Critique My $1200 Gaming Build

[BrettCB]

Approximate Purchase Date: 8/16/2011

Budget Range: $1200 before rebates.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Playing games, music, movies, and graphics editing.

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, Windows 7.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Amazon, open to other reputable websites.

Country of Origin: United States

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: Anything.

Overclocking: Yes.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe.

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200

Additional Comments: I've already purchased a Vertex 3 120GB SSD. I paid $209.99 and this will be a part of the $1200-$1300 total. Also, with the ATI 6950 purchase I plan to try to unlock the card to a 6970 so brand and ease of flashing/unlocking needs to be taken into consideration if you still recommend a 6950.

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Processor:
Intel i5 2500K

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 LGA 1155

Memory:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

SSD :
OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III

Storage Drive:
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM

Graphics Card:
MSI R6950 Twin Frozr II Radeon HD 6950 2GB

Optical Drive:
LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R

Case:
COOLER MASTER HAF 922

Power Supply:
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W

Heatsink:
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212+

Total Cost: $1146.91 w/ Already purchased SSD.

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I'm looking to cut down on the cost a little if possible and maybe even change out a few components here and there if needed. I've also been eyeing the Corsair 600T but I'd be paying around $50 more. Any advice is appreciated and feel free to recommend different parts I'm up for changing anything out if it will be a better machine in the end.

 

[beany323]

Approximate Purchase Date: 8/16/2011

Budget Range: $1200 before rebates.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Playing games, music, movies, and graphics editing.

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, Windows 7.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Amazon, open to other reputable websites.

Country of Origin: United States

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: Anything.

Overclocking: Yes.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe.

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200

Additional Comments: I've already purchased a Vertex 3 120GB SSD. I paid $209.99 and this will be a part of the $1200-$1300 total. Also, with the ATI 6950 purchase I plan to try to unlock the card to a 6970 so brand and ease of flashing/unlocking needs to be taken into consideration if you still recommend a 6950.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor:
Intel i5 2500K

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 LGA 1155

Memory:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

SSD :
OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III

Storage Drive:
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM

Graphics Card:
MSI R6950 Twin Frozr II Radeon HD 6950 2GB

Optical Drive:
LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R

Case:
COOLER MASTER HAF 922

Power Supply:
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W

Heatsink:
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212+

Total Cost: $1146.91 w/ Already purchased SSD.

---
I'm looking to cut down on the cost a little if possible and maybe even change out a few components here and there if needed. I've also been eyeing the Corsair 600T but I'd be paying around $50 more. Any advice is appreciated and feel free to recommend different parts I'm up for changing anything out if it will be a better machine in the end.

*there was a link for the mb and some memory. not sure how they are un-like each other.

link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...&SID=u00000687

 

[Ken g6]

I'm looking to cut down on the cost a little if possible

First, memory speed really doesn't matter when gaming on SB. So you could save that $15 with this memory instead of doing the bundle.

Then you could look at a different board. This, for example. A few less feature, but I don't see any dealbreakers. Or you could stick with the same board and get a different hard drive bundled with it.

Also, there are quite a few bundles with that processor. You were looking at the Corsair 600T, for instance?

 

[mfenn]

Can you edit your OP to shorted the line of hyphens? It is causing the forums styling to wig out for me.

Comments on the build:
- CPU: Good
- Mobo: I would get a less expensive one like the ASRock Z68 Pro3. The main features are still there and you save some money.
- RAM: Definitely get a less expensive kit. That Ripjaws isn't worth a 33% premium over the normal DDR3 1333 stuff.
- SSD : OCZ wouldn't have been my first choice, but it should be OK.
- HDD : Good
- GPU: I'd get this Sapphire instead. You can only reliably unlock reference model cards, which at this point are OOS or priced nearly to 6970 levels anyway. So you should just get the least expensive version IMHO.
- ODD : Fine
- PSU: Overkill, a 550W unit like this XFX is plenty of power for any single-GPU rig.
- HSF: Good

 

[gevorg]

The gigabyte boards run system fans at/near full speed so make sure your fans are good quality and not too loud at high RPM. And there is no option in BIOS to control them.

 

[BrettCB]

Thanks for all the input guys... I'm leaning towards this build now. It will cut down the cost now and I'll go SLI 560 Ti's in the near future. I went a little overboard with the PSU getting a 80 Plus Silver certified 750W but going SLI I'd rather have a nice one.

As for the more expensive motherboard, I went with the Gigabyte due to the 8x/8x PCIe slots for the dual 560 Ti's.

I'm not ordering anything besides the SSD until Thursday so I'm up for any suggestions even if it means coming up with a new build from scratch.

Processor:
Intel i5 2500K

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 LGA 1155

Memory:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

SSD :
OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III

Storage Drive:
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM

Graphics Card:
EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1567-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB

Optical Drive:
LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R

Case:
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout

Power Supply:
CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 (CMPSU-750HX) 750W

Heatsink:
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212+

Total Cost: $1234.92

 

[mnewsham]

how long is "the near future" for the 560's? If it is more then 5 months then you wont do it.

