Waited for SB, Now Need Help with Gaming Build

Intel is the ssd you want, your raptor is nothing close to a ssd, but if your plan is to upgrade then the intel gen 3 ssds should be coming out soon, upgrade to one of those.

at your price range I'm not sure what you want to do, I can't give you a build that is fully expandable, (you can't add another gpu down the road), and at your res you may find that you want to go sli in the future, so the build I'm giving you is not able to go sli in the future do to budget:

Here you go Ticket# 477535 --- $1628 (To see this build click here)

Copy of Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - HAF 922
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 (Intel P67 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 4GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Corsair TX (Dual SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (80GB Western Digital (8MB Cache) (5400 RPM)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua NH-U12P SE Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Standard Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Automatic Overclocking
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

now the 2600k has 4 cores 8 threads while the 2500 has 4 cores and 4 threads, this makes little difference in games but in other things it makes a bigger difference, if you only want to game then go ahead and drop the cpu to the 2500 and save $100.

clone the 80GB to your raptor, I figured you got a HDD you want to spend least on it here.

mobo and psu, you can go with the delux that gives you x16/x8 with 2 cards, this board will give you x4/x4, and the psu you gonna want a 1000w corsair.

there is no reason to go sli if you are not sure you need it, its better to just get single and add the second if you need it, it takes 2 minutes for somebody who has never done it.

for sli setup in SB this would do I guess:

Here you go Ticket# 477557 --- $1881 (To see this build click here)

Copy of Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master HAF 932
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe (Intel P67 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 4GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (80GB Western Digital (8MB Cache) (5400 RPM)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua NH-U12P SE Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Standard Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Automatic Overclocking
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

here is a nehalem i7

Here you go Ticket# 477558 --- $1896 (To see this build click here)

Copy of Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master HAF 932
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X58 (Intel X58 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (80GB Western Digital (8MB Cache) (5400 RPM)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua NH-U12P SE Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

the SB has better performance in other tasks, sabertooth gives you two x16 lanes, in games performance should be around the same almost.

Right now for most games no, perhaps 4 to 6 fps drop, in a couple of games it can be more, as for future gpus, I couldn't tell you, for a dual gpu card it makes a big difference, but we don't recommend those anyways.

1. these cpus are suppose to be easy to oc, tho they take it upto 3.8GHz for you with the turbo, if I'm not mistaken, in games the higher oc won't matter much, however in everything else it will matter very much, tho a 3.8GHz oc is a great spot, and you can always see what you can push it to yourself if you like, the cpu cooler is a great one and ready to help achieve a higher oc, from what I understand SB runs faster and cooler.

2. 932 is better for expansion if you looking to go sli in the future, it also has a bit better air flow.

3. assuming this pc is meant to add another gpu down the line, then no, no other suggestions.

My pleasure

Edited by DST4ME - 12 Jan 2011 at 5:56am

Congrats

just realized you need to change the oc to

Boost Processor: FREE: Overclock the processor between 3.6GHz to 3.9GHz

no, there are boards that can run 2 @ 16x, but, it is either from using a PLX to rob other lanes, or the NF200 chip, to "add" lanes, or a combination of both.

Asus Maximus IV

Deluxe is even overkill... Pro is all you need offers nothing more then 16+2 DIGI+ VRM instead of 12+2 which nobody can tell me what exactly having more does. And a box that you can put in a front slot to get a couple extra USB 3.0 ports. And also if you run a card in the 3rd PCI-E slot it robs your USB 3.0 if I understood it correctly.

The PCI-E lanes on the new motherboards have double the bandwidth so x8 slots are the same as x16 slots on the older boards. And as far as the boards all I've seen that have 3 PCI-E x16 slots look to be x8/x8/x4 or x8/x8/x8 depending on if its has the NF200 chip or not which is only going to the third slot so it doesn't give any latency at all to the first 2 slots. I haven't seen any board that runs x16/x8 with 2 cards. And you won't see any performance loss.

Especially considering your low budget I wouldn't worry about it.. the loss in performance is unnoticeable especially compared to other areas where you could spend that money and see some difference like a SSD (I agree with you here though on waiting for the next generation) or better CPU cooler (air cooling is plenty for the current set of Sandy Bridges)or just pocketing the extra money and save for a new monitor or 2nd card (usually the 2 come hand in hand). Also somewhere else you could save money is on the powersupply 850watt is plenty for SLi rigs.

Sorry I was referring to P55 boards not the X58 boards. P55 never really offered true PCI-E 2.0 bandwidth as far as I understood.

Wrong.. deluxe is only x8 with dual cards straight from their site
http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=FpufhQASBFHNvccl&templete=2

But like said.. not an issue for any card out currently. And without a crystal ball there's no saying if that will be an issue down the road or not.. but I'm leaning towards it won't be an issue.

The benefits of Deluxe over Pro are best listed here
http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1973&pageID=9982


Edited by Metamorphosis - 13 Jan 2011 at 5:51pm

Been stuck in stage 4 limbo for 3 days.  The anticipation is killing me!  :)