1. #1

    Pre-Built Gaming Rig

    Looking to get a new CPU since my old one's been dead a long time and my laptop isn't liking how much I'm over-using it. Mainly used for gaming, watching HD video, basic stuff but I do want the games to be able to play at top end now, hoping it'll last a while before replacement.

    Looking at a pre-built because my last computer that I bought parts and made myself with a friend didn't last very long, don't want a repeat. I tried throwing most of these parts (or like models) into newegg/amazon just to see price difference in pre-made vs making it myself and there was hardly a difference in price.

    Currently trying to stay under $1,500 not counting shipping/taxes, and I have my own monitor/keyboard/mouse so this is pure CPU. Did upgrade cooling system because I live in Phoenix...has a tendency even with good A/C to overheat practically everything.

    http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Thank...l_X79/w/144638

    Case 1 x NZXT Phantom 410 Gaming Case-Black
    Case Lighting 0 x None-
    iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction 0 x None-
    iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion 0 x None-
    Processor 1 x Intel® Core™ i7 3820 Processor (4x 3.60GHz/10MB L3 Cache)-Intel Core i7 3820 w/ Intel Performance Tuning Protection
    iBUYPOWER PowerDrive 0 x None-
    Processor Cooling 1 x Corsair Hydro Series H60 Liquid CPU Cooling System-ARC Dual Silent High Performance Fan Upgrade (Push-Pull Airflow)
    Memory 1 x 16 GB [4 GB X4] DDR3-1866 Memory Module-Corsair or Major Brand **Free Upgrade to DDR3-2133 G.SKILL RipjawsX**
    Video Card 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 - 2GB - FREE Upgrade to 660 2GB EVGA Superclocked-Single Card
    Video Card Brand 1 x Major Brand Powered by AMD or NVIDIA-
    Free Stuff 1 x [FREE] - Gigabyte GC-WB300D Bluetooth 4.0 / Dual Band WiFi Expansion Card-Free with purchase of Intel Desktop
    Free Stuff 1 x [FREE] - Razer Arctosa Gaming Keyboard-Free with purchase of any desktop
    Motherboard 1 x ASUS P9X79 LE -- 2x USB 3.0-
    Power Supply 1 x 500 Watt - Corsair CX500 V2-
    Primary Hard Drive 1 x 2 TB HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 7200rpm, 6.0Gb/s-Single Drive
    Data Hard Drive 0 x None-
    Optical Drive 1 x [12X Blu-Ray] LG BLU-RAY Reader, DVD±R/±RW Burner Combo Drive-Black
    2nd Optical Drive 0 x None-
    Flash Media Reader / Writer 0 x None-
    Meter Display 1 x NZXT Sentry 2 Touch Screen Fan Controller & Temperature Display-
    USB Expansion 0 x None-
    Sound Card 1 x Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio-w/ FREE Creative Labs Fatal1ty Gaming Headset ($49 Value)
    Network Card 1 x Intel Pro 10/100/1000 Network Card-
    Operating System 1 x Windows 8 + Office 2010 Trial [Free 60-Day !!!]-64-bit
    Monitor 0 x None-
    2nd Monitor 0 x None-
    Speaker System 0 x None-
    Video Camera 0 x None-
    Advanced Build Options 1 x Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower-Basic Pro Wiring
    Advanced Build Options 1 x Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower-Achieve exceptional airflow in your chassis
    Case Engraving Service 0 x None-
    Warranty 1 x 3 Year Standard Warranty Service-
    Rush Service 1 x Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee)-No Rush Service, Estimate Ship date by 12-10-2012
    Subtotal* $1465.00 (plus tax & shipping)

    Any help would be appreciated!

    Edit: Oh, and for hard drive I probably will add a SSD for a couple things but I think I can safely install/add that myself later.
    Last edited by Ninjasaur; 2012-11-22 at 07:06 PM.

  2. #2
    The Lightbringer inux94's Avatar
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    I don't know how you compared, but you'll usually save $200-400 from building your own. Plus:

    1. You won't have a garbage PSU like most pre-built system have which is a very big deal
    2. You don't get bloated with BUY THIS SOUNDCARD FOR THE BEST PERFORMANCE/PAY $100 FOR NOISE REDUCTION

    Anything else than i5-3570k is overkill for gaming, simply because there's no difference between i7-3xxx & i5-3570k in terms of gaming. (Games only utilize 2 cores, with a few of them 4 or even more.)

    So I gave you a better build for the money:


    Any questions, feel free to ask
    i7-6700k 4.2GHz | Gigabyte GTX 980 | 16GB Kingston HyperX | Intel 750 Series SSD 400GB | Corsair H100i | Noctua IndustialPPC
    ASUS PB298Q 4K | 2x QNIX QH2710 | CM Storm Rapid w/ Reds | Zowie AM | Schiit Stack w/ Sennheiser HD8/Antlion Modmic

    Armory

  3. #3
    I'm currently using this -
    http://usa.asus.com/Notebooks/Gaming...specifications
    and my biggest problems are that it dies when I try to do anything intense right after reboot (putting it into suspend and then playing works) which also seemed to happen to my PC...and no, I never overclock, don't even know how - as well as being on the slower side of loading anything graphics intensive and can't play at highest end graphics. That and it's a laptop, I think the poor thing wants to die with how much I over-use it.

