NEW $1500 range PC build

[Shawn48]

I have been compiling parts for a new PC build to be used mainly for gaming.

Here is what I have so far:

Motherboard: Asus P8P67 PRO (Newegg.com - ASUS P8P67 PRO LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard). Whenever they re-release this board.

GPU: 2x EVGA GTX 570 Superclock (http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Supercloc...6976836&sr=1-1).

CPU: Intel i5 2500k (Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K).

PSU: Corsair 950-TX (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139013).

RAM: A-DATA 4gb DDR3 1600 dual channel (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820211409)

SSD: OCZ Agility 2 60GB (Newegg.com - OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD2-2AGTE60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)) Looks like the best SSD for the price as of right now.

HDD: WD 250gb 7200 blue (Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD2500AAKX 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive) I don't need a 1tb hdd, I'm sure that by the time I can get near full capacity of a 250 gb hdd, SSD's price will have cut enough that I can just upgrade to a larger SSD.

CASE: Corsair 600T (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811139003). Not sure if this mid tower is going to be too small for my build, I also like the HAF-X.

CPU cooling: Corsair H70 cpu cooling (Newegg.com - CORSAIR Hydro H70 CWCH70 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler). I'm not sure if this is going to be enough for the 2500k overclocking, but I'm open to installing water cooling with larger radiators, I just don't know much about setting up water cooling systems.

I am more than willing to pay a premium for more stable/reliable parts. I have done a lot of research and tried to pick the best brands for the hardware. Also, I want to eliminate any bottle necking hardware/cooling in the system.

The hardware + Windows 7 = about $1800

Any thoughts on my choice of hardware?

[glc]

You will not be able to buy Sandy Bridge till March or April - they have been recalled. With that in mind, let's revisit this then, the rest of your components may or may not still be valid.

The Corsair 850 is not certified for dual 580's, you need a 950 or better. Get a Black instead of a Blue hard drive, a 500 Black is only 15 bucks more than the 250 Blue. I'd look at Asus and EVGA cards before I'd think about a MSI.

I'm not sure you can take advantage of 2000 speed ram, even when overclocking. I think I'd get 1600 for better stability.

[Shawn48]

Originally Posted by glc You will not be able to buy Sandy Bridge till March or April - they have been recalled. With that in mind, let's revisit this then, the rest of your components may or may not still be valid. The Corsair 850 is not certified for dual 580's, you need a 950 or better. Get a Black instead of a Blue hard drive, a 500 Black is only 15 bucks more than the 250 Blue. I'd look at Asus and EVGA cards before I'd think about a MSI. I'm not sure you can take advantage of 2000 speed ram, even when overclocking. I think I'd get 1600 for better stability.

Pertaining to the Sandy Bridge motherboard, are you saying that newer hardware may be released by the time they re-release the motherboard? March/April isn't very far away.

I agree about the EVGA 580 gtx, but every single card is out of stock from Newegg.

I just took a look at the sli certified PSUs and they seem to all get mixed ratings. Even some of the top rated brands have multiple reviews stating that the PSUs fried hardware in system. Any recommendations on a specific sli cert. brand psu?

[glc]

Not just newer hardware, items may go out of stock and other items may come in stock. Prices will change, things may go on sale, there may be new rebates. Things can change almost daily. The power supplies I was recommending last week due to aggressive pricing are no longer on sale, other power supplies are now on sale.

[Shawn48]

I found this Silverstone 1000W PSU that has received very favorable reviews. I have never heard of the brand before. (Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE ST1000-P 1000W ATX 12V v2.3 & EPS 12V 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
ct). Any one have experience with their PSUs?

[Staren]

I'm not familiar with that specific model, but Silverstone is a fairly solid brand. One of the other regulars might have more specific information. Check out this sticky for a good PSU reference. What Power Supply should I get? How many Watts? Who made it? Guide Inside.

