Looking for advice on i5-760 build

[lurlurk]

Hi! I'm putting together my first build, mostly for gaming/office work. I'm looking for all advice/input/critique, but also specifically for good mobo and graphics suggestion to go with the build, as well as general compatibility (will this fit inside an Antec 300?). My intention is to start with one GTX 460 now and perhaps add one later, so SLI support is needed. I am also considering eventually getting an SSD as a boot drive.

Case/PSU: Antec 300 / Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Combo (120$ Newegg combo)
CPU: i5 760 (170 from Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASUS P7P55D EVO LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX (145$)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131407
Ram: 2x2GB DDR3 1600 G.Skill (120$)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231279&cm_re=ripjaw-_-20-231-279-_-Product
Graphics: MSI N460GTX Hawk GeForce GTX 460 1GB (240$)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127518&Tpk=460%20hawk
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB (55$)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181
 

Approximate Purchase Date: This week
Budget Range: ~1000
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, office, photoshop, surfing
Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, cd/dvd drive
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com, amazon.com, microcenter in range)
Country of Origin: USA (Socal)
Overclocking: Maybe
SLI: Maybe
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

 

[katiklysm]

Hi! I'm putting together my first build, mostly for gaming/office work. I'm looking for all advice/input/critique, but also specifically for good mobo and graphics suggestion to go with the build, as well as general compatibility (will this fit inside an Antec 300?). My intention is to start with one GTX 460 now and perhaps add one later, so SLI support is needed. I am also considering eventually getting an SSD as a boot drive.

Case/PSU: Antec 300 / Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Combo (120$ Newegg combo)
CPU: i5 750 (170 from Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASUS P7P55D EVO LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX (145$)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131407
Ram: 2x2GB DDR3 1600 G.Skill (120$)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231279&cm_re=ripjaw-_-20-231-279-_-Product
Graphics: MSI N460GTX Hawk GeForce GTX 460 1GB (240$)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127518&Tpk=460%20hawk
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB (55$)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181
 

Approximate Purchase Date: This week
Budget Range: ~1000
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, office, photoshop, surfing
Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, cd/dvd drive
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com, amazon.com, microcenter in range)
Country of Origin: USA (Socal)
Overclocking: Maybe
SLI: Maybe
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

2 suggestions:

1.) I'd go with the EVGA P55 SLI motherboard + i5 750 combo from newegg if you're looking at a P55 setup right now. board has a big rebate and the combo price is nice.

2.) If you stick to purchasing seperately- get your processor from newegg today/tomorrow. They have the i5 760 for $171 for 48hours. Otherwise not worthwhile to upgrade from 750 to 760, but for a buck and no tax... thumbs up.

 

[Thegolfpro]

2 suggestions:

1.) I'd go with the EVGA P55 SLI motherboard + i5 750 combo from newegg if you're looking at a P55 setup right now. board has a big rebate and the combo price is nice.

2.) If you stick to purchasing seperately- get your processor from newegg today/tomorrow. They have the i5 760 for $171 for 48hours. Otherwise not worthwhile to upgrade from 750 to 760, but for a buck and no tax... thumbs up.

Could you link the i5 760 with the rebate because I just checked on newegg and it didnt show any rebate that I was able to see. Thanks in advance

 

[katiklysm]

I'll do you one better, its no rebate- a straight discount at checkout. No forms! =)

Apply code: EMCYTZT162

Use that in cart with an i5 760 and you should get the $171 promotion price.

Edit: Here is a link to the P55 SLI + i5 750 combo I mentioned, too: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.493852

I recently purchased this board and its a good one.

 

[lurlurk]

2 suggestions:

1.) I'd go with the EVGA P55 SLI motherboard + i5 750 combo from newegg if you're looking at a P55 setup right now. board has a big rebate and the combo price is nice.

2.) If you stick to purchasing seperately- get your processor from newegg today/tomorrow. They have the i5 760 for $171 for 48hours. Otherwise not worthwhile to upgrade from 750 to 760, but for a buck and no tax... thumbs up.

