PC Buying Guide - July 2011

d3p · May 10, 2011

The Game said:
CPU:Intel i7 980x extreme; 6 core
3.3ghz-54000 rs
MB:Gigabyte GA X58A,UD7-19800
rs
GRAPHICS CARD:XFX Radeon HD
6990 GDDR5 4GB-55000 rs
RAM:12GB(3x4gb) corsair xms3
TW3X4G1333C9DHX-13900 rs
HDD:2x1TB Western Digital Caviar
black(RAID 0)-9000 rs
OPTICAL DRIVE:Sony BC 5100S OB
24xSATA DVD Blue ray
combo-8700 rs
MONITER:Viewsonic VC2739wm
27inch 1920x1080p-25000 rs
INPUT DEVICES:Razor lycosa and
razor imperator keyboard and
mouse-7000 rs
SPEAKERS:Creative Gigaworks s750
7.1 wireless-27000 rs
SOUND CARD:Asus xonar DX
7.1-5000 rs
CABINET:Silverstone LC16B
MR220-11800 rs
POWERSUPPLY:Corsair professional
series 850W-7600 rs
TV TUNER CARD:AverTV speed
PCIE-3300 rs
TOTAL-2,47,800 rs

I don't know, what to name this. Requirements for ultimate Gaming ..

Anyway get your own thread buddy, we will have a clear opinion about it there, this is the wrong thread as told earlier.

topgear · May 11, 2011

Jaskanwar Singh said:
then what about already mentioned Glacialtech GP AX 950 AA.
GlacialTech GP-AX950AA 950W Review
modular, 76amps on 12v+ rail, 7.9k sweet price.

but overshooting -

Sub 85k (High end gaming)

Component | Make | Price Processor |Intel Core i5 2500k|11500
Motherboard |ASUS P8P67 PRO|11500
RAM |G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL|2500
Graphic Card |MSI GTX580 Twin Frozr II|27000
HDD |Seagate 500GB 7200.12/ WDC 500GB Blue|1700
DVD Writer |LG 22X SATA DVD|900
PSU |Glacialtech GP AX 950 AA|7900
Case |CM 690 II Advanced (Transparent Side Panel)|5500
Monitor |DELL ST2220L|8700
Mouse |Razer Death Adder|2000
Keyboard |Microsoft Sidewinder X4|1500
Mouse Pad |Steel Series Fnatic|1200
UPS |Numeric 1KVA|4000
Speakers |Altec Lancing VS4621|3200
| Total |87400

looks very good now - I've asked to add Seasonic SS-850AT 850W @ ~6.5k the Glacialtech PSU is costly ( overshooting budget ) and it's not widely available too.

For cabinet it would be great if you can add Cm HAF 912 Advanced @ 5.6k - it has tons of features and also comes with 2x 200mm and 1x 120mm fan pre-installed.

BTW, core i5 2500k is now available at 10.5k only ;-)

thetechfreak said:
Even I prefer twin frozr. Leading by 1 vote.

Hmm cant we make a tri sli 560ti? Wont it outperform gtx 580?

but for that we need to buy a mobo with nf200 chip and P67 mobos having nf200 costs at-least 20k here.

@ The Game - make a separate thread and follow Skud's instruction.

The Game · May 11, 2011

Thank u all for ur instructions

ico · May 11, 2011

thetechfreak said:
Hmm cant we make a tri sli 560ti? Wont it outperform gtx 580?

d3p5kor said:
A tri SLI 560Ti can outperform a GTX580

Tri-SLI is not possible with GTX 560 Ti. Only 2-way SLI.

Same was the case with GTX 460.

nilgtx260 · May 11, 2011

^^ GTX 560Ti SLI clock at 950MHz (each) will be close to HD 6990

Cilus · May 11, 2011

Guys, in the 85K config now we are having GTX 580 instead of GTX 570 and 2600K has been replaced with 2500K.
Now the thing is is it really required to introduce GTX 580 which is almost 8K higher than even the factory Oced version of GTX 570. May be in gaming we can find a performance boost but in CPU intensive works we are basically sacrificing a lot of performance boost as we are cutting out the Hyper Threading.
So lets see how much gaming improvement we are getting over a GTX 570. Results are taken from Guru3d

