Building a new gaming rig (updated)

[PunisheR_`]

Is it worth the extra $200 for the 970 (CPU)?



1366 build

Cooler Master HAF X 942 - Black ATX Case (No PSU)

$239.90

Gigabyte G1.ASSASSIN Intel Mainboard - 6x DDR3, 4x USB3.0, 8x Sata, Bigfoot Killer Lan, LGA 1366

$522.50

Corsair TX-950 ATX Power Supply

$210.00

Intel CPU Intel Core i7-960 / 3.20GHz / 8MB Cache / LGA1366

$308.00

Kingston 128GB SSDNow V100 Series, SATA II, TRIM, 2.5"

$248.00

Corsair DDR3 6GB (3x Vengeance 2GB) 1600MHz CL8 (CMZ6GX3M3A1600C8)

$105.60

Sub-Total: $1,624

Intel Core i5 2500K $225.00

CoolerMaster HAF X Case $229.00

G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-17000CL9D-8GBXLD (2x4GB) DDR3 $199.00

CoolerMaster Silent Pro Gold 1200W $299.00

OCZ Vertex 2 120GB SSD $239.00

Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 Motherboard $405.00

Total $1596

This is what i have currently got and i would just like your opoin on the build and what i should change, also the only reason i'm going towards the 1366 rather than the SB is becasue i really like the G1 Assassin. Is there only motherboard with similair features on SB.

note: Currently running a 460 se planing on getting a 590 in the near future or gtx 580's in sli

edit: plan on Overclocking once i get my water cooling shipped

 

[alicarve]

Maybe go for an i7 970?

i have read mixed reviews about the corsair performance 3, i was thinking of getting one but ended up with the corsair force, kingston are also a good range to go for especially the v+100

that ram is good but what h/s are you going to use?

are you going sli? if not you might want to go for the gigabyte sniper instead plus then you are not limited to cases which take xl-atx

 

[Madbaron]

If its purely for gaming i suggest going to a 2600k, there have been many reviews and it has out performed 960/970 and even 990x in many gaming based reviews. It runs cooler, uses alot less power and can be easierly overclocked with it being an unlocked CPU with a good Heatsink to help with heat, but i see your going watercooling.

If you did go that way, it would be your choice of Motherboard and you would also use 1 less stick of memory in dual channel.

Everything else seems be okay, maybe the SSD being that on average if you installed windows 7 its roughly 30-40gb plus everything else you may not have enough room for much more.

 

[PunisheR_`]

If its purely for gaming i suggest going to a 2600k, there have been many reviews and it has out performed 960/970 and even 990x in many gaming based reviews. It runs cooler, uses alot less power and can be easierly overclocked with it being an unlocked CPU with a good Heatsink to help with heat, but i see your going watercooling.

If you did go that way, it would be your choice of Motherboard and you would also use 1 less stick of memory in dual channel.

Everything else seems be okay, maybe the SSD being that on average if you installed windows 7 its roughly 30-40gb plus everything else you may not have enough room for much more.

thanks for your reply really helpful probally going to change the ssd and also now thinking gtx 580's in sli

 

[PunisheR_`]

Maybe go for an i7 970?

i have read mixed reviews about the corsair performance 3, i was thinking of getting one but ended up with the corsair force, kingston are also a good range to go for especially the v+100

that ram is good but what h/s are you going to use?

are you going sli? if not you might want to go for the gigabyte sniper instead plus then you are not limited to cases which take xl-atx

Thanks for your view on the ssd, i really like the haf x so i'm going to stay with the assissan because it is only an extra 10 dollars

 

[sg12004]

all looks good thare

 

[PunisheR_`]

On the gigabyte website it says that the Assassin supports DDR3 1333 and 2000 modules will my corsair vengance work?

 

[Chaney579]

On the gigabyte website it says that the Assassin supports DDR3 1333 and 2000 modules will my corsair vengance work?

Yes it will honestly. It might just run at a different stock timing out of the box, Also why dont you get the sniper? Its 100 dollars less and you are only running 1 card. D:, the sniper has EVERYTHING that the g1 assassin does - a couple usb 3.0s, which you dont need THAT meany honestly. and it cant support 4 way sli, Which you have stated you will not use.

 

[PunisheR_`]

Yes it will honestly. It might just run at a different stock timing out of the box, Also why dont you get the sniper? Its 100 dollars less and you are only running 1 card. D:, the sniper has EVERYTHING that the g1 assassin does - a couple usb 3.0s, which you dont need THAT meany honestly. and it cant support 4 way sli, Which you have stated you will not use.

