3k Gaming build recommendation

Gattberserk

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Thanks for your suggestions guys, he seems fixed on getting an i7. Anyone have any recommendation of which i7 would be suitable for him?



My friend did mention to me that he will be playing bf4, you know about how long it would be before amd's new series is out?


Oct 2013, I suggest your friend better to hold back and wait, there is going to be a huge price cut in all the GPU soon...
 

orangina

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A gaming com with a budget of $2k to $3k without at least $450 to $650 graphic card is not going to be a gaming com.

Over provision of graphic card for a gaming com is common. Would you want your friend whom u had recommended his spec to knock on your door after 1 year telling you that he cant play the latest title at high setting. Reason being, you recommended him a card which was just enough for his usage at that period?

I believe he will feel cheated even though u did not. Or worse still, you tell him change a gfx which is only 1 year old so he can max those settings.

Not all ppl have the time, interest, energy or skill to meddle with the computer.
Changing parts may not be a hassle to you but that don't apply to everyone.

Hope someone can give him a better recommendation for a GAMING rig within his budget.
why would you relate $ to gaming performance. i mean, yes a better premium graphics card would be more expensive. but the performance is not real world comparisons, they are benchmarking comparisons, which usually do not apply to consumers who Game.

as far as i know, even a HD7790 can do max settings for alot of games i play. Even intensive graphics like far cry 2 and battlefield3 or MW2.

that graphics card is in the 180-240 price range (depending on the brand).

Recommendation for gaming systems are sometimes overkilled in certain areas and certain stuff are being neglected. IMO, the PC is definitely where the bulk of the money should go to, however we are always missing out Proper sound cards with sound systems, a good mechanical NKDA keyboard, a macro mouse (if he doesnt need this, he ain't the Gamer he declares to be), and a Decent Monitor to work in conjunction with that 'massive' GFX.

So in my opinion, (sorry for my other 2 cents worth of info)
May i suggest this rig for you.

i5 4670K & ASUS Z87 Plus (he doesn't require a high performance OCing board i suppose)~ $594
G.Skill DDR3-1600MHz 8GB (2X4GB) or Kingston DDR3-1600 1x8GB (i prefer this because of convergent warranty) ~ $77
Powercolor HD7950 3GB ~ $387 (i prefer amd graphics over nvidia and PC is usually the cheapest)
Crucial M4 128GB ~ $150
W.D Green 2TB for Storage ~ $111
Samsung SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $24
FSP Aurum 92+ Platinum PT-650W ~ $142
Get a nice Casing(impt to me) ~$200
Get some quiet effective fans(no watercooling for gamers who are not IT savvy) ~ $50

Dell S series S2740L 27" Monitor with LED ~ $539 (gaming in 27" is ideal to me but its up to you and it has all the additional ports and all like usb 3 and hdmi)
Dell U2412M ~ $439 (if he wants 16:10 i suggest 24")

CM Storm Quick Fire TK Mechanical Keyboard ~ $139
Razer Mamba (for wireless gaming) ~$189 or
Razer Deathadder (for wired gaming) ~$79

Audio Engine A2 speakers ~ $240 (best bang for buck, don't bother about bose and creative this best trash them) or
Klipsch 2.1 Speakers ~$250 ish (quite old in the market but performs as well)
Razer 7.1 Kraken (new edition) ~ $160 (a gamer must have a headset if he truely games imo especially at night and this headset impressed me though its quite expensive) you can op for another brand like steel series or cm storm.

Total depending on which you select: $2900 - $3000ish

Let me know what you think:)

Cheers
 

simon45op

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why would you relate $ to gaming performance. i mean, yes a better premium graphics card would be more expensive. but the performance is not real world comparisons, they are benchmarking comparisons, which usually do not apply to consumers who Game.

as far as i know, even a HD7790 can do max settings for alot of games i play. Even intensive graphics like far cry 2 and battlefield3 or MW2.

that graphics card is in the 180-240 price range (depending on the brand).

Recommendation for gaming systems are sometimes overkilled in certain areas and certain stuff are being neglected. IMO, the PC is definitely where the bulk of the money should go to, however we are always missing out Proper sound cards with sound systems, a good mechanical NKDA keyboard, a macro mouse (if he doesnt need this, he ain't the Gamer he declares to be), and a Decent Monitor to work in conjunction with that 'massive' GFX.

