Looking to build another rig

Stg-Flame · Sep 19, 2012

Revised Rig:

Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge - 330
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO - 35
EVGA 04G-P4-3673-KR GeForce GTX 670 FTW+ 4GB X2 - 1,000
SAMSUNG 8GB (2 x 4GB) - 45
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 - 90
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB - 90
SAMSUNG 830 Series 128GB - 120
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 - 130
LITE-ON DVD Burner - 17
COOLER MASTER HAF 922 - 100
Logitech G500 - 50
RAZER Black USB Wired BlackWidow Ultimate - 113
Monitor - 0 **
RAZER Tiamat 7.1 - 180
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - 100

Total Cost - $2,400

** The monitor I put as zero because I am going to wait to order one later down the road. As suggested, I am going to go for a 2560X1440 resolution and they are currently a bit too high to fit my budget with the other parts I wish to keep within. Plus, I might be able to find a cheaper one somewhere in a retail store. If not, I'll wait until my next paycheck and order one I want - I don't mind playing a new rig at 1650X1080. If I exclude a monitor from my build, this will let me up my GPU budget to a 690.

BTRY B 529th FA BN · Sep 19, 2012

If you dodge alot with the particular game play you might want to consider a gaming Keyboard with Red Cherry MX switches/keys. They are lighter than the Blacks. Use THIS guide to better understand mechanical keyboards.

PSU: Seasonic X 650w 129$

SSD; Samsung 830 128g 119$

Personally, I'm waiting for Haswell before I consider rebuilding another strict game machine. I'm still on a 1st Gen i7 920 with a GTX 670 playing Unreal Tournament III, so someone might want to chime in on a CPU choice.

Stg-Flame · Sep 19, 2012

I'll try to update this list as I find the parts.

GPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130772

I'll probably be buying from eVGA directly once they get this back in stock

BTRY B 529th FA BN · Sep 19, 2012

Stg-Flame said:
I'll try to update this list as I find the parts.

GPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130772

I'll probably be buying from eVGA directly once they get this back in stock

The price/performance for one of those way out of proportion. A 670 would be fine.

What games will you be playing?

Stg-Flame · Sep 19, 2012

BTRY B 529th FA BN said:
The price/performance for one of those way out of proportion. A 670 would be fine.

What games will you be playing?

I'll check out the 670s and see what they are offering.

As for games... Borderlands 2, DayZ (when the standalone is finally done), Farcry 3, Metro First Light, etc. etc. etc. I also play a ton of older games like Unreal Tournament, Starcraft, run a lot of emulators, tons of games on Steam like Skyrim, Oblivion (modded to hell and back), Medieval 2 Total War (patiently awaiting Rome 2 Total War), and many others.

I'm building this new rig because my current one is almost four years old and it's finally starting to show its age. I've got the money to spare so I might as well upgrade now before prices skyrocket for the Christmas rush.

mfenn · Sep 19, 2012

A few general comments first:
- Does a Plasma display as small as 24" even exist? I think ~40" is the smallest I've ever seen.
- EVGA is great if you like paying too much for sub-par coolers. Other brands offer quite a lot better value.

As for the rest, spending $2000 on a 1080p machine doesn't make a lot of sense. Let's see what's reasonable:

i5 3570K + ASRock Z77 Pro3 combo $312
Team DDR3 1333 8GB $29 AP
GTX 670 $400 AR
Samsung 830 256GB $200
Hitachi 7K1000.C $70
Lite-ON DVD Burner $17
XFX Core 550W $56 AR
Corsair 550D $130 AR
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit $100
Subtotal: $1314 AR AP

Add peripherals if you want:

Logitec G400 $45 - spiritual successor to the MX518
Das Keyboard Ultimate S $135 - mechancial switches, no printing on the keycaps
LG 23" 1080p 120Hz $250
Total: $1744 AR AP

Let me know if you're more interested in building the baddest gaming machine that you can for $2000 than in building a 1080p machine. I'll rework accordingly.

