My 2011 Tax Return Build

[JRX782A]

In 2009 I built my first computer and I decided that this year I want to build another. I have agonized over this since November because I am quite neurotic. But here is what I have come up with.

I pretty much play World of Warcraft a lot, I enjoy a few other titles like Mass Effect (can't wait for 3!!), Fall Out and of course Dragon Age.

It might be overkill for this but I wanted something really good. Please let me know your thoughts!

New Egg Wishlist

Rosewill THOR Gaming ATX Full Tower Computer Case

GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD7 LGA 1155 Intel P67

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz

COOLER MASTER Hyper N 520 RR-920-N520-GP 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr II OC GeForce GTX 570 x2

OCZ Z Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W

WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s

G.SKILL Phoenix Pro Series FM-25S2S-80GBP2 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

SAMSUNG P2770FH ToC Rose Black 27" 1ms Full HD HDMI LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 70,000:1 (1,000:1) x2

Logitech G700 Black 13 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB RF Wireless Gaming Mouse

Saitek Cyborg V5 CCB44026N002/06/1 Black USB Wired Game Keyboard


Also this is my current build:

Antec 900

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45

Q9400 2.66GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775

GIGABYTE GV-N98TOC-1GH GeForce 9800 GT 1GB

G.SKILL HK 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) x2

OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V

 

[mosox]

For your games that is way overkill, it's like shooting rabbits with a 155mmm howitzer.

 

[joelmartinez]

Okay buddy how about you just buy a single gtx 570 overclock your cpu and be happy

gtx 570: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593&cm_re=evga_gtx_570-_-14-130-593-_-Product

cooling for the cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142&Tpk=scmg-2100 add shin etsu TIM and you should be able to clock that puppy a bit higher

If you must go with a new build then reply stating why, personally I think if you upgrade like I said to you'll be able to run the games you listed at max 1920x1080 or 1920x1200

 

[blackjellognomes]

+1 joelmartinez, that's definitely overkill.

If you really must build a new rig, here are a few suggestions based on your list:
- at least downgrade the mobo to a UD4 or UD5
- get a 120mm HSF, like the CM Hyper 212+
- get a solid ~850W PSU (XFX, Seasonic, Corsair HX series, etc)
- replace that WD with a Samsung F3; while the WD uses the SATA 3 interface, it doesn't exceed SATA 2 speeds afaik
- get a better keyboard (the Saitek Cyborg V5 is more or less a renamed Saitek Eclipse, which once sold for $20)

 

[joelmartinez]

this will need a completely different set of components to make this a half-decent build right now you have a lot of weird choices, I will choose a decent set if you can explain to me why you need to upgrade at the resolution of that monitor a single 570 would be overkill.

 

[JRX782A]

Pretty much I am doing this more for wanting than need. I put extra money into federal so I get a bigger return and I like to spend it. Yeah it may be silly, but I did it for this purpose.

I will freely admit I am not very savvy on computer parts. The build I've listed here is pretty much the top of my budget. I could do without some of the stuff and downgrade the others.

One thing that bothers me is the psu. I am very nervous about it not being good enough if I want to SLI. Which I was originally looking at using two 460s.

I just think that building a new computer will be fun.

 

[JRX782A]

Oh yeah and the saitek was just because my cousin has that keyboard (the eclipse) and I really enjoyed using it. Id rather have an all black one though.

 

[joelmartinez]

Let's revise all of this then to get the best performance for the dollar

Case- antec 900 (reuse)
Mobo- Asrock p67 extreme4 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157217&cm_re=asrock_p67-_-13-157-217-_-Product ($153)
CPU- i5 2500K http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 ($225)
CPU cooler- scmg-2100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142&Tpk=scmg-2100 ($40)
RAM- mushkin silverline 8gb 2x4gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226095&cm_re=mushkin_silverline_4gb-_-20-226-095-_-Product ($78 AP) you don't need more than 4gb but this will allow the system to last longer
GPU- gtx 570 evga http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593&cm_re=gtx_570-_-14-130-593-_-Product ($350)
PSU- 850w xfx http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207001&cm_re=xfx_850w-_-17-207-001-_-Product ($110 AR)
HDD- Samsung spinpoint f3 1tb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=samsung%201tb%20f3 ($65)
SSD- we're on the cusp of the next-gen ssds wait two months and then get an ssd based on the sf-2000 controller
ODD- do you have a good sata you can reuse
Monitor- for close viewing (4ft or less) I would recommend a 24'' 1920x1080 27'' shows all those ugly pixels
Mouse- I don't play WoW so I can't say what's the best from experience but I do know that a lot of people like the razer naga for all the programmable buttons http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153054&cm_re=razer_naga-_-26-153-054-_-Product ($80)
Keyboard- I like logitechs personally the g11 is probably all you need http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Gaming-Keyboard-Black-Silver/dp/B000GP844S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295843821&sr=8-1 buy from ebay if you aren't averse these are older items and you can sometimes get these really cheap