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[mbsurfer]

Budget is ~$1200, and I need all your guys' suggestions.

It will be mostly for gaming, but I will use it for some graphic design and video rendering/after effects (I have a laptop for all my school work/programming)

Go!

EDIT: My AMD/Intel and Nvidia/Radeon opinions don't matter, as I want to hear all your opinions.

[Rodney 1.666]

Are any components migrating to the new box?

[mbsurfer]

Nope, if anything maybe my 8800 GT, but I'd rather just upgrade everything.

[basstronix]

I'm loving my GTX 560 Ti... outperforms my old setup by a longshot. I used to have 2x 260s in SLi.

I highly recommend this bad boy.

[Jeron [SharpSh00tah]]

I am ~ 1200 dollars jealous right now.

[mbsurfer]

I've been working my ass off, and have been getting good grades. I thought I would give myself a present because I got an upgraded scholarship for my grades.

[Gabbo]

I've been working my ass off, and have been getting good grades. I thought I would give myself a present because I got an upgraded scholarship for my grades.

So you wont need a monitor, kb/m, speakers, etc?
And you have no AMD/Nvidia or single/dual card preference?

[Enzo.Matrix]

2 quick things.  Black Friday sale and HDDs are getting stupid $$ (good old flooding) it may be better to grab a SSD for your main and use an older one for you video files till prices drop again.

Intel 2500k
any ASUS mobo, P8Z68 Deluxe is my current fav for feature support
4x4GB 1600 ram,  max out..  its cheap atm.  G-Skill is fine
Corsair Force 3 120GB minimum
560 ti  best bang if you only need 2 monitors, if you need more its amd or SLI. (hammer works better with nvidia)

case totally up to you,  but corsair has some really nice and roomy ones.  500R..

[major]

Here is a list I threw together. Its basically my pc haha, but I'm happy with mine.

LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04
Item #:N82E16827106289

MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #:N82E16813130574

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820231314

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-850TX 850W Power Supply
Item #:N82E16817139009

LIAN LI Lancool PC-K62 Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window
Item #:N82E16811112239

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
Item #: N82E16819115072

EVGA GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 015-P3-1580-AR Video Card
Item #: N82E16814130587



Didn't include HDD's, you can choose if you want SSD or not. I do recommend SSD as a primary drive.

[mbsurfer]

So you wont need a monitor, kb/m, speakers, etc?
And you have no AMD/Nvidia or single/dual card preference?

I have one 24" monitor (All that my desk can handle)
I just upgraded my mouse to a g400 and LOVE it.
My kb and speakers are fine.
I have no preference really, I've just used Nvidia single cards all my life, but if other people can tell me others are better, I'm willing to listen.

Intel 2500k
any ASUS mobo, P8Z68 Deluxe is my current fav for feature support
4x4GB 1600 ram,  max out..  its cheap atm.  G-Skill is fine
Corsair Force 3 120GB minimum
560 ti  best bang if you only need 2 monitors, if you need more its amd or SLI. (hammer works better with nvidia)

I've used ASUS mobo forever as well, and I'll probably stick with them.
Ram sounds good as well.
I've never used a SSD yet, and I really wanna try.

LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04
Item #:N82E16827106289
MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #:N82E16813130574
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820231314
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-850TX 850W Power Supply
Item #:N82E16817139009
LIAN LI Lancool PC-K62 Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window
Item #:N82E16811112239
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
Item #: N82E16819115072
EVGA GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 015-P3-1580-AR Video Card
Item #: N82E16814130587

I already have an external DVD burner, so I'm okay with that.
I'll probably go with ASUS over intel mobo.
I think I'll go with a 560 over 580 though, It's like $200 difference, but I may go all out.
And those G Skills are really cheap, should I get 2 orders and max out like Enzo said?

EDIT: And what's everyone's feeling on cooling? Is it just me or is liquid cooling overrated?

[killermonkey]

Get a Zalman. I popped one in my rig for the first time when I rebuilt the innards and it runs no more than 120 F fully stressed and OC'd. Worth the money

[major]

Yeah Asus is good. I have the MSI so that's why the recommendation. RAM is cheap, if can spare the extra couple $, might as well top it out (even though you'll never use it haha).

The only bottleneck you will encounter will be your graphics card. That should be the best thing in your PC. Just think about that.

I'm running the stock cooler on my 2500k and have it OC'ed to 3.8ghz and running great. Idle ~30c and load ~60c. If you get a cooler I'd go with KM and just pick up a nice little cooler and be set. With a $40-50 cooler you could hit 4.2ghz+ no issue(that is if you OC).

[Kratos]

Here is a list I threw together. Its basically my pc haha, but I'm happy with mine.

LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04
Item #:N82E16827106289

MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) ATX Intel Motherboard   
Item #:N82E16813130574

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820231314

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-850TX 850W Power Supply
Item #:N82E16817139009

LIAN LI Lancool PC-K62 Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window
Item #:N82E16811112239

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
Item #: N82E16819115072

EVGA GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 015-P3-1580-AR Video Card
Item #: N82E16814130587



Didn't include HDD's, you can choose if you want SSD or not. I do recommend SSD as a primary drive. l

As far as motherboards go, I always get Gigabyte. The other brands are ok. Asus and MSI died on me several times idk why.

For the cpu, I highly suggest to get the i5 the one major posted above. I wish I could upgrade, but not enough cash. AMD sucks, Intel is way better.
Look at the Bulldozer benchmarks, the i5 eats the bulldozer. Funny that AMD did so much marketing and turned out to be a shitty processor.

You can look through here for which GPU is better

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/benchmarks,123.html

For me, I take my time choosing a gpu that will last me for a couple of years. Like i got the 9800gt and I run everything on high and still my games run in 30fps-60fps. If it was a 7600gt (which I had before) i would have probably run at 15-20fps. Research well.

Now for hard drives, dont even choose a hard drive at all. I know it sounds silly, but since Thailand is flooded and recovering, Hard drive prices have soared up my ass! My 1TB cost me $79 with free shipping now look at the price after the flooding http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

Yea fucking crazy huh. You could get a SSD, or just use your current HD and wait till prices drop.

Im not a ram expert, so stick with what major found, I just read the reviews to make sure its not some crappy quality. Also the latency sucks in ddr3.

the rest of the stuff is personal preference like case and dvdrw. Make sure you stick with good power supply brands or you end up getting a cheaper brand and the 12v rails just fail within few months or the fan makes whirring sounds and drives you mad!

Happy building!

[mbsurfer]

Mobo - ASUS P8P67 Deluxe - N82E16813131701
CPU - Intel i5-2500k 3.3ghz (3.7ghz turbo boost) Quad Core: N82E16819115072
PSU - Corsair 850TX 850w: N82E16817139009
PSU Fan - Zalman CNPS9500 2 Ball: N82E16835118003 (Need approval  )
GPU - EVGA Nvidia GeForce 560ti (Fermi): N82E16814130604
RAM - 2X G Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600: N82E16820231314
Optical Drive - LITE-ON DVD Burner: N82E16827106289
SSD - Corsair Force 3 120GB: N82E16820233206

That's my rough draft so far. I'll be formatting my 1TB HDD I'm using now, and using that as the secondary drive. Haven't completely decided on fan, as you saw up top.

Haven't chosen a case yet either, just trying to figure out internals first.

EDIT: Found a combo deal with a decent case and an ASUS P8P67 (not deluxe) for $60 less than the P8P67 Deluxe itself.    Combo: 762213   Worth it?

[killermonkey]

That's the exact zalman I have

[namajnaG]

I have no preference really, I've just used Nvidia single cards all my life, but if other people can tell me others are better, I'm willing to listen.

Go for Nvidia, ATI lately has been... Bad.
A 560Ti is great indeed for its price, Its still topping benchmarks too.

[Enzo.Matrix]

CPU Zalman is fine,  but if you want cheaper check out the Cooler Master 212.  I sell a ton of them and never get any complaints.

[Kratos]

Go for Nvidia, ATI lately has been... Bad.
A 560Ti is great indeed for its price, Its still topping benchmarks too.

you know, wtf is wrong with both of these companies and their fucking drivers man. Im pissed that nvidia drivers from version 260.85 to 285.58, it still crashes occasionally. Tons of people are having issues. It looks like its only happening to 8800gt and 9800gt users.

killermonkey, do you witness any problems with nvidia drivers?

[killermonkey]

No cause I upgraded my card. If you are still rocking an 8800 it might be time to think about upgrading.

Companies don't, and shouldn't have to, support 100% of their products for eternity.

[Jeron [SharpSh00tah]]

I have the 8800GTS and I have not had any problems *crosses fingers*

[major]

little pitch in on the ATi/Nvidia game. I have a 5870 and love it. Still runs almost all games at max settings. BF3, skyrim all with high/extra high. They don't release a lot of drivers, cause from what I've seen, they don't need too.

[namajnaG]

little pitch in on the ATi/Nvidia game. I have a 5870 and love it. Still runs almost all games at max settings. BF3, skyrim all with high/extra high. They don't release a lot of drivers, cause from what I've seen, they don't need too.

I've got a 5670, Pretty satisfied with it for the price I've paid, Can run most games at High-Max settings without problems, And indeed, The drivers are perfect, And the Catalyst Control Panel couldn't be any clearer than it is.

I haven't used Nvidia for quite some time, But Nvidia cards are totally breaking records on benchmarks this year.

[Enzo.Matrix]

I stick to my original comment.

If you are using Hammer.  Use Nvidia!

[mbsurfer]

I'm sticking with Nvidia, I've decided on that 

But is that Mobo and Case combo worth it for the price in my earlier post?