# [SOLVED] First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget



## guestcheap (Mar 12, 2013)

It's my first ever build of any kind. Until now I have soley been using laptops(and pretty bad laptops at that). I have never been able to play any video games after 2009. On my current computer, Batman:Arkham City runs below 10 fps. (I actually played the entire game at this frame rate). 

BUDGET:I'm looking for a build thats between 1lakh to 1.5lakh rupees. That works out to 1.5k-2.5k USD.

BRANDS:No major brand preferences, as such, except that it would take a lot of convincing for me to choose an AMD processor over Intel.

MULTI-TASKING:Some minor Photoshop and design work, but I could accomplish this on my 3-year old Acer laptop, so I don't see this being a problem.

GAMING:This will be primarily a gaming system. Games I'm interested in playing are Batman: Arkham City, Alan Wake, Portal 2, The Walking Dead, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Starcraft II. Games I'm less interested in but definately will be checking out are Metro 2033 and the Assassin's Creed, Crysis and Mass Effect series. I expect to play all games within the next 1-2 years on high-ultra settings.

CALCULATIONS:No intense calculations, but I might encode an HD video now and then.

OVERCLOCKING:I really do not want to overclock any component. I am also against buying factory overclocked parts.

STORAGE:LOTS of storage needed. I have a huge media library of TV Shows and Movies that grows very fast. Currently it is beyond 300gb. I was thinking of a 3tb hard drive to store this, but if it goes beyond budget, I guess 1tb would work as well. I would like a 256gb SSD for the boot drive.

LEGACY SUPPORT:Nothing I can think of.

OS:Windows 7 Professional x64. No Windows 8. I already have this.

CASE:I really don't have any preference here. USB 3.0 ports would be nice on the front. Good cooling is essential, because I don't want the hassle of buying a separate cooling system.

ACCESSORIES:I have nothing. I'm looking for a good mechanical gaming keyboard. Cherry MX Browns are preferred, though Blues would work as well. I have used a wireless mouse for the past 2 years so a wireless gaming mouse would be needed as well. Headset as well, wireless preferred. I don't like Razer stuff, leaning towards Logitech at the moment.

RECYCLED COMPONENTS:None. This will be from scratch.

MONITOR:24" - 27" Monitor 16:9 ratio. 3D would be a big plus. I'm looking at ASUS VG278H right now. If you recommend a non-3D 27" monitor, I would prefer 2560x1440 resolution.

STORES:I would be buying from primabgb.com/theitdepot.com

Online IT Shop | Computer Hardware Shopping From Online IT Stores
Theitdepot - India's First IT Online Shopping Store

LOCATION:I live in Mumbai, India.

Here's what I've come up with so far:
MOTHERBOARD:ASRock z77 Extreme4
CPU:Intel i7 3770k
GRAPHICS CARD:ASUS GeForce 680 4gb
MONITOR:ASUS VG278H
RAM:Gskill RipjawsX 16gb 4x4gb
SSD:Samsung 840 pro 256gb
HDD:Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm 3tb
HEADSET:Logitech G930
MOUSE:Logitech g700
KEYBOARD:Logitech g710+
CASE:CM HAF X(extremely unsure, probably out of my price range)
PSU:No idea whatsoever.

How good is that build? Any other suggestions?


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## helios19 (Nov 25, 2008)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

Hi Guestcheap,



guestcheap said:


> MOTHERBOARD:ASRock z77 Extreme4


Choose Gigabyte or Asus motherboards as they are the best for reliability and support. As you won't be overclocking there's really no need to go for a board over $150.


> CPU:Intel i7 3770k


First up, choose the "non-K" processors as they are designed for OCing. Secondly, you could settle for an i5 if you like as that would be plenty for gaming... however as you have a big budget an i7 would be nice too (however do note that it gives no advantages in gaming at present.)


> GRAPHICS CARD:ASUS GeForce 680 4gb


Solid card!


> MONITOR:ASUS VG278H


I always recommend samsung for monitors! Best in terms of quality imo.


