Here is MY adequately efficient gaming computer for $975. I didn't buy it at Newegg or any US stores and the parts that weren't on newegg, I gave an alternative link (just to get the price):
In my currency, I basically payed R10 000 (RSA Rands including shipping from overseas [i had points to get a deduction]) or $1240 if converted with the current exchange rate. But I don't know the shipping costs from the US to RSA so our prices might not be so retarded.
GFX - 200MHz faster memory clock speed and 30MHz faster core speed than the other GFX's for the same price (in RSA though).
RAM - It's good. The best RAM for that price that I could find (again in RSA though).
PSU - I used Asus's Wattage Calculator and the recommended PSU wattage required came up at 650watts. So I searched for 700watt and 800 watt PSU's. And most 800watt PSU was just a bit more expensive, but for 100watts more, it's nothing. It's just for in case I get another HDD or something.
MOBO - I just have my GFX (which will take up 2 slots [how many slots is really necessary?]). Also wanted 4 dimms for future RAM instalments and it have a default frequency of 1600MHz, which my RAM is.
Edit: I'm just happy I'll be able to play D3 on the highest settings!
Well i don't really know if the Vantec brand is any good
But don't hold back on spending money for a good PSU,it's one of the most important parts of your rig if not THE most important.
Still i've never had any experience with Vantec's,maybe they are good indeed
Well I had the Vantec ion-2 460W before for 3 years and I didn't had any problems with it. And some of my brother's friends also had the Vantec ion-2 series PSU and they said it was a good PSU. So maybe it is.
Regarding PSU and how much Watts you actually need I recently watched a video from Sweclockers.com, Sweden's biggest IT/Computer Hardware site, and arguably one of the most respected in Scandinavia, where they discussed PSUs and people's tendency to overrate how much they actually need. They regularly test PSU themselves and use special devices to measure how much a system takes and I quote (translated from Swedish):
We came to the conclusion that, if you are using one graphics card, anything over 500W is kind of overkill. We measured just below 500W with a GTX580 running at max load in Furmark (which is not even supposed to work because of firmware limits) plus an overclocked 1366 [socket] system which also takes quite a lot of power.
They also talk a bit about the kind of calculators and how they think that they always overestimate the need for a more powerful (and more expensive) PSU, which is not super surprising considering it's usually a PSU company that host and create them.
So what they conclude is when choosing a PSU, look at reviews of a system similar to what you want, look at the power consumption graphs (this is from their recent review of the new HD7970 http://www.sweclockers.com/image/diagram/2620?k=4b9ceb4cf1405eb527dae7b09c63c84b yellow bar is no load, red is full load with 3DMark Vantage) and then maybe add 50-100W to be 100% safe. Also take in consideration the different certifications of PSU (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_PLUS). A higher certificated PSU will have better components which usually runs quieter and has better quality overall.
Soooo, I just wanted to say that. For your system 800W will be overkill. Not that it will be BAD, but it's just something to consider and think about :).
Soooo, I just wanted to say that. For your system 800W will be overkill. Not that it will be BAD, but it's just something to consider and think about :).
Thanks for all that! It's too late now anyways...where you got your PSU-knowledge from Sweclockers.com, I got mine from that Asus Wattage Calculator and got 650W...they were probably on the very safe side for compensating "possible" lawsuits if someone used their calculator and their PSU ended up fried out.
But again, it's also for future installments...I might prefer getting a second 6950 card and crossfire it rather than getting the 2de/3de best card when I upgrade...but I'll rather be safe than sorry!
very nice adequately efficient computer system you bought there.
ya you saw i also got a 800w power sup and i knew it was overkill cuz thats another thing i didnt want to replace for a really long time. although its loud as hell lol.
i just discovered my RAM or SSD is corrupt and gotta send it back /sadface
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"once the pretty hardcore gamers we had testing inferno found it fairly difficult, we then we doubled it" -trolololol jay wilson
very nice adequately efficient computer system you bought there.
ya you saw i also got a 800w power sup and i knew it was overkill cuz thats another thing i didnt want to replace for a really long time. although its loud as hell lol.
i just discovered my RAM or SSD is corrupt and gotta send it back /sadface
Thanks!! This is indeed a adequately efficient gaming computer I bought here!
Mine isn't loud...I can only hear the fans...and they're quite...19 dBA.
Sad face indeed, the only problem I had was that the default RAM frequency was set at 1333MHz in my BIOS, but my RAM's and Mobo's default is 1600MHz...I just changed it to 1600MHz and it's fine, but it's just weird that I had to do it in the first place.
Soooo, I just wanted to say that. For your system 800W will be overkill. Not that it will be BAD, but it's just something to consider and think about :).
Thanks for all that! It's too late now anyways...where you got your PSU-knowledge from Sweclockers.com, I got mine from that Asus Wattage Calculator and got 650W...they were probably on the very safe side for compensating "possible" lawsuits if someone used their calculator and their PSU ended up fried out.
