Please help me build a gaming rig $1500 - will pay $$$ for your advice!

[Brat Gvidon]

EDIT - parts bought already! http://postimage.org/image/90foatvcb/full/ plus ASUS GTX 680 already here!

I'll pay $50 cash (don't have PayPal), to whoever has pity on me and puts much effort to help me get what I need. I'm in the US, but I hope sending money overseas won't cost me much if its just an envelope with a "Thank You" card and $50. I think mead has made an impact in my decision-making process regarding payment, but I still stand by it!

It is that time when I can afford a gaming rig, but I haven't put together a PC in many years. The one I am using now is an A64 3000+ with Radeon 9500, 2 GB RAM, Windows XP - family PC and it is still running great! I can watch 1080p HD movies without any stuttering using K-Lite Mega Codec Pack and send out my resume, so I can be employed again.

IMO, I have great building skills and went as far as soldering wires and upping GPU and memory voltage to overclock my video cards. I used to update to new BETA BIOSes all the time and test, benchmark, burn in, try 100s of settings. This time it has to stop because I used to get very frustrated and now I just want to play games and overclock safely only via software. I do not want to reset motherboard BIOS to defaults via taking out CMOS battery because some part couldn't handle overclocked setting and would not boot... I do want optimized settings and run my rig at its full potential, but safely and not bother with something that will give me 1-2% boost in games, but has a high chance of locking up my rig or giving me a BSOD/similar error.

I have approximately $1,500 to spend, and I do not know what to get...

1. I have a 40" HDTV that I use for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and I was wondering if using it for PC games would be a good idea. Does anyone have an HDTV setup for their PC gaming rigs? How is it working out? Not having to buy a monitor would result in ordering better parts. Let's assume I will use my HDTV and will not have to buy a monitor. My TV has a gaming mode, where response time is reduced, so I don't think lag will occur.

2, I am very good with drive space and do not need much of it. I could settle for 64Gb SSD setup, but fast one! 128Gb maximum. Maybe 32Gbx2 RAID setup, but I do not know if RAID is worth it. I already have external HDD with plenty of space and pr0n.

3. I optimize OS and rarely run anything in the background, so I am RAM-efficient. Yet, this is a gaming rig and I want my games run as smooth as possible. Have no idea how much RAM I need... I do know I want high quality RAM that can perform with 1T and fast timing settings. Must be overclockable if I want to overclock CPU at some point.

4. Which is the cheapest OS for gaming? Would Windows 7 Home take advantage of all the hardware? I heard Pro or Ultimate supports more hardware and may take advantage of hardware or settings that Home may not.

5. I would like to run games 1920x1080 16x AF, and maybe even 4x AA, maximum settings, 30fps (60fps preferred). I would prefer not to use SLI, but may have to do so to satisfy my needs. I will use stock HSF. GTX 680 2Gb is mighty nice from what I read...

6. I want this PC to be as future-proof as possible, upgradeable.

7. I had bad experience with AMD, so I want Intel CPU and nVidia GPU.

8. Water-cooling would be so great, but I never set one up and so it would have to be an all-in-one kit, but I do not plan to heavily overclock and some components will use fans anyway, so I may as well stick with traditional cooling. I do not want something loud though! So, undecided... Need advice.

9. There are times when certain CPU batches or types can easily be heavily overclocked, but I would rather buy a stock fast CPU than take the chance of getting lucky. At the same time the fastest CPUs can have outrageous prices and may not be worth it. I think a custom HSF for CPU is a good idea, but I don't want a huge one! Just one that will give good temps of CPU is overclocked.

10. I will need wireless mouse and keyboard, preferably a gaming set, but I am fine with standard types. The mouse must be really good, but I will not do competitive gaming...

11. I would like to order it all from NewEgg... I will need links or very specific names for hardware. For example, RAM can sometimes have almost identical name, but one would be high quality, tight timings, and the other would be utter crap. GTX 680 is out of stock at NewEgg...

12. Need strong PSU that can handle it all and maybe even more (if I want to add an extra video card, for example).

13. All parts must be high quality. From experience high quality items last longer, have higher potential, fewer problems.

14. Unless there is some easy way to organize all wires/cables neatly for a glass sided case, I will stick to a non-see-through case. Must have great airflow and I prefer light weight and already include good fans (not loud). Sexy look would be great, but performance is more important.

