The Enigma Order

Lamme · 2012-01-14 00:47:02

What would be the components of a state of art, yet not expensive for the sake of it, pc gaming machine? I mean, if something is 1% faster but two times more expensive, then thanks, but no thanks, but at the same time no economizing on components neither.

I understand that healing is essential for such a computer, but at the same time it would be great if it was quiet.

Also, am I right thinking that Windows 7 is the most reasonable (least bad?) operating system?

Baqa · 2012-01-14 13:17:59

I'd go for a GeForce Graphics card. Especially for newer games. Usually a bit more expensive than their counterpart, but more stable, a.i few bugs for new games.
If you go for a Geforce card it's a general thumb rule that you also pair it with an intel cpu. I'd recommend the quad-core i7 (K version for easy o'clocking).
That specific CPU generates a lot of heat, which will be a non issue if you dont 'O'clock, though it would be stupid not to unlock its full potential. To counter the heat, you go for an external cpu fan.
I can recommend any Noctura cpu coolers.
Noctura coolers are usually big, so make sure you go for a big tower. If you want silence combined with good airflow, aka cooling, go for either thermaltake towers, or coolermaster towers (Make sure its listed as "Big Tower".
any motherboards that supports the cpu socket, and that supports SLI would suffice, though try to get a motherboard that also supports atleast 1600mhz ram bricks.
Which brings me to the ram. Corsair Dominator ram is very nicely paired with the intel cpu. 8GB sticks should be enough. better to get 8GB of 1600mhz(frequency) sticks, than 16BG of 1300mhz sticks.

and yes, win7 is the only way to go, seing vista sucks and xp doesnt support DX11.

ps: If you want to be smart, you go for 2x GF 560 Ti cards. I personally like Evga, since they have a really nice O'clocking program, but any would suffice. 2x middle-cost cards are cheaper than 1 high end, and performs equally, or better, as long as your PSU (powersupplyunit) is stronk enough. anything less than 800W is in my opinion, too weak. Beisides, if you want to upgrade further as time goes by, a stronk PSU is something you wont ever swap out (make sure it a silent type though, as it is what generates most of the noise).

Kisses.
Frewt.

Wrion · 2012-01-14 15:29:34

Baqa wrote:
ps: If you want to be smart, you go for 2x GF 560 Ti cards. I personally like Evga, since they have a really nice O'clocking program, but any would suffice. 2x middle-cost cards are cheaper than 1 high end, and performs equally, or better, as long as your PSU (powersupplyunit) is stronk enough. anything less than 800W is in my opinion, too weak. Beisides, if you want to upgrade further as time goes by, a stronk PSU is something you wont ever swap out (make sure it a silent type though, as it is what generates most of the noise).

Kisses.
Frewt.

I'd say it's smarter to go one 580 and buy another when you need an upgrade.

Lamme · 2012-01-14 17:01:12

Appriciate the input so far, I wonder if Qurrai and Creasehearst will have something to add.

Frewt, could you make me a nice little list of the parts you mentioned like - motherboard: xxx, cpu: xxx etc. I'm no good with those things.

Dancemonkey · 2012-01-14 17:56:58

i know computers usually have a screen. That's my input right there

Baqa · 2012-01-14 19:12:15

List:
Tower:
- Antec Dark Fleet DF-85 Big Black Tower.
- Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced Big Tower.
Reasoning: Both are Big Towers, with good airflow, low noise, and priced about the same. HAF 932 got bigger fans, which makes it a bit more noise, but also enhances airflow.

Motherboard:
- Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4, Socket-1155.
- ASUS P8P67 EVO B3, Socket-1155.
Reasoning: Both support whats needed, they are both of the second newest brickset, and are priced about the same. I personally feel more comfortable with Gigabyte cards, but Asus got some mean cards as well. I've tried both brands, but I feel that Gigabyte got more backup when it comes to softwares, especially O'cing programs. The Gigabyte card also supports 2133 mhz, which is the next leap in RAM frequancy, though those chips are expensive as hell.

CPU:
- Intel® Core i7-2600K Processor.
Reasoning: It's the best out there, except the hex-versions ofc (though they are way over your pricetags). the i7 and i5 series got Hyperthreading tec, which makes the cores co-operate faster, enhancing respond time. It's a lot better for gaming, though if you want to tag in and out of programs you'd be better off with an AMD hex-core cpu.

