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Building/Ordering a new PC, 2K budget

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Davinc

Junior Member
So, I've been wanting to buy myself a new PC, since the dinosaur I run now is about to explode. I'll follow the template listed in the sticky thread, and will add any details I feel are pertinent at the end.

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1. What YOUR PC will be used for.

Mostly mid to high end gaming, running 6 or so clients of Lineage 2 (Old MMO, requires a lot of multiboxing to play effectively. The game itself is not very demanding graphically.) I will most likely get into more modern games when I get my new PC that can actually run them without emitting smoke. I've heard great things about Starcraft 2 and Crysis and am dying to see what those look like on a solid gaming system.


2. What YOUR budget is.

$2K US give or take 100 bucks.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA seems easiest, since that's where I live and shipping internationally is a nightmare. I'm a pilot, so I know how cargo is treated on long flights!

4. IF YOU have a brand preference.

I have a slight preference for Intel and Nvidia components, but what do I know, I'm a total beginner when it comes to selecting new computer parts. I haven't been able to keep up with this industry since 1999. So, not really any preference to speak of.

For some reason I am strongly leaning towards Kingston Hyper X for my RAM selection, again I don't know entirely why. I've had older rigs run great with Kingston RAM, so that probably has something to do with it. I'll take any suggestions though.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

None, the new system is to be build from scratch.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

I have done a bit of research, and will be asking some specific questions later on on the build I have thrown together without too much knowledge. But as I stated before, I am a beginner when it comes to modern hardware - willing to learn though.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Not really interesting in squeezing the system too much, I'd like it to last, and with the money I will invest, I shouldn't need to OC for what I need the PC for.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

The new LCD screen is 1920X1080 so I suppose that's what I'll run the games at, if they'll let me.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Immediately. I've had the cash for a while, just never got around to thinking of what to spend it on. My new job allows me to be at home a little bit more and spend some time on gaming and such highly important things.

-->

I would love to have a company build the PC for me, instead of having to take the chance on putting it together myself with little to no knowledge or experience, unless this is something someone with half a brain can jump into. Any ideas on this would be appreciated.

So, the rig I have put together at Cyberpowerpc.com looks like this: (If anyone has any information on the reputability of this or other similar websites, please let me know.)

CyberPower X58 Configurator CFGI7, http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/CyberPower_X58_Configurator/
  • *BASE_PRICE: [+835]
  • BLUETOOTH: None
  • BUNDLE: None
  • CARE1: Ultra Enhanced Packaging Solution - Protect Your Dream System During Transit [+19]
  • CARE2: CoolerMaster Thermal Fusion 400 Extreme Performance CPU - Thermal Compound Optimized for Thermal Dissipation [+10]
  • CARE3: Professional Wiring for All WIRING Inside The System Chassis - Minimize Cable Exposure, Maximize Airflow in Your System [+19]
  • CAS: Coolermaster HAF-X Gaming Full Tower Case w/ 1x230mm Red LED Fan, 1x200mm Fans, 2xFront USB 3.0 Port [+88]
  • CASUPGRADE: 12in Liquid Neon Thunder Pattern Light [+15] (Red Color)
  • CD: Sony 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive [+3] (BLACK COLOR)
  • CD2: Sony 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive [+24] (BLACK COLOR)
  • CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-950 3.06 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1366
  • CS_FAN: Maximum Enermax 120MM Case Cooling Fans for selected case (Maximum Silent Operation) [+29] (500-1,200 RPM White Color with White LED Twister Bearing 8-14 dBA [+16])
  • FA_HDD: None
  • FAN: * CoolerMaster V6 GT CPU Cooler (Nickle Plated Double-V Heatpipe w/ Color Changing LED Cap) [+22]
  • FLASHMEDIA: None
  • FLOPPY: None
  • GLASSES: None
  • HDD: 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+28] (Single Hard Drive)
  • HDD2: None
  • HDDPRO: Free 30 GB Kingston 2.5 inch SATA Gaming MLC SSD with Hyper-X memory purchase (Single Hard Drive)
  • IEEE_CARD: None
  • KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
  • LANSURGE: None
  • MB_ADDON: None
  • MEMORY: 6GB (2GBx3) DDR3/1800MHz Triple Channel Memory Module [+49] (Kingston Hyper-X [+27])
  • MONITOR: 24" Widescreen 1920x1080 Sceptre X246W-1080P LCD (Viewable 23.6")(Black Color) w/ Built-in Speaker, DVI & Input [+159]
  • MONITOR2: None
  • MONITOR3: None
  • MOTHERBOARD: * (3-Way SLI Support) GigaByte GA-X58A-UD3R Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Ultra Durable™3 Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 Dolby Audio, eSATA, GbLAN, USB3.0, 2 x SATA-III RAID, IEEE1394a, 4 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI [+36]
  • MOUSE: * GigaByte GM-M6800 Dual Lens Optical Gaming Mouse [+13]
  • MULTIVIEW: Xtreme Performance in SLI/CrossFireX Gaming Mode Supports Single Monitor
  • NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
  • NOISEREDUCE1: Sound Absorbing Foam on Side, Top And Bottom panels [+29]
  • NOISEREDUCE2: Power Supply Gasket [+5]
  • NOISEREDUCE3: Anti-Vibration Fan Mounts [+9]
  • OS: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium [+104] (64-bit Edition)
  • OVERCLOCK: Pro OC (Performance Overclock 10% or more) [+19]
  • POWERSUPPLY: * 700 Watts - CoolerMaster Silent Pro Gaming 80 Plus Power Supply [+114]
  • PRINTER: None
  • PRINTER_CABLE: None
  • RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
  • SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
  • SOUND: Creative Labs SB Audigy SE [+30]
  • SPEAKERS: Logitech Z313 2.1 DT speaker [+48]
  • TEMP: None
  • TVRC: None
  • USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
  • USBFLASH: None
  • USBHD: None
  • USBX: None
  • VC_PHYSX: None
  • VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SE 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+55] (EVGA Powered by NVIDIA [+40])
  • VIDEO2: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SE 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+175] (EVGA Powered by NVIDIA [+5])
  • VIDEO3: None
  • WNC: None
  • _PRICE: (+2025)
I could not find prices for the specific parts, since this website gave me a total price including components and will not sell parts separately.
Price does not include shipping and the 5% I got off for cyber monday. Final price to get it at my house is $2032 US.

