Gaming Rig for 80 - 85 k

D

1. What is the purpose of the computer?
A: Gaming

2. Are you open to alternate ideas/products giving similar better performance but offering more VFM/ sellers? If not- why?
A: Yes

3. What is your MAX budget?
A: 80 - 85 k

4. Planning to overclock?
A: Yes

5. Which OS are you planning to use?
A: Windows 7 64 bit

6. How much hard drive space is needed?
A: 500 GB

7. What resolution will the screen run at & whats the size of the screen you want? If you already want have one and want to use it, mention its resolution and size.
A: 1920 x 1080

8. How would you rate your hardware knowledge from the count of 1-10? (1 being the lowest, 5 being you are somewhat in sync with the current performers and 10 being the highest)
A: 5

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
A: Yes

10. When are you planning to buy the system?
A: 2nd - 4th July

11. Are you one of the types looking out for "future proof" configurations?
A: Yes

12. Are there going to be any components that you don't want to include in this new rig? If yes, do mention.
A: Mouse, Keyboard, Speakers

13. Which city do you live in and are you open to buying from shops from other city/states?
A: Pune. From where should I buy the components, from pune (if yes please specify shop) or from Mumbai ?

14. Mention any other points if deemed necessary
A: None

Here is my suggestion:

Processor:Intel Core i5 2500k@11K
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68 V @12.5K
CPU Cooler: CM Hyper N620 @ 2.5K
RAM: G.Skill 2X4 GB Ripjaws X F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM@ 5.4K
Graphic Card: Sapphire HD6870 X 2 Crossfire @ 22.2K or
Msi Radeon HD6970 @ 20K
HDD: Seagate 1TB 7200.12 @ 2.7K
DVD Writer: LG 22X SATA DVD @ 0.8K
PSU:Corsair TX750 V2 @ 6.3K
Case: Lian Li Lancool K58W @ 4.3K
Monitor: DELL ST2220L @ 8.7K
Mouse: CM Spawn (With Free Mouse Pad) @ 2.2K
UPS: APC 1.1KVA @ 4.3K

Total 82.9K including the dual GPU solution. For single GPU, it will be 80.9K. With rest of the money buy some Cooling fans. And Even u have a Mouse already, I have suggested one as for gaming unless you are not having a basic gaming mouse, you won't play it properly.

Check the following:

My suggestion is not to jump to crossfire right away. The lightning card i mentioned is factory overclocked and is an overkill for fullhd resolutions. It will just cut through games like butter. Add another 6970 down the line later when the need arises. Then it will be even a bigger beast.

For that i have suggested 850w psu to handle a 6970cf easily in future. You can even even add 2-3 more hdd's and even ssd's in future. You can also add the cm spawn mouse @ 2.2k as additional upgrade. :smile:

#1 MEGA Gaming PC (INTEL) 80k

Core i7 2600k @ 16.5k
Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 @ 9.5k
Corsair 2*2=4GB XMS3 DDR3 1600MHz C9 @ 3k
PowerColor HD 6970 2GB GDDR5 @ 20.5k
Corsair GS 600W @ 4.8k
CoolerMaster CM690 PURE @ 5.5k
Dell ST2320L 23" FULL HD LED @ 9.8k
Seagate 1TB @ 2.7k
Razer Death Adder @ 2.1k
Logitech G110 @ 3.2k
LG 22x DVD RW @ 1k

Total = Rs. 78,700

There you go.

^^ That dell monitor has bad reviews buddy.

Component Make Price
Processor Intel Core i5 2500k 10500
CPU Cooler CM Hyper N620 2500
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 11500
RAM Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz 2x4GB 5000
Graphic Card MSI GTX 560 Ti HAWK SLI 29400
HDD Seagate 1TB 7200.12 2700
DVD Writer LG 22X SATA DVD 900
PSU Corsair TX 850 V2 7500
Case Lian Li Lancool K58W 4300
Monitor Benq G2220HD 7200
UPS APC 1.1KVA 4300
Total 85800

I have seen many members recommending the CM spawn mouse. Has anyone over here tried it themselves? I tried it at my friend's place and it is SMALL. My hand didn't even fit on it properly. Those who want to buy it should first try it if possible. I like my MX518 more than CM spawn. Also, the mousepad bundled with it is CHEAP. Its a regular Rs50 mousepad. Its better to go with Logitech MX518 + Razer goliathus for the same price or even better to get Razer deathadder.

@nilgtx260, for the monitor a dell ST2220l would be a better choice buddy.

