$2000 Custom Build Advice?.... - Page 2

I posted this in another thread;

Crucial M4 $209

Spinpoint F2 $99.95 (Free DVD-burner)

Dell IPS $269

near on 2k

Cheers,

Ishi
Edited by Ishinomori - 11/21/11 at 7:36am

You're going to play Crysis, right? I play BF 3 on Ultra settings at 1920x1080p on a 27" LCD ViewSonic (Which has been AMAZING by the way, it's not super super fancy, but for $260 you can't beat it. Amazing picture and no drag or anything, I can link you if you are interested) with about 45-80 frames per second. On a particular map my framerates are always around 45, which isn't bad but I felt the need to let you know that as beating around the bush with things like this doesn't benefit anyone.

Lastly, I'm doing this on a EVGA GTX 570 SC. I've had ZERO issues with this card and it runs it great. My CPU is a AMD Phenom II x6 1065t (Which is terrible I'm pretty sure, correct me if I'm wrong. I'm ordering a 2500k on Thursday). So IMO i'd save your money to SLI GTX 570's when the price drops. That's when i'm going to buy my second one . One is doing just fine for now!

SC means superclocked...

Comes with a factory overclock, higher then that of what nvidia release them with.

SC means superclocked/superclock, its just that the manufacturer overlcocks the gpu to a stable clock speed to their liking more than the original one from nvidia.

and G.kill is nice but I love my Corsair Vengeance.

Go with Corsair.

A couple tips:
--ONE HDD for now, prices just don't make them worth it.
--One screen, one GPU. Anything else is overkill.
--Skip the H80/H50 water CPU coolers unless you REALLY want water. Cheap water performs similar to nice air
--Get a case you like, but make sure you're not afraid to spend some cash on it. I got a cheap case I liked (for the money) and regretted it. Also, make sure if you're going air to get a good air case. Case in point (pun intended) is the Corsair 700D & 800D. Expensive and pretty, but not so great for air. GREAT for water. Only get if cooling with custom loop.
--2500k is the way to go.
--Do NOT skimp on the mobo, but don't overspend. ie, you don't need 4xPCI16 slots if you're only using one GPU.
--No real need for a sound card. Good mobos will produce good enough sound for all but the most elite audiophile. I've been involved with music most of my life and can't hear the difference
--Consider another monitor or two. Not just for gaming, but multitasking is wonderful on multiple screens.
--If you go multiple screens, get an ATI/AMD gpu....they just seem to handle it better. If you go two with a single nVidia card, you'd have to buy another GPU to use a third screen.
--Consider a custom WC loop. For $2000, you can get a very nice computer all around and really enjoy your watercooling setup as well. Mine was frustrating, only because I ordered the wrong tubing and was using some broken/used parts I bought from a friend.
Edited by victorzamora - 11/21/11 at 10:58pm

I love the HAFX. I have an Obsidian 700D which is wonderful for water but embarrassingly bad for air cooling. The HAFX is great for air flow (HighAirFlow is where the name comes from), but it also very easily accommodates a water cooling setup. The HAF X also seems to have an AWESOME cable management setup, especially with the PSU cover thing. I'm not a fan of the RV02 (or any of the Raven series) because of the way they rotate the motherboard. There's a reason all other desktops have motherboards in one orientation....I can't imagine myself being okay with it. That's the only reason I didn't buy a raven. IMHO, the most beautiful case is the Silverstone TJ11. I'd have one if it were ~$250, but at ~$650 it's obscenely expensive and I can't imagine anyone being able to justify it!

Water cooling really isn't that big of a pain. Get compression fittings, go with all new name-brand parts, get the right sized tubing, everything works great without a single stray drop. Half the fun of getting it is setting it up!

Ok here is what I have. It leaves plenty of room if you decide to jump into water cooling later on or you can upgrade your peripherals if you want.

• Case: Corsair 600T SE (I just chose this case because it's what I have and I like it lol)
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139005
• PSU: Seasonic X Series-850. Solid PSU, it will serve you well for future builds
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151102
• MOBO: ASUS P8Z68
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131792
• CPU: Intel i5 2500K (Currently Out of stock on Newegg, but I would wait for it to come back in or get it somewhere else)
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
• GPU: EVGA SuperClocked GTX 570. I chose this because you said you were looking at 570s.
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130620
• RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws. 8Gb DDR3 1600. You have the money to switch these up for a faster set or a different brand.
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314
• SSD: Intel 320 Series 120Gb. I would use this for the OS and any games you play heavily.
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167050
• HDD: Seagate Barracuda 2Tb 7200RPM HDD. Storage
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148834
• Monitor, keyboard, mouse, optical drive, and speakers are all carried over from your previous build.
  
• Total w/ shipping (for me at least): $1,608.19

This gives you around $400 to play with. Honestly, I wouldn't be afraid of water cooling. I did it with no problems what-so-ever. If you're afraid of mismatching parts you can always get help here on the forums or pick up a full cooling kit like the XSPC kits off of FrozenCPU. As stated before, you have money to play with. If you want to go ahead and get a Bluray drive instead of using your DVD drive you can. The case was close to $200 so you also have room to play there.

If you do end up deciding on a multiple monitor setup you have the room to add an additional 570. However, you may need to drop the SSD and just go with a regular mechanical hard drive alone. Ultimately the choice is yours and I'm sure others are going to help you.

Edit: Other words of advice....never skimp on your PSU and make sure to get a case that you won't get tired of soon. My first case was a gaming case that had a bunch of LEDs and a lot of aggressive plastic molding. I grew out of it fast and ended up viewing it the same as if I were looking at a Tonka truck. I ended up with the Corsair case because it keeps the computer builder feel, but it looks more professional than others. My $.02
Edited by mwayne5 - 12/1/11 at 10:02pm