CPU cooler:
- Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler.
Reasoning: Supports all current cpu sockets, and is ranked as one of the best "non-water" coolers. It also beat cheap watercooling systems. I got it my self, and the thing is huge. It reduced my i5 quad cpu, overclocked to 4Ghz, from 2.7, temperature by about 40 degrees (it's insane idd).

RAM:
- Corsair Dominator DHX DDR3 1600MHz.
Reasoning: Like I said, 8 GB would suffice, though for future gaming, 12 wouldn't hurt. The Dominator chips are made specially to support i3-5-7 CPU's. They are also easily O'clocked.

PSU:
- Chieftec Nitro Series BPS-850C 850W PSU.
- Cooler Master Silent Pro M1000 1000W.
Reasoning: One is more expensive, they got about the same noise levels, though CM's PSU is also more powerful. Whatever suits your pocket.

I could go on here, about HDD or SSD, monitors, dvd-rw's, BR-rw's etcetc. Cba listing em up!
Personally don't feel that SSD are worth the pricetag, even if they are cheaper now. It's a waste of cash, that could otherwise be used to get better pc parts. Get a black disk instead, or a raptor, and your games will perform equally, unless you use 500 euros on a SSD ofc.
Get a cheap DVD-RW, shouldn't be more than 30 euros, and as of monitors, you would probably need one with 2ms respond time, and from there on, go either LED or LCD (not really brainsurgery).

cheers.

Qurrai · 2012-01-14 19:56:13

I'd say going for a single card, either 570 or the 580. No one knows for sure yet if WoW likes SLI or not. Also, don't pick a card with a standard fan, take something like the asus GTX 580 Direct CUII or the MSI GeForce GTX 570/580 with a twin frozr III. For the PSU's I'm a fan of the ones corsair makes, though chieftec works as well. For motherboards it's probably best to pick something that is using the Z68 chipset (the gigabyte that frewt said as an example).

For towers I really liked haf X, but haf 932 should be about as good and a bit cheaper. Unlike frewt tho I'd say a SSD is nice, but depends on how much you can spend on this machine, minimum 120 GB imo. And whatever memory you choose, make sure you can remove their heatsinks. Also, go with 2 dimms (2 memory sticks), don't load it up with the maximum of four IF you want to overclock the CPU, things can easier go wrong that way. CPU should be I7 2600K, don't cheap out on that.

CPU cooler, the one that frewt said if you choose a big enough tower. If you dont need blu-ray, pick the cheapest DVD thing you can find, I used 20 euros on my DVD thing. For monitors, one thing you should know is that the cheaper you go, the colour depth will just get worse and worse, up to you to decide. Can recommend the BenQ 23,6" LED XL2420T.

Rhade · 2012-01-14 23:49:23

rich ppl and money wasting...
2600 is a quad core like 2500, just with HT. which u dont need in gaming. K proceesors have the multiplier unlocked, and are for overclockers. but u can OC classically a non-k processor up to 4ghz and more on a potent motherboard.

as motherboard... at same price, asrock beats everything else. but it only has 2 years warranity instead of 3 like the rest of manufacturers. dont look back, when asrock was the low budged division of asus, things changed alot. i was reticent but ended up with an asrock mobo. z68 extreme 3 is very good 4 its money.

chieftec makes decent psu-s but not extraordinary. mostly their psus are made by sirtec/cwt, only few are made by delta electronics and they are old models, with medium power and medium efficiency. go 4 a psu made by seasonic or delta. there are other good manufacturers but usually with low models 2, u risk getting a mediocre psu if u dont know what to buy and only took at the brand. corsair has good oems, including many seasonic platforms, problem is they tend to go with some cheaper parts than the original models they copy. so my recommendations: seasonic X series (gold efficiency, one of the best platforms atm, 660w(lowest) is enogh) or seasonic platinum series. u can also buy an antec vp 550, made by delta, which can pull out more than 650w, not that u need that much and being best psu under 100euro., it will keep your configuration overclocked with np and saves u some money.

as gpu...gtx 560ti can run wow with ultra settings. go 4 asus direct cu2, msi have higher OC factory made having some problems with chips (not because of their fault, simply nvidia's new generations of chips are weaker) and gigabyte gpus latelly having increased number with coil noise. if u want to spend more money, amd 7970 is kciking gtx 580 and it consumes lower and is cooler than gtx 580 due to fabrication proces (28nm amd vs 40nm of gtx 580). nvidia launces its 28nm manufactured models in april.

