$2k budget, building pc from scratch for BF3+ others - Hardware & Software

Hello FP buddies, so during my vacation to Spain I visited some casinos while there, made about 900 euros, combined with a commission for a painting I got another $500 coming in. So that leaves about $2,000 for me to spend on a sexy beast. I've had a Sager laptop with 280m gtxs and a quad core, but it's dying and I'm no longer gaming on that anymore, so I need me a real manly computer. I'm hoping to get a build strong enough for upcoming games like BF3, Skyrim, etc.. Also I do a lot of digital painting/starting up 3d sculpting so it obviously needs to be able to power through those things easily, which I'm sure it will, if it can run BF3 easily (hopefully) I'll be buying the parts once I get back to the states and building it myself. Exclude the monitor from the pricing as I'll probably end up getting some used cheap thing because I'll be traveling a lot I dont wanna keep bringing a monitor along with me. Oh and one more thing, because I'll be traveling a lot, I'm wondering if there'll be anyway to have the tower be kind of smaller? I don't mean some small mobile tower with crappy specs, just mentioning that the smaller it ends up, the better. Anyways thanks in advance for any advice on what to get. Really, thanks <3

What website do you want us to use?

Do the sites really make a difference? I guess any site as long as the pricing is fair. :)

I would recommend Newegg if you're going to purchase the parts while in the USA.

He's in Spain AND traveling. How long do you stay in each location? Shipping from newegg will (probably) be a lot to spain, especially if he needs a case and everything. How soon are you returning to the states?

[img]http://i.imgur.com/8dgA4.png[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/5gGnK.png[/img] $1,200, something like that, you don't want to go overboard on dual card configurations right now or you won't have an upgrade path, and this rig is already a monster, you shouldn't need more. Just to justify a few parts, A05 because it's sexy and small, H80 closed loop water cooling (and don't shout NH-D14 just yet) because if he plans to move it around it could put quite a bit of pressure on the socket/motherboard seeing as the NH-D14 is a fucking monster, the H80 is the same price and is only a teeny tiny bit worse and will definitely lighten the load and stress on the hardware.

You could probably go with and 120gb ssd like this: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227551[/url]

[QUOTE=Szwedo;31870425]He's in Spain AND traveling. How long do you stay in each location? Shipping from newegg will (probably) be a lot to spain, especially if he needs a case and everything. How soon are you returning to the states?[/QUOTE] I'm actually in Dubai right now, I'll be heading back to the states in about a week. [QUOTE=David Tennant;31871871]List of good ass shit[/QUOTE] Well thanks a bunch buddy! Just a couple of questions, why a 570 and not 80? Is the difference not worth the price bump? And another, what's the purpose of an SSD? When there's already a nomral HD on board? Thanks again guys, really

[QUOTE=theLazyLion;31876129]I'm actually in Dubai right now, I'll be heading back to the states in about a week. Well thanks a bunch buddy! Just a couple of questions, why a 570 and not 80? Is the difference not worth the price bump? And another, what's the purpose of an SSD? When there's already a nomral HD on board? Thanks again guys, really[/QUOTE] The 580 is quite pricey for what you get, you're better off getting a 570 and SLI'ing it later on. An SSD is alot faster than a HDD, especially with random read, when you install your OS on it it will give you a major speed boost in overall system responsiveness.

[QUOTE=Kialtia;31876175]The 580 is quite pricey for what you get, you're better off getting a 570 and SLI'ing it later on. An SSD is alot faster than a HDD, especially with random read, when you install your OS on it it will give you a major speed boost in overall system responsiveness.[/QUOTE] Oh okay thanks for clarifying, so windows would be installed on the SSD, and the rest of my programs/junk/shit would be installed on the 1tb hard drive. Aight, sounds cool. Also, how good are samsung hard drives? I haven't heard of them until now, normally I just went with WD or Seagate or something.

[QUOTE=theLazyLion;31876228]Oh okay thanks for clarifying, so windows would be installed on the SSD, and the rest of my programs/junk/shit would be installed on the 1tb hard drive. Aight, sounds cool. Also, how good are samsung hard drives? I haven't heard of them until now, normally I just went with WD or Seagate or something.[/QUOTE] The Samsung Spinpoint F3's are the best choice if you ask the PC Building community here.

Alright then, thanks a bunch amigo, I'll start ordering this stuff when I land back in the states and get my apt setup. [editline]22nd August 2011[/editline] Oh sorry, I forgot to ask, what about a PPU?

Yeah, don't get the H80 cooler. Get the H60 or H100.

[QUOTE=SataniX;31876377]Yeah, don't get the H80 cooler. Get the H60 or H100.[/QUOTE] May I know why?/link to a good one? :)

[QUOTE=Goz3rr;31875449]You could probably go with and 120gb ssd like this: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227551[/url][/QUOTE] The reviews on that make it sound pretty unreliable? What about this thing, good reviews and price is reasonable I think: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820249009[/url] i dunno, direct me in a better direction I guess. (or this one [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441[/url] ) [editline]22nd August 2011[/editline] [img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12913216/Screenshots/comp.PNG[/img] Alright I think I'll be acquiring myself this setup, Lemme know if it's any good, or if I should change anything.

If you're only looking to play BF3/Skyrhim, I'd get a powerful system with a decent GPU like the 570 like people posted and find out what they will require then go from there when AMD is rolling out their new GPUs.

[QUOTE=Brt5470;31878162]If you're only looking to play BF3/Skyrhim, I'd get a powerful system with a decent GPU like the 570 like people posted and find out what they will require then go from there when AMD is rolling out their new GPUs.[/QUOTE] I'm not only going to play those two(other games coming out, new metro, gta5 announced, etc.), I'm looking for this machine to last me a while aswell without having to upgrade as soon. Looking at the benches for the 570 I saw that it couldnt max out BC2 dx11 at 1080p, so I assume it might have problems with BF3. So I'll just go with 1 590, for now, and if that wont be enough down the line I could SLI later on. So i wont have to buy a 570 for now, then wait for the system specs, and buy another gpu almost immediately. This a good plan or?

