Gaming Rig for around 130K

[sumonpathak]

from cilus...and am going to bug cilus until he does it

 

[Skud]

Will surely be a priceless post. Waiting, Cilus.

 

[Cilus]

Give me a little time gusy. Due to Slip disc in my shoulder, now my right hand is little weak, can't type for long, otherwise my right gives me a very bad pain. Also every day I need to follow some exercise and Physiotherapy for recovering. Was in leave at Kolkata for 2 months.

GamerAnand, do you already have a Monitor?

 

[gameranand]

from cilus...and am going to bug cilus until he does it

Don't. Let him work in peace.

Will surely be a priceless post. Waiting, Cilus.

That I am sure of.

 

[Skud]

@Cilus: Take your time. And Anand has the monitor already.

 

[gameranand]

Give me a little time gusy. Due to Slip disc in my shoulder, now my right hand is little weak, can't type for long, otherwise my right gives me a very bad pain. Also every day I need to follow some exercise and Physiotherapy for recovering. Was in leave at Kolkata for 2 months.

GamerAnand, do you already have a Monitor?

Yes I have BenQ G2420HD.

Also I'll use WD Cavier Green 2TB which is already full in the RIG.

 

[sumonpathak]

Don't. Let him work in peace.

Cilus and peace....bad combo

 

[vickybat]

I have been on SLi for the last 4 years and I know what it is like when you have to wait for driver updates to play a following game!!! But yes I also believe Sli is good only if you can add up two entry level cards and gain performance of single cards which cost more than twice the price of the entry level card in Sli. If its not...... then Why the Hell SLi?

Things have changed since a lot then mate. Now, game profiles get automatically updated by the forceware control system and that too during the game's release date.
You are putting things from yesteryear. About the bold part, that is the exact reason why i suggested him a 660-ti sli. Read the review above to know why.

OK let me clear some doubts here.
1. I'll add SSD later, its just that I don't have 6K more right now. I have given that to a friend in need and when he returns that then I'll add a SSD.

Then its ok.

2. As for Motherboard, when I'll overclock and I'll eventually then most probably I would like to run it on that settings 24*7 as I hardly shut down my PC. Sometimes downloading, sometimes movies and games so suggest me only mobos which can withstand that much pressure. Also I would like to overclock my CPU and GPU as far as I can before upgrading my RIG.

If budget no issue, then i don't see any reason not getting the ROG.

3. As for GPU both options are good for me but there are some other reasons too why I chose 7970. Its Direct Computing is hilarious and I read a article on that many months back which was given by Cilus I think and maybe in near future I might need that also. Please don't ask the reference because its been months and now I don't remember so I would have to read that again to remember why I was wondered by that.

If you mean gpgpu computing, then AMD'S GCN's compute power is much superior to nvidia kepler. Its not that nvidia's architecture is inferior but nvidia has deliberately removed the compute units from its gpu's this time around making them game-centric. But if compute is what you want this gen, amd's 7 series is a no-brainer.

Otherwise, i don't see any reason not trying out the sli setup. One more thing i want to add here is that if you plan to stick with a single 7970 and deciding to add a 2nd card 2-3 years down the line,
then its a very bad idea to begin with. The logistic explanation for this is very simple i.e "The least future proof in a pc is the GPU." By the time a year or two has passed, 7970 will be completely obselete and then a much better card would have taken its place maybe at the price of a 7970 but performing twice as fast or more. So then, getting a 7970 will be foolishness to be honest. If you're building a high-end system, you start adding performance components from day one. After a year or two, when 660-ti sli or something similar reaches EOL, you can sell both cards and get whatever that gen offers at a little extra cost. That's the beauty of multigpu. If you want compute, then consider a 7870 cf.

Look at cilus's config. He has a 6870cf which still performs like this gen's 7950. He's having no problems with cf profiles and i'm a witness to it. There are no hassle in multigpu setup except affordability. If you can afford, then i see no reason going against it.

But if you can set aside compute, then i strongly suggest sli for a better gaming experience considering the reasons given previously. Rest is your decision mate.

4. Its not that I can't go for Crossfire, I am saying that I wouldn't do it unless I need it so multi GPU is always an option for me.

My suggestion is you try it from beginning.

5. I guess Skud's confusion is already covered by sumonpathak.

Yes, that board is perfect if budget's not an issue.

6. Also the problem is stated but Incinerator for the SLI setup is not heart breaking for me but still kind of an issue sometimes.

