Building a new gaming rig...need lots of suggestions

[rudeguy]

Hey guys...I need some help.

I'm putting together a new gaming rig for lil rudeguy for Christmas. His current rig is ok and plays everything fine, but you know.

Here is what I know so far:

Full tower case (red lighting preferred)
At least 8 gigs RAM
250 gig SSD
As many USB ports as possible on mobo
Possibility to run 3rd monitor

Other than that...I'm open to suggestions. He already has an awesome keyboard and mouse. Has dual 24" monitors with a 32" for videos. I just need to figure out what case and then everything inside the case except for HDD's. He has 3 1.5TB drives I will be swapping over.

He's a gamer, so I am looking towards the high end.

Budget is ~$1,000.

Any help and/or suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Termie]

This is what I'd recommend:
(1) Intel i5-4670K - $230 at Amazon
(2) ASRock Z87 Extreme 4 motherboard - $140 at Newegg
(3) 8GB of RAM (any more than that is wasted in a gaming system) - ~$60
(4) HD 7950 - currently on fire sale at ~$180-220AR, but will be gone soon
(5) Corsair HX750 power supply - currently on sale at Newegg for $90AR

Can't help on the red lighting case, but are you sure you need a full tower and not a mid-tower? Any mid-tower should be able to hold your components. I'd recommend something like the Antec 1100 (no lighting) or Corsair Carbide 500R (white lighting).

Total budget is about $850 for that gear.

 

[rudeguy]

This is what I'd recommend:
(1) Intel i5-4670K - $230 at Amazon
(2) ASRock Z87 Extreme 4 motherboard - $140 at Newegg
(3) 8GB of RAM (any more than that is wasted in a gaming system) - ~$60
(4) HD 7950 - currently on fire sale at ~$180-220AR, but will be gone soon
(5) Corsair HX750 power supply - currently on sale at Newegg for $90AR

Can't help on the red lighting case, but are you sure you need a full tower and not a mid-tower? Any mid-tower should be able to hold your components. I'd recommend something like the Antec 1100 (no lighting) or Corsair Carbide 500R (white lighting).

Total budget is about $850 for that gear.

Full tower is my preference. I like room to work and plenty of space. Nothing like finding out a year down the road that something won't fit.

What do you think of the Coolermaster Storm Trooper case?

 

[Termie]

The Storm Trooper looks pretty good - it has the red lighting you want, and is a pretty decent price after the $30 rebate I see at Amazon.

I'll be honest, though - it's not going to be any easier to work in than a good mid-tower. It's really tall and wide, but not any deeper than other cases, so the only thing it has going for it over a mid-tower is a few extra drive bays, and those drive bays are pretty antiquated in terms of ease of use. Take a look at interior shots of it versus a more modern case like the Corsair Carbide 500R. I think you'll see what I mean - tool-less design, modularity, easy removal, etc.

 

[rudeguy]

Thanks. I'll check out the carbide.

7950 GPU...I hadn't looked at those. Will it support 3 monitors? Anything on the near horizon for GPUs? This is one category I plan on overspending on.

What about for SSD? Any brands to avoid or ones that have proven rock solid? This is another category where I don't want to go cheap.

 

[Termie]

The HD 7950 is the current performance/$ champ, because it's being discounted heavily to clear out stocks. The HD7950/7970 will soon be replaced with significantly more expensive models, which people are referring to as HD9950/9970, but only have the code name Volcanic Islands right now. They will not be remotely in the same price range, so you'd have to be willing to spend at least twice as much on them as on the 7950, which may or may not be worth it to you. Performance previews will be available at the end of this month.

As for SSDs, the fastest and most reliable is the Samsung 840 Pro 256GB. Nearly as fast is the 840 Evo 250GB, but it doesn't have the same rated lifetime.

Those are the two I recommend, but other forum goers may provide additional suggestions.

 

[tg2708]

The HD 7950 is the current performance/$ champ, because it's being discounted heavily to clear out stocks. The HD7950/7970 will soon be replaced with significantly more expensive models, which people are referring to as HD9950/9970, but only have the code name Volcanic Islands right now. They will not be remotely in the same price range, so you'd have to be willing to spend at least twice as much on them as on the 7950, which may or may not be worth it to you. Performance previews will be available at the end of this month.

