holmcross

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Feb 24, 2011
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So I'm building a computer for the first time. I've done a lot of upgrading and assembling computers, but this will mark the first time I've built one from scratch. It's a gaming/multipurpose system, here are the parts I'm looking at:

CPU: Sandy Bridge i7 2600
Storage: 60GB OCZ Vertex 2 SSD; 1TB WD Black Caviar 7200 RPM 64MB HDD
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon 5770
Memory: 8GB (2x4GB) Kingston DDR3 (1600)
PSU: Corsair TX750
Optical: LG Lite-On BD/DVD/CD burner
Motherboard: ???

Also some peripherals, obviously: monitor (Acer 24" LED-backlit LCD), keyboard, mouse, speakers, plus an internal card reader.

I have (what I think to be) some good deals on the hardware. The whole rig (including 64-bit Windows 7 Pro) is coming in at about $1.4k, without the motherboard (which I anticipate spending around 130-150 on) - which is about what I was planning to spend on the machine. (And I wasn't expecting to be able to get a SSD!)

So a couple questions. First, just a general idiot-check: am I forgetting some crucial piece of hardware? Or are any of these not going to play well with one another? Second, some of the pricings on these expire at the end of the month - but the fixed motherboards won't be on sale for another month. Should I just pull the trigger and get the components now, and buy a revised motherboard when they go on sale? Will what I'm getting be compatible, as long as I get a P67/H67 board?

And of course if you need more details (or product pages), I can provide them. For the sake of brevity (and my own laziness of not wanting to pull links for every component), I left out most of the specs and model number mumbo-jumbo in the part names.

Thanks!
 
Hello holmcross;
Brevity is refreshing. You're as likely to find a new 'good deal' on parts just about the time the boards are ready. Or around the Easter sales time later in April.

CPU: 2600K/2500K with P67 motherboard for overclocking ability. 2600/2500/2400 with H67 motherboard if no plans to overclock.
Motherboard availability could be staggered so you'll have to keep an eye for what's available. Expect a mad rush early for the pent-up demand. Beware of demand based price hikes based on short supply.

Storage: Nice combo of SSD/HDD IMO. Keep an eye out for the next gen SSDs dropping in over the next few weeks.
ODD is fine.

RAM: Kingston HyperX I'm guessing.

Is the HD 5770 a place holder for a future video card? It's just a bit light in GPU power for a 1920x1080 monitor, adequate for a casual gamer but maybe not for a forward looking choice over the next 2 years. And the PSU is sized for two more powerful cards. Best Graphics Cards For The Money: February 2011 You'll have a new edition out before you need to decide

What do you plan for a case?
No tactical or strategic errors once you refine the case/PSU based on what your long term video card plan will be. These days there are better options than the Corsair 750TX.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Truepower-TP-750-BLUE-Management/dp/B001RTPMM4/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1298659010&sr=1-1 $89.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Antec Truepower 23754 TP-750 BLUE LED 750-Watt PSU NVIDIA SLI Certified 80 Plus Bronze Advanced Hybrid Cable Management Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231416 $99.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.591429 Combo Price: $159.98 FREE SHIPPING
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.593413 Combo Price: $251.98
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel ...

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=P67%20Extreme4 $152.99 @ newegg
ASRock P67 Extreme4

http://www.asrock.com/news/events/201102ex/warranty.html <----- Look for the B3 Stepping Chipset Logo/Sticker on the new boards

http://www.madshrimps.be/articles/article/1000116#axzz1EqpvWFEN <---Review on that Asrock motherboard after the latest bios

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1098/pg2/asrock-extreme4-p67-and-fatal1ty-professional-p67-vs-x58-with-core-i7-950-review-asrock-p67-extreme4.html <---Review on that Asrock motherboard after the latest bios

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4080/welcome-to-sandy-bridge-with-the-asrock-p67-extreme4 <--- Review before the latest bios...and it still stomped the Asus and Gigabyte boards :)