Advice on $800 i5/i7 build

[Zooman580]

Hi guys,
This is my first build, though I have experience tearing down my factory-built computer. I would like to run it by you guys to see if it is a good build and if there are any suggestions to lower the price. This computer will be used mostly for internet, light gaming (cod mostly, nothing like crysis), and some light engineering drawings (CAD) work. I might overclock in the future. The budget is actually up to $1000, but I would like to save money for upgrades later, such as a ssd when the price goes down some, a better graphics card (SLI) for bigger CAD programs and better games, etc. The store could either be newegg or tigerdirect, doesn't matter. Here are the parts I'm planning to buy in a few months:

CPU
Intel Core i7 860/870
OR
Intel Core i5 760

MB
ASUS SABERTOOTH 55i LGA 1156
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131601&cm_re=sabertooth-_-13-131-601-_-Product


Memory
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
(more in the future)

Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 7200 rpm
(already own this)
Would love a SSD if the price doesnt push it to far above 700.

PSU
Ultra LSP750 750-Watt Power Supply
http://goo.gl/OGgw

CPU Cooler
I don't know what to get here yet. There might be some OC in the future. I'd prefer water cooling since its more effective and takes less space doing it
Water cooling would be something like this: http://goo.gl/YslP

Graphics
This I'm not sure about either. Would really prefer Nvidia since I have an intel processor.
How is this one? http://goo.gl/aeHs

Case
Undecided - most unsure about this one. Please give suggestions about the case and the brand. Mid tower Full tower both ok. Would like 3 or 4 pin connectors and maybe clear sides. Give any suggestions about any cases here. I'd like to put filters on the fans so 200mm or 230mm is too big but give me suggestions anyway, unless you know where to get big filters.
NZXT M59 - http://goo.gl/HPv0
Azza Solano 1000 - http://goo.gl/ul9g
NZXT Tempest Evo - http://goo.gl/G375

 

[sp12]

A lot of the links aren't working, but what resolution is your monitor? IMO for this budget with CAD an AMD 1055tx6 might make sense for 178$.

 

[dndhatcher]

That is an older sabretooth. Any motherboard you get might as well be a new model with USB3 since the price difference is small.

HAF 912 has dust filters already. Looks to be another great case in the HAF line.

The Ultra LSP 750 is an outdated design. Its got 12V wattage roughly equivalent to a modern 600W PSU. I have one in my older gaming machine, but I would not buy another one. Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, XfX all have newer designs with more 12V amperage, which is what almost all the components on new PCs use.


GTS 250 is an old DX10 card. Get a DX11 capable ATI 5770 or 5830 or an Nvidia 460.

 

[Zooman580]

A lot of the links aren't working, but what resolution is your monitor? IMO for this budget with CAD an AMD 1055tx6 might make sense for 178$.

yea idk what was happening with the tigerdirect links. They should be working now. My monitor (at least the one im planning to buy) is 1080p, i got the engineering graphics covered with that. And what do you mean by $178??? And I don't like AMD THAT much but if the performance/value is much higher I could look into it. For now this computer won't be seeing any super memory intensive CAD, so the 6 core isn't necessary

 

[sp12]

178 for the chip, not the whole platform Sorry.

 

[Zooman580]

That is an older sabretooth. Any motherboard you get might as well be a new model with USB3 since the price difference is small.

HAF 912 has dust filters already. Looks to be another great case in the HAF line.

The Ultra LSP 750 is an outdated design. Its got 12V wattage roughly equivalent to a modern 600W PSU. I have one in my older gaming machine, but I would not buy another one. Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, XfX all have newer designs with more 12V amperage, which is what almost all the components on new PCs use.


GTS 250 is an old DX10 card. Get a DX11 capable ATI 5770 or 5830 or an Nvidia 460.

The i55 sabretooth is the newest one I could find that is 1156. I can't really find any really good boards with sata 6gb and usb3. I found boards but they either have the new sata and usb and no SLI or SLI but no new sata/usb. Any suggestions? I heard the sabertooth ones have easy OC tools and Bios so I chose that one. I never saw the HAF 912 before. I looks really good thanks.

and for the graphics card, I don't really play the graphics intensive games like Crysis. Mostly COD which has DX 9 or 10

 

[Twoboxer]

An i5 750/460 build is going to cost ~$950, less any parts you can re-use. I'll link a minimal such build below. You can save money ($70-$80) by using a 5750 or 5770 vid card. These will game strong at 1680 and many games at 1920, and do provide DX11.

Below that you should step down your basic platform, in either AMD or Intel.

Intel Core i5-750 $195
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3 $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128425

G.SKILL NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231396

Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Sony Optiarc 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 CD/DVD Burner $20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118039

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._7_home_premium_64_bit-_-32-116-754-_-Product

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

ZOTAC ZT-40402-10P GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB $220
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500169

 

[dndhatcher]

The i55 sabretooth is the newest one I could find that is 1156.

and for the graphics card, I don't really play the graphics intensive games like Crysis. Mostly COD which has DX 9 or 10

ASUS P7P55D-E Pro. SLI and USB3. $180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131621


The 5770 plays COD quite well and is noticeably faster even at DX10 for not much more money. If it fits your budget, its a better value.