Advice for Gaming Rig

[jonnieboy]

Hi guys. Can anyone here recommend me a gaming rig?

Looking to play games like the latest Call of Duty, Just Cause 2, Crysis 3 and the upcoming Battlefield 4.
Hoping to get at least 45FPS on the games on MAX settings. I am using a 21.5inch monitor with a full HD resolution.

Need OS (prefer windows 8) and wifi adaptop. No need keyboard and mouse.

Budget will be 1.5K. Getting this Rig in 2 weeks time! Thanks lots!

 

[MoneyFace =p]

Have you tried navigating through Windows 8 UI? New doesn't mean better and some people may not like the new placing of options and buttons.

CPU+MB: Intel Core i5-3450 + ASRock B75M-DGS @ $300
RAM: G.Skill NT DDR3-1600 CL11 8GB [Black PCB] @ $70
GPU: PowerColor HD 7970 3GB @ $496*
SSD: Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB @ $265*
HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.C 1TB @ $79*
ODD: Samsung 22X CD/DVD Writer [OEM] @ $20
PSU: Seasonic S12II 520W [80 Plus Bronze] @ $75*
CASE: Sharkoon T5 Value @ $63
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit [OEM] @ $110
WIFI: TP-Link TL-WN722N Wireless-N 150 Mbps [USB] @ $26

Total: $1504

Buy + Build at Tradepac, #05-19.
Stay cautious and affirm with the part choices above.
Bargainable to $1500 flat.

*System bundle discounts

 

[jonnieboy]

Have you tried navigating through Windows 8 UI? New doesn't mean better and some people may not like the new placing of options and buttons.

CPU+MB: Intel Core i5-3450 + ASRock B75M-DGS @ $300
RAM: G.Skill NT DDR3-1600 CL11 8GB [Black PCB] @ $70
GPU: PowerColor HD 7970 3GB @ $496*
SSD: Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB @ $265*
HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.C 1TB @ $79*
ODD: Samsung 22X CD/DVD Writer [OEM] @ $20
PSU: Seasonic S12II 520W [80 Plus Bronze] @ $75*
CASE: Sharkoon T5 Value @ $63
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit [OEM] @ $110
WIFI: TP-Link TL-WN722N Wireless-N 150 Mbps [USB] @ $26

Total: $1504

Buy + Build at Tradepac, #05-19.
Stay cautious and affirm with the part choices above.
Bargainable to $1500 flat.

*System bundle discounts

Thanks bro MoneyFace! Just a few questions.
- ASRock B75M-DGS and ASRock B75M-PRO what is the diff?
- Is Seasonic 520W able to power the whole rig? Cause pc themes told me 520W just barely enough for 7870 myst.
- Is Sharkoon T28 better than T5?
- OS will prefer windows 8.
Cheers!

 

[MoneyFace =p]

Thanks bro MoneyFace! Just a few questions.
- ASRock B75M-DGS and ASRock B75M-PRO what is the diff?
- Is Seasonic 520W able to power the whole rig? Cause pc themes told me 520W just barely enough for 7870 myst.
- Is Sharkoon T28 better than T5?
- OS will prefer windows 8.
Cheers!

You meant B75 Pro3-M? That one gives you 2 additional RAM slots, PCIe 2.0 X4 slot and 2 extra Intel SATA II 3.0 Gbps and 2 extra 3rd-party SATA III 6.0 Gbps ports which you probably wouldn't need.

Yes definitely more than enough to power up such PC:
HIS Radeon HD 7970 3GB X Turbo - Power and Thermals | bit-tech.net

The test system even uses power hungrier OCed Core i5-2500K and motherboard which will translate into the marginal power consumption of the extra HDD and chassis fans in my recommended build.

Test System

• Intel Core i5-2500K (operating at 4.2GHz – 42 x 100MHz and 1.275V vcore; speedstep disabled)
• Asus Maximus 5 Formula (Intel Z77)
• 2 x 4GB Corsair 1,600MHz DDR3 memory
• Samsung SSD 830 256GB SSD
• Antec CP-850 850W PSU
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

T28 offers more fan slots and bundled fans with removable HDD cage as well. If you don't mind spending more for that you can go ahead.

Have you really tried Windows 8? I really don't wish you buy something and feel you don't like it in the future.

 

[jonnieboy]

You meant B75 Pro3-M? That one gives you 2 additional RAM slots, PCIe 2.0 X4 slot and 2 extra Intel SATA II 3.0 Gbps and 2 extra 3rd-party SATA III 6.0 Gbps ports which you probably wouldn't need.

Yes definitely more than enough to power up such PC:
HIS Radeon HD 7970 3GB X Turbo - Power and Thermals | bit-tech.net

The test system even uses power hungrier OCed Core i5-2500K and motherboard which will translate into the marginal power consumption of the extra HDD and chassis fans in my recommended build.



T28 offers more fan slots and bundled fans with removable HDD cage as well. If you don't mind spending more for that you can go ahead.

Have you really tried Windows 8? I really don't wish you buy something and feel you don't like it in the future.

Super knowledgeable bro moneyface! I tried Windows 8 in computer shops and its not too bad. Thanks for your recommendation and advises! Will keep your recommendation in mind when I get my pay 2 weeks later.

Any other bros have alternative specs to intro? I wanna compare here and there before making my final decision.

 

[jonnieboy]

Up for more recommendations! Appreciate.

