Advise on new gaming rig.

[asarvo09]

Hey TTL,

I'm currently putting together a new gaming rig because my computer at the moment is as slow as custard.

I'm looking to spend around 2000 quid, give or take a couple hundred. Here's what I've got planned:

Intel Core i7 2600K (because I can't afford an extreme edition 1366 processor).

Gigabyte P67A-UD7 or Asus Maximus IV Extreme or MSI Big Bang Marshal (when it comes out)

Corsiar AX850 Gold Power Supply

1x Asus GTX590 (but I might wait for the cards with after-market coolers)

Noctua NH-D14

1x Seagate Barracuda 2TB HDD @7200RPM (SATA III)

1x Corsair Performance 3 Series 128GB SSD (SATA III)

A couple of optical drives (DVD and Blu-Ray burners)

I'm currently undecided on the memory and the case.

I was originally going to get Corsiar Dominator GT, but with the Noctua cooler, I'm going to be having problems.

I'm looking for dual channel RAM (I would prefer 2x4GB modules instead on 4x2GB) running at least @2000MHz or @2133MHz that will fit under the Noctua without having to remove heatsinks off the RAM. What would you recommend?

The reason I'm undecided on case is because I'm undecided on motherboard (with the MSI being XL-ATX).

I'm looking for an plain/eligant design case (ie: Silverstone or Lian Li styling) that can support XL-ATX. And I'm not a huge fan on the looks of the CoolerMaster HAF X.

Motherboard: Considering the three motherboards I have listed above, ignorring difference in price and form factor, which one would you recommend getting for the 2600K CPU?

Also, will I be getting much bottle-necking when it comes to the 2600K not being able to keep up with the GTX590 at stock 3.4GHz? Will an overclock of 4.6-5GHZz fix it?

 

[ruthless_villain]

forgot the 2000mhz ram just get some mushkin redline ridgeback (runs at 1866mhz?) and the noctua d14... there will be no bottleneck on the gtx 590.

plain elegant case= corsair 800D its e-atx i think but you dont need a xl-atx motherboard... make that psu 1kw for future upgrades. get a mushkin SSD or the new kingston v100+

 

[I Hunta x]

You could get an i7 970, it wont be an unlocked multi "extreme" chip but they are still amazing hex cores.

Minus case for £2070 from overclockers.co.uk you can get:

i7 970

Rampage iii extreme

6gb Dominator GT 2000mhz (just take off the red fins on the ram stick under the d14, they wont have any heat issues unless there ran in an unventilated carboard box

)

msi GTX 590

ax850

corsair force 120gb ssd

2x 1tb spinpoint f3's for raid 0 (i assume its going to be for games other wise you probably woulda picked a 5400rpm drive, if not swap these for a 2tb drive

)

nh-d14

liteon blueray-rw/dvd-rw

All thats needed is a case, something like the fractal designs XL (£100) or corsair 700d (£170) would be a good choice for big clean cases.

 

[Aurus_OC]

I'd swap that Rampage III Extreme for one of the Gigabyte G1 boards, since they are way better for gaming.

 

[I Hunta x]

I'd swap that Rampage III Extreme for one of the Gigabyte G1 boards, since they are way better for gaming.

What makes it better for gaming?

The cheapest of the cheap x58 boards would do just as well at stock cpu/ram speeds as the the assassin with the 590 on it.

It adds £100 more to the costs and the r3e oc's pretty much the same.

 

[Aurus_OC]

What makes it better for gaming?

The cheapest of the cheap x58 boards would do just as well at stock cpu/ram speeds as the the assassin with the 590 on it.

It adds £100 more to the costs and the r3e oc's pretty much the same.

The RE3 is designed from the ground up for extreme overclocking, which means LN2 or dice. Not water or air cooling. Most of the features of the RE3 are features that any gamer/normal overclocker will never need or use. Now the G1 boards from Gigabyte (especially the Sniper and Assasin) have a built in soundcard with a dedicated heaphone amp, which is great for gaming and about anything audio. They also have a Killer Network card built right onto the board. So those are two things that you will not need to purchase, because they are included on the motherboard.

There is no reason to buy the RE3, as a gamer, other than maybe looks. Boards like the Sabertooth or the Gigabyte UD3R V2 will clock nearly the same. If you don't have a soundcard, or wanted to buy a Network card anyways, that is where the G1s from Gigabyte come in.

