Purchasing tomorrow! final advice?

[batou1]

A little background for my first build:

1.) Purchase date : tomorrow!!
2.) Usage: Streaming online video; Hulu, Netflix,network sites, etc... (I have an HD cable box that I don't think I have even turned on since college football ended) blu ray, normal dvds; Surfing internet,;possibly a rare game or 2 (wow or something, for more hardcore gaming like COD MW2 etc, I have the 360)
3.) Parts not required: Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse (love the logitech mx1100!) speakers.
4.) Website: Newegg should be paying me a salary for how many hours i've been on there the last 2 weeks.
5.) Parts: i5 750, Samsung f3 500 gb, leaning towards an nvidia card, besides that just looking for quality over price
6.) Overclock-possible but unlikely...I'm pretty ignorant to it does it shorten lifespan and reliability of chip or does extra cooling totally remedy that? sli-no.
7.) Monitor: 55" Hitachi 720p I run 1280x720 on my current 8500gt, but I plan on eventually getting a 1080p TV (I use wireless peripherals and use one monitor for cable TV, Xbox360, PC, etc...)
8.) Comments: Please see additional comments under build specs.

I plan on purchasing tomorrow (unless there are glaring mistakes or better options.) Please critique and give any feedback.


Rosewill 18" Serial ATA II cable Model RC-18"-SA-90-BK, Black - Retail (Just in case, hey its only 2 bucks)
Item #: N82E1681211922

$1.99

select item 2 quantity of item 2


SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822152181

$54.99

select item 3 quantity of item 3


GIGABYTE GV-N26SO-896I GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

GIGABYTE GV-N26SO-896I GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814125294
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy

$204.99

select item 4 quantity of item 4


OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC ... - Retail
Item #: N82E16817341018
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$40.00 Instant
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card17-341-018

$129.99
$89.99

select item 5 quantity of item 5


Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Item #: N82E16835100007
Return Policy: Consumable Item Standard Return Policy


$6.99

select item 6 quantity of item 6


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL


$93.99

select item 7 quantity of item 7


ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131621


$189.99


Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

$104.99

select item 9 quantity of item 9


SAMSUNG Blu-ray Combo SATA Model SH-B083L/RSBP LightScribe Support

SAMSUNG Blu-ray Combo SATA Model SH-B083L/RSBP LightScribe Support - Retail
Item #: N82E16827151195

$109.99


*

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115215
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy

*

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811119196
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$10.00 Instant
-$15.00 Combo


$299.98
$274.98


Total comes to $1132.89 (US) Before mail in rebates.

*Is more ram worthwhile? Most builds I see on here go with 4 gigs while a lot of store pcs come with 8 or 9 gigs....is that overkill or is the ram they use just garbage and that is where the difference is? I know the HD 5770 is less expensive and has dx.11, but I'm not much of a gamer anyway and I keep reading numerous horror stories about driver issues with win 7. My next question is I was originally planning on getting a 64gb ssd as a boot drive, but decided to hold off and spend the savings on better parts (mainly the mobo) Will it be possible to partition my hd, and when ssd prices come way down in 6-12 months move everything I don't want on ssd being used as boot onto a separate partition and then to clone the remaining os, antivirus, & remaining programs i start-up with onto an ssd and make that the boot? Is this even possible or is there an easier option?

 

[gkay09]

^ Frankly for your usage, what you have selected is a total overkill...
For say $600-$700, you can still build a powerful PC for your needs, that can easily last long...
And try to come out of the mindset that only one company can make good parts...
You should go with the one that currently offers the better part and not by brand loyalty...You should check out the CPUs from AMD and graphic cards from ATI...It is correct that some of the older components were not good...but things have changed...

And as for the SSD, it is better than you give a clean install on the SSD rather than cloning the partition onto it...WIN 7 optimizes its performance settings when installed on a SSD...So cloning a partition from HDD(SSD specific options in WIN 7 might not have been properly set) onto the SSD might have some issues...

 

[batou1]

Suggestions then? The way I look at it is yeah it might be overkill now but they are the specs that someone would probably suggest for a budget build in a year or so. Is it not true that drivers are a problem with many of the ati's? I also would like an HDMI out on it so I dont have to use the converter going from DVI. As for the CPU something like a 955 would only save me like $30. What would be your suggestion for a more budget conscious build then? Ive just heard so much good things about an i5 750. Ive got the money so I dont want to sacrifice performance just because I can get by with less. If I can save some going with a few different things (I want to keep the i5, HD, blu ray, ram, and also Id like to have the mobo with 3.0 usb and 6gb/s for ssd hookup) and save some money, then I could go ahead and get the ssd as my boot.

 

[gkay09]

^ I suggest things based on Value w.r.t the requirements of the user...
that is why I had suggest the AMD/ ATI offerings...
You wouldn't notice any significant difference in the tasks that you have planned to do say with a $200 CPU or a $100 CPU...
You should check out this CPU from AMD...Read its reviews to get an idea how you can get performance for less...
Athlon X4 620
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103706

IMO we shouldn't be unnecessarily spending money on things if we wouldn't be able to utilize its full potential...being future-proof is nearly impossible...now maybe the 750 is a powerful chip, but in a year or so, there will be more powerful ones for nearly the same price or less...

But if you still want to stick with i5, its your choice...Here are few suggestion for lowering the price to be able to include a SSD...
As for the ATI's driver problems, it was during the initial release as it happens with nearly all the cards even with Nvidia...
The drivers are now mature and stable...
The new cards also have very low power consumption too...

1. Mobo - Get this one...It has all the features that you need...
GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.319613

2. Graphics card - You also wont need the 5770...the 5750 can easily handle 1080p playback, and also can play recent games at decent settings(Can max out WoW and such games at 1080p...So this would suffice...)
HD 5750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102859

3. PSU - You wont need 700W PSU for running a single card...A quality 500W would suffice...
OCZ Mod 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016
Or OCZ Fatality 550W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022

So these would save enough money to buy a SSD for a boot drive...
Intel 40GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167025

And as for the thermal compound, instead of the AS5, get this -
TX2 - Doesn't need curring time and is not electrically conductive like the AS%...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003&cm_re=thermal_grease-_-35-154-003-_-Product

 

[batou1]

ok thanks for all your help. So 40gb is large enough for boot drive? what all do you feel should be on it? OS, antivirus, should I also have some of my most used programs on it like firefox, and do they also need to stay 20% free like a standard hard drive for optimum performance?

 

[gkay09]

^ 40GB(usable space would be less maybe ~37GB) would suffice for the OS and frequently used apps...
WIN 7 - ~16GB(Less when you optimize it properly) + apps ~2GB...So you will have atleast 10GB space left...

 

[rodney_ws]

There are length issues with that case and certain video cards... the largest card you can have is a 5850... 5870s and 5970s are a no-go in that case... and I really wouldn't go with that Nvidia card at this point, but hey... to each his own.