Help, w/AVADirect Gaming Build for amateur, $2000ish budget... Pls see and criti

[jPhoenix]

Hello all. I'm attempting to configure my first desktop gaming machine from AvaDirect. I don't have any experience in configuring a desktop gaming system and am not very knowledgeable about the importance and quality of various components. I've done some research online, in forums, videos, etc, and have put together a potential system as a starting point.

I was hoping someone could review the system I've put together below and give me some feedback. As said, I'm an amateur so please excuse me if any of parts don't work well together, or if the system in general just isn't efficient due to my lack of know how.

Please help to save money where I've foolishly spent it on a part that's not necceary or is overkill, and help redirect money to parts that I've skimped on where, perhaps, I shouldn't have. My budget is $2000 ish


Here are my answers to some starting point questions:

Approximate Purchase Date: August 2012

Budget Range: $2000ish US Dollars

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (graphically intensive first-person-shooters, etc.), primary MultiMedia center for full HD movies in the home, internet (lots of tabs and windows).

Major Concern: Heat, I want the system to run as cool as I can afford while still being able to afford top tier performance, if possible... GPU and CPU cooling. I have very little knowledge on how to achieve this.

2nd Major Concern: How does Sandy Brige vs Ivy Bridge affect my build/performance for the purposes I've outline above? Should I be considering Ivy Bridge only? The present configuration is Sandy Bridge, see below.

Parts Not Required: monitor, speakers

Preferred Website(s): AvaDirect, or any other reputable builder.

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: Full Tower, I guess.

Overclocking: Yes, done by AvaDirect, any advice here is appreciated (not very knowledgeable about overclocking)

SLI or Crossfire: I don't really understand SLI or Crossfire, so maybe? (advice, lesson, appreciated).

Monitor I'll be using: Hanspree 1080p Flat Screen LCD Television 27" for now. But eventually I'd like to be able to run Two 24" 1080p LCD Monitors if possible, gaming with two screens.


Here's the configurator I used on avadirect: http://www.avadirect.com/gaming-pc-configurator.asp?PRID=19571


Here's my potential/starting point build:

CPU: Intel Core i7-2700k Quad-Core 3.5-3.9 Ghz, LGA 1155, 8mb L3 Cache

Overclocking CPU: Mild Overclocking service, 10-20% performance increase

GPU, PCI Express x16 Video Card: XFX, Radeon HD 7970 1000MHZ 3gb GDDR5 5700Mhz, PCIe x16 CrossFire, DVI+HDMI+2x Mini-DP

GPU, 2nd one: None

Overclocking, GPU: Optimal and Stable AvaDirect service performed by AvaDirect

PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro M 850W

Cooling: Noctua NH-D14 Air Cooling

Thermal Compound: Coolaboratory, Liquid MetalPad Conduction Pad, Metal

Liquid Cooling: None

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3, LGA1155, Intel z68, DDR3-2133 32GB /4, PCIe x16, etc.

Ram: Mushkin 16 GB (4x4) PC3-16000 DDR3 20000MHZ

Sound Card: Integrated 8-Channel Audio Controller

SATA HD: Crucial 256GB M4 SSD 500-260 MB/s

HD, 2nd one: Western Digital, 1TB, SATA 6 GB/s, 7200 rpm, 32MB cache

Raid: NO Raid, of course

Optical Drive: LG WH12LS39 12x/16x/48x BD/DVD/CD Blu-Ray Burner, SATA, w/M-Disc

Wireless: HP FH971AA Wireless Adapter w/external antenna, Ieee 802.11b/g/n 13 Mbps, PCIe x1

Network Card: Integrated Controller

Tower Case: Antec, Three Hundred Black Mid-Tower, ATX

Cooling Fans: Stock Fans

Fan Controllers: None

Wire Management: Custom Wiring, standard wiring with precision cable rouging and tie down

Operating System: None, have a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate already.

Keyboard and Mouse: Microsoft Wireless Desktop 800 2.4 GHZ RF

Warranty: Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)


So, what do you think? Constructive criticism is welcome as are suggestions, alternative builds, and alternative sites to build from.

Thanks very much in advance.

 

[Metlcub]

You could easily save yourself like $500 building it yourself.. If you can install ram as a upgrade, you can build a computer. I dont like cooler master PSU, but love their cases. Stick with the i5 unless your doing video/cad/music/animation. a i5 would be fine and save ya $100

Do you live by a Microcenter store?

ASRock z77 Extreem4= $140
i5-3750k $200
Noctua NH-D14 Air Cooling -$50
8gig DDR3-1600= $50-80
120gig SSD- (Vertex 4, Force 3, M4)-$100-140
1tb WD Black- $125
GTX 670- $399
corsair 650w PSU- $100
HAF 932 full tower case- $140
Logitech g510 $100
Would cost you ALOT less then getting that one. These are ruff prices but would save you alot for other stuff, like if you wanted to go h100 over the Noctua NH-D14 Air Cooling, or up the mem to 16gig instead of 8. could also up SSD to 240 etc and still save money

 

[jPhoenix]

Thanks for guidance. If I were funding this myself, I would definitely attempt a self build. However, my school provides $2000 reimbursement in Financial Aid package for a computer. They won't reimburse me for parts, only for a complete build from storefront (online fine).

So you thank I'd be better off going with an Ivy Bridge i5 and z77 mobo... what about an ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen 3 with the current sandy bridge i7 as configured above? Or would the Ivy Bridge i5 with z77 Mobo be the better performing more future proof combo?

Thanks for your help. (and patience with my ignorance)

You could easily save yourself like $500 building it yourself.. If you can install ram as a upgrade, you can build a computer. I dont like cooler master PSU, but love their cases. Stick with the i5 unless your doing video/cad/music/animation. a i5 would be fine and save ya $100

Do you live by a Microcenter store?

