New gaming rig for around $1800 - help

[mfenn]

It's all well and good if you don't put stock in them, but I know from my viewings that over the long haul, Asus boards generally tend to be in the 4-5 range, and Gigabyte boards in the 3-4 range on Newegg's 5 point scale. Meaning, GB tends to be more hit and miss in terms of customer satisfaction.

The board specifically mentioned in reference to GB had USB flakiness issues according to one customer. Whether you put stock in that or not, it is one end user's perceptions of the quality of the product. You can usually make a pretty decent decision by carefully sifting through reviews.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree here.

 

[Dashel]

I think I'm sold on the ASUS Motherboard in the combo recommended above so that's likely what I'll go with.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...&SID=u00000687

ASUS P8Z68-V LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard


I like the 183 case but I prefer the ports on top for how my desk is set up. The case I have is an Antec 900 so I'm thinking maybe the newer version of that is a good choice:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129097
Antec Nine Hundred Two V3 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case
$20 off w/ promo code EMCKDKH38, ends 6/8 so I should decide soon hah


Power supply this one is catching my eye: Corsair 650TX. It's maybe 20 bucks more than a comparable 550W and I like the Corsair I have so I'm feeling the brand loyalty thing there. Should be cool, quiet, efficient, good quality and modular. Check.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

DVD the Samsung MFenn posted looks solid to me:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&SID=u00000687

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 1.5MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - OEM

 

[Dashel]

One more question other than critiquing stuff... best GPU choices as far as bang for the buck sub 300.00 is?

For gaming, 1920x1200. MMO's FPS, RTS etc. I'd like something really powerful, preferably reasonably quiet too.

 

[mfenn]

I have a few comments here (if I leave it out, that means I think that it is good):

I think I'm sold on the ASUS Motherboard in the combo recommended above so that's likely what I'll go with.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...&SID=u00000687

ASUS P8Z68-V LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

That mobo is kind of high for what it is, but it's not too bad of a price with the combo deal.

Power supply this one is catching my eye: Corsair 650TX. It's maybe 20 bucks more than a comparable 550W and I like the Corsair I have so I'm feeling the brand loyalty thing there. Should be cool, quiet, efficient, good quality and modular. Check.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

I hate to break this to you, but the TX isn't modular. Check out this XFX 650W instead. It's modular and a Seasonic build as well.

One more question other than critiquing stuff... best GPU choices as far as bang for the buck sub 300.00 is?

For gaming, 1920x1200. MMO's FPS, RTS etc. I'd like something really powerful, preferably reasonably quiet too.

Well, once you get into $200-$300 GPUs, quiet is a relative term. They're all pretty quiet at idle, but really scream when gaming.

The GTX 570 has been nosing below $300 after rebate lately, so it's a pretty good deal IMHO. Closer to $200, the 6950 2GB is the best deal IMHO. If you want to split those prices down the middle and end up with a card that can potentially be faster than a GTX 570 after unlocking, grab a reference-design 6950 2GB.

 

[Dashel]

I hate to break this to you, but the TX isn't modular. Check out this XFX 650W instead. It's modular and a Seasonic build as well.

DOH! Thanks. Maybe I can live without modular, we'll see.

Well, once you get into $200-$300 GPUs, quiet is a relative term. They're all pretty quiet at idle, but really scream when gaming.

The GTX 570 has been nosing below $300 after rebate lately, so it's a pretty good deal IMHO. Closer to $200, the 6950 2GB is the best deal IMHO. If you want to split those prices down the middle and end up with a card that can potentially be faster than a GTX 570 after unlocking, grab a reference-design 6950 2GB.

Interesting about the 6950, I'll have to look into that some more. The 570 was what I was gravitating towards. I am assuming that will be a significant upgrade over the 460 GTX I have now?

The 460 is so quiet at idle, love that. Although I guess a little noise while gaming is fine, wont notice that much.

 

[mfenn]

Interesting about the 6950, I'll have to look into that some more. The 570 was what I was gravitating towards. I am assuming that will be a significant upgrade over the 460 GTX I have now?

The 460 is so quiet at idle, love that. Although I guess a little noise while gaming is fine, wont notice that much.

Here's a comparison chart. The GTX 570 is about 75-100% faster in GPU-bound situations and is about the same noise level at idle.