Please advise for as close to 1000$ possible gaming rig

[pzkfwg]

Hi,

I am trying to come up with a build as close to 1000$ as possible with some high priority things: Crucial SSD and 2500k cpu.

Approximate Purchase Date: this week

Budget Range: 1000$ after shipping, but before taxes and MIR

System Usage: *Gaming* (Crysis 2, Civ5...), browsing and Office

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: ncix.com, directcanada, bestdirect, newegg.ca

Country of Origin: Canada

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, on longer term

Monitor Resolution: 2560 x 1440 (Dell UltraSharp 2711)

Additional Comments: The challenge this time is to have a quiet PC while being able to game at native monitor resolution.

Here are the parts so far in my order of priority:

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500k 209,99 $
Hard Drive: Crucial m4 128GB 214,00 $
Case+HSF: Fractal Design Define R3 + Coolit Systems Eco 120MM COMBO 119,99 $
Graphics [negotiable]: VISIONTEK RADEON HD 6950 2GB 286,00 $ (unlockable)
RAM [negotiable]: G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 79,99 $
Motherboard[negotiable]: Gigabyte Z68X-UD4-B3 189,99 $
Power Supply[negotiable]: Corsair TX 650W Power Supply w/ 120mm Fan 69,99 $

I am a good 200$ above budget. Things that I am not sure:
-How worthy is the Coolit Eco 120 water-cooler? The combo with the R3 case seems irresistible.

-Graphic Card: at such a high resolution, I am afraid to have lower than 2GB. Otherwise, I would like a GTX 560ti or an older generation card (Radeon 5000 or GTX 400 series)

-Motherboard: I have a hard time choosing. Priority is to be able to reach ~4.4GHz cpu. I could drop SLI/Crossfire ability if necessary.

-Power Supply: Not clear to me what wattage required considering the setup, overclocking and eventual crossfire.

Please help me being creative with the setup to lower price. Thank you very much!

 

[dma0991]

I don't know about Visiontek before nor could I find it from Newegg Canada. For about $10 less you could go for the MSI HD6950 2GB Twin Frozr II which should be cooler and silent.

Seems that you're getting a 120GB SSD would mean that you're not interested in Intel SRT to use the SSD as a cache. You can drop the Z68 board and save $10 for a similar P67 model. As for the PSU you could go for a 700W unit if you're interested in doing Crossfire soon. 650W should suffice but extra 50W headroom is good IMHO.

 

[pzkfwg]

The only reason for the Visiontek is that it is the only reference card that I could find and it has a high probability to unlock into a 6970.

Thanks for the guidelines about the power supply. Is there any quality PS in that range that you don't pay for the brand? The price I found for the Corsair seems to be suspiciously low and seems back order...

 

[dma0991]

I am not too sure about unlocking the cards now but it seems many have said that any 2GB card can be unlocked while the 1GB is totally locked. I'm sure there are some who have bought their 2GB cards recently and managed to unlock the extra shaders. Keep in mind that with the extra unlocked shaders your GPU will run slightly hotter than a off the shelf HD6970 and a non reference cooler is a big plus.

Corsair seems to have a good range of PSU regardless of brand. You can opt for brands like Seasonic, Silverstone, PC Power & Cooling and XFX just to name a few.

 

[mnewsham]

800 bucks for a monitor but only 1k on the system to run it? Someone needs to get thier priorities straight

 

[betasub]

I'm not going to criticize OP's choice of an expensive good-quality monitor (none of my individual systems cost as much as my Samsung MD230x3). The monitor's usefulness should outlast most of the other hardware - and it's a major part of your interaction with the rest of the rig. But... having selected the best in bang-for-buck for hi-res gaming, there's not much room for further savings without compromising performance (compared to say, taking a step down to a Dell 24").

 

[pzkfwg]

I did not say that I was rational

I wanted to know what the hype of IPS was all about. And my monitors tend to last several builds.

I know it's no excuse, though.

 

[dma0991]

I am currently using a single Dell U2311H and I can tell you that the IPS monitor that I bought is worth every penny. However with the money that you spent of the Dell U2711 was not really worth it IMHO as you could easily get 3 Dell U2311H and do an Eyefinity setup.

The color reproduction on the IPS is good but I don't see the need to get an IPS panel that is has better color calibration and higher resolution at 3x the price unless I Photoshop for a living.

