Ibuypower noob requesting aid!

[bukkythegnome]

Hi everybody! I'm thinking about buying a computer from ibuypower mainly intended for playing computer games like WoW, and then Aion, Starcraft 2, and Diablo 3 when they come out. I was wondering if my system specs look good and if its even worth going the ibuypower route (for example, I would be willing to pay a price markup of 300 for the 3 year warranty and me not having to assemble it). Keep in mind that I'm planning on playing on my 2500x1600 resolution dell screen and I was going to try out overclocking on this one because I hear that the i7's are great for that. I have enough computer knowledge to be able to assemble it myself, if you guys think ibuypower isn't worth the price, but I might need some backup finding good parts and stuff. Thanks in advance for you responses!

Case (Coolermaster HAF 932 Full Tower Gaming Case Black)

Processor (Intel® Core™ i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache))

Processor Cooling (XIGMATEK Dark Knight 120mm CPU Cooling Fan System H.D.T. (Heat-pipe direct touch)

Memory (6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1600 Triple Memory Module Corsair Dominator)

Video Card (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 - 1792MB Single Card)

Motherboard (EVGA X58 SLI Classified -- Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire and SLI Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Dual Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, 3-Way SLI PC 3-Way SLI)

Power Supply (1000 Watt -- Extreme Power Supply [Gaming Series] Quad SLI + Active PFC)

Hard Drive (80 GB Intel X25-M MLC SSD )

2nd Hard Drive (1 TB HARD DRIVE [16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s])

Optical Drive (22X LG Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive-Black)

Sound Card (Creative Lab Sound Blaster Audigy SE )

Network Card (Intel Pro 10/100/1000 Network Card)

Total price before shipping: 2688$

 

[itadakimasu]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180397823441&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

I'm selling my new i7, 12gb, 2gb 4870 build for alot less than that and I would guess it's as good as that system.

$2688 is way too much for that system... for that much it should have a i7 965 and another video card in SLI or something.

 

[hunter315]

Rough price based off of other builds, i would say you can build that same system for about $1900 getting parts off of newegg and get better quality parts for it.

 

[daship]

If your scared get a newegg cart ready, I asemble and support for 1 year $150 labor.

 

[4fingerlid]

Stay away from ibuypower. Lots of bad reviews!

 

[rambo117]

ibuypower.. more like ibuycrap

build it yourself, save the money. if you need us to help you out, no prob.

 

[Shadow703793]

^+1. Go DIY.

 

[bukkythegnome]

from what I have heard, the price markup for ibuypowers services is only about 10% and I would be willing to pay that considering I am getting a 3 year warranty and having it assembled for me. However, if this isn't true I will probably end up building one myself because that's fun and cheaper :B

What are reputable sites to buy parts at? (besides newegg.com)

 

[hunter315]

tiger direct and zip zoom fly

 

[mindless728]

well, ibuypower has this nasty habit of using generic parts in areas they don't give a lot of info for

like the PSU they say it is an 1000w extreme PSU, no brand or any info

they only tell you specifics on the parts most people would look at because come on who besides computer enthusiasts would think about whether the PSU is a good buy or not

 

[geofelt]

from what I have heard, the price markup for ibuypowers services is only about 10% and I would be willing to pay that considering I am getting a 3 year warranty and having it assembled for me. However, if this isn't true I will probably end up building one myself because that's fun and cheaper :B

What are reputable sites to buy parts at? (besides newegg.com)

If you build it yourself, the warranty may even be better.
For example:
Intel has the same 3 year warranty on cpu.
Ram and video cards will often be lifetime.
PC P&C psu's may be 5 years.

I have ordered with satisfaction from:
newegg
fry's
buy.com
heatsink factory
zipzoomfly
techonweb

 

[Niklas_13]

You want to play games not be on the phone for hours to India

 

[Yoosty]

from what I have heard, the price markup for ibuypowers services is only about 10% and I would be willing to pay that considering I am getting a 3 year warranty and having it assembled for me. However, if this isn't true I will probably end up building one myself because that's fun and cheaper :B

What are reputable sites to buy parts at? (besides newegg.com)

That is misleading. They will give you tech support and for some parts for those 3yrs over the phone, but most of the parts are OEM and only have 90 days to 1year warranty on them. Also you have to go through them if a part fail in that time frame.

