Building a new system ($1500)

[klopas]

Hi guys,

I've got a bit of expendable cash that I would like to put towards a new computer. It will be used strictly for gaming, and I hope to make it last for the next couple years by upgrading parts from time to time. Any insight on the best route to go would be appreciated, as I haven't built a system for close to 3 years and haven't been keeping up with the latest hardware. Thank you!

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
-Gaming with the settings turned up all the way!

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
-$1,500 but I can go higher if needed.

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 at this time.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
-Acer P243WAid Black-Silver 24" Monitor
-Antec 900 (might upgrade to the 1200)
-Thermalright Ultra-120 Heatsink
-Pioneer 18X DVD±R DVD DVR-112D
-Keyboard/Mouse/Astro a40 headset system

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
-Yeah, just wanting opinions on a decent gaming build.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
-I will be overclocking.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
-1920x1200

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
-Within the next several weeks.

 

[fffblackmage]

I've been hearing AM3 will most likely last longer with new cpus on the horizon, while LGA1156 and LGA1366 will be replaced. On the other hand, your budget would allow for a Core i5-750.

And the 5850 is an easy recommendation for gaming with eye candy on 1080p.

 

[MisterDonut]

Stick with your 900. Full towers, unless you need the extra HDD capacity, are just wastes of space. You can choose to go two ways here: Save some money and go with AMD (better $$'s worth) or with Intel's i7-860. Personally, I think it's never a bad idea to save, so I'd pick AMD, but it's up to you (I'm just pointing out you shouldn't take into consideration "fanboy-ism" when money these days is really hard to come by =/). Games are also reliant on GPU's and less on CPU's, so picking a beefier processor than you need would just be unnecessary. You also wouldn't sacrifice nearly as much performance as you would your money. Just listing my two cents .

i7-860/AMD 955BE (Of course, AMD gets my +1 here)

Compatible motherboard (I'd go with ASUS EVO 790x for the AM3 or the ASUS P7P55D for the 1156)

ATi 5870

WD Caviar Black 640gb/Samsung F3 (Either drive will do well; you can opt for the SSD option here, but keep in mind that it will do little to enhance gaming performance. It's more of a general usage upgrade)

G.Skill Ripjaw DDR3-1333 1.5v

Corsair, Antec, Seasonic PSU in the 600w range. You can go with the popular 750w, but it's slight overkill.

Even if you don't fulfill your budget, save the money, bro! Upgrades are coming right around the corner, so it's never a bad idea to have more! SSD would be the next logical upgrade with the rest of the parts listed.

 

[MisterDonut]

and +1 to blackmage. Intel's planning to ditch the current sockets for Sandybridge, while AMD has already put hexacore chips on the market using the same cheap, trusty ol' socket.

As for the 5850, it's really a toss up here. The 5850 shines in overclock, and the performance difference between that and the 5870 probably isn't worth $100, but what the hey, you want Crysis eye-candy? You sure as hell are gonna get it!

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I've read that 1156 will be replaced but look more into the 1366 socket. I'm doubtful 1366 is going anywhere as it's a server socket.

480 GTX

SSD

700w or > PSU (Seasonic, Enermax, Corsair)

Low voltage DDR3

True 120Hz monitor

500Hz or > USB reports

 

[mfenn]

I've read that 1156 will be replaced but look more into the 1366 socket. I'm doubtful 1366 is going anywhere as it's a server socket.

480 GTX

SSD

700w or > PSU (Seasonic, Enermax, Corsair)

Low voltage DDR3

True 120Hz monitor

500Hz or > USB reports

Eh? 1366 and 1156 are dead on the server side in 2010 as well.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Eh? 1366 and 1156 are dead on the server side in 2010 as well.

I'm not seeing anything talking about a 1366 socket change. Can you point that out for me, thanks.

 

[mfenn]

I'm not seeing anything talking about a 1366 socket change. Can you point that out for me, thanks.

Sandy Bridge will use a different (new) socket.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Sandy Bridge will use a different (new) socket.

Cool, thanks

 

[mfenn]

Cool, thanks

No problem

 

[Axon]

What I would build today:

$1,254.90

Intel i7 930
ASROCK Extreme X58 open box motherboard
GSkill 6GB DDR3 1600 Mhz
ASUS GTX 470
Corsair 750w HX PSU
Intel X25-M 80 gig SSD

Video card will be controversial, but given the price of the 5850 ($310+) and the Fermi's generally superior performance, you'd be getting good bang for your buck. If the 5850 actually went for $300 or less, it'd be the better choice.

Now, if heat is a concern, you might want to skip the GTX 470 ("Fermi") line and go for a 5850 or 5870, both of which have cooler temps and lower power consumption. Both lines are more "mature" as well and have a variety of cards that are superior to the "stock" card, so that's something to consider as well.

 

[klopas]

Thank you for all the suggestions. I'm doing research and considering whether I want to spend $1500+ now, or spend less and upgrade certain parts later. I think that this is something that everybody thinks about, but I'm leaning towards buying the best parts possible now and then waiting two years to re-build like I usually do. In any case, I do plan on overclocking in the future to get the most out of my build.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated. I'm going to post a few builds that I am considering in a little bit. Thanks!

