N00b building a $1500-$2000 Computer

[Syndicate707]

Hello everyone,
Im new to the whole building my own computer scene and i was doing some research and stumbled onto this website and get some input on my build. A friend of mine and I narrowed it down to this build but i would like to get some more input from the community. This is my first build and 2nd computer ever (first one is a crappy dell c521) so please let me know what you guys think/what i should add or remove.

Case: Antec 902

CPU: Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950

Mobo - EVGA X58 FTW3 132-GT-E768-KR LGA 1366 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

RAM – 2x CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D

Video Card - EVGA 01G-P3-1371-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

HDD – 2x Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

HDD - HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.C HDS721010CLA332 (0F10383) 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Power Supply - Rosewill BRONZE series RBR1000-M 1000W Continuous@40°C, 80Plus Bronze Certified,Modular Cable Design,ATX12V v2.3/ EPS12V,SLI Ready,CrossFire Ready,Active PFC"Compatible with Core i7, i5" Power Supply

DVD Burner - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk – OEM

CPU Water Cooler - CoolIT SYSTEMS ECO-R120 Advanced Liquid Cooling (ALC)

Basically im going to be doing mainly gaming such as Starcraft 2, Final Fantasy XIV, and HON, downloading music and what not.

Im not going to be overclocking anything at the moment, ill be switching to liquid cooling in the near future and adding and second graphics card.

Any input is appreciated. My local fry's store should be having a sale this weekend so im going to stop by and see if they have any good deals for my parts and also purchasing parts through newegg.

Thanks everyone!

Teddy

 

[wielander]

You will get better performance out of an SSD than you could possibly get out of those VelociRaptors. The benefit of either upon general gaming is questionable, but I would at least recommend you go with this 128GB Crucial C300 SSD for $278 instead.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148348&cm_re=c300_128gb-_-20-148-348-_-Product


There is an excellent deal on the Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB right now for $60 at newegg. This one is seeing alot of traffic so hop on while you can.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=samsung%20spinpoint%20f3%201tb


That PSU is kind of a waste. This XFX 750W power supply is very highly regarded, more efficient, modular, and cheaper at $96.5.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207003&Tpk=xfx%20750w


You really don't need 12GB of ram. 6GB is more than enough for gaming. You can save money here and, if you want, invest it in higher quality components that will make a difference.


Here is a combo with that XFX 750W power supply and a 6GB set of G.Skill DDR3 1600 CL9 ram for $201.50 with the promo code XFXPower.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.492898


The best combo with that motherboard includes the i7-950 for $508.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.493779

 

[mgrzTX]

Hello everyone,
Im new to the whole building my own computer scene and i was doing some research and stumbled onto this website and get some input on my build. A friend of mine and I narrowed it down to this build but i would like to get some more input from the community. This is my first build and 2nd computer ever (first one is a crappy dell c521) so please let me know what you guys think/what i should add or remove.

Case: Antec 902

CPU: Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950

Mobo - EVGA X58 FTW3 132-GT-E768-KR LGA 1366 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

RAM – 2x CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D

Video Card - EVGA 01G-P3-1371-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

HDD – 2x Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

HDD - HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.C HDS721010CLA332 (0F10383) 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Power Supply - Rosewill BRONZE series RBR1000-M 1000W Continuous@40°C, 80Plus Bronze Certified,Modular Cable Design,ATX12V v2.3/ EPS12V,SLI Ready,CrossFire Ready,Active PFC"Compatible with Core i7, i5" Power Supply

DVD Burner - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk – OEM

CPU Water Cooler - CoolIT SYSTEMS ECO-R120 Advanced Liquid Cooling (ALC)

Basically im going to be doing mainly gaming such as Starcraft 2, Final Fantasy XIV, and HON, downloading music and what not.

Im not going to be overclocking anything at the moment, ill be switching to liquid cooling in the near future and adding and second graphics card.

Any input is appreciated. My local fry's store should be having a sale this weekend so im going to stop by and see if they have any good deals for my parts and also purchasing parts through newegg.

Thanks everyone!

Teddy

Here's my advice...using Newegg

You really don't need the VelociRaptor's just get a SSD.

I don't know how much storage you need but there's better 1tb HDDs and if you have any important info I would suggest getting 2 at your budget and running them in RAID 1.

