• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

here are my components for my gaming rig

F

fng01

Member
OK think I have everything narrowed down for my gaming PC. Here is what I have selected. Some of the stuff has already been purchased. I will most definately be over clocking.

Case: Corsair 650D
MB: Asus P8Z77-V Pro
CPU: I7 3770K
Ram: Corsair Dominator 8GB
GC: EVGA GTX 660Ti SC 3G
PSU: Seasonic x750 gold
SSD: Samsung 830 256K
Optic: ASUS DVD Burner
OS: Win7 64 Home OEM
Monitor: ASUS 25" LED

So what do you experts think? Did I do my homework? I stretched the budget a lot for the 660TI, I7 and Dominator RAM. originaly I wanted to keep it all under $1K. My first build and current rig is from 2006 (with some upgrades), this will be just my second build and suspect it too will have to last well into the future.
 
Last edited:
What's been puchased already?

What do you do with the PC, gaming only?

Since you're overclocking you'll need aftermarket cooling.

There are several things in your PC that are overkill and it should not be a problem keeping the build at about $1K excluding the monitor and OS while keeping the same level of gaming performance. In particular, you're seriously overpaying on the case, PSU, motherboard, RAM and CPU. If you got the PSU with the $40 off deal that's OK.
 
Motherboard, CPU, Case, Ram, Graphics have not been purchased yet. I have a 212 cooler I purchased some time ago still in the box. yes I got the PSU last night at the $109 deal
 
Last edited:
lehtv said:
Are there any specific requirements for the motherboard apart from basic things that come with the Z77 chipset?

Any specific requirements for the case?

I would recommend

Mobo Asrock Z77 Extreme4 $135
CPU i5-3570K $215 AP if bought tonight
RAM Samsung DDR3-1600 2x4GB $45
GPU Gigabyte GTX 670 $400
Case Antec Eleven Hundred $90 or Corsair 500R White $90 AR

= $885, or $200 less than the components in your OP but with better gaming performance.
Click to expand...

Everything here is exactly right. Or get the 7950, much better than a 660 and almost as good as a 670 for 110$ less.
 
7950 3GB is definitely an option. A bit better for dual GPU than a 670 2GB perhaps, but not needed on this resolution. If there are plans for a 2560 wide monitor in the near future get a 7950 3GB
 
the Asrock Extreme4, I5, and corsair 550D were my original first choices. But reading reviews and watching some NewEgg info vids I changed to the Asus board and 650 case (guess really only for the window). The memory...well I don't know much about memory, I did look at some Coirsair Vengance that is on the approved list for $40-$50 but the Dominator ram is only $20 more and advertized as hand picked chips. Figure I could knock off about $100 on the CPU, $24 on Ram, $100 on motherboard, and get a cheap case but I am not going to do another build for atleast 5 yrs so is $250 a really big deal over spending almost $2000? Do you guys feel the Asus P8z77 -V pro has nothing over the Asrock? I've read alot about Asus capasitors used and anti static grounds along with some other improved components, along with the easy gui for overclocking. I kept uping my selecton thinking in 2-3 years I'll be happier with the I7, I run an SLI rig now and figure I could forsee another GPU in less than a year to add on.
 
If you want a windowed case the 1100 is nice, but you could get away with a Corsair 300R Windowed

The memory...well I don't know much about memory, I did look at some Coirsair Vengance that is on the approved list for $40-$50 but the Dominator ram is only $20 more and advertized as hand picked chips.
Click to expand...
Which has zero practical benefit. You could be get cheap set of 1333 and you wouldn't notice any difference to Dominator in performance and reliability. Only if you overclocked the Dominator you'd see a difference in bencmark. In any case, the Samsung RAM is probably higher quality than Dominator despite the simplistic looks. It can OC to 2133 CL11 @ 1.5V

but I am not going to do another build for atleast 5 yrs so is $250
Click to expand...
The $250 is much better spent on an upgrade in 2-3 years, like a new video card.

Do you guys feel the Asus P8z77 -V pro has nothing over the Asrock?
Click to expand...
Sure it does, but another question is whether you have any use for the extra features.
1. You won't need four SATA 6gb/s ports and four internal USB 3.0 headers.
2. Will you need wireless networking? If so, less expensive to add a wireless PCI card
3. Doubt you'll ever need DisplayPort.
4. Do you need four chassis fan headers? Cheaper and more convenient IMO to buy an aftermarket fan controller if you have a lot of fans.
5. Asus does have a better fan control but you could get the same in a P8Z77-V LK

Apart from the above, the higher cost is explained by beefier heat sinks. Your overclocking is limited by your Hyper 212 though, not your motherboard.

