Tentative Gaming Build

[Leogecko]

So it's been about six years since I put together the rig in my signature, and it's about time for a new box. I want to stay under $1000, and it would be used for playing WoW on max settings at 1900x1200 or 1900x1080 resolution. I also want the processor to be just a bit future-proof, so I can just switch out the video card later on and not have bottlenecking issues. Don't really have an interest in SLi; that's only for uber-hardcore enthusiasts, right? I want it to be fairly quiet, or at least quieter than the stock fan on my AMD 4400+

Oh, and I'm using this guide as a baseline for my CPU and GPU choices. According to the guide, Nvidia GPUs and Intel CPUs do better than the respective competitors in WoW.

This time around I'd also like to learn a little more about how the components work, what the numbers mean and such, so that I'm not lost like I am now the next time I upgrade. Back in 2005 things were easy because I could just say, "oh, well the 9800 gtx is better in some way than the 9800 gt", and "dual core is better in some way than single-core". But now they have all these new naming conventions again. Maybe if I actually knew what a front side bus or L2 cache meant, or what the difference is between DDR3 1333 and 1600, I'd be able to figure out all this new hardware... So, is there a good online guide that explains enough about different components and features to make informed buying decisions?

Here is a list of parts I put together after sorting through build posts and reviews:

Processor - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core ~ $220 [Link]

Videocard - ASUS GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB ~ $200 [Link]

Memory - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 1600 ~ $35 [Link]

Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" ~ $60 [Link]

Case - Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower ~ $50 [Link]

Monitor - ASUS VH238H 23" ~ $190 [Link]

I would recycle the following from my old PC:

Keyboard
Mouse
Speakers
Optical Drives (even though one doesn't write correctly and the other doesn't read correctly)
Power Supply - PC Power&Cooling 470w Silencer
Soundcard - Soundblaster X-fi XtremeMusic

That adds up to a total of $750, not including the motherboard.

What should I be looking for in a motherboard? I know the socket number has to match the CPU, but that's about it. I see tons of boards on Newegg that look almost identical but are 100 dollars different in price... heh.

Will my PSU be able to handle this build? I got a PC Power&Cooling unit because it was supposed to be the cream of the crop, but maybe the wattage is too low for the quad core and video card? I downgraded from a GTX 560 TI to a regular 560 because the first listed a recommended 500w, while the latter lists 450w (from the Nvidia website).

Should I plan on buying a 3rd party CPU fan if I want a quiet PC?

Please make any suggestions or changes as you see fit

[Sourtop]

A few suggestions based on what you have so far:

1) If you're not overclocking get the i5-2500 to save a few dollars.

2) Switch the RAM out for Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, or ADATA.

3) Up the harddrive to the 64 Mb Cache version of the Caviar black.

4) I'm fairly sure you're going to need to upgrade that power supply. A Corsair TX650 or a cheaper Antec PSU with a lower voltage should be more than enough for you.

5) Go for one of the Asus Z68 boards.

6) If you want Nvidia you will be more than fine with a GTX 460 1 GB for WoW. Unless you want to be playing more demanding games you should get a less expensive CPU and pump more money into the GPU and PSU.

7) Case is fine and so is the monitor.

8) You won't need an after-market cooler if you don't plan on overclocking. The stock fans are plenty quiet with the sandy bridge CPUs.

[Hippo08]

Hey there!

So I have a couple of suggestions.

First, change the G.Skill RAM to either Crucial/Kingston/ADATA. Also, if all you plan on getting is 4gigs, make it a dual channel pair(2x2gb) intead of one single 4gb module. Or you can up it to 8gb(2x4gb).

4gb: Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ4GX3M2A1600C9B

8gb: Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9

As for the PSU - I would still be a bit worried being so close to the threshold, but that is just me(plus what if you wanted to upgrade anything in the future?). Might want someone more qualified to give you a better idea on this.

As for the motherboards - you want an ASUS and a z68 chipset. I would recommend either one of these:

Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z68-V LE LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
or
Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

The main difference between most of the motherboards are the number of ports and types of ports on them. Like PCI-E Expansion slots and how fast they can run. USB ports and whether they are USB 3.0 or USB 2.0. Number of SATA ports and whether they are SATA 3 or SATA 2. Almost all of those can be wikipedia'ed(?) and you can find out a bit more about them.

Here are some wiki pages on things you asked about earlier.

DDR3 RAM Numbers: DDR3 SDRAM - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
CPU Cache: CPU cache - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Front Side Bus: Front-side bus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hope this helps,

Hippo

[Leogecko]

Ok, how about these switches?

Memory - Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

Processor - Intel Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

Motherboard - ASUS P8Z68-V LE LGA 1155
Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

Power Supply - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V
Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

There's a 3 GB/s SATA hard drive with the 64 MB cache, and there's a 6 GB/s version... don't know what kind of difference that makes, but there seem to be a lot of complaints about DOAs with the 6 GB/s version... here are the links:

Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg
Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

Thank you Hippo for the motherboard info and wikipedia links

[glc]

You want 1.5 volt DDR3-1600 ram with the Z68. Vengeance is recommended.

Your PSU is fine, no need to replace it.

Get the Black drive, not the RE4. The 32mb cache SATA 6.0 500gb is fine. You could get a small SSD and install it as a cache to speed things up - look at a 40gb Intel 320.

Buy a new DVD burner, it's only 20 bucks.

[Leogecko]

You could get a small SSD and install it as a cache to speed things up

Are you referring to the swap file?

[glc]

No, the Z68 chipset supports SSD Caching.

AnandTech - Intel Z68 Chipset & Smart Response Technology (SSD Caching) Review