At my reseller the sniper is $505, and the assassin is $522 so in my appinion i would prefer the assassin just in case i do that in the future.

Also another question in it worth just waiting for the next set of graphics cards and just buy another 460.

 

[Chaney579]

At my reseller the sniper is $505, and the assassin is $522 so in my appinion i would prefer the assassin just in case i do that in the future.

Also another question in it worth just waiting for the next set of graphics cards and just buy another 460.

Well honestly thats up to you, If everybody always waited nothing would ever get bought. Sli 460s will run mostly everything at good settings. But why dont you try newegg?... Sniper is only 415 after rebate.

 

[PunisheR_`]

Well honestly thats up to you, If everybody always waited nothing would ever get bought. Sli 460s will run mostly everything at good settings. But why dont you try newegg?... Sniper is only 415 after rebate.

I am in australia can't ship it.

 

[Karlos_the_n00b]

If you want the fastest gaming rig you can for your money then go for a 2500K, it beats all the 1366 9xx when it comes to gaming and all the 2600K offers over the 2500K are extra threads which mean nothing when it comes to gaming.

That said, if you like the Assassin series of boards then go for it but the Sniper is most likely the better choice as the only difference between the two is that the Assassin has more phase power and an extra PCI-E slot that you'r not going to need unless you intend to run four cards.

If your going to go that route then you might also want to change the CPU if its just a gaming rig. Take a look at the i7 960 which is just as fast as the i7 970 but is only a quad core and not a hex core so it's cheaper. If your a gamer then the only game I know that can actually use a hex core atm is Crises 2 (which apparently can support an 8 core). Most games atm only use about 2 or 3 cores. More games are coming out that are taking advantage of quad cores but I don't think personally that we're at the point where we all need to run out and buy hex core CPU's.

Imho hex core are a waste unless your rendering or loaded but if you REALLY want a Assassin and a i7 970 then go for it

http://ark.intel.com...t.aspx?id=47933

http://ark.intel.com...151&code=i7-960

 

[PunisheR_`]

If you want the fastest gaming rig you can for your money then go for a 2500K, it beats all the 1366 9xx when it comes to gaming and all the 2600K offers over the 2500K are extra threads which mean nothing when it comes to gaming.

That said, if you like the Assassin series of boards then go for it but the Sniper is most likely the better choice as the only difference between the two is that the Assassin has more phase power and an extra PCI-E slot that you'r not going to need unless you intend to run four cards.

If your going to go that route then you might also want to change the CPU if its just a gaming rig. Take a look at the i7 960 which is just as fast as the i7 970 but is only a quad core and not a hex core so it's cheaper. If your a gamer then the only game I know that can actually use a hex core atm is Crises 2 (which apparently can support an 8 core). Most games atm only use about 2 or 3 cores. More games are coming out that are taking advantage of quad cores but I don't think personally that we're at the point where we all need to run out and buy hex core CPU's.

Imho hex core are a waste unless your rendering or loaded but if you REALLY want a Assassin and a i7 970 then go for it

http://ark.intel.com...t.aspx?id=47933

http://ark.intel.com...151&code=i7-960

thank you for your help for everything i will take it all acoount when i make my final choice.

 

[Karlos_the_n00b]

Your welcome

The only other thing I wish to mention is that SieB found a OCZ Solid 3 drive for about $250 on amazon that's better than the two you've got listed on your first post. You should take a look.

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-SATA-2-5-Inch-Solid-SLD3-25SAT3-120G/dp/B004ZBAPA0/ref=sr_1_20?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1305843747&sr=1-20

 

[PunisheR_`]

Your welcome

The only other thing I wish to mention is that SieB found a OCZ Solid 3 drive for about $250 on amazon that's better than the two you've got listed on your first post. You should take a look.

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-SATA-2-5-Inch-Solid-SLD3-25SAT3-120G/dp/B004ZBAPA0/ref=sr_1_20?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1305843747&sr=1-20

thanks after seeing your that link i will probaly go for it since it is cheaper than the OCZ Agility 3 Series 120GB 2.5" SSD Sata 3Gbs i was thinking of getting.

edit after going on the OCZ website i saw the agility was better and only an extra $5 at my store (275)

One last question i hope is it worth buying the Noctua d-14 for $110 or a Rasa 750 CPU water cooling kit for $150

 

[UnknownXV]

A 2500k overclocked is more than enough for any game out there now. Two 570 gtx's overclocked in SLI will burn down absolutely any game, even at 1,920 x 1,200.