Also, the Asrock board has a better sound codec, ALC898 vs ALC892.

I kept uping my selecton thinking in 2-3 years I'll be happier with the I7, I run an SLI rig now and figure I could forsee another GPU in less than a year to add on.
Click to expand...
The i7 vs i5 issue doesn't really relate to SLI. They have the same performance in apps that are up to quad threaded which means the vast majority of games. Few games support eight threads, but in those that do, the CPU doesn't become a bottleneck nearly as easily which is good for a powerful graphics setup. Such games are more likely to become more common in the future, but still, you're unlikely to ever see $100 worth of benefit if you're just gaming.

In games that do support eight threads, the CPU doesn't become a bottleneck nearly as easily which is good for a powerful graphics setup. But upgrading the GPU in 2-3 years, you're better off going with a faster single GPU that's two-three generations newer, than going SLI with a 3 year old GPU.
 
Last edited:
lehtv said:
but I am not going to do another build for atleast 5 yrs so is $250
Click to expand...
The $250 is much better spent on an upgrade in 2-3 years, like a new video card.
Click to expand...
This. A GPU upgrade in 2-3 years makes a huge difference for gaming, and it's so easy to do. It's why I'm still using a Phenom II X4.

fng01 said:
I kept uping my selecton thinking in 2-3 years I'll be happier with the I7
Click to expand...
For a ~50% price premium, you're not getting 50% more performance (in gaming), and I doubt you'll get 50% more satisfaction (YMMV though, if you have a thing for a bigger epeen)
 
lehtv said:
The i7 vs i5 issue doesn't really relate to SLI. They have the same performance in apps that are up to quad threaded which means the vast majority of games. Few games support eight threads, but in those that do, the CPU doesn't become a bottleneck nearly as easily which is good for a powerful graphics setup. Such games are more likely to become more common in the future, but still, you're unlikely to ever see $100 worth of benefit if you're just gaming.
Click to expand...
i7 also has 33% more L3 cache, so I don't think it performs exactly as i5 in any use.
 
lehtv your arguments are compelling and I am taking your recommendations serious. It is why I am here. I know there are people like you that know far more than I will ever about this stuff.

So, I prefere Asus over Asrock. I will look at the P8Z77-V LK. I have a EVGA 550Ti that I could take from my current rig do you think it would handle BF3 with an I5 or I7, if so I could save quit a bit if I didnt need to buy a new vid card until next year.

I'll ditch the Dominator and see if the Samsung is on the approved vendors list of the MB I choose.

I have an Antec P180 case now and checked out the Antec 1100. I liked it too, maybe your right $160 is probably too much for a case.

Still thinking I will have less regret with the I7 down the road than with the I5.
 
postmortemIA said:
i7 also has 33% more L3 cache, so I don't think it performs exactly as i5 in any use.
Click to expand...

Its also a couple hundred MHz faster. That being said, lehtv never said that they'd be exactly the same, only that the massive premium that Intel wants for the i7 isn't worth it (which it isn't).
 
fng01 said:
So, I prefere Asus over Asrock. I will look at the P8Z77-V LK. I have a EVGA 550Ti that I could take from my current rig do you think it would handle BF3 with an I5 or I7, if so I could save quit a bit if I didnt need to buy a new vid card until next year.

Still thinking I will have less regret with the I7 down the road than with the I5.
Click to expand...

The bolded are both examples of incorrect reasoning when it comes to building a gaming rig. The top 5 most important parts of a gaming rig are:

1. GPU
2. GPU
3. GPU
4. CPU
5. RAM

You should never ever consider holding onto an extremely weak GPU like the GTX 550 Ti just so that you can get a marginally faster CPU.
 
guess I am lost now. Thought the I7 3770K was the best CPU and Asus P8Z77 a top choice in MB's along with 660Ti 3 G SC being one of the best bang for the buck.
 
The i7-3770 is faster, yes. The bang for the buck is what's wrong with it.

For a fixed sum, an i5-3570K and better video card would be better to get.

