advice, tips, reccomendations welcome (project: 1grand$ystem)

[Shroud]

Please scroll down like 7 posts I redid my choices

Hi all,

Like my project name suggests my main goal is to keep my initial purchase around $1,000. My main use will be for games. Currently playing a lot of SW:ToR for which my current system does fine with at lowest settings (cries) except in PvP where its near unplayable and buggy.
Other goals are to have something that later I can tweak/overclock/mod/make look pretty but will functionally last me for games for hopefully 3-4 years.

My core (mobo, cpu, vcard) purchase is what I am most concerned with. Initially I really really wanted a motherboard that could use an i7 and support 64+ gb's of ram. Considering my main use i know its not really needed but something that started this project so thought i'd mention it. After price hunting and forum reading Im starting to sway away from pricier i7 and lean to amd fx8. So far this is what I am thinking of using for my 'core' initial purchase.

mobo: ASUS Crosshair V Formula AM3+ AMD 990FX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131735

cpu: AMD FX-8150 Zambezi 3.6GHz Socket AM3+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103960

vcard: Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121623

I know I could get a different board that would support 64gb ram (one of my initial goals) and save 50 ish by going with a bit lower cpu and hd6k series vcard but so far im thinking this a good start. Money wise a bit over $700 with just these 3 purchases but just looking to keep it under 1k for initial 'able to play with' stage.

I Read something or watched video about this being a 'scorpius' setup?. I don't know if it still qualifes as a 'scorpius' since its not an hd6k vcard.

So technically to have a new rig without harvesting anything from an old machine I still need:

hard drive:
just going to go with cheap ssd since won't be storing much just a few games and os

power supply:
given eventually going to max out ram and vcards might need to choose something in the 600-800W range.

case:
still undecided whether i want a clear panel or just get something plain and maybe paint something myself

ram:
my choice of mobo supports 32G but initially just going to buy 8G maybe 16G. still reading up on this but prices seem pretty nice for even some of the more speedy ram.


I think I can get above items and be pretty close to $1k, will probably end up over cause that is just how things go. I plan on maxing the ram and maybe another vcard down the road. Will depend on how well one does and what I decide to do with inside: liquid cooling/light show/ disco ball....


So I guess my initial questions are:

1.) So far so good? not seeing anything screaming bad choice or way better choice given my goals and/or budget.
2.) Any recommendations for any of the components core or last 4 I have not listen one im leaning towards.
3.) Missing anything major? Have lots of mice, keyboards, speakers, think i'll be fine with onboard sound


Thanks for your time any comments, concerns, tips, constructive criticism, or links are welcome. Will be a week or two before I buy anything. And once I do build will post a status and maybe picture if I am real proud

[chrsplmr]

I have seen quite a few members with easy 5 OverClocks with the 8150.
not sure why you went down to the 7850 video or the fascination with all that ram ...
No game needs that kind of ram ... put the money in the gpu .. u will be much happier..

3-4 Years ? well ... i have faith in the V holding up for that long .. but not the gpu's ..
they come out with new games every day that challenge the newest of cards ... (some)

and there will be you 3-4 yr upgrade... if we arent all on those gaming/internet mind chip things,
its retinal, only hurts at first....(j/k).c.

[Lilkka]

Hi, i'm new to the board's but i'm willing to give my insight into your thread as i know some stuff about PC's and have done for awhile and i would say to you that spending $700 on three part's is pretty insane and stupid (just my personal opinion) so let me help you out .. for that same price you can have a even better PC, alot of that price is just for hype of the product, you'll find that there is other product's out there that will outperform/perform just as good with a different name and be alot more cost effective. So i'll help by linking you (By the way i am unfamilar with the US sites so please excuse if i mess up something but to help with that i will also paste the name of the product to help you search for it yourself.)


Motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...06&Tpk=Maximus

ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard -

The reasoning behind giving you a Intel board is that it will support the new 22nm CPU chips & also support's PCI 3.0 but at a much better cost effectiveness than your AMD setup (i've had amd in the past and they do not run so well.. the CPU run's alot higher due to the nm of the chip and i found that it didn't quite... do so well in the gaming department and what i mean by that is there clocking abilities kind of suck via going through Intel as you can push those to 4-4.5 and it'll be stable and quick and easy on the RoG boards and you'll see a huge boost in performance also along with that idea is that Intel is pretty much the brand to have these day's, AMD do not seem to be able to keep up with there tech.


RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145347 - CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B

Simple; low volts so perfect for keeping life in the cpu, decent and reliable brand but most of all no gaming rig (even Vid editors need more than 16GB even with huge ammount of app's unless your doing 50 renders in one go like a super mad video editing person then you won't need more than this setup.)

Graphic's Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121624 - ASUS HD7870-DC2-2GD5 Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Simple: GFX is one of the most important part's of the PC and specially for the gaming, if you overclock your cpu to 4.5 and have this in your machine you should easily be able to play any demanding game on the market today ( I run 6850 and i can run nearly all games with Ultra so this will surpass that no problem.)

Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115072 - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K

Take this, it's as good as the I7 but it doesn't have HT (Hyper Threading) but clock's like a beauty to 4.5-4.8GHZ and cost's less than the I7 (Hyper threading is only really useful for large video rendering or lot's of window's applications, it doesn't far so well "atm" in games as it does not support it yet (best read up somewhere else to explain more.)


Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817171056 - COOLER MASTER Silent Pro Gold Series RSA00-80GAD3-US 1000W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Don't want that nice PC blowing up, plus this gives head room on power for a second graphic's card too to ensure you can have the power to supply it.

This is my insight on thing's anyway, hope it can be off help to you. (I totalled it up it's $1059)

Again i applogize for any link problem's i gave the names to help you find them but i come from the UK so i didn't understand how the US side worked but i tried to use the newegg.com site to get the item's for you. Good luck in your PC building.

[Shroud]

I have seen quite a few members with easy 5 OverClocks with the 8150.
not sure why you went down to the 7850 video or the fascination with all that ram ...
No game needs that kind of ram ... put the money in the gpu .. u will be much happier..

3-4 Years ? well ... i have faith in the V holding up for that long .. but not the gpu's ..
they come out with new games every day that challenge the newest of cards ... (some)

and there will be you 3-4 yr upgrade... if we arent all on those gaming/internet mind chip things,
its retinal, only hurts at first....(j/k).c.

Well I did most of my browsing off newegg and tigerdirect for 'window shopping' then would use other sites like amazon and pricegrabber to see if there where any deals on products I was looking at. There is a ton of info out there but I like this site and users tend to be polite and well informed so decided to post here for feedback.

Thanks for yours,I am not trying to maintain a top of the line rig for 3-4 years just have something that will be very nice for a year or two then still be useful for something later on (aka the upgradeable part) Right now I want to spend $1k but willing to buy another vcard and more ram later. I was thinking down the road maybe turn it into a video editing machine or something. Which partially explains my fascination with all that ram. Otherwise i know that much is not needed and like I stated only initially plan on buying 8-16 gb.

And lastly, reason I 'went down' to 7850 was it was in stock, liked specs compared to others, and price-wise seemed a lot better then an hd6k series i was recommended to use in that scorpius thing I was talking about. It also keeps me below my price mark comfortable with (I am not spending $500+ for top of the line today for what will be $200 ish and midgrade in 6 months) Yes I would rather spend $200 for something that will be maybe $50 in same time frame (just tossing out numbers but come back in 6 months see how I did ;p )

I currently play game at lowest settings and small resolution so if it can get me a year or two on high settings high resolution I would be thrilled. And if in year 3/4+ it can be used as a decent back up/renderer all the better.

Hopes that gives a little more insight.

[Shroud]

Hi, i'm new to the board's but i'm willing to give my insight into your thread as i know some stuff about PC's and have done for awhile and i would say to you that spending $700 on three part's is pretty insane and stupid (just my personal opinion)

Well I added up the three recommendations you suggested and it put me at $759.57 on newegg. I am sure I could hunt around and get all three for less then $700 but I can do the same for my choices. So if spending $700 is pretty insane and stupid, what does calling someone insane/stupid and then.... well nm not looking for a fight and I do appreciate your comments. I did find it amusing though.

