Gaming PC

[Jake.]

Hi, Canucks!

I'm very new to this whole PC building business, and I live in a remote community. So I obviously need access to talented people who can give me the best bang for my buck when building a gaming PC. So without further ado, let's get started.

Case: Corsair 600T (White)
MOBO: Unknown
SSD: 2x Corsair Force GT 120GB SSD
RAM: Corsair 16GB (2x8GB)
GPU: Unknown, something good. :)
Data Drive(HDD): Something big, for media storage.
PSU: 750w Corsair

And then the other things, I don't really know what I need. I have only ever really bought pre-fab PCs. I currently use a Gateway and I really really really need an upgrade before Guild Wars 2 comes out.

So any help would be appreciated. I just really need a clear list of "buy this" items so I can order them.

[Rasparthe]

I would recommend a 2500k for your CPU, seems about the best bang for buck right now. Also any reason why 2x SSD? RAID? You might want to lay out what your budget is as well, helps with people picking components for you.

[Dzzope]

Resolution you play at? budget? planned use?

[Jake.]

1920x 1080, 1250-1750, Gaming. And yes, RAID, I'd heard it makes SSDs faster and boot times shorter.

EDIT: Sorry, didn't realize how sparse my initial details were.

[Dzzope]

First, love the case..

Second do you have the SSD's or planning on buying them?

my suggestion would be a
z77 Board
intel i5 3570k
GTX 670 (when released on the 10th)
8GB ram
CM 212 cooler
Seasonic, xfx, antec, corsair PSU (all seasonic built ones).. 650 watt for a single card and 850 if you plan to ever do SLI... Not that a 670 will need SLI for quite some time at your resolution..
Something like a WD green for a storage drive (you choose how much you need, suggest 1 TB)
a 120 - 256GB SSD for boot and programs/games if you want one.. Other than load times there is little difference here


That *Should* come in within your budget and last you a few years at least before you even think about any kind of upgrade.., (probably GPU in about 3 yrs or so)

[Jake.]

I don't have the SSDs, I just picked something I liked, so they could be interchangable based on need/price. I just want an SSD big enough for gaming (serveral games) and Windows 7

[Dzzope]

Really the price is better spent on a bigger GPU... I would trade my ssd back for a gpu upgrade in a heartbeat..
Load time of games isn't worth as much to me as image quality and smoothness of gameplay though... It may be worth it to you..

I have a 120GB SSD and have windows, all my apps and a few LARGE games that have it at 20GB free at the moment.
(wow, MW3, TF2, L4D2)

[Adzsask]

2500K, 16GB g. skill 1600MHz RAM(make sure it is 1.5 volt), asus z68 motherboard, or the new z77(not really needed), a good GPU would be Nvidia 570/580/(670out soon), or 680(500$), Corsair/Seasonic/XFX 750/850 watt power supply,big storage drive WD caviar black 2TB, or seagate barracuda 2TB. Windows 7 64 bit(for more then 16GB of RAM you need pro), an aftermarket cooler if you are overclocking coolermaster hyper 212+ is a good and cheap air cooler, closed loop coolers are better cooling, you have room to fit a corsair h100 in the case if you chose to do a larger overclock on your processor. Most online retailers will build and test your machine for a small fee, then you do not have to worry about problems with your new machine.

[Dzzope]

2500k and a closed loop cooler if your going to be pushing for higher levels of overclock..
I suggest the Ivy as I doubt you'll need or want anything over a standard overclock.. (should have lower power usage and heat at a more common oc point (4.5GHZ ish)

The hdd, well is up to what the user needs.. Pick your own size.. The greens are slower and cheaper than the blacks..
but as your planning on an ssd for your boot/games/apps then it doesn't matter.. If you drop the SSD then go for a WD black or barracuda as said above.

The ram, you don't need 16GB for your usage... I have 6 GB and NEVER have seen it above 5GB used.. You can always add more later if you see it using 7GB or so..