Final Build $1500 Gaming PC - Please critique

[equazcion]

Not every Antec has LED fans (the Three Hundred doesn't) and not every CoolerMaster has LED fans. If you don't want LED fans, don't buy a case with them.

I generally do like LED fans, never said I didn't. But every feature has their good and poorly-implemented versions. This was also just an example of the ways in which I feel CoolerMaster is superior in the intelligence of their designs.

 

[Dashel]

I pulled the trigger, thanks to all for their advice and help. I probably spent more than I needed to but I'm comfortable with my choices. I'll have a good foundation at the very least.

I'm anxious to see how big a performance gain I will see. I'm coming from:

Vista
Standard HDD, No SSD
E8400
460GTX
4 Gigs of RAM

to

Windows 7
SSD
i 2500k
570 GTX
8 Gigs of RAM

 

[Arachnotronic]

Fantastic build, dude!

 

[gorcorps]

Good build. I have nearly the exact same thing and it's fantastic. I also have a GTX570, 2500k, and C300 SSD. I only have the 64gig SSD though, so only have the OS and a few other apps on it. You have enough room for a couple games if you wanted. I keep all my apps on a 1TB F3 though and load times are still quick.

I will say this though, there are certain games that don't play well with overclocked GPUs (like Just Cause 2). I also have an overclocked 570 (from MSI) and I had to downclock back down to what stock normally is to run JC2 for more than an hour or so. It wasn't a temp issue, it was just unstable in that game. Other games ran fine.

It's a glorious machine though. I haven't had a gaming PC in a long time, and that was a socket 754 single core with an AGP x850xt. You should be plenty happy for a couple years still. I know I am.

 

[BoomerD]

I pulled the trigger, thanks to all for their advice and help. I probably spent more than I needed to but I'm comfortable with my choices. I'll have a good foundation at the very least.

I'm anxious to see how big a performance gain I will see. I'm coming from:

Vista
Standard HDD, No SSD
E8400
460GTX
4 Gigs of RAM

to

Windows 7
SSD
i 2500k
570 GTX
8 Gigs of RAM

I think you'll be fairly impressed at the increase in performance.
I upgraded from a P4-3.06 with an AGP video card and 3 Gb of RAM to an i5-760 with a GTX460 video card and 8 Gb of RAM...I was wowed with the jump in performance.

As for the HAF cases...did you see this thread?
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2125015

 

[mfenn]

I pulled the trigger, thanks to all for their advice and help. I probably spent more than I needed to but I'm comfortable with my choices. I'll have a good foundation at the very least.

I'm anxious to see how big a performance gain I will see. I'm coming from:

Vista
Standard HDD, No SSD
E8400
460GTX
4 Gigs of RAM

to

Windows 7
SSD
i 2500k
570 GTX
8 Gigs of RAM

:thumbsup: It'll be nice, especially the SSD!

 

[Morg.]

@BoomerD : Slight detail about higher efficiency PSU, they're also better built and quite often that shows in the ripple and noise tests. It's not all about tree-hugging, there's some hardcore OC stuff in there too

 

[Dashel]

I think you'll be fairly impressed at the increase in performance.
I upgraded from a P4-3.06 with an AGP video card and 3 Gb of RAM to an i5-760 with a GTX460 video card and 8 Gb of RAM...I was wowed with the jump in performance.

As for the HAF cases...did you see this thread?
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2125015

Great thread thanks for posting that.

:thumbsup: It'll be nice, especially the SSD!

Thanks again for your help. All the parts are here, I'll be building soon!

 

[Dashel]

Got the parts and build the rig, it's amazing what a difference it makes in games! Everything on ultra and smooth as silk.... except:

Problem...

I get intermittent pauses on the build. For instance I'll be typing say this post or putting something into google or whatever, and I'll type and it will lag then catch up. Any ideas? I suppose I should make a thread in the help section but wanted to report that I had this complete.

 

[betasub]

^ Wireless keyboard? OS settings for input devices?
Just some initial thoughts... glad the gaming is win

 

[mfenn]

Got the parts and build the rig, it's amazing what a difference it makes in games! Everything on ultra and smooth as silk.... except:

Problem...

I get intermittent pauses on the build. For instance I'll be typing say this post or putting something into google or whatever, and I'll type and it will lag then catch up. Any ideas? I suppose I should make a thread in the help section but wanted to report that I had this complete.

Is it only keyboard input, or does the whole system stutter? Does it happen while gaming?

 

[BoomerD]

Oddly enough, I get that from time to time. Usually only a few letters worth of lag, but it's annoying as hell.