$1500 Gaming Build

[JorgeOlivera]

The RAM you chose has given me problems in the past (clearance with the heat spreaders) since then i have stayed away from fancy heat spreaders (they add no performance or anything and wont add anything but gaudy "style" With your case having no side window i dont see the point.

Fair enough
Does the HSF include thermal paste/compound?
This thing will make me cry once its sitting in front of me fully built :'(

 

[mnewsham]

Not sure, i would pick up some AS5 anyway.

 

[mfenn]

Does the HSF include thermal paste/compound?

According to the Newegg pictures, it doesn't come with a tube of paste. It probably has a preapplied thermal pad though. Can't hurt to have some extra thermal compound on hand though, especially if you need to remount.

 

[mfenn]

Well you probably wont like my build, as i changed both the monitor AND the case BUT here is what i came up with (it will knock the other build on it's ass)

DVD/CD
Case
HDD
Monitor
2x GPU
PSU
RAM
HSF
SSD
Motherboard/CPU

Total: $1,489.88

-$85 in MIR.

A few points to make, Crossfire 6950's will destroy a single GTX 570 (i couldn't fit two GTX 570's in your budget easily)

The case, while not as flashy has better cooling and is very good quality for a decent price.

The PSU should have just enough power for everything.

I'd probably swap to the XFX Core 650W, if only for the 4 native PCIe connectors and single 12V rail.

 

[mnewsham]

I'd probably swap to the XFX Core 650W, if only for the 4 native PCIe connectors and single 12V rail.

I thought about it, BUT i didnt like the final price, but yes it is a good alternative if the OP wants to pay the 20 bucks extra.

 

[JorgeOlivera]

if you can find a modular one with a 12v rail I'll take it. Otherwise, I might have to just man up and take the one you recommended lol

 

[mnewsham]

My PSU had 2 12v rails where as mfenn's had a single 12v Rail, if you want one modular then you will be just about doubling your price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139012
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817144006
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817256064

 

[JorgeOlivera]

Well I don't know much about PSU's. Could you guys explain the difference between the two?
Thanks mnewsham, you've done a lot for me already

 

[mnewsham]

The difference is... well honestly there ISNT much difference.

Here is a nice read for you.
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=157583

And another if you have the time, this time on how they are rated
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=157636

Both excellently written by Power supply master: jonnyGURU

 

[JorgeOlivera]

So what I'm getting from this is that the one 12v rail is better, because it has less of a chance of doing harm since it'll reach its max before the others.

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G

 

[mfenn]

So what I'm getting from this is that the one 12v rail is better, because it has less of a chance of doing harm since it'll reach its max before the others.

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G

Basically, when you have more than one 12V rail, you run into the classical discrete partitioning problem. In other word's, yes, you'll have to leave a little more juice "on the table" in order to balance the 12V rails of a PSU that has multiple.

Honestly, it isn't really a big deal though. The single rail is just a little more "foolproof".

 

[JorgeOlivera]

Well alright. If you guys recommend it I will buy it.
I also might have an extra $100-$200 when the time comes to buy this. So I might need to change/add parts.

Was wondering if a p67 would do me better? The only difference AFAIK is the UEFI, the ability to have onboard video, and SSD caching. I really doubt I'm going to need SSD caching with this 128gb SSD anyways. So could this money be spent on something else? Or is the price difference not going to be too great?

 

[mnewsham]

Z68 is the better of the 4 chipsets (H61, H67, P67, Z68)

 

[mfenn]

Well alright. If you guys recommend it I will buy it.
I also might have an extra $100-$200 when the time comes to buy this. So I might need to change/add parts.

Was wondering if a p67 would do me better? The only difference AFAIK is the UEFI, the ability to have onboard video, and SSD caching. I really doubt I'm going to need SSD caching with this 128gb SSD anyways. So could this money be spent on something else? Or is the price difference not going to be too great?

Theoretically, you are correct that you don't need Z68. Practically speaking, P67 and Z68 boards occupy the same price points, so there is no reason to get a P67 board.

EDIT: Oh and as for spending $200 extra bucks, the only place where I could reasonably see putting that money is the monitor. The rest of the components are already at the point of diminishing returns.

 

[JorgeOlivera]

Combo's are gone, and so are some rebates. Thus, leading me to change a few things. I changed the monitor primarily. I looked at it and saw reviews and decided that I'm definitely getting this monitor.

Display
CPU
PSU
RAM
HDD
HSF
Case
Thermal
MOBO - Undecided
SSD - Undecided
GPU - Undecided
Total [so far]: $898.40

What I had in mind was maybe just a single GTX 570 and then SLI in a few months (come Jan - Mar) OR I could get a 6950/6970 and CF in the same amount of time. At the moment I have up to $600 to spend on the GPU+MOBO+SSD. If somehow you can SLI/CF then that'll be even better. So many variables so I'll do my best to explain.

