New Gaming PC

[iRage]

Hey everyone, I've been a hardcore gamer for a long time now and I've been building computers for over a decade. Unfortunately the last time I built my dream gaming rig it came to bite me in the ass. I spent somewhere near 6000 Dollars for it... Dual eVGA 7900 GT 512 MB Video Cards, AMD Athlon FX-53 Processor, Top of the line Socket 939 Gigabyte Motherboard. Dual Raptor HDDs, I literally went for everything possible short of having my Lian Li case modded with Water-Cooling. Then around a year later Dual Core Processors ruined my life.

I must of been high or something, thinking a $6000 Computer would last me for years to come (Though technically it has). Now I'm trying to go for another Gaming System at a more sensible price. Somewhere between 2000 - 2500 for everything. New Monitor/Case and all. I just want to be sure I'm not about to make the same mistake. If I shell out for a Intel X25-M 120GB SSD Sata II drive, eVGA GeForce GTX 580, or a Intel Core i7-950 3.06GHz Processor, will it come back to bite me in a couple of months? I don't really care about a 2 FPS increase from a new processor, but I do care about brand new technology like Single Core to Dual Core or HDD to SSD.

I've been out of the loop for a while... Back then AMD was number 1 when it came to Gaming PCs, and ATI couldn't hold a candle to nVIDIA. I've heard great things about Intel recently but I'm still not sure so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!http://detonator.dynamitedata.com/c...com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115211http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167035

 

[wuliheron]

The i7 950 is a bad buy right now with Sandy Bridge coming back on the market. With your budget I'd wait a month or two for the i7 2600k which is not only a better bang for your buck, but more future proof. However, a good sata II SSD is all you need for gaming. They can prevent stuttering and only make a few seconds difference in load times compared to sata III.

Other then those two things perhaps the most important question is what kind of monitor setup do you want. You can afford a 3 monitor eyefinity setup, an IPS monitor, a 30" monitor, stereoscopic 3D, or projection system. Each has their advantages and disadvantages and it really comes down to personal taste. I suggest going to a store and checking out as many as you can and seeing what you like. That will then take a significant bite out of your budget and give people a better idea of what to suggest for the rest of the system.

 

[fffblackmage]

Make that $6k rig last a few more months. Wait for Intel to fix their mobo chipsets and then get an i5-2500K. Normally, the i7-2600K isn't recommended for gaming, since it's about $100 more than the i5-2500K and the primary "benefit" is hyperthreading (not useful for gaming). This will matter if you don't want to spend the extra $$$$$$ for that 2 FPS increase.

 

[BoomerD]

Agreed. The Sandy Bridge i5-2500K paired with a quality motherboard is definitely worth waiting for. The replacement boards should be ready sometime between April and June...no one seems to know for certain exactly when...and everyone keeps throwing around different estimated dates. <shrug>

We'll be glad to help you pick out quality components that will do a fabulous job...and save you money at the same time.

All we ask is that you listen...take our advice...and send each of us 10&#37; of the amount we save you.



OK, I'm the only one who asks that...but dammit, I'm worth it! :biggrin:

 

[iRage]

Thanks for the suggestions! I picked out a few parts that looked good, but I warn you, I'm so out of the loop that I probably made a few mistakes. As far as Monitors go, I know I don't want a 3D Monitor or Projection Monitor. 30" Monitor seems like an overkill, especially since I don't have the room for it. IPS Monitors look good but I don't know what to look for in one, the last monitor I bought was a Samsung 19" LCD. I have no idea what a 3 Monitor Eye Infinity Setup is... And be warned, I'm a sucker for amazing looking cases and especially if they come from Lian Li, if I have to break my $2500 limit by a couple of bucks for it, then so be it.

Computer Case: LIAN LI ARMORSUIT PC-P50R Red Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 580 Superclocked

Processor: Intel&#174; Core&#8482; i7-2600 Processor (8M Cache, 3.40 GHz)

Motherboard: ???

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
or G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)

Hard Drive: Western Digital VelociRaptor WD6000HLHX 600GB 10000 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

Solid State Drive: Intel X25-M SSDSA2MH120G2K5 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive

Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD 24-bit 96KHz Sound Card
or
ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface 124 dB SNR / Headphone AMP Card

Heatsink: ???

Power Supply: XFX Black Edition P1-750B-CAG9 750W ATX12V v2.2 / ESP12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Monitor: ???

I'm not sure about the Power Supply or Sound Card either, last time I chose a Sound Card, I bought a Creative Pro version that came with a bunch of connections I don't need and so I upgraded to a cheap X-Fi at half the price. I like listening to music on speakers and I may invest in 7.1, but I spend a majority of my time wearing a good headset.

SSD is something else I'm unsure of... Should I splurge for a SATA III or stick with SATA II? Same with the Hard Drive, how big a difference is SATA 6.0Gb/s and a SATA 3.0Gb/s?

As for Processor/Mobo, I have no idea what a good motherboard is for the upcoming Sandy Bridge. I also don't know the price difference between i7 and i5. I use Photoshop as a hobby and Hyperthreading does appeal to me so if its only 40 - 60 more for the i7 than why not?

Memory wise, I've been told that Triple Channel is the way to go, but how effective is it against an additional 4GB?

I don't want to spend more than $2500 so please make any comments/suggestions/criticisms!

 

[EliteRetard]

Im confused, when dual cores came out there was absolutely no way you could sell your CPU and drop in a new one? Even after C2D hit the higher end chips were still competitive for gaming. The only minor mistake you made building your rig was buying the most expensive CPU. Rarely (untill the Intel 980X) has it been worth getting the top end CPU when the second best comes at half the price and gives you all the performance.

