Crispy's PC Build! (Free Pics!!!)

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Crispy

Crispy

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Allen, Texas
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crispychicken49
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crispychicken49
Hello GTPlanet. With he next generation consoles coming out next year, and me not willing to shell $600 on a brand-new, likely buggy product that will become obsolete in a few years, I have decided on building a gaming PC, again.

See, last year I posted about wanting a gaming PC, but then I quickly lost interest and I didn't really have the funds, or know-how, that I do now. Since that was a little while back, and PC parts come out quick, I figured I would ask again and see what might be best for the current tech.

Requirements​
-I would like to play modern games at ultra settings. Benchmark would be Battlefield 3 or Crysis 2 at Ultra Settings and 60 FPS Average. (I'll settle with about 55)
-I7 core. I do a lot of photoshopping, video editing, and I'm starting to get into CAD. I have heard that the I7 is good for this kind of thing.
-I'd like to be able to play next gen games on Ultra as well. This means I'd rather pay a bit more for a computer that goes a little above ultra on current games, so next gen games can be ultra.
-I'd like a few features on the case. Most importantly I would like great cooling, then comes LED's, (Come on? You know it looks nice in a dark room!) and then a nice cost. If possible displays but I can just use computer programs instead. I'd also like there to be a lot of room inside for cables and other additions like coolers, more GPU's, that kind of stuff.
-A nice Soundcard.
-Great Cooling.
-Multiple Screen Support for the future as well.

My budget is, at a maximum of $1800. I would prefer however, to spend less than $1500. I'd rather buy everything new with Warranty instead of used as well.
 
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Here is one link to a build someone is doing with your same budget. I think the 16th post shows his final build. I might get a little bigger PSU then he has though if you plan on running triple screens just so you can be sure to have enough power for 2 video cards.
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=270629
I would probably also add an SSD to that build to put windows on and photoshop and any other editing software you use. It will make editing a joy. Other then that it's probably a good build.

I do have one question. What will you be using for sound, headphones, AVR, PC speakers etc? If you are using a surround sound with HDMI or optical there is no need for a sound card.
 
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I'll be using headphones most likely.

I'll definitely check that thread out, and I'll probably load up Windows on an SSD as well as a few other programs I use often.

Thanks!
 
Crispy
-I7 core. I do a lot of photoshopping, video editing, and I'm starting to get into CAD. I have heard that the I7 is good for this kind of thing.
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As someone who's using an i7 with 16Gb of RAM for AutoCAD, I can tell you that it's completely overkill for me, even when editing the entire college campus plans. Why? I've never seen my memory usage over 5Gb (and never over ~2 for CAD) and AutoCAD doesn't support multi-core processors.

That's certainly not to say that an i7 is a bad idea by any means, just not necessary for AutoCAD.
Crispy
-I'd like a few features on the case. Most importantly I would like great cooling, then comes LED's, (Come on? You know it looks nice in a dark room!) and then a nice cost.
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I've been contemplating a build and in doing some looking around, I quite like the Corsair 500R. It'd be completely overkill for my needs but might be just the thing for you. 👍
 
I have a 500R in my gaming PC and it's great, lots of options for cooling - two top fan mounts, two front fan mounts, two side fan mounts (1x 200mm, 2x 140mm or 2x 120mm) and plenty of room for mounting a twin-fan radiator if you go down the water cooling route 👍

Check the link in my signature for my PC specs and the USD price, it's pretty much one of the very top-end Ivy Bridge i5 setups (the only thing that would make it even more 1337 would be SLI 670s/680s... but I plan on getting another 670 for SLI at some point anyway). If you go from there and adjust as required (I suggest the i7-3770K if you'll be doing frequent modelling/rendering because it has eight threads versus the four threads present in all i5 processors) you can't go wrong :)
 
So I figured since I'll be doing more gaming, and lower range 3D applications, that I'd go for an i5 core. Which one of the i5's is best?

Also, since this is an older card, would it be a good idea to get a GTX580, then go dual when I'm ready for multi-screens? What are your opinions?
 