Ahh my bad, I typoed 750 instead of 760 in the OP. Microcenter has the 760 for 170$ as a regular price, which makes that newegg combo less attractive.

 

[katiklysm]

Ahh my bad, I typoed 750 instead of 760 in the OP. Microcenter has the 760 for 170$ as a regular price, which makes that newegg combo less attractive.

Microcenter = tax + gas.

The newegg offer is superior, though if you aren't buying in the next 48 hours - the microcenter price is fantastic as well =) Unless you're in California, in which case eff newegg.

 

[Thegolfpro]

I'll do you one better, its no rebate- a straight discount at checkout. No forms! =)

Apply code: EMCYTZT162

Use that in cart with an i5 760 and you should get the $171 promotion price.

Edit: Here is a link to the P55 SLI + i5 750 combo I mentioned, too: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.493852

I recently purchased this board and its a good one.

Wow I dont know how i missed that combo. That is quite a bit of savings there. Now would you suggest that combo over the $171 i5 760 combined with a seperate motherboard? The seperate motherboard would have to be around $110-$120 to make them equal in price at least.

 

[katiklysm]

Wow I dont know how i missed that combo. That is quite a bit of savings there. Now would you suggest that combo over the $171 i5 760 combined with a seperate motherboard? The seperate motherboard would have to be around $110-$120 to make them equal in price at least.

Even at the great $171 pricepoint- I would not recommend the i5 760 over the P55 SLI + i5 750 combo, unless you have a board that better suits you in mind. IMO, the EVGA P55 SLI is a tough customer at that pricepoint with a $40 rebate. I just don't see better value out there. The P55 SLI does not have USB3 or SATA6, but it remains to be seen if either will catch on and each have questionable day-to-day value. SLI expansion potential is more important for a gamer.

You can also do the EVGA P55 SLI + i5 760 in a combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.493864

Edit: I know what you're thinking, no- I do not think you can use the Promo Code on this combo =) As great of a deal as that would be, newegg knows it

Its about $7 more, and maybe worth the upgrade if you don't plan to Overclock. If you're overclocking- I don't see it worth $7 to you when the i5 750 will peak just as high. EVGA is known for fantastic customer service as well, so that is a strong value add to their boards as well. I hope to never speak with them, but have heard good things if needed =)

 

[lurlurk]

Is this the exact same MB?

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-P55-SLI-Mainboard-132-LF-E655-KR/dp/B002N2Z062/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285635454&sr=8-1

 

[Thegolfpro]

Since I do plan on doing some very minor overclocking, I think I will just go with the 750 combo package. (I only plan to take it up to 3.0 or 3.1 to be safe since I dont wanna break my new computer too early) =) And you're right about the value of the motherboard compared with others on the market in the similar price range. This combo is a must have for a medium build like the one I'm doing and the one the OP is doing. With this combo I actually freed up some money that I can spend on a better GPU. Have any secret links that will bring me to a great value nvidia card that I could maybe eventually get a second of down the road?

 

[katiklysm]

lurlurk- Yes, that is the exact same MB

As for good value nvidia cards- unfortunately they come and go. =(

The best *value* I have seen was a brief Amazon deal for $175 on a 1GB ASUS GTX 460.

From a *value* standpoint TODAY- I would say that this is the best card to get in a 1GB RAM card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125333&cm_re=GIGABYTE_GTX_460-_-14-125-333-_-Product

That said, there have been some great deals on the 768MB GTX 460 models for ~ $150-$160 lately. If you could get a name brand for $160 or less this is clearly the best Bang-For-Your-Buck Nvidia Card.

Best price I see on a 768MB model is : http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?afsrc=1&EdpNo=6491183&CatId=3670&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=lw9MynSeamY-devBVwTOGuKW2bMv4ZRXJQ

However, it is a GALAXY made card. I have no experience with this brand, other than assuming it is not of quite the same quality as EVGA, GIGABYTE, ASUS, etc.