 

[MisterDonut]

Just a heads-up. Even a computer that isn't maxed out now will perform equally well in the future. Since this is strictly for gaming, all you really need is a sufficient processor while keeping your graphics up to date, and you can do all this without getting the best parts. I know friends still running good ol' Conroe (E6600) without any problems. Your rig should only be as fast as you need it to be. In 2 years, I'm sure the games can still be run on a good ol' Deneb with a bump up in the GPU, if needed.

 

[RaistlinZ]

What I would build today:

$1,254.90

Intel i7 930
ASROCK Extreme X58 open box motherboard
GSkill 6GB DDR3 1600 Mhz
ASUS GTX 470
Corsair 750w HX PSU
Intel X25-M 80 gig SSD

Video card will be controversial, but given the price of the 5850 ($310+) and the Fermi's generally superior performance, you'd be getting good bang for your buck. If the 5850 actually went for $300 or less, it'd be the better choice.

Now, if heat is a concern, you might want to skip the GTX 470 ("Fermi") line and go for a 5850 or 5870, both of which have cooler temps and lower power consumption. Both lines are more "mature" as well and have a variety of cards that are superior to the "stock" card, so that's something to consider as well.

I like the way you think, Axon. :sneaky: That's almost exactly the same setup I'm thinking of building down the road.

I'm still debating on my SSD and the video card though. I'm wondering if it's worth it to go with the 256GB Crucial C300 as my "all-everything drive" or just stick with the Intel. 256GB is more space than I really need, but I would like to have top notch performance. The only thing holding me back is the whopping $450.00 price premium.

I think in the end I'll probably just go with the 80GB Intel and use the money saved towards a 5970. I'm doubt I'll be able to tell much of a difference between the two SSD's in everyday use, and the 5970 should last me well through my next PC upgrade 2-3 years from now. What do you think?

 

[klopas]

Two builds I'm debating on right now:

AMD build
Mobo - GIGABYTE GA-790FXTA-UD5 (out of stock ATM, but I was impressed by its features)
CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE
Video - SAPPHIRE 100281-3SR Radeon HD 5870
PSU - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB)
SSD - Intel X25-M 80GB
HDD - (x2)SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB

Total cost w/o mobo - $1,174.93 (newegg)

Intel build
Mobo - ASRock X58 Extreme 3 LGA 1366
CPU - Intel Core i7-930
Video - SAPPHIRE 100281-3SR Radeon HD 5870
PSU - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX
RAM - G.SKILL PI Series 6GB (3 x 2GB)
HDD - (x2)SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB

Total cost w/mobo - $1,374.93 (newegg)

As you can see, I did not include the SSD with the Intel build. Any suggestions on what I should replace, upgrade, etc., would be appreciated. Again, I have saved money specifically to build a new system and I am willing to spend more than $1,500 if it means substancial gains in gaming power! I may invest in watercooling since I plan to overclock quite a bit, and in that case I will probably get a GTX 470. Thanks guys!

 

[Reincus]

Builds look okay to me. You probably don't need the 2TB storage on the AMD build initially. HDs will only get cheaper, and are easily added later.

Be aware that water cooling rigs are considerable more maintenance than air cooled, much more expensive and less performance bang for the buck. Fun to tinker with, but if you would rather spend time playing games than playing with your rig, you may want to stick to the convienence of air.

Edit:
From a value standpoint, the AMD platform is much better. Primary reason I went that route myself.

 

[RaistlinZ]

I would probably opt for the AMD setup with dual 5850's in CrossFire. I'd take out one of the Samsung Spinpoint drives to save some coin (unless you NEED 2TB worth of storage right off the bat). Consider the following:

AMD build
Mobo - GIGABYTE GA-790FXTA-UD5 (out of stock ATM, but I was impressed by its features)
CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE
Video - (x2) Radeon HD 5850
PSU - CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB)
SSD - Intel X25-M 80GB
HDD - (x1)SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB

Total cost w/o mobo - $1,340.00 (newegg) **estimate after changes**


You'll have a much better gaming system with the benefit of the SSD for overall better system performance for roughly the same price as the Intel setup. You'll also notice I bumped you up to an 850TX. :sneaky:

 

[Axon]

As a CPU (e.g., doing things like rendering and encoding), the 930 blows the 955 out of the water. However, at $290, you might as well get AMD's new six core 1090t. The 1090t can easily hold it's own against the i7 930 in all respects, and the AM3 socket is not going the way of the dodo in 18 months, as the 930's 1366 socket appears to be.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-849-_-Product

With that said, AMD boards do not have nvidia SLI capacity (naturally). The 930's X58 chipset, however, does, and actually can usually crossfire and SLI on the same motherboard, which is rare these days. That's something to consider, certainly, if you're leaning towards an nvidia GPU. I agree with Raistlin's assessment, though - crossfired 5850s would eat almost every game alive at 1680 or 1920 resolution.

+1 to the comments re: an SSD however. It reallllly enhances the overall user experience of a PC system. Everything just runs faster. So I think the AMD would serve you the best.