No problems mate. Incinerator is talking about things a long way back. They are very different now. There are no issues whatsoever and even sli has addressed micro-stuttering with its adaptive-vsync algorithm.

Now please continue.

My answers in green.

^^ Exactly. The amount of stress GamerAnand is going to put on the Motherboard can easily be guessed from his config and Sabertooth or ROG is perfect for this. Vicky, check the price of Asrock Fatality Z77 which costs around 17.3K. Buy paying 2K extra if I can get an Top end Asus ROG then I'll go for it. SSD can be added anytime but you can't change the Motherboard like that.
If was a sub 80K config then the Asrock board were a strong contender but for a rig of 140 thousands, Asus or Gigabyte is the way to go.

Yes checked that mate. I have no problems with ROG if op can afford it along with other necessary components. I wanted him to add an ssd from the start and since he's gonna do it, i have no issues recommending maximus v. Its a rock solid board no doubt. I was trying to save some cash for including the ssd.

 

[gameranand]

@ vicky
Thanks I'll take that into consideration. For now lets wait for Cilus.

 

[vickybat]

@ vicky
Thanks I'll take that into consideration. For now lets wait for Cilus.

Ok. But what's he gonna put up? I didn't get him actually.

 

[gameranand]

He'll put up a RIG for me as per my preference after all his research and experience from tech world.

 

[sumonpathak]

if he needs to do any computing on the GPU then sadly AMD is THE only way...

 

[vickybat]

if he needs to do any computing on the GPU then sadly AMD is THE only way...

Ya that's true but not sadly. GCN has proved to be a versatile architecture this gen. Credits do go to the MAD team err....i mean AMD.

Expect kepler's 2nd iteration i.e 7xx series (not maxwell) to include compute starting with the introduction of GK110.

 

[gameranand]

if he needs to do any computing on the GPU then sadly AMD is THE only way...

Sadly ?? What do you mean by sadly ??

 

[vickybat]

He'll put up a RIG for me as per my preference after all his research and experience from tech world.

Oh i see but believe me mate, you already have put up a balanced rig yourself. Just fine tune it to make it perfect. Your choice of components was spot on to be honest.

Sadly ?? What do you mean by sadly ??

I guess he meant no competition from nvidia in the compute front using open-cl codepath.

 

[sumonpathak]

Sadly ?? What do you mean by sadly ??

Sarcasm my dear anand...sarcasm
the green guys has gone nuts

 

[gameranand]

Oh i see but believe me mate, you already have put up a balanced rig yourself. Just fine tune it to make it perfect. Your choice of components was spot on to be honest.

Thanks. But still I would like to see his version of 130K gaming rig also. After all I have some time before I make the final payment.

I guess he meant no competition from nvidia in the compute front using open-cl codepath.

Oh that. Got it.

Sarcasm my dear anand...sarcasm
the green guys has gone nuts

Oh. I thought you were serious.

I thought that I should explain explain everything about the config so that it would be easier for Cilus and everyone else to understand my PC, so I would explain why I selected a particular product in my rig with a proper reason. First let me again post the final config

Type	Name	Price
Processor	Intel Core i7 2600K	18100
Motherboard	Asus Maximus V Formula	20918
RAM	Gskill RipjawsX 8GB RAM F3-14900CL10S-8GBXL	2900
Hard Drive	WD 2 TB Desktop Internal Hard Drive Black Edition (WD2002FAEX)	10550
Graphics Card	Asus Matrix HD7970 Platinum	36500
Power Supply	Corsair HX850	10450
Cabinet	Cooler Master Storm Trooper ATX	11110
Keyboard	Corsair Vengeance K90	6500
Mouse	Logitech Optical Gaming Mouse G500	3550
CPU Cooler	Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO	2275
Optical Drive	ASUS DRW-24B3ST SATA	1250
UPS	APC Back-UPS 1100VA (BR1100CI-IN)	5111
Headphones	Corsair Vengeance 1500	4500
Shippping	Shipping Cost in Total	1200
Total	Total Cost Excluding Shipping	134912

1. Intel Core i7 2600K - I first thought about 3770K and 2700K but the thing is 3770K is kinda hot and not much overclockable and where I'll be living summer temps goes beyond 50C sometimes but is mostly at 45C+ degrees so I skipped 3770K then 2700K was skipped because I am not gaining anything but loosing some overclocking headroom.

