Help building a Rig under 70K for Gaming

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1. What is the purpose of the computer? What all applications and games are you going to run? (Stupid answers like 'gaming' or 'office work' will not work. Be exact. Which games? Which applications? Avoid the word 'et cetera.')
Ans: It will be used mainly for gaming ( Mafia 2, Assassins Creed Brotherhood, Max Payne 3 etc and any new games to be released in coming 3-4 years) ,watching HD movies and lot of browsing..

2. What is your overall budget? If you can extend a bit for a more balanced configuration, then mention this too.
Ans:70 K.

3. Planning to overclock?
Ans:No..May be at later stages. I am not aware of this in detail actually.

4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?
Ans:Windows 7

5. How much hard drive space is needed?
Ans:1 TB

6. Do you want to buy a monitor? If yes, please mention which screen size and resolution do you want. If you already have a monitor and want to reuse it, again mention the size and resolution of monitor you have.
Ans: yes. It has to be full HD and 1920* 1080 resolution. I have thought of Dell 23 inch LED - ST2320L Monitor. Any better option is also welcome , provided it does not incur more money.

7. Which components you DON'T want to buy or which components you already have and plan on reusing?
Ans:Speaker and mouse.

8. When are you planning to buy the system?
Ans:in next 2 month.

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
Ans:
I have built before and may be I will be doing the assembling with help of my friends.
10. Where do you live? Are you buying locally? Are you open to buying stuff from online shops if you don't get locally?
Ans: Kolkata. Will buy a few components online if required, may be from flipcart. I am planning tho get "GIGABYTE GV-R797TO-3GD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card " from USA. One of my frnd is staying over there and will be returning within next two month. He will be buying that for me. Only reason for waiting two months is getting this card in a cheaper rate.

11. Anything else which you would like to say?
Ans: I have thought of below components, prices I am mentioning here is from flipcart mostly.

WD Caviar Green 1 TB HDD Internal Hard Drive (WD10EARX)- 5241
AMD 3.6 GHz AM3+ FX 8150 ProcessorAMD 3.6 GHz AM3+ FX 8150 Processor - 12626
Biostar TA990FXE Motherboard - 9211
GIGABYTE GV-R797TO-3GD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - 26000 (USA price)
G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 4 GB (1 x 4 GB) PC RAM (F3-12800CL9S-4GBXL) - 1788
Asus DRW-24B3ST Internal Optical Drive - 1288
Dell 23 inch LED - ST2320L Monitor - 10600
Please review the above config and suggest modifications if any also please rate the above config out of 10.
I am relying on you to decide the PSU and Cabinet.
Do not have much budget for them , but need some good staff here so that it can support the above config.
Is there any PSU with 2 8 pin PCIE connector available?
If yes what will be the price for that.
Thanks for your cooperation.

One advice - don't buy expensive items such as graphics cards, mobo, cpu, etc. from US as most of the manufacturers don't offer international warranty. You wont face any trouble till the time parts work perfectly but once you hit a problem with them you will have lot of trouble for sending them for RMA (as you'll need to send the parts back to US and get help of your friends to do all the shipping work).
As for the rig - our fellow TDF members will start putting in a lot of suggestions very soon. best of luck.

My Suggestion:

Component	Name	Price
CPU	AMD FX-8150	12,300
Motherboard	Asus M5990X EVO	11,000
RAM	G.Skill RipjawsX 1600MHz 8GB (2x4GB)	3,000
Graphics Card	Sapphire HD7850 2GB DDR5	16,200
PSU	Corsair GS600	4,100
Cabinet	Corsar 400R	4,100
HDD	WD Blue 1TB	5,400
Monitor	Dell ST2320L	10,600
Optical Drive	Asus DRW-24B5ST	1,050
Keyboard	Logitech G110	3,100
	Total	70,850

Changed the motherboard, cause the motherboard you have selected is crap for pairing with fx-8150.
Changed HDD cause WD green drives are totally unreliable.
About buying Graphics card from USA, refrain from it unless you are prepared to send that card to USA every time it gets damaged. No graphics card manufacturer except for EVGA provides international warranty. About in India, thanks to sluggish the importer of EVGA, one can't even avail that international warranty.

70k including the GPU or excluding?

S

sharang.d said:
70k including the GPU or excluding?

including...

P

read it man
including gfx obviously
(check @ hd 7850)

S

sharang.d said:
70k including the GPU or excluding?

including...