So in my opinion, (sorry for my other 2 cents worth of info)
May i suggest this rig for you.

i5 4670K & ASUS Z87 Plus (he doesn't require a high performance OCing board i suppose)~ $594
G.Skill DDR3-1600MHz 8GB (2X4GB) or Kingston DDR3-1600 1x8GB (i prefer this because of convergent warranty) ~ $77
Powercolor HD7950 3GB ~ $387 (i prefer amd graphics over nvidia and PC is usually the cheapest)
Crucial M4 128GB ~ $150
W.D Green 2TB for Storage ~ $111
Samsung SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $24
FSP Aurum 92+ Platinum PT-650W ~ $142
Get a nice Casing(impt to me) ~$200
Get some quiet effective fans(no watercooling for gamers who are not IT savvy) ~ $50

Dell S series S2740L 27" Monitor with LED ~ $539 (gaming in 27" is ideal to me but its up to you and it has all the additional ports and all like usb 3 and hdmi)
Dell U2412M ~ $439 (if he wants 16:10 i suggest 24")

CM Storm Quick Fire TK Mechanical Keyboard ~ $139
Razer Mamba (for wireless gaming) ~$189 or
Razer Deathadder (for wired gaming) ~$79

Audio Engine A2 speakers ~ $240 (best bang for buck, don't bother about bose and creative this best trash them) or
Klipsch 2.1 Speakers ~$250 ish (quite old in the market but performs as well)
Razer 7.1 Kraken (new edition) ~ $160 (a gamer must have a headset if he truely games imo especially at night and this headset impressed me though its quite expensive) you can op for another brand like steel series or cm storm.

Total depending on which you select: $2900 - $3000ish

Let me know what you think:)

Cheers

The way you talk abit :s22:
how come u never recommend benq/asus 120-hz-144hz monitors which big gaming tournaments use and is part of what gamers "Must"have.
 
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royfrosty

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why would you relate $ to gaming performance. i mean, yes a better premium graphics card would be more expensive. but the performance is not real world comparisons, they are benchmarking comparisons, which usually do not apply to consumers who Game.

as far as i know, even a HD7790 can do max settings for alot of games i play. Even intensive graphics like far cry 2 and battlefield3 or MW2.

that graphics card is in the 180-240 price range (depending on the brand).

Recommendation for gaming systems are sometimes overkilled in certain areas and certain stuff are being neglected. IMO, the PC is definitely where the bulk of the money should go to, however we are always missing out Proper sound cards with sound systems, a good mechanical NKDA keyboard, a macro mouse (if he doesnt need this, he ain't the Gamer he declares to be), and a Decent Monitor to work in conjunction with that 'massive' GFX.

So in my opinion, (sorry for my other 2 cents worth of info)
May i suggest this rig for you.

i5 4670K & ASUS Z87 Plus (he doesn't require a high performance OCing board i suppose)~ $594
G.Skill DDR3-1600MHz 8GB (2X4GB) or Kingston DDR3-1600 1x8GB (i prefer this because of convergent warranty) ~ $77
Powercolor HD7950 3GB ~ $387 (i prefer amd graphics over nvidia and PC is usually the cheapest)
Crucial M4 128GB ~ $150
W.D Green 2TB for Storage ~ $111
Samsung SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $24
FSP Aurum 92+ Platinum PT-650W ~ $142
Get a nice Casing(impt to me) ~$200
Get some quiet effective fans(no watercooling for gamers who are not IT savvy) ~ $50

Dell S series S2740L 27" Monitor with LED ~ $539 (gaming in 27" is ideal to me but its up to you and it has all the additional ports and all like usb 3 and hdmi)
Dell U2412M ~ $439 (if he wants 16:10 i suggest 24")

CM Storm Quick Fire TK Mechanical Keyboard ~ $139
Razer Mamba (for wireless gaming) ~$189 or
Razer Deathadder (for wired gaming) ~$79

Audio Engine A2 speakers ~ $240 (best bang for buck, don't bother about bose and creative this best trash them) or
Klipsch 2.1 Speakers ~$250 ish (quite old in the market but performs as well)
Razer 7.1 Kraken (new edition) ~ $160 (a gamer must have a headset if he truely games imo especially at night and this headset impressed me though its quite expensive) you can op for another brand like steel series or cm storm.

Total depending on which you select: $2900 - $3000ish

Let me know what you think:)

Cheers

What you say makes no sense at all.

Well i leave it to you TS to decide. So many suggestion here.
 

Ysatis

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7790 can max bf3 :s11: i also playing bf3 with ultra settings 1920x1080 . grand bazaar 32 players average fps 120+. :o
 

1oriYagami

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Oct 2013, I suggest your friend better to hold back and wait, there is going to be a huge price cut in all the GPU soon...

