.

[Xenthium]

.

[Dim]

Technically the 3970X would theoretically give you the best framerate.

But there's no logic behind getting it for gaming.

The 3930K is slightly inferior to the 3770K strictly for gaming. The 3970X is clocked the same, I think, as the 3770K and achieves similar performance--but runs six cores.

Overall, for gaming, the 3770K wins out.

My other opinions:

RAM: Get Dominator Platinums -- they look better, that's it, but they look STUNNING. Get 1600 MHz, any more is useless for pure gaming.

PSU: Only get the AX1200i if you intend on Quad-SLI or 4-Way Crossfire.

CPU Cooler: H100i is amazing.

Case: What about the Corsair 650D? 800D? Etc.

GPU: Don't get the EVGA GTX 690. Unless you like the look and for no reason otherwise. Two GTX 680s is cheaper and is better performance than a single GTX 690; they just draw more power and take up more PCIe slots. Hell, since you have no drawback, get TWO EVGA GTX 690s. Quad SLI is the only reason, to me, to get GTX 690s.

If money is no issue, don't wait for next series anything. Get it when it comes out if you can be bothered enough.

Get corsair K90/M90 with a Corsair Vengeance 2000.

Post pics when you're done so I can drool please? ;P

[Xenthium]

.

[SpaceRaptor]

GTX 690s are dual GPU cards and so putting two in your machine would be counted as running quad sli. I'm seeing lots of these crazy high budget builds! In my opinion for pure gaming all this seems a bit over kill but hey whatever you want man.

[The Scanner Darkly]

If you're only gaming an i5 3570k will perform exactly the same as any i7 in games, but since you're just going for the most powerful machine you can you might as well go for a 3770k. Any extreme edition will just throttle your upgrade path and make no difference to your experience.

[Mrinsane]

Holy sh*t, crazy build. I see it as overkill but meh. Its FUN! if you have the money, why not! 2x 690s THUMBS UP!

[TechReid]

Intel, 3570k, overclock it and it runs any game like a beast!

[LimeDk]

get a Intel 3570K and overclock it

[orangecat]

Whats with all of the i7's get a i5 3570K and oc that bitch to 4.5Ghz or something and even at stock settings that CPU will be able to handle games and then some before it becomes the bottleneck in your system i own one and even when running like a server and multiple apps i never run out of processing power

[Xenthium]

.

[TechFan@ic]

The 3570K or the slightly better overclocker 2500K , you won't gain any benefit from any of the i7 CPUs in gaming .

[Dim]

The 3570K or the slightly better overclocker 2500K ' date=' you won't gain any benefit from any of the i7 CPUs in gaming .[/quote']

"Money is no drawback" for him.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/701?vs=551

Try to tell me that the 3770K doesn't have a 10% increase in Dawn of War II.

[Dim]

I heard Ivy bridge isn't as capable as sandy bridge/sandy bridge-E when it comes to overclocking? I was in all honesty looking towards the 990x or 3930k/3970k.

For gaming, the 3770K is on par with the 3970X; it wins some and loses some.

This is 3960X, but it's evident the difference is margin-of-error worthy because they titter back and forth

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/551?vs=443

[zephiK]

i5-3570K for the best gaming.

unless you do more than game such as video transcoding etc etc then you may look into a i7-3770K otherwise it is a waste of money.

[Xenthium]

.

[Kruziik_Kel]

Doesn't Ivy bridge run much hotter than Sandy bridge when overclocked? It shouldn't matter too much though' date=' considering I'll be using an H100i. Or I might go for full system watercooling.[/quote']

It cant clock as high but you get more performance per clock and you end up with better performance overall over the older SB chips also the H100i is really quite a bad cooler especially considering the price you can get something like a Noctua NH-D14 or a Phanteks PH-TC14PE for less and they both perform significantly better while they are all well behind custom loop if its done properly

so to answer your original question the 3570K is the best for just gaming if you need the multi threaded performance for rendering or similar applications the a 3770K or a 3930K if you can afford it is a better option but almost all CPU's today are bottlenecked by the GPU even todays best GPU's cant match the FPS of even an i3 3220

so in short the CPU dosent matter for gaming any modern CPU will be bottlenecked by todays best GPU's ao any modern Dual core or greater (proven to be the amount you need for gaming 1 with hyper threading) will be fine

[cafe]

2500k

Runs cooler and can overclock higher

the world record for ON air is like a .5 Ghz difference

[cafe]

The 3570K or the slightly better overclocker 2500K ' date=' you won't gain any benefit from any of the i7 CPUs in gaming .[/quote'] "Money is no drawback" for him. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/701?vs=551 Try to tell me that the 3770K doesn't have a 10% increase in Dawn of War II.

When it comes to if you will overclock

The 2500k will always outperform

[Dim]

i5-3570K for the best gaming. unless you do more than game such as video transcoding etc etc then you may look into a i7-3770K otherwise it is a waste of money.

Yes, the 3570K is muuuuch better value for money than the 3770K.

However in terms of raw and overclock capacity and ability, the 3770K will always perform same or better than the 3570K.

If you have infinite money, the 3770K performs currently better than the 3970X.

The 3570K is inferior to the 3770K.

The post is for the best in pure gaming, which is the 3770K, but of course it is still terrible value for money.

[Dim]

Doesn't Ivy bridge run much hotter than Sandy bridge when overclocked? It shouldn't matter too much though' date=' considering I'll be using an H100i. Or I might go for full system watercooling.[/quote'] It cant clock as high but you get more performance per clock and you end up with better performance overall over the older SB chips also the H100i is really quite a bad cooler especially considering the price you can get something like a Noctua NH-D14 or a Phanteks PH-TC14PE for less and they both perform significantly better while they are all well behind custom loop if its done properly

The H100i is still an excellent cooler.

http://media.bestofmicro.com/N/J/365023/original/image008.png

There it performs better than the NH-D14.

[GabrielDrake]

3570k for gaming, best overall value.

OC it obviously, to keep up with the gtx690, you should be fine-

Go further in cpu (like extreme edition and such) it's just wasting money IMHO, unless in your future you see a second 690, maybe video encodind/3d editing, then my suggestion is 3770k OCed.

[Xenthium]

.

[Coonmeister Funkyfresh]

If you're looking at a Sabertooth, turn your head towards the msi Z77 MPower. Better for OCing and tbh, it looks a hell of a lot better.

[Dim]

If you're only gaming an i5 3570k will perform exactly the same as any i7 in games' date=' but since you're just going for the most powerful machine you can you might as well go for a 3770k. Any extreme edition will just throttle your upgrade path and make no difference to your experience.[/quote']

I agree with this;

The 3970X and the 3770K are on equal standing for gaming.

The 3970X would be a pointless investment.