Gaming PC build need suggestions...

[qweoiuqweoiu]

First things first, I have posted this in a lot of other forums but I still need more ideas before I go and start buying stuffs cause I dont wanna regret anything in the end so Ill be posting it here too to see what others can share. If I am disobeying some of the forum rules kindly tell me ahead of time so I can delete my post. Thanks

Well I Have a budget of $2500-$4300 and I am planning to build a gaming PC... Well to be more specific this is what I would want.. First I want a long term gaming CPU, something that wouldn't need any major upgrades for the next 3-5 years (If possible) and would still be a decent gaming CPU. Well for sure im going to use this build for gaming and maybe some Video editings. Im not really sure with what games i would be playing cause ever since i move here in japan 2 years ago I only had the chance to get a laptop for work and im not that updated about the newly released games. Hopefully after completing this build i could start playing games again..

Another thing Im planning to have an eyefinity set with 3 landscape 24 inch monitors so the displays needs to be in the budget. Like I said earlier im in japan and Im going to buy most of the parts online specifically through amazon japan but not everything is in there mostly only popular items are there so i cant get my hands on other stuffs..

i only have a few knowledge when it comes to computer hardware, and i have been reading lots of reviews and threads about the good parts to get. heres what i came up with so far.

COMPONENTS:
CPU - Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000
Motherboard - ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory
HDD - Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
PSU - CORSAIR HX Series HX850 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2...
CPU cooler - CORSAIR H100 (CWCH100) Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
GPU - 2 ASUS HD7970-DC2-3GD5 Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
SSD - Corsair Force Series 3 CSSD-F240GB3A-BK 2.5" 240GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Case - NZXT Phantom 410
OS - Windows 7 Ultimate Premium 64bit
Display - 3x Acer V243HAJbd 24-Inch LCD Monitor

Yeah thats all of it so far.. here are some of my concers when it comes to the components i chose.

MoBo - Well at first I was choosing between ASRock Z77 Extreme4, ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE, and the Asus Sabertooth Z77, ive been searching the net for quite a while about the difference in features for dis 3 MoBos but all i can get is almost everything is the same its just a matter of choice for me so I end up choosing Sabertooth Z77 because of its unique cooling system (I need this a lot because my room temp is way high) but looking at the internet more a stumbled upon a Maximus V Extreme, Its a little bit more when it comes to price but i wont mind going for it if the outcome would be much better than the Sabertooth. I cant really understand most of the features that is in Maximus V Extreme so if anyone can help me then it will be appreciated.

PSU - I was suppose to get a HX1200 but someone from another site said that this is more than enough for the build im making. anyone can confirm that?

CPU Cooler - was suppose to just go with the H60 but it looks like that is one of the things i cant get through amazon japan. Its either an H80 or an H100 for a difference of $10 why not go H100 Right
Note: Yes I know that for the H100 to fit the NZXT Phantom 410 i need to do some modding)

GPU - was suppose to get only 1 7970 but someone recommended getting two and crossfiring them for better resolutions.. well not sure about the model of GPU i chose though so if anyone can recommend a better one just go and hit me..

Case - Well I chose NZXT phantom 410 mainly just because of how it looks. I like to have a white Case and this is the best one i find so far and again if anything can recommend something much better im open for suggestions as long as its white.

Display - I was thinking of getting the SyncMaster Full HD 3-panel Multi Display System but its not available in amazon.co.jp and been trying to search the web anywhere else i can get it but it seems like its really rare around here. so I ended up with that.

I linked everything to newegg for viewers convenience but the prices of everything in newegg and in amazon japan is different, some are much more expensive and some are way cheaper than on newegg. All in all i still have around $1400, since there still some left in the budget an upgrade on the parts wouldnt be bad, doesnt matter if I maxed out my budget since I saved this up just for my build..

Oh yeah I already have the optical drives i needed so no need to recommend those

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated .. thank you

 

[RaistlinZ]

I think you can save a lot of money by going with two 7950's in Crossfire. Newegg has them for $279.99 after rebate right now. That'll set you back $559.98 instead of $829.98 that those two ASUSU 7970 cards will cost you.

Once you overclock them the performance difference should be negligible.

 

[qweoiuqweoiu]

I think you can save a lot of money by going with two 7950's in Crossfire. Newegg has them for $279.99 after rebate right now. That'll set you back $559.98 instead of $829.98 that those two ASUSU 7970 cards will cost you.

Once you overclock them the performance difference should be negligible.

well your suggestion is helpful but can I ask for a percentage around what % would be the difference between 2 7950 in crossfire and 2 7970??

