Curse

Industrial · Aug 13, 2011, 03:01 AM // 03:01

Close this thread, gonna start a new one, in the appropriate sub-forum.

wilebill · Aug 13, 2011, 04:39 AM // 04:39

The link will not work.

www.tomshardware.com has a Build Your Own section that might be of interest.

Arren Knez · Aug 13, 2011, 05:40 AM // 05:40

If you're going to get a $200 video card your better off with a 560gtx or a hd6870.

Perilay Elkhorn · Aug 13, 2011, 05:49 AM // 05:49

I agree I would get a better video card for sure. If you can get your hands on an ATI 6950 and unlock it to a 6970 I would do that but I know they are somewhat hard to find. I would try to get a bigger monitor as well.

The Cake Archer · Aug 13, 2011, 06:02 AM // 06:02

why do you need a $125 keyboard + mouse?

Revelations · Aug 13, 2011, 06:33 AM // 06:33

Why the older i7? A Sandy Bridge 2500k blows that chip out of the water, hell of a lot cheaper too. The chipset only alloows for dual channel RAM, but it's a difference you're not likely to notice in practice. That also allows you to go for 2x4gb sticks, which is absolutely plenty for gaming and also saves you a few dollars.

The sabertooth board is also probably unneccessary. If you go the Sandy Bridge route, then go for an Asus p8p67 pro, or it's gigabyte equivalent. Not quite as reliable as that mobo, but a lot better value for money.

A 1000w PSU is complete and utter overkill unless you're planning something to the effect of 3 way SLI/Xfire down the track. For a single GPU you should only need to look at 500-600w, 750-850 for two.

I'm going to assume the intent behind the two Blacks was for RAID? If not, then simply get a single 2gb drive. Also consider dropping to a pair of Blues or Seagate Barraccudas. The Blacks don't outperform them by much, yet cash in a chunk higher.

As others have mentioned, that GPU lacks somewhat. For a gaming machine this is the area you want to splurge on most. I'd recommend a GTX560 or 6950.

That monitor isn't especially wonderful for gaming. Despite the low GTG response, I've heard from a couple of people that ghosting is fairly significant on it.

You could also look at a lower spec SSD, be it in size or speed. Intel's 320 series are reliable, though with a slightly lower read speed than the crucial. Also consider going for a smaller size. RAIDed 7200rpm drives should theoretically have a little over half the sequential throughput of that SSD, though with higher seek times (bad random reads/writes). What I'm getting at here is that your data drive(s) are still fast, and it's not a huge deal if you can't get everything you want on that SSD.

Draca · Aug 13, 2011, 09:01 AM // 09:01

badass mobo and cpu and you cheap out on the graphicscard that's a big no no for gaming.

At that huge budget you should be able to fit 2 graphic cards

Edit: just made a system with core i7 2600k , 2x gtx560, 8GB ram and every other feature you wanted for $1,795.88 + keyboard.

gremlin · Aug 13, 2011, 09:01 AM // 09:01

I query why a reasonably high spec gaming rig is needed to play those games.

Plus buying one now before gw2 comes out and before we know the specs.
Usually the later on you buy computers the better anything bought in August 2011 will be cheaper or better in August 2012

I know I am not being helpful to the op but I am genuinely puzzled by the need to go overboard.

Millenium Warriorr · Aug 13, 2011, 09:20 AM // 09:20

You could play those games on max settings with comp under $1000.
But as you wish. i5 2500k is your choice, powerful, one of the best gaming cpu's atm, difference beetween 2500k and 2700k is so low so take 2500k.

For gpu, 6950 2gb is enough, can easily update it to 6970 with bios update.
Will run all games greatly, and GW2 just will not need huge specs, belive me.

8gb ram is definetly enough for gaming, if you make videos or music, 12gb could be better but 8gb is just fine.

PSU, 550w is enough, max 700 i think.
Then some regural hdd memory, depends how much you need, 1tb is enough for me with alot games and videos. F3 is fine.

SSD is just hifist..dont really need one but maybe youll get 60gb one for windows.

kedde · Aug 13, 2011, 09:26 AM // 09:26

2000 is way over the top for the mentioned games. Even half would easily run them on high, maybe except gw2 which we don't know yet.

