Under $1500 Gaming Build

[mikevs]

What do you guys think? I added the parts on NewEgg. I will add the actual link but will list the parts here.

CPU- Intel Core i7-2600K

PSU-Rosewill HIVE Series HIVE-750W

GPU-MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III PE/OC GeForce GTX 570

RAM-G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

CASE-COOLER MASTER Storm Scout Mid Tower Case

CPU COOLER-Thermaltake Frio

OPTICAL DRIVE-LG Black 12X BD-R with LightScribe

HDD-SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM

MOTHERBOARD-MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67

I already have a keyboard, speakers, monitor, and mouse

Also, I don't plan on using water cooling or buying an SSD which is not in my budget nor do I care much for.

Here is the Link- http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=24898748

Would be great to hear what you guys think. What do you guys think?

Thanks

 

[lehtv]

CPU change to 2500K
PSU overkill unless you plan SLI, 650W is optimal for one 570 (XFX core 650W is cheaper than TX but same high quality)
GPU good, high price but very high performance and overclockable too. Still, would be fine with a 6950 2GB MSI PE/OC and overclock that.
RAM G.Skill value 2x4GB 1333mhz would cost less with apparently no impact on gaming performance or reliability
Case good as far as I can tell
Cooler Have heard it's noisy. I would prefer Cooler master 212+, 212 Evo or Scythe Mugen 3 (or Thermalright HR-02 if you can find it somewhere)
HDD change to a single-platter Hitachi 7K1000.D $65
Mobo MSI is, for some reason I'm not sure of, regarded as unreliable by many people, in comparison to other brands. Personally would stick with Asus as I've had good experiences wtih them but that's really no objective metric
SSD is definitely in your budget, seeing how much you're willing to pay for a CPU, PSU, GPU... but still it's not necessary, more like a nice bonus

 

[mfenn]

I agree with Lehtv. An SSD most certainly is in your budget OP!

Check out this build from the midrange system builder's guide:

i5 2500K $205 AP
ASRock Z68 Pro3 $105
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $42
6950 2GB $255 AR
Crucial M4 128GB $198
Hitachi 7K1000.D $65
Samsung DVD Burner $18
XFX Core 650W $60 AR
HAF 912 $60
Total: $1008 AR

You can certainly change the case out for a Storm Scout if you like that better.

If you want to spend a bit more money and get correspondingly greater performance, the GTX 570 isn't a bad choice. However, I would not go spending $360 on one when this triple-fan Gigabyte is $315 AR.

 

[mnewsham]

I agree with Lehtv. An SSD most certainly is in your budget OP!

Check out this build from the midrange system builder's guide:

i5 2500K $205 AP
ASRock Z68 Pro3 $105
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $42
6950 2GB $255 AR
Crucial M4 128GB $198
Hitachi 7K1000.D $65
Samsung DVD Burner $18
XFX Core 650W $60 AR
HAF 912 $60
Total: $1008 AR

You can certainly change the case out for a Storm Scout if you like that better.

If you want to spend a bit more money and get correspondingly greater performance, the GTX 570 isn't a bad choice. However, I would not go spending $360 on one when this triple-fan Gigabyte is $315 AR.

:thumbsup:

OP you wanted to get a really nice build but you over did it on the CPU and GPU (dont pay more for something you dont need) And under did it on the HDD and SSD. You also slightly over did it on the PSU as Lehtv pointed out.

 

[mikevs]

I do not really see using an SSD right now since I want to run everything on one HDD. If SSD's were under 200 dollars for over 500GB I would get one but its nearly 800 dollars. Plus if its only for a boot drive it is not much use for me. I currently use a standard HDD and even with older hardware, my computer boots up in under 20 seconds and games run smoothly.

Plus, I really like the 2600K I rather get the best for the money right now Except I wont spend 500, or 1000 dollars for Intel's 6 core cpu's

Also for the power supply, I want it to be reliable and I was looking at the 750's and 650,s and the majority of the high rated ones are just as much as this one or more. So basically I got 100 extra watts for nothing to less which is great if I plan to do SLI in the future.