^^ vickybat said it's got bad review? otherwise I was also about to recommend this

Vicky, the MSI Lightning version of HD 6970 has not so good review in guru3d. The card is having very less amount of factory overclock and overclocking it is not that easy also. The performance improvement is also very less compared to the baseline model. Guru3d guys were not able to overclock it more than 70 MHz of its default setting and have not recommended it. The standard HD 6970 can be overclocked to the factory overclock level of the Lightning card easily to provide the same level of performance. That's why I've suggested the MSI reference model.

nilgtx260, don't suggest Vengeance modules with Sandy Bridge CPUs when you are going to use a big Aftermarket cooler. A lot of forum members like Tkin has posted the issue where Vengeance modules are blocking the installation of the cooler when plugged in the Ram slots near to the CPU.

And for GTX 560 SLI, TX 750 V2 is more than enough. Check guru3d recommended PSU. A good 850W can actually handles the GTX 580 SLI.

D

Guys thanks for replying

Some questions: is there really a need of 8 GB of ram for gaming? And what about 2500K instead of 2600K. I can buy 4 GB RAM and 2500k and spend the left money to buy gtx 580?

For mouse Logitech Mx518 with Steelseries Qckmass is lot better.I am planning to buy this mouse pad.Lot bigger surface area @Rs 0.7k

d33pak said:
Guys thanks for replying
Some questions: is there really a need of 8 GB of ram for gaming? And what about 2500K instead of 2600K. I can buy 4 GB RAM and 2500k and spend the left money to buy gtx 580?

You can go for 2500K as in gaming there is not much performance difference between 2500K and i7 2600K. But My suggestion is no need to buy the highest end GPU for now. Because I think you are not going for multi-gpu setup sooner. So when you will go for it, the market will be flooded with cheaper products with better performance.
Another thing in Full HD or 1920X1080 resolution there is not much performance difference between GTX 570 or HD 6970 and GTX 580 and that performance boost does not justify the price difference.

A HD 6870 Crossfire @ 22K can easily beat a GTX 580 by more than 10% margin and a GTX 560 SLI just kick the hell out of it. SO better go for a higher-mid end card and go for multi-gpu setup in future.

D

^^^ Thanks cilus. Also what about RAM 8 GB or 4 GB?
And if multi GPU gtx 560 sli or 6870 crossfire?

Ya, you can go for a single 4 GB stick now and add another later, no problem.

I think you should go for a card like GTX 560 Ti or HD 6950 card for now. They are well enough for full hd resolution for current games and don't spend the whole money. Down the line you get your multi-gpu solution when more demanding games will be released.

My suggestion is MSI Twin Frozer III HD 6950 2 GB @ 16K. The card is highly overclocked and can touch the performance of more costly GTX 570 easily. It can also be unlocked to the bigger brother HD 6970 by a simple BIOS tweak and can offer exceptional performance. I won't suggest you to go for GTX 580.

Cilus said:
Vicky, the MSI Lightning version of HD 6970 has not so good review in guru3d. The card is having very less amount of factory overclock and overclocking it is not that easy also. The performance improvement is also very less compared to the baseline model. Guru3d guys were not able to overclock it more than 70 MHz of its default setting and have not recommended it. The standard HD 6970 can be overclocked to the factory overclock level of the Lightning card easily to provide the same level of performance. That's why I've suggested the MSI reference model.

its guru3d top pick buddy
MSI Radeon HD 6970 Lightning review
;-)

So overall we feel that the R6970 Lightning edition is a bloody nice product if you can pick it up for the right price, all variables are simply are right, making this a unique, all custom product built guru style. Please do try and tweak a little with MSI's AfterBurner, that software is hot stuff. Voltage wise I'd not exceed 1.3V if you stick to air cooling, really ... that's plenty and it will get you towards the 1 GHz barrier, which is a psychological threshold we all like to pass I guess

and buddy 6970 runs at 880mhz. its factory oced to 940mhz in lightning.
now g3d guys oced it to 1023mhz breaking 1ghz barrier. what more we can expect.
and they say we can try and go even higher by increasing fan RPM.

now COD MW2 showed increase of 8 fps while BC2 only 3 fps at full hd. so it can vary across other games too. some may benefit a lot while other may not. we cant say till some review is there.

But agreed 6870 cfx is much better buy.

I recommend op to stick with 6970. He won't need anymore performance at fullhd. Later he can add another 6970 when price drops and we all know how a 6970cf will perform.

Heck, he can also add another 6950 later. They will comfortably beat a 6870cf. The 2gb vram will come handy during mutigpu setups.

Lets not close the upgrade path.

But Vicky, that is the reason I have suggested the HD 6950 Lightning version. If you check the review you'll find out that it is almost touching HD 6970 and GTX 570 in every benchmark. And the best thing is it can be unlocked to HD 6970 easily, unlike the Twin Frozer II version. When unlocked to HD 6970, you can again start overclocking as the Lightning Cooler is just too good.