cpu cooler. for non extreme OC, some cooler like thermalright tr2 macho is more than enough, it will keep your cpu at 4.5ghz with np. and u dont want to spand twice tits price 4 a thermalright silver arrow or noctua nd-14 which would keep your cpu 3 degrees cooler.

case...haf cases are anything but quiet. once it gets a little dust, it will become noisy. if u want a full tower, cooler master cosmos II is a new model very appreciated both 4 design and effectiveness. if u like alienware-like cases, aerocool xpredator. if u like classic and quiet case, go 4 fractal design define r3.

4 ssd go 4 corsair performance pro if u can. intel ssds have lowest rma rate but they are a bit slower. avoid ocz by any means 4 this time, most of them having firmware problems. 60gb is enough, even 40 gb is ok 4 operating system and programs. u could buy some big ssd, like 120-128 gb and install games on it but it wont help u much. your game loads fast etc then u have to w8 4 the rest of 24 ppl to have it loaded aswell

hdd: samsung f4/f3

there, i saved over 500 euro 4 u
now gimme booze

Lydo · 2012-01-15 00:00:39

I paid 1k euro 3 years ago for a pretty "OK" gaming computer. It still runs new games smoothly enough to enjoy them. The computer was assembled by a professional store which specializes in building gaming computers. Pick good parts and you can get a good computer with cheap price, too.

For me its perfectly enough and I dont see a reason to pay 2k-4k euros for anything better.

This is my input

Last edited by Lydo (2012-01-15 00:01:36)

Qurrai · 2012-01-15 13:57:39

no tuner you can't overclock a non-k CPU that is using the sandy bridge technology, it just doesn't like going above the base frequency of 100 mhz. And I think the cosmos 2 is great indeed, but for performance it's maybe 1% better at the double the cost of a haf 932, as I dont think he will be doing custom watercooling.

Rhade · 2012-01-15 15:00:20

u are wrong
check out this pic, will help

non-k sb have the multiplier blocked at stock +4 and a turbo boost up to 400 mhz.
so u can have it running at 4.1ghz with only 1 active core or 3.8 ghz will all cores enabled.
alternativelly, u can do a small oc from increasing blck clock from 100 to up to 105, keeping multiplier blocked.

as 4 case...prices differ in our countries. in romania a haf 912 is 100 euro, up from $55 in US for instance. haf 932 is a little more than 200 euro and cosmos II pre order is 270 euro ish. all is about inporters, distributors, vendors, promotions and marketing.

Last edited by Rhade (2012-01-15 15:03:01)

Baqa · 2012-01-15 15:43:49

Buy it online GAAAD.

Qurrai · 2012-01-16 02:25:46

400 mhz, omg! the fps increase! more bang for the buck to go with a K version, either that being 2500 or 2600. if anyone knows what WoW likes it would be great to know btw (in terms of performance/connection/etc)

Last edited by Qurrai (2012-01-16 15:55:24)

Kelthalas · 2012-01-21 18:42:59

my two cents

tower: Antec Eleven Hundred (review: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Ante … n_Hundred/)
PSU: Corsair Gold AX850
motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4
cpu: intel i5 2500K (no reason to buy bigger. not worth performance/price)
cpu cooler: Noctua NH-D14
ram: Kingston Hyperx KHX1600C9D3K4/16GX (performing great in reviews and price is good)
graphics: GeForce GTX 590 / 2 x Radeon HD 6950 2 GB in CrossFire (Based on personal preference and this Tom's Hardware - Benchmark Comparison)
system ssd: Samsung 830 SSD 128 GB / 256GB (size depending on needs)

storage disks: Samsung Spinpoint F4EG HD204UI 2 TB / WD Caviar Green WD20EARX 2 TB / WD Caviar Green WD30EZRX 3 TB (depending on needs and personal preference)

The above (excluding storage disks) would roughly add up to around 1900 euro with the more expensive Nvidia and 256gb ssd option or approx 1500 euro with the 6950 CF and 128gb ssd option.
EDIT: (danish price level)

Last edited by Kelthalas (2012-01-21 18:45:36)

