Thoughts on a new gaming rig

[Tullphan]

A friend at work wants me to build him a gaming system. He plays Call of Duty, Modern Warfare, and Battlefieldd 2142. He wanted an Intel i7-960 cpu, but I recommended the i7-930 & overclocking it slightly. He also mentioned an Asus P6T, but i've had good luck with Gigabyte boards lately. We both agreed on 2x3GB of ram & an 850W PSU. He wants the best video available right now, so naturally I told him about the 5890. We're both unsure about using onboard sound or getting a sound card as well as unsure about an SSD drive since I don't game & have no idea how much space those 3 games would take. I did recommend the Samsung F1 1TB drive. He mentioned a red or green case, but I told him with that video card his case selection will be limited & had my thoughts on a HAF 932 w/the red led fans. He stated a black case w/green or red LED fans would suffice.
He'll want to order parts this week. It looks like the budget will be about $1700-1900. I haven't heard from him as to what size monitor he has or will get. I told him monitors, keyboards & mice are personal preferences.
Thoughts?
Suggestions?
Thanks!

 

[Sp12]

Definitely overkill. There should be a sticky titled "when asking for help on your projects" with some questions, answer those!

 

[mfenn]

You won't to spend anywhere near $1900 to play old games like MW and 2142. It's a much better plan to buy a solid rig now and save rest of the budget for future upgrades.

Here's a build:
i5 760 and GTX 470 combo - $480 - $20 rebate
MSI P55A-G55 - $125 - $20 rebate
G.Skill DDR3 1600 4GB - $96
Samsung DVD Burner - $20
OCZ Agility 2 60GB - $180 - $10 rebate
Samsung F3 1TB - $75
Corsair 650TX - $90 - $20 rebate - $10 promo
HAF 932 - $130
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit $100
Base system: $1300 - $80 discount = $1220

Peripherals:
ASUS VH242H 23.6" 1080P - $190 - $10 rebate = $180
$100 allowance for mouse and keyboard (go somewhere local and pick what he likes)

Total: $1500 after discounts

A few notes:

• There is a red HAF 932 on Newegg, but it is the "AMD Limited Edition" and I felt kind of weird putting that in there when there are no AMD parts in the build!
• You don't generally put games on the SSD, as they are big. The SSD is more for general system snappiness. It is a huge improvement for general usage IMHO, but you could easily drop it on a pure gaming rig.
• Save the rest of the money in the budget for a GPU upgrade in 1.5 years.

 

[Sp12]

That mobo+OS can be combo'd. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...471.13-130-292 10$

Same with PSU+HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.466028 20$

Save 6$ by comboing a lightscribe OD+the HAF: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.466989

36$ combo savings, but otherwise it looks great. I'm not a fan of TN monitors, but for pure gaming it will probably be fine.

Make sure you use the promocode on the PSU: EMCYWYP25

Edit: I'm a fan of low voltage RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231321, basically the 1.35v version of those G.skill.

 

[mfenn]

That mobo+OS can be combo'd. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...471.13-130-292 10$

Same with PSU+HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.466028 20$

Save 6$ by comboing a lightscribe OD+the HAF: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.466989

36$ combo savings, but otherwise it looks great. I'm not a fan of TN monitors, but for pure gaming it will probably be fine.


Edit: I'm a fan of low voltage RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231321, basically the 1.35v version of those G.skill.

Good job fixing my laziness!

 

[Tullphan]

You won't to spend anywhere near $1900 to play old games like MW and 2142. It's a much better plan to buy a solid rig now and save rest of the budget for future upgrades.

Here's a build:
i5 760 and GTX 470 combo - $480 - $20 rebate
MSI P55A-G55 - $125 - $20 rebate
G.Skill DDR3 1600 4GB - $96
Samsung DVD Burner - $20
OCZ Agility 2 60GB - $180 - $10 rebate
Samsung F3 1TB - $75
Corsair 650TX - $90 - $20 rebate - $10 promo
HAF 932 - $130
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit $100
Base system: $1300 - $80 discount = $1220

Peripherals:
ASUS VH242H 23.6" 1080P - $190 - $10 rebate = $180
$100 allowance for mouse and keyboard (go somewhere local and pick what he likes)

Total: $1500 after discounts

A few notes:

• There is a red HAF 932 on Newegg, but it is the "AMD Limited Edition" and I felt kind of weird putting that in there when there are no AMD parts in the build!
• You don't generally put games on the SSD, as they are big. The SSD is more for general system snappiness. It is a huge improvement for general usage IMHO, but you could easily drop it on a pure gaming rig.
• Save the rest of the money in the budget for a GPU upgrade in 1.5 years.

Curious as to why you chose the i5 over the i7?

 

[mfenn]

Curious as to why you chose the i5 over the i7?

It's ~$80 cheaper than the 870 and you don't really need Hyper-threading in a gaming system.

EDIT: Oh, you were probably talking about 1156 vs. 1366. In that case, it's more like $200 cheaper when you consider the total platform cost. The 760 is the same stock clock and turbos better. Triple channel doesn't get you much for gaming (definitely not $200 worth).

 

[Davidh373]

If you get a pretty generic non-SLI build with an i7 I'd say you only need a 650W

If he wants to keep his build playing new things nice n' shiny for a while I'd recommend a 930, a 470, 6GB DDR3, and a 650W psu that's 80+ certified.