As others mentioned, GFX card is outdated for your budget, as is the CPU/Mobo combination. Get a GTX 560/570 or the Radeon equivelants as well as a Sandybrigde i7 and a fitting mobo.

1000 watt PSU is also giant overkill, 600- 700 if you intend to overclock should be the max you'd ever need for anything that isn't SLI/CF.

12GB ram is also going to be completely unnoticable unless you're into heavy 3d modelling and encryption etc. You could save something by going down to 8.

obastable · Aug 13, 2011, 11:47 AM // 11:47

Fancy. I agree with just about all of the suggestions above. Keep in mind that you don't need it all right away quick. I understand what you're aiming for, as it's the goal of most of us who build our own systems: you want to not have to do it again for at least 5 years.

Put your money in the things that are the foundation of your new rig - Mobo, chipset, around 8gb of ram, and a good monitor.

Smaller power supply - at least $30 savings
Less ram - $30 savings
Etc., etc.. It doesn't seem like much per item, but it adds up overall. Also, if you go IN to a store as opposed to buying online, you can usually negotiate a better (lower) price, especially if you're spending that much money.

Also, and maybe it's just me, but I'm not a fan of the wireless/bluetooth route for gaming. Batteries have a habit of dying when I least want them to (and this is always cheaper to upgrade down the road than your processor).

P.S.! You don't have a heatsink on your wish list. INVEST in a good one! It's important!

Skye Marin · Aug 13, 2011, 03:50 PM // 15:50

Use this build as a baseline for value:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.691314

That's a great value for $1000, and includes a 2GB 6950. The video card is really important. Improvements found up to and including the $250-$275 range are usually worth it.

Right now, I'm running a similar machine with 2 less CPU cores, 30% slower clock, and half the ram, on a Radeon 4850, and I can very easily play all of those games without any issues (minus GW2, of course, because it's not released). In fact, when I first built it, the choke point was my monitor's maximum resolution! Even now, I'm running two monitors on one card, and can do 1080p dual-monitor split screen with games like Portal 2 without any problems.

Add $100 for a really nice 5.1, and $250 for a good monitor, and the rest on inputs and games, and you're set.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836121044

Quaker · Aug 13, 2011, 05:32 PM // 17:32

I would say pretty much what others have said:

- get an i5-2500K and appropriate motherboard instead of the i7-960

- if you want to reduce cost a bit, and you're not going to overclock then 4Gigs of basic RAM will do:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231396
or, if you want to OC you can get DDR3-1600
you can always add more RAM later

- the 1Kw power supply is major overkill. A 450w is enough for a single GTX460. A 650-750 watt would handle two of even better video cards.
such as: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817171052

Revelations · Aug 14, 2011, 01:32 AM // 01:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skye Marin

Use this build as a baseline for value:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.691314

That build uses a WD Green for a boot drive. Based purely on this fact alone I would not reccommend it.

Industrial · Aug 17, 2011, 08:05 AM // 08:05

I shall take all of what you have said into consideration.
I added some comments to the initial post.

Quaker · Aug 17, 2011, 02:10 PM // 14:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Industrial

I'd like it to last me for quite a while without the need for significant upgrading for 3-5 years.

Well, the basic thing is that it only takes so much hardware (and, therefore, money) to make a computer that will last 3-5 years (or longer).
For example, unless you plan to go beyond 1920x1080 resolution - which would mostly only be if you got a really big display or an Eyefinity type multi-monitor display - you don't really need more than a single GTX 560 level graphics card, and you can always add a second card later if you need to for some reason.
Things like a 1000watt power supply is still overkill. You don't need a huge power supply in order to "future-proof" a computer. You would only need a 1Kw PSU if you wanted to run, say, 3 or 4 video cards in SLI/CFX now. The general trend in computer components is to use less power. (And the computer only uses a certain amount of power, using a larger power supply does not make anything "better". A computer that uses, for example, 400 watts at "full power", will draw the same 400 watts from a 450watt power supply or a 1kw power supply.)

So, basically as has been said, an i5-2500K with a good video card and 8Gigs of RAM is sure to last you that long.
(I know people who run AutoCad on i3s, but you might consider an i7-2600K)