Jump to content

High-End Gaming Rig


Guest PhuN

Recommended Posts

Budget Range: $2000-$2500 (Most builds I have come up with end in this range)

 

System Usage: Gaming, Multimedia, Video Editing, Music Production, Graphic Design, and General Use (Microsoft Office, Web Surfing).

 

Country of Origin: USA

 

Overclocking: Maybe

 

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

 

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200 Possibly? I will be getting a new monitor. Possibly a Dell Ultrasharp

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

About 7-8 months ago I started a new build to replace my old one, but at the time I was only upgrading everything but the CPU, mobo, and ram. Long story short, in the process of putting it together either something happened with the mobo or the cpu and I could not get it to start again after its first initial start up. Since then I’ve been in and out of hospitals for most of that time but I want to finish the build.

 

Reusing:

2x Western Digital 150GB Veloci Raptor 10,000 RPM 16 MB Buffer

 

Bought 7 months ago:

EVGA GTX 580

LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support

LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDS118-04 - OEM

Corsair Graphite Series 600T Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

CORSAIR Hydro H70 CWCH70 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler

CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX850 (CMPSU-850AX) 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active ...

AeroCool Touch-1000 Controller, Panel

Rosewill RCR-IC002 74-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port / Extra silver face plate

 

Current Ideal System:

CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B

GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

EVGA GTX 580 (Possibly get another for SLI in future)

2x Western Digital Caviar Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Corsair Obsidian Series 650D (CC650DW-1) Black Steel structure with black brushed aluminum faceplate ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum Panel PRO-LCD-B Media Center Programmable LCD

CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX1200 (CMPSU-1200AX) 1200W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 SLI Certified 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

SABRENT CRW-UINB 68-in-1 USB 2.0 Internal Card Reader w/ USB 2.0 Port supports SDHC/VISTA

ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM

ASUS Black 18X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E818A7T/BLK/B/GEN - OEM

CORSAIR H80 (CWCH80) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

ASUS Xonar D2X 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card

 

Peripherals:

Logitech G9 Black 9 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB Wired Laser 3200 dpi Gaming Mouse

Logitech 920-000914 Black 106 Normal Keys USB Wired Ultra-thin Illuminated Keyboard

 

I have not decided what I will be doing with the parts I previously ordered but I feel that I will be reusing most with the exception of the case.

 

The other big dilemma I am facing at the moment is whether to wait for the Intel Ivy bridge or AMD Bulldozer. I have never been a big fan of AMD so I think I would probably go with Intel which would leave me waiting for Ivy bridge. And from what I have read Ivy bridge is not worth waiting for as it is only improving the lower end processors, but I may be wrong.

 

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

  • Replies 25
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

You have said you want to do music production, however your sound card really isn't going to help you with that. You would want something with rca connectors a headphone amp and so on xonar essance maybe. The inbuilt * channel audio on the board you are looking at (although I would suggest msi z68a gd80) is more than sufficent for 7.1 out in most cases.

 

What speakers/amps do you have at home?

 

You will also have 5 different drives and that is before any of them are partitioned why do you need so much space?

I would suggest sell both your veloci raptors, if the caviar blacks are for storage only they are overpriced for that purpose get yoursell something like a spinpoint f4 at half the price.

 

You may also want to consider a case with support for multiple radiators. If you can cut down on somethings that are a bit excessive you can water cool the system. What I would aim for at $2000-2500.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You have said you want to do music production, however your sound card really isn't going to help you with that. You would want something with rca connectors a headphone amp and so on xonar essance maybe. The inbuilt * channel audio on the board you are looking at (although I would suggest msi z68a gd80) is more than sufficent for 7.1 out in most cases.

 

What speakers/amps do you have at home?

 

You will also have 5 different drives and that is before any of them are partitioned why do you need so much space?

I would suggest sell both your veloci raptors, if the caviar blacks are for storage only they are overpriced for that purpose get yoursell something like a spinpoint f4 at half the price.

 

You may also want to consider a case with support for multiple radiators. If you can cut down on somethings that are a bit excessive you can water cool the system. What I would aim for at $2000-2500.

 

The music production bit I was debating whether to add or not seeing as its more of a hobby than anything else. I didn't add the sound card based on that alone, I added it more based on the fact that I've always had an independent sound card and have always found it beneficial, plus the reviews of it are very positive. The onboard sound would probably be sufficient but I added keeping to mind I could remove it. The system is more for gaming than anything else.

 

The space is mainly for music, movies, system back ups and video footage. At this point the caviars would be more mainly storage, yeah. The veloci raptors since I already have them I thought might be worth reusing but I'm still figuring that out at this point. I did look at the Samsung Spinpoint and Hitachi Deskstar also but picked WD since I have had good experience with them in the past.

 

Any case in particular you would suggest? I considered the Corsair 800D but it seemed a bit excessive for my needs but then again at the time I wasn't considering SLI and such. Water cooling I did consider but since I have little to no experience with it I thought it might be better to just not attempt it this time around but maybe it is.

 

Cutting some stuff out I came up with this (NewEgg Wish List) which would be around $2100ish with the parts I already have (EVGA GTX580, Corsair H70, Corsair AX850, and stuff such as drives).

 

EDIT: Cut some more from the build.

Edited by PhuN

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

hi there,

 

this seems to be an exellent build, but there are a few things with the current parts and ideal system,

 

the 600t and 650d cases are actually the same case, but with different bezels and side panels, otherwise it is exactly the same inside. If you have a h70 now there is no point buying a h80, if you want an upgrade to the h70 get the h100, as the h80 is a couple of degrees less tops, whereas the h100 is only slightly more but has a double rad. also the ax850 will be more than enough to run dual 580s, even with a massive oc on the cpu.

