The Best Gaming Rigs for around $1,500. Your advice

[strafter]

Hey guys, I am looking at putting together a new gaming rig and wanted to get everyones advice on it. I have been using my old rig for 3.5 years now and decided it's finally time for a total overhaul.

Here is what I am looking at, let me know if I am on the wrong track.

EDIT: I am Keeping this list as up to date as possible when good advice comes in
RED choices denote what I think are the most feasible current options
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Processor
Intel i7-930 @ $285
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202&cm_re=i7-_-19-115-202-_-Product
OR
Intel i5 @$270
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115218



MoBo
ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard @ $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157163
OR
Accepting Opinions!!



Graphic Options
ATI

• 
  [*]1x SAPPHIRE 100282-3SR Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity - Retail @ $280 Buying a 2nd one year down the road
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102884
• 1x Radeon HD 5970 (Hemlock) 2GB 512 (256 x 2)-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Dual GPU Onboard CrossFire Video Card w/ Eyefinity - Retail @ $650
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103088

NVIDIA

• 
  [*]1x PNY XLR8 VCGGTX470XPB GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - Retail @350
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133318&cm_re=fermi-_-14-133-318-_-Product
• Researching DX11 NVID cards.....

Memory
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX6GX3M3C1600C7 - Retail @ $190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145286



Hard Drive
2x Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive @ 120 each
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533
OR
2x Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARS 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive @ $80 each
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136490



Power
Tuniq Ripper PSU-RIP1000W-BK 1000W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail @$100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817611009



Optical Drives
2x SAMSUNG 24X @ $25 each
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151216



Misc
Case, fans, and heatsink(s) (do I need one for the processor?)
$80

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Total Price: $~1500

I am a little over budget, but am also not going to be purchasing for another month or so so I am assuming the price will be driven down towards $15-1600 by then.

So some of my questions are

1. Am I bottlenecking or putting too much towards any of the pieces above?
2. Am I skimping on anything?
3. What Graphics cards would you guys recommend I go with?
4. I have not really researched MoBo's or Memory in a long while, are my selections good?
5. Would you change any of the pieces out for something else?

Also what is your guys opinion on a good time to buy. I have heard rumors about the new NVIDIA line-up hitting the street soon as well as the new i9 processors. Should I wait more than a month to purchase. My computer is about at the end of its life, so I'd rather not wait, but if I am going to be buying overpriced equipment I would rather wait.

Thanks guys and I look forward to your help.

 

[Deleted member 74752]

Strafter - All looks good with the exception of the mb...I know nothing of it. You might also consider an i5 chip. I have been experimenting with the i5 670 lately gaming online at 4.6GHz and the results are promising. These chips overclock like demons with little heat output. I use a single 5870 in battle.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115218

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188056

 

[Deleted member 74752]

If you decide to stick with the 920, I have used this mb and memory and highly recommend.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188049

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227424

 

[r9]

I would skip Asrock motherboard and there is no point of getting DX10 card.

 

[strafter]

I would skip Asrock motherboard and there is no point of getting DX10 card.

I didn't even notice the NVIDIA's were DX10, I just picked the best NVIDIA cards on newegg. Are there any NVIDIA DX11 cards on the market right now?

If you decide to stick with the 920, I have used this mb and memory and highly recommend.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188049

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227424

rick, those look like good picks, but they are obviously more pricey and I am trying to work at a $1,500 budget. Is it worth the extra $80 to go with a better MoBo? Also as far as the i5 vs i7, they are the same price. So I just kind of assumed the i7 was a better choice. Was I wrong.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

get the i7 930 - the 920 is old & the 930 is much more overclockable for the the exact same price (since the 930 is bought in to replace the 920)

 

[Fourstaff]

i7 9xx runs on triple channel memory (read: 3x?gb sticks not 4 or 2)

For power, I would go corsair, its tried and tested and everybody likes it. 750w is more than enough I believe.

I find the lack of an aftermarket cooler distubing. Get TRUE, megahalem or something like that, the intel 9xx is going to be HOT.

Don't skimp on case, you need a lot of air. Get something like antec 900 or HAF932 (or similar sized ones) to ensure that all the i7 is cooled properly.

