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Assembling a gaming desktop

T

total90

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 25, 2009
27
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Please help me choose which would be the best.

A.)
USD 462
AMD Phenom II X4 840(3.2GHz, 2MB) quad core
Asrock 880GMH-U3S3 (SATA3, USB 3.0)
Kingston 4GB DDR3 1333 (2Gx2)
Seagate 1TB SATA3 6.0Gb 32MB
msi Radeon HD6750 PCl-E 1GB DDR3
LG 24X SATA DVD R/W
Aywun 50W 12cm fan

B.)
USD 640
Intel Sandy Bridge Core i5-2500 (3.3GHz, 6MB) quad core
Gigabyte PA65-UD3 (H61, SATA3, USB3.0, B3 Stepping)
A-DATA 4GB DDR3 1600 w/ heat dispenser (2Gx2)
Seagate 1TB SATA3 6.0Gb 32MB
ATI Radeon HD6670 1GB DDR5
Liteon 24X SATA DVD R/W
Huntkey 550W

C.)
USD 768
Intel Sandy Bridge Core i7-2600 (3.4GHz, 8MB) quad core
ASUS P8H67-M (H67, SATA3, B3 stepping)
Corsair 4GB DDR3 1600 w/ heat dispenser (2GX2)
Seagate 1.5TB SATA2 3.0Gb 32MB
nVidia GeForce GT440 1GB DDR5
Pioneer 24X SATA DVD R/W
Huntkey 550W

D.)
USD 1193
Intel Sandy Bridge Core i7-2600K (3.4GHz, 8MB) quad core
ASUS P8Z68-VPro (Z68, USB 3.0, SATA3)
A-DATA 8GB DDR3 1600 w/ heat dispenser (4GX2)
Hitachi 2TB SATA3 6.0Gb 64MB
ATI Radeon HD6870 1GB DDR5
Liteon 8X Blu-ray Combo DVD R/W
Delta Server Power 650W(80 plus)

so which combo would be a good deal? i want to play SC2 and BF3 and others on max setting.

These are just some options the store gave me. Feel free to change any parts inside for the best performance.

Thanks!
 
Option D, though depending on prices you could assemble an equivalent or better machine for less.
 
I'm going to buy this Bundle, it has a better GPU than any of the options you listed, granted it has an AMD instead of Intel. It is just 777.99 (or 719.99 after rebate)
 
I'll be straight forward here:

1. You will not need more than 4GB of RAM for games for the next years. So buying more than 4GB is useless.

2. An i7-2600K is overkill. Unless you plan to overclock and do other heavy stuff buy it, otherwise save your cash.

3. A strong GPU is important these days for good gameplay. Try to focus your cash there.

4. Don't skimp on the PSU, never. Buy trusted brands, Seasonic, Corsair, Thermaltake, and Antec are good brands to name a few. Generic ones fry.

5. AMD CPUs are great for gaming as well, don't fall for the Intel hype. However, if you can wait for Bobcat/Bulldozer wait. If not, a i5-2xxx is more than enough.

6. Stay away from Seagate. Stick to WD.
 
Jav has covered it well. An i5-2500k is nearly as fast as an i7-2600k as long as you don't use hyper threading (most games don't) and it's $100 less. A good PSU (600w or more) and a good air flow through the case should be considered to keep your rig from failing. The GPU will ultimately be your most important part but it's useless if the PS can't keep up or it keeps overheating.
 
total90 said:
Please help me choose which would be the best.

A.)
USD 462
AMD Phenom II X4 840(3.2GHz, 2MB) quad core
Asrock 880GMH-U3S3 (SATA3, USB 3.0)
Kingston 4GB DDR3 1333 (2Gx2)
Seagate 1TB SATA3 6.0Gb 32MB
msi Radeon HD6750 PCl-E 1GB DDR3
LG 24X SATA DVD R/W
Aywun 50W 12cm fan

B.)
USD 640
Intel Sandy Bridge Core i5-2500 (3.3GHz, 6MB) quad core
Gigabyte PA65-UD3 (H61, SATA3, USB3.0, B3 Stepping)
A-DATA 4GB DDR3 1600 w/ heat dispenser (2Gx2)
Seagate 1TB SATA3 6.0Gb 32MB
ATI Radeon HD6670 1GB DDR5
Liteon 24X SATA DVD R/W
Huntkey 550W

