New Gaming Rig Build

[Zaspera]

I'm going to be building a new computer in the next week or two and could use a little input as to what parts to get.

Budget: $1100
This needs to include a monitor and windows 7 HP. This build does not need to include a video card as I have a 7970 waiting to be put in it.

Requirements/Desires:
I want a full tower. My last build was in a HAF X and I loved that thing. The CPU must be liquid cooled. I usually use an all-in-one kit like the H80 or 70. I've been looking into the H20 920 by Antec. It must include an SSD big enough for Windows and a few stupid silly files here and there. I'd like a fully modular PSU. I was looking at the OCZ ZT 750w.

Also:
Microcenter is an option for me. I would be using the one in Overland Park, KS.

Computer Uses:
I will be using this computer for Diablo 3 and accounting school work. I will be playing other games as well like Civ 5, but nothing like Battlefield 3 with 4534534534x AA on a 70" screen etc.

Thanks for the help guys.

**I'd also like to point out that all the components need to follow a similar color scheme. I have extreme OCD and like my cases to look nice. I won't do a blue mobo with red G.SKILL RAM for example.**

 

[krnmastersgt]

Might I ask what happened to the HAF X that you loved so much?

The H80 and similar coolers aren't really what I'd call water cooling, while they do utilize liquid as a heat medium the design makes it worse than quite a lot of high quality air coolers out there.

Also what color is your 7970 since you care so much about the color scheme?

 

[Durvelle27]

here you go

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119160

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341052

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233144

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116504

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116986

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233268

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157293

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835181019

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009316

everthing is black and red

 

[Zaspera]

I sold the HAF X to a friend. I loved the design of the case, but I get bored seeing the same thing every day. This build means it's time for a change.

I understand the comment about watercooling. I just don't want to see some 400 pound thing attached to my motherboard. I was told to look into XSPC Rasa kits. Then I get to the "OMG I'll cause leaks everywhere" thought.

The 7970 is the ASUS DirectCU II (black). Putting that into any color scheme won't be hard, which is why I got it.

 

[Zaspera]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116504

A few people on TPU said the 2500k is better than the 3570k in terms of heat and power consumption. I'm an AMD kind-of-guy usually so I really have no idea.

That's the same motherboard I had as my top pick as well. I like the reviews and the looks of the Z77 Extreme 4.

 

[Durvelle27]

i love AMD i'm building another bulldozer around the FX 8120.. but the 3570K is about 5-10% faster

 

[Zaspera]

i love AMD i'm building another bulldozer around the FX 8120.. but the 3570K is about 5-10% faster

Yeah, I know it's faster and better for the ultimate gamers. But seeing is how I'll only be playing Diablo 3, I'm torn between the FX-6100 and the 2500k.

That SSD you linked is a bit too big for me. My last SSD was the 120GB OCZ Agility3 and it still had tons of room with Windows and a few big games on it. My problem is I don't know how to buy an SSD. I just look at read/write speeds. I have no clue what IOPS means etc.

 

[Durvelle27]

my bad other way around 8150 5-15% fast than i5

 

[krnmastersgt]

AMD cannot compete with Intel's offerings when it comes to serious performance or demanding games, they've given up trying to compete there almost entirely and are just targeting the middle segment.

Well since you're grabbing an aftermarket cooler I assume you plan to/attempt to try your hand at overclocking your system. That and the fact that you live close to an MC I'd say go and grab an i5 2500K (or the 3570K but can't OC quite as high, though does beat the 2500K at the same clocks) and a Z77 motherboard from there as they should still offer the combo of $50.

For the motherboard I'd recommend the [http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0387555]ASRock Pro4[/url] in conjunction with the 2500K, which with tax factored in will cost you $261 to pick up. (or if you don't mind Biostar you could pick up the TZ77A for $35 less after rebate)

Still looking for the other parts, give me a few minutes.

 

[Durvelle27]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103962
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157280
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231428
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157293
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233144
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115072

 

[Zaspera]

I know AMD can't compete with demanding games, but like I said this computer will be used for Diablo 3 and Excel. Maybe a few other things that don't matter (itunes, etc). All fanboying aside, would bulldozer work for me? It's like $60-70 cheaper.

I've always been a minor overclocker. I normally push like 400Mhz more out of my CPUs. That's what I did with my old x6 and my old 2600k. I don't do anything super demanding on my computers.

 

[krnmastersgt]

It could work for your system, I'm not sure why you'd purchase tech that is clearly outshined by other offerings though. Strictly speaking if you only intend to play D3 and Civ 5 (not sure on this one) you could get by with an i3 2100 and it would still outperform most of AMD's offerings currently.

Also worth noting since you have an MC near you, the 2500K is only $30 more and gets you a discount on the board. If you grab the Biostar TZ77A you could actually pull in the 2500K + motherboard for around $225, completely surpasses the A6 that Durvelle posted (and with that icon I wonder who he prefers ) and comes in at roughly the same cost.