    I know games are terrible at taking full advantage of cores/RAM currently so how is it I upgrade to handle the 'high-end' graphics better? Is CrossFire Mode/Dual Cards the big upgrade to handle graphics-intense games better?

    Also you listed the 1x2 TB WD Black HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 7200rpm, 6.0Gb/s versus 2 TB HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 7200rpm, 6.0Gb/s, is the branding of Western Digital that big of a difference given they are the same specs?

    Mainly trying to transition away from using a laptop so that it survives a bit longer while making sure the PC I get can run -everything- gaming wise at top end hopefully for the next year or two. I know technology gets outdated the moment you buy it but in the past couple years doesn't seem like much has gone crazy upgrade since we're still on current-gen consoles and companies make games with them in mind.


    Edit:
    Also found as an alternate computer, slightly lower specs but seems better bang for buck -
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227439
    Last edited by Ninjasaur; 2012-11-22 at 08:59 PM.

  4. #4
    The Lightbringer inux94's Avatar
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    Ah yes, the ASUS G series, always hated those haha.

    Crossfire is never advised unless you want to play ie. Battlefield 3 above 60-80 FPS on everything maxed.

    I chose the 2x WD Caviar Black because it didn't allow me to select a single WD Caviar black, if you choose the generic 1TB harddrives, chances are you're going to get Seagate harddrives which is some of the worst in the market, with high chance of failure within the first 1-2 years.

    The build I linked will probably last ~2 years, if you want it to last a little longer you could choose a GPU like the 7950, but that depends entirely on the games you play.
    i7-6700k 4.2GHz | Gigabyte GTX 980 | 16GB Kingston HyperX | Intel 750 Series SSD 400GB | Corsair H100i | Noctua IndustialPPC
    ASUS PB298Q 4K | 2x QNIX QH2710 | CM Storm Rapid w/ Reds | Zowie AM | Schiit Stack w/ Sennheiser HD8/Antlion Modmic

    Armory

  5. #5
    Problem with the build linked is it has a 660, not a 660 Ti and even so on x79 you really should go w/ something featuring a real memory bandwidth than the 660.

  6. #6
    Alright so I think I get what I'm looking for mostly, but if you wouldn't mind checking this one out:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227439

    Compared to your specs it has the i7/16GB RAM which I understand is unnecessary but is good - the main drawback I'm seeing is, as you stated, it does have Seagate Harddrive but all things considered replacing a 2TB hard drive is approx $180, and that's mostly if it fails. I have some backup hard drives in my old CPU which, although not really worth comparing, are good backups.

    Otherwise it seems to be about the same 'level' of equipment, just happens to be on sale for Turkey Day promotions - includes the 120GB SSD, unfortunately I can't find what brand it is and know nothing about SSD brands.

  7. #7
    The Lightbringer inux94's Avatar
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    1. The power supply is probably generic, one of the things you definately do NOT want to cheap out on. (The details section doesn't specify the brand)
    2. The 120GB SSD is probably Vertex 3, since it's cheap, it was utterly horrible for a period of time but it should have been fixed now.
    3. The motherboard is a B75M board, which IIRC is unable to overclock your CPU which you will benefit from greatly in the next few years.
    4. The GPU on it is a GTX 660 which isn't bad by any means, but you would be better off with the 7950 you could snuck in with the build I posted before
    i7-6700k 4.2GHz | Gigabyte GTX 980 | 16GB Kingston HyperX | Intel 750 Series SSD 400GB | Corsair H100i | Noctua IndustialPPC
    ASUS PB298Q 4K | 2x QNIX QH2710 | CM Storm Rapid w/ Reds | Zowie AM | Schiit Stack w/ Sennheiser HD8/Antlion Modmic

    Armory

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by inux94 View Post
    1. The power supply is probably generic, one of the things you definately do NOT want to cheap out on. (The details section doesn't specify the brand)
    2. The 120GB SSD is probably Vertex 3, since it's cheap, it was utterly horrible for a period of time but it should have been fixed now.
    3. The motherboard is a B75M board, which IIRC is unable to overclock your CPU which you will benefit from greatly in the next few years.
    4. The GPU on it is a GTX 660 which isn't bad by any means, but you would be better off with the 7950 you could snuck in with the build I posted before
    660 norman isnt great, Ti could be argued.

  9. #9
    The Lightbringer inux94's Avatar
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    I never said it was great, I said it wasn't bad by any means, it's a decent card for decent money. If I could go back in time I'd probably swap out my 670 with the 660.
    i7-6700k 4.2GHz | Gigabyte GTX 980 | 16GB Kingston HyperX | Intel 750 Series SSD 400GB | Corsair H100i | Noctua IndustialPPC
    ASUS PB298Q 4K | 2x QNIX QH2710 | CM Storm Rapid w/ Reds | Zowie AM | Schiit Stack w/ Sennheiser HD8/Antlion Modmic

    Armory

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