My gaming setup. Is it a beast?

For the past year I have been trying to work out what kind of hardware to get for a brand new PC such as GPUs,Motherboards etc. I have been told that my setup(which I have not yet purchased) should be a beast of a gaming system. Here is a list of hardware that the PC shop has suggested.

I7-960 3.2Ghz

GA-X58-UD5 - Gigabyte

6Gb 2000Mhz DDR3 RAM

1TB SATA 3 HDD

750w 80 plus power supply

Aero cool VX-E Pro gaming case

Win 7 Home Premium 64-BIT OEM

Microsoft Media Desktop 3000 Keyboard amd mouse

2Gb ATI HD 5970

This setup is available to me for $1299 AUD which is $400 off of the retail price for this system which is $1700.

So is it as good as I have been told?

If you had made this list a year or so ago, I would say yes. But now, both the CPU and GPU are dated and no longer a good choice.

Instead of 1336 setup, go with 1155 Sandy Bridge.

2500K + 1155 motherboard + 4/8GB RAM.

Instead of 5970, AMD 6970 or nVIDIA GTX 570.


Also... That case.... Just the name looks trashy, I almost threw up when I googled it, it's ricer trash.

Get a nice case, like something from the HAF line.



Exactly what PSU and HDD were you going to use?



As for M/KB. I have that pair, it's good, and I quite like it, but it's not the best for gaming.

The way they did the F-Keys is quite confusing and really let it down. Instead of putting F# on the key, the put a symbol for a secondary function on the key and above the key they have F# written in blue, which is almost impossible to see against the black.

If you had made this list a year or so ago, I would say yes. But now, both the CPU and GPU are dated and no longer a good choice.

Instead of 1336 setup, go with 1155 Sandy Bridge.

2500K + 1155 motherboard + 4/8GB RAM.

Instead of 5970, AMD 6970 or nVIDIA GTX 570.


Also... That case.... Just the name looks trashy, I almost threw up when I googled it, it's ricer trash.

Get a nice case, like something from the HAF line.



Exactly what PSU and HDD were you going to use?



As for M/KB. I have that pair, it's good, and I quite like it, but it's not the best for gaming.

The way they did the F-Keys is quite confusing and really let it down. Instead of putting F# on the key, the put a symbol for a secondary function on the key and above the key they have F# written in blue, which is almost impossible to see against the black.

C_Rule

Well to be fair, a 5970 and pretty much any LGA1336 ain't THAT bad, as a matter of fact, it should keep him up to date for at least another two years if not more.

I pretty much agree with what C_Rule said, get a SB and 2500k.

[QUOTE="C_Rule"]

If you had made this list a year or so ago, I would say yes. But now, both the CPU and GPU are dated and no longer a good choice.

Instead of 1336 setup, go with 1155 Sandy Bridge.

2500K + 1155 motherboard + 4/8GB RAM.

Instead of 5970, AMD 6970 or nVIDIA GTX 570.


Also... That case.... Just the name looks trashy, I almost threw up when I googled it, it's ricer trash.

Get a nice case, like something from the HAF line.



Exactly what PSU and HDD were you going to use?



As for M/KB. I have that pair, it's good, and I quite like it, but it's not the best for gaming.

The way they did the F-Keys is quite confusing and really let it down. Instead of putting F# on the key, the put a symbol for a secondary function on the key and above the key they have F# written in blue, which is almost impossible to see against the black.

DoomZaW

Well to be fair, a 5970 and pretty much any LGA1336 ain't THAT bad, as a matter of fact, it should keep him up to date for at least another two years if not more.

While I agree with the CPU not being the best choice for the price... I have to say that recommending a 6970/570 over a 5970 isn't as good advise as you may think. A HD 5970 is on the same performance level as a GTX 580 and in some games faster.Grey_Eyed_Elf

[QUOTE="Grey_Eyed_Elf"]While I agree with the CPU not being the best choice for the price... I have to say that recommending a 6970/570 over a 5970 isn't as good advise as you may think. A HD 5970 is on the same performance level as a GTX 580 and in some games faster.C_Rule

its still a beast

If you want a beast you NEED a 2500k!