S

d6bmg said:
My Suggestion:

Component
Name
Price

CPU
AMD FX-8150
12,300

Motherboard
Asus M5990X EVO
11,000

RAM
G.Skill RipjawsX 1600MHz 8GB (2x4GB)
3,000

Graphics Card
Sapphire HD7850 2GB DDR5
16,200

PSU
Corsair GS600
4,100

Cabinet
Corsar 400R
4,100

HDD
WD Blue 1TB
5,400

Monitor
Dell ST2320L
10,600

Optical Drive
Asus DRW-24B5ST
1,050

Keyboard
Logitech G110
3,100

Total
70,850

Changed the motherboard, cause the motherboard you have selected is crap for pairing with fx-8150.
Changed HDD cause WD green drives are totally unreliable.
About buying Graphics card from USA, refrain from it unless you are prepared to send that card to USA every time it gets damaged. No graphics card manufacturer except for EVGA provides international warranty. About in India, thanks to sluggish the importer of EVGA, one can't even avail that international warranty.

Thanks for your input.. I have one question ...
will 7850 be able run most of the games ( to be released in next three years) in medium settings ??

For medium settings? More than enough.
If you have said highest settings, then I would have little doubt in my mind. But As you are saying mid settings, I'm sure it will go on and on.

S

d6bmg said:
For midium settings? More than enough.
If you have said highest settings, then I would have little doubt in my mind. But As you are saying mid settings, I'm sure it will go on and on.

Thanks...
Two more questions ---
1. The motherboard seems to be overpriced..it is really necessary..or can I go for some cheaper one?
2.Regarding HDD which one will be better? WD or Segate Barcuda? Is SSD going to be helpful for gaming?

now as 660ti is released...how much do you people think that it will cost in India..

Can I fit that in my budget??
From reviews it seems that it is much better than HD7850..

guys..plz suggest..

Seagate is the best in terms of reliability.Now, Seagate gives only 1 yr warranty but it doesn't matter.I have been using one HDD and it's still working properly for around 6 years My elder brother has one WD green and it already malfunctioned two times and the service is worse.I would personally prefer Seagate

sudipta.bec2007 said:
Thanks...
Two more questions ---
1. The motherboard seems to be overpriced..it is really necessary..or can I go for some cheaper one?
2.Regarding HDD which one will be better? WD or Segate Barcuda? Is SSD going to be helpful for gaming?

now as 660ti is released...how much do you people think that it will cost in India..

Can I fit that in my budget??
From reviews it seems that it is much better than HD7850..

guys..plz suggest..

1. You will find many cheaper motherboard option. My suggestion would be not to go for it and the number of power phases decrease in cheaper boards. And that's why you won't be able to overclock properly with cheaper boards.
2. WD have 3 years of warranty whereas Seagate have 1 year of warranty, which clearly suggests that WD is the better option as of now.
3. SSD won't improve gaming experience, but if you install OS in it, OS will be a lot faster.
4. GTX660ti? Forget ir. Indian price is minimum ~23K.

S.S gadgets said:
Seagate is the best in terms of reliability.Now, Seagate gives only 1 yr warranty but it doesn't matter.I have been using one HDD and it's still working properly for around 6 years My elder brother has one WD green and it already malfunctioned two times and the service is worse.I would personally prefer Seagate

Really? Explain more.
And WD green drives are always really bad in terms of performance and reliability.

I just built myself a rig for 70k, config as follows:

AMD FX 4100
Asus M5A 97
8 GB Corsair Vengeance 1600
2 TB WD
LG Optical Drive
MSI Twin Frozr 7850 2 GB
Seasonic S12II Bronze 520
Cooler Master Elite 430
Dell Ultrasharp U2412M

If you replace the U2412M with the ST2320L, you will have about 10k in hand. You can go for a Core i5 3450 and an Intel Z68 or P67 based Motherboard which would be far more suitable for gaming.

Why No I5 2500k??

Because a) the 3450 is an ivy bridge processor whereas the 2500k is sandy bridge, b) the 2500k is more expensive and c) Since the OP is not interested in OCing, an unlocked proccy is of no tangible benefit, in any case, you can OC the 3450 by 400 Mhz.

teknoPhobia said:
I just built myself a rig for 70k, config as follows:

AMD FX 4100
Asus M5A 97
8 GB Corsair Vengeance 1600
2 TB WD
LG Optical Drive
MSI Twin Frozr 7850 2 GB
Seasonic S12II Bronze 520
Cooler Master Elite 430
Dell Ultrasharp U2412M

If you replace the U2412M with the ST2320L, you will have about 10k in hand. You can go for a Core i5 3450 and an Intel Z68 or P67 based Motherboard which would be far more suitable for gaming.

