 

[Drazn]

yeah thats what I figured but im looking to buy another 580 or maybe 2 in the near future. Oh sorry I have a monitor and win 7 pro 64. I guess I need to add that to the initial questions.

 

[Goothry]

Few easy things I see in your build:

i5 2500k vs i7 2600k
Gaming wise, there is only a slight difference between the two chips. You can save some money going with the i5.

GPU GeForce 580
It contains an almost similar story. 570 vs 580 there are only slight differences performance wise. You can same some money here as well. Another prospect for you to consider is going with AMD. They offer similar cards, usually with more ram, for less money. Additionally, I would extend to you that you should choose at the start if you're going to use multiple cards or just a single card. If you're only ever going to get one GPU you can save more by not having to buy such a large power supply. On a final note, AMD is supposedly releasing their new cards either late 2011 or early 2012. It might be worth considering holding off on such a high end card when the new generation is so close.

CPU cooler
You could get an air cooler that performs equivalent to the h100 for less. Seeing that you're going with the 800D case I doubt that you'll not have enough space for what ever you want to put inside of it.

 

[Drazn]

You could get an air cooler that performs equivalent to the h100 for less.

What fan would you recommend?

 

[lehtv]

NH-D14 will perform like H100

 

[XNice]

What fan would you recommend?

Stock? Unless you plan on overclocking... and even then, people have still gotten great clock's using one. But go with the 2500k and 570 like someone suggested. The money you save can go towards the games or an xbox360:biggrin: .

 

[Drazn]

Stock? Unless you plan on overclocking... and even then, people have still gotten great clock's using one. But go with the 2500k and 570 like someone suggested. The money you save can go towards the games or an xbox360:biggrin: .

Oh yea I plan do try to hit the 5 ghz mark or close to it. So I am going to need some serious cooling. I already have a 360 Elite and a PS3 so I am good on consoles.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

The 800D is more geared towards liquid cooling. I'd go with the 650D.

 

[mfenn]

Your build looks like a pretty big waste of money to me, most parts are way overpriced.

i5 2500K $225http://detonator.dynamitedata.com/c...com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157251
Scythe Mugen 3 $50
GA-Z68XP-UD3 $110 AR
PNY DDR3 1333 8GB $32
Sapphire 6950 2GB (unlockable) x2 $490 AR
Crucial M4 128GB $210
Hitachi 7K1000.D 750GB $70
Lite-ON DVD Burner $17
XFX Core 750W $85 ARhttp://detonator.dynamitedata.com/c...oduct.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233&Tpk=haf%20912
Corsair 400R $95 AR
Total: $1384 AR

This build will absolutely stomp the one you posted in gaming and comes out to be about half the cost (you didn't give prices for your parts, so I estimated). Either put the other other $1200 in the bank or spend it on a real monitor.

 

[Drazn]

I never really considered ATI. I cant believe that card does so much better than the 580. I may have to rethink some things. I think I may go with the GTX 570 x 2. hmm

 

[ElFenix]

I never really considered ATI. I cant believe that card does so much better than the 580. I may have to rethink some things. I think I may go with the GTX 570 x 2. hmm

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/299?vs=305

 

[Drazn]

yeah but what happens when you encounter a game that doesnt take advantage of crossfire? The 6950 doesnt do to well without crossfire.

 

[Drazn]

anyone have a answer to the above question?

 

[lehtv]

You get lowered performance. Usually that means single-GPU performance, sometimes it can mean slightly worse than single-GPU so in those cases it will be beneficial to turn off crossfire temporarily.

All of the games you listed will play smoothly with a single 6950, especially if OC+unlock for extra 10-15%. In BF3 you would benefit from crossfire in that it'd keep 60fps constant no matter what.

As a side note, I think in a $2500 build you will definitely want a sound card for some added flexibility. Asus Xonar DG is cheap and offers some nice features like integrated headphone amp, equalizer profiles and dolby headphone

 

[Drazn]

OK, here it is my final build
CM Storm Trooper
ASUS P8Z68 pro/gen3
Intel Core i7-2600K
EVGA GeForce GTX 580 3GB
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB DDR3 1600
Antec High Current Pro HCP-1200 1200W
HITACHI Deskstar 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s
Crucial M4 256GB (SSD)
Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler

what you guys think?

