Looking for input on new gaming machine

Thanearchon · Aug 28, 2012

With my current machine getting a bit aged I'm in the process of planning a new one. It is intended primarily for gaming as well as to be the primary home computer in terms of web surfing, record keeping, and occasionally I watch Blu-ray's on it. I already have a 5.1 Logitech speaker system and have been using a 24" Dell monitor, but I'm seriously considering moving up to a 30" running at 2560 x 1600. No plans for multi-monitor surround. Budget is around $3500, but I could be talked into going higher (Note: I am not planning to build it myself, which adds to the cost. As I have aged I have lost interest in troubleshooting and don't have a lot of time. I'll figure out a design and have a boutique build it).

Here's what I've been thinking:

Case: Big open question. I have a CoolerMaster HAF for my current machine, and I like it. Open to other options.

Mobo: The ASUS Sabertooth X79

Processor: i7 3820 3.6 Ghz

Memory: Corsair or comparable 1600 Mhz 16 Gb

Power Supply: 1050 Corsair, Thermaltake etc

GPU: Dual GTX 670 in SLI

Hard Drives: 250 Gb Intel 520 system drive, 2 Tb 7200 rpm Sata 6Gpb storage drive

Optical: Probably the ASUS bluray player, DVD writer

Sound Card: Creative Labs Recon3D Fatal1ty Champion 5.1

Cooling: ???

System: Win 7 Home

_________________________________________________

So here are my questions:

1) I assume for gaming there is little argument to go with a 6 core processor.
2) Should I be saving money with a Z77 chipset?
3) What are the arguments for the 2 versus 4 Gb GTX 670's? Anyone want to argue I should be getting the 680's? Also, the eVGA factory overclocked cards - worth the extra dough?
4) I'm interested in a minimally overclocked and quieter system that still meets my performance requirements. I have water cooling now and as everyone always says - not any quieter. Air or water cooling, assuming I am aiming for a final processor speed in the low 4's, and do not plan to OC the GPU's?
5) Am I wasting money on a high end audio card despite the good speakers? If not, Aurux versus Creative?
6) Best all around hard drive for gaming? I was originally considering a second SSD as a dedicated Steam and gaming drive, but that would chew up the only other SATA 6 connection the mobo has, and would probably have no effect beyond loading times. Thoughts?
7) I'm planning 16 gig system ram, so was thinking Windows 7 Home. Why pay for Pro when Windows 8 is right around the corner? Are the OEM Windows 7's shipping with upgrade coupons? They did that with Vista --> 7 I remember.
8) How long do you think the "power on to applications ready to go" time will be for this? I'm thinking about making the switch from "computer always on" to "turn it off when I am done."

Thanks!

John
9) Anything else I haven't thought of here?

Durvelle27 · Aug 28, 2012

plz answer this sticky

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121

Thanearchon · Aug 28, 2012

Hi,

Thanks for the quick reply. I did look at that sticky before posting and thought I had included most of the requested but info, but on the instant replay, yes, sadly I neglected to mention that I will be purchasing in the U.S., I am not re-using anything from the old machine, and I will be purchasing basically as soon as I answer the questions I set out in the original post.

Thanks again,
John

Durvelle27 · Aug 28, 2012

you have to answer the questions which you did not ? this would help us determine whats best suited for you

jacktesterson · Aug 28, 2012

Get a 3570k or 3770k.

No need to go SB-E at all.

Durvelle27 · Aug 28, 2012

adam_the_giant said:
Get a 3570k or 3770k.

No need to go SB-E at all.

+1

LGA 2011 is obsolete for gaming

Thanearchon · Aug 28, 2012

Thanks, will definitely go with the 3770k. Planning to use the Noctua for air cooling.

John

krnmastersgt · Aug 28, 2012

Durvelle27 said:
you have to answer the questions which you did not ? this would help us determine whats best suited for you

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Gaming, media play-back (Blu-ray)

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$3500

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

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

No response

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
None

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

8. What resolution will you be using?
2560x1600 (planned, not current)

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
No response

Seems like he answered the important questions for the most part, though listing it like this is helpful he did supply the necessary information if you read his post.

As for the actual build:
1) I assume for gaming there is little argument to go with a 6 core processor.

No reason to get a 3770K really as current titles and likely any released for the next several years will not be able to utilize more than 4 threads. There will be a few exceptions but those will likely be optimized to run on most lower end PC's anyways, I'd say just get the 3570K.

2) Should I be saving money with a Z77 chipset?

No reason to not use the Z77 chipset for a modern gaming rig, SB-E is meant for productivity software more than games.