I thought it was the 3770k the best now ? I mean not performance/price wise but just out of pure performance ? Keep in mind that if you want Everything in ultra, even the AA you might want to aim for a sli/crossfire setup.
I know that a 3570k couple with a GTX670 or 680 wont run every game completey maxed with the highest AA with the kind of framerate you want. However it will run most game perfectly fine, just not with maxed AA.

As for the case the corsair are fine, however I would look at the Phantom one, they have some cool design and are pretty cool also (a friend of mine made a pc with one not so long ago). Phantom 410 They also have lots of fan and you can buy additional fans if those include arent enough for you.

About the 580 I dont know really, I wouldnt get it, mostly because I'm not a fan of buying electronics equipement that are from the old generation. I would rather get a 660Ti then go sli later on if needed or even a GTX670 like I did (I plan to go dual once I'll have the money for it). Also I'm not exactly sure how the 580 react with DX11, but I'm sure other member could tell you.
 
The 3770k is an i7. Also, are you sure an i5 3570k and a 680 wont run everything on max? Its pretty high end...
 
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RX-7_FD3S
I thought it was the 3770k
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That's an i7 and it's the entry level i7.

I mean not performance/price wise but just out of pure performance ?
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Then the 3930x would be the best.



I know that a 3570k couple with a GTX670 or 680 wont run every game completey maxed with the highest AA with the kind of framerate you want.
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I want 1680x1050 on ultra settings (or whatever the maximium is for a game). My i5/GTX670 does this so i'm sure that it can also do 1920x1080 at 60fps.


Also I'm not exactly sure how the 580 react with DX11
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The GTX 500 series is compatible with Direct3D11 (DX11).
 
There's absolutely zero point in buying a 500-series card now, let alone two - Kepler performance (compared to Fermi) is almost in another league. A 660Ti outperforms a 580 and is about two-thirds the price; a much better bet would be a 4GB 670 if you know you are definitely going to run multiple displays (and game across all of them, if you'll still only game on one screen then 4GB isn't necessary).

In the real world I'd say a single 4GB 670/680 would handle multi-monitor gaming much better than SLI 580s, because SLI 580s still only have 1536MB of video RAM whereas a 4GB 670/680 has, well, 4096MB and at 5760x1080 you (almost always) need all the VRAM you can get. Cheaper, too. ;)


@dice: technically that would be the 3970X, the 3930 (-K, not -X) is an Ivy-E i7 :p I can also confirm that a 3570K+670 OC most certainly can max out anything short of the Witcher 2 with full AA and hold 60fps everywhere.
 
Gdog96
the 3770k is an i7. Also, are you sure an i5 3570k and a 680 wont run everything on max? Its pretty high end...
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It will run everything maxed if you take out AA from it. With AA it depends on games.
 
1) Witcher 2 with ubersampling enabled (but that runs like pants on any rig with ubersampling on)
2) er...

I have a 3570K and a GTX 670. I know what that combo can do, and it most certainly can max 99% of games with full AA at 1920x1080@60.
 
The GTX670 is a good deal. Only time you will have a problem is if the game is just buggy in general, like old stuff (Metro2033, Crysis). Today's games look better and have superior coding for the most part lol

Im not even worried about next gen game engines, im pretty sure it will all run just fine at 1920x1080.

GTX670 and 3570 combo in my rig as well. If you can afford a 680 or even a 690(lol) buying those will only be better.

Lol at the ubersampling, ikr. Its more of testing option than a feature. XD
 
Sharky.
1) Witcher 2 with ubersampling enabled (but that runs like pants on any rig with ubersampling on)
2) er...

I have a 3570K and a GTX 670. I know what that combo can do, and it most certainly can max 99% of games with full AA at 1920x1080@60.
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Well if we're mentioning Ubersampling, what about Arma II? Also I don't think my 2500K & 2GB 680 ran BF3 on ultra at 1920x1200 at 60fps. That might've been with my 580 though, I can't remember. Still need to OC my CPU but can't afford a better cooler yet.
 
Looking up some reviews and tests of both the 3570k and the 670, I believe I may have found the two I'm looking for.