2. Asus Maximus V Formula - I first thought about Gigabyte Z77X-UP5-TH but sumon said that Asus has best overclocking headroom + stability and has way better BIOS so I skipped Gigabyte and sticked with ASUS ROG.

3. Gskill RipjawsX 8GB RAM - Well I never really thought about this, everyone buys this so I am following. I thought about Corsair Vengeance but still for unknown reasons + suggestions by SKUD I sticked with this one.

4. WD 2 TB Desktop Internal Hard Drive Black Edition - I thought about Blue Edition and Segate also but the thing is, this HDD gives very good performance + its reliable than most and it comes with 5 year warranty so thats a win win for me even if its kinda costly.

5. Asus Matrix HD7970 Platinum - Honestly first I was inclined with Nvidia but here guys said that after latest Driver AMD would be better so I thought about Sapphire HD 7970 OC Edition but I kinda liked the looks of Asus Matrix Platinum + lower power consumption + better overclocking headroom for future and killer looks made the decision for me, also when it goes in a ROG mobo then I can overclock right from BIOS also so a win win for me. Also I thought about Multi - GPU solutions but don't know why but I didn't liked the idea, but I can be persuaded. I didn't liked the idea maybe because I like to be the owner of something fastest but its a minor issue, performance matters to me not my ego.

6. Corsair HX850 - First I was inclined towards Season TM 850W but guys here suggested to go for Corsair because of Warranty support so I thought about AX850 but it was bot available with many stores and I read reviews which stated that both are almost same and both Modular so I thought HX850 won't be a bad idea either.

7. Cooler Master Storm Trooper ATX - I had always liked a Cabinet with somewhat like TANK looks, military style and all. This cabinet delivers that, very good looks for me, real nice air cooling + support for largest mobos and GPUs and option to extend the cooling headroom, I really don't wanna change it unless there is something like this, or kinda like this.

8. Corsair Vengeance K90 - I tought about getting Logitech G510 before but when I heard about this one then I thought Mechanical keyboard with all facilities. Why not. I game a lot and mostly RPGs so the extra buttons will come in handy + I type a lot, I mean I am a student and have to do some programming every now and then so I thought better get a mechanical KB, good for typing and real good for gaming.

9. Logitech Optical Gaming Mouse G500 - I have used Logitech and Microsoft Mice but for comfort reasons I kinda like Logitech more as my hands are kinda big and have a palm grip rather than claw grip, also I have used MX518 already and it was really comfortable to me so I chose this one.

10. Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - I read that Stock cooler is just not enough so I thought lets get a CPU cooler, so I choose this one. I thought about water cooling but what if because of leakage or something by other components get fried, would I get support for them too. Also I won't be doing overclocking very soon, I'll do it later when I need the extra power and if this cooler won't be enough then I'll buy another and put this cooler in my old PC.

11. ASUS DRW-24B3ST SATA - I guess its a no brainier but still many says that ASUS Drives are better than others so I chose this one.

12. APC Back-UPS 1100VA - Again no brainier. APC are good at UPS and its the least I need so I chose it.

13. Corsair Vengeance 1500 - I don't like speakers as others gets disturbed by it and I prefer late night gaming sessions so I am getting it. Thought about Roccat Kave also but its not available anywhere at all and the best alternative for that headphone is this one so...

I guess that is all. I hope this explains a lot about my preference and I hope would be helpful for Cilus and others to sort out the suggestions.

 

[vickybat]

Ok here goes my suggestion:

Type	Name	Price
Processor	i5 3570k	13.5k
Motherboard	Asus Maximus V Gene	16k
Ram	Gskill RipjawsX 8GB RAM F3-14900CL10S-8GBXL	2.9k
Hard Drive	WD 2 TB Desktop Internal Hard Drive Black Edition (WD2002FAEX)	10.5k
GPU	GIGABYTE GRAPHIC CARD GTX 660 TI 2GB DDR5 X 2 (SLI)	39.9K
PSU	Corsair HX850	10.5K
Cabinet	Cooler Master HAF 922	7.6k
Cpu Cooler	Noctua NH-D14	5k
Keyboard	Razer Lycosa	4k
Mouse	Razer Deathadder	2.3k
UPS	APC Back-UPS 1100VA (BR1100CI-IN)	5.1k
Optical Drive	ASUS DRW-24B3ST SATA	1.2k
Headphones	Razer Megaladon	9k
Total		127.5k

This would be my choice of a sub- 130k ultimate gaming pc targeted for enthusiast students who can game at the highest ever settings along with programming as per their curriculum.

