New gaming build. Comments please.

Ghost29

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2010
Messages
544
Reaction score
19
CPU Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz LGA1155 32nm Quad-Core
R 1 944.00
Mobo P8P67PROR3 Asus P8P67 Pro LGA 1155 Motherboard (Rev.3)
R 1 935.00
GPU ASUS ENGTX580 1.5GB nVIDIA GeForce
R 4 302.00
HDD SEAGATE BARACUDA SATA-2 ST31000526SV 1TB
R 392.00
RAM CORSAIR CMX8GX3M2A2000C9 2X4GB
R 1 311.00
Case COOLERMASTER NV-692A CM690 2 nVIDIA EDITION
R 718.00
PSU COOLERMASTER RS750-ACAAE3 GX 750W PSU
R 712.00
DVD SAMSUNG DVD-RW 24X SATA NON-LIGHTSCRIBE
R 249.00

Total: R 11 563.00

So building a new gaming rig because my C2D/9800GT rig is ageing rapidly, and the new SB mobos are finally filtering back onto the market. Haven't built a new rig in a while so I just want to make sure that I'm not doing anything dumb. Comment away.

Edit: Primary thing I'd want to change is the GFX card to save cash. I just got such a good deal on the GTX580, I thought I should take it.
 
Last edited:
Looks good dude, could use an ssd but rather take a bigger vga over the ssd and buy that when you got the cash.
 
2000mhz RAM is going to give you a negligible difference in gaming, so you could drop that down to 1600mhz if you want to save cash, but I would definitely get a better PSU, like an Antec HCG or Corsair, or Silent Power if you're going for CM. Running a setup like that off a low-end 750w PSU doesn't seem like a good idea to me.
 
@ Ponder, I really debated getting an SSD but I'm going to hold off a bit as I would rather use my available cash for other components. As killadoob said, when the money is there, I'm all for it. (I've also been warned that new tech is about to hit the SSD market in the next month or two, so I should hold off buying an SSD until then).

@ Rudimental, thanks a lot, I'll look into it.
 
Corsair - Gaming Series 600-Watt ATX CPU Power Supply. This seems to have good reviews about it. Will 600W be enough? Somehow, PSUs don't seem to increase linearly with added wattage. I'm really not keen to pay over 1.5k on a PSU.
 
I am not sure what the GTX580 draws, but if you want something at the original 750W, you should be able to get good ones like the Antec HCG 750W or Corsair TX750 for around R1.2K.
 
CM marketing lied to me-

Cooler Master is electrifying gamers PCs with GX 550W, GX 650W and GX 750W power supplies, specifically targeted at systems in the upper-mid to high-end range, yet reasonably priced, providing users with unsurpassed cost per performance.

The reviews are less than flattering though.

Thanks Rudimental for the suggestions.
 
Last edited:
I am not sure what the GTX580 draws, but if you want something at the original 750W, you should be able to get good ones like the Antec HCG 750W or Corsair TX750 for around R1.2K.

Total power consumption on a i7 920 system is about 450W at full load.
GTX580 draws about 20W less than a GTX480 and runs about 15C cooler.
http://www.techspot.com/review/337-asus-geforce-gtx-580/page11.html

So a 600W80% PSU won't leave you with much to spare. 700W would be good though.
 
Thanks for the points. This is what my updated build looks like:

CPU Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz LGA1155 32nm Quad-Core R 1 944.00
Mobo P8P67PROR3 Asus P8P67 Pro LGA 1155 Motherboard (Rev.3) R 1 935.00
GPU ASUS ENGTX580 1.5GB nVIDIA GeForce R 4 302.00
HDD SEAGATE BARACUDA SATA-2 ST31000526SV 1TB R 392.00
RAM Corsair CMX8GX3M2A1600C9 XMS3, 2x4GB kit, XMP, DDR3-1600, CL9 1.65v with heatsink R 1 092.00
Case COOLERMASTER NV-692A CM690 2 nVIDIA EDITION R 718.00
PSU Corsair HX750 R 1 489.00
CD/DVD SAMSUNG DVD-RW 24X SATA NON-LIGHTSCRIBE R 249.00
Total: R 12 121.00

Changes in bold.
 
Very sexy build!! I like it.
Just to throw a spanner in there, I'm considering getting a new PSU and been looking at the seasonic x750w gold, which is pricey but has very good reviews:
http://www.pureoverclock.com/review.php?id=929&page=6
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3655/seasonic-xseries-750w
The corsair design is quite dated, about 5 years I think now? They still awesome units, but this one is just a better design. So it's up to you if it's worth the extra cash.