The reasoning behind giving you a Intel board is that it will support the new 22nm CPU chips & also support's PCI 3.0 but at a much better cost effectiveness

Well thanks your post just made me notice board I was looking at is only PCI Express 2.0 x16 so thats something to consider.

but it does support...

The industry’s first and only native 8-core desktop processor delivers unmatched multitasking and pure core performance with all-new “Bulldozer” architecture. New 32 nanometer die shrink was designed to reduce leakage for improved efficiency, increased clock rate headroom and better thermals. Immerse yourself in the most advanced 3D games. Achieve extreme mega-tasking with ease.

Cut and paste there. Not sure if 32 nm > 22nm, or if Intel > Amd, but seems a lot of it is personal preference. And my system I built in ~2004 still runs SWToR today. Sure its at lowest settings and can't handle pvp but pretty happy that when I bought it it was also way cheaper then its intel 'counterpart' and did the job just fine. All the information and critisim out there one thing I seem to read a lot is that intel seems to be a better choice for pure gaming system. And amd makes good workhorse/editing machines.

I am not one of them people that need best settings always on highest resolution. I would love to have it but im happy turning it down/ turning off shadows if I can pump a few more months out and save some cash. And all signs point that the specs for what i've suggested (and your suggestion as well) with have no trouble running swtor. I tend to stick with an mmo for 3-4 years I think the market is too fickle but obviously can't make people stay with a game or stop whining about everything but I can be content until something truly great/ innovative and have fun without constantly restarting on new games.

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145347 - CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B

Yep seems a good choice and good price. I know a crazy amount of ram isn't needed for my initial goal and I don't intend to have it right away. It is just a weird goal I have which is why I want a motherboard that can support at least 32g. initially I was going for 64 but did tone it down.

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817171056 - COOLER MASTER Silent Pro Gold Series RSA00-80GAD3-US 1000W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

still case hunting and thinking on other stuff before I decide if i'll try to get away with my current PwrSply and wait on this but will keep this one in mind thanks.

Thanks for your time and helping me with my process.

[HiVizMan]

From a performance point of view the Intel range is king right now and will be for a while yet I am sad to say. AMD fan from years ago. But now exclusively using Intel CPU's

The 2500K is by far the best CPU value/performance right now. My product of the year last year and still top of my list at present.


Motherboard - if you need the ROG then buy the ROG but really any of the ASUS boards will be just fine. (I can hear the howls from the ROG hardcore lads)

Ram - 2 x 4GB is ALL that you need.

Graphic card is a huge part of a great gaming system. And this should be the last item you buy. And when you do make sure you buy the cheapest card of that model range. What am I talking about? Simple there is no difference between any of the reference cards so do not waste money on the overclocked or the super overclocked just by the cheapest one and clock it yourself.

The 1000w PSU is good if you are going to be goind dual card later. But overkill. Let me put that in perspective. I am running a GTX580 on a 500W PSU. So for your needs a 750W would be ideal.

The rest is up to you.


I love building new systems nothing better in my view.

[Lilkka]

Well I added up the three recommendations you suggested and it put me at $759.57 on newegg. I am sure I could hunt around and get all three for less then $700 but I can do the same for my choices. So if spending $700 is pretty insane and stupid, what does calling someone insane/stupid and then.... well nm not looking for a fight and I do appreciate your comments. I did find it amusing though.




Well thanks your post just made me notice board I was looking at is only PCI Express 2.0 x16 so thats something to consider.

but it does support...

The industry’s first and only native 8-core desktop processor delivers unmatched multitasking and pure core performance with all-new “Bulldozer” architecture. New 32 nanometer die shrink was designed to reduce leakage for improved efficiency, increased clock rate headroom and better thermals. Immerse yourself in the most advanced 3D games. Achieve extreme mega-tasking with ease.