C.)
USD 768
Intel Sandy Bridge Core i7-2600 (3.4GHz, 8MB) quad core
ASUS P8H67-M (H67, SATA3, B3 stepping)
Corsair 4GB DDR3 1600 w/ heat dispenser (2GX2)
Seagate 1.5TB SATA2 3.0Gb 32MB
nVidia GeForce GT440 1GB DDR5
Pioneer 24X SATA DVD R/W
Huntkey 550W

D.)
USD 1193
Intel Sandy Bridge Core i7-2600K (3.4GHz, 8MB) quad core
ASUS P8Z68-VPro (Z68, USB 3.0, SATA3)
A-DATA 8GB DDR3 1600 w/ heat dispenser (4GX2)
Hitachi 2TB SATA3 6.0Gb 64MB
ATI Radeon HD6870 1GB DDR5
Liteon 8X Blu-ray Combo DVD R/W
Delta Server Power 650W(80 plus)

so which combo would be a good deal? i want to play SC2 and BF3 and others on max setting.

These are just some options the store gave me. Feel free to change any parts inside for the best performance.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I would go C mainly because the Radeon card clobbers the **** out of the GT 440. Sorry.
 
Bang for the buck, I would go with A (or B). I have a X3 CPU, with a 4550, and my bottleneck is the 4550 (and possibly the HDD), not the X3 (@2.3ghz?).
 
jav6454 said:
I'll be straight forward here:

1. You will not need more than 4GB of RAM for games for the next years. So buying more than 4GB is useless.

2. An i7-2600K is overkill. Unless you plan to overclock and do other heavy stuff buy it, otherwise save your cash.

3. A strong GPU is important these days for good gameplay. Try to focus your cash there.

4. Don't skimp on the PSU, never. Buy trusted brands, Seasonic, Corsair, Thermaltake, and Antec are good brands to name a few. Generic ones fry.

5. AMD CPUs are great for gaming as well, don't fall for the Intel hype. However, if you can wait for Bobcat/Bulldozer wait. If not, a i5-2xxx is more than enough.

6. Stay away from Seagate. Stick to WD.
Click to expand...

+1

You hit the nail in the head. i5-2500K is plenty and it actually beat 2600K in some tests. Give it some OC and it will fly. OP could also save on the ODD and HD as the option D is the only one with 2TB and Blu-Ray. 1TB and DVD drive for the start should be enough unless Blu-Ray is a must (though then the other options don't make much sense). Put as much money as possible for the GPU as that will be the bottleneck in gaming whatsoever.
 
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I don't think the motherboard in option B will work with that processor.
 
For gaming put most of the $$ on GPU.

If you want to build a cheap gaming PC go with a i5.
Any i5 is enough for gaming. The i5-23xx (2.8-3.0Ghz) works great.
Get a good PSU. Corsair CXv2 500W is cheap and good.

For graphics:
Buy nvidia 560 or higher or amd 6870 or higher..
If you buy nvidia 570 or higher or amd 6950 or higher, get a 650W+ PSU.
(They might work on a 500w PSU, but lifespan will be better with 650W+)
 
How about giving your budget and we can build it for you? None of those options are good realy because they all skimp in some areas.
 
from an RTS lover.

I was going to put together a gaming desktop myself for Starcraft 2 and did a lot of research. Unfortunately, I ran out of money, so I didn't buy the parts and put it together.

Since I don't want to waste all my effort in research, I want to share some of my insights and recommendations. I aimed for energy efficiency, price/performance, expected low noise level in case from adequate cooling, and low cost.

For power supply I would get an 80 Plus Platinum rated one. It keeps heat down, fan noise down, and energy bills down. Higher initial cost but I think it is worth it.

For CPU, I would go Intel Sandy Bridge. i7 quad core is overkill. i5 quad core with a K that is unlockable is nice but twice the cost of the i3. i3 (which is dual core, and enough for most games) would even be okay I think. I was going to go for the i3 2100 Sandy Bridge myself....AMD uses too much energy (meaning more heat) and is behind in tech.

Motherboard: I'd get an ASROCK motherboard based on the H61 chipset. If you don't need USB 3.0 or SATA 3 it is a good deal. If you go the Sandy Bridge K route, make sure to get a mobo that allows you to unlock the core, adjust voltage, etc.

