Another Gaming Rig Thread

[james8547]

Hi all,

It has been a while. It's good to see the community doing well, and helpful as ever.

It's time to build a new gaming rig but I've been out of the loop for a long long time now. So I'm here to brush up and get the A-OK on the parts. Attached (and below) is a preliminary list based on several current posts.

There is no set budget but would like to spend the least amount of dough while being able to play current and upcoming games in high settings on an HDTV.


1. Vid Card - I have no idea what to get. No preference between NVIDIA vs ATI. Some say it's a better $$$ deal to crossfire 2 mid-end cards instead as opposed to getting one high-end card. Either way, I'll end up upgrading to 2 cards now or later.

ASUS EAH6870/2DI2S/1GD5 Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with ...
Newegg.com - ASUS EAH6870/2DI2S/1GD5 Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity


2. PSU - I'd like to get something that can accommodate 2 vid cards down the road and can dissipate heat effectively (noise is not an issue). Is 1200w overkill?

COOLER MASTER Silent Pro Gold Series RSC00-80GAD3-US 1200W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS ...
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Silent Pro Gold Series RSC00-80GAD3-US 1200W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply


3. RAM - I might drop it to 6GB. Not sure yet since I tend to have multiple programs open simultaneously.

CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1333C9
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1333C9


4. Mobo - This seems to be the most recommended mobo.

ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.com - ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard


5. CPU

Intel Core i7-870 Lynnfield 2.93GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I7870
Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-870 Lynnfield 2.93GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I7870


6. OS

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems


7. Case - Not sure yet which one to get but this seems to be a popular choice and I like Antecs. I'd like to get something that dissipates heat very well and can limit the dust inside the system. Again, noise is not an issue. No case lights. Also, how come the PSU is mounted at the bottom? Wouldn't the heat go up through the system?

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case


8. Optical drive - I'll just re-use my old one.


9. SATA HD - I already have one.


That's it, right? Thank you for looking and feedback.

[jdeb]

I am not a big fan of crossfire or sli. I would keep things simple and use a high end single card solution like the one you selected. It will play any game you throw at it. If it is not enough for you in the future than add.

I would also suggest a corsair professional series or HX power supply. Any of these would do fine. You may prefer modular

Newegg.com - Computer Hardware,Power Supplies,Power Supplies,Corsair,801W - 900W


If you have the money drop in a matched set of 8 GB ram

[Nikon]

PSU's are mounted at the bottom of high end cases because they are most sensitive to heat. they generally create less heat than other components in the system. if your psu get hot, it becomes more inefficient, and severely shortens the life of the unit.

yes 1200w is overkill. you can run 4xgtx480s (most power hungry card ever) on 1000w. for 2way sli/xfire, and depending on the card, somewhere between 750-1000 would be the area you should look. make sure you go over your estimated needs to reduce strain on the psu.

the antec 1200 fits every part of your criteria except the lights thing. too bad you cant turn them off im sure if you cant find one you like, glc knows some great altlernatives.

on the videocard area, it is always the better choice to get the single most powerful card your budget will allow.

[glc]

That power supply is overkill. ATI says that you only need 600 watts to Crossfire a pair of 6870's. I too would recommend one of the Corsair AX, HX, or TX series units. The better cases these days do use bottom mount PSU's.

Unless your optical is a SATA DVD burner, I'd recommend a new one. They are only 20 bucks these days.

If you plan on overclocking get 1600 speed ram, but keep the voltage as low as possible. Ideal is 1.5 volt but up to 1.65 is acceptable. For 1333, the set you have chosen is what I'd use.

Any particular reason you are using Pro instead of HP Windows 7?

[james8547]

Thanks again for the inputs.

ok, so I'll stick with one high end vid card for now. I'll just read up on the reviews to be sure I get what I want. But ASUS ATI6870 seems to be it.

Changing to a 750W modular Corsair HX PSU:
CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Newegg.com - CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Upgrading the RAM to 1600, 1.65v:
CORSAIR XMS 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1600C9
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1600C9

Any particular reason you are using Pro instead of HP Windows 7?

No big reason. Win7 is still new to me. I did a quick comparison and I read that Pro offers WinXP mode. I still play MechWarrior once in a while. I had to run it in Win2000 mode and it still crashes about half the time.

[Antec_Jessie]

Just a heads up, about PSUs being mounted at the bottom -

We all know heat rises, so the coolest air is found at the bottom of the case. The fan on a PSU will draw the coolest air in from the bottom of the case, through the power supply, expelling the warm air it out the back.

[glc]

Yes - I have a Rocketfish (Lian-Li) case with a bottom mounted PSU. The fan faces down, and the bottom of the case has vents in it for air intake. You do not count on the PSU for exhausting warm air out of the case, you need at least one dedicated exhaust fan mounted up high.