News reliable or not.. I think it's a speculation that the new ATI cards will be released soon, thus Nvidia shld respond to this by pushing their price further down? Juz my guess.
 

koicafex

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Bf4 beta 1st oct
Your fren still dw build the rig?
I already buy everything Liao hahaha
Ready to *******
 

orangina

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The way you talk abit :s22:
how come u never recommend benq/asus 120-hz-144hz monitors which big gaming tournaments use and is part of what gamers "Must"have.

there is no need for a 1ms monitor. important is RGB colour management and colour gamut. in case the game requires extreme accuracy in colour. competitions use them because they are sponsored. and they have to give the best. it's about marketing.

same theory as people saying i7 better got more core. why don't game with i7. why game with i5. but we know which performs better for buck
 

mypettycash

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there is no need for a 1ms monitor. important is RGB colour management and colour gamut. in case the game requires extreme accuracy in colour. competitions use them because they are sponsored. and they have to give the best. it's about marketing.

same theory as people saying i7 better got more core. why don't game with i7. why game with i5. but we know which performs better for buck

There are those who are fps gamer, rts gamer, normal gamer or dun game but buying gaming rig:s11:.

FPS monitor like benq/asus have low response time and input lag which is crucial for fps. Some people love to have nice color reproduction, some loves to have CRT-type monitor, some people love to use 47" TV to game. They have their purpose.

Just remember some guys here that are recommending rigs are most probably shop employee, friends or boss. Very biased. So just listen to the recommendations, comments, advice and google it. Do your own research

No one's rig is perfect. There are bound to have somebody say that thing not good this thing not good. Make your own decision and **** care those comments and play
 
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ah hui

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News reliable or not.. I think it's a speculation that the new ATI cards will be released soon, thus Nvidia shld respond to this by pushing their price further down? Juz my guess.

AMD will release to fight against nvidia for sure. There are even a thread here talking abt the rumoured gpu from AMD.
 

xcrozx

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AMD new cards have been announced, I guess i'll suggest him to wait. Cant be that long till they are for sale.
 

simon45op

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there is no need for a 1ms monitor. important is RGB colour management and colour gamut. in case the game requires extreme accuracy in colour. competitions use them because they are sponsored. and they have to give the best. it's about marketing.

same theory as people saying i7 better got more core. why don't game with i7. why game with i5. but we know which performs better for buck

I only asked because you said a gamer must have like macro mouse and seem to a be a real gamer.

Since Extra core dont matter , graphic card no need be so good no need sli/crossfire.in short everything just get bang for buck enough can liao.Then u recommend a motherboard with sli/crossfire capability and raid function when only a basic board is needed .:s13::s13:

anyway best to wait for amd new card . maybe can even get bf4 for free :s12:
 
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xhlee87

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why would you relate $ to gaming performance. i mean, yes a better premium graphics card would be more expensive. but the performance is not real world comparisons, they are benchmarking comparisons, which usually do not apply to consumers who Game.

as far as i know, even a HD7790 can do max settings for alot of games i play. Even intensive graphics like far cry 2 and battlefield3 or MW2.

that graphics card is in the 180-240 price range (depending on the brand).

Recommendation for gaming systems are sometimes overkilled in certain areas and certain stuff are being neglected. IMO, the PC is definitely where the bulk of the money should go to, however we are always missing out Proper sound cards with sound systems, a good mechanical NKDA keyboard, a macro mouse (if he doesnt need this, he ain't the Gamer he declares to be), and a Decent Monitor to work in conjunction with that 'massive' GFX.

I am not trying to be mean with u but a sub $200 card can max settings at 1080. Why will there be the need to have a $500 cards let alone CF & SLI.

Doubt a 7950 can max all settings for 16:10 which u recommended.
Why pump money into a k processor and z board when u do not even use them?
Where is the value of money by throwing money into things u dun need and get a 7950 with a 16:10 monitor?

And ppl with sub $2k budget, u cant get a good sound system cos the budget don't allow.

Money generally should be pump in the following for a gaming com which add value:
1) Graphic card (any cards more than $650 will not be that value for money)
2) Monitor
3) PSU
4) Mouse, keyboard, speaker etc etc

Things that dont add much value so just get the most basic:
1) 4 cores processor
2) ram speed
3) mb with features u need

The list is not exhaustive and there are too many things to be type out in words.

Good rig recommend former come and go. Recommendation for TS's rig wasn't that good so i replied. Hoping my reply will give him a better list by any former who is willing to put in time and effort.

Next time before u recommend a rig. Pls read TS's requirements.
He does not overclock and need a OS.
 

enenyi

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why would you relate $ to gaming performance. i mean, yes a better premium graphics card would be more expensive. but the performance is not real world comparisons, they are benchmarking comparisons, which usually do not apply to consumers who Game.

as far as i know, even a HD7790 can do max settings for alot of games i play. Even intensive graphics like far cry 2 and battlefield3 or MW2.

that graphics card is in the 180-240 price range (depending on the brand).

Recommendation for gaming systems are sometimes overkilled in certain areas and certain stuff are being neglected. IMO, the PC is definitely where the bulk of the money should go to, however we are always missing out Proper sound cards with sound systems, a good mechanical NKDA keyboard, a macro mouse (if he doesnt need this, he ain't the Gamer he declares to be), and a Decent Monitor to work in conjunction with that 'massive' GFX.