Stg-Flame · Sep 19, 2012

EDIT

mfenn said:
A few general comments first:
- Does a Plasma display as small as 24" even exist? I think ~40" is the smallest I've ever seen.
- EVGA is great if you like paying too much for sub-par coolers. Other brands offer quite a lot better value.

Let me know if you're more interested in building the baddest gaming machine that you can for $2000 than in building a 1080p machine. I'll rework accordingly.

First off, lets go over the monitor situation. This is my current monitor but it's starting to die. What I meant about plasmas is the screen/panel type. I refuse to use the typical LCD matte screen panel as they have absolutely horrible viewing angles. It wasn't until I found my current monitor and compared the specs that I realized the 3H-Anti Glare is the type of screen/panel I prefer. Sorry for the confusion.

Secondly as far as eVGA, I'm aware the coolers on previous models have failed (two of my old 7000 and 6000 series cards melted), but these hundred series cards have been phenomenal in terms of performance and reliability. I would be willing to try another company if they had a substantial price drop or if the reviews were outstanding (never had any problems with my old XFX cards).

For my machine, I'm looking for the most power for my money. As high-end of a gaming rig as possible.

As for my list, I've made a few changes and kept a few of my own selections. I like the case you listed, but I am a sucker for LEDs, mass fans (see Antec 900), and a window. If all else fails and I cannot find a flashy case I like, I'll go with a sturdy alternative that I'll modify at a later time. The keyboard (love the name) you listed looks very enticing, though rather than ordering online, I'll check a few local computer shops to see if they can order that keyboard for me since they normally remove the S&H fee on small items since I'm ordering through them. Although I just found it on Newegg for $5 cheaper. Might toss it in my list after all.

I'll keep editing this post until I head off for bed (getting up at 1am tomorrow so I won't be up too much longer).

CPU ~300
GPU ~600
RAM ~100
PSU ~130
HDD ~70 I'm amazed there is a 1TB HDD for under $100
SSD ~200
DVD ~20
Mobo ~200
Case - Haven't decided
Mouse ~50
Keyboard - Haven't decided but a huge thanks to BTRY for linking me to that article.
Monitor ~220 (I cannot tell if this has a matte screen or not - it just says anti-glare panel screen)
First Headset Choice ~180
Second Choice ~130
Third Choice (which would be my first choice if this wasn't wireless)
Both Razers seem to be great headsets, but it seems they all have mic problems as well as durability problems. Any input would be great here.
OS which I always forget to add

So again, please add as much input as possible. The only user reviews I ever read for anything are hardware reviews, so don't skimp on anything. Also, if I have mismatched something in my build, please let me know and I will try to work around it.

Thanks again for any and all input.

riversend · Sep 19, 2012

Just a couple of thoughts:

Looks like you will overclock the CPU at some point, so you still need a cooler to throw on there (Cooler Master Hyper 212+ will run around $30, other quieter or more capable solutions go up from there).

Why $600 on a 680 for 1080p gaming? Seems like the benches for a 670 are pretty darn close for significantly less money. Are you thinking about going multi monitor down the road? If so, I'd go with the 670 (or AMD 7950) and then SLI/CF down the road (assuming it's within the next six months or so).

Good quality PSU on your list, but probably twice as much as you need to pay for other reliable units in the same or greater power range (if thinking SLI/CF + CPU O/C + GPU O/C).

Stg-Flame · Sep 19, 2012

riversend said:
Just a couple of thoughts:

Looks like you will overclock the CPU at some point, so you still need a cooler to throw on there (Cooler Master Hyper 212+ will run around $30, other quieter or more capable solutions go up from there).

Why $600 on a 680 for 1080p gaming? Seems like the benches for a 670 are pretty darn close for significantly less money. Are you thinking about going multi monitor down the road? If so, I'd go with the 670 (or AMD 7950) and then SLI/CF down the road (assuming it's within the next six months or so).

Good quality PSU on your list, but probably twice as much as you need to pay for other reliable units in the same or greater power range (if thinking SLI/CF + CPU O/C + GPU O/C).