Dual 7900s and a raptor drive would have whomped ass either way though...for a long time. So I dont see how you got bit in the ass. Thats actually what makes technology great, it gets better AND cheaper.

Ill throw in another vote for wait a tad bit for Sandy Bridge fix/Z68.

One alternative, is to build a cheap gaming rig from cheap stuff now...it will still be a noticeable upgrade, then go big when AMD and Intel start slugging it out toward the end of the year with new platforms and CPUs, possibly new 28nm video cards. Theres supposed to be a shrink on SSD flash memory that will reduce costs/increase capacity...

400$ can get you a 3GHz quad core AMD (no sense not to overclock), 4GB DDR2/3, MOBO, HDD, CD/DVD, Case/PSU, GTX460, etc. Use your old OS for temporary or buy a new one and use it for your next build as well. You could easily sell this system later for 250$, could even keep the GTX460 for whatever if you pick an AMD MOBO with IGP.

 

[iRage]

When Dual Core came out it was too late to return my parts or anything like that, and to try and sell a PC at that price while trying to break even was impossible, I've tried. I spent ruffly $6500 on that PC and when I tried selling it the best offer I got was for $4000 after months. Because when Dual Core came out, people who wanted a gaming system could have built a much better one for the same price. I didn't want to take a $2500 hit so I just kept the system and trudged on through the new games and it worked fine.

I was actually more hurt when DirectX 10 came out than anything. Dual Core burned my ass because I spent so much on a building my dream machine only for a whole game changing line up to come in less than a year later. Otherwise the computer was fine and I'm currently using it now.

 

[EliteRetard]

Sandy Bridge MOBOs are temporarily recalled, so there arent any to choose from just yet...also its only dual channel, so triple channel kits arent gonna do you any good. 8GB should be plenty.

Raptor drives are now trash...WD waited to long and did to little. Standard hard drives are now encroaching on their performance and give you a lot more room for your money. And when it comes to absolute performance, SSDs own all. So usually you just want a nice SSD boot drive and big old slow storage drive. If you really want something like the raptor drives though, Seagate makes a hybrid drive thats both faster and cheaper. The Momentus XT, you can get the 500GB version for ~100$.

Im pretty sure that XFX PSU is good, other options would be Corsair/Seasonic. Id pick based on price, or perhaps looks if thats your thing. I think 750w is a good number for a high end gaming rig. You could probably get away with 600w but this gives you more breathing room, so you could drop in a second GTX580 if you wanted.

Im not sure if you even need a sound card with todays MOBOs...somebody else might want to chime in, but from what I recall X-Fi didnt play nice with the new OS's and doesnt really do much over the integrated now that we have so much spare CPU power.

Sandy Bridge runs cool, even when overclocked...so the only reason to upgrade cooling is probably for silence. Something like the CM Hyper 212+ for 30$ is probably all thats worth spending.

As for SATA2 vs SATA3...only SSDs can make any use of those speeds, and SATA2 is already crazy fast. Theyve got a few SATA3 drives that are stupid fast. My personal vote though is get a bigger SATA2 drive than a faster SATA3 unless they cost the same per GB.

That PCP50 is a nice case, and 8 expansion slots...but with that old school interior I wonder what size video cards will fit. Itd be a shame to have to take a dremmel to it.

 

[EliteRetard]

When Dual Core came out it was too late to return my parts or anything like that, and to try and sell a PC at that price while trying to break even was impossible, I've tried. I spent ruffly $6500 on that PC and when I tried selling it the best offer I got was for $4000 after months. Because when Dual Core came out, people who wanted a gaming system could have built a much better one for the same price. I didn't want to take a $2500 hit so I just kept the system and trudged on through the new games and it worked fine.

I was actually more hurt when DirectX 10 came out than anything. Dual Core burned my ass because I spent so much on a building my dream machine only for a whole game changing line up to come in less than a year later. Otherwise the computer was fine and I'm currently using it now.

Could have just swapped CPUs though...there were plenty of dual cores for 939. Hell I got an opteron 185 for like 36$ a year or so ago. And even today DX10 hasnt made much of a difference...adoption has been really slow. I dont think there are any games that are unplayable with DX9.

 

[Anomaly1964]

Agreed. The Sandy Bridge i5-2500K paired with a quality motherboard is definitely worth waiting for. The replacement boards should be ready sometime between April and June...no one seems to know for certain exactly when...and everyone keeps throwing around different estimated dates. <shrug>

We'll be glad to help you pick out quality components that will do a fabulous job...and save you money at the same time.

All we ask is that you listen...take our advice...and send each of us 10% of the amount we save you.



OK, I'm the only one who asks that...but dammit, I'm worth it! :biggrin:

LMAO!

Boomer does give GREAT advice!

 

[mfenn]

I don't really care about a 2 FPS increase from a new processor,

so if its only 40 - 60 more for the i7 than why not?

And so it begins. D:

OP, here's a rough sketch of a Sandy Bridge system that should cost around $1700 and blow away what you've spec'ed. Add about $500 for a good IPS monitor and a Windows license.

(Note that I didn't include MIRs or combos because it is just a sketch)

i5 2500K $225
Hyper 212+ $30
ASRock P67 Extreme4 $150
Mushkin DDR3 1333 8GB $83
XFX Radeon 6970 x2 = $720
Agility 2 120GB $215
Samsung F3 1TB $65
LG DVD Burner $17
XFX 750W $110
HAF 932 $120
Windows 7 Home Premium $100
Dell U2410 $500
Total: $2370