For Video Card. Radeon 6870 or 6850. Price difference is marginal so I'd go with 6870 (make sure your power supply has enough power connectors). Power usage and performance far better than Nvidia.

For Hard Drive. I'd get an Intel 320 Series SSD for boot drive.

Ram: 4 GB is the sweet spot, but 8 GB is not that far behind in terms of price.

Case: I'd get a Lian Li Case that has slots for 2.5" SSD drives, with good airflow front and back (not a lot of hard drive cages), and bottom mounted power supply. (I was gonna get the cheapest $70 Lian Li case off Newegg). Steel is better than aluminum I think because it rattles less.

Lastly, for vendors, I would check out eBay (Buy-it-now), Amazon, and Newegg, do price comparisons for shipping and tax. Check out rebates, combos, ebay bucks, one day deals from deal sites, etc. Comparison shop, wait a few days/week to see price fluctuations then order everything all at once, wait, get the loot, put it together, and game.
 
durruti said:
I was going to put together a gaming desktop myself for Starcraft 2 and did a lot of research. Unfortunately, I ran out of money, so I didn't buy the parts and put it together.

Since I don't want to waste all my effort in research, I want to share some of my insights and recommendations. I aimed for energy efficiency, price/performance, expected low noise level in case from adequate cooling, and low cost.

For power supply I would get an 80 Plus Platinum rated one. It keeps heat down, fan noise down, and energy bills down. Higher initial cost but I think it is worth it.

For CPU, I would go Intel Sandy Bridge. i7 quad core is overkill. i5 quad core with a K that is unlockable is nice but twice the cost of the i3. i3 (which is dual core, and enough for most games) would even be okay I think. I was going to go for the i3 2100 Sandy Bridge myself....AMD uses too much energy (meaning more heat) and is behind in tech.

Motherboard: I'd get an ASROCK motherboard based on the H61 chipset. If you don't need USB 3.0 or SATA 3 it is a good deal. If you go the Sandy Bridge K route, make sure to get a mobo that allows you to unlock the core, adjust voltage, etc.

For Video Card. Radeon 6870 or 6850. Price difference is marginal so I'd go with 6870 (make sure your power supply has enough power connectors). Power usage and performance far better than Nvidia.

For Hard Drive. I'd get an Intel 320 Series SSD for boot drive.

Ram: 4 GB is the sweet spot, but 8 GB is not that far behind in terms of price.

Case: I'd get a Lian Li Case that has slots for 2.5" SSD drives, with good airflow front and back (not a lot of hard drive cages), and bottom mounted power supply. (I was gonna get the cheapest $70 Lian Li case off Newegg). Steel is better than aluminum I think because it rattles less.

Lastly, for vendors, I would check out eBay (Buy-it-now), Amazon, and Newegg, do price comparisons for shipping and tax. Check out rebates, combos, ebay bucks, one day deals from deal sites, etc. Comparison shop, wait a few days/week to see price fluctuations then order everything all at once, wait, get the loot, put it together, and game.
Click to expand...

thanks for ur suggestion!

well... what mobo matches this spec? and how much would this setup cost?

Intel Sandy Bridge i5 2500k
corsair 1600 8gb w/heat dispenser
WD 1TB Black
ATI Radeon HD6870 1GB DDR5
Liteon 8X Blu-ray Combo DVD R/W
Delta Server Power 650W(80 plus)
 
Well for any sandy bridge processor, you need a motherboard with an LGA1155 processor slot. So look for motherboards with that and then whatever other features you want (USB 3.0, SATA 3, Firewire, etc).

I think the MSI P67A-C43 (B3) may be great for your needs. It has 2 extra slots for RAM for future expansion, 2 USB 3.0 ports, SATA 3, and eSATA. The only thing it is really missing is Firewire and USB 3.0 headers. Plus I like MSI motherboards (very easy BIOS).
 
total90 said:
thanks for ur suggestion!

well... what mobo matches this spec? and how much would this setup cost?

Intel Sandy Bridge i5 2500k
corsair 1600 8gb w/heat dispenser
WD 1TB Black
ATI Radeon HD6870 1GB DDR5
Liteon 8X Blu-ray Combo DVD R/W
Delta Server Power 650W(80 plus)
Click to expand...