[David M]

Rather than the Silverstone I would look at these PSU's for your two 580's
Amazon.com: Corsair Professional Series™ HX1000 80 Plus Certified Modular Power Supply (CMPSU-1000HX): Electronics

Amazon.com: Corsair CMPSU-950TX 950-Watt TX Series 80 Plus Certified Power Supply Compatible with Intel Core i7 and Core i5: Electronics

They are both SLI certified by Nvidia for two 580's.
Build an SLI PC - Certified SLI-Ready Power Supplies

[jdeb]

If you are planning on sli in the future you will want to stay strictly by the list provided in the link above. Although that is a very good power supply, it is not on the list, not worth the chance. You also need to take the reviews from Newegg with a grain of salt, how many of them are actually experts?

Newegg.com - CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-1000HX 1000W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html

[glc]

That particular Silverstone is not certified. The Corsair 950 is considerably cheaper.

[Shawn48]

Originally Posted by glc That particular Silverstone is not certified. The Corsair 950 is considerably cheaper.

Yea, I didn't notice the subtle difference (NV vs. P) on the Silverstone. I'll go with the Corsair.

I guess the aspect that I am most concerned with/inexperienced with is water cooling. What type of cooling system will be necessary to achieve stable overclocking with the GPU (sli at some point in future) and 2500k?

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by Shawn48 Yea, I didn't notice the subtle difference (NV vs. P) on the Silverstone. I'll go with the Corsair. I guess the aspect that I am most concerned with/inexperienced with is water cooling. What type of cooling system will be necessary to achieve stable overclocking with the GPU (sli at some point in future) and 2500k?

I would go with the 1000 corsair because it is modular, if you start adding liquid cooling, you will need all the cable management you can get.

With water, forget the 1500 budget

Newegg.com - EVGA 015-P3-1589-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) FTW Hydro Copper 2 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://hothardware.com/Reviews/EVGA-...pper-2-Review/

from the review...
Watercooling Loop:
Laing MCP655 D5 12V DC Pump
Thermochill PA120.3 Triple Radiator
EK-RES400 v2 Multi-Option Reservoir
1/2" ID / 3/4" OD Tygon R3400 Tubing
Bitspower 1/2" Compression Fittings
Six 120mm Yate Loon D12SL-12 Fans

[Shawn48]

Originally Posted by jdeb I would go with the 1000 corsair because it is modular, if you start adding liquid cooling, you will need all the cable management you can get. With water, forget the 1500 budget Newegg.com - EVGA 015-P3-1589-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) FTW Hydro Copper 2 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card EVGA GTX 580 FTW Hydro Copper 2 Review - HotHardware from the review... Watercooling Loop: Laing MCP655 D5 12V DC Pump Thermochill PA120.3 Triple Radiator EK-RES400 v2 Multi-Option Reservoir 1/2" ID / 3/4" OD Tygon R3400 Tubing Bitspower 1/2" Compression Fittings Six 120mm Yate Loon D12SL-12 Fans

$699

Haha that's why I'm hoping that the new dual gpu gtx 595 will trickle down prices on everything else in the next few weeks.

[David M]

For $1100 for an 580 hydro you could buy two 5970's in Crossfire which would kick its butt by a very large margin.

[birddog_61]

Originally Posted by David M For $1100 for an 580 hydro you could buy two 5970's in Crossfire which would kick its butt by a very large margin.

5970's in crossfire don't come close to gtx 580's Sli. The 5970 is cheaper but will not have the performance of the 580's, it won't have near the power draw either.

GeForce GTX 580 SLI review

Also its 700 for the 580 hydro, 1400 for two.

[David M]

Originally Posted by birddog_61 5970's in crossfire don't come close to gtx 580's Sli. The 5970 is cheaper but will not have the performance of the 580's, it won't have near the power draw either. GeForce GTX 580 SLI review Also its 700 for the 580 hydro, 1400 for two.

I was wrong with the price. Do you really think two Hydros at $1400 are a better bang for the buck than two 5970's at $1000?

I don't know...these benchmarks show them pretty close...
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/...gb_performance

The power draw of an uncrippled Fermi is pretty significant. This is why initially Nvidia had to cripple them.

