Building Mid-Range Gaming Rig

[Shanliang]

Hello, AnandTech community!

I'm new here, posting, but been around for some time reading you guys as a visitor. I decided to start off here by asking some advice regarding the new gaming rig I'm planning to buy.

Following the guidelines, here's the information required to facilitate the input.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

It will be used for gaming (crytek games, current FPS games in general, MOBA and MMORPG like GW2). It will also be used for web development.

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

Between $1,000 and $1,100

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

I live in Colombia. I will buy from Amazon US.

4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from.

Perhaps only keyboard and mouse will be bought in my country, so not quite relevant on final price.

5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

Intel processor is preferred. I really like Radeon cards.

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

Completely new rig.

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

I plan on overclocking CPU, RAM, VCard. But not some world record breaking thing. :biggrin:

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?

1920×1080

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Between 22 and 26 January, 2013.

_______________________________________________________________

This is what I have in mind so far. All parts may vary based on your much appreciated input.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K

Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V
- Changed to: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 (suggested by lehtv. Reason: enough for my OC'ing needs)

RAM: G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) Ripjaws X Series DDR3 1600MHz
- Changed to: Samsung Low Voltage DDR3 1600 x2 (suggested by lehtv. Reason: smaller to fit better alongside the CPU cooler)

Video Card: XFX ATI Radeon HD7950 3 GB DDR5
- Changed to: Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD 7950 3GB (suggested by lehtv. Reason: cheaper)

Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650
- Changed to: Corsair CX600 (suggested by lehtv. Reason: 650 is more than needed for a single GPU. And the Corsair has a very good price)

Storage: Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black

SSD : OCZ Technology 128GB Vertex 4 Series
- Changed to: Samsung 840 SSD 128GB (suggested by lehtv. Reason: better price)

DVD : Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW

Monitor: Asus VE278Q 27-Inch 2ms Full-HD LED (lots of doubts choosing between 27" and 24")
I need more opinions on my dilemma.

Case: Needs to be a Cooler Master, Antec or Thermaltake under $100 (Perhaps I have to buy it in my country, due to high shipping weight and those are the brands sold here).
- New options: CM 690 II Advanced, CM HAF 922, Antec Three hundred Two. Still need to decide there.

So, this is it! Please comment on what I have so far, and what would you suggest to improve my mid-range gaming rig.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Torn Mind]

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K
Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V
RAM: G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) Ripjaws X Series DDR3 1600MHz
Video Card: XFX ATI Radeon HD7950 3 GB DDR5
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650
Storage: Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black
SSD : OCZ Technology 128GB Vertex 4 Series
DVD : Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW
Monitor: Asus VE278Q 27-Inch 2ms Full-HD LED (lots of doubts choosing between 27" and 24")

I think you need a case, such as the Corsair 200R. XD

 

[Shanliang]

Haha, thanks for reminding me of putting a case up there, Torn mind. I forgot!

About the case, it needs to be a Cooler Master, Antec or Thermaltake under $100 because I have to buy it in my country, due to high shipping weight and those are the brands sold here.

 

[lehtv]

CPU Good
HSF Good
Mobo P8Z77-V is a bit excessive, you probably won't need all the features. With a 212 Evo you're limited to an overclock of 4.2-4.4GHz, any Z77 board has enough power phases for that. Get the Asrock Z77 Pro3 ($90), or if you must have x8/x8 PCIe for dual GPUs, Asrock Z77 Extreme4 ($135)
RAM Ripjaws will require you to lift the cooler of 212 a little if installed in the slot below. Grab two of Samsung 4GB low-profile DDR3-1600 ($23). This is very overclockable (2133 CL11 @ 1.5V)
GPU Gigabyte 7950 ($300) is better
PSU Slightly overkill for one GPU, slightly weak for two overclocked 7950's at full load... Corsair CX600 ($60) or XFX 750W XXX ($110) depending on choice of motherboard
HDD Sure. Caviar Black 1TB ($90)
SSD Would rather have Samsung 840 for $20 less
DVD Good
Monitor I really like my 27" 1080p so I can only recommend that size. Thankfully an OC'd 7950 handles every game wonderfully with AA, and if MSAA is too costly then you can always enable SMAA with RadeonPro beta.
Case CM 690 II Adv. or Antec 1100 and Antec P280 would be my top two from those brands. However you can definitely get by with an Elite 430, Antec One or Antec 302 as well. Also check out CM HAF 922. I wouldn't consider Thermaltake

 

[Shanliang]