Tiger Direct also has an MSI GTX 460 768MB for $160, but no free shipping.

This is one of the few cases where I would (and did) splurge for the better (1GB) card, as games are starting to make use of lots of graphics memory and the 1GB will probably stay relevant longer than the 768MB card will.

 

[Just a nickname]

If you're looking for asus this asus board is really really nice.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131405&cm_re=asus_p7p55d-_-13-131-405-_-Product

Don't take the SLI version if you can't spend the monee for an extra card. I haven't done any research on that VGA but, from what I know at this price range a second card is needed to be gaming on a high resolution normal to maxed settings.


I'd go for the 1T samsung F3

I got these rams:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321&cm_re=gskill_eco_1600-_-20-231-321-_-Product

They overclock like a charm, low voltage helps. They also do not tend to get warm so no need of ram cooler - was a must for me as I have a D-14.

I see you haven't added any after market cooler, I know your budget is restricted, but you can get one at 35$ it will greatly improve your overall performance. My 750 was super ez to be overclocked on the p7p55d-e pro.

Most 750 owner easily pushed their cpu to 4Ghz, this more than the double of stock clock! I think it'd be even more a waste to not OC the 760 as it is even easier to do it!

 

[Thegolfpro]

Yea that is the same Video Card I had selected but your's is Gigabyte and mine was EVGA. I obviously chose yours though since yours had a better price at the moment. $199 isnt bad at all for a quite high quality GPU. Plus if/when I'm ready to SLi I bet this will be $150 or lower so that will be a cheap upgrade.

Could you comment perhaps on this combo I'm doing for my case/HDD...http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.493006

I'm looking for a basic case that is probably about medium rated quality and isnt some dumb color or shape. lol And as for my HDD I do not need more that 500G since I do not do music or video at all, but this 640GB seemed good since the HDD had 32MB of cache instead of 16MB like the majority of them that I saw in the same price range.

P.S. Sorry for misdirecting from the original topic of the OP. I have a thread of my own open as well but it just seemed like it flowed better here. =)

 

[katiklysm]

Yea that is the same Video Card I had selected but your's is Gigabyte and mine was EVGA. I obviously chose yours though since yours had a better price at the moment. $199 isnt bad at all for a quite high quality GPU. Plus if/when I'm ready to SLi I bet this will be $150 or lower so that will be a cheap upgrade.

Could you comment perhaps on this combo I'm doing for my case/HDD...http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.493006

I'm looking for a basic case that is probably about medium rated quality and isnt some dumb color or shape. lol And as for my HDD I do not need more that 500G since I do not do music or video at all, but this 640GB seemed good since the HDD had 32MB of cache instead of 16MB like the majority of them that I saw in the same price range.

P.S. Sorry for misdirecting from the original topic of the OP. I have a thread of my own open as well but it just seemed like it flowed better here. =)

The case is often an aesthetic choice, so I cannot really comment too heavily on lower priced cases (when I was making case decisions, one of my objectives was to get a top-tier case that I could spend extra on- but would be re-usable in a re-build down the road, my case budget was $80-$120).

At the lower priced cases however, I see nothing inherantly wrong with the Rosewill Blackbone case- but it may be worth your while to weigh in the Antec 300 (~$12 more), which has more space, a third fan, and LEDs (obv. if you hate LEDs, avoid =).

As for the HDD, the WD Black has great reviews and I see no reason not to recommend it. I think the 640GB is actually 2x 320GB platters, and generally single platter is better. Most of the white papers I have seen suggest that 32MB Cache vs. 16MB is 99% negligible. ie. take it if its free, but don't pay more for it. If you decide to get a standalone HDD (ie. no combo), I'd recommend: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181&cm_re=samsung_spinpoint_f3-_-22-152-181-_-Product

If you don't buy immediately, this is actually a great buy every 2-3 weeks with ewiz.com- as they often have a 15% off one item code which can net you this HDD for < $45, otherwise, $55 is still a good price at the egg.