ASRock z77 Extreem4= $140
i5-3750k $200
Noctua NH-D14 Air Cooling -$50
8gig DDR3-1600= $50-80
120gig SSD- (Vertex 4, Force 3, M4)-$100-140
1tb WD Black- $125
GTX 670- $399
corsair 650w PSU- $100
HAF 932 full tower case- $140
Logitech g510 $100
Would cost you ALOT less then getting that one. These are ruff prices but would save you alot for other stuff, like if you wanted to go h100 over the Noctua NH-D14 Air Cooling, or up the mem to 16gig instead of 8. could also up SSD to 240 etc and still save money

 

[Knufire]

The difference between Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge is about 3-5%. Do a build with each and see the price difference.

CPU: i5-2500K or i5-3570K
Thermal Compound: Prolimatech PK-1
CPU Cooler: Hyper212+ Evo for 2500K or Corsair H80 (under liquid cooler) for 3570K
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V GEN3 for 2500K or Gigabyte Z77 UD3H for 2570K
RAM: 8GB Corsair Vengeance (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 CL9 1.5V (It's listed three times, comes in blue/black/red)
Video Card: ASUS GTX670 DC2
Hard Drive 1: 128GB OCZ Vertex 4
Hard Drive 2: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3
Hard Drive 3: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 (If there's extra money, also enable RAID 1)
Tower Case: Lian Li PC-K9WX
PSU: OCZ ZT 750W

 

[jPhoenix]

The difference between Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge is about 3-5%. Do a build with each and see the price difference.

Thanks.

I read on different forum that PCI-E 3.0 isnt supported with the 2nd generation Intel Core processors so even if I had a board that supported PCI-E 3.0, I couldn't tap into PCI-E 3.0 unless had 3rd gen processors (ivy bridge).

Is that correct? and if so, how important is PCI-E 3.0 for performance, future proofing?

 

[Knufire]

It's backwards and forwards compatible, so PCIe 2.0 video cards work in a PCIe 3.0 slot, and vice versa. PCIe 3.0 is twice the bandwidth of PCIe 2.0.

Current video cards are the speed of a PCIe 2.0 x8 slot, or a PCIe 3.0 x4 slot. Meaning that 2.0 is twice as fast as a current video card, and 3.0 is four times as fast. Performance currently, it makes no difference. Future-proofing, you can really never know for sure, but it would take at least a couple years to reach 2.0 bandwidth.

Z68 GEN3 boards have PCIe 3.0 with ix-2xxx CPUs, as they have seperate chips to handle the 3.0 slots. Z77 boards by default tap into the CPUs lanes, so a 2xxx CPU in a Z77 board is 2.0, while a 3xxx CPU in a Z77 board is 3.0.

 

[jPhoenix]

So, if I understand right, a Sandy Bridge (I7-2xxx) set up with ASRock z68 extreme4 gen3 mobo will be PCIe 3.0 capable?

The difference between Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge is about 3-5%. Do a build with each and see the price difference.

CPU: i5-2500K or i5-3570K
Thermal Compound: Prolimatech PK-1
CPU Cooler: Hyper212+ Evo for 2500K or Corsair H80 (under liquid cooler) for 3570K
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V GEN3 for 2500K or Gigabyte Z77 UD3H for 2570K
RAM: 8GB Corsair Vengeance (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 CL9 1.5V (It's listed three times, comes in blue/black/red)
Video Card: ASUS GTX670 DC2
Hard Drive 1: 128GB OCZ Vertex 4
Hard Drive 2: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3
Hard Drive 3: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 (If there's extra money, also enable RAID 1)
Tower Case: Lian Li PC-K9WX
PSU: OCZ ZT 750W

It's backwards and forwards compatible, so PCIe 2.0 video cards work in a PCIe 3.0 slot, and vice versa. PCIe 3.0 is twice the bandwidth of PCIe 2.0.

Current video cards are the speed of a PCIe 2.0 x8 slot, or a PCIe 3.0 x4 slot. Meaning that 2.0 is twice as fast as a current video card, and 3.0 is four times as fast. Performance currently, it makes no difference. Future-proofing, you can really never know for sure, but it would take at least a couple years to reach 2.0 bandwidth.

Z68 GEN3 boards have PCIe 3.0 with ix-2xxx CPUs, as they have seperate chips to handle the 3.0 slots. Z77 boards by default tap into the CPUs lanes, so a 2xxx CPU in a Z77 board is 2.0, while a 3xxx CPU in a Z77 board is 3.0.

 

[Mjolnir]

The difference between Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge is about 3-5%. Do a build with each and see the price difference.

CPU: i5-2500K or i5-3570K
Thermal Compound: Prolimatech PK-1
CPU Cooler: Hyper212+ Evo for 2500K or Corsair H80 (under liquid cooler) for 3570K
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V GEN3 for 2500K or Gigabyte Z77 UD3H for 2570K
RAM: 8GB Corsair Vengeance (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 CL9 1.5V (It's listed three times, comes in blue/black/red)
Video Card: ASUS GTX670 DC2
Hard Drive 1: 128GB OCZ Vertex 4
Hard Drive 2: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3
Hard Drive 3: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 (If there's extra money, also enable RAID 1)
Tower Case: Lian Li PC-K9WX
PSU: OCZ ZT 750W

+1 to build. I'd personally just get the Ivy proc. 3570k. With z77 board. Nice case too. I think knufire has taken a heavy liking to it lately .

No true spirit available for the 3570k? I'm on my phone. Lazy to check the site lol.

 

[Knufire]

Yeah, there's some good air coolers but no great ones I see. They have the Hyper 612, V6GT is okay, and the EVGA cooler is supposed to be good.