> RAM:Gskill RipjawsX 16gb 4x4gb


Solid! However 16GB is overkill, but if you have the money... I won't stop you! xD


> SSD:Samsung 840 pro 256gb


Not good value for money atm, buy if you want to.


> HDD:Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm 3tb


I prefer Western Digital. Seagate is good too though.


> HEADSET:Logitech G930
> MOUSE:Logitech g700
> KEYBOARD:Logitech g710+


Can't really comment, not my area.


> CASE:CM HAF X(extremely unsure, probably out of my price range)


Case is completely personal preference. What ever appeals to you.


> PSU:No idea whatsoever.


Seasonic or XFX and I would go for at least a 650W one for that rig!

Something like this: XFX Core Edition PRO650W (P1-650S-NLB9) 650W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Newegg.com

EDIT: Check here for best quality parts and a general guideline:

http://www.techsupportforum.com/for...ams-recommended-new-builds-2012-a-668661.html


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## LoW_Shadow (Sep 11, 2012)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*



> HEADSET:Logitech G930


Great Headset, decent sound and mic, good range, comfortable, ~10 hours battery, mute-button and 3 G-Keys (very handy for stuff like TS3). (It has a problem with Fraps though, so if you use Fraps don't buy this headset)



> MOUSE:Logitech g700


IMO the best Gaming-Mouse out there, great DPI, fast reaction, 8 G-Keys (out of which only 5 are good for gaming though), on-board memory (great for LAN-Parties). Only downside to it is the battery, but as long as you don't play non-stop for 7 hours you should be fine :rofl:



> KEYBOARD:Logitech g710+


I use the Logitech G19 which is similar to this one, so I guess the G710+ should be very good as well.



Also, you can download the Logitech Gaming Software, which is a All-in-One driver, that way you don't have an annoying Software for each device.


Edit: The GTX 680 *4GB* is probably a little overkill, 2GB should be enough (and a lot cheaper). But if you have the money, go for it.


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## helios19 (Nov 25, 2008)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*



LoW_Shadow said:


> Edit: The GTX 680 *4GB* is probably a little overkill, 2GB should be enough (and a lot cheaper). But if you have the money, go for it.


Even though the GPU should be the primary focus of a gaming desktop, LoW_Shadow does make a good point. Thanks for filling in on the gaming gear too.


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## guestcheap (Mar 12, 2013)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*



helios19 said:


> Choose Gigabyte or Asus motherboards as they are the best for reliability and support. As you won't be overclocking there's really no need to go for a board over $150.


Accoriding to Newegg, the motherboard I had in mind is $134. However keeping in mind with what you said I also found ASUS P8Z77-V LK at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131837 Any better that the ASRock? Also does this have any front USB 3.0 ports? If I get the HAF X I'll want to use them.



> First up, choose the "non-K" processors as they are designed for OCing. Secondly, you could settle for an i5 if you like as that would be plenty for gaming... however as you have a big budget an i7 would be nice too (however do note that it gives no advantages in gaming at present.)


It's a $40 difference for _slightly_ more clock speed, also leaving the option of overclocking down the road (although I probably won't take it). So I think I'll stick with what I chose.



> I always recommend samsung for monitors! Best in terms of quality imo.


Do you have any specific monitor in mind?



> Solid! However 16GB is overkill, but if you have the money... I won't stop you! xD


Agreed. If this ends up going over budget, I may have to go 8gb. Any idea what RAM speed I should get? Motherboard supports up to 2400 MHz.



> Not good value for money atm, buy if you want to.


If you're talking about value for money in terms of storage, then I don't see how to get around that. I really want my boot drive and programs to be stored on the SSD, while all my videos/pics would be stored on the hard drive. Did you mean I should get a different brand? I was under the assumption that Samsung 840 Pro Series was the best SSD series, and 256gb for $240 seems like a good deal.



> I prefer Western Digital. Seagate is good too though.


Any particular reason?



> Edit: The GTX 680 *4GB* is probably a little overkill, 2GB should be enough (and a lot cheaper). But if you have the money, go for it.


It's a $60 difference. I think 4gb is the better option seeing as how I might be considering multiple monitors in the future... but by then I'll probably have 2 gtx 680's in SLI. Will this make a difference? (i.e. Will the vram of the two graphics cards be added together?)

