Help with buying parts.

[1n0ise]

I live in South Korea so prices vary and do not know the brands well. If possible Samsung brands plz. Overseas brands are like 2x3 more expensive while closer brands like samsung is cheaper. I am open for suggestions.
Environment- I have a large window in the room, temp can get high during summer/spring if I do not leave it open(huge sunlight can get in the room heating things up probably will buy thick curtains)
Most of the time it'll be for gaming maybe video processing in future, but nothing big. Games: cod4, source games, crysis, l4d2, future big game titles.

Case- HAF-922 (Good case right?)
Motherboard- ? I need a good motherboard. Not planning to overclock or sli/crossfire.
CPU- Intel Core i7 950 Nehalem 3.06GHz (planning to get this if I can't I'll be getting i5 750)
CPU Cooler- CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler (simple and environment has bad air flow can get hot/stuffy/slow during summer.)
Video Card - hd radeon 6970 <if I can get the money and if I can't i'll get a 6850
Ram- Corsair 4gb/samsung
Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1tb or samsung brand?
DVD Drive- ASUS 24X DVD Burner (probably never going to use only to install software cds)
Cooling Fan - Do I need one the case comes with 2 big fans, one in the front and the top.
Moniter - Hanns G Hi-221 ( good price, good quality?)
Sound Card- I have a creative usb 5.1 surround card, i'll buy a cheap speaker locally.'
Keyboard - Logitech G510 Silver & Black USB Standard Gaming Keyboard
PSU- huge problem here, can't decide if I should buy an asian brand(cheaper), but coolermaster 650W or Antec Earthwatt 650W?

 

[mdd1963]

I would not use USB sound, personally...

Samsung hard drives have a good reputation.

No reason to pay a single extra dollar/won for a 'gaming' keyboard....useless. There are numerous SOcket 1156 mainboards on the market, find one by Asus, MSI, Gigabyte.

No need for a burner with many $15 DVD ROM drives, dump the extra money into you video card.

PSU---ANtec, Corsair, THermaltake

 

[1n0ise]

I just have the usb sound card soo... I'll use it . Link of the motherboard (confusing). Also what should I get for a cheap dvd rom? Is the water cooling ok? I think I'll save the money for the video card so my budget for it is 400-500.

 

[Klosteral]

Ok, nice work on the build planning. Here are my suggestions:

I would recommend this for a motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157163
This is a better set of RAM for you than the 4 GB because your motherboard and CPU both support tripple channel and your CPU only supports 1066MHz RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134829
The Segate Barracuda is a good choice, found here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433
You definetely want a good quality PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

The rest of your components are fine, though I would like to make some recommendations.
First up, the CPU is not the only component likely to overheat, so make sure the case is well ventilated. If you think there is a risk of it running hot at certain times of year, I strongly suggest buying extra fans to fit as many of the brackets in the case as you can afford.
The monitor should be fine, though I would suggest a Full-HD 1920x1080 monitor with HDMI input in order to make the most of the ATI Radeon 6970 - which I think you should definetely aim for.
Also, do not bother with the G510 unless you WILL use the screen or the macro buttons. I have a G110 and only use it because it has backlighting; I never use the macro keys. If you just need a keyboard, just get a standard one for under $20.

Good luck,
-Klosteral

 

[1n0ise]

I'm thinking of saving money for the video card so 300-500 dollars range. I am thinking of getting 5870.Is radeon hd 5870 msi fine? For ram I would like to keep it 4gb because I am thinking of staying to 32 bit, I heard you can make it use more than 3gb.
The motherboard is like 100 more, so different one!

 

[Klosteral]

Wait... what?

Ok. What exactly are you going to use the computer for?
If you are just going to use it for low-power tasks such as internet browsing, email, and general office stuff I would recommend spending much less money on slower parts.

Otherwise, if you are a gamer - which you must be from the sound of things - you cannot skimp on anything. If you are going to spend $500 on a graphics card, you have to spend at least $150 on a motherboard. That is the most important part of your system! Also, there is nothing cheaper than what I posted if you want an LGA 1366 motherboard.

Furthermore, the reason I suggested 6GB RAM is because both the motherboard and CPU run triple-channel memory. That means it uses 3 DIMM slots at a time, in pairs. So you can have either 1, 3 or 6 sticks of RAM in your computer at any time - for best efficiency.

Also, a 32-Bit operating system can only use 3.2GB RAM at a time. I have a 32-Bit operating system and Windows says I have exactly that - 3.2GB installed RAM - even though I have 2x2GB sticks in my computer. I would strongly suggest getting a 64-Bit operating system. Most programs either come in a 64-bit version or it doesn't matter.