CPU Good
HSF Good
Mobo P8Z77-V is a bit excessive, you probably won't need all the features. With a 212 Evo you're limited to an overclock of 4.2-4.4GHz, any Z77 board has enough power phases for that. Get the Asrock Z77 Pro3 ($90), or if you must have x8/x8 PCIe for dual GPUs, Asrock Z77 Extreme4 ($135)
RAM Ripjaws will require you to lift the cooler of 212 a little if installed in the slot below. Grab two of Samsung 4GB low-profile DDR3-1600 ($23). This is very overclockable (2133 CL11 @ 1.5V)
GPU Gigabyte 7950 ($300) is better
PSU Slightly overkill for one GPU, slightly weak for two overclocked 7950's at full load... Corsair CX600 ($60) or XFX 750W XXX ($110) depending on choice of motherboard
HDD Sure. Caviar Black 1TB ($90)
SSD Would rather have Samsung 840 for $20 less
DVD Good
Monitor I really like my 27" 1080p so I can only recommend that size. Thankfully an OC'd 7950 handles every game wonderfully with AA, and if MSAA is too costly then you can always enable SMAA with RadeonPro beta.
Case CM 690 II Adv. or Antec 1100 and Antec P280 would be my top two from those brands. However you can definitely get by with an Elite 430, Antec One or Antec 302 as well. Also check out CM HAF 922. I wouldn't consider Thermaltake

Wow, lehtv, great suggestions you gave me there.

Mobo: I think I'll go for the ASRock Extreme4. Good things are said about it.
RAM: Hadn't seen those Samsung sticks before! Definitely will include them in my list.
GPU: Good idea, I will go for that GIGABYTE. Cutting some dollars and still getting something great comes handy.
PSU: I'm really not sure about going for Crossfire some day. But I think that Corsair CX600 has a great price, so, I'll go for it.
SSD : I was considering that one too. I'll add it as the option #1.
Monitor: As you said, I also like a lot the idea of a 27". I'd like more opinions on this matter, as I've only used monitors up to 22".
Case: I think I'm between CM690 II Advanced and the CM HAF 922. Some opionions on those ones are welcome.

Again, thanks a lot lehtv for your very useful input., now my setup is looking better. More opinions would be great.

EDIT: Updated the OP to reflect the changes made to my build so far, based on opinions from community members.

 

[mfenn]

Solid advice from lehtv as usual. :thumbsup:

You should also check out the Antec Three Hundred Two (a little less espensive) and the Antec Eleven Hundred cases if they are available to you.

 

[Shanliang]

Thanks, mfenn, for your suggestions.

I used to own an Antec Three Hundred (first version) and I was really happy with it. Would you consider the second version an improvement over the first one, or at least equally good?

 

[lehtv]

Definitely an improvement. Better cable management, sideways HDD cage, filtered PSU intake area, USB 3.0, probably some other improvements as well

 

[Shanliang]

Definitely an improvement. Better cable management, sideways HDD cage, filtered PSU intake area, USB 3.0, probably some other improvements as well

Thanks again, lehtv. Added the Antec Three hundred Two as a new option in the Case section. Although, I'm quite fond of looks when it comes to the case, and the CM HAF 922 is very good in that department. Perhaps that will ease my decision, considering also that it's very well reviewed.

Anyone has more opinions regarding 27" and 24" monitors, what could be better in my case? I want great gaming experience and workspace for web development and casual graphic design. The monitor would be paired with a 7950. Perhaps IPS panels are not a possibility due to high prices. ASUS and Viewsonic are the brands available in my country, so which models could be good options? Thanks for your help

 

[Sleepingforest]

Is your monitor budget separate? If it is, there are two schools of high end monitors: color accuracy + resolution (IPS panels) and refresh rate (TN panels). Nowadays, IPS panels are good enough that the refresh rate doesn't really matter unless you happen to be a "pro gamer" in a twitch shooter where every millisecond matters. Meanwhile, TN panels lag behind in color accuracy, resolution, and viewing angles.

Bottom end 27" IPS monitors (at a resolution of 2560x1440) can be had from Microcenter for around $400, while the ultra-low lag TN panels (at a resolution 1920x1080) are around $310 on Amazon. An IPS 24" monitor will vary in price from $300 to $400 for a 1200p panel. If you can step down to 23" monitors, you can get a 1080p IPS panel for $170 or a 1080p low-lag TN panel for $160.

Personally, I would go for a 24" or larger IPS panel, but they are more expensive.

 

[nature1ders]

I had the ASRock Extreme4 but didn't like it. The ASUS ones offered more so I replaced it.