 

[Durvelle27]

Bulldozer is not as bad as people say there pretty good and overclock well. i over clocked a FX 4100 @4.2GHz on stock cooling no problems

 

[Durvelle27]

It could work for your system, I'm not sure why you'd purchase tech that is clearly outshined by other offerings though. Strictly speaking if you only intend to play D3 and Civ 5 (not sure on this one) you could get by with an i3 2100 and it would still outperform most of AMD's offerings currently.

a FX 4170 beats a i3-2120 especially in higher res

 

[Zaspera]

I'm not arguing with you here. I'm just trying to maybe learn something. How and where does let's say the 2500k outshine the FX-6100? I agree that the 2500k is way better, but in terms of what I'd use it for, where does the 2500k win over the 6100?

Like I said, I'm not trying to prove you wrong etc. I'm simply trying to gain a bit of knowledge. I used to play on an x6 1055 (I believe) and it played WoW on ultra settings just fine on a 24" etc.

 

[krnmastersgt]

a FX 4170 beats a i3-2120 especially in higher res

Care to show me where it does this exactly? Extra cores are rarely ever utilized and the architecture behind the 2120 is far superior to that of the 4170. Unless you're comparing with onboard GPUs I don't see this happening.

I'm not arguing with you here. I'm just trying to maybe learn something. How and where does let's say the 2500k outshine the FX-6100? I agree that the 2500k is way better, but in terms of what I'd use it for, where does the 2500k win over the 6100?

Like I said, I'm not trying to prove you wrong etc. I'm simply trying to gain a bit of knowledge. I used to play on an x6 1055 (I believe) and it played WoW on ultra settings just fine on a 24" etc.

As I said before, if you truly only intend to play those 2 games (or less demanding titles in terms of CPU performance) you won't notice a big difference between the 2 of them, however the same could be said if you added an i3 2100 into the mix. In terms of raw compute strength and overclocking capability the 2500K is beyond the 6100, not to mention it performs much better at the same clocks.

 

[Durvelle27]

Care to show me where it does this exactly? Extra cores are rarely ever utilized and the architecture behind the 2120 is far superior to that of the 4170. Unless you're comparing with onboard GPUs I don't see this happening.



As I said before, if you truly only intend to play those 2 games (or less demanding titles in terms of CPU performance) you won't notice a big difference between the 2 of them, however the same could be said if you added an i3 2100 into the mix. In terms of raw compute strength and overclocking capability the 2500K is beyond the 6100, not to mention it performs much better at the same clocks.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-4100-core-i3-2100-gaming-benchmark,3136.html

this would be pretty good to

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103893

 

[krnmastersgt]

Did you even read that article? The ending page says that the socket 1155 platform remains the king for gaming, and that the 2100 averaged an 18% better minimum framerate than the 4100.

 

[Durvelle27]

in lower res yea but higher res the FX 4100 performed better but not trying to get in a debate if you want good performance get the i5-2500k or get the FX 6100 if you wanna save some cash either way you;ll be fine because you have a HD 7970

 

[krnmastersgt]

in lower res yea but higher res the FX 4100 performed better

Not sure what charts you were looking at, for some of the first titles the 4100 average maybe 1-2 FPS better? This could be attributed to any number of things and is more or less the same considering they were in the 40s.

Then you get to Metro 2033, Skyrim, and SC2. In Metro the 2100 beat it across the board, in Skyrim they were dead even until they went to the highest settings at which point the 2100 beat out the 4100 by 10 FPS, an in SC2 it wasn't even a contest.

 

[krnmastersgt]

A few other questions:
1. Do you want/need a Blu-Ray drive or would you be fine with no drive/a basic cheap DVD drive?
2. You say a monitor needs to be included in the budget, any specific size or resolution you were looking for? Personally I'd try my hand at the Catleaps if I had the spare money right now, especially with the card you have to power it (though they are a bit hit-miss).
3. Do you need a mouse and keyboard with this?

 

[Durvelle27]

those games run better with intel anyways though Metro 2033, Skyrim, SC2

 

[Zaspera]

1) I don't need a blue-ray drive. To be honest, I don't really need a drive at all, but should probably get one in case. I was thinking about a $17 Asus DVD burner or something along those lines.
2) 1920x1080 is a must for a monitor. I would prefer over 20". I'm not a sound guru and hardly use speakers, but I like my monitor to have speakers if possible. If not, no big deal. I normally use headphones/bluetooth anyways.
3) Keyboard and mouse are not needed at this time. I have some mediocre ones to use for now. In a few weeks, I'll grab another G510 board and a new mouse.

 

[Durvelle27]

i linked a 21.5 inch 1920x1080 its $109

 

[krnmastersgt]

You could try your hand at Catleap 27" for around $300-330, an awesome price for a 27" IPS panel with 2560x1440, only problem with them being they are A- grade panels so if they have anything less than 5 dead pixels, they just ship it out regardless.

The build:
CPU: i5 3570K $190 (better with just a moderate overclock than the 2500K is)
Motherboard: ASRock Pro3 $60 with combo
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212+ $20 AR (most cost effective cooler around, if you're shooting for a higher overclock though you could grab a better cooler)
Case: Corsair Carbide 300R $70 AR
RAM: Samsung 8 GB $50 (overclocks amazingly well, if however you don't care much about that then: G.SKILL 8 GB $40)
PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro $60 AR
Video Card: You already have the 7970.
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracude 1.5TB $95
Solid State Drive: Crucial M4 128 GB $120