$1500 Gaming Rig

[dssq]

Hello guys,

I have been researching into building a gaming PC for a $1500 budget. My budget includes a monitor and a keyboard. Here is the permalink

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ldoJ

I'd appreciate any input and recommendations on how I can improve this rig. I am looking for something that I can upgrade in the future without swapping out to many things. I am still debating on the HD because I do not want it to bottle neck my system. I plan on overclocking the RAM hence the 2133 Mhz ram.

It is my first build and journey into PC building and overclocking. Suggestions are welcome. Thanks

 

[dssq]

PLEASE when you POST threads asking for input on system builds tell us...

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Gaming/Audio Processing (audio recordings etc, audio file conversion, nothing too CPU-intensive)/movies. priorities in that order.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
~$1500 + 10%

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
U.S.A

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
Always used Intel stuff so more towards Intel. But open to suggestions.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
NOPE
*

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Overclock

8. What resolution will you be using?
1920*1080 probably since that is the native resolution of the monitor I am looking at. However, I do enjoy playing games on higher resolutions and would potentially do that in the future.


9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.
Would be good to have it built by mid november
*

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
Need an OS. Windows 8/7

 

[TheStu]

Holy crap, I can't tell... did we just get trolled, or...

I mean, he posted the sticky... whoa.

OP, answer the questions there, and then things proceed from there.

 

[dssq]

I just used the sticky as a template to answer the questions. The answers to the questions are on there.

 

[heroz0r]

well this is just my opinion but if this pc is for overclocking, i suggest you to change the cooler to the corsair h60 at least.

 

[Ken g6]

OK, start from [thread=2192841]Mfenn's build[/thread]. The monitor you're looking at is decent. The keyboard is cheap; would you be interested in some variety of mechanical keyboard?

How gaming will work on Win8 is unclear at best right now. Win7 is $80 at Amazon today only.

 

[dssq]

Had a specific question:
The MSI Z77 MPOWER ATX LGA1155 Motherboard, will it perform better than the Asrock Z77 extreme4 ?

 

[mfenn]

Had a specific question:
The MSI Z77 MPOWER ATX LGA1155 Motherboard, will it perform better than the Asrock Z77 extreme4 ?

Absolutely not, performance between the two will be within a couple percent (margin of error basically).

Overall, the concept of your build is not bad, but there are a few aspects that could be tightened up:

- CPU: Good
- HSF: Good
- Mobo: Too expensive. For a 1080p build, there's not need to be looking at multi-GPU capable boards. The Z77 Pro3 will do what you need for $95.
- RAM: There is very little benefit from fast RAM. Unlike the Core 2 and Nehalem days, you do not need to increase memory speed when you overclock. Get some normal DDR3 1600 like this Mushkin 8GB kit for $35
- GPU: Good
- SSD : Good, but the faster Samsung 830 256GB is less expensive.
- Case : Good, but it honestly doesn't get you much over the 400R for $90 AR.
- PSU: Good, but too high of a wattage for a single-GPU build. The TX650 V2 is a good deal at $55 AR AP.
- ODD : Fine
- Monitor: Good
- Keyboard: OK, just realize what you're getting. That is, a cheap basic keyboard.

 

[dssq]

mfenn

Thanks for the input. I was considering an sli-capable motherboard because I was thinking of possibly upgrading to another gtx 670 in the future. I would not mind paying the premium on a motherboard if I can get a few extra features, such as the THX TruStudio and OC Genie 2.

On a related note, from what I understand from reading different forums is that it is better to save money to upgrade in the future than to buy expensive components to begin with? B/c I'm thinking along the lines that if I get this nice motheboard it will last me longer than the cheap motherboard while delivering better performance as well..

 

[DSF]

The price of a motherboard doesn't really affect its useful life. The only things that will really determine how long you'll keep a motherboard are the CPU socket and available RAM/expansion slots.

As far as the SLI question, ask yourself whether you'd be buying the second card within a year's time. For 1920x1080, my suspicion is no. It's simply unnecessary. As such, by the time you would be looking to drop in a second GTX670 there will be a more effective single card available.

Also stuff like OC Genie is basically marketing. If you're really going to overclock you're going to be manually tweaking and testing the settings anyway.

I agree with mfenn's suggestions across the board. Pocket the savings and put them towards a GPU upgrade in a couple years.

 

[dssq]

Thanks for the input! I think I will save the money on the mobo and ram and use it to upgrade in the future. Makes sense the more I think about it.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

As far as the SLI question, ask yourself whether you'd be buying the second card within a year's time. For 1920x1080, my suspicion is no. It's simply unnecessary. As such, by the time you would be looking to drop in a second GTX670 there will be a more effective single card available.

Crossfire/SLI is complete and utter overkill for 1080p gaming, anyway you look at it...

And compatibility with games can be spotty...

my 2c...

 

[mfenn]

The price of a motherboard doesn't really affect its useful life. The only things that will really determine how long you'll keep a motherboard are the CPU socket and available RAM/expansion slots.

As far as the SLI question, ask yourself whether you'd be buying the second card within a year's time. For 1920x1080, my suspicion is no. It's simply unnecessary. As such, by the time you would be looking to drop in a second GTX670 there will be a more effective single card available.

Also stuff like OC Genie is basically marketing. If you're really going to overclock you're going to be manually tweaking and testing the settings anyway.

I agree with mfenn's suggestions across the board. Pocket the savings and put them towards a GPU upgrade in a couple years.

:thumbsup: Well put!