Hi all. I just registered on this site to get advice for a new gaming computer. I will probably go to a lot of Forums to seek advice. My budget is $1,500, not a penny more (and if I can go cheaper I'd be happy to but I think I need it all for what I want)
I have already bought 2 items: Case, Fractal Design Arc Midi for $70 and Kingston HyperX T1 1600mhz ram (4gb x 4) for $44
So I have $1,386 left and I need everything expect a monitor and speakers Here are my thoughts:
CPU: i5-3570k
MoBo: some ASRock pro-4 or something (at the Microcenter near my house there is a $50 discount when you buy CPU/Mobo and so i can get these 2 things for like $270 after tax)
PSU: Seasonic Platinum 860 or 1000 (i don't want to cheap out on PSU; i want at least 80+ gold and i really like the seasonic's 7 year warranty. PSU is something I want to last for 7 years at least without having to think about it again)
GPU: GTX 670 or Radeon 7970
HDD: WD or Seagate either 1.5/2/3tb; would love to get 2 but will stick with one if I can't swing it
Keyboard: Logitech K800 (or K810 if it comes out soon AND is better than K800)
Mouse: Logitech MX Performance
OS: Windows 8 home 64bit
Optical: Need a blu-ray drive since this will replace my ps3
CPU Cooler: debating between Corsair H100, Noctua, Tuniq, Zalman, etc
So my thought was to skip the SSD. I have one on my current gaming laptop and it's nice but besides the quick boot up to windows, i'm not sure if it helps me a ton. The primary purpose for this HTPC is gaming on my bigscreen. It will also be used for Netflix streaming a lot and then some computer work.
Questions:
Will I see big improvement to my Steam gaming experience if I get a SSD for the OS? I already have 600gb of Steam games so I definitely cannot afford an SSD big enough for all the games i want.
What CPU cooler should i get, especially now since I went ahead and bought high profile ram (which i really didn't want to but $44 for 16gb was a ridiculous deal to me so i jumped)? I bought the Fractal arc midi partially for the great airflow and the fact that the H100 fits in it perfectly with no case modding needed. But i don't want to spend $100 on it if the cooling of the 212+ or Noctua U12p (both $30-$40) is basically the same.
Hard drives: Should i buy 2 and put them in Raid 1? (that's the advice of my IT friend at work so i have an immediate backup of everything). Should i buy 2 and put them in Raid 0 so i have improved performance? Should i just get one 3tb drive and save some money? (i definitely don't need all that space) Should i buy a 60gb SSD drive for the OS and then a big 3tb drive for Steam? I'm confused
Lastly, I have a like 6 year old Sony 50" SXRD DLP tv. It has 2 HDMI inputs and right now i run my ps3 into it via HDMI and also have a Receiver that controls 7 speakers. If i get one of the new MOBO's that has an HDMI port is it as simple as building my computer, running an HDMI cable from the mobo to the tv and then selecting the right input on my tv and WAHLAAA! Gaming on my TV?
Or will my tv try to downscale the picture and I need to upgrade to a newer tv to really have an HTPC? I know I probably need to go to the AVS forums for this one but thought I'd give it a shot here Oh and my tv model is the Sony SXRD A2020. Thanks!
I have already bought 2 items: Case, Fractal Design Arc Midi for $70 and Kingston HyperX T1 1600mhz ram (4gb x 4) for $44
So I have $1,386 left and I need everything expect a monitor and speakers Here are my thoughts:
CPU: i5-3570k
MoBo: some ASRock pro-4 or something (at the Microcenter near my house there is a $50 discount when you buy CPU/Mobo and so i can get these 2 things for like $270 after tax)
PSU: Seasonic Platinum 860 or 1000 (i don't want to cheap out on PSU; i want at least 80+ gold and i really like the seasonic's 7 year warranty. PSU is something I want to last for 7 years at least without having to think about it again)
GPU: GTX 670 or Radeon 7970
HDD: WD or Seagate either 1.5/2/3tb; would love to get 2 but will stick with one if I can't swing it
Keyboard: Logitech K800 (or K810 if it comes out soon AND is better than K800)
Mouse: Logitech MX Performance
OS: Windows 8 home 64bit
Optical: Need a blu-ray drive since this will replace my ps3
CPU Cooler: debating between Corsair H100, Noctua, Tuniq, Zalman, etc
So my thought was to skip the SSD. I have one on my current gaming laptop and it's nice but besides the quick boot up to windows, i'm not sure if it helps me a ton. The primary purpose for this HTPC is gaming on my bigscreen. It will also be used for Netflix streaming a lot and then some computer work.
Questions:
Will I see big improvement to my Steam gaming experience if I get a SSD for the OS? I already have 600gb of Steam games so I definitely cannot afford an SSD big enough for all the games i want.
What CPU cooler should i get, especially now since I went ahead and bought high profile ram (which i really didn't want to but $44 for 16gb was a ridiculous deal to me so i jumped)? I bought the Fractal arc midi partially for the great airflow and the fact that the H100 fits in it perfectly with no case modding needed. But i don't want to spend $100 on it if the cooling of the 212+ or Noctua U12p (both $30-$40) is basically the same.
Hard drives: Should i buy 2 and put them in Raid 1? (that's the advice of my IT friend at work so i have an immediate backup of everything). Should i buy 2 and put them in Raid 0 so i have improved performance? Should i just get one 3tb drive and save some money? (i definitely don't need all that space) Should i buy a 60gb SSD drive for the OS and then a big 3tb drive for Steam? I'm confused
Lastly, I have a like 6 year old Sony 50" SXRD DLP tv. It has 2 HDMI inputs and right now i run my ps3 into it via HDMI and also have a Receiver that controls 7 speakers. If i get one of the new MOBO's that has an HDMI port is it as simple as building my computer, running an HDMI cable from the mobo to the tv and then selecting the right input on my tv and WAHLAAA! Gaming on my TV?
Or will my tv try to downscale the picture and I need to upgrade to a newer tv to really have an HTPC? I know I probably need to go to the AVS forums for this one but thought I'd give it a shot here Oh and my tv model is the Sony SXRD A2020. Thanks!
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