590's are never a good choice, loud and you're better off getting a single GPU anyway seeing as 590's will never drop price. And a 570 can definitely max BC2 at 1080p, honestly you're just spending money you don't need to spend, get a 570 now and then down the line if for some reason you want/need the power you can get a second for a decent price. Also the 2600 in your basket isn't a 2600k (k means it's unlocked) so you'll want to get the 2600k, you'll also be wanting a good aftermarket cooler like the one I showed earlier (and describe why), and that SSD seems to be lacking performance for the price. [QUOTE=SataniX;31876377]Yeah, don't get the H80 cooler. Get the H60 or H100.[/QUOTE] The H100 won't fit in the A05 without a custom roof but the H60 is also a good choice, might want to get a couple of good fans for it though.

[QUOTE=David Tennant;31878568]590's are never a good choice, loud and you're better off getting a single GPU anyway seeing as 590's will never drop price. And a 570 can definitely max BC2 at 1080p, honestly you're just spending money you don't need to spend, get a 570 now and then down the line if for some reason you want/need the power you can get a second for a decent price. Also the 2600 in your basket isn't a 2600k (k means it's unlocked) so you'll want to get the 2600k, you'll also be wanting a good aftermarket cooler like the one I showed earlier (and describe why), and that SSD seems to be lacking performance for the price. The H100 won't fit in the A05 without a custom roof but the H60 is also a good choice, might want to get a couple of good fans for it though.[/QUOTE] How well would a 570 fair against a game like bf3 would you think? I know the specs aren't out yet, but I really don't wanna get a 570 now then in under a few months get myself another. And I've had bad experiences with SLI setups, so it just makes me a bit worried I guess. And about the ssd, the one you set for min your list got some pretty bad reviews, so I just looked for the one with the best rating and price. As for the cpu, i know, I wont be overclocking anyways, so I went for the cheaper one, that comes with a free dvd burner apparently.

[QUOTE=theLazyLion;31880174]How well would a 570 fair against a game like bf3 would you think? I know the specs aren't out yet, but I really don't wanna get a 570 now then in under a few months get myself another. And I've had bad experiences with SLI setups, so it just makes me a bit worried I guess. And about the ssd, the one you set for min your list got some pretty bad reviews, so I just looked for the one with the best rating and price. As for the cpu, i know, I wont be overclocking anyways, so I went for the cheaper one, that comes with a free dvd burner apparently.[/QUOTE] You'd want to keep the option of overclocking over. It can give you that little boost in the future and you never know if you ever want to try it. (It's really easy on sandybridge)

[QUOTE=theLazyLion;31880174]How well would a 570 fair against a game like bf3 would you think? I know the specs aren't out yet, but I really don't wanna get a 570 now then in under a few months get myself another. And I've had bad experiences with SLI setups, so it just makes me a bit worried I guess. And about the ssd, the one you set for min your list got some pretty bad reviews, so I just looked for the one with the best rating and price. As for the cpu, i know, I wont be overclocking anyways, so I went for the cheaper one, that comes with a free dvd burner apparently.[/QUOTE] The k version is like 15 bucks more or something, I'd go for it anyways. DVD drives are so plentiful I wouldn't worry. As for SLI, it's much better than in the past. I run two 580's and I love it. A 570 won't max many of the newer games at 1080p with AA. I think you'd be fine with a 570 for BF3, just don't expect to run it on highest.

[QUOTE=Goz3rr;31880264]You'd want to keep the option of overclocking over. It can give you that little boost in the future and you never know if you ever want to try it. (It's really easy on sandybridge)[/QUOTE] Okay, I'll go for the K version, thanks. [QUOTE=Brt5470;31880340]The k version is like 15 bucks more or something, I'd go for it anyways. DVD drives are so plentiful I wouldn't worry. As for SLI, it's much better than in the past. I run two 580's and I love it. A 570 won't max many of the newer games at 1080p with AA. I think you'd be fine with a 570 for BF3, just don't expect to run it on highest.[/QUOTE] What I'm hoping for is the highest settings, AA isn't important to me though.

Well if the H100 won't fit get Antec Kuhler 920.

[QUOTE=SataniX;31880389]Well if the H100 won't fit get Antec Kuhler 920.[/QUOTE] I'll assume it fits in the A05? And works just as well?

Yes

Alright that's good, thanks. I'll go with that one then. I'm still on the fence between the 570 and the 590, I mean, I want a rig where I wont have to upgrade, I want it to last me as long as possible without the need for an upgrade. I know with the 570 I'm probably going to have to get another one for SLI as soon as BF3 comes out, so why don't I just get a 590 and get it over with?

Two 580's will outperform a 590.

[QUOTE=theLazyLion;31895367]Alright that's good, thanks. I'll go with that one then. I'm still on the fence between the 570 and the 590, I mean, I want a rig where I wont have to upgrade, I want it to last me as long as possible without the need for an upgrade. I know with the 570 I'm probably going to have to get another one for SLI as soon as BF3 comes out, so why don't I just get a 590 and get it over with?[/QUOTE] Get a 580. It's a slight price jump but a single 580 should be able to run BF3 well. Not perfect, but well.

Isn't the 580 just around 10% faster than the 570?

[QUOTE=theLazyLion;31895769]Isn't the 580 just around 10% faster than the 570?[/QUOTE] Yea, and the 570 is about 10% than the 560 Ti. Get the pattern?