Coolermaster Gladiator
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...er%20gladiator

Corsair 650TX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9005&Tpk=650tx

i7 930
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-225-_-Product

Gigabyte LGA 1366
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-423-_-Product

ASUS 470
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-372-_-Product

GSkill DDR3 1600 6GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-225-_-Product

Crucial RealSSD Sata III
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148358

Western Digital Sata III
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...136533&Tpk=1tb

Total: $1353.89 (shipping included)

EDIT: Does he play those games just because his hardware is so dated? If he plans on playing new ones then he should get the build featured above. If he is not going to play new games get him that setup with an i5, the P/H55 and 4GB with a single hard drive.

 

[mfenn]

If you get a pretty generic non-SLI build with an i7 I'd say you only need a 650W

If he wants to keep his build playing new things nice n' shiny for a while I'd recommend a 930, a 470, 6GB DDR3, and a 650W psu that's 80+ certified.

Coolermaster Gladiator
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...er%20gladiator

Corsair 650TX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9005&Tpk=650tx

i7 930
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-225-_-Product

Gigabyte LGA 1366
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-423-_-Product

ASUS 470
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-372-_-Product

GSkill DDR3 1600 6GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-225-_-Product

Crucial RealSSD Sata III
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148358

Western Digital Sata III
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...136533&Tpk=1tb

Total: $1353.89 (shipping included)

EDIT: Does he play those games just because his hardware is so dated? If he plans on playing new ones then he should get the build featured above. If he is not going to play new games get him that setup with an i5, the P/H55 and 4GB with a single hard drive.

$200 over my build once you sub in the case that the OP's friend wants for no appreciate performance improvement (IMHO, of course).

 

[Tullphan]

If you get a pretty generic non-SLI build with an i7 I'd say you only need a 650W

If he wants to keep his build playing new things nice n' shiny for a while I'd recommend a 930, a 470, 6GB DDR3, and a 650W psu that's 80+ certified.

Coolermaster Gladiator
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...er%20gladiator

Corsair 650TX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9005&Tpk=650tx

i7 930
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-225-_-Product

Gigabyte LGA 1366
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-423-_-Product

ASUS 470
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-372-_-Product

GSkill DDR3 1600 6GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-225-_-Product

Crucial RealSSD Sata III
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148358

Western Digital Sata III
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...136533&Tpk=1tb

Total: $1353.89 (shipping included)

EDIT: Does he play those games just because his hardware is so dated? If he plans on playing new ones then he should get the build featured above. If he is not going to play new games get him that setup with an i5, the P/H55 and 4GB with a single hard drive.

Actually, I think he plays those particular games because he likes them.
He told me, however, that he did want a killer gaming rig. That's why I suggested to him the components in my OP.
As far as the case goes, I'm not sure of too many cases that one can fit a GTX 4xx series or a 5890 in. The HAF 932 is one & I think the 922 will suffices, although a bit more snug. I don't think he wants to get too carried away on a case, however.

 

[Davidh373]

$200 over my build once you sub in the case that the OP's friend wants for no appreciate performance improvement (IMHO, of course).

Is that because that is the i5 or the i7 with P55. I have no indifference to that but he seemed pretty set on the X58 build. I also said "If" he wants to play newer games for a bit longer. I'd say go for P55 and drop i7 all together if he is not. The i5 is perfectly fine, but it will show it's age faster.

 

[Davidh373]

Actually, I think he plays those particular games because he likes them.
He told me, however, that he did want a killer gaming rig. That's why I suggested to him the components in my OP.
As far as the case goes, I'm not sure of too many cases that one can fit a GTX 4xx series or a 5890 in. The HAF 932 is one & I think the 922 will suffices, although a bit more snug. I don't think he wants to get too carried away on a case, however.

That case was recommended to me in a different post and the measurements are sound for a 460, I'm not sure about the 470 though. How about you mfenn? Think it'll fit?

 

[Tullphan]

Is that because that is the i5 or the i7 with P55. I have no indifference to that but he seemed pretty set on the X58 build. I also said "If" he wants to play newer games for a bit longer. I'd say go for P55 and drop i7 all together if he is not. The i5 is perfectly fine, but it will show it's age faster.

My friend did mention "future-proofing", but I told him that wasn't possible with PC's.
He wants something that he won't have to upgrade for 2 or more years, if possible.

 

[mfenn]

Is that because that is the i5 or the i7 with P55. I have no indifference to that but he seemed pretty set on the X58 build. I also said "If" he wants to play newer games for a bit longer. I'd say go for P55 and drop i7 all together if he is not. The i5 is perfectly fine, but it will show it's age faster.

No, it won't. That was pretty much my point in this reply.

That case was recommended to me in a different post and the measurements are sound for a 460, I'm not sure about the 470 though. How about you mfenn? Think it'll fit?

It should fit fine, but the OP wanted a HAF.

My friend did mention "future-proofing", but I told him that wasn't possible with PC's.
He wants something that he won't have to upgrade for 2 or more years, if possible.

An 760 won't need an upgrade in 2 years any more or less than an i7 will. The simple fact is that both could use an upgrade in 2 years. The advantage of the i5 is that you have an extra $200 put away to spend on that upgrade.

 

[Davidh373]

No, it won't. That was pretty much my point in this reply.



It should fit fine, but the OP wanted a HAF.



An 760 won't need an upgrade in 2 years any more or less than an i7 will. The simple fact is that both could use an upgrade in 2 years. The advantage of the i5 is that you have an extra $200 put away to spend on that upgrade.

Fair enough. Then I guess it's the HAF and the i5 w/ P55? It's not as premium, but I know i'm never wasting money on "The Best" again. It always ends up screwing you in the end and giving you buyer's remorse.