I'm not a fan of the Aerocool PC cases. They're flashy with no substance. I'd suggest HAF 922, 932, or HAF-X. At least Antec or Thermaltake Armor+.Elann2008

[QUOTE="C_Rule"][QUOTE="Grey_Eyed_Elf"]While I agree with the CPU not being the best choice for the price... I have to say that recommending a 6970/570 over a 5970 isn't as good advise as you may think. A HD 5970 is on the same performance level as a GTX 580 and in some games faster.Grey_Eyed_Elf

I agree. For the price that rig is a great deal.

If you want a beast you NEED a 2500k!

Daytona_178

naoooo you needs the 2600k!

[QUOTE="Daytona_178"]

If you want a beast you NEED a 2500k!

ionusX

naoooo you needs the 2600k!

Better off going with the 2500K. 2600K is $110 more and doesn't offer much more performance (in games).

I like the look of the Antec 902, I'm sure the PC guy had one at his shop. But I also like the HAF-X :/Vaultboy-101

What are your opinions on the i7 970?Vaultboy-101

[QUOTE="Vaultboy-101"]What are your opinions on the i7 970?C_Rule

I want the PC mainly for gaming but the guy that owns the PC store told me that the 960 is better for gaming and that the X58 would beat the sandy bridge, all of my research has suggested the opposite though, has the guy got his facts around the wrong way?Vaultboy-101

I want the PC mainly for gaming but the guy that owns the PC store told me that the 960 is better for gaming and that the X58 would beat the sandy bridge, all of my research has suggested the opposite though, has the guy got his facts around the wrong way?Vaultboy-101

I just need to find some official proof on the Intel site maybe? That could convince him that the 2500 is better than a 960. Also he believes the X58 is a high end dedicated gaming tech and that a sandy bridge wouldn't beat it. I agree with you guys but how can I argue with someone that's meant to be a PC expert?Vaultboy-101

Point him to any benchmarking site and there's your proof.

I just need to find some official proof on the Intel site maybe? That could convince him that the 2500 is better than a 960. Also he believes the X58 is a high end dedicated gaming tech and that a sandy bridge wouldn't beat it. I agree with you guys but how can I argue with someone that's meant to be a PC expert?Vaultboy-101

Your friend at the PC shop reminds me of a guy at a shop I walked into one time. It was before I got my GTX 460, I went into this shop to ask their price on a 460. After quoting a price that was $50 more than my local shop, this guy then proceeded to breath AMD down my neck, for about 5 minutes.

I can't remember which card it was, but he was claiming it was so much better than the 460, when I already knew it wasn't and also knew the 460 had a lot of overclocking potential, which the other card did not.

I was so relieved when he finally stopped...

Your friend at the PC shop reminds me of a guy at a shop I walked into one time. It was before I got my GTX 460, I went into this shop to ask their price on a 460. After quoting a price that was $50 more than my local shop, this guy then proceeded to breath AMD down my neck, for about 5 minutes.

I can't remember which card it was, but he was claiming it was so much better than the 460, when I already knew it wasn't and also knew the 460 had a lot of overclocking potential, which the other card did not.

I was so relieved when he finally stopped...

C_Rule

lol, fake stories ftw, something like that has never happened to me before

[QUOTE="C_Rule"]

Your friend at the PC shop reminds me of a guy at a shop I walked into one time. It was before I got my GTX 460, I went into this shop to ask their price on a 460. After quoting a price that was $50 more than my local shop, this guy then proceeded to breath AMD down my neck, for about 5 minutes.

I can't remember which card it was, but he was claiming it was so much better than the 460, when I already knew it wasn't and also knew the 460 had a lot of overclocking potential, which the other card did not.

I was so relieved when he finally stopped...

blaznwiipspman1

lol, fake stories ftw, something like that has never happened to me before

Definitely going with that setup regardless of what the PC guy says. Also what are your thoughts on the ASUS Maximus IV extreme motherboard?Vaultboy-101

[QUOTE="Vaultboy-101"]Definitely going with that setup regardless of what the PC guy says. Also what are your thoughts on the ASUS Maximus IV extreme motherboard?Daytona_178

If you had made this list a year or so ago, I would say yes. But now, both the CPU and GPU are dated and no longer a good choice.