My general questions to you would be along the lines of:

Compatibility

Pricing and performance

Reputability of sites that will build the PC and deliver it plug&play at my door. or should I go with the option to assemble the system myself, having little to no prior experience with that. (I don't mind spending a few bucks for the peace of mind of having it done professionally.)

One of the specific questions I have is this:
I know the X58-UD3R has two 16X PCIe slots that actually run at 16x and two that run at 8X. I'd love to have an SLI/crossfire setup with both cards in the 16X because that seems to give the most performance. Do these cards have single slot cooling, or do I need to reconsider and get a single more powerful card, or choose different cards. Or, as another option, does the 8X slot for the second card really cost me that much performance?

Another specific question would be, is the V6 cooler (or any better substitute) sufficient cooling for the CPU, or should I look into liquid cooling, even if I don't want to OC. I'm not great with maintenance of my systems, and feel a little squeamish about maintaining a liquid cooling system.

Any help or ideas would be tremendously appreciated. I'd love to have this system build this week, so I can finally stop listening to my computer as well as my games/movies!

 
GTX 460 SE
$2000 rig.

I don't think so.

30 GB Kingston
Says it's free, but you're still paying for it somewhere. Kingston -- no. You want a Sandforce based SSD.

Anyway, x8 x8 is fine for crossfire/SLI. The difference is like 2%.

As for getting prebuilt at this level, you know they're gonna be taking you for like $500, right?
 
Yeah, I was afraid you'd say something like that about the prebuild thing. Balls.

The 460 SE is that bad? Any suggestions for a better setup? Crossfire vs a single more expensive card?

EDIT: Cheers on the Kingston head's up. The SSD seems worth the time it saves on bootup, I'll look into getting the other one.
 
Agree with DominionSeraph.

Even if you don't want to build it yourself, forget X58 for gaming. The P55 platform is just as fast and cheaper. You also don't sound like the type of guy who wants the hassle of an SLI setup.

I specced out one of CyberPower's "Holiday Special III" PCs with an i5 760, 8GB of RAM, a GTX 580, and 24" monitor for $1700. Of course, building your own will be a heck of a lot cheaper.
 
mfenn said:
I specced out one of CyberPower's "Holiday Special III" PCs with an i5 760, 8GB of RAM, a GTX 580, and 24" monitor for $1700. Of course, building your own will be a heck of a lot cheaper.
Click to expand...

I'm not totally afraid of throwing it together myself, just the cautious type. How much is a heck of a lot? 500 seems unreal, then again, any company wants to turn a profit and my dumbass would probably pay it unknowingly.