I plan on overclocking the GPU as well and I've heard the 680 overclocks to a much higher point than where the 670 can reach. I might tweak my list and drop to a 670 since it will knock $200 off my total price. As far as SLI, no. Multi-monitor, doubtful.

Thanks for the input. I forgot to toss a heatsink in my list.

Stg-Flame · Sep 19, 2012

Last post before bed. I should probably get a new mouse pad as the one I have is quite old and I've heard of people using laser mice on cloth pads having trouble with precision. Any suggestions for a different mouse pad is also appreciated.

BTRY B 529th FA BN · Sep 20, 2012

Do you have a Micro Center nearby? You could save on the CPU

Micro Center

..and you got it on that Article 😉 ..it's a great guide :thumbsup:

EDIT: Here is a less expensive memory kit than what you have selected: Muskin 2x4Gb CL8 1.5v 51$

EDIT 2: btw, that build mfenn put together is a great build.. the 2600K is a tick or a tock (?) old vs the 3570k setup. On the same token Ivy Bridge has it's caveats hence the reason why i skipped it, so i can kinda see why you chose Sandy Bridge

And in my experience after building that machine i have in my sig I spent way to much on the motherboard and ram. More expensive part's don't necessarily mean better performance especially now-a-days with ram timings and motherboards. For the rest of the rig I put together I made a solid foundation to keep. And then when I upgrade I just swap out platforms (mb, cpu, ram.) The only thing that i'd upgrade right now would be a more efficient PSU for the watt range I generally game/run it in, which i think is around 280-350w for UT3, and for that I'd probably pickup another Seasonic X 650 or the Kingwin Lazer 550w Platinum 🙂

mfenn · Sep 20, 2012

Stg-Flame said:
First off, lets go over the monitor situation. This is my current monitor but it's starting to die. What I meant about plasmas is the screen/panel type. I refuse to use the typical LCD matte screen panel as they have absolutely horrible viewing angles. It wasn't until I found my current monitor and compared the specs that I realized the 3H-Anti Glare is the type of screen/panel I prefer. Sorry for the confusion.

I think you're still a little confused. LCD panel types are things like TN, MVA, PVA, and IPS. Those refer to the specific way that the liquid crystals are arranged and switched and occur deep inside the monitor. Matte and glossy are simply coatings on the top of the display. You can have any combination of panel type and coating type.

"Plasma" a completely different type of display altogether that isn't based on liquid crystals at all. Plasma TVs use high voltage to excite various different types of gases stored inside tiny pockets so that they glow (basically the same principle that a fluorescent light bulb uses).

At any rate, what I am hearing from you is that you want a good quality panel with good viewing angles.

Stg-Flame said:
Secondly as far as eVGA, I'm aware the coolers on previous models have failed (two of my old 7000 and 6000 series cards melted), but these hundred series cards have been phenomenal in terms of performance and reliability. I would be willing to try another company if they had a substantial price drop or if the reviews were outstanding (never had any problems with my old XFX cards).

EVGA's quality is fine, not spectacular but not terrible either. The issue is that they use outdated blower-style coolers which are louder and don't cool as well as the multi-fan coolers that the rest of the manufactuer's have moved to. This would all be fine if they lowered the price, but they haven't. What this means is that they are reducing their costs while keeping their prices the same, thus increasing their profit margins without innovating. Essentially, they are milking their reputation for all it's worth right now.

For my machine, I'm looking for the most power for my money. As high-end of a gaming rig as possible.

Stg-Flame said:
CPU ~300
GPU ~600
RAM ~100
PSU ~130
HDD ~70 I'm amazed there is a 1TB HDD for under $100
SSD ~200
DVD ~20
Mobo ~200
Case - Haven't decided
Mouse ~50
Keyboard - Haven't decided but a huge thanks to BTRY for linking me to that article.
Monitor ~220 (I cannot tell if this has a matte screen or not - it just says anti-glare panel screen)
First Headset Choice ~180
Second Choice ~130
Third Choice (which would be my first choice if this wasn't wireless)
Both Razers seem to be great headsets, but it seems they all have mic problems as well as durability problems. Any input would be great here.
OS which I always forget to add

So again, please add as much input as possible. The only user reviews I ever read for anything are hardware reviews, so don't skimp on anything. Also, if I have mismatched something in my build, please let me know and I will try to work around it.