It will also help OP to save 6K (compared to a HD 6970 Lightning) which can be used to go for Multi-GPU setup later. SO please share your opinion for that aspect.

And JAS, Sorry buddy. I actually viewed the review of Twin Frozer II version and worngly posted opinion about it.

^^ Yes that will be a good idea. Sorry buddy didn't see your post. The 6950 twin frozr III PE is a great card and ideal for a cf setup.

Op can go for a single 6950 now and later cf it when the need arises.

For a 6950cf, he can downgrade the psu to corsair tx 750-v2 @ 6.3k. It will save considerable amount and will be perfect for a 6950cf.

Actually two 6950 cards have much lower power consumption than even 560-ti sli and perform better than a 570 sli ( bottlenecked by paltry 1.25gb vram but very power gpu) even.

Highly recommended.

D

So which card should I opt for

6979 lightning or 6950 Twin Frozer III ?
With 6970 I can also add another 6970 down the line for xfire. Will that be an overkill at this resolution?

Won't a 850 W PSU be more future proof?

And for the cabinet how is K60 or 690 II Advanced as compared to K58?

^^ Go for 6950 twin frozr III now and add another later. 6970cf will be superkill for a fullhd monitor. Unless planning for eyefinity, stick with 6950cf. Its very powerful and you will never ask for more performance. You will save considerably as well.

Corsair tx 750-v2 is more than enough for a 6950cf. But no harm if you can get the 850-v2. Its more future proof.

K58 is pure vfm. Don't look elsewhere.

Cilus said:
And JAS, Sorry buddy. I actually viewed the review of Twin Frozer II version and worngly posted opinion about it.

no problem buddy :smile:

D

Guyz I have finalised following components

I am still left with 10k approx. Where should I spend this remaining money? Please comment

save it up for future crossfire!

d33pak said:
I am still left with 10k approx. Where should I spend this remaining money? Please comment

add them to my account :lol:

save them for future upgrading
your rig is already powerful enough to fulfill your requirements

d33pak said:
Guyz I have finalised following components

Component | Make | Price Processor | Intel Core i5 2500k |11000
CPU Cooler | CM Hyper N620 | 2500
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 |11500
RAM | G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM |5400
Graphic Card | MSI 6950 Twin Frozer III |16000
HDD | Seagate 1TB 7200.12 |2700
DVD Writer | LG 22X SATA DVD |900
PSU | Corsair TX850 V2 |7500
Case | Lian Li Lancool K58W |4300
Monitor | Benq G2220HD |7200
UPS | APC 1.1KVA |4300
| Total | 73300

I am still left with 10k approx. Where should I spend this remaining money? Please comment

Very good config...stick with it.

T

Well IMO change G2220HD and get G2222HDl @8100. What say Cilus ??

And why not 2600K+P8Z68-V PRO

. Well I know saving is good :lol:

Good choice. I've heard the LED version of BenQ performs better than the Dell one. So d33Pak, you can get G2222HDl @8100 as suggested by shayem

Core i7 2600k @ 16.5k
Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 @ 9.5k
Corsair 2*2=4GB XMS3 DDR3 1600MHz C9 @ 3k
PowerColor HD 6970 2GB GDDR5 @ 20.5k
Corsair GS 600W @ 4.8k
CoolerMaster CM690 PURE @ 5.5k
Dell ST2320L 23" FULL HD LED @ 9.8k
Seagate 1TB @ 2.7k
Razer Death Adder @ 2.1k
Logitech G110 @ 3.2k
LG 22x DVD RW @ 1k

I still stick by this config. 8 threaded monster CPU, you can add the CPU cooler, still within budget.

Replaced the part in Bold with the Dell LED everybody is saying.

The HD6970 is a must. No point waiting to CFx down the lane with a HD69xx now, it's more than half-way past it's lifespan dudes.

T

well then I'll say get GTX570. Cause SLI has less driver issues than crossfire setups and performance wise 570 is comparable with 6970 and better than 6950 AFAIK.

@d33pak get Hyper 212+ and ditch N620. Less price and VFM. Even it can outperform N620 with dual fan AFAIK.

absolutely not, AMD is improving their driver compatibility of crossfire setup, now many digit members are using CF setup & having no problem, even my friend using HD 6870 CF since 6 months & never faced any single problem related to driver issue. And BTW HD 6950 CF is nearly as good GTX 570 SLI (Specially when it is unlocked), & HD 6970 CF outperforms GTX 570 SLI or GTX 590. So, if OP wants to CF later, he must go with HD 6950 or if he is thinking of single GPU, then he can go with HD 6970 Lightning or he can wait for GTX 570 TF III Power Edition of MSI.