I wouldn't mind starting from scratch with the right people to help me, I am just clueless at the moment 😛
 
I put together the same parts on Newegg, totaled to ~$1900 (except I put a Vertex 2 on instead of Kingston). I'm pretty sure some things can be done differently, for $2K you can do almost anything especially if it's an i5 system.

- Unless you're doing a lot of on-the-fly disc copying, 2 DVD drives is a waste.
- Audigy SE is garbage, pretty much any current onboard sound will be better.
- As mentioned, SLI 460 SE is a waste of money.
- There are A LOT of light fans in this system. It's going to be an assault of white and red.
- The peripherals are pretty cheap.
 
I am realizing I'm just a sucker with too much money to spend, lol. I have to admit I get dazzled by fancy LED fans and junk like that. Eventho I'd like to put a few in my system, they should probably not outshine the games I'm playing 😛

So what are the basics I'd need to look at for a solid gaming system?

I5 for gaming, any particular model?

P55 Motherboard, should I look high-end or low-end for my needs?

What sort of RAM (1800-1600-1333 and brand/amount) should I look at?

6.0G/s SATA-III harddrive seems to be a good choice, from what I read.

The SSD is something I would like to have still, so I'll check on that too.

The 2 DVD drives are something I've always had, but recently I haven't used them for too much, I think that stems back to the days where downloading software took 2 days. I can always add one for 40 bucks.
 
build26.png


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118039
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129021
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814133326
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231311
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227551
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.564034
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...787.22-152-185

No real need for the Win 7 Professional but it's within $10 of OEM Home Premium in combo so I splurged.

I also splurged on the i7. mfenn's i5 would do you just as well in games.

$100 in mail-in rebates. (Two $30 for the GTX 460's, and it allows up to three rebates. [I don't know why though since the GTX 460 can't do tri-SLI, but w/e.])

So, with a quadruple-the-size and proper Sandforce-based SSD and real GTX 460's, we're at $1454 after rebate w/o monitor.
 
Last edited:
Amazing, cheers! This all really puts my research on the fast track!

The three main questions I have now are:

SLI 460's or the 580 single card. I'm sure I can figure out how to SLI them or find someone within my circle of friends who can, I'm not worried about that. What is better for gaming? (I realize I may be opening up an ongoing discussion, as I have read a bit on these forums, I just haven't found a conclusive answer yet.)

Am I just horny for numbers with the 6.0g/s SATA-III harddrive, or does that actually make a difference up from the 3.0G/s?

And I was under the impression I was only supposed to stick the OS on the SSD, why would I want 120GB instead of, say, a 60GB one? Can I increase performance on games or other applications by writing them to the SSD?
 
Davinc said:
SLI 460's or the 580 single card. I'm sure I can figure out how to SLI them or find someone within my circle of friends who can, I'm not worried about that. What is better for gaming? (I realize I may be opening up an ongoing discussion, as I have read a bit on these forums, I just haven't found a conclusive answer yet.)
Click to expand...

They perform similarly.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4008/nvidias-geforce-gtx-580/6 (Not all the benches show GTX 460 SLI)

GTX 460 SLI is ~$190 cheaper than the GTX 580 after rebates. GTX 580 would be simpler -- no SLI compatibility issues to deal with -- and it also leaves you open for GTX 580 SLI later. (not that I consider SLI a solid upgrade route. Generally by the time it's time to upgrade there would be better single-card solutions out, and high-end cards don't drop in price rapidly even after they've been superseded, so you're looking at spending too much for old tech.)

Davinc said:
Am I just horny for numbers with the 6.0g/s SATA-III harddrive, or does that actually make a difference up from the 3.0G/s?
Click to expand...

No difference. Mechanical hard drives max out at around 150MB/s transfer rate. 3Gb/s is twice what they need.

Davinc said:
And I was under the impression I was only supposed to stick the OS on the SSD, why would I want 120GB instead of, say, a 60GB one? Can I increase performance on games or other applications by writing them to the SSD?
Click to expand...

Yes, you can decrease their load times considerably. If you have any apps that use a scratch disk putting it on the SSD will help tremendously, too.
 
Last edited:
The SLI compatibility issues, would those arise from specific programs, or are those inherent in the hardware? I'm interested in the $190 savings.

What size is windows 7? I remember the days where OS's were around 500 megs. I'm sure they're bigger now.
 
It's funny how surprising the difference between custom and manufacturer builds can be at this range. On newegg I built a computer comparable with an Apple Mac Pro, Dell, and HP 12 core workstations and I could have bought 3 computers with BETTER RAM, more HDD capacity, an SSD, and double the RAM for around the price of any of them. It's kind of sad really. I guess where there's idiots there's always a way to sucker them out of their hard earned money...
 
