New PC ~1500, mostly gaming

[SoCal44]

Im looking for a new PC, mostly used for gaming (FPS, Diablo 3 , etc....). I do run VMs with different OS's but they are up on demand rather than running in a client/server fashion.

I have no issues with AMD or Intel; I dont look for bleeding edge as I dont see the value in dollars vs performance vs hardware a few months older.

Im planning on keeping my current case and thats it. I have all the licensing I need; just need the hardware.


Here is my current PC (about 5 1/2 years back):

ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD
Motherboard
Leadtek PX7600 GT GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI
Video Card
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2.2GHz Socket AM2 89W Dual-Core
Processor
OCZ Gold 2GB (4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
Desktop Memory
OCZ OCZ600ADJSLI 600W ATX12V 2.01, BTX, EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready
Power Supply
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
Hard Drive

Thanks!

 

[mnewsham]

Core i5-2500k

P67 socket 1155 Motherboard

2x4GB G.skill 1333mhz CL9

GTX 570

Samsung f3 1TB

Antec/seasonic 650w PSU

120GB SSD

 

[aphelion02]

Please fill out these questions:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121

You have a very nice flexible budget, I don't see how you can go wrong with mnewsham's suggestions even including a monitor.

 

[SoCal44]

I thought SSD didnt have a big performance differential vs sata?


1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Mostly gaming (fps, mmo, whatever catches my fancy)

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

Looking for no more than 1500


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

USA

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.

None

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

Case only (mid tower ATX)

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Reading anandtech (e.g. Intel vs AMD) reviews on some products

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

Default

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

depends on the game; typically 14xx range

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Next few weeks; if there is a compelling reason to wait a month or so I would do it.

 

[LuluTheMonk]

How often and how many VMs will you have running? Could make a difference on how much RAM is recommended for you.

 

[SoCal44]

I just run the VMs to play with new OS's, install software for testing, basically my safe playground.

I'd say I run 1 maybe 2 VMs tops at a time. Obviously dont game while they are up.

 

[tynopik]

were you planning on keeping your PSU?

 

[mnewsham]

CD/DVD
Case
HDD
GPU
RAM
SSD
PSU/MB combo
CPU/HSF combo

Total: $1359.89

Now i know you said you were keeping your case, however i am giving you the option in this build to get a new (very good) case that will for sure fit the video card (it is long).

I left some budget in case you needed windows 7

 

[SoCal44]

Not planning on keeping the PSU

My case is:

Lian Li PC6070 which I like but am not married to. I appreciate the options

 

[mnewsham]

Yea, the only thing im not sure of is how much room you have for a GPU.

 

[betasub]

I thought SSD didnt have a big performance differential vs sata?

You thought that? Really?

Hopefully no-one actually told you that. Check out AnandTech or StorageReview to get the picture.

BTW most SSD are SATA (the connection or interface), as are most HDD.

 

[mnewsham]

Yea SSD's really do change your entire computer experience I know i can never go back to a plain old HDD.

 

[SoCal44]

I'll check the specs on the GPU, if its too close then I'll have to make the change.

betasub - I read this (last year) when I was spec'ing out SSD's for laptops; the big benefit was from power savings (battery life) and stability; nominal benefits from speed.

My detialed tech specs are out of date (which is why Im here ) so if its changed; i'll read up on it.

 

[aphelion02]

The Corsair Vengeance 8gb is $75 now without rebate, I'd suggest going for that. It also comes with combos for corsair PSUs (which also have a 10% off promo code), it might be useful to look at those.

 

[mnewsham]

Here is fairly good picture of the current Mid-low end SSD market

As you can see the SSD's aren't too dissimilar among themselves but those two little scores at the bottom are the fastest regular platter drives currently out. the difference is quite large.

 

[mnewsham]

The Corsair Vengeance 8gb is $75 now without rebate, I'd suggest going for that. It also comes with combos for corsair PSUs (which also have a 10% off promo code), it might be useful to look at those.

in my last setup the heatsinks on the RAM blocked the HSF. After that i decided never to get the stupid flashy heat sinks again YMMW.

 

[tynopik]

Not planning on keeping the PSU

why?

 

[mnewsham]

why?

Probably OCZ isnt a good PSU manufacturer.

 

[aphelion02]

mnewsham, what HSF were you using that had trouble with the Vengeance? I am personally going to use that RAM for my next build...

 

[mnewsham]

Noctua NH-D14 (big i know) It depends on the Motherboard too though.

 

[aphelion02]

Ahh okay, I was worried for a bit, my current HSF should be fine then (so should the CM 212+).

 

[mnewsham]

Again depends on the MB, i had to adjust the fan on a 212+ to fit some ripjaws in my friends build.

 

[tynopik]

Probably OCZ isnt a good PSU manufacturer.

if it's lasted this long, it should be fine

 

[Rvenger]

if it's lasted this long, it should be fine

umm, a 5 -1/2 year old powersupply would be running on borrowed time at this point. I bet some of those electrolytic caps are bulging as we speak.

Prevent a fire and replace the powersupply.

 

[SoCal44]

umm, a 5 -1/2 year old powersupply...

This was more than anything the reason to put in a new PS.

I may try to see if I can get the GPU in my case, if not I'll pick one up - would save 150~$