There is a 650w version which would suit your build just fine. But can't find it in sa, maybe ask sybaritic if they can get a price for you?
 
Last edited:
I have to agree that you've got an awesome price for that Asus GTX 580 !

When you have a Sandy Bridge setup, you don't need such a big PSU as with the Socket 1366 rigs. You could easily run that i5 2500K + GTX 580 off a decent 600W PSU! I would recommend something like the Antec HCG 620W @ R910.
The GX 750W that you listed should definitely work, but I've seen reviews where they said that the ripple noise wasn't good.

Is there a specific reason why you chose such an expensive P67 motherboard? For your setup, something like the Asus P8P67-M @ R 1,489.00 should do the job just as well.

If you're going to overclock your CPU, which would give you much more performance in some applications/games, then I'd recommend that you get an aftermarket cooler. Something like the Cogage True Spirit or Coolermaster Hyper 212+ would work fine, but there are better coolers too, but for SB you really don't need such a big cooler.

Is there anything special about that DVD writer, because you should be able to get a standard one for R180 - R200.

Btw: where can you get that 1TB HDD for that cheap?! Usually it retails for ~R600 !
 
nakedpeanut: that is indeed an awesome PSU.

For Ghost29's needs, the SeaSonic 650W would be perfect. It is just a shame that you can't get the PSU in SA, or that it just so expensive here, compared to on Amazon US, where it costs $112 !
Here's a review of that PSU: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Seasonic-X-Series-650-W-Power-Supply-Review/837/10

The only reason why you'd want to get a bigger PSU would be to reduce noise levels, but at full load most high-end gaming PC's aren't quiet in the first place.
 
Last edited:
@ Pada: I hate to be a dick about it but there is a particular company having a 30% off sale at the moment, but they have limited stock, so I want to first ensure that I can get the components before I push it on myBB.

I chose that mobo because I wanted a full ATX mobo. I used this comparison of the P8P67 mobos to find what I thought was right for me:

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=677&Itemid=69

I can't believe how much they're fitting onto mATX boards now. Do you know if that board from wootware is B3/rev3? It seems the only downside of mATX is things getting cramped and just looking funny in an ATX case (at least in the case of the P8P67).

I picked the pro because it's the cheapest supporting sli and it has a powered eSATA.

Overclocking is also something I wanted to leave capacity for. I don't see me needing it straight out of the box, especially if I want to keep my pc for the next 3 years (though it seems like OCing has negligible effect on system life nowadays), but when I need extra juice when it starts to age, I will definitely OC.

@nakedpeanut, the HX's are the newer Corsair design (2009 I think), the TX's are from 2006.
 
@ Pada: I hate to be a dick about it but there is a particular company having a 30% off sale at the moment, but they have limited stock, so I want to first ensure that I can get the components before I push it on myBB.
there are 2 threads mentioning said company :p

@nakedpeanut, the HX's are the newer Corsair design (2009 I think), the TX's are from 2006.
Ah ok my mistake, but good to know :) You can't really go wrong with corsair anyways :p
 
Thanks for the points. This is what my updated build looks like:

CPU Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz LGA1155 32nm Quad-Core R 1 944.00
Mobo P8P67PROR3 Asus P8P67 Pro LGA 1155 Motherboard (Rev.3) R 1 935.00
GPU ASUS ENGTX580 1.5GB nVIDIA GeForce R 4 302.00
HDD SEAGATE BARACUDA SATA-2 ST31000526SV 1TB R 392.00
RAM Corsair CMX8GX3M2A1600C9 XMS3, 2x4GB kit, XMP, DDR3-1600, CL9 1.65v with heatsink R 1 092.00
Case COOLERMASTER NV-692A CM690 2 nVIDIA EDITION R 718.00
PSU Corsair HX750 R 1 489.00
CD/DVD SAMSUNG DVD-RW 24X SATA NON-LIGHTSCRIBE R 249.00
Total: R 12 121.00

Changes in bold.

I would stick to 1.5v memory.
 
Thanks Ghost29. I saw the 30% off PointIT stuff, but I never bothered looking ;)

Do you perhaps know what kind of Asus GTX 580 it is that they're selling? If it's the DirectCU II, then it is an amazing deal!

The P8P67 Pro has a few advantages over the P8P67-M, like Bluetooth, extra PCI-E slots, as well as providing 8x + 8x CrossFire/SLI support, instead of the 16x + 4x, and a slightly better sound card.

Unfortunately it seems like Wootware doesn't have B3 Asus motherboards yet - see http://www.wootware.co.za/catalogsearch/result/?q=b3+revision&x=0&y=0
 
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X