[Khalil]

As a user/gamer, at this level of performance you will not be able to see any difference between the dual 6970 or the dual 580s, unless you plan on spending your days doing benchmarks.
Do you plan on using more than 2 monitors or run more than 2 instances of a game at the same time?
If not a single 6970 or a single 580 will be more than enough, anything more is a total waste of money.

[steve71]

I have two 470's in SLI and they do run pretty hot (80's). The 570 should be a bit better in that regard, but have you considered a case with better cooling?

HAF 932 is a full tower and it has a large fan on the side that blows air onto the tightly spaced GPU's. HAF X also looks nice.

The GPU fans get pretty loud under stress.

Also a mobo with 3 way sli would also allow you to space out the GPU's for better cooling. The Asus WS Revolution is about $70-80 more than the pro iirc. It's the cheapest reputable nf200 chip mobo.

[Shawn48]

Originally Posted by Khalil As a user/gamer, at this level of performance you will not be able to see any difference between the dual 6970 or the dual 580s, unless you plan on spending your days doing benchmarks. Do you plan on using more than 2 monitors or run more than 2 instances of a game at the same time? If not a single 6970 or a single 580 will be more than enough, anything more is a total waste of money.

I'm not really interested in running dual monitors, but I do want to "future proof" my build as much as possible. Though, I know that future proofing GPUs/CPUs/motherboards is not really realistic since the market is constantly developing, a single 580 may be enough right now but it may not be enough in a year or 2 with newer and more graphic demanding games release (PhysX).

I plan on going with the 580 when the 1155 motherboard is re-released again. Hopefully, by that time, the dual GPU GTX 595, which is expected to launch in the next few weeks, will push prices down for the 580 and make SLI 580 more affordable. I think this is a good game plan, but until then, I'm going to try to get everything else ready and continue researching.

Originally Posted by steve71 I have two 470's in SLI and they do run pretty hot (80's). The 570 should be a bit better in that regard, but have you considered a case with better cooling? HAF 932 is a full tower and it has a large fan on the side that blows air onto the tightly spaced GPU's. HAF X also looks nice. The GPU fans get pretty loud under stress. Also a mobo with 3 way sli would also allow you to space out the GPU's for better cooling. The Asus WS Revolution is about $70-80 more than the pro iirc. It's the cheapest reputable nf200 chip mobo.

I really like HAF (High Air Flow) towers but they don't come standard with intake dust barriers. I also like the Corsair 600T case for the ease of wire management.

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by Khalil As a user/gamer, at this level of performance you will not be able to see any difference between the dual 6970 or the dual 580s, unless you plan on spending your days doing benchmarks. Do you plan on using more than 2 monitors or run more than 2 instances of a game at the same time? If not a single 6970 or a single 580 will be more than enough, anything more is a total waste of money.

well said

[David M]

It's not really possible to future proof a computer, unless your future is less than two or three years. If the past represents the future even remotely, in three years you can bet there will be someone who wrote software that your computer cannot run at a reasonable speed regardless of how future proof you think you made it.

I think the right idea to take is to build something now that is fairly priced, not expensive and cutting edge thinking you are going to save money down the road by doing this.

Build moderate now and assume you will be chomping at the bit to build another moderately priced computer in three or four years.

Only fresh fish depreciates faster than a cutting edge computer.

[David M]

Originally Posted by Khalil View Post
As a user/gamer, at this level of performance you will not be able to see any difference between the dual 6970 or the dual 580s, unless you plan on spending your days doing benchmarks.
Do you plan on using more than 2 monitors or run more than 2 instances of a game at the same time?
If not a single 6970 or a single 580 will be more than enough, anything more is a total waste of money.


Ditto's

Additionally, dual monitor gaming stinks and Nvidia is not even close to having a decent three monitor gaming system.

Bottom line, there is no good reason to buy two 580's

[Shawn48]

Originally Posted by David M Originally Posted by Khalil View Post As a user/gamer, at this level of performance you will not be able to see any difference between the dual 6970 or the dual 580s, unless you plan on spending your days doing benchmarks. Do you plan on using more than 2 monitors or run more than 2 instances of a game at the same time? If not a single 6970 or a single 580 will be more than enough, anything more is a total waste of money. Ditto's Additionally, dual monitor gaming stinks and Nvidia is not even close to having a decent three monitor gaming system. Bottom line, there is no good reason to buy two 580's

Point taken guys...having built a "gaming" build back in 2004-2005 ($1200), I can attest to how quickly hardware becomes outdated in relation to games. My old build won't even open up battlefield bad company 2, and in fact, my yr old laptop puts the old desktop to shame.