 

[Fishymachine]

1.you could take a look at microcenter (they've often had 920 @200 and 930 @230)
2.due to some bottleneck (bandwith,ROP,maybe even driver) a 5870 is equal to a 5850 @same clocks
3.350$ is way to much for a GTX285
4.overvolt and OC to core 1000+ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127500&cm_re=5850-_-14-127-500-_-Product
5.http://www.amd.com/us/products/desk...s/ati-radeon-hd-5850-system-requirements.aspx ...750W brand will do
6.you need tri-channel,try the lowest latencies kit you can afford http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145286 (anything above 1600 MHz is silly,especially in tri-chanell)

 

[JrRacinFan]

@strafter
What max res is your display going to be?

@r9

Asrock X58 Extreme has to be the most bang for buck in the world of 1366.

@fourstaff

Not true, they can run dual channel just fine. Also, you would be surprised with proper fan configuration what you could do even with a cheap case.

@rickss69

i5 750 or above, wouldn't even both with the i5 6XX series.

 

[Fishymachine]

If you decide to stick with the 920, I have used this mb and memory and highly recommend.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188049

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227424

DDR3 2000 CAS10
somebody didn't do his homework

 

[afw]

If you are looking for a gaming rig I think this would do ...

and 2 x Hd 5850 (reference design can use sw to OC) @ $300 each --> http://www.provantage.com/sapphire-technology-100282-2sr~7SAPP040.htm

Total is almost $1500 ....

EDIT: and if you have more money ... get a decent cooler so that you can OC the Processor and also get Extra Ram if needed ...

EDIT: The i7 920 and the i7 860 performances are similar ....http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3641&p=1 ...

 

[Deleted member 74752]

DDR3 2000 CAS10
somebody didn't do his homework

I have about 12 sticks of it here atm..I assure you I have done plenty of "homework" with that ram. (HWBot)

 

[Fourstaff]

@fourstaff
Not true, they can run dual channel just fine. Also, you would be surprised with proper fan configuration what you could do even with a cheap case.

I thought tri channel is the optimum one?

And about the case, you are right, proper fan config do wonders. I am more concerned about the fact that his megas cannot fit.

 

[Fishymachine]

I have about 12 sticks of it here atm..I assure you I have done plenty of "homework" with that ram. (HWBot)

1600 cas7 vs 2000 cas 9 in normal air cooled gaming rig or OC under phase change/DICE/LN2?

 

[Deleted member 74752]

1600 cas7 vs 2000 cas 9 in normal air cooled gaming rig or OC under phase change/DICE/LN2?

All of the above. http://hwbot.org/community/user/rickss69?tab=submissions

 

[exodusprime1337]

Don't jump all over me.. but why not amd?? Believe me i don't dispute intels insanely powerful chips.. but a really good gaming rig could be had for less that 1500. heres what i would buy.

phenom II 965c3 188.99

m4a79t deluxe 179.99

corsair dominator ddr3 1600 224.99

HIS 5870 419.99

bfg 1200 watt psu 209.99

coolermaster haf 932 159.99

western digital caviar black 119.99


all together the whole rig is 1503.92.. Sure it might not be absolutely as fast as an intel rig, but it'll chew up any game you throw at it. and for just about 1500 right around your budget if i understand correctly.

you may also want to change some thigns.. there are nice motherboards out there, and the crosshair 4 comes out soon. also the ram is a bit extreme but nice just the same, and the 1200 watt psu is probably unnessesary, but just wanted to put something in for the 1500 range for you.

 

[Fishymachine]

aham so no real life benches..http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=3589&p=5...found better example once...and exodusprime1337...5870 doesn't scale well(R5850 would be better) and every PSU above 750 is overkill,but yeah a Dragon would work fine

here it is ) http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=3577&p=2
1600 Cas 6 beats 2133 CAS 7(let alone 10)

 

[strafter]

Awesome advise so far guys, I'm now looking at 3 x 2 Memory, a possible Video Card Switch (Are there any Nvidias out on the market that are competitive?), MoBo switch, and maybe a processor switch to i5

@ Jr I am probably going to be running 1650x1050 for now, I am running a 3 year old Samsung monitor and don't think it supports any higher, but my next step will be to go up to a 2560 and dual monitor with my current one

So any opinions on these items
- i7 930 v i5
- AsRock x58 mobo
- Which graphics card maximizes my performance at lowest cost
- Whats a good cost appropriate set of RAM out there? I am looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145286
- Is Cas 7 vs Cas 9 worth the extra $40?