15. Need a sound card for games 5.1 or 7.1. Need a gaming headset that can properly emulate 7.1. I use Turtle Beach x41 for Xbox 360 and PS3 and it is perfect for my ears. Maybe I can use them for PC gaming? If not, then Sennheiser headset would be nice, but on the level of Turtle Beach x41 because some of their products' prices are insane and I am not an audiophile. It must be wireless, unless that would obliterate sound quality... then I would need a wired set with a very long cord...

16. I want a Blue Ray reader and DVD-RW writer - all in one!

17. Need a good network card that can do wired and wireless. I am not sure if spending extra on gaming network cards is worth it, but I would prefer one that does not use up too many CPU cycles and has some kind of on-board processing.

18. Need a very good and stable motherboard with updated BIOS and drivers. On-board sound card or network card or some other stuff is not preferred as it would cost more and on-board devices usually suck... unless they don't and are worth it? Having auto optimized settings in BIOS would be so great. I guess it must be overclockable if I want to overclock CPU somewhat, I get so frustrated when overclocking prevents booting...

I may have forgotten something, so please see future edits of this original thread for updates questions and requirements.

EDIT - parts bought already! http://postimage.org/image/90foatvcb/full/ plus ASUS GTX 680 already here!

[DhinShin]

You're asking for a lot of info, but unless you're asking someone to come over and help build it I don't think you have to pay for that info.

1- Depends on the TV certain inputs have input lag depending on the make and model.

2- Get the 128gb, you could do 60gb but most SSD controllers scale write speed with how much actual ram is connected.

3- Timings aren't as important as if you remember all timing pretty much come down to cycles on the ram, which means ram with high clocks can be pretty loose and still perform very well. But this generation of CPU's have enough cache for system ram to not make a huge difference after say cas 9 ddr3 1600mhz

4- The real difference between Win7 home and Pro for a gamer is that Win7 Home will not see more than 16GB of system ram. Other than that you should be fine.

5- 680GTX is probably fine with AA but read up on TXAA and FXAA and you'll see that you'll be fine.

6- You're ****ed. Both LGA 1155 and LGA2011 are going to be replaced, but LGA 2011 probably will last another 20 months before Intel releases a new enthusiast socket, Socket 1155 has about 12 months. But the CPU's are very solid and should last a long time, if you get PCI-e 3.0 that should make your life easier.

7- Right now, no problem.

8- Watercooling is nice, but I suggest you see what you can afford and ease your way into it.

9- You can google for batches.

10- Someone else can answer

11- Do it yourself, we'll help you nail it down.

12- There are actually a few decent choices, but the more wattage you require the narrower the choice gets.

13- Whoever picks the parts will have a fair idea

14- Corsair cases are pretty nice and come in a load of price ranges

15- It'll probably plug right in

16- Just get a Blu Ray writer

17- Most on boards will do the job, don't worry about cpu cycles

18- Onboard devices don't suck unless you're really demanding.

[Brat Gvidon]

Thanks!

I dug up my old Logitech mouse, so I won't have to spend money on a new mouse. I just new a new wireless keyboard.

You were right regarding the Turtle Beach x41 - they will fit right in. I just need an optical port on the sound card. I hear that only Creative X-Fi has hardware processing, but other cards can do Dolby Digital 5.1/7.1. So, I don't know which sound card to get...

It appears that PC sound cards cannot send Dolby Digital 5.1/7.1 via optical cable - http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/32...optical-output

I need a sound card that supports Dolby Digital Live. It seems Creative cards can do it.
Do new motherboards have PCIe only?

[DhinShin]

Some mobo's can do dolby live right out of the box, but you'll have to read up on each spec sheet and see which audio chip they got on the board, most are realtek chips so a quick google will tell you if the chip does what you need.

And you're right about the new Creative card they simplified it because they had so much trouble with drivers, it does a lot less in hardware now.

Almost all new boards use chipsets PCI-e exclusive now, but some do have add on PCI slots but adding another controller adds latency, so if you went the X-Fi route you may need to find a PCI-e version anyway.