T

@nilgtx260 check this.

check this also Introduction - AMD 6970/6950 CFX and NVIDIA 580/570 SLI Review | [H]ard|OCP

also this Radeon HD 6950 CrossfireX review

T

Saw those too...but they don't have that huge benchmark; that's why i posted that link.

shayem, check the HD 6950 and HD 6970 CF review in anadtech, guru3d and toms hardwrae. HD 6950 CF is almost same as GTX 570 SLI and HD 6970 CF is better than GTX 590.

T

well I saw those earlier....they are with nV 267.71 not with latest driver(275.33). With that driver nV cards performs 4-15% better.

D

Ok guyz changing the monitor to G2222 HDL and gpu to HD 6970 lightning.
Also there is one very important question:
I saw in one of the forum posts where the user(from nashik techking_dinesh) has said if he will shop from Mumbai then he will have to pay octroi duty. Is it true? Because I am also going to buy my PC from mumbai and I thought if I will go myself and buy there it will save me from paying octroi duties.
Please answer.

Alright Guys. I am no expert here so please tell me why don't anyone I mean anyone don't suggest a AMD processor??? Are they that bad ??? I mean you are getting six cores ??? I told ya I am no expert here so please explain this to me.

D

Please answer this query:

d33pak said:
Also there is one very important question:
I saw in one of the forum posts where the user(from nashik techking_dinesh) has said if he will shop from Mumbai then he will have to pay octroi duty. Is it true? Because I am also going to buy my PC from mumbai and I thought if I will go myself and buy there it will save me from paying octroi duties.

shayem said:
well I saw those earlier....they are with nV 267.71 not with latest driver(275.33). With that driver nV cards performs 4-15% better.

the review you mentioned is also not with latest amd drivers.

gameranand said:
Alright Guys. I am no expert here so please tell me why don't anyone I mean anyone don't suggest a AMD processor??? Are they that bad ??? I mean you are getting six cores ??? I told ya I am no expert here so please explain this to me.

actually sandybridge is better than amd 6 cores currently.
but amd is coming up with bulldozer. so lets see.

AMD only holds a faint VFM margin, for the X4 955 B.E. @ 5.5k

Otherwise, right now it's a no brainer to go Sandy Bridge everywhere.

@ gameranand, we aren't biased or Intel fanbois, just that we support what's best for the buyer.

Before SB, it was the X6 with supreme VFM, and we always suggested it or the X4s all the time. TImes have changed

D

Someone olease answer my question regarding octroi?

comp@ddict said:
@ gameranand, we aren't biased or Intel fanbois, just that we support what's best for the buyer.

No no. I didn't meant it like that I was just curious. Thanks for clarifying.

D

My question remains unanswered

^ i answered them via PM !!

T

Jaskanwar Singh said:
the review you mentioned is also not with latest amd drivers.

that's one of the causes for which I mentioned that review.

gameranand said:
No no. I didn't meant it like that I was just curious. Thanks for clarifying.

No probs!

d33pak said:
My question remains unanswered

GO. FOR. SANDY BRIDGE. period.

gameranand said:
Alright Guys. I am no expert here so please tell me why don't anyone I mean anyone don't suggest a AMD processor??? Are they that bad ??? I mean you are getting six cores ??? I told ya I am no expert here so please explain this to me.

actually AMD six core ain't bad at all
they were ruling the market until SandyBridge came into view
and budget too plays a vital role here

^^ absolutely, the X6 + 880G mobo for 15k was a sweet deal.

But now a Core i5 2400 and H67 board can be had for the same or lesser, which makes SB an obvious choice (unless you want to overclock by more than 100 MHz

)

D

My Suggest For You Is To Go With MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III Power Edition/OC @ 15990. It is overclocked so you will get performance like 6970 & If You Will Overclock More Than It will cross the performance of gtx570 & 6970.

*www.guru3d.com/article/msi-r6950-twin-frozr-iii-power-edition-oc-review/22

D

^^^ What about 6950 Twin Frozer III/OC Vs 6970 Lightning or GTX 570 Twin Frozer III models?

D

d33pak said:
^^^ What about 6950 Twin Frozer III/OC Vs 6970 Lightning or GTX 570 Twin Frozer III models?

570 or 6970 will win but same performance overclocked 6950 Twin Frozer III/OC will give

d33pak said:
^^^ What about 6950 Twin Frozer III/OC Vs 6970 Lightning or GTX 570 Twin Frozer III models?

the price difference of 6k for the increased performance between HD6950 and HD6970 is not worth it.