Option 1 - GTX 570, 60GB-64GB SSD, and ASRock MOBO
Option 2 - 6950, Good/Decent MOBO,60GB-64GB SSD
Option 3 - You let me know

Your input usually goes over mine since you have more knowledge than I do when it comes to this lol

Thanks again guys. Sorry for the long read!

 

[mfenn]

All the stuff you linked looks good to me. As for the rest of the parts, CF right now would be $500 even with 6950s. So that is out of the question unless you want to drop the SSD. Otherwise:

6950 2GB $245 AR
GA-Z68A-D3H $123
Intel 320 120GB $220 - 60GB makes you have to think about what you put on the SSD, 120GB is enough so that you can pretty much do whatever you want as long as you keep your movies and music off of it
Total: $588 AR

 

[JorgeOlivera]

What about this SSD? It's only $10 more and I believe it is quicker. It also is SATA III so that's good. I'll spend an extra $10 if its justifiable lol.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233154

 

[mfenn]

What about this SSD? It's only $10 more and I believe it is quicker. It also is SATA III so that's good. I'll spend an extra $10 if its justifiable lol.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233154

I believe that that uses the same Marvell controller as Intel's 510 series SSD, which is pretty decent. The Intel 320 is not as fast, but has been proven to be reliable in enterprise environments. So it's a performance/reliability trade-off, but both are way way faster than a normal HDD.

 

[JorgeOlivera]

Yeah I was looking at some comments on corsair SSD's, not that great lol

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G

 

[JorgeOlivera]

BUMP
I might buy a Crucial C300 128GB for $175 (shipped) off a user from another forum. I was wondering if this was worth it.

I know the Read/write speeds are lower, but from my understanding the 4k speeds are what matters seeing as you're only really writing to the drive a few times (aka OS) and most files aren't anywhere near ~300-500mb. Also, these don't usually have errors as opposed to Sandforce drives.

I would be buying the SSD come Monday-Tuesday (Wednesday latest). I have told the guy to hold it for me while I wait for my money to be available. Should I go ahead with the purchase or should I refuse? I don't want to have him hold it for me and me not buy it lol. I really am leaning towards buying it though since its a great price.

Also, updated a few things:
LITE-ON DVD
Spinpoint F3 1TB
ACER GD235HZbid
Sapphire 6950 2GB
AS5
GA-Z68A-D3H-B3
XIGMATEK LOKI HYPRO
[Crucial C300 128GB SATA III]
Combo - HAF 922 + CM Silent Pro M600 (I'm probably changing this)
Combo - i5 2500K + Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (Cheaper than GSKILL after combo)

TOTAL: $1,461.88 [AR $1,381.88]

I'm not so sure about the case + PSU and the SSD. I could always go with the original setup - Fractal Core 3000 + XFX PRO650W but then I'm missing out a $30 rebate. So I'm not sure. Hopefully you can help me figure this out as I'm a little stuck.

Sorry for the long read! Thanks in advance!

 

[mfenn]

Yes, a C300 for a $175 is a great deal. You should get that.

The rest of the build looks fine except for two parts, the PSU and the RAM.
- The RAM is 1.65V, so that's a no go. This G.Skill is down to $45.
- You should definitely go back to the XFX PSU.

 

[JorgeOlivera]

Lower voltages always better? Assuming less power drawn and less heat.

Changed the PSU, case, and RAM. Wondering if there was a difference between these two?

RAM 1
RAM 2

Thinking of buying the second one, seeing as the promo ends today. If not I could always wait. No big deal.

Thanks mfenn, you've been a lot of help.
You too mnewsham

 

[mnewsham]

The second one is slightly slower 10600 vs 10666, lower voltage isnt always "better" but in this case it is the IMC (integrated memory controller) on sandy bridge is only rated for 1.5v anything higher will wear it out faster and cause damage.

Edit: 4 mins from your post to my reply, damn im good

 

[JorgeOlivera]

The second one is slightly slower 10600 vs 10666, lower voltage isnt always "better" but in this case it is the IMC (integrated memory controller) on sandy bridge is only rated for 1.5v anything higher will wear it out faster and cause damage.

Edit: 4 mins from your post to my reply, damn im good

Too cool for school.

Does the $15 difference justify buying the "slower" memory today?

 

[mnewsham]

Too cool for school.

Does the $15 difference justify buying the "slower" memory today?

I would buy it over the 10666 stuff that's for sure. (they are rated basically the same)