Alone, FX-4100, worst possible choice as processor, period.
Vengeance are bad overclockers.
2TB WD? which one? Green? Blue?
Green = unreliable.
Blue = good.
LG optical drive? unreliable. Not only me, but many others here & everywhere who use their DVD drive extensively have problem with it.
SeasonicS12II 520 in a 70K rig? Good luck with the RMA mate!
NZXT Source 210 is better than CM Elite 430 for obvious reasons.

^^ Don't take this as my backlash over the rig you have bought, but take this as constructive criticism and a humble request to think before you post, specially before you advise anyone about buying anything.

Please try to read a post completely before expressing your opinions. I have not recommended the FX 4100, It is a cheap stopgap measure until such time AMD actually comes out with a chip I want to buy. I have actually recommended the i5 3450. The HDD is a WD Blue, who in their right mind buys WD Green HDDs?

Further, you seem to have skipped over the part of the OPs post where he states that he isn't interested in overclocking. I don't even know where to begin about your comment recommending an NZXT Source 210 over the Elite 430. Finally, I have an LG DVD RW that has been working for the last 5 odd years and I went with that rather than waste time researching a part that costs less than dinner at a decent restaurant.

p.s. Have you bought/are using any of the parts you are recommending?

p.p.s. I can't believe you have recommended a Corsair GS 600. Has the OP ever done anything to anger you or are you generally malicious?

@OP : Give a firm yes/no about the overclocking part, suggesting items would be easier. Non OC setup would be cheaper as well.
Non OC : i5 2400 , intel DH67CL, Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Cooler (optional)
OC : i5 2500k , asus p8z77m pro, Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Cooler (must)

Avoid WD greens.
Monitor: Benq G2420HD 24'' Wide Screen TFT LCD : Rs 10,900
CM 430 is a great cabinet but a comparison is still given : NZXT Source 210 vs CM Elite 430 (Check specs, ignore the price).
Corsair GS 600 is a great product. Seasonic is a good model, but india rma is troublesome.
Optical Drives performance is pretty erratic regardless of the brand. My first lg lasted a few years, second lg failed in a few months and the current sony hasnt given any problems in 2 years.

S

hello everyone..thanks everyone for advising ...
Regarding Overclocking..at this moment I am not thinking about it..as i am not completely aware of how to overclock and all..but i will keep it as a future option..so to summarize..i want an overclock able system..

also I am interested in AMD option now...as I think AMD option is cheaper with better performance for gaming ...Please correct me If I am wrong..

regarding PSU i am really clueless..so I would like to request you experts to suggest the most suitable one..

then take the AMD FX system...

V

i5 2500k @12.5k + asus P8Z77 VLX @11k is a better option than fx8150.
Lesser power consumption...better single threaded performance...good multithreaded performance.
Overclocking i5 2500k would pay more dividend than overclocking fx8150.

teknoPhobia said:
Please try to read a post completely before expressing your opinions.

I have not recommended the FX 4100, It is a cheap stopgap measure until such time AMD actually comes out with a chip I want to buy. I have actually recommended the i5 3450. The HDD is a WD Blue, who in their right mind buys WD Green HDDs?

Further, you seem to have skipped over the part of the OPs post where he states that he isn't interested in overclocking. I don't even know where to begin about your comment recommending an NZXT Source 210 over the Elite 430. Finally, I have an LG DVD RW that has been working for the last 5 odd years and I went with that rather than waste time researching a part that costs less than dinner at a decent restaurant.

p.s. Have you bought/are using any of the parts you are recommending?

And, you, please don't flame.

p.p.s. I can't believe you have recommended a Corsair GS 600. Has the OP ever done anything to anger you or are you generally malicious

This is totally outrageous. Reporting..

sumonpathak said:
then take the AMD FX system...