 

[Durvelle27]

well your suggestion is helpful but can I ask for a percentage around what % would be the difference between 2 7950 in crossfire and 2 7970??

about 5-10% before overclocking and about neck and neck when the HD 7950's are overclocked

 

[qweoiuqweoiu]

OMG this is why I hate buying stuffs on japan.. a HD 7970 cost ¥ 47,354 around $605 whild a HD 7950 cost ¥ 34,980 around $446 each.. but i have no other choice so might as well do this.. well im not really cutting low on budget here because I want a much greater peroformance.. are there any other 7970 GPU that i can choose from that would be much better that the Asus HD 7970?

 

[Durvelle27]

Sapphire Vapor-X HD 7970 GHz Edition

 

[mfenn]

Well I Have a budget of $2500-$4300 and I am planning to build a gaming PC... Well to be more specific this is what I would want.. First I want a long term gaming CPU, something that wouldn't need any major upgrades for the next 3-5 years (If possible) and would still be a decent gaming CPU.

Not possible, especially not for 5760x1080. It doesn't matter how much money you spend on fancy motherboards, extreme coolers, or ultimate operating systems. This next bit is very important:

The best way to future-proof is to save money and spend it on future products. (Ken g6)

Rather than spend a ton of money now in a futile effort to avoid upgrades, you should build a system with upgrades in mind and set aside a good chunk of your budget.

With that in mind:

- CPU: Fine, but you're really not going to see much of an improvement over the i5 3570K
- Mobo: Extreme overkill, the Z77 Extreme4 is the perfect board for your situation. As an aside on cooling, better heatsinks just allow heat to flow from high temperature to low temperature more efficiently. If your ambient temperature is too high, it won't matter if you have the greatest heatsink in the world or no heatsink at all.
- RAM: Overkill, high DRAM speeds do next to nothing for newer Intel architectures. Get the cheapest 16GB 1.5V DDR3 1333/1600 kit from a reputable brand.
- HDD : Good
- PSU: Wattage is OK for what is necessarily going to be a dual-GPU setup, but I doubt the HX is the best value. Look for the XFX Core 750W/850W, Antec HCG-750W, or Corsair TX750/850.
- HSF: Pointless, a good air cooler like the Scythe Mugen 3 (made in Japan I believe) will do what you need with no case modding
- GPU: Agree that the price differential between the 7950 and 7970 is too great given the relatively small performance differential. You're going to have to upgrade GPUs over the life if this build, so you might as well buy something cost efficient.
- SSD : OK, but look for something more reliable like the Crucial M4 or Samsung 830
- Case: Fine
- OS : Ultimate is a pointless expense. Get Home Premium instead.
- Monitor: This is something that doesn't change that often, so it makes sense to invest in a higher quality solution like the Samsung

 

[qweoiuqweoiu]

I followed some of your suggestions like just getting the 7950s, what you told me got me thinking and yeah that would be the wise thing to do right now. change my ram into corsair vengeance 1866, decided to go with 1866 rather than the 1600 since its on sale. about the PSU im still choosing between the antec and the tx750, SSD went for the M4, I had a hard time finding one bt it looks like its a typo on your side im guessing its the crucial m4 right? well about the OS i chose Ultimate for the language packs since im in japan so i need this one for both japanese and english...

 

[mfenn]

Yeah, sorry I meant the Crucial M4. Only get DDR3 1866 if it costs less than or equal to the least expensive DDR3 1600 and runs at 1.5V or less. It's really not worth even a single yen more than DDR3 1600.

I didn't see you mention the motherboard. That was one of the biggest wastes of money in your original build, so make sure you change that.

As for Windows, do you need to (a) switch the entire OS (like all the dialog boxes and stuff) between English and Japanese, or to you just need to (b) be able to read/write text in both languages? If its the (a) then yeah you do need Ultimate, however you can do (b) with any edition.

 

[qweoiuqweoiu]

yeah the ram i chose only require 1.5v

about the OS.. yeah i would be switching from english to japanese most of the time since some programs i used for work are in japanese so the ultime would be the most fitting for what i need..

about the motherboard.. havent decided yet, well other things that I would add to my cpu is a Wifi Card (which i definitely need) and a sound card (I wouldnt want my onkyo 7.1 speakers to go to waste) and the maximus have the built in wifi and a really nice audio specs so im still trying to figure things out at the moment.. well the price difference of the two mobos here in japan is just around $100 (I dont really know why but sabertooth's price here in japan is still a little high) and im still looking around shops for a really nice wifi card and sound card so if the price wouldnt be that much different then why not go for the maximus??