Far Cry 2 1920X1200 @ 8XAA
GTX 580 -> 105
GTX 570 ->87
Factory OCed GTX 570 ->96

Anno 1404 - Dawn of Discovery 1920X1200

GTX 580 -> 86
GTX 570 ->74
OCed GTX 570 ->80

DX10: Crysis Warhead 1920X1200 2X AA
GTX 580 -> 62
GTX 570 ->54
OCed GTX 570 ->58

DX11: Metro 2033 - The Last Refuge 1920X1024 Highest with AAA
GTX 580 -> 33
GTX 570 ->27
OCed GTX 570 ->29

DX11: Colin McRae DiRT 2 1920X1200 8X AA, 16X AF
GTX 580 -> 96
GTX 570 ->80
OCed GTX 570 ->86

DX11: Battlefield Bad Company 2: 1920X1200, 8X AA, 16X AF
GTX 580 -> 67
GTX 570 ->56
OCed GTX 570 ->67/66

The average performance improvement over GTX 570 stock cards is 11% maximum. In case of a little factory overclocked version of GTX 570 the performance difference is less than 10% in all the cases.
So we are basically spending 8K extra for gaining maximum 10% extra performance and sacrificing the CPU power.
So is it justified at all to cut 2600K and introducing GTX 580 in Sub 85K config? Please let me know your choices.

Skud · May 11, 2011

I don't think except Metro I am going see a hell lot of difference with a 580 over 570. Even then Metro fps is pretty low. IMO building a PC is not about having a budget, get one of the fastest possible component and then try to adjust the rest of the budget among other parts. A proper mix of components would make a better PC. Moreover, not that we are using our PCs only for gaming. Most of us have only one PC and use it for all sort of works which include gaming. We should choose components which will give us the best possible performance for almost all the purposes. That's why I had earlier asked to include to a SSD for the high-end configs. Even a small boot drive holding the programs and a couple of games would make a real difference in the overall performance rather than a over the top CPU or GPU.

Another thing we are not taking into equation is the upgrade path, particularly for the mid-range parts. A 30-50K Gaming PC will most probably see some sort of upgrades in future in context of CPU, RAM, HDD, GFX etc. AMD offers much broader scope here compared to Intel.

Riddick · May 11, 2011

topgear said:
@ Extreme Gamer -

Corsair TX650 has 53A on +12V rail which is 636W of power is easily can handle a single GTX 580 and it's for single GTX 580 config anyway.

@ Jaskanwar Singh - For 2x 580 in SLi how about Seasonic SS-850AT 850W @ ~6.5k - this beast has 70A on +12V ( 840W of power ) and easily can power up a GTX 580 SLi rig with OCed SB "K" cpu.

Read these - don't consider furmark results

GeForce GTX 580 SLI review
NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 580: The SLI Update - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News
MSI GeForce GTX 580 Lightning review

Will Seasonic SS-750AT be sufficient for a 560ti Sli with a 4.6-OCed SB rig....or do i require 850W above to do so ??? :smile:

nilgtx260 · May 11, 2011

what about MSI GeForce GTX 570 TwinFrozr III Power Edition ?

ico · May 11, 2011

nilgtx260 said:
^^ GTX 560Ti SLI clock at 950MHz (each) will be close to HD 6990

hmm I haven't talked about their performance. But you might be correct on that.

All I have said is, tri-SLI with GTX 560 Ti is not possible. Only 2-way SLI.

aby geek · May 11, 2011

for 250k the game should definitely buy thermalteke lvl 10.

Cilus · May 12, 2011

Skud said:
I don't think except Metro I am going see a hell lot of difference with a 580 over 570. Even then Metro fps is pretty low. IMO building a PC is not about having a budget, get one of the fastest possible component and then try to adjust the rest of the budget among other parts. A proper mix of components would make a better PC. Moreover, not that we are using our PCs only for gaming. Most of us have only one PC and use it for all sort of works which include gaming. We should choose components which will give us the best possible performance for almost all the purposes. That's why I had earlier asked to include to a SSD for the high-end configs. Even a small boot drive holding the programs and a couple of games would make a real difference in the overall performance rather than a over the top CPU or GPU.

Another thing we are not taking into equation is the upgrade path, particularly for the mid-range parts. A 30-50K Gaming PC will most probably see some sort of upgrades in future in context of CPU, RAM, HDD, GFX etc. AMD offers much broader scope here compared to Intel.