If you are a professional Photoshop user with a $1500+ budget, then go wild and get the i7. For a budget of <$1k, it's a lot of money for little to no gain. ~$80 can either be saved, or get put to better components elsewhere in the system.
 
fng01,

The quality of the parts you are looking at are fine. However.... As Cerb, mfenn, lehtv and the others are saying, it is about bang for the buck. If you want to have an upgrade path (and in gaming that means the GPU), then optimize all the other components to get the best GPU available for the resolution and detail level you want. In 2-3 years apply the money you save now to that next GPU upgrade.

I ran an E6750 for over 5 years, and with a single GPU upgrade was able to keep it more than viable for most games. I expect my current i3570 to do the same barring some incredible change in the trajectory of games. Such a change is not likely to be saved by the 3770k.

Don't get upset or too confused. There are lots of folks out there that swear by their parts and could not imagine living without them. Emotional poppycock. I could swap out any number of parts/manufacturers and my experience would be exactly the same (or at least within a couple of %, which I am never going to notice).

In the end it is your money and time, so do what you want. Just recognize what the folks here are trying to get across.
 
OK so I agree the I5 is all I need and saving about $100 is OK with me. I am now searching for a more resonably priced case, but what about the GPU? I like EVGA and customer service has been great for me in the past. I just had to RMA an old GPU and they send me out an upgraded one in a week. So is the GTX660 Ti SC not a good choice, or are you guys saying to apply the $100 in savings over the CPU to get the GTX670?
 
So is the GTX660 Ti SC not a good choice, or are you guys saying to apply the $100 in savings over the CPU to get the GTX670?
Click to expand...

Either path is fine. There's not a lot of difference between the two cards. WIth 660 Ti 2GB you'll have to upgrade slightly sooner or play at slightly lower graphics settings, and it's debatable whether 670 is worth it over 660 Ti (in my opinion for 1080p gaming it is not). But if your budget allows for it, by all means go for the faster card, e.g. EVGA 670 FTW.
 
mfenn said:
The bolded are both examples of incorrect reasoning when it comes to building a gaming rig. The top 5 most important parts of a gaming rig are:

1. GPU
2. GPU
3. GPU
4. CPU
5. RAM

You should never ever consider holding onto an extremely weak GPU like the GTX 550 Ti just so that you can get a marginally faster CPU.
Click to expand...

fng01 said:
OK so I agree the I5 is all I need and saving about $100 is OK with me. I am now searching for a more resonably priced case, but what about the GPU? I like EVGA and customer service has been great for me in the past. I just had to RMA an old GPU and they send me out an upgraded one in a week. So is the GTX660 Ti SC not a good choice, or are you guys saying to apply the $100 in savings over the CPU to get the GTX670?
Click to expand...

lehtv said:
Either path is fine. There's not a lot of difference between the two cards. WIth 660 Ti 2GB you'll have to upgrade slightly sooner or play at slightly lower graphics settings, and it's debatable whether 670 is worth it over 660 Ti (in my opinion for 1080p gaming it is not). But if your budget allows for it, by all means go for the faster card, e.g. EVGA 670 FTW.
Click to expand...

I'm just going to chime in here with a slightly different opinion. Depending on where you can get the CPU, you might find the difference in price between the 3570 and 3770 isn't that significant - for instance the 3770 is available at TigerDirect right now for $280. While many of the posts above suggest the 3770k doesn't make a difference in gaming, that is not true. It doesn't make as big a difference as an equal amount spent on a GPU. If you have the budget for it, buy the 3770 (especially if it's $280 versus $230). There is plenty of evidence on this forum and elsewhere that hyperthreading helps in many modern games, most notably BF3 multiplayer. Another example would be Starcraft II - take a look at the i7-920 versus the identically-clocked i5-750: http://www.techspot.com/review/305-starcraft2-performance/page13.html. Big difference, and it's relevant to look at older processors, because you're looking for a long term investment - a 920 bought in 2009 is handling games better than the 750 one could have purchased for $100 less. Of course, in some games, hyperthreading won't help at all - hence, the bang for the buck argument.

On the choice of 660ti versus 670FTW versus Gigabyte 670, I will say this much - the 670's memory configuration is much more likely to stand the text of time (i.e., new games). Between the EVGA and Gigabyte - well, the Gigabyte is cooler/quieter, the EVGA exhausts air out of the case, they run at the same speed at stock, the Gigabyte probably has about 50MHz of extra OC headroom, and EVGA's service is second to none. Up to you what matters most.

Hope that covers it all.
 