But again, it's also for future installments...I might prefer getting a second 6950 card and crossfire it rather than getting the 2de/3de best card when I upgrade...but I'll rather be safe than sorry!
Aye! I figured you had already bought the stuff but I wanted to post it anyway since I just recently learned about it myself. Always good to share info about this since it can be quite hard to know :). And yeah, better safe than sorry for sure, the cost to upgrade a bit now vs buying a whole new one later if you want to upgrade is so much smaller so it can be worth it if you plan to run crossfire in the future.
And it looks very adequate! Epic.
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In my currency, I basically payed R10 000 (RSA Rands including shipping from overseas [i had points to get a deduction]) or $1240 if converted with the current exchange rate. But I don't know the shipping costs from the US to RSA so our prices might not be so retarded.
CPU - Intel i5 2500K - $220 - R2393 - converted --> $297
GFX - XFX Radeon HD 6950 XXX Edition 2GB - $270 - R3020 - converted --> $375
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 8GB - $49 - R669 - converted --> $83
PSU - Vantec ioN2+AS van-800A 800W - $201 - R1215 - converted --> $151
MOBO - ASUS P8Z68-M Pro - $120 - R1691 - converted --> $210
CASE - CoolerMaster CM Storm Enforcer Gaming Case - $90 - R920 - converted --> $114
FAN - Cooler Master Megaflow 200mm Red LED Case Fan - $23 - R118 - converted --> $15
Reasons:
CPU - Best cpu for it's price.
GFX - 200MHz faster memory clock speed and 30MHz faster core speed than the other GFX's for the same price (in RSA though).
RAM - It's good. The best RAM for that price that I could find (again in RSA though).
PSU - I used Asus's Wattage Calculator and the recommended PSU wattage required came up at 650watts. So I searched for 700watt and 800 watt PSU's. And most 800watt PSU was just a bit more expensive, but for 100watts more, it's nothing. It's just for in case I get another HDD or something.
MOBO - I just have my GFX (which will take up 2 slots [how many slots is really necessary?]). Also wanted 4 dimms for future RAM instalments and it have a default frequency of 1600MHz, which my RAM is.
Edit: I'm just happy I'll be able to play D3 on the highest settings!
Only 750W Corsair PSUs were available and they were like R1700-R1800 whereas mine was only R1200-ish.
Well I had the Vantec ion-2 460W before for 3 years and I didn't had any problems with it. And some of my brother's friends also had the Vantec ion-2 series PSU and they said it was a good PSU. So maybe it is.
They also talk a bit about the kind of calculators and how they think that they always overestimate the need for a more powerful (and more expensive) PSU, which is not super surprising considering it's usually a PSU company that host and create them.
So what they conclude is when choosing a PSU, look at reviews of a system similar to what you want, look at the power consumption graphs (this is from their recent review of the new HD7970 http://www.sweclockers.com/image/diagram/2620?k=4b9ceb4cf1405eb527dae7b09c63c84b yellow bar is no load, red is full load with 3DMark Vantage) and then maybe add 50-100W to be 100% safe. Also take in consideration the different certifications of PSU (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_PLUS). A higher certificated PSU will have better components which usually runs quieter and has better quality overall.
Soooo, I just wanted to say that. For your system 800W will be overkill. Not that it will be BAD, but it's just something to consider and think about :).
Thanks for all that! It's too late now anyways...where you got your PSU-knowledge from Sweclockers.com, I got mine from that Asus Wattage Calculator and got 650W...they were probably on the very safe side for compensating "possible" lawsuits if someone used their calculator and their PSU ended up fried out.
But again, it's also for future installments...I might prefer getting a second 6950 card and crossfire it rather than getting the 2de/3de best card when I upgrade...but I'll rather be safe than sorry!
ya you saw i also got a 800w power sup and i knew it was overkill cuz thats another thing i didnt want to replace for a really long time. although its loud as hell lol.
i just discovered my RAM or SSD is corrupt and gotta send it back /sadface
Thanks!! This is indeed a adequately efficient gaming computer I bought here!
Mine isn't loud...I can only hear the fans...and they're quite...19 dBA.
Sad face indeed, the only problem I had was that the default RAM frequency was set at 1333MHz in my BIOS, but my RAM's and Mobo's default is 1600MHz...I just changed it to 1600MHz and it's fine, but it's just weird that I had to do it in the first place.
Aye! I figured you had already bought the stuff but I wanted to post it anyway since I just recently learned about it myself. Always good to share info about this since it can be quite hard to know :). And yeah, better safe than sorry for sure, the cost to upgrade a bit now vs buying a whole new one later if you want to upgrade is so much smaller so it can be worth it if you plan to run crossfire in the future.
And it looks very adequate! Epic.