 

[thelastjuju]

Save the money you would have overspent on these ridiculously overpriced mobos they have on the market today (which will yield 0% performance over boards half its price) and go all out with a higher end sound card like an HT Omega Claro.

There is no such thing as higher end onboard sound, they're all dull and lifeless compared to even entry level dedicated sound cards.

I would also rethink going with a hard drive with a mere 1 year warranty, when your budget is this large. Get a WD Black with a 5 year warranty for $20 more.

.. and the liquid cooler is just frivolous IMO.. I'd save the money on that and the motherboard and get a killer sound card with the money you saved, so this way you will have cutting edge visuals AND sound quality as well.

 

[qweoiuqweoiu]

about the sound card.. like i said im in japan and am going to buy all of the stuff through some japanese online shop (since the nearest PC parts shop here is 1 and a half hour away from where i live.), the variety of parts i can get is limited and it looks like sound cards are one of the hard things to get on those site. most of the sound card that is in der are japanese brand ones, ive been searching the web for good reviews on some of the sound cards but most of them doesnt have one or maybe i just cant find it.. I looked for the HT Omega Claro sad to say its not in the site.. if you could recommend other part then that would be good..

about the hard drive the site where im going to buy the parts offer a 5 year warranty and 2 year replacement warranty for an additional of 15$ so i dont really have much of a problem when it comes to warranty..

and how about the wifi card?? can you recommend a good wifi card?? we have unlimited bandwidth installed here at home i know i cant get much from a wifi connection but i was hoping to get as much as i can so im looking for a really nice wifi card..

 

[mfenn]

about the OS.. yeah i would be switching from english to japanese most of the time since some programs i used for work are in japanese so the ultime would be the most fitting for what i need..

You don't need a Japanese language OS to run programs that display Japanese text. The only thing that the language pack does is to convert the standard Windows dialogs into Japanese.

about the motherboard.. havent decided yet, well other things that I would add to my cpu is a Wifi Card (which i definitely need) and a sound card (I wouldnt want my onkyo 7.1 speakers to go to waste) and the maximus have the built in wifi and a really nice audio specs so im still trying to figure things out at the moment.. well the price difference of the two mobos here in japan is just around $100 (I dont really know why but sabertooth's price here in japan is still a little high) and im still looking around shops for a really nice wifi card and sound card so if the price wouldnt be that much different then why not go for the maximus??

"Only" $100???? That's like a 50% difference! As for your two concerns:

- I did a little Googling, and most Onkyo speaker systems that I came up with were home theatre in a box kits with receiver. In which case, you should be going digital to the receiver via optical, coax, or HDMI. Getting upgraded sound doesn't benefit you at all when you're doing a digital signal.

- Wifi PCIe cards are cheap. Pick anything that supports 802.11n, it should only costs $20-30. That'll free you from having to shell out for an expensive mobo every build.

 

[qweoiuqweoiu]

Well yeah the maximus v extreme is around 34k yenits on sale if you buy it with the 3770k while the sabertooth z77 is still around 26k yen so 8k yen difference around 100-110$..

About the audio yeah i just realized that a while ago so it looks like the built in audio of maximus will be worthless for me

I got another question with the sabertooth since im having two gpu crossfired with a Directcu II cooling system would i be able to fit in a wifi card and a sound card since the gpus will be much more thicker than the standard ones??

 

[mfenn]

Well yeah the maximus v extreme is around 34k yenits on sale if you buy it with the 3770k while the sabertooth z77 is still around 26k yen so 8k yen difference around 100-110$..

I wasn't doubting your math. I'm saying that $100 is a ton of money to waste on a mobo that gives you no extra benefit.

About the audio yeah i just realized that a while ago so it looks like the built in audio of maximus will be worthless for me

I got another question with the sabertooth since im having two gpu crossfired with a Directcu II cooling system would i be able to fit in a wifi card and a sound card since the gpus will be much more thicker than the standard ones??

- Mobo: Forget the Sabertooth, it is a waste of money.
- Sound card: I thought we just agreed that you didn't need a sound card since you are going digital?
- GPU: Avoid triple-slot coolers for a Crossfire config. You'll be better off with dual slot coolers and having some space between them.

On the Extreme4, the PCI slots are like this:

1. PCIe x1
2. PCIe x16
3. Blank
4. PCI
5. PCIe x16
6. PCI
7. PCIe x1

So what, you would do is:

1. Wifi
2. GPU1
3. GPU1
4. Empty
5. GPU2
6. GPU2
7. Empty

 

[extreme oc'er]

Definately go with SSD much better response times, although i always switch page filing over to a HDD, when your system is on the SSD, to increase its life span.