3) What are the arguments for the 2 versus 4 Gb GTX 670's? Anyone want to argue I should be getting the 680's? Also, the eVGA factory overclocked cards - worth the extra dough?

More memory = able to handle more high resolution textures and whatnot for games. I don't think many games today should have issues with a 2GB GTX 670 but I don't really know much about the performance difference you'd see with a 4GB unit instead. I'd say stick with the 670's as the performance increase you get from a 680 is heavily offset by the difference in price, though you seem to have no issues with paying for the best currently (given your outrageously large budget

)

4) I'm interested in a minimally overclocked and quieter system that still meets my performance requirements. I have water cooling now and as everyone always says - not any quieter. Air or water cooling, assuming I am aiming for a final processor speed in the low 4's, and do not plan to OC the GPU's?

Watercooling isn't really about making a system quieter as it is about keeping it cooler, water conducts heat more readily than air can so it's better in that regard for cooling purposes. Noise really comes from fans, if you want a very quiet system, the cooler matters, but more importantly you need to find some high CFM with relatively low RPM fans to minimize noise but still retain high levels of airflow. I think a Hyper 212+ combo'd with some nice Noctua fans should end up being extremely quiet while still cooling well, though in that scenario the fans cost more than the cooler so maybe pick up a Noctua cooler as well?

5) Am I wasting money on a high end audio card despite the good speakers? If not, Aurux versus Creative?

I can't really speak to this effect, I used to use discrete cards but on-board is fine for the quality of my speakers/headphones so it makes no difference to me.

6) Best all around hard drive for gaming? I was originally considering a second SSD as a dedicated Steam and gaming drive, but that would chew up the only other SATA 6 connection the mobo has, and would probably have no effect beyond loading times. Thoughts?

Any decent 7200 RPM drive should be fine for game loading times, if you don't want to foot the bill for an SSD just for games.

7) I'm planning 16 gig system ram, so was thinking Windows 7 Home. Why pay for Pro when Windows 8 is right around the corner? Are the OEM Windows 7's shipping with upgrade coupons? They did that with Vista --> 7 I remember.

I don't know about you but I am avoiding Windows 8 for a while, primarily because they got rid of the desktop and are replacing it with that tablet feel of icons. No reason to pay for 7 Pro if you only plan on using up to 16 GB. Not sure on the upgrade coupons.

8) How long do you think the "power on to applications ready to go" time will be for this? I'm thinking about making the switch from "computer always on" to "turn it off when I am done."

I have no idea what you're asking.

Durvelle27 · Aug 28, 2012

mfenn · Aug 29, 2012

I'm pretty much in agreement with Krn, but I will add my 2c as well.

Thanearchon said:
1) I assume for gaming there is little argument to go with a 6 core processor.

Correct. An i5 3570K is plenty.

Thanearchon said:
2) Should I be saving money with a Z77 chipset?

Switching to an 1155 processor means you need an 1155 chipset, so yes get Z77.

Thanearchon said:
3) What are the arguments for the 2 versus 4 Gb GTX 670's? Anyone want to argue I should be getting the 680's? Also, the eVGA factory overclocked cards - worth the extra dough?

No, factory overclocked cards are not worth the money, especially not on a GTX 600 series with it's GPU boost feature. EVGA cards are also usually overpriced with bad cooler designs. Stick with dual and triple fan models from MSI, Gigabyte, XFX, etc.

As for video memory, theoretically you could get some performance improvement from 4GB cards given the resolutions you're planning to run, but I'm really stretching here.

Thanearchon said:
4) I'm interested in a minimally overclocked and quieter system that still meets my performance requirements. I have water cooling now and as everyone always says - not any quieter. Air or water cooling, assuming I am aiming for a final processor speed in the low 4's, and do not plan to OC the GPU's?

If you're only going to overclock by a few hundred MHz over max turbo, I don't really see the point in overclocking at all. After all, you don't have time to troubleshoot. Just get a reasonable air cooler like a Mugen 3 to keep the noise down.

Thanearchon said:
5) Am I wasting money on a high end audio card despite the good speakers? If not, Aurux versus Creative?

Creative anything is a waste of money, IMHO. As for your speakers, they say "Logitech" on them, so they aren't that great in the grand scheme of things. I would probably stick to onboard, but grab a lower-end Xonar if you feel that you must.

Thanearchon said:
6) Best all around hard drive for gaming? I was originally considering a second SSD as a dedicated Steam and gaming drive, but that would chew up the only other SATA 6 connection the mobo has, and would probably have no effect beyond loading times. Thoughts?

Any HDD with 1TB platters (Seagate STX000DM00X and Hitachi 7K1000.D) is going to be your best mechanical HDD performance.