Davidh373 said:
It's funny how surprising the difference between custom and manufacturer builds can be at this range. On newegg I built a computer comparable with an Apple Mac Pro, Dell, and HP 12 core workstations and I could have bought 3 computers with BETTER RAM, more HDD capacity, an SSD, and double the RAM for around the price of any of them. It's kind of sad really. I guess where there's idiots there's always a way to sucker them out of their hard earned money...
Click to expand...

Which is why I'm happy I took the time to pick your collective brain before making my decision 😛

TBH, I actually thought I was shaving some money off by going to a custom probuild website, instead of running to the major brands. Guess I was wrong.
 
Here's GTX 460 SLI with the i5. I also changed out Win7 Pro for Win7 Home for $20 savings with combo.

build27.png

i5 combo
Case + Home Premium combo

$1354 after rebates.

Here it is with a GTX 580. Still with the SLI capable motherboard. (Could save a few bucks by dropping that down to one that doesn't support SLI)

build28.png


$1552 after rebates (inc. shipping)
 
Davinc said:
The SLI compatibility issues, would those arise from specific programs, or are those inherent in the hardware? I'm interested in the $190 savings.
Click to expand...

I think it's mostly a case of getting the drivers to properly balance the load.

Davinc said:
What size is windows 7? I remember the days where OS's were around 500 megs. I'm sure they're bigger now.
Click to expand...

Well my XP install is over 3GB.
Googling around it looks like Win7 can push 20GB.
 
DominionSeraph said:
Well my XP install is over 3GB.
Googling around it looks like Win7 can push 20GB.
Click to expand...

Windows 7 is around 8GB fresh install. As long as you use CCleaner regularly you shouldn't go over 10GB. 20GB must be coming from people who don't know how to maintain their computer...
 
DominionSeraph said:
I think it's mostly a case of getting the drivers to properly balance the load.
Click to expand...

Sounds like something that's not impossible to fix if it's a onetime thing. That shouldn't really be an issue then. SLI it is for now then.

I'll go with a 60Gig SSD so I have plenty of room for a windows 7 install and basic applications, perhaps even my main games.

I think I'm going with the i7, just because it seems like a smart thing to do, with future gaming needs always increasing.
 
One thing I havnt seen anyone mention yet is multi monitor support, first thing I noticed is that you run multiple instances of certain games...Id bet its much easier with more screens. Nvidia can run 2 per card while ATI can run up to 6.

Since you do run multiple games at a time, more RAM would actually be usefull...so go for 6-8GB.

With your budget, why not do SLI GTX580? Sure thats half the budget, but youd be set for a long time. It would also alow multi monitor and 3D gaming with all the fancy details.

Off the top of my head:

2x GTX580 1050$
1156 SLI MOBO 160$
i5-760 200$ (CM Hyper 212+ HF/F 30$)
8GB DDR3 100$
DVD+HDD 100$
SSD 200$
Nice ~700W PSU 120$
Nice case 60-100$

If you shop sales you could be closer to 1900$ on hardware. Sorry didnt have time to look anything up...no links for you!
😀
 
EliteRetard, he needs room for a monitor. Also you left out OS.
I ran a single GTX 580 build with a SLI motherboard and he said he'd prefer to save the $190 and go with GTX 460 SLI.

Ok, I just ran a GTX 580 SLI cart and it's $2030 with only $30 in rebates.

I like the, "saving $675 after rebate while getting an i7," route better.
 
DominionSeraph said:
EliteRetard, he needs room for a monitor. Also you left out OS.
I ran a single GTX 580 build with a SLI motherboard and he said he'd prefer to save the $190 and go with GTX 460 SLI.

Ok, I just ran a GTX 580 SLI cart and it's $2030 with only $30 in rebates.

I like the, "saving $675 after rebate while getting an i7," route better.
Click to expand...

Hahaha, I must say for a minute I was dazzled by the notion of a 580 SLI rig, but I'd still need the i7 to make those puppies perform at their top settings, correct? I found myself thinking, meh, I can spend the extra cash on the cards and monitors. I'm not going to tho, I'll save the few 100 bucks and stick with the i7 SLI 460 rig.

thanks v much for your input tho!
 
Yeah, for a multibox setup if you were going to spend $2k I'd say this would probably be better than SLI GTX 580:

build29.png


$1000 processor.
 
alright people, I'm off to bed, I've really gotten some invaluable information here today, thanks to you all! I'll check back somewhere tomorrow, and let you know what I decide to do.

Cheers!
 
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