I would get this ASUS P8Z77-V PRO once you see the AI Suite 2 and the BIOS you'll thank me

 

[lehtv]

I had the ASRock Extreme4 but didn't like it.

What didn't you like about it?

 

[nature1ders]

What didn't you like about it?

The boards have the same fan control chipset, yet only the ASUS allows me to set fixed RPM's or Smart Mode with temps. Why does the ASRock not allow this when it's using the same thing? Absurd.

I've heard this chipset can be even more customized than ASUS has made it using their software. That's just one reason, but the ASUS Suite is feature rich compared to the ASRock

 

[Shanliang]

The boards have the same fan control chipset, yet only the ASUS allows me to set fixed RPM's or Smart Mode with temps. Why does the ASRock not allow this when it's using the same thing? Absurd.

I've heard this chipset can be even more customized than ASUS has made it using their software. That's just one reason, but the ASUS Suite is feature rich compared to the ASRock

Thanks nature1ders for your opinion.

I must say that I don't feel in a good position to judge opinions regarding new technologies. I come from a setup with a Core2Duo E8400@3.6GHz, DDR2, Radeon HD 4870 OC'ed, and a GIGABYTE mobo. No SSD, no Xfire. So this is going to be quite a big jump for me, and there are lots of new technologies like Ivy Bridge, SSD, PCIe 3, HDMI, eSATA, USB 3.0 and some others that I can't even remember.

Therefore, I cannot say what I would need from a mobo and what I wouldn't (though I'm trying to catch up on all these new features). I am not gonna do hardcore OC or very techie stuff, with that in mind, I think ASRock would be a better choice for my budget, wouldn't it? Your are the ones that know better, hehe. ^_^

 

[lehtv]

The Asrock board is good for pretty much the same OC as P8Z77-V. They have similar overclocking features and the same number of CPU power phases. It's only lacking in form (narrow ATX instead of standard) and some features like the fan control mentioned by nature1ders as well as lack of wireless or dual LAN. On the plus side, Asrock has a better audio chip (ALC898 vs 892).

 

[Shanliang]

The Asrock board is good for pretty much the same OC as P8Z77-V. They have similar overclocking features and the same number of CPU power phases. It's only lacking in form (narrow ATX instead of standard) and some features like the fan control mentioned by nature1ders as well as lack of wireless or dual LAN. On the plus side, Asrock has a better audio chip (ALC898 vs 892).

Also prices would be considered, and ASRock is very good in that regard. Based on what you say I think ASRock would be the one to go for. Unless the benefits you mention about the ASUS are too good to ignore. Thanks for your help. ^_^

EDIT: I add again my question regarding monitors. I was evaluationg my budget and I think I have two possibilities: a 27" LED or a 24" IPS. Those are examples of ASUS, or perhaps ViewSonic is possible as well, which are the ones I can find in my country.

What would advice?

 

[nature1ders]

Always go bigger, thus 27 led

 

[Sleepingforest]

For the price of the smaller (24" IPS) monitor, you could get a 27" IPS Auria monitor from Microcenter.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/384780/EQ276W_27_IPS_LED_Monitor

 

[Shanliang]

For the price of the smaller (24" IPS) monitor, you could get a 27" IPS Auria monitor from Microcenter.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/384780/EQ276W_27_IPS_LED_Monitor

The thing is, I'm afraid I have to buy it here in my country for local warranty and tech support purposes. So, my options are limited to similar to those I posted before. :\

 

[mfenn]

The boards have the same fan control chipset, yet only the ASUS allows me to set fixed RPM's or Smart Mode with temps. Why does the ASRock not allow this when it's using the same thing? Absurd.

It damn well better considering the ASUS P8Z77 Pro costs nearly twice as much as the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 and over twice as much as the Pro3 that was recommended.

Overall, it's just plain silly to spend $100 extra on a mobo unless you have maxed out everything else. That $100 makes a lot bigger impact when spent on the GPU or monitor.

Always go bigger, thus 27 led

Absolutely not. The OP is interested in graphic design, which means any panels that don't have good color accuracy (e.g. TN) are completely out.

 

[Shanliang]

It damn well better considering the ASUS P8Z77 Pro costs nearly twice as much as the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 and over twice as much as the Pro3 that was recommended.

Overall, it's just plain silly to spend $100 extra on a mobo unless you have maxed out everything else. That $100 makes a lot bigger impact when spent on the GPU or monitor.

I agree with you, mfenn, the extra money, which isn't little, isn't worth it for what's offered. And yeah, that money is better spent on my monitor.