As you're prioritising Hardware audio and networking look at this: http://usa.asus.com/Motherboards/Int...specifications

[footman]

Xonar DS or DX for sound will be ideal.

[red_dog007]

	Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm ... Item #: N82E16811147153Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$10.00 Instant	$59.99$49.99
		CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX850 (CMPSU-850AX) 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular ... Item #: N82E16817139015Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$10.00 Instant $20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card	$199.99$189.99
		G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR Item #: N82E16820231460Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy		$59.99
		GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard Item #: N82E16813128545Return Policy: Standard Return Policy Protect Your Investment (expand for options)	-$10.00 Instant	$199.99$189.99
		Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ... Item #: N82E16819115072Return Policy: Iron Egg Replacement-Only Return Policy Protect Your Investment (expand for options)		$219.99
		CORSAIR H80 (CWCH80) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler Item #: N82E16835181016Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$3.00 Instant	$105.99$102.99
	1	Rosewill RCW-617 1ft. USB to Serial (9-pin) DB-9 RS-232 Adapter Item #: N82E16812119246Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$9.99 Saving	$9.99$0.00
		SAMSUNG Black Blu-ray Combo SATA Model SH-B123L LightScribe Support - OEM Item #: N82E16827151222Return Policy: Standard Return Policy Protect Your Investment (expand for options)		$64.99
		Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR60GB 2.5" 60GB SATA III Asynchronous MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Item #: N82E16820226247Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy Protect Your Investment (expand for options)	-$21.00 Instant	$99.99$78.99
Subtotal:				$956.92

Then toss in your GeForce 680 and your ready to rock.


Independent network card is unneeded. Sound card would depend on how much of an audiophile you are, but if you are going to be running sound through the HDMI or Optical ports, the audio chip on the motherboard won't be processing any sound nor an independent sound card.

Do I get the $50?

[Krysis]

I have approximately $1,500 to spend, and I do not know what to get...

1. I have a 40" HDTV that I use for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and I was wondering if using it for PC games would be a good idea. Does anyone have an HDTV setup for their PC gaming rigs? How is it working out? Not having to buy a monitor would result in ordering better parts. Let's assume I will use my HDTV and will not have to buy a monitor. My TV has a gaming mode, where response time is reduced, so I don't think lag will occur.

I'm on a 46" Samsung LED right now with gaming mode and it works fine. Even if you have a plasma, just make sure it's set to the fastest response time and you'll be grand.

2, I am very good with drive space and do not need much of it. I could settle for 64Gb SSD setup, but fast one! 128Gb maximum. Maybe 32Gbx2 RAID setup, but I do not know if RAID is worth it. I already have external HDD with plenty of space and pr0n.

Just get a nice 60/64GB SSD from either Corsair, Crucial, or Intel and pop your OS on it. Just remember to disable defragging and to enable TRIM.

3. I optimize OS and rarely run anything in the background, so I am RAM-efficient. Yet, this is a gaming rig and I want my games run as smooth as possible. Have no idea how much RAM I need... I do know I want high quality RAM that can perform with 1T and fast timing settings. Must be overclockable if I want to overclock CPU at some point.

2x4GB sticks should be all you need. I went 16GB just because it was so cheap (I got 4x4GB sticks of Corsair Vengeance for like $75 on sale.)

4. Which is the cheapest OS for gaming? Would Windows 7 Home take advantage of all the hardware? I heard Pro or Ultimate supports more hardware and may take advantage of hardware or settings that Home may not.

Windows 7 Professional x64 definitely nothing else. You won't need/use Ultimate settings and Home is just meh.

5. I would like to run games 1920x1080 16x AF, and maybe even 4x AA, maximum settings, 30fps (60fps preferred). I would prefer not to use SLI, but may have to do so to satisfy my needs. I will use stock HSF. GTX 680 2Gb is mighty nice from what I read...

If you want to get a card now, the 680 is THE card to get. If you can wait a little while longer, the GK110 is coming and is supposed to be 33-50% faster than the 680 at the same price point. If you want to save a little money but still get good frames at 1080p, a GTX 580 is still a viable option or even SLI them.

6. I want this PC to be as future-proof as possible, upgradeable.

As long as you get the best parts now that will last, like a good PSU, case, and motherboard, you should be all set.

7. I had bad experience with AMD, so I want Intel CPU and nVidia GPU.

You and me both, man...