 

[R4in]

my computer boots up in under 20 seconds and games run smoothly.

Unless its barebone or a fresh install i dont see this happening. Games may run smoothly but this will let them load faster.

I rather get the best for the money right

Then get the 2500k, it is currently the best for the money.

So basically I got 100 extra watts for nothing to less which is great if I plan to do SLI in the future.

Unless you are going to PLAN on SLI'ing AMD GPU's, then you will want an 850w, for 570s or higher anyway. Unless of course the new GPUs can SLI on a 750.

 

[lehtv]

Plus if its only for a boot drive it is not much use for me.

That's exactly what the use of an SSD is primarily. It will speed up everything your OS does, making the system feel more responsive overall. A good 64GB ssd can be had for $100.

 

[mfenn]

Unless its barebone or a fresh install i dont see this happening. Games may run smoothly but this will let them load faster.

Then get the 2500k, it is currently the best for the money.

Unless you are going to PLAN on SLI'ing AMD GPU's, then you will want an 850w, for 570s or higher anyway. Unless of course the new GPUs can SLI on a 750.

That's exactly what the use of an SSD is primarily. It will speed up everything your OS does, making the system feel more responsive overall. A good 64GB ssd can be had for $100.

Agree with these two posts.

The main benefit of an SSD is not to speed up the boot process as many mistakenly believe. Really, your boot is going to be constrained by the BIOS and device driver loading more than anything else. The main benefit of an SSD is to speed up everything that you do once the PC is booted.

OP, try this experiment: close your web browser/email client/chat client/etc. Then open the all back up. Go on, I'll wait.

Back now? If you had an SSD, all of that would have been instant.

 

[mikevs]

I updated my PC Case and PSU. Any thing else to add?

Thanks

 

[fffblackmage]

I was going to recommend going with the XFX Core PSU suggested earlier, but it looks like it's not $60 AR anymore. I managed to find a review of the Fatal1ty PSU (hardwaresecreats.com). I skimmed through it, and it looked pretty positive. I'd probably go for something else myself, but the MIR makes it a compelling option, at least.

 

[lehtv]

I updated my PC Case and PSU. Any thing else to add?

The PSU is 1) an OCZ which isn't the best, and 2) overkill. This 650W: Corsair TX650 V2. $95 - 10% - $25 rebate.

The case is fine

2600K is $100 wasted on a gaming PC. Asus > MSI in my book, and Asrock is more cost effective. Thermaltake Frio is still pretty noisy and bad value. And the Hitachi HDD is still preferable to the WD Caviar.

And the SSD... it's still in your budget, you really should get a 64GB SSD at least.

 

[dpodblood]

CPU- Intel Core i7-2600K

PSU-OCZ OCZ750FTY 750W 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified

GPU-MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III PE/OC GeForce GTX 570

RAM-G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

CASE-COOLER MASTER Storm Scout Mid Tower Case

CPU COOLER-Thermaltake Frio

OPTICAL DRIVE-LG Black 12X BD-R with LightScribe

HDD-Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200

MOTHERBOARD-MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67

Bump the CPU down to the 2500k. No need for hyperthreading in games, and that is literally the only difference between the 2 CPUs.

Change the PSU to something more reliable than OCZ. Antec, XFX, Corsair, etc. 650w should be more than enough for your purposes, though if you plan on doing SLI/crossfire you will want at least 850w.

Otherwise the build looks pretty good.

 

[fffblackmage]

Cooler Have heard it's noisy. I would prefer Cooler master 212+, 212 Evo or Scythe Mugen 3 (or Thermalright HR-02 if you can find it somewhere)

You can find the HR-02 Macho for sale here ($51 shipped!). The site is sketchy as hell, but some guys over at [H]ardforums didn't have any problems getting it.

 

[mfenn]

I updated my PC Case and PSU. Any thing else to add?