As for SSDs, the fastest and most reliable is the Samsung 840 Pro 256GB. Nearly as fast is the 840 Evo 250GB, but it doesn't have the same rated lifetime.

Those are the two I recommend, but other forum goers may provide additional suggestions.

Why are they amd 9xxx? They seem to have jumped 8xxx or are those meant for notebooks? Seems with that big of a jump it should be at least 30% percent faster than current gen. Also it was a reason similar to yours why I chose not to wait because the newer equivalents would have been significantly higher.

 

[Termie]

Why are they amd 9xxx? They seem to have jumped 8xxx or are those meant for notebooks? Seems with that big of a jump it should be at least 30% percent faster than current gen. Also it was a reason similar to yours why I chose not to wait because the newer equivalents would have been significantly higher.

HD8000 was reserved for OEM-only models, which were in fact identical to HD 7000 models but required for OEM use because they operate on yearly model refreshes. HD 7000 was introduced in early 2012, so it wouldn't make good ad copy in mid-2013 OEM systems.

And yes, I'm pretty sure HD9000 will be 30% faster, but at about 100% higher cost.

 

[tg2708]

HD8000 was reserved for OEM-only models, which were in fact identical to HD 7000 models but required for OEM use because they operate on yearly model refreshes. HD 7000 was introduced in early 2012, so it wouldn't make good ad copy in mid-2013 OEM systems.

And yes, I'm pretty sure HD9000 will be 30% faster, but at about 100% higher cost.

Wow, thats great but at least they would be inline with current nvidia prices. So whats your thought on the 7970, will I be ok until the next generation of amd cards comes out next year?

 

[mfenn]

Agree with Termie on the case. A full tower housing a single-GPU machine is just a big empty box with poorly directed airflow.

As for the 3rd monitor, both Nvidia and AMD require a native DisplayPort monitor or an active DisplayPort to HDMI/DVI adapter for the 3rd and higher monitors on a single GPU.

The fancy case and 250GB SSD requirements eat into the amount of gaming performance you can get on your budget. Just FYI.

i5 4670K + ASUS Z87-A combo $360
Team DDR3 1600 8GB $53 AP
Sapphire 7950 3GB $200 AR
Samsung 840 EVO $183
Reuse HDD $0
Lite-ON DVD Burner $18
Seasonic M12II 750W $60 AR AP
Cooler Master HAF 922 $80 AR AP - substitute any suitably-appealing case here
Total: $954 AR AP

 

[rudeguy]

Agree with Termie on the case. A full tower housing a single-GPU machine is just a big empty box with poorly directed airflow.

As for the 3rd monitor, both Nvidia and AMD require a native DisplayPort monitor or an active DisplayPort to HDMI/DVI adapter for the 3rd and higher monitors on a single GPU.

The fancy case and 250GB SSD requirements eat into the amount of gaming performance you can get on your budget. Just FYI.

i5 4670K + ASUS Z87-A combo $360
Team DDR3 1600 8GB $53 AP
Sapphire 7950 3GB $200 AR
Samsung 840 EVO $183
Reuse HDD $0
Lite-ON DVD Burner $18
Seasonic M12II 750W $60 AR AP
Cooler Master HAF 922 $80 AR AP - substitute any suitably-appealing case here
Total: $954 AR AP

The setup looks great.

I wouldn't mind doing that then spending a few extra (ok, $70 extra) to get the case lil rudeguy wants. Keep in mind this is for a teenager, so looks are very important to him. When I asked him what he wanted, he said he wanted red neons. The only request he had besides wanting to have all 3 monitors running at once.

He has a full tower case now and I loved setting it up. Its a Coolermaster as well. Toolless design, tons of space, not a single complaint. I tend to stick with what I know works and sometimes I pay extra for that.

 

[Termie]

You know, cases are a very personal thing. And for a teenager, the look of a case is even more personal than the way it's built, so the Cooler Master you've picked out will probably be ideal. There's certainly nothing wrong with it.