As for the graphics card, it would seem that the ATI 5870 and 6970 are the same price, so I would suggest the 6970 because it is newer and has better DX11 support. Compare them below:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102916
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161329

Good luck,
-Klosteral

 

[1n0ise]

I do not want a cheaper mobo it is just I do not have access to a lot of different brands and the prices can be ridiculously high while other brands that are the same specs can be cheaper. I'm in South Korea so everything is 2x priced more,so I want to make sure what I'm buying is the right thing. But I'll just go for 6970 the graphic card, I made a mistake I clicked on a wrong link and it was around $800(shocked me). I am trying to buy it from a Korean site and I can't read that well. As for the 32bit, it's just because I am used to 32 bit and I have a huge library of software and getting 62bit for them is frustrating, but if it's really worth it I'll go with 62bit. And again is MSI brand good enough? Here's the site I get my stuff from

http://shopping.naver.com/search/all_search.nhn?query=radeon+hd+6970

It's all korean and the cheapest brands are korean (powercolor and dreamteam brand) and as I go down the list is MSI and gigabyte brands, Sapphire.
Ok i'll go with ASRock X58 Extreme, the site is so confusing I searched for it and it gave me ASRock X58 Extreme6 $300.

I'll get 1 more fan but a water cooler like corsair h50 is what I want.

 

[Klosteral]

I would say that the only motherboard brands you really want to consider, are Gigabyte, ASRock and ASUS. If they all have similar specifications (such as memory support, PCI + PCI-E etc) then go for the cheapest of those three. I do not know other brands and so do not trust them as much. Read some reviews on the company through "Google" and then make your decision of whether or not you want to trust that specific company with your money.

As for the graphics card, the cards are priced from best to worst; Sapphire makes great cards while Powercolor is a bit lower quality, though not by much. I would say that if you got a Powercolor card over a Sapphire, you would barely notice the difference.

Ok, as for the cooling - which is very important - your case will support up to four or five fans, as stated on the CoolerMaster website:
http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6606
On Newegg, it would seem that the case comes with three of those fans, so you should be fine. I might still continue to add that if you are going for a liquid cooling system for your CPU you will definetely want at least a second fan for your graphics card (mounted on the case). If you are gaming on this computer, not only will the graphics card be doing as much processing as the CPU but it is probably doing more. Graphics cards are the main component for most games (such as Call of Duty) while other games (such as GTA 4) have so many different bits of code running at once - easiest way to explain - that the CPU does the most work. Also, a water cooler will slightly cool the rest of your computer, though the most of the cooling will go to the CPU. Besides, a fan will not cost that much. This fan below is the most expensive 200mm one on Newegg because it is the CoolerMaster brand and has red LEDs to match your case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103072

As for the operating system, I understand that it will take time to find 64-bit versions of your programs but it will be worth it in the end. Also, the upgrade for 32-bit to 64-bit is some thing that you only ever have to do once. The only 32-bit/64-bit dedicated programs I had to convert when I did my changeover were Firefox, iTunes and Trend Micro.

-Klosteral

 

[JackNaylorPE]

1. For your usage, would recommend Sandy Bridge, 1155 socket over 1366 socket. All of the things you listed benchmark better on the 1155 platform

2. ASRock is a subsidiary of Asus ... the AsRock line is intended to be AsusTek's "cost conscious brand"

3. You may not plan on SLI or X-Fire now but it's a great way to extend the life of your system .... plan for it

4. The 922 is a great case ..... not in the category of a HAF-X or DF-85 but a good case.

5. The "faux water cooling" provided by the H50 can in now way be considered "high performance". It gets beat by the Megahalems for example by a full 5 degrees C. It's an 8th place finisher in this small sampling:

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=371&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=11

This build would be $967 in the US

Case - $90 - Coolermaster HAF-922 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197
PSU - $70 - Antec True Power New 650 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371021
MoBo - $395 - ASUS P8P67 Pro http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.575884
CPU - incl above - Intel Core i5-2500K http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
RAM - $80 - (2 x 4GB) Corsair CAS 9 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260
GFX - $250 - Asus GTX 560 Ti http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121424
HD - $65 - Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 rpm http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
DVD Writer - $22 - Asus 24X DRW-24B3L w/ LS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135221

With this setup, you could add a 2nd card in SLI in the future as case / PSU is adequately sized.

Alternative considerations:

-Up the CPU to the 2600k + $100

-Add an aftermarket cooler + $46
Cooler - $40 - Scythe SCMG 2100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142
TIM - $6 - Shin Etsu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150080

-Bump up to a full tower w/ capacity for ah heck GFX cards + $120
Case - $160 - Antec DF-85 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129087
PSU - $120 - Antec CP850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371024

-Bump up to to the GTX 570 + $120
GFX - $370 - EVGA GTX 570 Superclock http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130595

-Bump up to an SSD + $200
SSD - $200 - OCZ Vertex 2 3.5" 120GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227590

-Bump Up to a Blue Ray Reader + $58
DVD Writer - $80 - ASUS BR Model BC-08B1LT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135220

-Add a card reader +35
AFT XM-35U http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820176016

 

[Klosteral]

Why are you saying this now? He wanted opinions on a build, not a build for him.
Also, nobody uses blu-ray yet and card readers are optional gimmicks. I can get an all-in-one USB card reader for $20 at my local electronics store. In my opinion the ATI 6970 is a fine card so I do not know why he needs to go with the more expesive, latest-and-greatest card that could risk blowing his budget - assuming he gets the other stuff too. He definetely wants a hard disk drive, even if he wants a SSD to boot from.

I do not know much about cooling systems so I will agree with those.

-Klosteral

 

[1n0ise]

Thanks, I'll take these comments in to consideration. I guess I'm set..