Eh! Eh! There are two AMD systems suggested in this page. Mention which one.

vkl said:
i5 2500k @12.5k + asus P8Z77 VLX @11k is a better option than fx8150.
Lesser power consumption...better single threaded performance...good multithreaded performance.
Overclocking i5 2500k would pay more dividend than overclocking fx8150.

u must be nuts....VLX is not for overclocking..he needs at least an Mpro...
as for paying more dividend when overclocking....
*i.imgur.com/qOybl.jpg
*i.imgur.com/x51QR.png

all real world usage....
X264 Pass 1 is read thru pass...no work is done at that stage....

^^WTF?? i5 got screwed...BW Which is good performer in Gaming???and LOng runs....does Fx Heats up more than i5 on same cooler???

AnandTech - intel i5 2500k vs amd fx8150
AMD FX-8150 vs. Core i5-2500K and Core i7-2600K CPU Review | Hardware Secrets (read the conclusion in the end)

pratyush997 said:
^^WTF?? i5 got screwed...BW Which is good performer in Gaming???and LOng runs....does Fx Heats up more than i5 on same cooler???

nope...in gaming at high reso cpu doesnt really matter...as long its quaddie...its gonna go good...

Myth said:
AnandTech - intel i5 2500k vs amd fx8150
AMD FX-8150 vs. Core i5-2500K and Core i7-2600K CPU Review | Hardware Secrets (read the conclusion in the end)

1.Frankly that benchmarks have no standing point in this case....checked out the 3ds max and cinebench tests? add that to the current price diff of the two...u see 8150 kicking some royal butts...
2."Disappointment"? oh well...with an us price diff of 30US$ and Indian price diff of 1.5K+ ;the FX is cheaper....does the job better(gaming ,watching HD movies and lot of browsing..)
unless yer benching..and overall the platform costs lesser....so..i guess that's the new definition of disappointment..
(this coming form a person who owns both)

V

sumonpathak said:
u must be nuts....VLX is not for overclocking..he needs at least an Mpro...
as for paying more dividend when overclocking....
*i.imgur.com/qOybl.jpg
*i.imgur.com/x51QR.png

all real world usage....
X264 Pass 1 is read thru pass...no work is done at that stage....

For the asus P8Z77-VLX mobo check some reviews first.
Check some reviews here:
1.ASUS P8Z77-V LX eTeknix review
2.ASUS P8Z77-V LX kitguru review

Conclusion by kitguru
It would be fair to say that we are quite impressed with the Asus P8Z77-V LX as it performs extremely well for a budget oriented motherboard. It’s also attractive looking for a value offering and features Asus’ trademark black and blue colour scheme. We’re also very happy that Asus use the same excellent UEFI interface from their performance motherboards on their value range too.

We managed to achieve an impressive 4.7 GHz stable overclock with this motherboard when we paired it with our Intel Core i7-3770K processor. This is noteworthy for a very competitively priced motherboard like the P8Z77V-LX. It achieved very similar performance results to the much more expensive ASRock Z77 Xtreme6 which is a great feat.

Conclusion by eteknix
Performance wise, we can see that the board was able to keep up with a whole host of other boards from different brands across all tests, with certain benchmarks giving stronger results on the P8Z77-V LX than some of the higher-end boards we had to compare with.

Overclocking was exactly the same story, with us believing at first that overclocking would be far behind that of what we’ve seen on the likes of the Maximus V Gene, Z77-GD65 and G1.Sniper M3 but boy how was we wrong. We managed to get to 4.7GHz, which isn’t exactly fantastic in this day and age, when SandyBridge was giving us 5GHz across a variety of boards, but not only does Ivy Bridge not give the same clocks, but our chip is one of the worst performing we’ve ever seen, let alone the worst we’ve ever used.

With strong performance and overclockability that can rival some of the high-end boards, it seems that this board offers everything needed for those wanting to upgrade to a Z77 based system that has support for both 2nd and 3rd generation Intel processors. With a price point of £95, it’s unbelievable value for money, and we can certainly see retailers adopting this board with an i5 3570k and memory bundle for amazing bang for buck greatness.

According to reviews it is a good motherboard and is good enough for overclocking.In both the revies they achieved 4.7GHz with ivy bridge based i7 3770k which is good considering the fact that
ivy bidge doesn't overclock as well as sandybridge processors.
And not everybody has to overclock his processor 5GHz+.