Cut and paste there. Not sure if 32 nm > 22nm, or if Intel > Amd, but seems a lot of it is personal preference. And my system I built in ~2004 still runs SWToR today. Sure its at lowest settings and can't handle pvp but pretty happy that when I bought it it was also way cheaper then its intel 'counterpart' and did the job just fine. All the information and critisim out there one thing I seem to read a lot is that intel seems to be a better choice for pure gaming system. And amd makes good workhorse/editing machines.

I am not one of them people that need best settings always on highest resolution. I would love to have it but im happy turning it down/ turning off shadows if I can pump a few more months out and save some cash. And all signs point that the specs for what i've suggested (and your suggestion as well) with have no trouble running swtor. I tend to stick with an mmo for 3-4 years I think the market is too fickle but obviously can't make people stay with a game or stop whining about everything but I can be content until something truly great/ innovative and have fun without constantly restarting on new games.



Yep seems a good choice and good price. I know a crazy amount of ram isn't needed for my initial goal and I don't intend to have it right away. It is just a weird goal I have which is why I want a motherboard that can support at least 32g. initially I was going for 64 but did tone it down.




still case hunting and thinking on other stuff before I decide if i'll try to get away with my current PwrSply and wait on this but will keep this one in mind thanks.

Thanks for your time and helping me with my process.

Hi, i applogize if i caused offense it wasn't a attack on you, just the $ vs the UK pound's i didn't quite understand it so that's where i got confused on the idea of conversion rate's and so forth. Just to add to my point and already been said by the person above, AMD are outdated and aren't any good anymore, they aren't keeping up with tech and upgrade's as easily as Intel does, and also if you pick up a RoG board ( yes also other Asus ones do just fine too ) and get a Intel I5 2500k (ensure you get the K version for the unlocked mulitiplier) you'll be able to use AI Suite and get easy 4.2-4.6GHZ pc and this will out rank using AMD any day, i turned away from AMD when i got my first intel pc and i saw the huge performance differences and the advantange's (its that type of experience you can only get if you actually buy a intel pc) - and i actually bought a new PC 3 week's ago: Gene Z / Gene 3 - I5 2500k - 16GB ram and 6850 and i can easily pump the gaming industry games (even MMOS and PVP arena's with High/Ultra) and still run well over 60+ FPS np so for me this has me convienced that intel are the best at the gaming industry and amd are useful for gfx cards only, I also suggested getting the PCI 3.0 board because you'll want new GFX at some point and it's important to be future proof too (very good for hard core mmo'ers because you need to keep ontop of FPS and PC performance) If i can help futher with the PC build just private message on the board's and i'll see what i can help with.

(P.S - Proccessor: physical cores will always out rank virtual core's, and no game of yet supports more than 1-2 core's at best while it's being played if i am wrong with this then i'm sure someone will point this out to me, but with running games of literally every genre there is and from the very early starting's of using PC's at the age off 11 i haven't see one game go higher than 2 core usage at best so the fancy wording of the AMD one is just for the hype of the product. 22 > 32 as the chip is smaller so it let's off less heat in general but also the i5 2500k with a very good board have some amazing performance tweaks involved.)

[Myk SilentShadow]

AMD are outdated and aren't any good anymore, they aren't keeping up with tech and upgrade's as easily as Intel does

Uhhh AMD are not outdated, YES they are slowing down production on the enthusiast range of CPU's..but they are not dead in the water. And if you know what is going on in the tech world, you'd know AMD are currently working on and im hoping it fails the "Fusion" chip that combines CPU and GPU together in one chipset.

[Shroud]

Like my project name suggests my main goal is to keep my initial purchase around $1,000.
My main use will be for games.
Currently playing a lot of SW:ToR for which my current system does fine with at lowest settings (cries) except in PvP where its near unplayable and buggy.
Other goals are to have something that later I can tweak/overclock/mod/make look pretty but will functionally last me for games for hopefully 3-4 years.

