Gaming/Media Build

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spyd3rgt

Junior Member
Feb 2, 2006
18
0
0
Hi all,

I'm looking to put together a new gaming/media rig. I've built multiple systems in the past, but my last build was about 4 years ago, so I'm a bit out of the loop on what's the latest and greatest. I probably don't need anything very powerful, right now, but I'm not afraid to get more than I need in the interest of the machine lasting a bit longer. So, would prefer mid-to-high end components. Any help will be greatly appreciated :)

Advice I'm particularly interested in:
Help with a tower would be appreciated. Room for 4x 3.5" HDDs, 2x 5.25" drives, a large psu, and decent cable routing would be nice, hehe.
Motherboard (an abundance of USB ports is nice; onboard video seems like a waste).
CPU (some sort of i7?).
GPU (no plans to sli/crossfire, but need dual monitor support).
Memory (probably go for 8GB).
PSU (less power draw the better, of course; modular is nice).

1. What YOUR PC will be used for.
Gaming (mostly World of Warcraft, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3). A lot of online video streaming, including streaming to other machines (PlayOn). Often watch video while gaming (multi-monitor setup).

2. What YOUR budget is.
Around $1500, but flexible.

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

4. IF YOU have a brand preference.
I tend to stick with Intel CPUs, and ATI GPUs. Beyond that, I"m pretty open.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
I don't plan to re-use any parts, but I don't need any HDD advice.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
I have, but could use a few tips on where to look to figure out good mobos, in particular.

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

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
Dual monitor, one 1920x1080 and one 1280x1024

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Soon, but there is no immediate rush.

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.
No worries.

Thanks again for any help =)
 
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spyd3rgt

Junior Member
Feb 2, 2006
18
0
0
Look like some pretty solid suggestions. Thank you very much! I had been thinking of the Gigabyte boards, myself, mainly due to the plethora of ports. Case looks very roomy. My last build used a bottom-mounted PSU, which was a pain, but mostly because the PSU area was sectioned off (Antec P180 case).

I'd be happy to hear a bit about why you chose that video card. Is Nvidia outperforming ATI these days? Any reason you went with the Gigabtye branded gpu? Some of the reviews indicate that model might have stability issues, due to it being OC out of the box, but I suppose I could always dial that down. Looking at some benchmarks, it appears the GTX 570 is near best (just the 580 above it), so seems like a good choice :)

It looks like the i7-2600K would give a pretty decent performance boost, for about $100 extra. Any thoughts on whether that boost is worth it?

It looks like the HSF might be a bit big. I don't see this model of mobo on Noctua's compatibility list (http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=compatibility_gen&products_id=34&lng=en), though that could just be because the mobo is new. Any alternative heatsinks you would suggest?

I've always used OCZ PSUs, but my last three have died after about a year, so happy to try out a Seasonic, hehe.

Thanks again for your advice :)
 
mnewsham

mnewsham

Lifer
Oct 2, 2010
14,539
428
136
1. I chose that video card because the current 5xx series GPU's are going to be last generation in a few months and i dont see a reason to pay a premium for a 45nm GPU when 28nm is coming in a few months (think Christmas) Nvidia is outperforming...for a price. If you want you can get similar performance with the HD 6950/6970 ;)


2. The 2600k gives great performance increases...in multithreaded applications however GAMES are NOT multi threaded (for the most part) AFAIK barley ANY games use more then 4 cores. the only thing the 2600k adds really is the HyperThreading (twice the "cores")

3. That HSF fits on most boards and i have not seen any issues with it in the builds i have used it on ;)
For and alternative you can get the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ (substantially less for price BUT also in cooling ability, But still a good cooler for sandy bridge.)

4.OCZ PSU's in my experience have been pretty much garbage and i tend to stay away. Seasonic is usually seen as THE company to beat ;)

Any more questions feel free to ask.
 
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