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pyursx

Honorable
Apr 18, 2013
7
0
10,510
Haven't built a computer before but looking to do so. Probably have a maximum of $2,000, although aiming more for the 15-1,700 range. I would need to buy a copy of Windows and a monitor that would be included in that price. What other extra costs are involved?

From what I've read, seems like i5 is the way to go (hoping for it to last at least for a few years), a SSD at least for the OS, 8GB memory. Is it worthwhile to bother with SLI?

Would Windows 7 or 8 be better?

Thanks for any help you can offer!
 
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babernet_1

babernet_1

Honorable
May 8, 2012
2,850
0
13,460
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.00 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.71 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($172.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($354.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($354.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Scout ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($144.78 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($93.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Samsung S24A450MW 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($287.58 @ Newegg)
Total: $1958.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-19 03:08 EDT-0400)

My thoughts:
3750K is the best gaming processor.
CM Hyper 212 EVO is the best buy in coolers
ASROCK EX4 is among the best for Intels/ per dollar
Memory, no heat spreader so the cooler will fit fine, you don't need above 1600MHz or 8GB
250G of SSD will be plenty for the OS, Office, and several games
1TB HD will be plenty for movies, music etc.
The most important item is the graphics, dual quality 670's will max out anything with your 24 inch screen
Case is up to you, this is a good one.
Power supply must be a quality one, this one is among the best with a couple hundred watts to spare
Might as well get Windows 8, more secure, smaller, faster, and you can download apps that will give you the start button
Monitor. a 24 inch 1920X1200 is excellent, I used one for years. The extra vertical pixels really come in handy. You won't want to go back to 16X9, 16X10 is much better. Now I have a 30 inch 2560X1600, still a 16X10, just on steroids and loving it.
 
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assasin32

assasin32

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2008
1,356
22
19,515
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD4H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($163.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: A-Data XPG SX900 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($363.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($363.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Challenger-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Cooler Master R4-L2R-20AC-GP 69.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($5.06 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Cooler Master R4-L2R-20AC-GP 69.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($5.06 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VE248H 24.0" Monitor ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1735.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-19 03:18 EDT-0400)

Use this combo to knock $60 off the price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1278868

Go ahead and put in better fans those are there just as a reminder.

As for win 7 vs 8, your call they made some good improvements in 8. But a lot of people hate the interface with a passion. So test it out in a store than decide.
 
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P

pyursx

Honorable
Apr 18, 2013
7
0
10,510
Thanks for the input! Very helpful. Here's what I've come up with.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($226.99 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.05 @ DirectCanada)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Cooling MX-2 4g Thermal Paste ($11.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD4H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($190.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($41.00 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.00 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($389.00 @ Canada Computers)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N150HG 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($15.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Rosewill Challenger-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case Fan: Enermax UCTVD12A 71.8 CFM 120mm Fan ($16.49 @ Newegg Canada)
Case Fan: Enermax UCTVD12A 71.8 CFM 120mm Fan ($16.49 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($97.69 @ DirectCanada)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($98.90 @ DirectCanada)
Monitor: Asus VE248H 24.0" Monitor ($175.10 @ DirectCanada)
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Wired Gaming Keyboard ($73.50 @ Vuugo)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Wired Optical Mouse ($39.88 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $1717.03
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-19 05:39 EDT-0400)

So here's what I've put together... so used to buying laptops, kind of forgot I'd need a keyboard and mouse too. Included the thermal paste as I understand it's needed for installation of the CPU? This is true, right?

Unfortunately as I live in Canada, a lot of the US sites/deals are unavailable and it bumps the prices up quite a bit. So since I have the other peripherals to buy, dropped the second video card for now as it's something I can potentially pick up later... however, will a single GT670 be sufficient or should I bump it up to a 680 if I'm only running one? I can't seem to figure out a way to make two cards fit into the budget.

Is the size/brand change on the SSD worth the ~$50? Is it worth $100 more on that for a 256GB?

ASUS monitor fits into the budget a bit better... plus the Samsung one doesn't seem to be available in Canada.

Not really sure whats needed for case fans so put in a couple that seemed better. Are they a necessary upgrade at all or would the ones originally in the build work fine?

Think I'll give Win8 a try too, though maybe I'll see if I can demo it first.

Thanks again for all the help.
 
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P

pyursx

Honorable
Apr 18, 2013
7
0
10,510
So, looking to order by the end of the weekend, hopefully. Just wondering if anyone can answer the last questions there so I can be sure that it'll be money well spent.. Primarily concerned about the benefit vs cost for a 680 vs a 670 and if the fans, etc are needed. Thanks!
 
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ksham

ksham

Splendid
Mar 29, 2013
8,398
1
29,960
- The Thermal Compound provided with the CPU Cooler is sufficient.
- A bit expensive for a motherboard. I'd also vote for the ASRock Extreme 4 as suggested by babernet_1.
- Personally, I'd get the Gigabyte Radeon 7970 OC which costs just as much as the GTX 670. A GTX 680 is $100 more and doesn't provide any significant performance increase over the GTX 670. Most don't recommend the GTX 680 because of the price gap and little to offer. The Radeon HD 7970 beats them both. But if you need CUDA, stick with the GTX 670.
- $50 extra for the Pro version is a preference. I say yes because I'm a speed freak. Some will say no. 128 GB is more than sufficient for your OS. It's no where near that big.
- The fans included are sufficient. But if you run it and you think it needs two extra fans on the side, buy the fans then. But I doubt it. You may probably only need it blowing at the GPU.
 
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P

pyursx

Honorable
Apr 18, 2013
7
0
10,510
Alright, so final purchase:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($226.99 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.05 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($41.00 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.00 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($468.98 @ NCIX)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N150HG 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($19.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Rosewill Challenger-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($97.69 @ DirectCanada)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($98.90 @ DirectCanada)
Monitor: Asus VE248H 24.0" Monitor ($175.10 @ DirectCanada)
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Wired Gaming Keyboard ($74.00 @ Vuugo)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Wired Optical Mouse ($39.88 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $1695.54
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-20 05:54 EDT-0400)

Will likely put the order through tomorrow, but welcome any further insights into how to improve this!
 
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ksham

ksham

Splendid
Mar 29, 2013
8,398
1
29,960
I would probably go with something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($226.99 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.98 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($409.99 @ NCIX)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N150HG 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($19.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Rosewill Challenger-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($76.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($159.98 @ NCIX)
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Wired Gaming Keyboard ($74.99 @ NCIX)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Wired Optical Mouse ($49.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $1576.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

- Kept everything within Amazon, Newegg, and NCIX. Less places to order from usually = less unnecessary shipping costs thrown around.
- The $60 extra for the GHz edition isn't worth it. The only difference is that the HD 7970 is clocked slightly lower.
- Replaced the PSU with a XFX 750W for a bit lower pricing as well.
- I dropped the monitor to a 23" one. The 24" one costs $196 on NCIX. I don't know how much you care for the 1" increase for $50 more. Not worth it IMO.


Without Amazon (being having only one entry, it's $10 more).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($226.99 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.98 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.98 @ NCIX)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($409.99 @ NCIX)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N150HG 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($19.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Rosewill Challenger-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($76.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($159.98 @ NCIX)
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Wired Gaming Keyboard ($74.99 @ NCIX)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Wired Optical Mouse ($49.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $1586.83
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
 
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