I completely agree with you. And since Z68 mobos are on the horizon and Intel Smart Caching in the hot discussion topic, I think we can accommodate a SSD, even a small sized one (20 GB to 40 GB) to improve the performance. So will try my best to accommodate a SSD in the high end rigs.

Skud, here is your SSD config for Intel's smart caching.

Total is around 84K. Now the suggested board has 2 PCI Express slot for running SLI/CF in X8-X8 mode. Also it will provide the advance properties like auto switchable graphics, overclocking the non K series processors and HDD caching to imprtove the performance. Added a cheap 32 GB Corsair SSD for caching which sill provide a significant performance boost. Replaced the GTX 580 with 570 as the performance difference is 10% at its best and in current generation games like Metro, it is actually within 5%. So the 8K higher price for GTX 580 is not justified.

topgear · May 12, 2011

Cilus said:
Guys, in the 85K config now we are having GTX 580 instead of GTX 570 and 2600K has been replaced with 2500K.
Now the thing is is it really required to introduce GTX 580 which is almost 8K higher than even the factory Oced version of GTX 570. May be in gaming we can find a performance boost but in CPU intensive works we are basically sacrificing a lot of performance boost as we are cutting out the Hyper Threading.
So lets see how much gaming improvement we are getting over a GTX 570. Results are taken from Guru3d

Far Cry 2 1920X1200 @ 8XAA
GTX 580 -> 105
GTX 570 ->87
Factory OCed GTX 570 ->96

Anno 1404 - Dawn of Discovery 1920X1200

GTX 580 -> 86
GTX 570 ->74
OCed GTX 570 ->80

DX10: Crysis Warhead 1920X1200 2X AA
GTX 580 -> 62
GTX 570 ->54
OCed GTX 570 ->58

DX11: Metro 2033 - The Last Refuge 1920X1024 Highest with AAA
GTX 580 -> 33
GTX 570 ->27
OCed GTX 570 ->29

DX11: Colin McRae DiRT 2 1920X1200 8X AA, 16X AF
GTX 580 -> 96
GTX 570 ->80
OCed GTX 570 ->86

DX11: Battlefield Bad Company 2: 1920X1200, 8X AA, 16X AF
GTX 580 -> 67
GTX 570 ->56
OCed GTX 570 ->67/66

The average performance improvement over GTX 570 stock cards is 11% maximum. In case of a little factory overclocked version of GTX 570 the performance difference is less than 10% in all the cases.
So we are basically spending 8K extra for gaining maximum 10% extra performance and sacrificing the CPU power.
So is it justified at all to cut 2600K and introducing GTX 580 in Sub 85K config? Please let me know your choices.

which factory OCed GTX 570 you are referring to ?

GTX 580 can also be oced and MSI GTX 580 Twin Frozr II is also gfx card

guru3d don't has any MSI GTX 580 Twin Frozr II review so I'm going to put the MSI GTX 580 Lightning performance.

GTX 580 Twin Frozr II OC has a 823MHz core and 1536MB GDDR5 clocked at 4276MHz

GTX 580 Lightning has 832MHz core and 4200 Mhz mem speed - so their specs ( speed wise are somewhat similar )

Now performance :

Anno 1404 - Dawn of Discovery 1920X1200 - 91
DX10: Crysis Warhead 1920X1200 2X AA - 67
DX11: Metro 2033 - The Last Refuge 1920X1024 Highest with AAA - 37
DX11: Colin McRae DiRT 2 1920X1200 8X AA, 16X AF - 102
DX11: Battlefield Bad Company 2: 1920X1200, 8X AA, 16X AF - 71

and there's how much performance difference between core i5 2500k and core i7 2600k if we consider only gaming and moreover core i5 2500k is 6k cheaper compared to core i7 2600k.

BTW, buddy take a look at the CM HAF 912 Advanced cabinet - it's better alternative at 5.5k and comes with 2x 200mm and 1x 120mm fan pre installed ;-)

Cilus · May 12, 2011

Topgear, I was referring Pov Ray 570 and Palit 570 Sonic Platinum. Now if you check the index you have provided, then also the maximum performance increase is again somewhere 11-12%, not more than that. And if you are gonna buy a Oced 580 then again the price difference is gonna more than 8K, compared to an Oced GTX 570. MSI Lighting 580 is 30K in SMC.