 

[pzkfwg]

I am currently using a single Dell U2311H and I can tell you that the IPS monitor that I bought is worth every penny. However with the money that you spent of the Dell U2711 was not really worth it IMHO as you could easily get 3 Dell U2311H and do an Eyefinity setup.

The color reproduction on the IPS is good but I don't see the need to get an IPS panel that is has better color calibration and higher resolution at 3x the price unless I Photoshop for a living.

A posteriori, you are absolutely right. However, the choice of one big screen over three was a mater of desk real estate. 27" was the best I could manage.

 

[mfenn]

I am not too sure about unlocking the cards now but it seems many have said that any 2GB card can be unlocked while the 1GB is totally locked.

Not true. You do indeed need a reference model 6950 to be able to unlock.

OP, first off, we're not here to "negotiate" with you! You've got far too long a wishlist (2560x1440 gaming, SSD, quiet w/ 4.4GHz OC, CFX, etc.) to keep it under $1K.

You can definitely get the GA-Z68A-D3H to save $60 without cutting out any functionality. Beyond that, you've got to decide what else you want to give up.

Scenario 1: Drop the SSD
Scenario 2: Drop the R3 + Cooler
Scenario 3: Drop the 6950 2GB

 

[pzkfwg]

You can definitely get the GA-Z68A-D3H to save $60 without cutting out any functionality.

Then what is the difference between this one and UD3 and UD4? What do I sacrifice going with D3H?

Also, let's say that I am willing to sacrifice the 6950 (scen #3), what is my best alternative considering my resolution? An older gen card (used)?

Thanks for the good suggestion!

 

[dma0991]

Then what is the difference between this one and UD3 and UD4? What do I sacrifice going with D3H?

Also, let's say that I am willing to sacrifice the 6950 (scen #3), what is my best alternative considering my resolution? An older gen card (used)?

Thanks for the good suggestion!

You'll have a little bit more trouble of fitting 2 cards as the motherboard does not have a single slot spacing for the top card to breathe. But if you going for a single card solution then just get what mfenn recommended.

You can get a GTX560 Ti as an alternative to the HD6950. Having 1GB of VRAM should not cause much problems. If it does then just reduce your gaming resolution to 1080P.

 

[pzkfwg]

Here are some changes in my expected setup. Please comment:
Mobo: MSI P67A-G45 (B3) 124,99 $
HSF: Noctua Nh C12P-SE14 140MM Heatsink

As for the PS, I'm leaning toward biting the bullet and go with:
Corsair Professional HX650W 109,69 $

I'm still struggling with the video card. Let's say that I want to go with a non-reference (non unlockable) 2GB 6950 to save money with decent quietness. What would be my best bet at around 250$? For example, I see PowerColor AX6950 2GBD5-2DH @249$ at newegg.ca.

How does the MSI compare to the D3H?

Thanks for all your valuable input!

 

[pzkfwg]

I pulled the trigger. Here is my actual order:

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500k + Noctua Nh C12P-SE14 140MM Heatsink BUNDLE 219,99 $
Hard Drive: Crucial m4 128GB 218,00 $
Case: Fractal Design Define R3: 109,99 $
Graphics: MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr OC 239,99 $
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 79,99 $
Motherboard: MSI P67A-G45 (B3) 124,99 $
Power Supply: Corsair Professional HX650W 109,69 $

I realize that I forgot to order an optical drive!

All in all, the order cost me 1137$ shipped, before taxes which is close enough to my objective.

Thank you all for your great advice.

 

[mfenn]

I pulled the trigger. Here is my actual order:

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500k + Noctua Nh C12P-SE14 140MM Heatsink BUNDLE 219,99 $
Hard Drive: Crucial m4 128GB 218,00 $
Case: Fractal Design Define R3: 109,99 $
Graphics: MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr OC 239,99 $
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 79,99 $
Motherboard: MSI P67A-G45 (B3) 124,99 $
Power Supply: Corsair Professional HX650W 109,69 $

I realize that I forgot to order an optical drive!

All in all, the order cost me 1137$ shipped, before taxes which is close enough to my objective.

Thank you all for your great advice.

:thumbsup: IMHO, you could have stuck with your original PSU or the 500CX, but that's the only thing that I would change.

 

[pzkfwg]

:thumbsup: IMHO, you could have stuck with your original PSU or the 500CX, but that's the only thing that I would change.

I would have liked to, but that would have made my old PC unsellable. I hope to get 250-300$ for it.