Now i have striked off the 2600k/2700k/3770k based hyperthreaded cpu's coz they are overkill for a gaming cpu. Besides the 3570k is only non-hyperthreaded and lose out a little bit in multithreaded tasks like video encoding but its performance is still considered brilliant. Its an allrounded processor and also overclocks great. If op wants, he can still go for that 2600k.

Secondly, i have suggested an ROG board but with a m-atx form factor. This board has all the top-grade components and a two-way sli or crossfire is easily possible considering the well spaced out pci-e slots. The price is really sweet making it hard to ignore. If the form factor bugs you, then you can consider the maximus V board.

Since this is a gaming only rig ( keeping aside programming and other stuff as they are easily possible) i chose sli coz of the reasons described previously. Two gtx 660-ti's in sli delivers kickass performance beating any single gpu out there fair and square. The level of settings these cards allow is simply not possible in a single gpu. They even cover surround gaming easily delivering fluidic gameplay over a plethora of titles. It didn't receive a gold award from hardocp for nothing. It deserved every bit of it.

2xgtx 660-ti(sli) >> 7970/680 (This is as simplistic as it gets)

For a 130k rig, multigpu demands attention coz this is what its made for. Single gpu setups does not cut here coz it delivers relatively inferior image quality ( lower AA settings and other). Its totally hassle free as well.


Now coming to cpu cooler, since gameranand lives in a hot place , the nh-d14 fits the bill just fine. Its a terrific cooler and i don't have to say more about its cooling performance. A legendary cooler and is in a totally different league from a hyper212 plus/evo.

Cabinet is personal choice and i found haf 922 to be just fine for this rig considering the value in it. Besides if something flashy is required, then op should take a look at this:

*mdcomputers.in/index.php?route=product/product&path=74_62&product_id=1021

Finally, the headset is a beast. Razer megaladon offers 7.1 channel virtual surround and is more than ideal for gaming and movies.
This is strictly for gamers like gameraanand.

@ gameraanand

Buddy, i have given all the explanation required. Now its upto you to decide what you need. I have given links to most of the components so that it will be easier for you to order. For example motherboard and headset are available in flipkart and offer free shipping as well. The rest are from md computers. Contact cilus and he can help you out. Besides, cilus also has that razer megalaon headset. Ask him about its performance. This is the best that i could dig and they fit your requirements just fine. You can post whatever doubts you have. Now lets wait for cilus's config.

 

[skeletor]

Spoiler

Thanks. But still I would like to see his version of 130K gaming rig also. After all I have some time before I make the final payment.


Oh that. Got it.



Oh. I thought you were serious.

I thought that I should explain explain everything about the config so that it would be easier for Cilus and everyone else to understand my PC, so I would explain why I selected a particular product in my rig with a proper reason. First let me again post the final config

Type	Name	Price
Processor	Intel Core i7 2600K	18100
Motherboard	Asus Maximus V Formula	20918
RAM	Gskill RipjawsX 8GB RAM F3-14900CL10S-8GBXL	2900
Hard Drive	WD 2 TB Desktop Internal Hard Drive Black Edition (WD2002FAEX)	10550
Graphics Card	Asus Matrix HD7970 Platinum	36500
Power Supply	Corsair HX850	10450
Cabinet	Cooler Master Storm Trooper ATX	11110
Keyboard	Corsair Vengeance K90	6500
Mouse	Logitech Optical Gaming Mouse G500	3550
CPU Cooler	Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO	2275
Optical Drive	ASUS DRW-24B3ST SATA	1250
UPS	APC Back-UPS 1100VA (BR1100CI-IN)	5111
Headphones	Corsair Vengeance 1500	4500
Shippping	Shipping Cost in Total	1200
Total	Total Cost Excluding Shipping	134912

1. Intel Core i7 2600K - I first thought about 3770K and 2700K but the thing is 3770K is kinda hot and not much overclockable and where I'll be living summer temps goes beyond 50C sometimes but is mostly at 45C+ degrees so I skipped 3770K then 2700K was skipped because I am not gaining anything but loosing some overclocking headroom.

2. Asus Maximus V Formula - I first thought about Gigabyte Z77X-UP5-TH but sumon said that Asus has best overclocking headroom + stability and has way better BIOS so I skipped Gigabyte and sticked with ASUS ROG.