 

[BrettCB]

Probably within 3 months. Right around the time SWTOR comes out most likely.

 

[mfenn]

Probably within 3 months. Right around the time SWTOR comes out most likely.

In my experience, if you don't order them right away, odds are good that it ain't gonna happen at all. My advice: Save your money. You can knock a couple hundred off if you follow my suggestions above.

Also, I'm really perplexed as to why you went with a more expensive PSU and a worse GPU?

 

[BrettCB]

In my experience, if you don't order them right away, odds are good that it ain't gonna happen at all. My advice: Save your money. You can knock a couple hundred off if you follow my suggestions above.

Also, I'm really perplexed as to why you went with a more expensive PSU and a worse GPU?

Most people recommend a minimum of 700w to run a 560 Ti SLI setup. I'm planning on overclocking both the CPU/GPU and I'd rather err on the safe side with the 850w PSU. [The 750w PSU in my last post was meant to be the 850w I have now. I didn't realize I'd added the wrong PSU, sorry.]

As for the 560 Ti over the 6950... These cards are very similar, Is there any reason I shouldn't go with the 560 Ti over the 6950? Most benchmarks have the MSI 560 Ti Frozr II ahead of the 6950. (Note: The main reason I'm going with the 560 Ti is due to the case. The 6950 doesn't fit in the Storm Scout.)



This build comes out to $1025.31 Shipped plus $219.99 for the SSD.

Grand Total: $1245.30

Processor & GPU :
Intel Core i5-2500K & MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 LGA 1155

Memory:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

SSD :
OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III

Storage Drive:
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM

Optical Drive:
LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R

Case:
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout

Power Supply & Hard Drive Combo:
CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 & SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM


Heatsink:
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212+

Now, with this build I could save some money by going with cheaper memory, a cheaper board that has 16x/4x PCIe slots, a 650w PSU, and a single 560 Ti... But I worry about having no upgrade path down the line. I plan on purchasing a second 560 Ti shortly after the initial purchase. I'd honestly go with a 580 but I don't have the money on hand at the moment and I need to purchase this build before Friday so there is no waiting.

 

[mfenn]

The thing is, SLI isn't really a viable upgrade path, especially not with Kepler and Southern Islands coming out 3-6 months from now. At the point where you want to upgrade, you will be better off just getting a faster single GPU. They're not going to be any more power hungry than current-generation GPUs, so really you're just wasting a ton of money. Take a good hard look at the suggestions that I make in post #4.

If you really want max gaming performance now, it'd be a much better idea to drop the SSD and get 6950 2GB Crossfire right off the bat. In the combo, your GTX 560 Ti is somewhat OK, but it's still not worth it. Why pay the manufacturer a bunch of money to overclock when you can just as easily slide some control panel sliders to the right yourself?

 

[BrettCB]

The thing is, SLI isn't really a viable upgrade path, especially not with Kepler and Southern Islands coming out 3-6 months from now. At the point where you want to upgrade, you will be better off just getting a faster single GPU. They're not going to be any more power hungry than current-generation GPUs, so really you're just wasting a ton of money. Take a good hard look at the suggestions that I make in post #4.

If you really want max gaming performance now, it'd be a much better idea to drop the SSD and get 6950 2GB Crossfire right off the bat. In the combo, your GTX 560 Ti is somewhat OK, but it's still not worth it. Why pay the manufacturer a bunch of money to overclock when you can just as easily slide some control panel sliders to the right yourself?

I agree, I probably should have gone with the 6950 2GB. I went back and forth on a couple of different builds but I ended up settling on the build I listed above with the MSI 560 Ti Hawk for $1009.43 shipped. Add in the SSD and it comes to a grand total of $1229.42.

The 6950 build I was looking at was around $100 more up front and $80 more after rebates. Not a lot but enough to turn me away. I was having a hard time getting away from a z68 board that supported x8/x8 PCIe slots. I've been reading conflicting reports of as much as 20% decreases in performance in the second GPU in Crossfire/SLI... Is this even true?

I figure in a few months I'll pull the trigger on a second 560 Ti if I find it necessary and this build should do just fine in keeping up with SWTOR, BF3, and Skyrim.

As long as it destroys SWTOR and allows me to FRAPS at 1920x1200 I'll be happy. Anyway, thanks for the help, it was much appreciated.

 

[mfenn]

You wasted quite a bit of money there, but I guess the harm is done now. Oh well.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say "I've been reading conflicting reports of as much as 20% decreases in performance in the second GPU in Crossfire/SLI... Is this even true?"

Are you asking if the second card will double your performance? The answer to that question is "no, it will not".

Are you asking if x8/x8 is significantly better than x16/x8? The answer to that question is "not usually".

Are you asking if SLI is sometimes slower than a single card? The answer to that question is "yes, sometimes it is".