That being said, if I go for more mainstream parts, I can still build a system that will run every game at high resolution and just plan to start another build in a few years when that one becomes outdated.

I'll start a new list of hardware and post it here when I get a chance and see what you guys think.

Setup:

CASE: HAF 922 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119197)

CPU: ---

MOBO: ---

RAM: A-Data 4gb 1600 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820211409)

GPU: 1 EVGA GTX 580 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130604)

CPU cooler: Corsair H70 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835181013)

SSD: OCZ Agility 2 60gb (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227542)

HDD: 500GB WD Black

PSU: Corsair TX950w (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139013)

I'm not sure about the CPU/MOBO setup. I took a look at the i7 950 and i7 875k, but those processors and motherboards, though are less in performance are actually just as much or more than the sandy bridge setups.

[glc]

If you can wait till April, I'd still do Sandy Bridge. The pricing is quite reasonable and the performance is going to be excellent with the bugs removed.

[steve71]

Originally Posted by David M ... and Nvidia is not even close to having a decent three monitor gaming system. Bottom line, there is no good reason to buy two 580's

What's wrong with nvidia's triple monitor solution (honest question).

[Khalil]

Or hopefully new AMD platform will be out and you would have more options!

[Shawn48]

Originally Posted by glc If you can wait till April, I'd still do Sandy Bridge. The pricing is quite reasonable and the performance is going to be excellent with the bugs removed.

Originally Posted by Khalil Or hopefully new AMD platform will be out and you would have more options!

Yea, i've waited atleast 5yrs since my last build, I can wait a few more months to see how things play out.

[David M]

Originally Posted by steve71 What's wrong with nvidia's triple monitor solution (honest question).

It requires two graphics cards if you want three monitors and it is way behind Crossfire in the amount of gaming software that has been written that supports it. It's not bad unto itself, it just has those major drawbacks. For Nvidia's sake, I hope it eventually works out for them. I think Nvidia graphics for games are overall still superior to AMD, for single monitors. I would go back to Nvidia if they built a superior three monitor gaming system and there were plenty of games that supported it.

Some new games are not even written for Crossfire. Fallout: New Vegas was not, which was a bit of a disappointment for me. That would have been an amazing game on three monitors. There are files available for download which correct or partially correct some gaming software that is not fully Crossfire compatible. I would imagine that will eventually happen with Nvidia if their multi-monitor system becomes more popular.

[steve71]

Thanks David, I see where you're coming from. Unfortunately Nividia is still the only choice for stereoscopic 3D, be it single monitor or surround. AMD needs to get with the program on that. The technology has been around for gamers for almost a decade.

[birddog_61]

Originally Posted by David M I was wrong with the price. Do you really think two Hydros at $1400 are a better bang for the buck than two 5970's at $1000? I don't know...these benchmarks show them pretty close... Introduction - Performance - GeForce GTX 580 vs. Radeon HD 5970 2GB Performance | [H]ard|OCP The power draw of an uncrippled Fermi is pretty significant. This is why initially Nvidia had to cripple them.

Not at all worth the price, I was going off of a pure performance standpoint. If he want's the most performance out there at this point 580's are the way to go if money is not an issue. Personally I think 580's sli are way overkill and more trouble than its worth, however I am not the one shelling out the cash for the cards themselves and the PSU to handle them. Honestly a single 580, really any 500 series card will run any game made at this point at very acceptable levels. Personally I am looking at the gigabyte 560 ti SOC, I will be running just one of them. You are absolutely correct that unless your planing on using 3d vision surround then there is really no need for more than one 580.

[steve71]

Even a single monitor stereoscopic 3D setup will zap 40% of your 2D FPS.

I hate to think what kind of FPS hit you'd take with a surround 3D setup.