 

these few things will improve the build and save a bit of cash on the build.

 

also with regards to ivy bridge, it is the replacement of the ultra high end 1366 socket we have now, so expect very high prices but you will get 22nm cpus with 4/6/8 cores depending on price. so they replace the current top end 9XX series of intel, where sandy bridge replaced the 6/7/8XX series cpus

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

hi there,

the 600t and 650d cases are actually the same case, but with different bezels and side panels, otherwise it is exactly the same inside. If you have a h70 now there is no point buying a h80, if you want an upgrade to the h70 get the h100, as the h80 is a couple of degrees less tops, whereas the h100 is only slightly more but has a double rad. also the ax850 will be more than enough to run dual 580s, even with a massive oc on the cpu.

 

these few things will improve the build and save a bit of cash on the build.

all of this ^^^^^^^

 

Keep h70 and 850 no need to upgrade

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Cannot see your wish list its on private

 

Mobo

CPU

CPU Cooler the H70 you already have

PSU the ax850 you already have

SSD or SSD

Optical drives you allready have and the card erader and fan controller

RAM don't think you will need 16GB but 8GB cas7 1600MHz will be excellent

HDD the f4 is good of course you could still go WD this will just save a bit of money for other things

4 RCA in and 4 out this card for music production purposes if you want something decent for your hobby can always add a second card later for playback. What sound system are you running, amps, speakers ect..

Case support for two internal 120x240 rads that should also be including the h70 in the rear, maybe with some modification as fans may clash.

GTX 580 if you go sli

 

1750 with gtx580

if you wait for sli you have plenty of money to play around with wc loops

also if you sell veloci raptors you will be aable to gain quite a bit of funds. You may wish to keep one or both for games specifically, depending on how much you game. That is so ssd doesnt get to clogged up.

 

If you want a card reader, work out what cards you actuaally need it for. If its the micro out of a phone or something you can buy a usb dongle for a couple of bucks.

Edited by Stonerboy779

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just because it's high-end doesn't mean it also has to be expensive.

 

2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 MHz memory is fine to start out with unless you're going to do a lot of music/video work.

 

The i7 2600k is fine, but the i5 2500k would also work.

 

DO NOT get the GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD7-B3, it uses the NF200 chipset, which will make your games choppy. Trust me, I had the GIGABYTE GA-P67-UD7-B3 with two GTX 570's in SLI and it was horrible!

 

Keep the H70, no need to upgrade to the H80.

 

2 Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB's I use for everything. I've used 32 of them, and none have gone bad. You can find them for $50 new. They're cheaper than WD Caviar Blacks, faster, more reliable, and more stable in RAID.

 

The Logitech Ultra-thin Illuminated Keyboard is a great keyboard. I even prefer it over my mechanical keyboard for gaming, sometimes.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Seems a shame to drop that kind of cash and not run the OS from an SSD, also the PSU is a bit much, might be more efficient to drop down to a 750 (especially if you aren't going to SLI, you could go down even further then)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Seems a shame to drop that kind of cash and not run the OS from an SSD, also the PSU is a bit much, might be more efficient to drop down to a 750 (especially if you aren't going to SLI, you could go down even further then)

:withstupid:

 

Another thumbs down on the Caviar Blacks, there's a never a time when they are justified getting over a competing hard drive.

 

here's my other recommendations:

RAM: 16GB Patriot LowPro 1600mhz $85 after MIR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570

 

Motherboard: MSI P67A-GD80 $170: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130581R

 

CPU: Get the 2600K at Micro Center if you can: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354587

 

CPU Cooler: Coolermaster 212+ $27.25: http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Sleeve-RR-B10-212P-G1/dp/B002G1YPH0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313784828&sr=8-1

 

Burner: Samsung 222AB $20: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151233

 

PSU: PC Power and Cooling 750W $79 w/ promo code and MIR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703027

 

Case: Coolermaster HAF 932 $140 after MIR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

 

SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 $179: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227590

 

Storage HDDs: Western Digital Caviar Green $70: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136514 if you still want a little pep get the Seagate or Samsung drives offered for $80 a pop.

Edited by IVIYTH0S

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

:withstupid:

 

Another thumbs down on the Caviar Blacks, there's a never a time when they are justified getting over a competing hard drive.

 

here's my other recommendations:

RAM: 16GB Patriot LowPro 1600mhz $85 after MIR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570

 

Motherboard: MSI P67A-GD80 $170: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130581R

 

CPU: Get the 2600K at Micro Center if you can: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354587

 

CPU Cooler: Coolermaster 212+ $27.25: http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Sleeve-RR-B10-212P-G1/dp/B002G1YPH0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313784828&sr=8-1

 

Burner: Samsung 222AB $20: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151233

 

PSU: PC Power and Cooling 750W $79 w/ promo code and MIR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703027

 

Case: Coolermaster HAF 932 $140 after MIR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

 

SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 $179: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227590

 

Storage HDDs: Western Digital Caviar Green $70: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136514 if you still want a little pep get the Seagate or Samsung drives offered for $80 a pop.

Hey ivy, he already has a h70 so why suggest the 212+?

Also has optical drives and an ax850 psu, so he doesnt need to purchase new ones.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Seems a shame to drop that kind of cash and not run the OS from an SSD, also the PSU is a bit much, might be more efficient to drop down to a 750 (especially if you aren't going to SLI, you could go down even further then)

He already owns the psu. Also he is looking at an SSS already.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey ivy, he already has a h70 so why suggest the 212+?

Also has optical drives and an ax850 psu, so he doesnt need to purchase new ones.

Oh....so he does lol.

I overlooked that due to him wanting the H80 (for what reason is beyond me)

 

He lists a different optical drive in the "ideal system" which made me think he needed another?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...