 

[I Hunta x]

Fair enough, i wasnt thinking about sound/network card situations,i added the r3e instead of the sabertooth cause with such a high budget the looks are worth the extra.

And i used to have an older model killer card and it was pretty useless, noticed next to no difference with it so it ended up just being used as a 2ndary port to bridge over to my xbox with, they may be awsome now but i cant say ill be buying one again any time soon.

 

[Karlos_the_n00b]

If its a rig solely for gaming and your not interested in a pure enthusiasts rig where you have to tinker and tweet to get the best out of it then I would really go for the 2500K.

With the money you'd save by buying a 2500K or even a 2600K instead of a i7 970 you could spend more elsewhere.

These explain why I think the above

http://www.tomshardw...ew-32155-4.html

http://www.tomshardw...w-32126-14.html

One last thing, before splashing out £550 on the GTX 590 you might want to reflect on this comment...

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TBH with this sort of money to spend I have to say the sensible money is 2x GTX570's.

Dual waterblocks and some serious overclocking would be nerd p0rn

[/font]

I do understand why people still want the GTX 590, i7 970 and 990X but I don't think its the most cost effective solution for gaming rigs.

 

[DragonPC]

If you are only gaming an ssd you dont need an ssd!

 

[Karlos_the_n00b]

If you are only gaming an ssd you dont need an ssd!

I don't think anyone really needs an ssd. But I put an ssd in my better halfs gaming rig and its great. She's an MMORPG fan and she loves how much quicker it is loading between maps now.

Obviously your not going to be able to install every game you have onto an ssd drive but if you only play a couple of games at a time then I really think your going to like it.

To some people there really not worth the money and I understand where there coming from, but personally I really don't regret buying one.

 

[alicarve]

if it was me i would go for

CPU: i7 970 - £450

Mobo: Gigabyte G1 Assassin - £420

Ram: 12Gb Mushkin Blackline 1600Mhz - £130

GPU: GTX 590 - £570

SSD: Corsair Force 120gb - £165 or Kingston v+100 128gb - £200

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB SATA 6Gb/s - £115

H/S: Noctua NH-D14 - £60

Case: NZXT phantom - £100

PSU: NZXT hale 850w - £120

Sony Blueray writer - £85

comes to about £2200 depending on which ssd you go for

 

[ruthless_villain]

if it was me i would go for

CPU: i7 970 - £450

Mobo: Gigabyte G1 Assassin - £420

Ram: 12Gb Mushkin Blackline 1600Mhz - £130

GPU: GTX 590 - £570

SSD: Corsair Force 120gb - £165 or Kingston v+100 128gb - £200

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB SATA 6Gb/s - £115

H/S: Noctua NH-D14 - £60

Case: NZXT phantom - £100

PSU: NZXT hale 850w - £120

Sony Blueray writer - £85

comes to about £2200 depending on which ssd you go for

why not just get a blu-ray reader = save £45 and get a dvd writer.

Nzxt hale 850w = £120 they are actually £145, save £25 and get a Corsair HX850W

Western digital black 2b = £115, save £60 and get a 1tb who needs 2tb for gaming pfft

saving of £130 for various things, case fans lighting kits, etc etc or you may want to go watercooling

 

[alicarve]

why not just get a blu-ray reader = save £45 and get a dvd writer.

Nzxt hale 850w = £120 they are actually £145, save £25 and get a Corsair HX850W

Western digital black 2b = £115, save £60 and get a 1tb who needs 2tb for gaming pfft

saving of £130 for various things, case fans lighting kits, etc etc or you may want to go watercooling

Just saying thats what i would go for

scan have the nzxt hale on offer for £120 if you look at their day offers and it is often on offer

 

[ruthless_villain]

Just saying thats what i would go for

scan have the nzxt hale on offer for £120 if you look at their day offers and it is often on offer

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/850w...d-90-eff-sli-crossfire-30db-eps-12v-140mm-fan

£141 dude

 

[Grizzly]

http://www.scan.co.u...s-12v-140mm-fan

£141 dude

Today Only offers only appear on the Today Only page, and he's right I have seen them on their quite a bit.