Other than that, mfenn has set you up well. Just make sure to jump quickly on hot deals - a few of those deals are already dead.

 

[rudeguy]

You know, cases are a very personal thing. And for a teenager, the look of a case is even more personal than the way it's built, so the Cooler Master you've picked out will probably be ideal. There's certainly nothing wrong with it.

Other than that, mfenn has set you up well. Just make sure to jump quickly on hot deals - a few of those deals are already dead.

Its for Christmas, so I'll be piecing it together over the next few months. I'm ok if I have to change a few things or get a newer model. My problem is the last right I put together was the one he is using now and that was a couple three years ago. I'm a cell phone guy, so I don't follow hardware. So I had no idea what processors or GPUs were current. I suppose I've let my nerd creds slip a bit.

I appreciate all the advice guys.

 

[mfenn]

The HAF 922 does have red lighting last time I checked. You can tart it up a little more with a couple of red cold cathode tubes for the side mesh. The HAF series pretty much all have the same build experience, the size of the case doesn't have much to do with it as long as it's still ATX.

Man, looking up cold cathodes really takes me back. I had to search high and low for purple (not UV) tubes back in the day.

 

[rudeguy]

what about this card?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150590

Does PCIe 16 vs PCIe make a difference?

 

[mfenn]

what about this card?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150590

Does PCIe 16 vs PCIe make a difference?

All mainstream GPUs are PCIe x16. As for the card itself, that seems really expensive for a 7950. You should be paying more like $180 AR.

 

[rudeguy]

Thanks!

So that card is just as good as the one I linked to?

Sorry for being ignorant on this stuff.

 

[mfenn]

Thanks!

So that card is just as good as the one I linked to?

Sorry for being ignorant on this stuff.

No worries, happy to help. Overall the PowerColor is a better card because it has a better cooling system. Its base clock is 50Mhz lower, but that's easily remedied by a trip to the Catalyst Control Center.

 

[rudeguy]

No worries, happy to help. Overall the PowerColor is a better card because it has a better cooling system. Its base clock is 50Mhz lower, but that's easily remedied by a trip to the Catalyst Control Center.

Nice! Better cooling is never a bad thing.

I can't wait to get this thing built. I just hope I can wait until Christmas to give it to him

 

[TY-1]

Nice! Better cooling is never a bad thing.

I can't wait to get this thing built. I just hope I can wait until Christmas to give it to him

An early Christmas gift wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing....

Especially considering the Winter/Holiday gaming deals that a lot of retailers like Steam do around that time.

 

[rudeguy]

Wanted to give an update and thank everyone for their help! I finally got everything purchased and pretty much put together. Here is a list of what I bought:

Cooler Master Storm Trooper full ATX case (this thing is huge and badass)
CRUCIAL 8GB 4X2 D3 1600 DIMM CL9
TPLINK WRLS-N300 PCI ADAPTER
INTEL BOX INTEL CORE I5-4670K
VIVITAR USB DC DUAL PORT CHRGR 1A
INTEL 530 SER. SSD 240GB
IPSG LG 24X DVDRW SATA OEM
CORSAIR 600W CXMOD 80+BRZ ATX PSU
MSI GTX760OC 2GB PCIE DDHDP
ASROCK Z87-EXTREME4 ATX LGA 1150

Total out of pocket was right about $1100. That is the closest to budget a build has ever came for me. I got the case on a one day special for $130 shipped which was huge and Micro Center had all kinds of bundle deals on everything else.

Thanks again for all the help. You guys made it so lil rudeguy will have a very good Christmas!

 

[VirtualLarry]

Looks like a great rig. Enjoy!

 

[rudeguy]

Thanks!

Too bad I will never touch it again after its built

Though I did get an ultra book for work. Still prefer my phone to that. Wish there was a business class Android tablet. ...

 

[mfenn]

Glad you like it!

 

[rudeguy]

One year update:

You guys rock! This rig is still going strong, still playing all games just fine. We're going to throw another 8GB in to help with some Java issues but other than that, he has had no complaints. Which is pretty huge considering he's the definition of a hardcore gamer.

Thanks again guys.