Suggestions on New Gaming Rig

[jdogg707]

The background:

1. I am putting this machine together for two purposes: Gaming and General Office/Home Use.
2. I am looking to keep the entire build under $2,200 USD w/o Display
3. I live in the US.
4. Not a fan-boy, Intel or AMD, ATi or nVidia. I don't care as long as I get the best performance.
5. I own the following parts and intend to use them on this build: Intel 160GB G2 SSD, 2TB WD Green Drive, and Logitech MX5500
6. I have no desire to overclock the system. I simply want the best out of the box performance I can get.
7. I am looking to get a Dell U2711 monitor, so 2560x1440
8. The plan is to build this machine by the end of August.

Here is what I'm thinking so far:

Intel Core i7-930 2.8GHz Retail Processor - $289.99
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R Motherboard - $209.99
Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 6GB DDR3 1600 - $149.99
eVGA Geforce GTX460 Superclocked EE - $249.99 x 2
Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler - $89.99
LG 10X Blu-ray Burner - $99.99
Silverstone ST1000-P 1000W Modular Power Supply - $179.99
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Sound Card - $129.99
VisionTek Killer 2100 NIC - $99.99

Total: $1,759.90

I am missing a case obviously and it's because I can't find one that meets my three criteria:

1. Clean Design
2. Quiet
3. Good Cable Management

Any suggestions? I love the Thermaltake Level 10 but can't justify $800 for a case. The goal for this machine is to last three plus years! I appreciate all of your feedback!

 

[mfenn]

One thing that you can nix right off the bat is the Killer NIC. It does nothing.

The onboard sound will most likely be good enough, so you can drop the X-Fi as well, especially if you're using S/PDIF to your speakers. If you're not using a digital setup, I would recommend putting the $130 towards a receiver and some real speakers instead of a sound card. That'll make much more of a difference.

You definitely don't need a 1KW PSU. Something around 850W would be fine.

With the money you save by not getting a Killer NIC, you can afford 2 GTX 470's which are much higher performance.

If you're not going to OC, a P55 CPU/mobo would be better because of the higher turbo modes. The SLI/Crossfire scaling on a P55 will be worse, but not by much (6% as compared to X58). Check out the i7 870 and the P7P55D Pro. With the money you save on the Mobo, you can go to 8GB of RAM (2 of those).

As for case, I think the P183 fits your requirements nicely. I'm not sure if a D14 will fit, but I know a U12P will (actually both HSFs are ridiculous overkill for a stock-clocked system). You can also route the cables behind the motherboard tray for a nice clean look inside.

 

[Davidh373]

The background:

1. I am putting this machine together for two purposes: Gaming and General Office/Home Use.
2. I am looking to keep the entire build under $2,200 USD w/o Display
3. I live in the US.
4. Not a fan-boy, Intel or AMD, ATi or nVidia. I don't care as long as I get the best performance.
5. I own the following parts and intend to use them on this build: Intel 160GB G2 SSD, 2TB WD Green Drive, and Logitech MX5500
6. I have no desire to overclock the system. I simply want the best out of the box performance I can get.
7. I am looking to get a Dell U2711 monitor, so 2560x1440
8. The plan is to build this machine by the end of August.

Here is what I'm thinking so far:

Intel Core i7-930 2.8GHz Retail Processor - $289.99
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R Motherboard - $209.99
Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 6GB DDR3 1600 - $149.99
eVGA Geforce GTX460 Superclocked EE - $249.99 x 2
Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler - $89.99
LG 10X Blu-ray Burner - $99.99
Silverstone ST1000-P 1000W Modular Power Supply - $179.99
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Sound Card - $129.99
VisionTek Killer 2100 NIC - $99.99

Total: $1,759.90

I am missing a case obviously and it's because I can't find one that meets my three criteria:

1. Clean Design
2. Quiet
3. Good Cable Management

Any suggestions? I love the Thermaltake Level 10 but can't justify $800 for a case. The goal for this machine is to last three plus years! I appreciate all of your feedback!