And regarding your point that if only gaming performance has been considered for 2500K and 2600K, why should we only compare just the gaming performance? This thread is PC buying guide, not Gaming PC buying guide. And even the hard core gamers don't use the system for only gaming so we should provide a system that provide perfect balance between gaming performance and also other non-gaming activity. And check the reviews of 2600K in guru3d, Anandtech, 2600K is ahead of 2500K by a huge margin, not just by a small amount. So core i7 2600K is the choice at 85K config which in gaming, will also provide better performace by a small margin and in other applications it will provide a huge performance boost.

topgear · May 13, 2011

^^ you can get a GTX 580 at as low as Rs. 27k ( MSI GTX 580 Twin Frozr II OC ).

There's a very little difference in gaming performance between coire i5 2500k and core i7 2600k and both cpu can be Oced at same level ( tom's guys have pushed both to 5.7 GHZ ! on a z68 mobo ) and at that speed there's virtually no diff between two in gaming performance.

Many people ( read Gamers ) use their rigs only for gaming and some other not so cpu intensive tasks like browsing, editing/printing a document or two, watch some music and listen to some music - in these types of use an OCed core i5 2500k is more than enough IMO.

I agree with you core i7 2600K is better than core i5 2500K but in those apps which are not games ( most of them ) anyway - they are some professional tools or some trans-coding apps.

Now how many gamers are out there who use such kind of professional tools ? Most of them just wants to churn out the last possible FPS from their rig and in this case a fastest GPU like GTX 580 is more suitable for them rather that a cpu which is pricier by 6k more ( core i7 2600k ).

So for a 85K a gaming rig ( which still not a ultimate rig ) gamrs should get the fastest single gfx card possible with a decent cpu on the other hand core i7 2600k is a top of the line cpu with better multi tasking - so it's more suitable for rigs with 100k or more budget.

Now why I am only talking about gaming performance because the config title is Sub 85k (High end gaming) - so I'm comparing only the gaming performance ;-)

Cilus · May 13, 2011

For gaming purpose, I think you are right. Then we can keep 2600K as an optional choice for multimedia development + gaming @ 85K as an optional upgrade.
By the way, what about my SSD config with Z68 mobo, is it ok guys. Please post your expert opinion.

Jaskanwar Singh · May 13, 2011

Sorry guys, i wont be able to update soon as my psu is sold (replying from mobile) and those damn smc are not responding to my mails. :-(

topgear · May 14, 2011

Cilus said:
For gaming purpose, I think you are right. Then we can keep 2600K as an optional choice for multimedia development + gaming @ 85K as an optional upgrade.
By the way, what about my SSD config with Z68 mobo, is it ok guys. Please post your expert opinion.

That's a great mobo and is better than P8P67 Pro and supports both SLi and CF - great find and I liked that black PCB and corsair Nova is just a sweet addition ;-)

Jaskanwar Singh said:
Sorry guys, i wont be able to update soon as my psu is sold (replying from mobile) and those damn smc are not responding to my mails.

Let me know if I can do something for you.

Jaskanwar Singh · May 14, 2011

thanks for your support TP.

tkin · May 17, 2011

Jaskanwar Singh said:
then what about already mentioned Glacialtech GP AX 950 AA.
GlacialTech GP-AX950AA 950W Review
modular, 76amps on 12v+ rail, 7.9k sweet price.

but overshooting -

Sub 85k (High end gaming)

Component | Make | Price Processor |Intel Core i5 2500k|11500
Motherboard |ASUS P8P67 PRO|11500
RAM |G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL|2500
Graphic Card |MSI GTX580 Twin Frozr II|27000
HDD |Seagate 500GB 7200.12/ WDC 500GB Blue|1700
DVD Writer |LG 22X SATA DVD|900
PSU |Glacialtech GP AX 950 AA|7900
Case |CM 690 II Advanced (Transparent Side Panel)|5500
Monitor |DELL ST2220L|8700
Mouse |Razer Death Adder|2000
Keyboard |Microsoft Sidewinder X4|1500
Mouse Pad |Steel Series Fnatic|1200
UPS |Numeric 1KVA|4000
Speakers |Altec Lancing VS4621|3200
| Total |87400

Where do you find Sidewinder X4 @ 1.5k?
Newegg.com - Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Keyboard

PC Buying Guide - July 2011

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