Absolutely not. The OP is interested in graphic design, which means any panels that don't have good color accuracy (e.g. TN) are completely out.

I think I exaggerated using the term "graphic design", as I'll just do some basic web graphics, which I have been able to do fairly well with my previous 22" TN LG monitor. I think I'm more interested in enjoying video playback, gaming, web surfing and web development (with non-sophisticated graphic design behind it :biggrin: ). But I definitely want to increase size, so at least 24". Now my doubt lies on whether what IPS 24" offers me, will surpass the advantages of having a bigger LED screen. I haven't been able to appreciate them one next to each other to get a better idea. :\ So those that have experienced both worlds might have some advice for me.

Thanks, mfenn, for your input, and more is welcome. ^_^

 

[mfenn]

I think I exaggerated using the term "graphic design", as I'll just do some basic web graphics, which I have been able to do fairly well with my previous 22" TN LG monitor. I think I'm more interested in enjoying video playback, gaming, web surfing and web development (with non-sophisticated graphic design behind it :biggrin: ). But I definitely want to increase size, so at least 24". Now my doubt lies on whether what IPS 24" offers me, will surpass the advantages of having a bigger LED screen. I haven't been able to appreciate them one next to each other to get a better idea. :\ So those that have experienced both worlds might have some advice for me.

Thanks, mfenn, for your input, and more is welcome. ^_^

Are you in a position to be able to check out the monitors in person? The reason that I ask is that (as you're aware) TN panels change apparent contrast and colors depending on the angle that you look at them from. The better panels don't do it as much, but the effect is still there.

The big issue with 27" TN IMHO is that the angle-effect is magnified because of the physical size of the screen. According to geometry, you will be looking at the top, bottom, right, and left edges from completely different angles, which means that each edge have different apparent colors and contrast. Only the center of the screen will be (close to) correct.

This effect really gets on my nerves, but may not bother you, which is why I recommend checking it out in person if possible. IPS panels don't have this effect nearly as much (basically none for good ones), so you don't have to worry about it if you get one of them.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The big issue with 27" TN IMHO is that the angle-effect is magnified because of the physical size of the screen. According to geometry, you will be looking at the top, bottom, right, and left edges from completely different angles, which means that each edge have different apparent colors and contrast. Only the center of the screen will be (close to) correct.

This is true. My friend and I have identical model KDS 26" LCD monitors (from an old Hot Deal).

His is on a desk shelf that sits above eye level. Looking at the top of the screen versus the bottom, there is a noticeable difference in the shades of white and grey.

My monitor sits at eye level on my desk, so the effect is far less pronounced on my monitor. I don't even notice it on mine.

Edit: One other thing to consider, is if you would prefer a 1200P or 1080P screen. They say the 16x9 ratio of the 1080P is better for gaming, but for productivity work (web browsing and web design), I think that 1200P is better.

 

[nature1ders]

Yea but he gets a thunderbolt port on the ASUS model, this could be useful in future for him

 

[Shanliang]

Are you in a position to be able to check out the monitors in person? The reason that I ask is that (as you're aware) TN panels change apparent contrast and colors depending on the angle that you look at them from. The better panels don't do it as much, but the effect is still there.

The big issue with 27" TN IMHO is that the angle-effect is magnified because of the physical size of the screen. According to geometry, you will be looking at the top, bottom, right, and left edges from completely different angles, which means that each edge have different apparent colors and contrast. Only the center of the screen will be (close to) correct.

This effect really gets on my nerves, but may not bother you, which is why I recommend checking it out in person if possible. IPS panels don't have this effect nearly as much (basically none for good ones), so you don't have to worry about it if you get one of them.

This is true. My friend and I have identical model KDS 26" LCD monitors (from an old Hot Deal).

His is on a desk shelf that sits above eye level. Looking at the top of the screen versus the bottom, there is a noticeable difference in the shades of white and grey.

My monitor sits at eye level on my desk, so the effect is far less pronounced on my monitor. I don't even notice it on mine.

You guys make an interesting point I hadn't considered. Though my chair's height can be set for a proper eye level, I think I would notice the changes of colors and contrasts. I think I'll try to see them in person to confirm though.

Edit: One other thing to consider, is if you would prefer a 1200P or 1080P screen. They say the 16x9 ratio of the 1080P is better for gaming, but for productivity work (web browsing and web design), I think that 1200P is better.

That's something to keep in mind. Anyone knows how current games look on 16:10? Just as good as old 16:9?