Gigabytes GTX670 2GB GDDR5 card looks like a great deal. At $370.00 USD it is a bit pricey, but the price/performance is astounding. At that price it gives the higher end 680's and the GHz edition Radeon 7970 a run for their money. Sometimes beating the GHz edition. Using an Intel i5 2500k processor the tests concluded in the mid 60's for both Battlefield 3, Crysis 2, and The Witcher 2, with Skyrim being clocked at 102 FPS average. This card sounds like the one I want to use for my rig.

The processor showed great results as well. The one I picked out was the Intel Core i5 3570k processor. At about $225.00 USD it's not a horrid price, plus most of the money in the rig goes into the GPU and CPU. (Amazon, Free Super Saver Shipping as well!) I know I need an LGA 1115 socket Motherboard to fit the CPU, what would the best motherboard that I can use out there be?

8GB of RAM should also be enough correct, or would 12GB be better?
 
8GB is more than enough RAM for a gaming machine. Funny you should mention a Gigabyte 670 too, as that's the exact card I have :)
 
Sharky.
8GB is more than enough RAM for a gaming machine. Funny you should mention a Gigabyte 670 too, as that's the exact card I have :)
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Ha! From what I've picked so far our builds are looking quite similar! How is the Motherboard that you used?

BTW, today while I was at Fry's checking out the Graphics cards I stumbled upon a pre-built at around the same price as yours, with a 550 ti GPU and Intel Core i3! :crazy: I knew pre-built computers were overpriced, but I never knew it was that much!
 
So if I plan to run two 670's with SLI, should I expect to use a 750w Power Supply? Would it be good to run a 750w PSU? Should I also use a separate cooling unit for the CPU?

What soundcard would be best for using Headphones?
 
A 750w PSU would have absolutely zero trouble handling SLI 670s (I plan on getting a second 670 soon, and I "only" run 650w), I would recommend an aftermarket air cooler for your CPU because K-series overclocking capability, and if you're just using fairly standard headphones don't bother with a sound card. You can have the most expensive sound card in the world but if your headphones/speaker setup isn't equally top-end then you'll barely notice a difference between onboard audio and that from a sound card :)

re: my motherboard, it's excellent. It has dual bios so if you overclock and something screws up to the point where it won't POST, all you have to do is flip a tiny switch on the motherboard, restore default settings in the BIOS and continue on your merry way. Pretty much all motherboards around that pricepoint are identical in function, the only real differences will be in manufacturer-specific details like Gigabyte's "ultra-durable" board design and in the actual appearance of the board (my board is black and blue, the ASRock Z77 Extreme4, for example, is black and gold).
 
Crispy

The processor showed great results as well. The one I picked out was the Intel Core i5 3570k processor. At about $225.00 USD it's not a horrid price, plus most of the money in the rig goes into the GPU and CPU. (Amazon, Free Super Saver Shipping as well!) I know I need an LGA 1115 socket Motherboard to fit the CPU, what would the best motherboard that I can use out there be?
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Go to Microcenter if there's one near you. i5's are $169 with (iirc) $40 off a mobo.
 
Crispy
So if I plan to run two 670's with SLI, should I expect to use a 750w Power Supply? Would it be good to run a 750w PSU? Should I also use a separate cooling unit for the CPU?
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An 800w power supply would be comfortable for an SLI rig I think. Someone told me it's better to buy more and not need it rather than buy less and need more later.

If you're planning on overclocking, yeah, get a good cooler. Assuming you'll have two of those Gigabyte GPU's, i'd recommend something like a Corsair H80i or H100i instead of a fan cooler. I'd recommdnd this because those GPU coolers aren't reference design so instead of pushing the air to the rear of the card (thus it exits out completely), some of the air is blown back into the case. now double that with SLI.
 
dice1998
Someone told me it's better to buy more and not need it rather than buy less and need more later.
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It is kinda true for the PSU.

Power is most efficent at 80% or so(this is why they have the 80plus ratings.
So if your PC will use 600w on max load a 1KW PSU is stupid.

And as PSU age the capacitors lose their ability to hold a charge.
So two yeas down the track a 750w PSU may only be able to do 700w.

As you overclock you need more voltage, which means more power.

For cooling a LCLC unit like the corsair H60 will be more than fine.
 

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