Thanks again for any and all input.

Sorry, I forgot to ask this, but is this new list including or excluding peripherals from the budget? IMHO, if you want to build a $2K machine (no peripherals) it only makes sense to be targeting multi-GPU and 2560x1440. Otherwise you're just throwing your money away with "high-end" components that give you no benefit.

mfenn · Sep 20, 2012

BTRY B 529th FA BN said:
And in my experience after building that machine i have in my sig I spent way to much on the motherboard and ram. More expensive part's don't necessarily mean better performance especially now-a-days with ram timings and motherboards.🙂

One million :thumbsup: to BTRY B.

Stg-Flame · Sep 21, 2012

Case

As far as the peripherals goes, I would say that 2,000 is without them in mind. That being said, I would like to steer clear of SLI configurations given the performance increase from dual GPUs isn't really worth the money in my opinion. I've tried SLI configurations in the past and the boost was negligible with most games.

Stg-Flame · Sep 21, 2012

Any other suggestions on my build? I'm headed to location now so it will be a long time before I can browse for other parts. As for the SLI, I might be inclined to go for multiple GPUs later down the road. For now I would like to just get a solid build and leave room for upgrading later.

Out of curiosity, why do you suggest such a large monitor?

I'm going to lose service soon so I'll try to reply more in-depth later today. Also, thank you for clarifying the monitor conundrum I was having. With that being cleared up, I'm shooting for a glossy screen at the best possible resolution for my budget (which I am still willing to extend if needed)

Stg-Flame · Sep 22, 2012

Apologies for the triple posting, but on my way home and I was just informed of the AMD FX-8150 which appears to be on-par with the Intel i7 3960 Extreme, but at 1/5th the price.

How does a $200 CPU compare to a $1,000 CPU?

Durvelle27 · Sep 22, 2012

riversend · Sep 22, 2012

Stg-Flame said:
Apologies for the triple posting, but on my way home and I was just informed of the AMD FX-8150 which appears to be on-par with the Intel i7 3960 Extreme, but at 1/5th the price.

How does a $200 CPU compare to a $1,000 CPU?

First off, why are you looking at the 3960 extreme in the first place? You said you wanted a gaming rig? A 3770k will be awesome for that, and the 3570k that has been recommended is truly enough, but I can understand going for the 3770 if you have the money. I have read a comparison between 8150 and i5 2500k that shows them about even, with SB chip scaling better as the graphics intensity goes up (i.e. multi-GPU, multi-display). Get the Ivy Bridge LGA155 form chip, it is the best thing going for gaming.

The bigger monitor was suggested because it seems like your budget and desire to high-end game are both in place, so if you can support it why not go for the beauty of 2560x1440/1600?

For Durvelle's build, in your price range you could bump up the 3570 to a 3770k, take the SSD to 256GB, and since you like the EVGA products switch out the 670 for an equivalent EVGA 670 or bump up to a 680.

Stg-Flame · Sep 22, 2012

My CPU choice was based purely out of ignorance as I was attempting to choose the best one for my new build. I asked around on the CPU form last night and was informed about the 8150. I'll be modifying my build for the 3770k now that I am better informed on the CPUs.

I really appreciate all the input, suggestions, and advice I was given. I think it's safe to say I will be placing my order tonight once I've compiled my final build based off all the information I've received.

However, I do have one last question. Why are people recommending 8GB RAM over the 16GB I originally chose? I was under the impression that Windows 7 was able to utilize 16GB.

I'm still on location so I will be slow to reply until I get home tonight, but I'll start working on finalizing my build today.

