Getting back in the game (advice needed)

Tuork · 07-18-11, 01:20 AM

So I'm going back to PC gaming, and my laptop is far from cutting it, so it's time to build a new mighty gaming rig!

I've been out of the loop for over a year now, so I need some advice. I figured my favourite forum on the interwebs would be a great place to start.

I did some research and came up with the following specs:

Note I live in Vancouver, Canada. Prices are from newegg.ca

HDD
Western Digital Caviar Black WD7502AAEX 750GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16822136794
CA$ 60.00

RAM
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Model TW3X4G1333C9
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820145218
CA$ 35.00

Case
COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...&Tpk=haf%20912
CA$ 60.00

PSU
Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817371044
CA$ 80.00

GPU
ASUS ENGTX560 TI DCII/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814121424
CA$ 235.00

CPU Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52400 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819115074
CA$ 190.00

MoBo
GIGABYTE GA-P67A-D3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813128487
CA$ 110.00

OS
Windows Home Premium OEM
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16832116986
CA$ 110.00

GRAND TOTAL: $880 + tax + shipping

My budget is around CAD$900, and I already have a monitor.

I have yet to look into different combo deals, but what do you guys think about this a starting point? Suggestions?

Note 2: I put this together based off of this: http://media.photobucket.com/image/r...uide/Guide.png

**bob saget** · 07-18-11, 01:41 AM

Glad to see you're still around dude. VFS treating you well? Head down to NCIX on Broadway and they should pricematch from newegg. The differences usually are not much, and sometimes quite big. Sometimes actually NCIX is cheaper, so just double check

**Maverick123w** · 07-18-11, 07:24 AM

I'd suggest another case. It's not that the 912 isn't nice, it's just after you buy all the fans it really needs it ends up costing you $100 anyway. Take a look at some of the lian li lancool cases.

Tuork · 07-18-11, 10:46 AM

Thanks for the advice guys.
Any suggestions on other components? I don't really know ANYTHING about current chipsets. Any Suggestions regarding the MOBO?

Hey Bob! VFS is over and done with! You should check out the thread I created on the open forum.

bobkn · 07-18-11, 08:38 PM

What's an enthusiast machine without overclocking potential?

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819115072

(I5-2500k, $30CA over the 2400). The Socket 1155 CPUs are not hgighly overclockable, except for the ones with unlocked multipliers (k suffix).

You might want a third-party CPU cooler to go with it. This one is well regarded for its price:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16835103065

There may be better choices for $40, though.

Sorry to suggest budget busters.

Albo · 07-18-11, 08:41 PM

Honestly, the 2500K is what you should go with.

Tuork · 07-18-11, 10:32 PM

To be honest, I have no interest in OC'ing.

I'm mostly building the rig as a dev machine for UDK/Hammer, but I'll be playing a fair number of games on it as well.

Thanks for the CPU advice though.
Suggestions on motherboard are very welcome

Vagabond · 07-18-11, 10:59 PM

If you care about games (mostly) then put most of your money on a good GPU and then everything else.....

Tuork · 07-19-11, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vagabond

If you care about games (mostly) then put most of your money on a good GPU and then everything else.....

With this in mind, do you think that 560 Ti will suffice?
I've heard good things about the 6870's, I think

Vagabond · 07-19-11, 04:16 AM

An 560ti is on par with the 6950 so its quite better than the 6870. Other than that its a great card but don't expect miracles, of course on an 20" screen it should be ok for a while.
Also i would go for 8GB instead of 4......The price difference is not that much and in some heavy games such as Crysis 2 going from 4 to 8 would help things quite a lot.

frenchy2k1 · 07-19-11, 01:28 PM

and as long as you go for a core i5 2500k, you'd be better with a Z68 board.
ASUS and MSI are well regarded (ASUS has the best new bios).
Take the model with the features you need (additional storage ports, firewire..)

07-18-11, 01:20 AM	#1
Tuork Official pain in the ass Join Date: May 2003 Location: 127.0.0.1 Posts: 1,197	Getting back in the game (advice needed) So I'm going back to PC gaming, and my laptop is far from cutting it, so it's time to build a new mighty gaming rig! I've been out of the loop for over a year now, so I need some advice. I figured my favourite forum on the interwebs would be a great place to start. I did some research and came up with the following specs: Note I live in Vancouver, Canada. Prices are from newegg.ca HDD Western Digital Caviar Black WD7502AAEX 750GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16822136794 CA$ 60.00 RAM CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Model TW3X4G1333C9 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820145218 CA$ 35.00 Case COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...&Tpk=haf%20912 CA$ 60.00 PSU Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817371044 CA$ 80.00 GPU ASUS ENGTX560 TI DCII/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814121424 CA$ 235.00 CPU Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52400 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819115074 CA$ 190.00 MoBo GIGABYTE GA-P67A-D3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813128487 CA$ 110.00 OS Windows Home Premium OEM http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16832116986 CA$ 110.00 GRAND TOTAL: $880 + tax + shipping My budget is around CAD$900, and I already have a monitor. I have yet to look into different combo deals, but what do you guys think about this a starting point? Suggestions? Note 2: I put this together based off of this: http://media.photobucket.com/image/r...uide/Guide.png __________________ My avatar: "An obscure and non sensical pattern made to get people to post what they think it is" - Vamp Dimitri: Dell XPS M1530 Core2Duo T5550 1.86Ghz \| 3GB DDR2 \| 8600M GT 256MB \| 250GB Hdd \| BenQ FP202W 20" LCD \| MX1000 mouse \| Inspire T5400 5.1