Baqa · 2012-01-21 19:17:35

yo khel<3

I don't think lamme would need an above 1200 euros computer (norwegian pricing) if he mainly play's WoW.
Even if he want's to play the newer games, like skyrim, bladibladi, it would do great with a computer priced 1000-1200 euros, heck even new games to come.
I don't think a SSD is needed, it mainly affects load, and little to non on performance.
580 tech card would be great ofc, but it's expensive, and would blow the pudget, hence a 560 ti card would suffice, it runs every game on ultra, and its cheap as well. He could opt for a 570 tech card, which wouldn't cost too much, and still get a boost of its nice buffersize, which would be better. Besides they are usually clockable to atleat 15%, which would make up for the lower standard clocks.

i7 is still the way to go. It's by far the best cpu for gaming at those pricings. currently the 2600k version is like 20 euros more expensive than the 2500k, which makes the choice obvious. I got an i5 760 myself, and its good too. It does about the same, but requires a REAL cpu cooler, like the noctua one. i5 in general has less heat generation than i7, but you gotta makes sure you keep your computer perfectly cooled for it to live more than 2 years. Meaning a good tower, and good cpu cooling. i5 is also clockable to 4.something GHz,but its the hyperthreading you really want, which it got.

Last edited by Baqa (2012-01-21 19:18:02)

Kelthalas · 2012-01-21 22:28:03

hey baqa

the price diff on the 2500k and 2600k is that low in norway? it's about 100€ difference here ;A; and from what i've seen in benchmarks the diff isn't worth it. sure it owns the i5 but +100€ is imo not worth some 15% more fps. HT is also more useful for more heavy applications such as Adobe Premiere or Photoshop. between the i5-2500k and the i7-2600k the performance diff just (in my opinion) doesn't merit the price tag.

regarding graphics, sure, there's some money to be saved in getting just a single 560 Ti but I wouldn't trust it to handle all the upcoming 2012 titles on Ultra settings at 1920x1080 with ease. Personally, I'd wait with buying a graphics card no matter what since AMD just launched the 7xxx series and Nvidia is launching their 600 series in April. I see price drops incoming, which is good news for all of us

An SSD is not NEEEDED for wow, but personally find one extremely "nice to have". Uber fast boot time and launch time for applications. Also, with WoW being WoW and all the small loads for instances and such, I'd still say a SDD is a must for a "state of the art" gaming pc. Besides, they're finally within reach financially.

Last edited by Kelthalas (2012-01-21 22:28:29)

Lamme · 2012-01-31 18:16:05

I've been offered the following sets by the few shops I asked around at. I realize this might be a little below the standard you guys considered, but given the budget limits, this level is more what I'm interested in. Let me know what you think about the configurations, in particular whether either is significantly better than the others:

Motherboard: Gigabyte P61 USB 3
Processor: i5 2500k
RAM: 2x4 DDR3 Kingstone
Grapich card: Gigabyte GTX560
Case: Aerocol +700 OC2
SATA hard drive

TOTAL: 1k euro

Motherboard: Asus hyper 212 EUO
Processor: i7 2600k
RAM: 8BG 1600MHz Kingstone
Grapich card: GTX570
Case: Corsair 400r
Power unit: OCZ 750 ZT
SSD hard drive

TOTAL: 1.5k euro

Motherboard: Gigabyte P67A-D3-B3
Processor: i 2500k BOX COREI 5
RAM: 2x4GB 1600Mhz XMP
Grapich card: GTX570 GTX nVidia
Case: Fractal R3 define black USB 3
SSD hard drive

TOTAL: 1,2k euro

Motherboard: Gigabyte 970A-D3
Processor: AMD FX 8129 8 core BOX
RAM: 2x4GB 1333 DDR3 Kingstone
Grapich card: AMD Radeon HD6950 2GB
Case: Fractal R3 Define Black
Power unit: XFX Core 550
SSD hard drive

TOTAL: 1.1k euro

Where something is missing (like the power unit in the first set), it's included in the price, but I just have the details written down. Typos is me being stupid. I also decided to go for a SSD hard drive, just to check it out.

Dejavu · 2012-02-01 03:57:03

Motherboard: Asus hyper 212 EUO
Processor: i7 2600k
RAM: 8BG 1600MHz Kingstone
Grapich card: GTX570
Case: Corsair 400r
Power unit: OCZ 750 ZT
SSD hard drive

you should wipe out the price, but I would go for this one.

Edit: the ram is 2x4 right?

