Looking For Some Advice on First Build - $1200 Budget

[Joe56]

Hey guys. So this is my first build ever, and I'm looking for some advice or suggestions.

A guy with a good amount of experience with building PCs helped me put this build together over at the eggexpert forums, but I wanted to get some other people's opinions before I pulled the trigger. I think there possibly might be some areas where I can cut back.


Purchase date: Next two weeks
Budget: $1200
Use: Gaming (specifically SC2), word processing, occasional video editing, watching movies, and the average internet browsing.
Parts not required: Monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers
Overclocking: Yes

Parts:

CPU: Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80601930

Price: $200

(I have already purchased the i7-930 over at microcenter because it was $80 cheaper than newegg)

Motherboard: ASUS P6X58D-E LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Price: $219.99

RAM: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7T-6GBPK

Price: $139.99

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

Price: $219.99

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Price: $87.99

CPU Cooler: XIGMATEK Intel Core i7 compatible Dark Knight-S1283V REV.W with ACK-I5361 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler I7 i5 775 AMD compatible

Price: $44.96

DVD-R: ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X 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 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

Price: $19.99

Case & PSU: Antec Nine Hundred + EA650 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 650W Power Supply

Price: $169.99

Total (With shipping and sales tax) : $1179.30

All advice is welcome and appreciated. Thanks.

 

[gkay09]

^ Have you checked for combos ??
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.496748

RAM - Maybe a faster one for the same price and also has better user ratings
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231304

HDD - Samsung F3 1TB
$15 off with promo code EMCYWPZ27, ends 9/6
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

CPU Cooler - CM Hyper 212+ is a good cheaper option -
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G1YPH0/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_r=13CMABRY5FDY2WHT10DE&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470939031&pf_rd_i=507846

IMO the i7 930 is not required for your requirements...

 

[Joe56]

^ Have you checked for combos ??
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.496748

RAM - Maybe a faster one for the same price and also has better user ratings
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231304

HDD - Samsung F3 1TB
$15 off with promo code EMCYWPZ27, ends 9/6
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

CPU Cooler - CM Hyper 212+ is a good cheaper option -
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G1YPH0/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_r=13CMABRY5FDY2WHT10DE&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470939031&pf_rd_i=507846

IMO the i7 930 is not required for your requirements...

I had a few combo deals from newegg but they had since expired so I just thought I'd go with the individual items from the combos.

The combo you have posted actually looks really good and from the looks of it this motherboard is superior then the one I was getting.

The RAM and the cooler you have suggested all look good as well.

I've heard a few times that when it comes to HDDs that WD is always the way to go for reliability and longevity. Any truth to this? If that's the case then I'll just spend the extra few bucks for the WD drive.

In regards to the i7-30, I understand that it might be a little more than I need but I was able to get it for $200 so I might as well have gotten it rather then the i5 for the same price.

 

[gkay09]

^ Well its you call about the i7...

As for the HDD, WD drives are no doubt good, but the Samsung F3s are pretty good too, also these drives have been in the market for a while and there are no major issues with those...

 

[asteldian]

Samsung cheaper and one of the best performing HDDs out there. It is no coincidence they are recommended so often here. WD are good qualit but I rate Samsung higher for price/performance and they are no less quality.

My own personal preference to HDD is: Samsung Spinpoint F3> Seagate> WD. Though they are all pretty close.

Course, having said that, I have experienced a few too many Seagate failures recently so WD may be jumping ahead in my view, but Samsung are still top.

 

[elbert]

Nice build but I notice no OS was in the list. Newegg has $10 off combo for windows 7 home premium 64bit with your case and PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.437504.11-129-064

I really like the WD HD's. I've only had 1 to fail which was replaced under warranty. The black edition has a 5 year warranty so they are a pretty safe bet. I would suggest you buy this with a combo deal to get eSATA.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.409755

I suggest you get the combo deal on your Motherboard with your DVD. Saves you $17. DVD drive for a $1.99 is a nice deal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.496781

I notice you have no thermal compound on the List. I suggest Artic Silver 5 for long lasting heat transfer between your CPU and heatsink. AS5 takes a few heating cycles to really start lowering temps well so don't OC until you have done a few burn in tests. I suggest getting a card reader combo with your AS5.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.387229

 

[Joe56]

Nice build but I notice no OS was in the list. Newegg has $10 off combo for windows 7 home premium 64bit with your case and PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.437504.11-129-064

I really like the WD HD's. I've only had 1 to fail which was replaced under warranty. The black edition has a 5 year warranty so they are a pretty safe bet. I would suggest you buy this with a combo deal to get eSATA.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.409755

I suggest you get the combo deal on your Motherboard with your DVD. Saves you $17. DVD drive for a $1.99 is a nice deal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.496781

I notice you have no thermal compound on the List. I suggest Artic Silver 5 for long lasting heat transfer between your CPU and heatsink. AS5 takes a few heating cycles to really start lowering temps well so don't OC until you have done a few burn in tests. I suggest getting a card reader combo with your AS5.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.387229

Oops, probably should have mentioned that I already bought Windows 7 Ultimate.

After comparing motherboards I am most likely going to do the combo deal with the Gigabyte GA-X58A that gkay posted here.
I'm pretty sure the GA-X58A is better then the ASUS P6X58D-E by comparing them side by side but I'm not 100% sure.