Comparing 3 build levels for gaming.

[DSF]

Well you titled the thread "Comparing 3 build levels for gaming." so I don't think it occurred to anyone that you would be designing the midrange and higher end builds with something other than gaming in mind.

 

[lehtv]

I'd rather have 640x480 256 color than 1600p monochrome.

I'd rather have pie

 

[Sleepingforest]

Yeah, I do realize that some of the extra features on the higher end builds do not really contribute to gaming, but they are convienent to have for general use besides gaming.

For pure gamers, the build will be video card based.
In other words spend the bare minimum threshold to not bottleneck the card. So good psu, cpu, and enough ram and mobo. Then spend as much as you can afford on graphics. sli 660s are around $450 and performs very well. Gtx670s are better at higher resolutions, overclocked sli 670s is one of the best bang for buck solutions too. Around $800 typically for a good pair of 670s, but cheaper brands can go as low as $650 for a pair.

Well, that's the problem here: CPU and mobo and rarely a problem once you've got an overclockable chip and motherboard, and any motherboard past the Extreme4 (8+4 [albeit doubled] power phase and SLI/CFX capable) is wasting cash unless it has an actual port/feature that is needed (no, heat shields do not count). Single GPU is more cost effective and less glitchy than SLI or CFX, so you'd rarely see someone alloting for a PSU that's capable of it; you'd certainly never see someone who's after the best price/performance (such as yourself) purposefully get a huge PSU and then not leave enough budget for SLI/CFX. Few, if any, games even need more than 8GB RAM.

There are other wasteful parts, of course, like getting WD Blacks (and RAIDing them). If you want speed, you're better off with the roughly-as-expensive 10000RPM Velociraptor line.

 

[Charlie98]

Even though I'm in GamerNoobyLand, seems to me you could take any comparable 'mid-level' gamer build and make it a high-end gamer build by pumping up the GPU (single card or multiple... your choice...) and, if necessary, the PSU while running the same CPU/mobo/RAM/drive combo. OC/cooling/case is a separate subject in and of itself as is storage options. Following the gamer rig template, you could easily get by with just a 256GB SSD and skip the spinner altogether.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

FYI: This is just a discussion I already got my build, so I'm not really asking for recommendations or anything.

so what did you burn your money on?

 

[Hubb1e]

A lot of wasted money as everyone else has said. The extra cash should go towards more video card since even the midrange build could take more GPU than you have specced. The highend build is barely faster than your midrange build.

 

[mfenn]

Done!

Thanks!

 

[AngleSlam]

Ok so based off of the feedback I got from you guys I'll give you a rough idea of what my new gamer builds are gonna look like..

Budget: something under $600 or $500 with the best single graphics card you can afford.

Mid: i5 3570k is a popular choice. Amd processors has good bang for buck for sub $200 if you want to save a bit of cash.
The video card should be the best single card solution you can afford. I heard good things about The gtx670, HD7950 and 7970 are said to be the best as of date for price/performance.
As for everything else, 8gb ddr3, z77 mobo with just the features you need, 500-600w psu, an ssd is preferred, atx case, your os and optical drive..

High end: If bang for your buck is what you guys are asking for here and on top of that using a single card gaming solution.. I don't think it gets much better than the specs I put for mid range.
For high end SLI/Crossfire ready mobo, sli 680/670 or CX 7970s. The PSU would need to be a good qaulity 800W+. I would not take any chances going lower to save money.
High end gaming usually means 2560x1600/1440 monitors and the above graphics card solutions would be the best imo. The gtx 690 can be good too.
The cpu could be an i5 3570k or a high end sandy bridge if you already have that. Pretending gaming is all you do, this looks good.

 

[Sleepingforest]

I'd say we don't need to "pretend" all we do is game--I, for example, only game, do some word processing, and web-surf on my PC.

On the actual builds, I have only 2 criticisms: one is that CFX'd 7970s, the most power hungry card, only uses 650W at load (scroll to the bottom). Even a 750W PSU is safe. Secondly, SLI'd 670s perform as well or only slightly (less than 5%) worse than a 690 for $200-300 less, making the 690 a bad purchase (unless you have severe space restrictions, such as mITX). Otherwise, I say that's a fair assessment of the current PC building landscape.

I'd add that VMs, photo editing, and CAD work can be accomplished by switching to a 3770K (or non-K, for work that must be computationally correct 100% of the time) and dropping $100 out of the GPU. The GPU should also be Nvidia for CAD and photo/video editing (though even the $100 GTX 650 is enough for Photoshop CS6).

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

FYI: This is just a discussion I already got my build, so I'm not really asking for recommendations or anything.

I think someone is trolling. First you said you already had a build and weren't looking for suggestions. Now you are throwing out what doesn't even look to be your own words..