Also the 750W is good to have if u want to add some thing else in the future.

Last edited by Dejavu (2012-02-01 03:59:02)

Baqa · 2012-02-01 20:55:17

Id say thats overpriced, but thats probably because I build it myself, and save around 200 euros on that.

Qurrai · 2012-02-02 14:28:05

I'd go for the second one with the 2600K, but I've never heard or seen that motherboard

Kelthalas · 2012-02-02 16:34:53

I'd prolly go with the i7 offer as well, tho it does sound a bit pricy like baqa says. One really nice thing about the OCZ 750 ZT PSU is that it's completely modular..

Qurrai: When googleing "hyper 212 EUO" it suggests "hyper 212 EVO" which is a CPU cooler..

Also... is it the same SSD that's being offered in all the packages? and what SSD is it?

Last edited by Kelthalas (2012-02-02 16:36:25)

Baqa · 2012-02-02 20:13:00

But srsly though. If you want the most for the cash you should drop the SSD and pick a better psu/CPU/motherboard or even GFX. Thats just my 2 cents.

Apox · 2012-02-02 22:00:40

Yeah SSD is just quality of life. Decreases loading times, but if you want good framerates, you need a good graphics card.
Also, I would stay away from AMD CPU's for gaming at the time, they just can't compete with intel at the moment, sadly...

That's even a 8 core CPU, higher clocked aswell and it still lags behind in most gaming tests (guess they can't take advantage of the extra cores)

Baqa wrote:
I'd go for a GeForce Graphics card. Especially for newer games. Usually a bit more expensive than their counterpart, but more stable, a.i few bugs for new games.
If you go for a Geforce card it's a general thumb rule that you also pair it with an intel cpu.

And these 2 statements were perhaps true like 10 years ago, but today, you can chose any GFX card you want, and they'll be stable, and you can pair them with any CPU of your liking.

Personally I just went from a Geforce 550ti to a Radeon 7970, and alot of graphic bugs in Crysis and Skyrim just went away, so it goes both ways.

Qurrai · 2012-02-02 23:09:21

close to 120 fps? wtf? pixel quality settings or what? --- but ye agree, amd sucks for gaming with their CPU's

Last edited by Qurrai (2012-02-02 23:09:53)

Apox · 2012-02-02 23:12:53

I have almost 120fps with my 7970 at max settings, so I guess it wouldn't be a problem in a multiple GPU computer.
Now the thing is that you might not see any difference between 77 and 120fps as in that comparison, but it still proves that the AMD CPU is a bit less powerful.

The Enigma Order

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#1 2012-01-14 00:47:02

State of art gaming computer

#2 2012-01-14 13:17:59

Re: State of art gaming computer

#3 2012-01-14 15:29:34

Re: State of art gaming computer

Baqa wrote:

#4 2012-01-14 17:01:12

Re: State of art gaming computer

#5 2012-01-14 17:56:58

Re: State of art gaming computer

#6 2012-01-14 19:12:15

Re: State of art gaming computer

#7 2012-01-14 19:56:13

Re: State of art gaming computer

#8 2012-01-14 23:49:23

Re: State of art gaming computer

#9 2012-01-15 00:00:39

Re: State of art gaming computer

#10 2012-01-15 13:57:39

Re: State of art gaming computer

#11 2012-01-15 15:00:20

Re: State of art gaming computer

#12 2012-01-15 15:43:49

Re: State of art gaming computer

#13 2012-01-16 02:25:46

Re: State of art gaming computer

#14 2012-01-21 18:42:59

Re: State of art gaming computer

#15 2012-01-21 19:17:35

Re: State of art gaming computer

#16 2012-01-21 22:28:03

Re: State of art gaming computer

#17 2012-01-31 18:16:05

Re: State of art gaming computer

#18 2012-02-01 03:57:03

Re: State of art gaming computer

#19 2012-02-01 20:55:17

Re: State of art gaming computer

#20 2012-02-02 14:28:05

Re: State of art gaming computer

#21 2012-02-02 16:34:53

Re: State of art gaming computer

#22 2012-02-02 20:13:00

Re: State of art gaming computer

#23 2012-02-02 22:00:40

Re: State of art gaming computer

Baqa wrote:

#24 2012-02-02 23:09:21

Re: State of art gaming computer

#25 2012-02-02 23:12:53

Re: State of art gaming computer

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