07-18-11, 01:41 AM	#2
bob saget Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Vancouver, originally Russia Posts: 23,133	Re: Getting back in the game (advice needed) Glad to see you're still around dude. VFS treating you well? Head down to NCIX on Broadway and they should pricematch from newegg. The differences usually are not much, and sometimes quite big. Sometimes actually NCIX is cheaper, so just double check

07-18-11, 07:24 AM	#3
Maverick123w Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 1,841	Re: Getting back in the game (advice needed) I'd suggest another case. It's not that the 912 isn't nice, it's just after you buy all the fans it really needs it ends up costing you $100 anyway. Take a look at some of the lian li lancool cases.

07-18-11, 10:46 AM	#4
Tuork Official pain in the ass Join Date: May 2003 Location: 127.0.0.1 Posts: 1,197	Re: Getting back in the game (advice needed) Thanks for the advice guys. Any suggestions on other components? I don't really know ANYTHING about current chipsets. Any Suggestions regarding the MOBO? Hey Bob! VFS is over and done with! You should check out the thread I created on the open forum. __________________ My avatar: "An obscure and non sensical pattern made to get people to post what they think it is" - Vamp Dimitri: Dell XPS M1530 Core2Duo T5550 1.86Ghz \| 3GB DDR2 \| 8600M GT 256MB \| 250GB Hdd \| BenQ FP202W 20" LCD \| MX1000 mouse \| Inspire T5400 5.1

07-18-11, 08:38 PM	#5
bobkn Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: CT USA Posts: 48	Re: Getting back in the game (advice needed) What's an enthusiast machine without overclocking potential? http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819115072 (I5-2500k, $30CA over the 2400). The Socket 1155 CPUs are not hgighly overclockable, except for the ones with unlocked multipliers (k suffix). You might want a third-party CPU cooler to go with it. This one is well regarded for its price: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16835103065 There may be better choices for $40, though. Sorry to suggest budget busters. __________________ Intel I7-3930k, Asus P9X79 Pro, nVidia GTX680, Asus PA246Q monitor, 4 X 4 GB g.skill DDR3-2133, Creative X-Fi Titanium, Corsair Force GT 120GB SSD, WD Caviar Black 1.5TB, Win7 X64 Pro

07-18-11, 08:41 PM	#6
Albo Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: MA, USA Posts: 3,633	Re: Getting back in the game (advice needed) Honestly, the 2500K is what you should go with.

07-18-11, 10:32 PM	#7
Tuork Official pain in the ass Join Date: May 2003 Location: 127.0.0.1 Posts: 1,197	Re: Getting back in the game (advice needed) To be honest, I have no interest in OC'ing. I'm mostly building the rig as a dev machine for UDK/Hammer, but I'll be playing a fair number of games on it as well. Thanks for the CPU advice though. Suggestions on motherboard are very welcome __________________ My avatar: "An obscure and non sensical pattern made to get people to post what they think it is" - Vamp Dimitri: Dell XPS M1530 Core2Duo T5550 1.86Ghz \| 3GB DDR2 \| 8600M GT 256MB \| 250GB Hdd \| BenQ FP202W 20" LCD \| MX1000 mouse \| Inspire T5400 5.1

07-18-11, 10:59 PM	#8
Vagabond Real World Labs Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Athens / Greece Posts: 132	Re: Getting back in the game (advice needed) If you care about games (mostly) then put most of your money on a good GPU and then everything else..... __________________ Sincerely Nik K Current Contests Sign Up For A Chance To Win 3 Great SteelSeries Products Walk Away With One Of The Latest Thermaltake High-End Products TteSports Is Giving Away 3 Great Prizes

07-19-11, 04:16 AM	#10
Vagabond Real World Labs Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Athens / Greece Posts: 132	Re: Getting back in the game (advice needed) An 560ti is on par with the 6950 so its quite better than the 6870. Other than that its a great card but don't expect miracles, of course on an 20" screen it should be ok for a while. Also i would go for 8GB instead of 4......The price difference is not that much and in some heavy games such as Crysis 2 going from 4 to 8 would help things quite a lot. __________________ Sincerely Nik K Current Contests Sign Up For A Chance To Win 3 Great SteelSeries Products Walk Away With One Of The Latest Thermaltake High-End Products TteSports Is Giving Away 3 Great Prizes

07-19-11, 01:28 PM	#11
frenchy2k1 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 446	Re: Getting back in the game (advice needed) and as long as you go for a core i5 2500k, you'd be better with a Z68 board. ASUS and MSI are well regarded (ASUS has the best new bios). Take the model with the features you need (additional storage ports, firewire..) __________________ As the universe is curved, there cannot be a straight answer...