Intel i5 2500K Build ($900) - Please Comment

[bymbie]

Approximate Purchase Date: next week

Budget Range: around $900 (Canadian)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming (WoW and Diablo 3 in the future)

Parts Not Required: keyboard (will use a placeholder keyboard until I can get a nice one, same with mouse, DVD, monitor, OS)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: bestdirect.ca (shipping to remote area, they offer the best shipping/cost value)

Country of Origin: Canada

Parts Preferences: No

Overclocking: In the future

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: N/A

Additional Comments: This build is really pushing my budget, but I really like the flexibility of the CPU/GPU combination. I originally planned an i5 2400 build, but I might be able to afford this.

Can I get away with a smaller PSU to save some money?
Is it advisable to save on memory and go with 2x2GB instead of 8?
Every penny counts, the main goal is to have a solid foundation, I don't mind upgrading gradually.

Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB
https://www.bestdirect.ca/products/232639/BX80623I52500K/Intel/

ASUS P8P67 Pro REV3.0 ATX P67 LGA1155 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI Sandy Bridge B3 Motherboard
https://www.bestdirect.ca/products/233683/P8P67%20PRO%20REV%203%2E0/ASUS/

XFX Radeon HD 6950 800MHZ 2GB 5.0GHZ DDR5 2XDVI HDMI 2x Mini DisplayPort PCI-E Video Card
https://www.bestdirect.ca/products/233772/HD695XCNFC/XFX/

G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory
https://www.bestdirect.ca/products/232563/F3%2D12800CL9D%2D8GBXL/G%2ESKILL/

Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 7200.12 1TB SATA 32MB Cache 3.5IN Internal Hard Drive OEM
https://www.bestdirect.ca/products/233111/ST31000524AS/Seagate/

XFX 750W PRO750W Core Edition Single Rail ATX 12V 62A 24PIN ATX Power Supply 80PLUS Bronze
https://www.bestdirect.ca/products/232783/P1750SCAB9/XFX/

Antec 100 One Hundred Mid-Tower ATX Gaming Case Black 3X5.25 6X3.5 1X2.5 No PSU - Black
https://www.bestdirect.ca/products/232505/One%20Hundred/ANTEC/

 

[Why_Me]

That Antec 100 would be a very tight fit for these 6950's. 4 gigs of RAM is fine for a gaming build, and you can always pick up another 4 gigs later on if you ever feel the need.

http://www.directcanada.com <---- This place is out of BC and all orders over $50 CAD are Free Shipping

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/233847/P67%20Extreme4%20%28B3%29/ASRock/ $169.79 Free Ground Shipping.
ASRock P67 EXTREME4 B3 ATX LGA1155 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 SATA3 USB3.0 CrossFireX SLI Motherboard

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/230752/RC-912-KKN1/COOLERMASTER/ $49.50
Coolermaster Haf 912 Black Mid Tower ATX Case 4X5.25 1X3.5 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB Sound

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/219728/F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL/G.SKILL/ $46.29
G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL Ripjaws PC3-12800 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Core i5 1.5V Memory Kit

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

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 update

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

http://www.asrock.com/news/events/201102ex/warranty.html <---- Asrock two year warranty

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=P67%20Extreme4 <----- ASRock P67 Extreme4 Motherboard

 

[szymek]

^ Switching motherboards over past 10 years has taught me one thing. Don't ever buy Asrock motherboards. Warranty for two years? Of course! When Asrock motherboards fail? After two years. That's what I and my clients noticed. Asrock is cheap, has many features for less but reliability really sucks. Gigabyte, Asus, MSI are the most reliable. But you get what you pay for, right?

 

[Why_Me]

^ Switching motherboards over past 10 years has taught me one thing. Don't ever buy Asrock motherboards. Warranty for two years? Of course! When Asrock motherboards fail? After two years. That's what I and my clients noticed. Asrock is cheap, has many features for less but reliability really sucks. Gigabyte, Asus, MSI are the most reliable. But you get what you pay for, right?

Iv'e had three Asrock boards, and done a few more builds for others with Asrock boards in the past three years and have had very good luck with them. And I can't remember when MSI was a board of choice more than necessity for making a budget.

 

[bymbie]

Thank you for the responses. I think I got "everything" figured out - courtesy of Why_Me.

- I will go with the Asrock Mobo (I love the USB 3.0 front adapter)
- CM HAF 912 case
- I will dish out the extra $40 for 8 gigs of ram too...
- Directcanada.com is pretty reasonably priced, so I can also throw in a CM Hyper 212. I will not oc right now, but if and when I do, I will have the rig ready (so no need to take everything apart to install the new cpu cooler).

Questions:
- Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 7200.12 1TB SATA 32MB Cache 3.5IN HDD is adequate as the only drive for the time being? I plan to run the OS from a SSD when some money trickles in, but that will not be soon.
- The CM HAF 912 comes with 1 fan. Is it necessary/advisable to add an intake/exhaust? Or I should be okay with the cooling as is?
- XFX 750W PRO750W is enough/overkill/perfect?

Anything else I need to think of, or should I hit the "order" button?

 

[Why_Me]

Thank you for the responses. I think I got "everything" figured out - courtesy of Why_Me.

- I will go with the Asrock Mobo (I love the USB 3.0 front adapter)
- CM HAF 912 case
- I will dish out the extra $40 for 8 gigs of ram too...
- Directcanada.com is pretty reasonably priced, so I can also throw in a CM Hyper 212. I will not oc right now, but if and when I do, I will have the rig ready (so no need to take everything apart to install the new cpu cooler).

Questions:
- Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 7200.12 1TB SATA 32MB Cache 3.5IN HDD is adequate as the only drive for the time being? I plan to run the OS from a SSD when some money trickles in, but that will not be soon.
- The CM HAF 912 comes with 1 fan. Is it necessary/advisable to add an intake/exhaust? Or I should be okay with the cooling as is?
- XFX 750W PRO750W is enough/overkill/perfect?

Anything else I need to think of, or should I hit the "order" button?

For the price of that XFX psu...take it and run. Those psu's are made by Seasonic...like upper tear Corsair psu's and they are rock solid.

Ya I would pick up one or two el cheapo 120mm fans for that case.

On a side note I can't ever remember Canadian prices beating the crap out of US prices like they are now. I understand the US dollar isn't worth as much as a Canadian dollar but I can post a Canadian build on here for almost $100 cheaper than a US build. wtf happened to our dollar here in the US

 

[bymbie]

Best answer selected by bymbie.

 

[bymbie]

I got an extra 120mm fan (CM Blademaster 120) to have better airflow for now. I will use this fan for a push-pull setup when I decide to overclock... and will get 2x200mm (one front, one top) and use the 120 from the the front for a side-intake. That should take care of all the cooling.

I think this was done pretty smartly, the rig is set to be overclocked, expanded and it did not break the bank... The total with tax (insurance, shipping and Win7 not included, even though I bought/had to pay for those) was $1026.

(As far as Canadian prices, yes, they seem awesome in this case. However, looking at cars, motorcycles or books, they are unreasonable given that the CDN is stronger than USD. A friend wanted to buy a motorcycle. It is about 5200USD and $6900 CDN. Does not make any sense...)

Again, thanks Why_Me!