Thanks

The case and PSU were the least of your build's issues. Check out lehtv's and ny initial responses.

 

[mikevs]

I updated my list after taking your tips, Plus I added the link to the list.

But I will make it clear, after thinking it through, I will not change my CPU since I use multi-threaded apps since I render videos and animate from time to time, Plus I want to future proof it so its lasts me awhile.

Also, I still am not fond of SSD's at this point. Until they drop in price and become cheap like HDD's I will not purchase one unless absolutely necessary, I really don't care of boot up performance.

But, how does it look now? Also, any tips on building the pc without problems? This is actually my fist build from scratch. I have updated my video card, put a new layer of thermal paste, changed fans, ram, and HDD"s but have not started from all new parts. Any tips for it going smoothly without problems. I already plan on building it on a flat static free surface and using a grounding strap, but the last thing I need, is for something to fail or break something to send parts back unless they are defective on arrival.

Looking forward to hear from you guys final thoughts.

 

[mnewsham]

ITT: asks people for advice, ignores most advice given.

OP: personally i dont like your build, but fine whatever, I will advise you "Build to boot" outside of the case before you assemble everything in the case. Take your PSU, CPU, Motherboard, and one stick of RAM. Hook it all up and make sure it boots, if it doesn't then you know where to start looking.

 

[fffblackmage]

But I will make it clear, after thinking it through, I will not change my CPU since I use multi-threaded apps since I render videos and animate from time to time, Plus I want to future proof it so its lasts me awhile.

Well, it is up to you, but make sure you're asking yourself if you render enough to justify the +$100 cost. Anything you buy now that is "better" will come with a high price premium, but only marginally better performance, compared to what will come down the road.

Some people prefer doing new builds every 5 years or so, because the jump in performance would be astounding. However, you'd be left with a pretty slow computer in the last year or two of its life. On the other hand, if you did incremental upgrades every couple of years, you'd have a computer that's almost always reasonably fast.

Also, I still am not fond of SSD's at this point. Until they drop in price and become cheap like HDD's I will not purchase one unless absolutely necessary, I really don't care of boot up performance.

Like what everyone else said already, you don't buy an SSD for a faster boot-up.

You might not even notice having an SSD at first, but when you try going back to a conventional HDD, you'll know exactly what everyone else is talking about.


Interestingly, people seem to have a positive impression of the Rosewill HIVE (here and here), but I didn't see any reviews of the PSU though. Anyways, there are still PSUs of equal or better quality for cheaper:

Antec Neo Eco 620W - $73
Corsair TX650 V2 - $60.50 APC/AR

 

[mfenn]

ITT: asks people for advice, ignores most advice given.

OP: personally i dont like your build, but fine whatever, I will advise you "Build to boot" outside of the case before you assemble everything in the case. Take your PSU, CPU, Motherboard, and one stick of RAM. Hook it all up and make sure it boots, if it doesn't then you know where to start looking.

Well, it is up to you, but make sure you're asking yourself if you render enough to justify the +$100 cost. Anything you buy now that is "better" will come with a high price premium, but only marginally better performance, compared to what will come down the road.

Some people prefer doing new builds every 5 years or so, because the jump in performance would be astounding. However, you'd be left with a pretty slow computer in the last year or two of its life. On the other hand, if you did incremental upgrades every couple of years, you'd have a computer that's almost always reasonably fast.


Like what everyone else said already, you don't buy an SSD for a faster boot-up.

You might not even notice having an SSD at first, but when you try going back to a conventional HDD, you'll know exactly what everyone else is talking about.


Interestingly, people seem to have a positive impression of the Rosewill HIVE (here and here), but I didn't see any reviews of the PSU though. Anyways, there are still PSUs of equal or better quality for cheaper:

Antec Neo Eco 620W - $73
Corsair TX650 V2 - $60.50 APC/AR

:thumbsup: to both of these. OP, you should also look into the HDD and HSF that lehtv recommended.