 

[bunit]

I"m pretty sure the i7 860 is an overall better performer for gaming than the 930, due to the higher turbo boost speeds, IF YOU DONT OC A LOT (like me). You also get cheaper mobos. I'd go for 1156 over 1366 in a heartbeat because you not only get a better gaming processor, but a cheaper mobo as well, albeit one with limited USB 3.0 capability (if that really matters to you). 860 and 930 are priced about the same too.

I wouldn't worry too much about future upgradability because Intel is sacking all of their sockets anyways, and as recent trends have shown, gaming is becoming increasingly GPU-bound. People are still running C2D's to great success in modern games, all they've done is upgraded their GPUs. Socket changes are an annual thing for Intel so it's not like you're gonna get too much life out of any current sockets.

Also, you're using a single card solution, so that's perfect for this. Microstuttering/other CF software issues can be a hassle.

IF you want to xfire though then the 8x PCIe lane can be a concern (I think there's a 5% performance rate drop? Something small, but still notable). If and only if you're gonna xfire + OC a lot then I'd go for x58/i7 930. Otherwise 1156/i7 860 FTW. Keep the saved money or spend it on other stuff, like an SSD. Sure, xfiring in the future is an option, but recent trends have shown new generation single-GPU solutions to be increasingly powerful to where most of the time it's more worth it to just buy a new single GPU instead of xfiring two old ones (people inflate the prices on the old ones).

AMD, while the best value around, still lags behind Intel in pure gaming with the min frames pretty badly. The 6 cores don't remedy that too much (occasionally perform worse than 4 core Phenoms), although you can overclock the hell out of them so if you want something fun, get the 1055t ($100 cheaper than a higher clocked 1090t). That will save you a ton of $.

i5 750 is an option too.

 

[mfenn]

I"m pretty sure the i7 860 is an overall better performer for gaming than the 930, due to the higher turbo boost speeds, IF YOU DONT OC A LOT (like me). You also get cheaper mobos. I'd go for 1156 over 1366 in a heartbeat because you not only get a better gaming processor, but a cheaper mobo as well, albeit one with limited USB 3.0 capability (if that really matters to you). 860 and 930 are priced about the same too.

I wouldn't worry too much about future upgradability because Intel is sacking all of their sockets anyways, and as recent trends have shown, gaming is becoming increasingly GPU-bound. People are still running C2D's to great success in modern games, all they've done is upgraded their GPUs. Socket changes are an annual thing for Intel so it's not like you're gonna get too much life out of any current sockets.

Also, you're using a single card solution, so that's perfect for this. Microstuttering/other CF software issues can be a hassle.

IF you want to xfire though then the 8x PCIe lane can be a concern (I think there's a 5% performance rate drop? Something small, but still notable). If and only if you're gonna xfire + OC a lot then I'd go for x58/i7 930. Otherwise 1156/i7 860 FTW. Keep the saved money or spend it on other stuff, like an SSD. Sure, xfiring in the future is an option, but recent trends have shown new generation single-GPU solutions to be increasingly powerful to where most of the time it's more worth it to just buy a new single GPU instead of xfiring two old ones (people inflate the prices on the old ones).

AMD, while the best value around, still lags behind Intel in pure gaming with the min frames pretty badly. The 6 cores don't remedy that too much (occasionally perform worse than 4 core Phenoms), although you can overclock the hell out of them so if you want something fun, get the 1055t ($100 cheaper than a higher clocked 1090t). That will save you a ton of $.

i5 750 is an option too.

Give this man a medal! My thoughts exactly.

 

[klopas]

Well, I ended up going all out in my build, making a lot of changes and disregarding a lot of advice. I figure I might as well since I'm not going to make another build for another 3 years or so.

In the end it cost $1,666.01 (with shipping/rebates/cashback) and I purchased all parts from Tigerdirect other than the HDD which I bought brick and mortar.

Here's my build:
Intel Core i7-930 2.8Ghz 8M LGA1366 CPU
ASUS P6X58D Premium Intel X58 Socket LGA1366 MB
EVGA GeForce GTX 470 Superclocked 1280MB DDR5 PCIe
Corsair Dominator 6144MB PC12800 DDR3 1600MHz (3x2)
Silverstone FT01 ATX Black Mid-T Case
Corsair HX1000W 1000W Modular
OCZ Freeze Thermal Extreme Conductivity Compound
Cooler Master Hyper N520 Copper Heatpipe CPU Cooler
Intel X25-M MLC 80GB SATA Solid State SSD - Retail
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB

I know, I know - it's overkill on the mobo and power supply, but I plan on upgrading later on - video card, and I will overclock the hell out of this. Thanks for all the advice!

 

[Reincus]

Why buy a pre-overclocked video card if you are going to overclock it yourself? Or are you planning on just overclocking the CPU? Just curious.

 

[klopas]

I bought it because I got a decent deal on it - I'll probably just buy another one in the future. I meant that I'd be overclocking my cpu/memory. Sorry for not being clear about that.

 

[Reincus]

No worries. Let us know how the overclocking goes, and good luck!

 

[Axon]

Looks good to me, that's gonna serve you well.