3. Gskill RipjawsX 8GB RAM - Well I never really thought about this, everyone buys this so I am following. I thought about Corsair Vengeance but still for unknown reasons + suggestions by SKUD I sticked with this one.

4. WD 2 TB Desktop Internal Hard Drive Black Edition - I thought about Blue Edition and Segate also but the thing is, this HDD gives very good performance + its reliable than most and it comes with 5 year warranty so thats a win win for me even if its kinda costly.

5. Asus Matrix HD7970 Platinum - Honestly first I was inclined with Nvidia but here guys said that after latest Driver AMD would be better so I thought about Sapphire HD 7970 OC Edition but I kinda liked the looks of Asus Matrix Platinum + lower power consumption + better overclocking headroom for future and killer looks made the decision for me, also when it goes in a ROG mobo then I can overclock right from BIOS also so a win win for me. Also I thought about Multi - GPU solutions but don't know why but I didn't liked the idea, but I can be persuaded. I didn't liked the idea maybe because I like to be the owner of something fastest but its a minor issue, performance matters to me not my ego.

6. Corsair HX850 - First I was inclined towards Season TM 850W but guys here suggested to go for Corsair because of Warranty support so I thought about AX850 but it was bot available with many stores and I read reviews which stated that both are almost same and both Modular so I thought HX850 won't be a bad idea either.

7. Cooler Master Storm Trooper ATX - I had always liked a Cabinet with somewhat like TANK looks, military style and all. This cabinet delivers that, very good looks for me, real nice air cooling + support for largest mobos and GPUs and option to extend the cooling headroom, I really don't wanna change it unless there is something like this, or kinda like this.

8. Corsair Vengeance K90 - I tought about getting Logitech G510 before but when I heard about this one then I thought Mechanical keyboard with all facilities. Why not. I game a lot and mostly RPGs so the extra buttons will come in handy + I type a lot, I mean I am a student and have to do some programming every now and then so I thought better get a mechanical KB, good for typing and real good for gaming.

9. Logitech Optical Gaming Mouse G500 - I have used Logitech and Microsoft Mice but for comfort reasons I kinda like Logitech more as my hands are kinda big and have a palm grip rather than claw grip, also I have used MX518 already and it was really comfortable to me so I chose this one.

10. Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - I read that Stock cooler is just not enough so I thought lets get a CPU cooler, so I choose this one. I thought about water cooling but what if because of leakage or something by other components get fried, would I get support for them too. Also I won't be doing overclocking very soon, I'll do it later when I need the extra power and if this cooler won't be enough then I'll buy another and put this cooler in my old PC.

11. ASUS DRW-24B3ST SATA - I guess its a no brainier but still many says that ASUS Drives are better than others so I chose this one.

12. APC Back-UPS 1100VA - Again no brainier. APC are good at UPS and its the least I need so I chose it.

13. Corsair Vengeance 1500 - I don't like speakers as others gets disturbed by it and I prefer late night gaming sessions so I am getting it. Thought about Roccat Kave also but its not available anywhere at all and the best alternative for that headphone is this one so...

I guess that is all. I hope this explains a lot about my preference and I hope would be helpful for Cilus and others to sort out the suggestions.

Go for it.

 

[Myth]

Ok here goes my suggestion:

Type	Name	Price
Processor	i5 3570k	13.5k
Motherboard	Asus Maximus V Gene	16k
Ram	Gskill RipjawsX 8GB RAM F3-14900CL10S-8GBXL	2.9k
Hard Drive	WD 2 TB Desktop Internal Hard Drive Black Edition (WD2002FAEX)	10.5k
GPU	GIGABYTE GRAPHIC CARD GTX 660 TI 2GB DDR5 X 2 (SLI)	39.9K
PSU	Corsair HX850	10.5K
Cabinet	Cooler Master HAF 922	7.6k
Cpu Cooler	Noctua NH-D14	5k
Keyboard	Razer Lycosa	4k
Mouse	Razer Deathadder	2.3k
UPS	APC Back-UPS 1100VA (BR1100CI-IN)	5.1k
Optical Drive	ASUS DRW-24B3ST SATA	1.2k
Headphones	Razer Megaladon	9k
Total		127.5k

]

I like the noctua part.
The 2600k seems extra warm at idle speeds proving stock coolers somewhat useless. Evo is good. Noctua is very good.
If cooler budget is low then the Noctua NH-U12P SE2 can also be considered at around 4k.

PS: Take the system asap. *drool*