And for performance when overlclocked between an i5 2500k and an fx8150 check the following:
fx8150 overclocking xbitlabs
overclocked performance comparison- xbitlabs

*i.imgur.com/PtGRc.png?1

*i.imgur.com/3M9MS.png?1

*i.imgur.com/qEiVH.png?1

*i.imgur.com/RuDCw.png?1

*i.imgur.com/javNd.png?1

by xbitlabs
Overall, overclocking doesn’t really change the situation. However, in those applications where FX-8150 was faster in nominal mode, the gap is no longer that dramatic. And in those tests where Core i5-2500 was ahead, it managed to strengthen its positions even more. In fact, it is not surprising at all:the clock frequency of our FX-8150 processor increased by 28% during overclocking, while the frequency of Core i5-2500K got 42% higher. Moreover, as we can tell from the way the frequency grew during overclocking, Intel Sandy Bridge microarchitecture is more sensitive to frequency increase. In other words, even if we take into account overclocking, the new Bulldozer processors don’t look superior to Intel’s ones, even though they overclock pretty well

At same clocks in most of the scenarios i5 2500k is significantly faster than fx8150.
Some apps which are very heavily multithreaded(7-zip) or more dependent upon number of cores(video encoding) is where fx8150 is somewhat faster.
But overall i5 2500k is faster in most applications.Moreover fx8150 consumes more power.And gaming wise even at full hd there are games which are slower in case of fx8150 but
generally at full hd it is more dependent upon gpu.
I would say overall i5 2500k is a better option when one has the money for it or is not bound by budget.For specific purposes fx8150 does well and can be recommended but where i5 2500k
is in same price bracket as fx8150, i5 2500k is simply the better choice when one is not doing something specific like rendering.

S

Hi Guys.. Thanks for advising.. Based on your inputs,
I have finalized buying the below components--

CPU AMD FX-8150
Motherboard Asus M5990X EVO
RAM G.Skill RipjawsX 1600MHz 8GB (2x4GB)
Graphics Card Sapphire HD7850 2GB DDR5
HDD WD Blue 1TB
Monitor Dell ST2320L
Optical Drive Asus DRW-24B5ST
Keyboard Logitech G110
all total is coming around 62k

I am planning to crossfire another 7850 in future, so my request is please suggest a decent PSU and cabinet withing 8K .
Also please suggest if I require any aftermarket cooler for this config..

Have plan to add another HD7850 in future?
Get Corsair TX650V2 @5.7K
Would be enough for you need.
Spend the rest of the money in cabinet.NZXT Source 210 @2.4K should be the minimum choice for your rig which will consist of 2x hd7850.

^^ +1 for TX650V2. Using it as of now since 4 months. Used it for power hungry GTX550Ti SLI build and never had issues.

Now running fantastically with HD7950.

S

Hi guys.. thanks for advising...
I have finally bought all the components and assembled it yesterday...so far so good..
Final component list
CPU:I5 2500k
MB: asus p8z77m pro
Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Cooler
RAM: G.Skill RipjawsX 1600MHz 8GB (2x4GB)
GPU: Sapphire HD7850 2GB DDR5
PSU:Corsair TX650V2
Cabinet: CM Elite 431
HDD: WD Blue 500GB
Monitor

ell ST2320L
Optical Drive :Asus DRW-24B5ST
and one extra fan ..

total came exactly 70.5K

all components bought form local dealer..

Currently playing ..NFS Hot Pursuit ... game is running very smooth at the highest setting.. temp of all the components are below 45C..

can you please tell me how to measure FPS..so that I can post that too..

Congrats !!
For fps, use fraps.
If possible, post the individual prices for the components.

PS: If you have the time or if you can remember, check the front fan speed please. Or else do a fan test in the Asus AI Suite. PM me the max speed. TIA.

^^ Very very good config.

sexy psu have fun

Congrats Sudipta.... pics please..

sharang.d said:
sexy psu have fun

its a Medusa

S

price details-

CPU:I5 2500k - 12.3k
MB: asus p8z77m pro - 12.3k
Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Cooler - 2.2k
RAM: G.Skill RipjawsX 1600MHz 8GB (2x4GB) - 3.150k
GPU: Sapphire HD7850 2GB DDR5 - 15.2k
PSU:Corsair TX650V2 - 5.3k
Cabinet: CM Elite 431 - 3.1k
HDD: WD Blue 500GB - 3.4k
Monitorell ST2320L - 9.3k
Optical Drive :Asus DRW-24B5ST -0.975k
and one extra fan - 0.6k

will provide rest of the details soon..