 

[jonnieboy]

any more suggestion? I wanna compare before deciding.

 

[MoneyHoney]

would there be much difference in performance if we are changing the i5-3450 to i7-3770?

I see that the gpu is 7970 which makes me wonder if it is worth the extra $200-300 to go into i7.

 

[nippp0n]

would there be much difference in performance if we are changing the i5-3450 to i7-3770?

I see that the gpu is 7970 which makes me wonder if it is worth the extra $200-300 to go into i7.

When it comes to gaming, i5 and i7 have no significant difference. Most games doesn't really make use of the Ht feature in i7. And according tomshardware, anything above i5-3570k CPU for gaming offers fast diminishing returns. In other words, you are paying $100+ more for insignificant upgrade for gaming. Unless you are doing graphic rendering, photo/video editing, i5 is sufficient for most gamers. Since it is a gaming rig, gpu performance is more important.

IMO, for gaming i5 + 7970 > i7 + 7950.

 

[MoneyFace =p]

would there be much difference in performance if we are changing the i5-3450 to i7-3770?

I see that the gpu is 7970 which makes me wonder if it is worth the extra $200-300 to go into i7.

Definitely not, hyperthreading and the extra 2MB L3 cache practically does nothing to benefit most of the games.

Intel Core i7 3770K review: Benchmarks | Processors Reviews | TechRadar

Intel Core i7-3770K Gaming Performance | bit-tech.net

 

[jonnieboy]

When it comes to gaming, i5 and i7 have no significant difference. Most games doesn't really makPowercolor e Ht feature in i7. And according tomshardware, anything above i5-3570k CPU for gaming offers fast diminishing returns. In other words, you are paying $100+ more for insignificant upgrade for gaming. Unless you are doing graphic rendering, photo/video editing, i5 is sufficient for most gamers. Since it is a gaming rig, gpu performance is more important.

IMO, for gaming i5 + 7970 > i7 + 7950.

Hmm the diff between i5 3470 and i5 3570 is the clock speed only? Issit worth the 30 bucks to get 3570 instead? btw the Powercolor 7970 is v2 or v3?

 

[MoneyFace =p]

Hmm the diff between i5 3470 and i5 3570 is the clock speed only? Issit worth the 30 bucks to get 3570 instead? btw the Powercolor 7970 is v2 or v3?

Yes clock speed only (and max IGP speed) and definitely not worth your extra $30 for saving 1-2 sec of CPU processing.

PowerColor HD 7970 3GB is V3.

 

[nippp0n]

Hmm the diff between i5 3470 and i5 3570 is the clock speed only? Issit worth the 30 bucks to get 3570 instead? btw the Powercolor 7970 is v2 or v3?

IMO, not really worth it. The last I remembered, one forumer bought a Powercolor 7970 and he said it was V3.

 

[MoneyHoney]

When it comes to gaming, i5 and i7 have no significant difference. Most games doesn't really make use of the Ht feature in i7. And according tomshardware, anything above i5-3570k CPU for gaming offers fast diminishing returns. In other words, you are paying $100+ more for insignificant upgrade for gaming. Unless you are doing graphic rendering, photo/video editing, i5 is sufficient for most gamers. Since it is a gaming rig, gpu performance is more important.

IMO, for gaming i5 + 7970 > i7 + 7950.

Definitely not, hyperthreading and the extra 2MB L3 cache practically does nothing to benefit most of the games.

Intel Core i7 3770K review: Benchmarks | Processors Reviews | TechRadar

Intel Core i7-3770K Gaming Performance | bit-tech.net

but that is if we are comparing games performance, im sure TS would like to explore his options in utilizing his pc. maybe he wants to surf net while he is dead in bf4 or map change etc. or checking out gamefaqs when gaming, would there be any significant impact to change to i7 for these purposes?

 

[jonnieboy]

Thanks bro nippp0n and moneyface! Nice question moneyhoney! I also interested to know.

 

[MoneyHoney]

Thanks bro nippp0n and moneyface! Nice question moneyhoney! I also interested to know.

btw im not trying to diminish their knowledge or anything, i know they are good

just that im curious to find out if there are any other advantage to get i7 than i5.

 

[MoneyFace =p]

but that is if we are comparing games performance, im sure TS would like to explore his options in utilizing his pc. maybe he wants to surf net while he is dead in bf4 or map change etc. or checking out gamefaqs when gaming, would there be any significant impact to change to i7 for these purposes?

Still a nope:

Intel Core i7-3770K Multi-tasking and Overall Performance | bit-tech.net

You will actually want more RAM for that, but 8GB is already aplenty for heavy multitasking.

 

[shehchao]

but that is if we are comparing games performance, im sure TS would like to explore his options in utilizing his pc. maybe he wants to surf net while he is dead in bf4 or map change etc. or checking out gamefaqs when gaming, would there be any significant impact to change to i7 for these purposes?

Nope. There are absolutely no benefits in gaming. The extra cache don't make any difference, neither does HT. Its clockspeed that counts.

 

[MoneyHoney]

maybe i should rephrase the question then....what kind of operations do u need to do to really truly make use of the HT and extra cache?

 

[MoneyFace =p]

maybe i should rephrase the question then....what kind of operations do u need to do to really truly make use of the HT and extra cache?

Predominantly virtualisation, video encoding/transcoding and certainly 3D model rendering.