1st Draft Intel build

[xTaKeR]

Hello everyone, I'm thinking of building a new PC and I have gathered these parts and see how it holds up. What I don't have on this list is a HDD(Looking for a 2TB) and a sound card(needed?) Please advice and maybe suggest something else. This is mainly for gaming.

Case - Antec Performance One Series P193 V3 Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Mobo - ASUS P8P67 (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

GPU - XFX HD-697A-CNFC Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity (How does a GTX 580 Compare?)

Cooler - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler

RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9Q-16GBRL

Power Supply - Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W Continuous Power ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified

BD Drive - SAMSUNG Black Blu-ray Drive SATA Model SH-B123L LightScribe Support - OEM

SSD - OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Thanks!

 

[mdd1963]

The GTX580 is indeed faster at pretty much everything, but, is also significantly more expensive. IMO, the best deal (performance vs. dollars spent) seems to be the 6950, which nips at the 6970's heels for $100 less, and, pretty much half the price of the GTX580.

 

[boiler1990]

Why the massive PSU and 16G RAM? You'll need 8GB at the very most, and almost all games need less than 4GB RAM. You probably only need ~750W, so you can save some money there.

As for HDDs, I would recommend the Samsung F3 1TB or F4 2TB; they're the fastest drives in their respective capacities, and very reliable. Unfortunately, Samsung sold it's HDD manufacturing to Seagate, so they won't be available much longer...

 

[boiler1990]

The GTX580 is indeed faster at pretty much everything, but, is also significantly more expensive. IMO, the best deal (performance vs. dollars spent) seems to be the 6950, which nips at the 6970's heels for $100 less, and, pretty much half the price of the GTX580.

+1. That's where AMD kills - Price for performance.

 

[xTaKeR]

Thanks for the input guys.

@mdd1963: I heard that the 6950 can be overclocked to a 6970? Not sure if it's reliable or safe, but if so, I could see me opting for a 6950 instead.

@boiler1990: I guess I'm going for 16GB just because I want to to use it for my future rig(1-2 years). and for an extra 60-70 bucks, double of the memory seems pretty good. Also there is no cons for having 16GB as opposed to 8GB right?

I saw the F4 2TB and see that they only have it at 5400 RPM. Is that OK? I know that the F3 1TB is available in 1TB....

 

[boiler1990]

The 6950s can be *flashed* to a 6970 (you flash the GPU BIOS), so it's not quite the same as OCing. It can also render your 6950 useless, so read up on it a lot before you attempt anything.

I wouldn't go for 16. You're probably never going to use all 8GB (I only have 9 for long matlab scripts; it usually only uses ~5GB), so even though it's cheap, it's still wasted money.

Since you're not booting your OS from the 2TB, you'll be fine. The F4 is also a much faster 5400RPM drive because the platters have very high storage density.

 

[cmcghee358]

The 69xx series cards come with dual BIOS, there is no risk in attempting to unlock a 6950 to a 6970. Just make sure it's a reference design 6950 thats 2GB. Or else you'll have no chance.

 

[aznshinobi]

Changes I would make.

8GB DDR3 1600 Kingston T1: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104242&cm_re=t1_kingston_ddr3_8gb-_-20-104-242-_-Product

Best DDR3 1600 8GB kit overall: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-vengeance-crucial-ballistix-kingston-hyperX,2907-11.html

6950 2GB (Flashable): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127555&cm_re=6950_2gb-_-14-127-555-_-Product

MSI P67A-G45: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130582&cm_re=msi_p67a-_-13-130-582-_-Product
Cheaper has the same capabilities as the P8P67

Cheaper PSU but good enough for you: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152043

Review: http://yutubemedia.com/raidmax-rx-850ae-850w-psu-review/2/
Spec: http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page6337.htm

OR a 900w but still cheap Antec: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371050

 

[TheTech214]

Your draft looks good. Are you going to over clock your CPU? If not there is really no need for the 2500k. Instead look into the 2500. If you are going to over clock, you might want to look into an aftermarket CPU cooler. You are building a really nice computer, congrats!

 

[omnipanzer]

and with the money these guys are helping you save you can just get the i7-2600k instead. ;^)

 

[dokod]

How much would a computer like that cost, I am looking for something with that range too.

 

[aznshinobi]

^ Unless you are going to be doing CAD work or anything involving HT, you don't need an i7 2600K, in gaming the 2600K and 2500K keep up with each other.