Instead of 1336 setup, go with 1155 Sandy Bridge.

2500K + 1155 motherboard + 4/8GB RAM.

Instead of 5970, AMD 6970 or nVIDIA GTX 570.


Also... That case.... Just the name looks trashy, I almost threw up when I googled it, it's ricer trash.

Get a nice case, like something from the HAF line.



Exactly what PSU and HDD were you going to use?



As for M/KB. I have that pair, it's good, and I quite like it, but it's not the best for gaming.

The way they did the F-Keys is quite confusing and really let it down. Instead of putting F# on the key, the put a symbol for a secondary function on the key and above the key they have F# written in blue, which is almost impossible to see against the black.

C_Rule

Pretty much what he said..

[QUOTE="C_Rule"]

Your friend at the PC shop reminds me of a guy at a shop I walked into one time. It was before I got my GTX 460, I went into this shop to ask their price on a 460. After quoting a price that was $50 more than my local shop, this guy then proceeded to breath AMD down my neck, for about 5 minutes.

I can't remember which card it was, but he was claiming it was so much better than the 460, when I already knew it wasn't and also knew the 460 had a lot of overclocking potential, which the other card did not.

I was so relieved when he finally stopped...

blaznwiipspman1

lol, fake stories ftw, something like that has never happened to me before

Your friend at the PC shop reminds me of a guy at a shop I walked into one time. It was before I got my GTX 460, I went into this shop to ask their price on a 460. After quoting a price that was $50 more than my local shop, this guy then proceeded to breath AMD down my neck, for about 5 minutes.

I can't remember which card it was, but he was claiming it was so much better than the 460, when I already knew it wasn't and also knew the 460 had a lot of overclocking potential, which the other card did not.

I was so relieved when he finally stopped...

C_Rule

Better off going with the 2500K. 2600K is $110 more and doesn't offer much more performance (in games).

C_Rule

[QUOTE="Daytona_178"][QUOTE="Vaultboy-101"]Definitely going with that setup regardless of what the PC guy says. Also what are your thoughts on the ASUS Maximus IV extreme motherboard?silversix_

Also, to the OP, the HAF X is absolutely awesome. I have one and it seriously looks amazing sitting on my desk

Ya it might be one gen behind now but its the high end of a very recent generation of hardware so yes that pc is a beast and good deal for your situation IMO. People freak out cuz its not the newest but its not asoutdated as people make it seem. Its still a very fast and overclockable quad core (8 cores hyperthreaded) CPU and powerfull GPU.

Hey everyone, it's been a while since I put my PC together. Just thought i'd let you all know how it all went.

First of all, I ended up choosing the 5970, quite a bad choice indeed. Terrible drivers, way overpriced for what it's worth even at my price(No Physx, No CUDa or the like etc) I guess it was great back in 09 but not anymore.

Very bad performance in Nvidia based games, and almost as bad performance in AMD developed games lol. Horrible performance in just about any game. Even Morrowind(Hard to believe I know). Out of all my hundred or so games, only a few run smoothly.

I will never again buy and AMD card due to all the problems i've had with this one, including graphical artifacts and driver performance drops.(Thought drivers were supposed to improve performance, apparently not)

I also chose the i7 960, I kind of wish I'd got the 26/2500k to see if it really had more potential than the 960 but I guess i'll never know if it's that much better than my current one.

Everything else is fine I guess, I got the G1 Sniper motherboard and the HAF-X case. Also got 6GB RAM.

Anyway, i'm currently saving up to buy either a GTX 590 or a MARS II,maybe even an i7-3760x processor (Any good for gaming?) just have to find someone who'll buy my card for a decent 2nd hand price. If they knew the troubles they would be bound to have with it ahead then I doubt anyone knowledgable about PC hardware would want to buy it.

So basically it's just a sad tale of wasted money and poor choices, I should have listened to you guys a bit more :P, especially about the processors and GPU's.