You can save a little by going with AMD. You don't need SLI unless you are going with a surround gaming setup. If you want a card that performs beyond that of a 460 get a single 470 or 480. SLI is a waste for Cooling, Space, Power consumption, and money. If you're the type to spend $2000 on a computer you are likely the type who will upgrade quickly anyway. The single card will also allow you to save on the power supply and the energy bill. I have a 650W in my i7 920 system. for a SLI you may want to follow mfenn's advice and get an 850W. You certainly DO NOT need 1000W...

The monitor is a little overkill as well. I don't think games go over 1080p do they? I suppose you could play in windowed mode?

I'm proud to see you not overclocking. It really is over-rated...

Usually high performance computers are loud. You can cut down on this by replacing stock coolers and making sure fans are large. Replacing them with quieter fans also helps. I have heard Coolermaster has some nice cases. I'm getting one for a build for a friend of mine coming up in a few weeks.

 

[llee]

Unless you are an audiophile, there's really no need to pay a premium on dedicated Creative SoundBlaster sound cards. Same applies to the Visiontek Killer NIC. Just a heads up.

 

[CurseTheSky]

1. Get rid of the Killer NIC. It's worthless.

2. You may or may not want to keep the X-Fi card. Despite some bugs in the drivers, I like mine and notice a clear sound quality difference between it and the onboard audio.

3. You DEFINITELY do not need a 1000W PSU. For your setup, the Seasonic X-650 or Corsair HX650 would be plenty. If you want a little more growing room (especially if you decide to get higher powered SLI cards in the future), get a 750-850W PSU. I highly recommend Seasonic and Corsair.

4. Since you're not planning to overclock, higher performance / faster memory will do nothing for you; your motherboard will run the faster memory at the board's default memory speed anyway. A generic 3x2GB set of DDR3-1333 (the board's default) will be fine. If you want to spend more on something that looks cool, that's up to you. Once again, I highly recommend Corsair.

5. The Noctua DH-14 is designed with overclocking in mind. Get rid of that and either use the stock cooler, or something much less expensive (plan on spending $30 or less). The CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ is popular and cheap.

6. Case wise, consider the CoolerMaster ATCS 840. It's relatively cheap, looks great, and has decent cable management. Careful though, it's BIG.

 

[Sp12]

PSU efficiency ratings only apply to loads 20%+ of the maximum. For that money you could move to a gold efficiency Seasonic 750, which would be more appropriate.

Definitely toss the Killer nic. If you want a dedicated nic, look into the Intel desktop variety, they are worth the money.

Also, ridiculously nice monitor there

 

[jdogg707]

Thanks for the feedback. I definitely will drop the Killer NIC. I'm still a little hesitant to let go of the X-Fi simply because I love the Dolby Digital Live functionality when connected to my Logitech Z-5500 speakers. I dropped the PSU down to an 850W Corsair Gold Series and think the silver Cooler Master ACTS 840 just might be the case for me.

Any reason to spend $75 more per video card for the GTX470 vs GTX460? As for the monitor, I have two of them at work and couldn't help but get one for the house. Gaming at 2560x1440 will be awesome!

 

[heyheybooboo]

...

Gaming at 2560x1440 will be awesome!

With your budget you should consider Eyefinity and 3 HD projectors

Not quite IMAX but a huge step in that direction - LOL

Does your budget include a 'gaming room addition' to the house?




--

 

[mfenn]

Thanks for the feedback. I definitely will drop the Killer NIC. I'm still a little hesitant to let go of the X-Fi simply because I love the Dolby Digital Live functionality when connected to my Logitech Z-5500 speakers. I dropped the PSU down to an 850W Corsair Gold Series and think the silver Cooler Master ACTS 840 just might be the case for me.

Any reason to spend $75 more per video card for the GTX470 vs GTX460? As for the monitor, I have two of them at work and couldn't help but get one for the house. Gaming at 2560x1440 will be awesome!

Here's the charts on GTX 470 SLI versus GTX 460 SLI. The 470 SLI is quite a bit faster, especially once you start cranking up the resolution.