8. Water-cooling would be so great, but I never set one up and so it would have to be an all-in-one kit, but I do not plan to heavily overclock and some components will use fans anyway, so I may as well stick with traditional cooling. I do not want something loud though! So, undecided... Need advice.

You need to decide on a big mid or full tower case that will fit either a 2x120mm radiator or even a 3x140mm radiator. My suggestion on a case would be any of the $100-200 full towers from Antec or Cooler Master (partial towards CM). For the actual water cooling kit, I do not know much about it but if you want to piece it out, EK waterblocks are a good place to start. Honestly though, after reading through it a second time, you really don't need water cooling if you aren't going to overclock.

9. There are times when certain CPU batches or types can easily be heavily overclocked, but I would rather buy a stock fast CPU than take the chance of getting lucky. At the same time the fastest CPUs can have outrageous prices and may not be worth it. I think a custom HSF for CPU is a good idea, but I don't want a huge one! Just one that will give good temps of CPU is overclocked.

If you go with the current platform of socket 1155, then the Intel i5 2500K or the i7 2700K will be what you're looking for. They overclock simply by setting a Turbo clock. For instance, my i5 2500K is stock at 3.3Ghz and turbos to 3.8. All I do is set it in the BIOS to a turbo max of 44 or 46 and I have a 4.6GHz processor. It's that easy.

10. I will need wireless mouse and keyboard, preferably a gaming set, but I am fine with standard types. The mouse must be really good, but I will not do competitive gaming...

Razer or Logitech anything will be suitable. I like the Logitech gear better, but to each his own. If you are looking for wireless, you aren't going to have a lot of options for gaming gear. I really suggest going with wired because you won't run into interference issues. See below.

11. I would like to order it all from NewEgg... I will need links or very specific names for hardware. For example, RAM can sometimes have almost identical name, but one would be high quality, tight timings, and the other would be utter crap. GTX 680 is out of stock at NewEgg...

I'll piece it out at the bottom.

12. Need strong PSU that can handle it all and maybe even more (if I want to add an extra video card, for example).

If you plan on SLI'ing anything above a 680, you'll need to get a 750W+. Again, I'll piece it out below.

13. All parts must be high quality. From experience high quality items last longer, have higher potential, fewer problems.

Corsair, Cooler Master, Intel, EVGA, Asus, Western Digital, LG, etc. are all the brands I fully trust.

14. Unless there is some easy way to organize all wires/cables neatly for a glass sided case, I will stick to a non-see-through case. Must have great airflow and I prefer light weight and already include good fans (not loud). Sexy look would be great, but performance is more important.

Most of the $100+ mid and full towers have tons and tons of cable routing options for you. If you pair it up with a modular PSU, there's nothing to worry about.

15. Need a sound card for games 5.1 or 7.1. Need a gaming headset that can properly emulate 7.1. I use Turtle Beach x41 for Xbox 360 and PS3 and it is perfect for my ears. Maybe I can use them for PC gaming? If not, then Sennheiser headset would be nice, but on the level of Turtle Beach x41 because some of their products' prices are insane and I am not an audiophile. It must be wireless, unless that would obliterate sound quality... then I would need a wired set with a very long cord...

Asus Xonar series cards or Creative X-Fi sound cards are all you should be caring about. Logitech G35's or their wireless equivalent for headphones. They properly do 7.1 sound but the only downside is they are USB and do not plug in directly to your sound card.

16. I want a Blue Ray reader and DVD-RW writer - all in one!

LG blu ray reader and dvd DL burner for like $65 on newegg below.

17. Need a good network card that can do wired and wireless. I am not sure if spending extra on gaming network cards is worth it, but I would prefer one that does not use up too many CPU cycles and has some kind of on-board processing.

On board networking should be plenty, especially if you have a board with dual Gigabit.

18. Need a very good and stable motherboard with updated BIOS and drivers. On-board sound card or network card or some other stuff is not preferred as it would cost more and on-board devices usually suck... unless they don't and are worth it? Having auto optimized settings in BIOS would be so great. I guess it must be overclockable if I want to overclock CPU somewhat, I get so frustrated when overclocking prevents booting...

EVGA boards and Gigabyte are nice feature set boards that give you the best bang for your buck.