So in my opinion, (sorry for my other 2 cents worth of info)
May i suggest this rig for you.

i5 4670K & ASUS Z87 Plus (he doesn't require a high performance OCing board i suppose)~ $594
G.Skill DDR3-1600MHz 8GB (2X4GB) or Kingston DDR3-1600 1x8GB (i prefer this because of convergent warranty) ~ $77
Powercolor HD7950 3GB ~ $387 (i prefer amd graphics over nvidia and PC is usually the cheapest)
Crucial M4 128GB ~ $150
W.D Green 2TB for Storage ~ $111
Samsung SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $24
FSP Aurum 92+ Platinum PT-650W ~ $142
Get a nice Casing(impt to me) ~$200
Get some quiet effective fans(no watercooling for gamers who are not IT savvy) ~ $50

Dell S series S2740L 27" Monitor with LED ~ $539 (gaming in 27" is ideal to me but its up to you and it has all the additional ports and all like usb 3 and hdmi)
Dell U2412M ~ $439 (if he wants 16:10 i suggest 24")

CM Storm Quick Fire TK Mechanical Keyboard ~ $139
Razer Mamba (for wireless gaming) ~$189 or
Razer Deathadder (for wired gaming) ~$79

Audio Engine A2 speakers ~ $240 (best bang for buck, don't bother about bose and creative this best trash them) or
Klipsch 2.1 Speakers ~$250 ish (quite old in the market but performs as well)
Razer 7.1 Kraken (new edition) ~ $160 (a gamer must have a headset if he truely games imo especially at night and this headset impressed me though its quite expensive) you can op for another brand like steel series or cm storm.

Total depending on which you select: $2900 - $3000ish

Let me know what you think:)

Cheers
Not a good way to splurge 3k on. How abt TS try this:

CPU+MB: Intel i5-3470 + AsRock H77 Pro4/MVP - $380
RAM: Kingston PC3-1600 CL11 DDR3 8GB - $92
2xGPU: Powercolor HD7970 V2 3GB (CrossFireX mode) - $960 ($480 per GPU)(Tradepac pricing)
SSD: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB - $249
HDD: Toshiba 1TB 7200rpm - $80
PSU: Corsair GS 700W 80+ Bronze - $139
Casing: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black/White/Red) - $155
ODD: HP 24X DVD SATA - $25
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - $120
Monitor: 3x Dell U2312HM - $765
Keyboard: Ducky DK9008 LED (Red/Blue/Brown) - $189
Mouse: Razer Abyssus - $59
Sound Card: Asus Xonar DG - $79
Speakers: Edifier M1550 5.1 speakers - $85

Total: $3377 (Prices referenced from PCThemes pricelist)

This is what u can get with 3k budget. A gaming rig that supports 5760x1080 resolution gameplay (try beat that!). Of course TS can choose to reduce total cost with his own choice of mechanical keyboard, mouse, speakers, sound card. The above rig is wad I would have built with a given budget of 3k.

And for people who gamed on such high resolutions before, 3GB GPU VRAM is the minimum that u can go. Anything below that there will be problems arising from gameplay.
 

xcrozx

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usually 2~3 months after launch =x

Oh was thinking it would be October :/

Anyway, took into considerations of the recommendations here and formed this list.

MOBO+CPU
: Asrock H87 Performance + i7-4770 - $559 (He was insisting on i7)
GFX: ASUS GTX780 3GB - $979
RAM: Kingstom Value Ram (2x8gb) - $184
SSD: Plextor M5S 256GB - $259
HDD: WD 1TB Blue - $85
Chasis: Fractal Design r4 black window - $169
PSU: Seasonic M12II-620W Modular - $129
ODD: LG 24X DVD_RW SATA OEM - $25

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM - $120
Monitor: Dell U2312HM - $255
Keyboard: Ducky DK9008 - $169

Total = $2,933
Prices based on PCThemes pricelist.

Please advise if there is anything which should be changed before I send him it, thanks!
 
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royfrosty

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Oh was thinking it would be October :/

Anyway, took into considerations of the recommendations here and formed this list.

MOBO+CPU
: Asrock H87 Performance + i7-4770 - $559 (He was insisting on i7)
GFX: ASUS GTX780 3GB - $979
RAM: Kingstom Value Ram (2x8gb) - $184
SSD: Plextor M5P 255GB - $259
HDD: WD 1TB Blue - $85
Chasis: Fractal Design r4 black window - $169
PSU: Seasonic M12II-620W Modular - $129
ODD: LG 24X DVD_RW SATA OEM - $25

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM - $120
Monitor: Dell U2312HM - $255
Keyboard: Ducky DK9008 - $169

Total = $2,933
Prices based on PCThemes pricelist.

Please advise if there is anything which should be changed before I send him it, thanks!

M5P is not at $259. M5s 256gb is then $259.
 
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