My 2 small awesome gaming rigs

[xlilmissmjx]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

I'm building 2 computers, one for myself & my partner for the purpose of web, email, voip & gaming as we both enjoy playing multiplayer fps and racing games Games we would love to play are COD:MW2 & 3, Dirt 3, SC2, NFS (most current title), C&C 4 & BF:BC2. There could be others we wish to try out but we'll start with those for now We might even join a F@H team too since us girls love helping out for the greater cause.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

Around $3000 including taxes & shipping for both machines.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

Canada

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.

Corsair, Intel, WD, nVidia (eVGA)

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

No, all parts needed except for monitor, keyboard & mouse.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Yes.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

We are both open to exploring that avenue sometime.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Within a month

9. What resolution do you use?

1920 x1080 - Dell Ultrasharp U2311H, got it on special for $229

Here's a list of parts I've put together for you guys to review & make suggestions...

CASE: Silverstone TJ08B-E / Lian Li PC-A05FNB
PSU: Corsair TX650 V2
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 / Z68X-UD3H-B3
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K
COOLER: Cooler Master V6GT
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Black or Blue 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600MHz (colour dependent on mobo)
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 3
GPU: eVGA GeForce GTX570 1280MB
OPT: LG GH24LS70 DVD Writer
OS: MS Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit OEM

Our wants for this build are to have front panel power & reset buttons with 1 or 2 USB3 ports (with an internal mobo connector - NOT pass through) on a small case that looks sleek & professional since we aren't into cases that look like alien space ships or the like We love the look of Corsair's Obsidian line and also Silverstone & Lian Li's above mentioned cases if that gives you an idea of our preferred tastes.

We also want the mobo to have a USB3 header so we can use the said connector from the front of the case while also being able to have room for expansion cards like sound, tv tuner & maybe a 2nd graphics card too. I would love to get an ssd but my partner doesn't trust them so I was thinking of getting an OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS 120GB SATA 3 drive and replacing the GTX570's with 560Ti's instead so it could be done within budget, but is it a fair trade off?

Finally, we would also like to ask if there is any particular brand of thermal compound that you all prefer to use or will any suffice for the job?

We look forward to seeing what you all think and what possible changes we could make to improve the performance

[invisibleninja06]

for thermal compound i have always used Arctic Cooling MX-3 so you can go with that or the MX-4 but i know the 3rd one is great stuff, low temps, easy to apply.
I'll add up the parts and see what price it runs into and see if there's any changes i would make.

[invisibleninja06]

a quick look at both cases and i'd definitely choose the lian li because the cooling setup seems better imo.

[invisibleninja06]

for a cooler you may want to look at the NCIX.com - Buy Prolimatech Armageddon CPU Heatsink Cooler - Dual 140MM Fan Capable - LGA1156 LGA1155 LGA1366 - Prolimatech - Armageddon - in Canada
on sale as it is now its very cheap has free ground shipping and in reviews outperforms the v6gt under load, Prolimatech Armageddon CPU Cooler

the rest of your components seems sound to me as a word of advice i usually buy from ncix but i price match everything using shopbot, hope your 2 rigs perform flawlessly!

[ZZLEE]

SSD fore boot drive and use the WD fore storage and games ?

Edit: Looks like a buy to me NCIX.com - Buy Corsair Professional Series Gold AX850 CMPSU-850AX 850W ATX Fully Modular 80PLUS Gold Power Supply - Corsair - CMPSU-850AX - in Canada


Room to grow system :)

[supaflyx3]

Looks like a good system to me, if you're looking for a clean case, and within price range take a look at fractal design cases.

[JJThomp]

I don't recommend a reference GTX 570, they have problems with their PCB. If you want a GTX 570 it is highly recommended that you get one with a custom cooler/PCB.

Edit: if you are getting the reference make sure you pick up one with EVGA's lifetime warranty or even double lifetime warranty.

[xlilmissmjx]

Thanks for the help so far guys, it's much appreciated

I'm dropping the idea of the ssd for now and in it's place is going to be a sound card from Creative Labs (for both machines), so that means we'll be getting GTX560Ti's instead. I really like this one from eVGA ...

Newegg.ca - EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1567-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

I just have a question as to whether or not exhausts hot air out of the back or into the case as I'd prefer for it exhaust out of the case.

[JJThomp]

It is rear exhaust, kind of a give and take situation. Rear exhaust is typically louder but better for cooling (although it still dumps a fair amount of warm air into your case). I looked it up to know for sure but when I looked at the card I was fairly certain from the full shroud design and the vents on the back.

[xlilmissmjx]

Thanks JJThomp, it's great to know for sure that its rear exhausted :)

I wanted to see what you guys think about a build an international friend of mine suggested to me that was similar to what I posted in my original post within the same budget...

CASE: Silverstone TJ08B-E / Lian Li PC-A05FNB
PSU: Corsair TX650 V2
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 / GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K
COOLER: Cooler Master V6GT
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Black or Blue 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600MHz (colour dependent on mobo)
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
GPU: eVGA GeForce GTX560Ti 1GB
OPT: LG GH24LS70 DVD Writer
OS: MS Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit OEM

He said it would be better to get the i7-2600K with a mid ranged card and just get the sound card later on instead of getting the i5-2500K with a mid ranged card & sound card now. Would you guys agree to this since the onboard sound is much better these days and since I can always add in a sound card and maybe another 560Ti (dependent on case & mobo) later on?