So anyway I know your dying for a build update. Forums have given me some insight and I have done some serious thinking and reworking of initial purchase. As I quoted above I wanted to keep the initial purchase around $1k but I definitely plan on putting more into it as time goes on. Just not paying the prices somethings are now when I know in 6 months there will be something better and they will drop in half or more for cost. I just had to dive in and really think about about best way to begin. Initially I wanted to try to get more 'final' stuff purchased but I think using cheaper placeholders that will suffice for time being and pass them on to backup/guest/house computer current one will become. upgrading as time goes on works better for me. I would rather save money and take it slow then rush and be broke. To get most out of something truly upgradeable I just can't slack on motherboard choice and case (more hassle saver then $ but still) I will have to spend more now then I wanted to and buy 'place holder' hardware just to get it operational until prices on the more pricey items go down. But I think that route is best for me until prices fall a bit. And those placeholder pieces will go into guest machine so not be a total sink.

So my 7 new choices and revision of core purchases now are going to be:


1.) $50 Thermaltake CLP0564 Frio Dual 120mm Universal CPU Cooler
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&sku=T925-3046


*would be nice if this thing had red blades, or clear blades with red LEDs I can probably rig with two different fans later on if it really irks me or I get bored. If anyone knows if this will work well in case/mobo? Will research more myself but if anyone knows for sure would be nice


2.) $57 RAM G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 8G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231514

*this is a place holder and hopefully works. When price goes down on 16GB or 32GB set I will upgrade and pass this to my current machine keeping the cycle of upgrades trickling. I think it should be enough since I keep seeing people say 8GB is enough for games.


3.) $110 OCZ Fatal1ty 750W Modular Gaming 80Plus Bronze Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341041

*still in the refining stages of double and triple checking everything making sure everything gonna work with what it needs to so not set in stone or anything. Major reason I chose this one was according to what I will have at initial purchase will only need around 350W so 750W should be fine, price seems ok, and yes if you can't tell I'm going with a color scheme.

4.) $110 ASUS HD7750-1GD5 Radeon HD 7750 Video Card
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&sku=A455-7750

*now this is another placeholder just so I can play. I am going to use this one a 3.0(x16)motherboard. In comparison to what I use now even this one card is going to be like 4x better then one I am use to until the 3-4 GBs beasts come down in price. And when they do buy I'll buy and xfire them as I go and pass this one down to guest system.

5.) $150 COOLER MASTER CM Storm Series Trooper (SGC-5000-KKN1) Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119245

*This one just looks sweet, matches my color scheme and I love the handle. I don't think i'll take this bad boy out too much but will be much more comfortable with this if I do.

6.) $310 Intel Core i7-3820 Sandy Bridge-E 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 2011 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115229

*seeing conflicting posts about this. From what i understand not a "K" in name so not overclockable? Even if it's not I am sure this will be fine for my needs until such time new cheaper lga2011's that are come out. and then I can get a dirt cheap (6-12 months down road) lga2011 mobo (maybe take chances with a opened or refurbished if I see one get below $50) for guest system and pass this cpu on to it and have some ivy bridge oc'ing fun.

7!) $450 ASUS Rampage IV Extreme X79 Motherboard - ATX, Socket R (LGA2011), Intel X79 Express, 2400MHz DDR3
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&sku=A455-3158

Kind of still want to wait a week or so to be sure double check some stuff but I think this is what I am going with. But I think I got a good base to work with and a nice project ahead of myself. Depending on when and how much prices go down will probably start to add vcards first get some crazy framerates going.

Any conflicts anyone sees or suggestions are welcome. Didn't want to make a new post so might send this privately to those who have contributed. Please respond on forum easier for me to track one post then private messages. Thanks for all the help past and future

[HiVizMan]

My best buy would be as follows.

ROG Maximus IV Extreme (or Maximus 5 Gene if available at time of purchase)
Intel 2500K
2x4GB 1866 MHz Ram
Cooler is fine
PSU would not be my first choice but I do not like the OCZ PSU range, however it will do the job.
Case is good
Use the money you have saved with a better VGA

Why do I not agree with the the LGA2011 set up you posted? You will get better performance from the 2500K, both from an overclocking point of view (cooling the LGA2011 is a challenge when overclocked) and your stated price range. $450 for a board? And few if any games will use more than 2 cores currently. And your budget is 1K??? Nah not worth it at all.

But if that is what you want then that is what you must get.

Enjoy