New PC, looking for a direction!
 

I have not upgraded my PC in what seems like ages (did not have the need and stopped gaming for awhile). Time to start from scratch and build a new system. I have been out of the new hardware loop for awhile, I am really just looking to see what you all think is the best of the best out right now! Intel or AMD (which socket types)? nVidia or ATi? Are SSD Hard Drives finally worth the $$$? Best memory these days for OC'ing? So many questions! I feel like im starting all over on PC knowledge again as I have been out of gaming for so long.

I am looking to get back into high end gaming and it should be noted I will OC the crap out of anything I have! :) I used to generally get 1 series under the best thing out to save money. So if you help me find the best, I can go under from there. Id go so far as to point me in the right director for the best HSF assemblies currently around.

Care to help an old school gamer out? :cool: Thanks!

Re: New PC, looking for a direction!
 

Intel i5 2500k, has an unlocked multiplier so you don't need to worry about ram for your OC. If you want to spend a little more i7 2600k. Link

ThermalRight Archon is probably the best air cooler available now (if it fits).

Of course if you are willing to wait a few months you can get an Ivy Bridge CPU and the next gen ATI or NV GPU of your choice.

Re: New PC, looking for a direction!
 

Well, you could always end up "Waiting" for something new from what I recall. Unless it's going to be a huge leap forward, I have found it not always worth the wait. Speaking of room, any suggestions as well from anyone on cases? Im looking for Air Cooling (no H2O please), good cable management, clear side view (yes, I still enjoy the looks) and something fairly sturdy. :)

THIS looked like a nice case, but I am not sure if I like the idea of no fan on the side. The case I have now has a slow RPM 250mm fan on the side which has always kept the entire PC cool.

Re: New PC, looking for a direction!
 

I am a big fan of the 2600k & SSD. I think that case you picked out is awesome, you just can't go wrong with silverstone.

Re: New PC, looking for a direction!
 

If you go with a Z-68 board you can use SSD caching and just invest in a small 60GB SSD. Best of both worlds IMO. It's so fast.

Re: New PC, looking for a direction!
 

I have a HAF 932 and I love it. Nice and quiet, tons of room, all the cables are hidden behind the motherboard, completely tool free, and keeps everything nice and cool. Probably the best case I've ever owned.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119213

Re: New PC, looking for a direction!
 

right now one of the intel unlocked sandy bridge cpus are the best option, with a nice SSD and nvidia gpu.

that a excellent case, look into Lian-Li and Silverstone, don't buy a heavy, metal, cheap, ugly case like HAF.

Re: New PC, looking for a direction!
 

Yeah, you should spend twice the price for the same features and performance!

Ugly I'll give you, but the rest are nonsense.

Re: New PC, looking for a direction!
 

On the CPU side of things, it won't be a huge leap (10-15%); however, for the GPU the jump will be as big as they get (architectural jump for both NV and ATI, the next won't be until 2014). YMMV.

Re: New PC, looking for a direction!
 

I just recently purchased a i5 2500k and the motherboard & RAM found in my sig. I couldn't be happier! I upgraded from a Q6600@3.4 GHZ.. the difference is amazing

BF3 is so smooth :)

This guy is right!!

Re: New PC, looking for a direction!
 

I said cheap because I had cases from cooler master (ATCS800, Stacker 820, CM690), Thermalright (Element series), Antec, etc..

and they all had horrible build quality, cheap plastic parts breaking, paint pealing off. Cheap hinges breaking. Stacker 820 had motherboard tray that was warped installing video cards was always a issue.

better to spend 50-100 bucks more for Lian-Li and never worry about any of those issues.

Re: New PC, looking for a direction!
 

All of this!

I think my 2600K with the 160GB G2 is probably the best setup I've had. Using an MSI GD55 board which I still need to RMA because of the whole sata bug. I really don't want to exchange it because it's a very solid setup. I've never had a silverstone case but I've always liked the looks of them and it sounds like they are pretty decent cases.