Thanks for the help!


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

Simple solution, just use our suggested build list as a guide for top quality parts and use your available sites for the purchase. All of out builds use top quality known compatible components. : http://www.techsupportforum.com/for...ams-recommended-new-builds-2012-a-668661.html


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## LoW_Shadow (Sep 11, 2012)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*



> I also found ASUS P8Z77-V LK at ASUS P8Z77-V LK ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS - Newegg.com Any better that the ASRock? Also does this have any front USB 3.0 ports? If I get the HAF X I'll want to use them.


That is a good board, and yes, it will support your USB 3.0 ports.



> It's a $40 difference for slightly more clock speed, also leaving the option of overclocking down the road (although I probably won't take it). So I think I'll stick with what I chose.


I would save up thoese 40$ and use them to buy something else. For example a Blu-Ray drive for you Movie collection? opcorn:



> Do you have any specific monitor in mind?


I don't know much about monitors but since you're going for a gaming, I would buy one with a fast reaction time. 

Maybe Tyree can help you look for a good monitor? 



> Agreed. If this ends up going over budget, I may have to go 8gb. Any idea what RAM speed I should get? Motherboard supports up to 2400 MHz.


I would go for 16 GB DDR3-1600 MHz RAM, IMO you can never have enought RAM, but as you said if it ends up going over budget you can always cut it down to 8 GB



> If you're talking about value for money in terms of storage, then I don't see how to get around that. I really want my boot drive and programs to be stored on the SSD, while all my videos/pics would be stored on the hard drive. Did you mean I should get a different brand? I was under the assumption that Samsung 840 Pro Series was the best SSD series, and 256gb for $240 seems like a good deal.


While it is true that SSDs are "too expensive", they are still pretty awesome. I don't know how many games you have, but usually a 128 GB SSD is enough. 
Also, I don't know if Samsung 840 is the best SSD series but normally Samsung is a good manufactor.

As for your HDD I would go for the WD Green 2TB, it's quiet and energy efficient. (and cheaper then the WD, Black, Blue and Red)



> It's a $60 difference. I think 4gb is the better option seeing as how I might be considering multiple monitors in the future... but by then I'll probably have 2 gtx 680's in SLI. Will this make a difference? (i.e. Will the vram of the two graphics cards be added together?)


If it's just a 60$ difference you could go for it (Here in Switzerland it's a 100$ difference lol). As for the SLI, I wouldn't recommend it since it only generates additional heat in your case and the increase in performance is only about 20-50% in most games. But if you really want that much performance you could consider saving up for a GTX 690.

Despite all of that, keep in mind that a simple GTX 680 2GB will run every game out there at max. settings.


And as Tyree said, you should have a look at the Suggested Builds.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

Asus & Gigabyte Mobo's are good quality, reliable and have good support. That's why we use/recommend them.
Few games/apps can utilize over 3GB of RAM. 8GB is more than enough for almost applications. 
SSD's do offer faster boot/seek time but are not a good value at this time considering the high cost vs. minimal benefits.
Hdd's over 1TB have been know to have issues. 
The only beneficiaries of two GPU's are the retailers. The minimal performance increase will only be available in the few games/apps that can utilize two GPU's.


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## helios19 (Nov 25, 2008)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

As mentioned above, you won't notice the performance of most of the upgrades in present day apps and stuff... and most importantly, there's no such thing as future proofing a PC!  (to be honest I used to believe that! xD)


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## Vadigor (Apr 19, 2009)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

SSD aren't usually recommended here because their cost per GB is a factor 10 higher over large capacity mechanical drives. However, I certainly recommend using them for a boot drive. Especially for people with large amounts of data to store (not that 300 GB is a lot) it makes sense to use a dedicated media HDD, in which case the capacity of the boot drive becomes moot. As for your choice, I'd recommend against the Pro version of the Samsung 840 and suggest you go with the regular Samsung 840 250GB. The only difference, aside from 60$ and 5GB is that the Pro version has double the write speed, but this should not be a factor for your intended use.