Thankfully i'm working part time at 2 different jobs at the moment and make over 100 bucks a week, so hopefully i'll be able to afford some new kickass hardware soon. But I have some reading up to do first. I would also appreciate any suggestions on my choice of Nvidia cards if anyones interested in helping. Money is not a problem here so don't worry about cost effectiveness, just performance. Thanks again for all your suggestions, even though I should have payed more attention to them back then. Guess I was just eager to rush into my first gaming PC.

If you had made this list a year or so ago, I would say yes. But now, both the CPU and GPU are dated and no longer a good choice.

Instead of 1336 setup, go with 1155 Sandy Bridge.

2500K + 1155 motherboard + 4/8GB RAM.

Instead of 5970, AMD 6970 or nVIDIA GTX 570.


Also... That case.... Just the name looks trashy, I almost threw up when I googled it, it's ricer trash.

Get a nice case, like something from the HAF line.



Exactly what PSU and HDD were you going to use?



As for M/KB. I have that pair, it's good, and I quite like it, but it's not the best for gaming.

The way they did the F-Keys is quite confusing and really let it down. Instead of putting F# on the key, the put a symbol for a secondary function on the key and above the key they have F# written in blue, which is almost impossible to see against the black.

C_Rule

I just need to find some official proof on the Intel site maybe? That could convince him that the 2500 is better than a 960. Also he believes the X58 is a high end dedicated gaming tech and that a sandy bridge wouldn't beat it. I agree with you guys but how can I argue with someone that's meant to be a PC expert?Vaultboy-101

Hey everyone, it's been a while since I put my PC together. Just thought i'd let you all know how it all went.

First of all, I ended up choosing the 5970, quite a bad choice indeed. Terrible drivers, way overpriced for what it's worth even at my price(No Physx, No CUDa or the like etc) I guess it was great back in 09 but not anymore.

Very bad performance in Nvidia based games, and almost as bad performance in AMD developed games lol. Horrible performance in just about any game. Even Morrowind(Hard to believe I know). Out of all my hundred or so games, only a few run smoothly.

I will never again buy and AMD card due to all the problems i've had with this one, including graphical artifacts and driver performance drops.(Thought drivers were supposed to improve performance, apparently not)

I also chose the i7 960, I kind of wish I'd got the 26/2500k to see if it really had more potential than the 960 but I guess i'll never know if it's that much better than my current one.

Everything else is fine I guess, I got the G1 Sniper motherboard and the HAF-X case. Also got 6GB RAM.

Anyway, i'm currently saving up to buy either a GTX 590 or a MARS II,maybe even an i7-3760x processor (Any good for gaming?) just have to find someone who'll buy my card for a decent 2nd hand price. If they knew the troubles they would be bound to have with it ahead then I doubt anyone knowledgable about PC hardware would want to buy it.

So basically it's just a sad tale of wasted money and poor choices, I should have listened to you guys a bit more :P, especially about the processors and GPU's.

Thankfully i'm working part time at 2 different jobs at the moment and make over 100 bucks a week, so hopefully i'll be able to afford some new kickass hardware soon. But I have some reading up to do first. I would also appreciate any suggestions on my choice of Nvidia cards if anyones interested in helping. Money is not a problem here so don't worry about cost effectiveness, just performance. Thanks again for all your suggestions, even though I should have payed more attention to them back then. Guess I was just eager to rush into my first gaming PC.

Vaultboy-101

'Hey guys you told me not to buy a big, expensive, hot and power hungry dual gpu card, and you were right. So now i wanna replace it with another big, expensive, hot and power hungry dual gpu card with an incredibly overpriced and unnecessary cpu.' *Facepalm*kraken2109

*facepalm* isn't even enough, it needs a double facepalm.

Alright alright I get it :P, the MARS II is very overpriced and I doubt i'll get it anyway. Maybe the 590 isn't worth it either. But I am interested in the choice of a 580 or 2. That was my plan a while ago anyway. I'll take a look at AMD's new card anyway, sounds like a good GPU. As for my 5970, I guess it's just bad luck for me that i've had so many problems. I can't remember if I mentioned before or not but my 5970 was a second hand card before I purchased it, maybe it was burnt out before I even got my hands on it.