Here's the list of components I specced out for ~$1500:

Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119196
PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139010
Mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128512
SSD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148441
CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115072
RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233254
GFX - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130768 (BUY FROM EVGA SITE FOR THE STEP-UP PROGRAM!!!)
Bluray - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106374
Sound - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829132006
Key - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16823126087
Mouse - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16826104318

Subtotal = $1529.89 with $50 possible in MIR...

Forgot the OS - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116992
Add on another $140 unfortunately. You may be able to get it cheaper on amazon or another site, but Pro is going to be at least $100+ anywhere you go.

Like I said above, you won't need water cooling if you're not planning on overclocking, the RAM has a CAS latency of 7 with great timings as it is, and everything else should just fall into place. I hope you enjoy whatever you end up getting!

[Brat Gvidon]

	Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm ... Item #: N82E16811147153Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$10.00 Instant	$59.99$49.99
		CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX850 (CMPSU-850AX) 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular ... Item #: N82E16817139015Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$10.00 Instant$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card	$199.99$189.99
		G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR Item #: N82E16820231460Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy		$59.99
		GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard Item #: N82E16813128545Return Policy: Standard Return Policy Protect Your Investment (expand for options)	-$10.00 Instant	$199.99$189.99
		Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ... Item #: N82E16819115072Return Policy: Iron Egg Replacement-Only Return Policy Protect Your Investment (expand for options)		$219.99
		CORSAIR H80 (CWCH80) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler Item #: N82E16835181016Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$3.00 Instant	$105.99$102.99
	1	Rosewill RCW-617 1ft. USB to Serial (9-pin) DB-9 RS-232 Adapter Item #: N82E16812119246Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$9.99 Saving	$9.99$0.00
		SAMSUNG Black Blu-ray Combo SATA Model SH-B123L LightScribe Support - OEM Item #: N82E16827151222Return Policy: Standard Return Policy Protect Your Investment (expand for options)		$64.99
		Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR60GB 2.5" 60GB SATA III Asynchronous MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Item #: N82E16820226247Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy Protect Your Investment (expand for options)	-$21.00 Instant	$99.99$78.99
Subtotal:				$956.92

Then toss in your GeForce 680 and your ready to rock. Independent network card is unneeded. Sound card would depend on how much of an audiophile you are, but if you are going to be running sound through the HDMI or Optical ports, the audio chip on the motherboard won't be processing any sound nor an independent sound card.Do I get the $50?

That looks very nice indeed. Thank you for the effort! I was thinking - would replacing liquid cooling with a good (non-stock) HSF save me enough to get i7 instead of i5?

A sound card capable of Dolby Digital LIVE that would work on my Turtle Beach x41 and let me have 7.1 is either Creative X-Fi, which is very expensive, OR Auzentech Dolby Digital Live X-Fi Prelude, which is just a cheaper X-Fi card. However, NewEgg says "DEACTIVATED" - does that mean out of stock? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829156005 - will either Creative or Auzentech fit into listed motherboard PCI slot? I get confused with PCI 3.0 and PCIe slots...

Dolby Digital LIVE capable sound card via optical cable is a MUST. I don't know of any other sound cards that do Dolby Digital LIVE...Wiki says that Dolby Digital LIVE is also supported by "motherboards with codecs such as Realtek's ALC882D, ALC888DD and ALC888H". Are there any motherboards that meet my requirements with those codecs? Also, my research suggests Asus Xonar can do Dolby Digital LIVE as well... and it is quite cheap!

So far you put the most effort by my standards, but I am seeing other replies, so I will let everyone know who gets it when I will find a happy config!

...just realize that I would need to know where you live to send you the $, and that means that if something does not work like it should due to it being the wrong/incompatible part... and it will make me frustrated...well...I'll know where you live... joking of course. I AM bipolar (not joking) .

What for do I need that Rosewill adapter? No wireless card? I guess I do not need wireless though...

[dragomirc]

Do I get the $50?

You should. That was pro reply. [thumbup]

[geforce_man]

I would ditch the h80, and get one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...88001&Tpk=evga

should still be able to hit 4.5-4.7Ghz on a 2600/2700k. Also, do you live near a microcenter at all? they frequently have great deals on i7 2600k's for about 200$.