As for the rest, from your description I think you'd be perfectly happy with a much cheaper build, replacing the i7 with an i5 3570(K) or even 3470 and the GTX 680 with a GTX 660 or AMD 7850/7870. You mention multiple monitors but will you also be running Nvidia Surround / AMD Eyefinity to actually game across multiple monitors? And SLI isn't really worth it.


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

I recommend 2x8gb RAM configuration over 4x4gb. As for speed, anything 1600 or over is pretty much the same. This kit would be a good choice:

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-16GXM - Newegg.com


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

"If" there was a genuine requirement for 16GB of RAM, I would also recommend 2x8 over 4x4.
For the use you posted, 2x4GB will be more than sufficient.


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## guestcheap (Mar 12, 2013)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

Thanks for the help! Keeping in mind what you guys said:

MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P8Z77-V LK $134.99
CPU: Intel i7 3770K $329.99
GRAPHICS CARD: ASUS gtx680 4gb$569.99
MONITOR: ASUS VG278H $549.99
HDD:WD Green 2tb $104.99
SSD:Samsung 840 250gb $189.99
RAM:Ripjaws X 2x8gb DDR3 1600 $134.99
CASE:CM HAF X $189.99
HEADSET:Logitech G930 $119.99
KEYBOARD:Logitech G710+ $127.99
MOUSE:Logitech g700 $89.99

That comes upto $2542.89, and I still don't know what PSU to get. helios19 suggested a 650W supply, but I looked at the recommended builds and mine is pretty similar to the $1600 intel rig, which uses 850W. I'd hate to end up buying the wrong power supply.

Looking to cut down on the case and maybe the monitor. $189.99 for my first case seems a bit overkill, but I still want a decent-looking spacious case. Any recommendations?


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## helios19 (Nov 25, 2008)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

I would still highly recommend a Samsung monitor over any other. For the HDD, I would personally go for a WD Black due to the extra 2 years of warranty for very little extra cost. A 850W PSU would generally be for people who use multiple GPUs in SLI/Crossfire (although that's not really recommended.) More power is never a bad thing, however for your chosen GPU, 650W is plenty. The older GPUs used to consume more power, however nowadays their more efficient (GTX600 series onwards) a 750W PSU would be good too but anymore is unnecessary imo.

Coolermaster cases have a good rep. I've had a good experience with Thermaltake... and Corsair seems nice too.


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## KoLAddict (Jul 7, 2006)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

The case you picked is the one I'm using right now, and it's fantastic, I love it.

Overall great build, I would recommend like Helios said and getting a smaller PSU like 650W or 750W, and make sure it's a name brand one like Corsair. The PSU is the most important part to not skimp on, and a reliable name brand one is going to serve you well in the long run. If for some reason you want a bigger PSU (like for future upgrading), the one I have is this one (which is an 850W PSU by Corsair):

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 850W

I went big because 1: I was paranoid and afraid of buying too small a PSU, and 2: because I wanted one able to handle upgrades. I won't ever SLI GPUs but knowing I can upgrade my rig with a new CPU or GPU without needing to replace the PSU is pretty nice.


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## helios19 (Nov 25, 2008)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

I should mention, Corsair used to be a quality supplier of PSUs, however they are no longer manufactured by Seasonic. Their new PSUs are not the best and hence we recommend Seasonic or XFX mainly.

KoLAddict, your one is most likely a Seasonioc manufactured one and therefore you would be right in terms of it's quality.


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

Corsair only shifted their TX models off of SeaSonic manufacturing, so their higher-end models are still good.

Examples of excellent 750-watt PSUs:
XFX P1-750B-BEFX 750W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Newegg.com
CORSAIR HX Series HX750 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Newegg.com
SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Newegg.com


Examples of some cases that should save you a little but meet your standards:
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Upgraded USB 3.0 - Newegg.com
Antec Eleven Hundred Black Super Mid Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com


I would definitely spend less on the monitor. I use and love a 27" monitor myself, but it was less than $250. $520 for a monitor that size is stupidly high for just 1080p. This should be a much smarter alternative:
ASUS VE278H Black 27" 2ms (GTG) HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ASVR 50000000:1 (1200:1) Built-in Speakers - Newegg.com


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## helios19 (Nov 25, 2008)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*



toothman said:


> Corsair only shifted their TX models off of SeaSonic manufacturing, so their higher-end models are still good.