BTRY B 529th FA BN · Sep 22, 2012

If you do alot of photoshop stuff then it might be worth it otherwise it's driving a Formula 1 car through a school zone at 20mph, aka 'Overkill' etc.

:thumbsup: on the 3770K

mfenn · Sep 22, 2012

Stg-Flame said:
Apologies for the triple posting, but on my way home and I was just informed of the AMD FX-8150 which appears to be on-par with the Intel i7 3960 Extreme, but at 1/5th the price.

How does a $200 CPU compare to a $1,000 CPU?

Poorly. Both are silly for a gaming build though.

Overall, BTRY B's Ferrari analogy is apt. If you don't want a big monitor, that means you are looking at 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 resolution. At those resolutions, it is just plain stupid to spend $2000 on a gaming machine. Sure, you could do so, but you would be wasting a ton of money for no real benefit.

Overall, I'd say the build that I posted in reply #6 meets your needs quite well.

Stg-Flame · Sep 23, 2012

Well I plan on going a bit higher since it was brought to my attention that a 24" monitor would be wasted on my budget.

I'm still unsure why people are recommending 8GB instead of the 16 I chose.

I'll be recompiling my list here shortly.

lehtv · Sep 23, 2012

Stg-Flame said:
I'm still unsure why people are recommending 8GB instead of the 16 I chose.

Because the extra RAM will not be needed in a gaming rig. You can always add RAM when you actually do something that benefits from more than 8GB.

Well I plan on going a bit higher since it was brought to my attention that a 24" monitor would be wasted on my budget.

A 1080p @ 60hz rig including peripherals and OS is about $1600-1700; spend more and you get very diminishing returns for your money. You could get a 1080p 27" @ 120hz/3D rig, the monitor itself will cost quite a lot more and the high refresh rate will benefit from spending more on graphics performance and SLI compatibility.

Monitor Asus VG278H $550
Headset Razer Carcharias $80
Mouse Zowie AM $50. I'm so pleased with my Zowie stuff that I'd recommend this smaller brand, they make quality stuff. This mouse has a simple shape and you're unlikely to run into problems with comfort, unlike with G500. Don't buy the G500 before you try it out in a store or something.
Mousemat Zowie G-TF Speed $25. The last mousemat you'll need in the next ten years... I've had mine for a year now and it shows zero tear and is just as fast as ever. Very easy to clean.
Keyboard Corsair K90 $90 AR
OS Win 7 64 $91

CPU i7-2600K $280
Cooling CM Hyper 612 PWM $40
Mobo Asrock Z77 Extreme4 $130
RAM Samsung 2x4GB 1600 $45
GPU EVGA 670 FTW $400
SSD Samsung 830 256GB $200
HDD Weren't you supposed to reuse these? $0
ODD Reuse? $0
PSU XFX 750W XXX $90 AR, 80+ Silver semi-modular
Case Reuse $0

= $2071 AR + shipping

BTRY B 529th FA BN · Sep 23, 2012

The Asus monitor mentioned by lehtv is a phenomenal monitor. When I let my brother borrow my gaming monitor to do some office related stuff i got itchy to start playing again. I went out and bought 3 monitors simultaneously:

Acer hn274h bmiiid 27" 2ms 120Hz LCD
Acer GD235HZbid 23.6" 2ms 120Hz LCD
Asus VG278H 27" 2ms 120Hz LCD

I ran both 27" monitors side by side and there was a very noticeable stutter with the Acer 27" I wanted to make sure I wasn't seeing things so I asked someone to come check it out and they too noticed the Acer stuttering/ghosting. Same went with the 23.6" 120Hz Acer. Needless to say I kept the Asus and I'm glad I did, even for the price tag on it.

Stg-Flame · Sep 23, 2012

I would have compiled my list last night but the forums were down for maintenance. I'll edit the opening post so people don't have to scroll so far to see updates.

Thanks again for every suggestion made. It helped tremendously when selecting my parts and I believe I have a solid build that I am comfortable with, though I am concerned with bottlenecking with that 690.

Looking to build another rig

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