 

[bukkythegnome]

Ok, thanks for the replies! I went to newegg and made a list of some components for my new computer. Let me know what you think and if you know of any better or more cost effective alternatives. I'm planning on buying a second gtx 295 later when they become cheaper so I can do SLI (that works right?). Heres the list

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Mobo: EVGA E760 CLASSIFIED "Overclocker's Pick" 3-Way SLI + PhysX 1366 Intel X58 EATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core i7 920 2.66Ghz
CPU cooling: XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler
1st hard drive: 80 SSD intel x25
2nd hard drive: 500 GB HITACHI Deskstar 7200 RPM SATA
PSU: Corsair 850W SLI ready PFC
GPU: EVGA CO-OP Edition GeForce GTX 295 1792MB
RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
Optical drive: LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model GH22LS30 LightScribe Support

Thanks
-Bukky

Edit: the total price tag for all of this is about 1950 bucks btw
Edit 2: oh also, is that 'protect your investment' option in newegg worth it? and if so, for how long?

 

[hunter315]

OCZ platinum instead of the dominator ram, its cheaper and faster. The classified board is super expensive and you likely dont need all the added features. Wait for the new intel gen 2 SSDs to get back in stock(the silver ones) as they are faster and less expensive than the older ones.

 

[stevensl2]

I would suggest buying from your local computer store, they might offer something similar.

Like a computer store near me (www.a-power.com) offers gaming systems that they will build and it comes with 1 year warrenty, and you can also select the 3 year warrenty for like 150$ more.

So that would be the best way to go, plus they will probably only make you pay like 150$ extra for assembly.

 

[jonsy2k]

I agree with hunter, unless you really need the features of the classified motherboard, your paying almost a 100% premium for features you might not use. Even the normal EVGA boards offer a ton of great features while being half the price.

Also agree with what he said about the ssd. If it were me, I would grab a slightly larger hard disk possibly from wd as well, since they offer excellent products and a great warranty.

Same with the ram, grab the oczs, the dominators are just not worth it.

 

[bukkythegnome]

Ok so I replaced the classified mobo and the dominators and just got rid of the SSD

OCZ Platinum 6GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381
EVGA intel x58 SLI LE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188049


I saw some OCZ gold 6GB rams too, but I think the platinum is faster correct?
Is this mobo good for some minor overclocking and dual gtx 295s later, the reviews look pretty good on it?
Do I need a sound or network card (besides onboard)?
How it my setup looking now?

 

[hunter315]

Yes the platinums have tighter timings. Onboard sound is fine for most people, and all modern motherboard support gigabit ethernet so you shouldnt need a NIC. Im unsure if 850 watts is sufficient for 2 GTX295's but someone else needs to weigh in on that.

 

[obsidian86]

tri 285 is better then sli 295
edit' sli 295gtx uses 680watt at peak load jus normal clocked

 

[bukkythegnome]

hmm, so do you guys think I should just got with dual 285s (1BG not 2GB correct?) for now then? and maybe a third one later? I'm just worried about being able to cool 3 cards when that happens. Is the dark knight a good cpu cooler? I was thinking about the V8 but wasn't sure which to go with.

Sorry for all the questions.
Thanks for your continued support!

 

[jonsy2k]

It's honestly not worth it to add the third card. You get barely any gain, and to strain even 2 285s you would need some really insane pixel density or a lot of monitors.

If you feel like upgrading later, just grab the new series of gpus which is due soon anyway. I would normally not suggest the "wait for new technology" thing, but with the release date so imminent, you might be better off waiting a bit.

 

[obsidian86]

dual 285gtx is just bout as good as at gets till next gen

 

[bukkythegnome]

So I think I'm going to get the two SLI gtx 285s instead of the one 295. The only thing I'm still unsure about is the mobo. I don't really understand the difference between many of them and I've been kind of just judging them by their reviews on newegg haha. Any ideas for a good motherboard that can Overclock and that can do SLI ? Thats the only reason I chose that classified one because it was the "overclockers choice" or whatever. I don't really know what I'm doing lol. Thanks for the help!

 

[Yoosty]

The EVGA intel x58 SLI LE will only run SLI at this speed 16x-8x as was pointed out to me earlier this week. So your top two X58 Mobo's imho are the following.
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $289.99 Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365

EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $299.99
($279.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping* (which has some nice Graphic/Mobo Combo's from NewEgg)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188039

I have no actual experiance with the EVGA X8 board, but do have the P6T Deluxe w/OC Palm before it was discontinued and it is very easy to OC. Have mine running at 920 running at 3.2ghz without any cpu voltage increase.