You also don't really need 12 gigs of ram assuming your just gaming, downloading music, browsing etc.

All of this money would be better spend elsewhere such as a better GPU etc.

Here's something I would do...

CPU/Mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.495225

PSU/Ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.495225

HDD (x2):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129058

DVD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118039

SSD: I might wait because the next gen of SSDs should be coming out with in the year, and I don't know how much you want to put on it, but since you had 300 gb of raptor space I thought you would want a larger ssd.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118039

Not including your cooling system and with the HDD promo codes that puts you right at 1725$ in the middle of your price range.

 

[wielander]

Although two GTX 460s in SLI would offer impressive performance, that setup will leave you with no route to upgrade. Personally I would go with a single GTX 470, HD 5850, or HD 5870. That way I would be able to add a second one in the future, when games have become even more graphically demanding and those graphics cards have become outdated, cheaper. With your budget you shouldn't have any problems fitting in one of the higher end graphics cards, either.

 

[mgrzTX]

Although two GTX 460s in SLI would offer impressive performance, that setup will leave you with no route to upgrade. Personally I would go with a single GTX 470, HD 5850, or HD 5870. That way I would be able to add a second one in the future, when games have become even more graphically demanding and those graphics cards have become outdated, cheaper. With your budget you shouldn't have any problems fitting in one of the higher end graphics cards, either.

Agreed

 

[wielander]

Here's my advice...using Newegg

CPU/Mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.495225

PSU/Ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.495225

mgrzTX, you linked the same combo twice.

 

[wielander]

Here's a good combo with a Gigabyte GTX 470 and 6GB of DDR3 1600 CL8 Memory for $376.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.493563


And here's a steal of a deal with an Antec 900 case and the XFX 750W power supply for $156.5 after rebates.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492896

 

[wielander]

So my build would be:

Intel i7-950
EVGA X58 FTW3
$508

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.493779


Antec 900 Case
XFX 750W PSU
$156.5

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492896


6GB OCZ DDR3 1600 CL8
Gigabyte GTX 470
$376

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.493563


Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
$60

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=samsung%20spinpoint%20f3%201tb


Crucial C300 128GB SSD
$278

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148348&cm_re=c300_128gb-_-20-148-348-_-Product


$20 DVD Burner


Total: $1378.5 (including shipping and rebates)


Slightly Upscale from that:


XFX 850W Power supply (This is an awesome power supply; it should deliver enough power for two GTX 470 cards in SLI, although you could go higher wattage preemptively)
$113.5

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207001

Antec 902
$130

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129058&Tpk=antec%20nine%20hundred%20two


Total: $1465.5 (including shipping and rebates)

 

[luke904]

you will gain very little with getting a i7 950... go with a 930 and save 250 dollars or so... then you can get another gtx 460... or a blue ray drive... or space you will never use... lol
spending twice as much to get a cpu that's only 266Mhz faster is well... stupid

and yah you wont use 12 gig.. 6 gig is plenty.. 3 gig is even enough for gaming if keep your pc bloatware free


psu is overkill true.. but hey that power supply might last you for life.. i would go with an 850 though. but a good 750 would be fine for 2 460s


and go SSD with a 1-2TB data drive
i would not recommend raid for a "noob"

 

[wielander]

you will gain very little with getting a i7 950... go with a 930 and save 250 dollars or so... then you can get another gtx 460... or a blue ray drive... or space you will never use... lol
spending twice as much to get a cpu that's only 266Mhz faster is well... stupid

The price of the i7-950 was just cut substantially; it only costs $15 more than the i7-930 now.

 

[Syndicate707]

thanks everyone for their input, i really appreciate it. So im still doing some research and found out that EVGA just realeased the new x58 SLI3 mobo. The thing is i dont know which one is better, they both seem the same to me, its just one is more expensive but that doesnt matter. i was just wondering which one would be better.

 

[jacknhut]

Why do you like EVGA so much? Get the Asus Sabertooth X58 mobo for 199 bucks at newegg and save money. Also, dont buy that crucial real SSD... get the sandforce SSD one such as OCZ Vertex 2 120 GB for 210 bucks on newegg. You save 60 bucks and get better performance than the crucial SSD. Also, I would recommend waiting for the HD 6000 (coming out in a month or so) instead of getting that GTX 470.