Also, I have never OC'd any of my gear before (mainly just because I haven't had the time to learn how to do it), but I would like to OC in the future I think. Soon I am probably going to make a thread about OCing and seeing if I can get some help on that, but thats a topic for another thread.

I also want to stick with the 1000watt supply just because I am thinking that eventually I am going to be running SLI-3 on this and will definitely need the power for the 2 additional cards. Is that a bad assumption?

Thanks guys

 

[Deleted member 74752]

Just an example...

If you want a dynomite game rig and have some fun later with overclocking, this is the ticket. Been playing FEAR online with this configuration with only a 9500 GT and just about own everyone lol.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Awesome advise so far guys, I'm now looking at 3 x 2 Memory, a possible Video Card Switch (Are there any Nvidias out on the market that are competitive?), MoBo switch, and maybe a processor switch to i5

@ Jr I am probably going to be running 1650x1050 for now, I am running a 3 year old Samsung monitor and don't think it supports any higher, but my next step will be to go up to a 2560 and dual monitor with my current one

So any opinions on these items
- i7 930 v i5
- AsRock x58 mobo
- Which graphics card maximizes my performance at lowest cost
- Whats a good cost appropriate set of RAM out there? I am looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145286
- Is Cas 7 vs Cas 9 worth the extra $40?

Also, I have never OC'd any of my gear before (mainly just because I haven't had the time to learn how to do it), but I would like to OC in the future I think. Soon I am probably going to make a thread about OCing and seeing if I can get some help on that, but thats a topic for another thread.

I also want to stick with the 1000watt supply just because I am thinking that eventually I am going to be running SLI-3 on this and will definitely need the power for the 2 additional cards. Is that a bad assumption?

Thanks guys

the i5 750 in most cases can be overclocked to over i7 870 speeds providing you have the right hardware - but you still lose out on the extra threads etc etc. multitasking with the i5 will be better then stock but wont be as effective as the i7 which is Quad Core.


.:Edit:.

as for the PSU - if you play on running 2 GTX470's or 480's - you might need moar wattage

 

[strafter]

Everyone keeps saying that i5 can be overclocked to be better than the i7. Does that mean that if you Overclocked both chips the i5 would be better, or just that the i5 can be overclocked past the i7 stock?

How much wattage do you think is needed for each additional GPU?

And I want this thing to last for 2 or 3 years running things on the very best settings. I am not really concerned with how it runs todays games. I could probably build a system for $500 today that would run all the games out today on high settings, but that isn't the point.

Also, keeping the future in mind, wouldn't the quad core i7 end up outperforming the dual core i5 in games eventually? Won't games start to take advantage of hyperthreading and 4+ cores within the next year or two?

 

[Deleted member 74752]

I will let the cat out of the bag and reveal my upcoming build. Initial testing says it will be a dynamo!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115218

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128421

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102883

http://tv.hexus.net/show/2010/03/CeBIT_2010_It_s_not_size_that_matters_with_the_Silverstone_SG07

All this on air @ 4.5GHz for a Gamer and 24/7 pc.

 

[exodusprime1337]

aham so no real life benches..http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=3589&p=5...found better example once...and exodusprime1337...5870 doesn't scale well(R5850 would be better) and every PSU above 750 is overkill,but yeah a Dragon would work fine

here it is ) http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=3577&p=2
1600 Cas 6 beats 2133 CAS 7(let alone 10)

in which ways do you mean doesn't scale.. i think in a way the 5850 is very close but at higher resolutions i always see the 5870 pull a bit further away. and overclocked.. say from 775 to 875 on the 5850 and 850 to 950 i still see a simalar performance increase with the 5870.. usually about 4-10%... just a thought that.. i was just looking at the best i could cram into 1500 dollars. To be honest i have pretty much the exact same rig i listed, but in an obsidian 800d and with crappier ram and a 4.0Ghz oc.. and i can tell you, this thing chews games apart every step of the way.

 

[strafter]

I will let the cat out of the bag and reveal my upcoming build. Initial testing says it will be a dynamo!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115218

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128421

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102883

http://tv.hexus.net/show/2010/03/CeBIT_2010_It_s_not_size_that_matters_with_the_Silverstone_SG07

All this on air @ 4.5GHz for a Gamer and 24/7 pc.

What kind of life-time are you expecting on that rig?

 

[Deleted member 74752]

Years...you won't kill one of these chips.