Last edited:
My monitor that I just bought and have yet to recieve is a Asus VE258Q 25-Inch Full-HD LED with a res of 1920x1080P. So I think what you said above is its not worth the 670 card becasue my new monitor is a 1080 correct? I see that the 660Ti has a 3G SC card that is $335. Is the extra gig worth $35?

OK so I am looking at an I5 CPU and still looking at the Asus P8z77-V boards, but not sure which one yet. I guess 2 6G Sata ports will be enough for me with my 256k SSD card leaving room for an addition. thats the P8Z77-V, I think they all have about the same arrangment of PCIe slotts for the GPU. I know that they don't have duel PCIe 16x16 if I run SLI, but with a high end GPU figuring I wont need too.

Any other thoughts? any other cases I should look at with a more modern setup than my old P180?
 
fng01 said:
My monitor that I just bought and have yet to recieve is a Asus VE258Q 25-Inch Full-HD LED with a res of 1920x1080P. So I think what you said above is its not worth the 670 card becasue my new monitor is a 1080 correct? I see that the 660Ti has a 3G SC card that is $335. Is the extra gig worth $35?

OK so I am looking at an I5 CPU and still looking at the Asus P8z77-V boards, but not sure which one yet. I guess 2 6G Sata ports will be enough for me with my 256k SSD card leaving room for an addition. thats the P8Z77-V, I think they all have about the same arrangment of PCIe slotts for the GPU. I know that they don't have duel PCIe 16x16 if I run SLI, but with a high end GPU figuring I wont need too.

Any other thoughts? any other cases I should look at with a more modern setup than my old P180?
Click to expand...

Do not buy the 660Ti 3GB cards. They have been shown to be slower than the 2GB cards.

Asus has a huge number of motherboards - maybe you should link a couple you're considering so we can point out the differences to you. Otherwise it's hard to really advise you on which one to buy. On a side note, the AsRock Extreme4 is an excellent board, and in its price range, definitely offers more than Asus. I owned one before I bought my Asus Maximus V Gene, and actually would have kept it if not for my desire to go with an mATX board. That being said, the higher-end Asus boards have far more extra features than the Extreme4, but not much more core functionality.

On the topic of cases - it's very much about the design that you like most, combined somewhat with ease of use and cooling/noise characteristics. The Corsair 300R is a stellar case for the price - above that pricepoint, I really can't advise you further, although Corsairs generally are thought to be the easiest to build with.
 
Termie you snuck that in while I was writing my last thread, now your saying what I thought was the reasion I wanted the I7. I mean we are all talking about OCing out rigs and stuff trying to sqeeze every Mhz we can, so thats why i was thinking about the I7. $100 swing wont break me.
 
Termie said:
I'm just going to chime in here with a slightly different opinion. Depending on where you can get the CPU, you might find the difference in price between the 3570 and 3770 isn't that significant - for instance the 3770 is available at TigerDirect right now for $280. While many of the posts above suggest the 3770k doesn't make a difference in gaming, that is not true. It doesn't make as big a difference as an equal amount spent on a GPU.
Click to expand...

The point that we both agree on is, "[The CPU] doesn't make as big a difference as an equal amount spent on a GPU". What we don't agree on is your straw man argument that "While many of the posts above suggest the 3770k doesn't make a difference in gaming, that is not true." Nobody is saying that the i7 3770 isn't faster. In fact, in direct contradiction to your premise, several people have pointed out that it is faster.

What we are saying is that in a world of finite budgets, you are better off spending money on the GPU before the CPU.

Termie said:
Another example would be Starcraft II - take a look at the i7-920 versus the identically-clocked i5-750: http://www.techspot.com/review/305-starcraft2-performance/page13.html. Big difference, and it's relevant to look at older processors, because you're looking for a long term investment - a 920 bought in 2009 is handling games better than the 750 one could have purchased for $100 less.
Click to expand...

This is a misleading argument on two fronts.

1. You're making an assumption that the only difference between the 1366 and 1155 platforms is that one has HyperThreading and the other doesn't. This is absolutely false. There are tons of other platform differences that can account for the performance differential such as amount of cache, amount of memory bandwidth, etc. Additionally characterizing a 17.5% difference in average framerate as a "big difference" is somewhat misleading, especially given the cost.

2. The cost difference between an i5 750 1156 system and an i7 920 1366 system was certainly NOT $100. You have to look at the total platform cost, which would be more like $200.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top