 

[mfenn]

Looks pretty much the same as the original build? Still a huge waste of money. Even if you are dead set on a GTX 580 (which is not a good idea as lehtv and I explained) you can still save a huge amount of money by taking my build above and swapping in a GTX 580 instead of the 6950 2GB CFX.

 

[mfenn]

yeah but what happens when you encounter a game that doesnt take advantage of crossfire? The 6950 doesnt do to well without crossfire.

Your definition of "doesn't do too well" is pretty interesting. It is about 20-30% slower than the GTX 580 (depending on the game) for half the price (less than half the price of the 3GB model).

 

[Drazn]

Ok guys here is a revised build.

CM Storm Trooper
ASUS P8Z68 pro/gen3
Intel Core i7-2600K
MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III Radeon HD 6950 2GB x2
Corsair 16mb Vengeance 1600
CORSAIR Professional Series 1050w
HITACHI Deskstar 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s
Crucial M4 256GB (SSD)
Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler

 

[XNice]

Looks good. I dunno if the 17 2600k is worth it over the 15 2500k. But other than that you are good to go. Definitely try to add a discrete sound card though. Someone mentioned one earlier.

 

[lehtv]

Still don't get why you want 2600K and 16GB RAM for gaming. It just doesn't make sense, sorry :\. 2500K + 8GB is the most that should be considered. Rather spend on quality peripherals or something, or save your cash for future upgrades.

1050W PSU not needed for 6950 crossfire. 850W would be fine. XFX 850W for $90 AR or XFX 850W XXX modular 80+ silver $120 AR.

Also, standard Vengeance won't fit under NH-D14. 8GB Vengeance Low-Profile $40AR

 

[Drazn]

Still don't get why you want 2600K and 16GB RAM for gaming. It just doesn't make sense, sorry :\. 2500K + 8GB is the most that should be considered. Rather spend on quality peripherals or something, or save your cash for future upgrades.

1050W PSU not needed for 6950 crossfire. 850W would be fine. XFX 850W for $90 AR or XFX 850W XXX modular 80+ silver $120 AR.

Also, standard Vengeance won't fit under NH-D14. 8GB Vengeance Low-Profile $40AR

Thank you so much for that link. I was about to make a huge mistake with the ram. I am buying 16gb because it just so cheap now I figure might as well. The only reason I choose the 1050 is because I was told that its bad for the power supply to run 80% of its load all the time. First I heard of it but I rather be safe than sorry. So the D14 the way to go? Was thinking H100 but I dont know about water cooling.

Also do you know of place to buy computer parts online that has a good reputation other than Newegg? When newegg is out of stock on something I have no idea where to go. I know there's tiger but they charge me shipping and tax since I reside in TX.

 

[lehtv]

The only reason I choose the 1050 is because I was told that its bad for the power supply to run 80% of its load all the time.

6950 crossfire will not run a 850W PSU at 80% load. Even if you OC the CPU and unlock + OC the GPUs, you'd only use about 600W-650W, and that's with both CPU and GPUs at 100% load. Almost never happens in practice. Your average power consumption during gaming would be probably around 550W.

Of course, if you OC the CPU to ridiculous speeds that require 1.4-1.5V cpu volts, then you're looking at much more watts. Best keep it at 1.3V or so.

So the D14 the way to go? Was thinking H100 but I dont know about water cooling.

I wouldn't go with D14 because it's so expensive. But it is pretty much the best performing air cooler. Performs the same as H100 for less $.

Also do you know of place to buy computer parts online that has a good reputation other than Newegg?

Amazon.com and us.ncix.com are the usual ones.

 

[Drazn]

The large heat spreaders on the ram will they work with the H100?

 

[mfenn]

The large heat spreaders on the ram will they work with the H100?

Yes, but don't get an H100. It is super expensive and doesn't perform any better than an $80 air cooler.