New i5 2500k build < $750

[Alduron]

Approximate Purchase Date: this week
Budget Range: <= 750 after shipping, no rebates
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Light gaming (DDO, Civ games), movies on HDTV, surfing, photoshop, video editing
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com
Country of Origin: USA
Parts Preferences: i5 2500k + see below
Overclocking: Yes
SLI or Crossfire: in the future
Monitor Resolution: 1440x900 monitor / 1920x1080 TV

Additional Comments: I'd like a fairly quiet PC, will upgrade components in the future, rather than building new. My current PC is a Pentium 4!

My attempt at a build list:
Case: Rosewill Challenger http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153
PSU: Coolermaster 600W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171036
HD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
CPU: i5 2500k http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Optical: Asus DVD RW http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
Video: Gigabyte 5670 1GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125339
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 4GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128476

I selected the mobo because it's in stock at Newegg, but perhaps I should just wait another week or so for Asus motherboards to come in.

 

[jmsellars1]

1TB Graphics memory? Wow technology moves fast!

Lol sorry about that Generally that looks ok but the GPU looks a bit weak compared to the rest of it, just so you know.

 

[Alduron]

1TB Graphics memory? Wow technology moves fast!

Lol sorry about that Generally that looks ok but the GPU looks a bit weak compared to the rest of it, just so you know.

Thanks, edited.

 

[geekapproved]

Yeah even 5770 is weak for that system.

That board is no good for xfire either, you need a board that's 8x/8x pci-e and supports xfire.

 

[Alduron]

ok, gigabyte board is out because of 4x pci-e slot when 2nd card added. Looking at MSI board instead. Or maybe I'll just wait for Asus board to become available in April. ug, i hate to wait!

 

[geekapproved]

Why do you have to wait till April????? They are all available now.

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

Take a look at the Intel® Desktop Board DP67BGB3 it will support Crossfire and SLI in a x8/x8 set up and is well set up to help you get the best performance.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[Alduron]

Here's the build I ended up doing:
55 Case: Rosewill Challenger
140 PSU: Seasonic 650W x-series
65 HD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
225 CPU: i5-2500k
20 optical: Asus DVD-RW
185 GPU: XFX 6850
50 RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 GB
150 Mobo: Asus P8P67-M Pro
Shipping: $10
Promos: -$40
Mail-in rebate for GPU: $20
Total: $860 ($840 after MiR)

At first I was confused about fan and power connections, but I think I have it worked out. I used the stock cooler for now, as I understand I can remove it easily if I choose to use a different cooler. The system booted up fine on the first go, which was great! Case has 3 fans in it and the front / top fans don't seem to blow but maybe that's because I'm not overclocking yet to produce a bunch of heat. The other possibility is that the fans are not connected properly to the motherboard (or they simply don't work). The Rosewill Challenger case is a bit tight to work in and I didn't really figure out a good way to route cables optimally.

I set it up in my living room connected to my plasma TV and had a great time playing DDO in super high res setting with super great response time. Previously I would play with lowest graphic settings and constantly experience lags anyhow. My kids played on it too, but seemed more interested in vga-like games from playhub.

 

[Alduron]

Best answer selected by Alduron.

 

[majin ssj eric]

I had a P8P67-M Pro. Very nice board....