Alright my take on this. Especially since I just rebuilt my gaming rig.
CaseWhile this is mostly a totally subjective and personal taste thing. Why a full tower? It's a game rig not a server/workstation. Unless you plan on cramming a couple of custom Water loops in there or just need something to replace the end table, go with a mid tower. I'm not a big fan of chunky plastic cases. So I realize these are my personal faves in your budget range.
Corsair 55D(i just bought one),
C70 is tough guy cool, or
the 500r stormtrooper?.
Fractal Design Arc Midi is a great case. LIANLI a long time favorite
the PC-9F,
the A55B is a bit more compact and of course
my V1000 which is still up for grabs.
MotherboardWhile I can understand the cool drool factor of the sabertooth. But the pricing is absurd. I would lean more towards boards that have that meet the basic requirements.you need. If you want to go with Asus the
MVG is a better board for the money The on board sound also eliminates the need for the sound card. The Gigabyte boards worth a crap
are the UD5H and the
G1.Sniper M. I personally just bought the
ASRock Extreme4 I love it and it was cheap!
CPUI sort of agree go IB just because you don't already have a SB. Where deviate is I would say the 3570K. Unless he's doing something regulalrly that needs the HT
I don't see the $100+ advantage, do you?. I would normally point out that an i3 is all that is needed for all but a few games. But I'll assume he'll use the true quad for something. plus it nice to have and the i3 IB aren't out yet.
CoolingH100 is overkill for such low TDP chips. I cool my overclocked 3570K with an H60 in SoCal summer temps easily. Get an H60. Just trying to reallocate cash for what I'm about to suggest further down.
RAMNo real comment here other than I prefer the Ares series.
Oh and get 16GB its cheap and useful. If you prefer
the same speed as the snipersSSD / HDDNot sure what all the crying is about with the M4. I have a pair of 256GB and they are plenty fast. It's a gaming rig how much writing are you realistically doing? For Doc to nuke 3 of them he's clearly doing something wrong. IMO Either way, here's where I drive the bus off the bridge for most folks. Put in a
512GB M4 seriously. If the scare tactics work....the absolute best of the best
256GB Sammy 830.
For HDD storage Either
WD5000HHTZ for speed or the WD Black you already have for capacity. With all the $$$ saved off the other overkill parts, you can afford a less embarrassing SSD than a 64GB. With the added benefit of being able to not have to mess with data management. Programs = SSD (including games) HDD = Media only (music, video, etc)
PSU1000w? Pick any decent 500-600w PSU and you're fine. Might I suggest the
Corsair CX500 or if you want modular cables the
cooler master SP M600GPUIf you are looking to run a 1080 panel at high settings you would do better to go with AMD. While nVidia is impressive on the top end. They offer nothing worth buying below that. I love MSI GPU's so the
MSI R7950 is my first pick the
XFX Dbl D is a close second due to the awesome warranty.
The Gigabyte would be my bronze medal.
Soundif you're not using headphones, stick with onboard for now....
positional effects are all done in software now a days. the sound card wont make a difference. where sound cards help is in
1) analog output stage
2) virtualized surround for headphones
3) headphone amps.
if you decide to not use headphones you'll be better off with a receiver and a passive 2.1/5.1 set. LPCM negates the need for analog multichannel. If you go receiver you want HDMI out of your GPU.
But given that the benchmark in gaming sound is still the
XF-i Titanium HD but the
Xonar DX is quite popular as well.
Other thoughtsskip the crap monitors. Just go get an ultrasharp off dell outlet. Or consider one of the korean 27" panels (that would likely require that GTX670)
Spend a few bucks on a decent headset for gaming, especially if you are going to use a sound card. i recommend the
corsair 1500If you want to take advantage of the microcenter combo deals. Like the infamous $180 3570k + $50 off any motherboard. LMK
Its a gaming rig it should be like a sports car. Just what you need and nothing else. And whatever you need should be fast. Oh and don't forget fun!
VISIT MY NEW BLOGMain Rig - i3-3225, H60, ASRock H77 mITX, 8GB G.Skill RJX, R6970 Lighting, 256GB M4 SSD, WD 500GB, Seasonic x650, CM Elite 210, Dell U3011 w/ 2x 2007fp PLP - W7 -|-
HTPC - G620, Big Shuriken, ASRock H77M , 4GB OCZ, 128GB G.Skill Falcon, .5TB WD CB, Sony BD-R, Corsair CX400, LianLi C37B - W7 -|-
VM Server - i3-3220, Z77-D3H, 32GB G.Skill, 250GB OS, 3x3TB WD GP R5, 4x300GB WD VR R0, Corsair CX430, Fractal R3 - WS2012 -|-
Lenovo Yoga 13 | Surface RT | HTC Titan
Find me on the internet
