Mid-range gaming computer specs

[ultrabiome]

I'm looking into purchasing a new gaming computer and am looking for advice.

I've done a little simulated computer building and found the following will probably suffice to play almost anything currently out there on max settings:

Processor ( Intel® Core? i5-3570K Processor (4x 3.40GHz/6MB L3 Cache) - Intel Core i5-3570K )
Processor will have liquid cooling.
Memory ( 8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - G.Skill Ripjaws X )
Video Card ( AMD Radeon HD 7850 - 2GB - Single Card )
Motherboard ( Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H -- 1x PCI-E 3.0 x16, 4x USB 3.0 or ASUS P8Z77-V LX)
Power Supply ( 700 Watt - Standard )
Primary Hard Drive ( 2 TB HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 7200rpm, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive )
Optical Drive ( 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black )
Sound Card ( ASUS Xonar DG )
Operating System ( Microsoft Windows 7 Professional - 64-bit )

I know that the differences from a gaming perspective between the i5 and i7 are miniscule. Are Intel processors that much better than AMD?
Any recommendations on the motherboard choices - I've heard both are good.
Is there any reason to get an NVidea card instead? (definitely in the 2GB range seems adequate)
Is that extra sound card worth it for someone most likely running stock speakers or through a TV?
How short term future proof is this setup?

FYI, I'm probably going to go through ibuypower.com for the build, as I probably can do it myself but would rather not make an expensive mistake.

 

[ultrabiome]

thanks for the help!

Due to the rapid rate that P.C.'s evolve, it's impossible to really future-proof your P.C. beyond a few years. But you should be able to play almost every game that comes out in the next 5 years, without a problem.
[sub]Notice I said "play" and not "run at highest settings"[/sub]

that's all i want. my last PC was a dell from 2004 that aside from a RAM and video card upgrade (to 512MB!) in 2010 i was able to play starcraft 2 and fallout 3 until it died recently, although at low settings.

budget is around ~$1100, although ~$100 or so of that will go into labor (prices from ibuypower.com, and they say that this setup should run all of their benchmark games at max, except BF3 which will run at ultra). desktop only, no peripherals. i could be convinced to throw in another ~$100 or two for the right reasons.

for the power supply, ibuypower said that card needs at least 650W, maybe the extra power is from the liquid cooling, not sure though.

for the case, no clue, just looking at price mainly (when a case says USB 3.0, i assume its for the front mounted ports...). the saved configs in my cart include a NZXT Guardian and a Chimera 4SE BTS - that one has a deal right now, but i'm not set on it.

i know that the video card is the main driver for graphics performance, i did notice that i got different performance values even between the different 2 GB cards, but the extra price in jumping to 3 GB and 4 GB cards seems steep (i know, its the way these things go). any recommendations for a better card that won't break my bank?

thanks again for the help!

 

[ultrabiome]

In terms of graphics card, you'd only need more than 1 GB if you're gaming at max settings in 1080p or at high settings in a higher resolution (like 2500x1600).

Before I could make a recommendation, I'd need to know roughly what you're spending on what. Just estimates to the nearest $10/20 would be fine. Then, I could give you a good choice for the graphics card. EDIT: I'll also need your monitor resolution.

I can't help you on the case, though. You're looking at stuff that's quite flash, and I only know about more modest, cheaper cases. You'd have to ask someone else there....

i plan on playing on a small monitor, probably my old 17" Dell CRT to begin and then getting a small 20-22" flatscreen monitor with 1080p resolution. (much cheaper to get through costco or somewhere local than the extra shipping). or i'll hook it up to my HD TV. which tells me that the card i have should be ok based on what you said above.

no worries on the case, everything on that website is flashy and i doubt i'll have any issues with it.

 

[ultrabiome]

$270 for the AMD Radeon HD 7850 - 2GB card from ibuypower, which is very similar to buying from Newegg.

 

[ultrabiome]

$270 for the AMD Radeon HD 7850 - 2GB card from ibuypower, which is very similar to buying from Newegg.

Well, seeing as you need to buy a card from that site, that looks fine. I can't find a better card for cheaper.

thanks for the sanity check. i'll look into the motherboard choices, but even from tom's hardware it doesn't seem like a big difference, at least from a gaming perspective and relative to where i was, i wouldn't be able to tell anyway.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Who the fuck needs a 2 terabyte HDD?

 

[triggahappyhaza]

Try to get a Gigabyte motherboard they seem to be best from my experience. Out of the hundreds I have used and built personally only 3 in the last 4 years have had problems out of the factory.

 

[madster11]

Go for a decent air heatsink and save the money from the water cooling.
Use it to ensure the power supply ISN'T 'standard'. Grab a nice Corsair one.
This is essential. Never cheap out on the PSU.

Next, remove the soundcard (the on-board audio is good enough, and if you're using the PC for audio you should grab a proper external DAC anyway) and use the money saved from that on getting a 7870.
Oh, almost forgot: Get a card with aftermarket cooling. Never use the ones with the standard AMD single fan approach. Go for a good MSI/Sapphire/whatever one with their own cooling on it. It'll be quieter and run cooler.

Windows 7 Professional instead of HP is a stupid idea - and paying for it is an even stupider one.
I will GIVE you a windows 7 home premium CD key if you really want it (a genuine one from one of my old laptops). Just torrent or borrow the disc. This will save, what, $100?


Finally, please build it yourself.
I'm not even kidding, it's incredibly easy to build a PC.
Do you have a phillips head screwdriver?
Can you use it?
Do you have a torch to help you read small writing?
If you have those things, you can build the PC. All you do is do up like 10 screws and plug a bunch of wires into very obvious spots that flat tell you where to plug. The hardest part is putting the cooler on the CPU, and providing you read the instructions it's very easy.

Overall, you should be able to save a good couple hundred bucks off that build and still end up with it being better.

Don't worry about water cooling with the Sandy/Ivybridge CPUs. I have my 2500k at 4.5ghz on air cooling with the fan speed set to '1' pretty much at all times and temps generally hover around 40 degrees in game.

Do explain how a 7850 is "fairly weak" compared to an i5.

[sub]This should be good[/sub]

I have a 2500k and a 6870.

Considering i've had my CPU up to 5.2ghz and run it at 4.5ghz at all other times, my 6870 is very easily the bottleneck. The same situation will occur with OPs build.
While my GPU is maxxing out, my i5 is sitting there bored out of it's bloody mind. And that's not even an ivy.

A GTX680 is a bottleneck for an overclocked i5. A 7850 sure as shit will be.