Ah, okay. Thanks for clearing that up.


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## guestcheap (Mar 12, 2013)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*



helios19 said:


> I would still highly recommend a Samsung monitor over any other.


Again, do you have any specific monitor in mind? I've chosed the ASUS because it is optimized for nVidia 3d Vision 2 with LightBoost, whereas Samsung seems to be more AMD-oriented.


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## guestcheap (Mar 12, 2013)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*



toothman said:


> Examples of some cases that should save you a little but meet your standards:
> COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com
> Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Upgraded USB 3.0 - Newegg.com
> Antec Eleven Hundred Black Super Mid Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com
> ...


 The Antec models look good. Are they spacious enough to allow for a few upgrades in the near future?
Also, I'm kind of set on a 3d monitor. The model you've suggested doesn't support 3d vision 2.


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*



guestcheap said:


> The Antec models look good. Are they spacious enough to allow for a few upgrades in the near future?
> Also, I'm kind of set on a 3d monitor. The model you've suggested doesn't support 3d vision 2.


My roommate uses that exact Antec case, and I built the rig for him. It's an excellent case.

I guess I didn't realize you wanted 3d vision 2. If you want that size with those specs, there really isn't a way to save much money =/


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## KoLAddict (Jul 7, 2006)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

It's a little smaller and I didn't see it on Newegg, but the Playstation 3D display is nice and usually cheap. Amazon has it for $249.99 right now. It's 24' so a little smaller than the other displays, and it retails for $500 normally, but I've never seen a merchant sell it for that.

Here's the Amazon link if you want to look at it:

Amazon.com: PlayStation 3D display: Video Games

It is fully compatible to be used as a PC monitor, my buddy bought it because of the price. It even comes with a PS3 game that you can sell if you don't have a PS3 or don't want the game. I couldn't find if it was 16:9 aspect ratio but I believe it is.

EDIT: Sorry, just read the last post and saw that you were wanting 3D Vision 2. I don't believe that's supported by the Playstation display.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

650W is plenty for a GTX 680: XFX P1-650X-XXB9 650W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Newegg.com



toothman said:


> Corsair only shifted their TX models off of SeaSonic manufacturing, so their higher-end models are still good.


The only Corsair PSU's still being supplied by SeaSonic are the HX650 and AX 760/860.

2x4GB of RAM is more than plenty.


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## helios19 (Nov 25, 2008)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*



guestcheap said:


> Again, do you have any specific monitor in mind? I've chosed the ASUS because it is optimized for nVidia 3d Vision 2 with LightBoost, whereas Samsung seems to be more AMD-oriented.


Sorry, I missed that. Considering you want a 3D monitor Newegg only has one that's 3D ready but it's 22". I just did a quick search on the local Samsung site and found this:

27 inch LED 3D Monitor Series 9 (S27A950)

I don't know if it's your sort of thing (in terms of looks) but it fufills the criteria. Also, as you can see... it's not cheap. If your getting a non 3D monitor then I suggest browsing through the ones on Newegg and getting one that suits you. For a monitor, looks a re also very important (just like a case) and that's something there's generally up to personal preference.


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## guestcheap (Mar 12, 2013)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*



helios19 said:


> Sorry, I missed that. Considering you want a 3D monitor Newegg only has one that's 3D ready but it's 22". I just did a quick search on the local Samsung site and found this:
> 
> 27 inch LED 3D Monitor Series 9 (S27A950)
> 
> I don't know if it's your sort of thing (in terms of looks) but it fufills the criteria. Also, as you can see... it's not cheap. If your getting a non 3D monitor then I suggest browsing through the ones on Newegg and getting one that suits you. For a monitor, looks a re also very important (just like a case) and that's something there's generally up to personal preference.


