Building my first gaming setup, what do you think?

[milopeach]

So This is my first time building my own computer, and id love some feedback to know what you think, how well it will handle the newest games and stuff, and whether everything is compatible with eachother, thanks

CPU - Intel Core i7 2600K
Motherboard - ASUS P8Z68-V Pro Motherboard B3
RAM - G.Skill F3-12800CL9Q-16GBRL (4x4GB) DDR3
Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB WD1002FAEX
Graphics Card - Sapphire Radeon HD6950 2GB Dirt3 Edition
Power Supply - OCZ Fatal1ty Series 750W Modular
Case - CoolerMaster HAF 922 Case

[BicycleMafioso]

Looks alright, but you could probably drop the PSU down to a 500-550w one and still have plenty of headroom left to upgrade in the future.
Or drop down to a 650w and you still have adequate space to add another HD6950 without worry.

I question the need to get an i7-2600K over the i5-2500K, as it will give close to zero benefit in games. And the benefit it does give is not enough to warrant the higher price-tag.
Also, 16GiB RAM is enough overkill to get you through a Russian winter. 8GiB is more than enough.
^ but if you do any kind of video-editting/rendering, you could safely ignore this above paragraph, but for gaming as the only stressing task, it's money wasted ^

The case is also ugly.

[Uggorthaholy]

So This is my first time building my own computer, and id love some feedback to know what you think, how well it will handle the newest games and stuff, and whether everything is compatible with eachother, thanks

CPU - Intel Core i7 2600K
Motherboard - ASUS P8Z68-V Pro Motherboard B3
RAM - G.Skill F3-12800CL9Q-16GBRL (4x4GB) DDR3
Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB WD1002FAEX
Graphics Card - Sapphire Radeon HD6950 2GB Dirt3 Edition
Power Supply - OCZ Fatal1ty Series 750W Modular
Case - CoolerMaster HAF 922 Case

1) Budget?
2) where do you live?
3) what will you be using the pc for? (be specific - which games, do you FRAPS, video rendering, etc)

[shoebox]

Its a very nice build and nothing wrong with it.

however if you have the cash, a few improvements i could think of would be, a SSD for your OS, just by puting your OS on that drive it will lessen the load on the WDCB-1TB and everything will run faster, however this isn't necessary and just a luxury.

And also i would recommend the Coolermaster HAF X fulltower case. the airflow and room is amazing in this case.

however, what you have chosen is also very good and will be perfect for the latest games in the comming year.

[milopeach]

My budget is at most about $1400, i live in Australia, and my main use for this computer is just gaming Ill take some advice and drop the CPU down to a 2500k. Thanks for the replies and feedback!

[Uggorthaholy]

My budget is at most about $1400, i live in Australia, and my main use for this computer is just gaming Ill take some advice and drop the CPU down to a 2500k. Thanks for the replies and feedback!

definitely go with 2X4GB ram, an i52500k (grab a cooler for it).

I would try to upgrade your GPU a touch, maybe to a 6970 or a GTX 570/580

[shoebox]

where are you planing to shop in Australia?

[morbidjbyrd]

The biggest mistake people make when building their 1st gaming setup, is that they go for top of the line components.

By going for top of the line, you end up drastically overpaying for what you get. You are essentially paying for Research and Development and gaining next to nothing, speed wise.

Lets say a mid/high machine is 1k, and a high end machine is 2k.
2 mid/high end machines >>>>>>>>> 1 high end machine


CPU - Intel Core i7 2600K
Motherboard - ASUS P8Z68-V Pro Motherboard B3
RAM - G.Skill F3-12800CL9Q-16GBRL (4x4GB) DDR3
Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB WD1002FAEX
Graphics Card - Sapphire Radeon HD6950 2GB Dirt3 Edition
Power Supply - OCZ Fatal1ty Series 750W Modular
Case - CoolerMaster HAF 922 Case

Looking at this there are several things that are overkill....

i5 = i7 when it comes to gaming
16 Gb of ram is drastically excessive, memory is the easiest thing to upgrade
Power supply + case = $200, for what? Too look flashy?

[milopeach]

I plan on shopping at pccasegear.com.
ok so i decided on the i5 over the i7, and with the money saved get the 6970 over the 6950 thoughts on this?

[naadra]

Ya, if you saved some on the processor upping the video card to a 6970 would be a good idea. It would be a good idea as long as wow is not the only game you play. If you are playing wow only just get the 6950 and maybe spring for a small SSD. In wow you wont really see a difference from the 6950 to 6970 performance wise really, not enough to warrant spending the extra with the 6950 being able to max wow anyways.


Edit: ya if you reduced the processor to the I5 2500k and dropped the ram to 8 gigs instead of 16 gigs, you should have enough money for a smaller SSD like 60 gig one. Again, if you are playing other games besides wow, then go for the 6970.

[shoebox]

I plan on shopping at pccasegear.com.
ok so i decided on the i5 over the i7, and with the money saved get the 6970 over the 6950 thoughts on this?

can i suggest www.msy.com.au/default.jsp , there prices are much lower, but the downside is they dont have shipping yet, and due to the low prices things go super fast so make sure you confirm your order before going to pick it up, (placing an order online will get you a order number, and that way your stuff should be there when you go to pick it up.)

[Airath]

Power supply + case = $200, for what? Too look flashy?

Power supply (one that does not explode after 3 months of use) is one of the things you can never overpay for, if you plan on future upgradeability.
Plus case with decent ventilation is a must, if you plan on SLI/Crossfire later.
Saving ~50$ on these is not worth at all to bite your fingers later.

[Deleted]

Looks alright, but you could probably drop the PSU down to a 500-550w one and still have plenty of headroom left to upgrade in the future.
Or drop down to a 650w and you still have adequate space to add another HD6950 without worry.

I question the need to get an i7-2600K over the i5-2500K, as it will give close to zero benefit in games. And the benefit it does give is not enough to warrant the higher price-tag.
Also, 16GiB RAM is enough overkill to get you through a Russian winter. 8GiB is more than enough.
^ but if you do any kind of video-editting/rendering, you could safely ignore this above paragraph, but for gaming as the only stressing task, it's money wasted ^

The case is also ugly.

I agree mate the i5 2500k is a much better choice for gaming (bang per buck) and yea 8gb ram is more than enough even for rendering movies etc.My build
Asus Sabertooth P67(b3)
Intel Core i5 2500k (4.6ghz)
8gb Corsair XMS-3
2x EVGA GTX 460sc 1gb
OCZ Agility 3 SSD 60gb
1Tb Samsung HDD
Corsair HX850 PSU
Creative titanium Pro sound card
and belive it or not i got all this for under £800 when i see companies charge well over 1k for a less specced system
This is just an example mate and i agree with what you say too.To the OP i guess it just depends on what you want from your system but shown above rips through anything atm.Good luck on your build.

[Bolvar]

Seems fine, but:
-drop RAM to 8GB, and search RAM modules that have CL7. The CL means the Clock Latency, upgrading CL9 to CL7 is a good boost to your new friend. I recommend you these modules: G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL7D-8GBXH (2x4GB) DDR3.
-change the processor to a i5
-DON'T DROP THE POWER SUPPLY, it's the main cause of PC problems.

Now you have saved some money. I personally prefer a Gigabyte motherboard, but yours looks OK

PD: Buy a uninterruptible power supply (UPS), it could save you hundreds of $ if one day there is a overload and your PC ends like a target of a ele shamy ^^. In pccasegear.com you can buy this: Upsonic Orion 750VA UPS with 5-Port Powerboard, it cost 129$, but this little guy can save you more than 1k$