Asus p67 sabertooth is a decent mobo just built a gaming rig last week overclocked the i5 2500k to 4.2ghz on the stock fan with decent temps. Swapped the cooler a few days ago and now have it running at 5ghz. If I was you I would look at a nvidia gpu they are performing much better than ati in all the benchmarks I have seen recently in the same price bracket.
 
FeaRThiS said:
Asus p67 sabertooth is a decent mobo just built a gaming rig last week overclocked the i5 2500k to 4.2ghz on the stock fan with decent temps. Swapped the cooler a few days ago and now have it running at 5ghz. If I was you I would look at a nvidia gpu they are performing much better than ati in all the benchmarks I have seen recently in the same price bracket.
Click to expand...

Where are the nvidia out performing ATI? I haven't seen that as of yet. I saw the 6970-6990 kicking butt on anything nvidia has at the moment.
 
Hellhammer said:
GTX 580 beats the AMD 6970: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/292?vs=305

I would still go with AMD though, unless you are seeking for the ultimate performance. Better bang for buck from what I have seen.
Click to expand...

In all honesty, the Nvidia card is $600 while the 6970 is a $300 card now. Sure I would hope for another $300 it does beat it, but in reality it barely beats it for that much cost difference.

Reason why I picked up the 6970 because it's one of the best bang for the bucks right now. The 6950 was a consideration if I wanted to install the 6970 firmware but decided just to get the 6970.

Jump on over to Tomshardware page and check out a true match-up. A $200 Radeon HD 6850 in crossfire comes to, let's see _ $400, and literally smokes the GTX 580 in the highest settings of some game benchmarks. If you want more performance, step up to a $250 Radeon HD 6870 in crossfire. Or if your an Nvidia fan even the $200 GTX 460 or $270 GTX 470 in sli is your better option. Let's get back to comparing performance with price. The lower priced mid-ranged cards are by far the best in this scenario.
 
nizmoz said:
In all honesty, the Nvidia card is $600 while the 6970 is a $300 card now. Sure I would hope for another $300 it does beat it, but in reality it barely beats it for that much cost difference.

Reason why I picked up the 6970 because it's one of the best bang for the bucks right now. The 6950 was a consideration if I wanted to install the 6970 firmware but decided just to get the 6970.

Jump on over to Tomshardware page and check out a true match-up. A $200 Radeon HD 6850 in crossfire comes to, let's see _ $400, and literally smokes the GTX 580 in the highest settings of some game benchmarks. If you want more performance, step up to a $250 Radeon HD 6870 in crossfire. Or if your an Nvidia fan even the $200 GTX 460 or $270 GTX 470 in sli is your better option. Let's get back to comparing performance with price. The lower priced mid-ranged cards are by far the best in this scenario.
Click to expand...

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crossfire-sli-3-way-scaling,2865.html
Take a look there I try to think about upgrading the gpu by adding an extra one every 3 months or so.
 
nizmoz said:
In all honesty, the Nvidia card is $600 while the 6970 is a $300 card now. Sure I would hope for another $300 it does beat it, but in reality it barely beats it for that much cost difference.
Click to expand...

You are exaggerating:

GTX 580 - 470$
AMD 6970 - 315$

Jump on over to Tomshardware page and check out a true match-up. A $200 Radeon HD 6850 in crossfire comes to, let's see _ $400, and literally smokes the GTX 580 in the highest settings of some game benchmarks.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say it smokes the GTX 580. They are quite equal: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/302?vs=305

Let's get back to comparing performance with price. The lower priced mid-ranged cards are by far the best in this scenario.
Click to expand...

I was never arguing that GTX 580 is OP's best option. You stated that AMD 6970 is faster than GTX 580, which is false. AMD is definitely the king at the moment and a CF/SLI solution might be considerable.
 
FeaRThiS said:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crossfire-sli-3-way-scaling,2865.html
Take a look there I try to think about upgrading the gpu by adding an extra one every 3 months or so.
Click to expand...

True, but still the cost difference between the two cards is large for really minor gaming improvements. It would cost you $1600-1800 for 3 of the Nvidia cards (580s) while only costing you $900 for 3 of the 6970 or actually $600-700 for 3 of the 6950s. It would be around $1000 for 3 570s.
 
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