Yes, I saw that monitor already... not really my price point especially considering the fact that it is optimized for AMD's HD3D instead of nVidia's solution.
May get this 2d one:SAMSUNG B550 Series S27B550V ToC 27" 2ms GTG HDMI*2 Widescreen LED Monitor 300 cd/m2 DCR Mega Infinite (1000:1) - Newegg.com


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## helios19 (Nov 25, 2008)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

If you still want to get 3D, there are other brands as suggested by the other members that may be more affordable. I mainly suggest Samsung as they have the best quality.

I've been using this monitor for almost 4 years now:

SAMSUNG 2233SW High Glossy Black 21.5" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 15000:1(1000:1) w/ HDCP Support - Newegg.com

...still as good as the day I bought it. x9


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## guestcheap (Mar 12, 2013)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*



helios19 said:


> If you still want to get 3D, there are other brands as suggested by the other members that may be more affordable. I mainly suggest Samsung as they have the best quality.
> 
> I've been using this monitor for almost 4 years now:
> 
> ...


Not really a fan of glossy monitors, and I really wanted 24"+ so I'll stick with the ASUS.

Just 2 final questions before I order the parts:
1)I won't need a cooling system for this build, will I?
2)Are there any known issues regarding Zotac cards? I know the quality can't match EVGA or ASUS but I might go for the AMP edition of the 680 if there are no obvious issues.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

OEM heatsinks are fine if no OC is applied and OC'ing is pretty pointless with newer CPU's.
Zotac products are lower quality and their support is very poor. 
Spend a little extra for insured quality/support.


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## guestcheap (Mar 12, 2013)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

Okay, looks like I'm sticking with the ASUS... it was cheaper anyway, I just considered the AMP edition because of the slightly faster clock speed. Not worth it, I guess.

I've been looking around, and apparently dropping down to a i5 3570k and a gtx 670 2gb won't have much impact on game performance. Is this true? I'd still like to stick with the i7 and gtx 680 (although mainly just to say I have the i7 :smile, but if worse comes to worse, who knows?

Also the BenQ XL2420TX is supposed to be a solid 3d vision 2 monitor. Of course it's 24", but I believe 1920x1080 on a 27" isn't that great any way, and so I thought of this monitor would be a better replacement. This is a significant price drop, so please tell me if I should go for it.


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## helios19 (Nov 25, 2008)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*



guestcheap said:


> I've been looking around, and apparently dropping down to a i5 3570k and a gtx 670 2gb won't have much impact on game performance. Is this true? I'd still like to stick with the i7 and gtx 680 (although mainly just to say I have the i7 :smile, but if worse comes to worse, who knows?


That's right, at present games can't really fully utilize an i7 CPU. Hence an i5 will practically give you the same performance. In regards to the GPU, the GTX 670 will play most games on max anyway... so the 680 will give you little extra for the cost.



> Also the BenQ XL2420TX is supposed to be a solid 3d vision 2 monitor. Of course it's 24", but I believe 1920x1080 on a 27" isn't that great any way, and so I thought of this monitor would be a better replacement. This is a significant price drop, so please tell me if I should go for it.


I'm not very familiar with BenQ, however I have noticed they are generally cheaper than other brands.


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## guestcheap (Mar 12, 2013)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*



helios19 said:


> That's right, at present games can't really fully utilize an i7 CPU. Hence an i5 will practically give you the same performance. In regards to the GPU, the GTX 670 will play most games on max anyway... so the 680 will give you little extra for the cost.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm not very familiar with BenQ, however I have noticed they are generally cheaper than other brands.


Thanks, you've saved me $400. I'm ordering the parts now!


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*

BenQ used to be very reliable monitors but their quality degraded. I haven't been around any in quite some time so perhaps their quality has been improved.


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## guestcheap (Mar 12, 2013)

*Re: First gaming build. $1500-$2500 budget*



Tyree said:


> BenQ used to be very reliable monitors but their quality degraded. I haven't been around any in quite some time so perhaps their quality has been improved.


Well, I've already ordered the parts, but I've looked at some pretty positive reviews of the BenQ XL2420TX, so I'll stick with it.
Thanks for all the help!
Marking this as SOLVED:rofl:


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