Putting the games on an SSD would definitely improve loading times, but you don't need a dedicated one. Any reasonable SSD (Samsung 830, Crucial M4, Intel 520, Plextor M4) has more IOPS on tap that you can use. If you're the type of person who wants to keep every game installed at once, it's going to be cost prohibitive to put them all on an SSD anyway.

Thanearchon said:
7) I'm planning 16 gig system ram, so was thinking Windows 7 Home. Why pay for Pro when Windows 8 is right around the corner? Are the OEM Windows 7's shipping with upgrade coupons? They did that with Vista --> 7 I remember.

MS is running a free upgrade to Windows 8 promotion right now. Whether or not your PC qualifies depends on if the boutique you choose participates in the program or not. That being said, Windows 8 looks to really suck for the normal desktop user, so you probably want to stick with Windows 7 for now.

Thanearchon said:
8) How long do you think the "power on to applications ready to go" time will be for this? I'm thinking about making the switch from "computer always on" to "turn it off when I am done."

30-45 seconds would be my guess.

Bill Brasky · Aug 29, 2012

Durvelle27 said:
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116504

ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157293

SAMSUNG 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147096

Scythe SCMG-3100 120mm Mugen 3 Rev. B CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185175

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152185

SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC256B/WW 256GB SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147164

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X HD 7970 GHz Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202001

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139020

LITE-ON Black 12X BD-R Blu-ray Burner with Blu Ray 3D Feature
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106369

COOLER MASTER HAF 922
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119197

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116986

Total: $1,586

With his budget, I would use this build but..

!) switch the power supply for a modular seasonic.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151111&Tpk=seasonic%20860

2) He wants 16bg of ram. A 2x8gb set would allow him to upgrade to 32gb in the future.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148545

3) Cases are an asthetic choice, but I would go with an Antec p280 over the haf 922 for $20 more.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129179

4) He's got plenty of budget left to play with. A closed loop water cooler would be nice.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181017

5) $3500 is plenty to start looking at crossfire/sli + high end monitor setups. Possibly 3 23" 1080p monitors or maybe a high end 27-30" display. Either way, crossfire or sli is definitely in the cards.

If you're looking at 4gb vram video cards, the evga 670 probably makes the most sense. From what I've heard, the open air coolers that don't exhaust hot air out the back of the case can get pretty hot in SLI/crossfire.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130785

Thanearchon · Aug 29, 2012

Excellent. Thanks all for the suggestions and I think I have largely settled on the make up of the system. Now I just need to get everything together so it will be ready to run my pre-order of the enhanced edition of Baldur's Gate! 1600 fps, here I come!

Thanks,
John

mfenn · Aug 29, 2012

Bill Brasky said:
With his budget, I would use this build but..

!) switch the power supply for a modular seasonic.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151111&Tpk=seasonic%20860

2) He wants 16bg of ram. A 2x8gb set would allow him to upgrade to 32gb in the future.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148545

4) He's got plenty of budget left to play with. A closed loop water cooler would be nice.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181017

Just because somebody can afford a $200 PSU doesn't mean that they will get any benefit from a $200 PSU. Same goes for the H100. The RAM is just plain ol' overpriced.

Antec Neo ECO 620C $60 AP
Kingston DDR3 1333 16GB $75
Mugen 3 as Durvelle linked $55

Durvelle27 · Aug 29, 2012

mfenn said:
Just because somebody can afford a $200 PSU doesn't mean that they will get any benefit from a $200 CPU. Same goes for the H100. The RAM is just plain ol' overpriced.

Antec Neo ECO 620C $60 AP
Kingston DDR3 1333 16GB $75
Mugen 3 as Durvelle linked $55

i think the extra $10 for the RAM i linked is worth it

krnmastersgt · Aug 30, 2012

mfenn really dropping the ball with your posts lately, I don't see Ken posting anywhere in this thread unless one of the users is named Ken and you happen to address him by his name

Also your latest post goes from PSU to CPU when talking about presumably the PSU

Also Durvelle I don't see how the RAM is "worth it", the change in frequency will have little impact outside of extremely memory intensive applications and benchmarks so you're paying more for basically no gain.

mfenn · Aug 30, 2012

krnmastersgt said:
mfenn really dropping the ball with your posts lately, I don't see Ken posting anywhere in this thread unless one of the users is named Ken and you happen to address him by his name

Ken, Krn, same difference.

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Looking for input on new gaming machine

Thanearchon

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jacktesterson

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Thanearchon

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krnmastersgt

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Durvelle27

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mfenn

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Thanearchon

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