First Time Builder 1500-1750 Gaming PC

[raptorjesus]

Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP

Budget Range: 1500-1750 After Rebates


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Surfing, Watching Movies

Parts Not Required: Every Part Needed from scratch build

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg or amazon Prime Eligible parts

Country of Origin: U.S.A.


Parts Preferences: Must be Intel, prefer nVidia

Overclocking: Yes, rock solid level on air only


SLI or Crossfire: Yes, in the future next year at soonest


Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080


Additional Comments: Quality parts appreciated that are durable, low noise would be great but not at high cost. Doesn't need to be bleeding edge, and SSD is nice but not super necessary.


Parts List so far.

OS Windows 7 Pro System Builder 139.99

Case

Thermaltake A60 Armor 49.99 after MIR
Cheap, USB 3.0 up front, decent ratings I'm not huge on the looks but for 50 bucks I'll live with it.

MOBO

GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD4-B3 189.99 SLI compatible for the future, well rated

CPU

i5-2500k 224.99 I think it's cheaper at Microcenter, but because I have one in my state I have to pay tax even online, so I'll get murdered with IL state tax. Might work out a bit cheaper but not by much.

CPU Cooler

Coolermaster Hyper 212 26.63 This seems the consensus budget cooler.

GPU

MSI GTX 570 309.99 After MIR I think for 310 it would be worth it to step up to the 570, I was originally going to get a 560 but this seems like a screaming deal.

PSU

Corsair 750HX 142.24
This seemed well regarded, according to some watt calculators my rig with 2 in SLI the 750 should be enough. I like the modular design, and would prefer any other suggestions to also be modular.

HD

Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATA III 39.99 I don't think I need SSD now, maybe an upgrade for the future when prices come down a bit. I have other storage drives I can move into the computer, but this seems decent enough for a install drive. Also would consider a Spinpoint F3 if like I think the 6 Gb/s isn't really worth anything on a magnetic drive as I suspect. Maybe I could RAID 0 two of them together, but that seems like too much hassle.

RAM

GSkill Ripjaws 2x4GB DDR3 1600Mhz 89.99 w/promo code Seems alright, and the price is right for 1600Mhz ram.

Monitor

23" LG IPS231V-PN 259.99
A IPS monitor at this size and price is cool, apparently the same panel as the more expensive Dell U2311H. I'm not sure if I need the color accuracy of IPS, but figured might as well get a good monitor. I'm not super hardcore where I need the fastest responding panel otherwise TN would make more sense. The viewable angle is nice, so I can see better without adjusting the angle perfectly to watch movies from my bed.

The others that I like and seem good enough.

Logitech G500 Mouse 54.99
Logitech G110 Keyboard 61.99
Lite-On DVD-RW +/- 24.99
Artic Silver Thixotropic Thermal Compound 2.5g $5.18

If there is anything necessary for the build I've forgotten please tell me, this is my first scratch build ever. Thanks guys.

Total Price as listed 1590.94

 

[raptorjesus]

There is a deal at microcenter. i5-2500k for 180, and either a Gigabyte UD3 for 110 after MIR or a Asus p8p67 for 140. That works out a hell of a lot cheaper than my prices, so which of those two boards is SLI compatible and good quality?

 

[genghiskron]

the p8p67 PRO. Thats the one you want for SLI.

youll want this ram+OS combo instead (dont forget the ram promo code) the other ram has slightly better timings but its not worth the extra money:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.635052

you might want to look into this combo as it will give you some more headroom with that 570 SLI:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.624858

dont forget a dvd burner. this one can be bundled with your case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.627945

 

[raptorjesus]

Ok with the p8p67 pro and 2500k from microcenter with taxes the build comes out to 1531.51

 

[raptorjesus]

Ok with ram/os combo and the upgraded psu/upgraded hd combo and the other parts including tax but minus the MIR it comes out to 1526.25. Wow guys, this build is getting better and better without increasing in price. Thanks a lot.

 

[genghiskron]

Do you live in CA? Im asking because i believe Amazon does not charge tax and Newegg does there. Personally i would factor in the tax and ignore the rebates.

 

[vibhas]

Since ur buying RAM from newegg, id get this ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428&cm_re=g.skill-_-20-231-428-_-Product
Same G.skill Xseries, but red colour, CAS 9 1600MHZ (opposed to ur 1600MHZ CAS 8) and $15-20 cheaper. I wouldn't pay $15-20 for CAS8 compared to CAS9. No difference. If you think it is worth that much, then consider getting 1866MHZ CAS9 ram which you can underclock to 1600MHZ CAS 7 for $100. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455&cm_re=g.skill-_-20-231-455-_-Product same Xseries. But really, the wisest thing is just to get the $75 CAS 9 1600MHZ Xseries RED RAM.

This XFX 750W black edition PSU is modular and jonnyguru gives it 9.7/10, its $127 on amazon with 1 in stock. (Cheaper than HX750 by $15)

http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Black-Power-Supply-P1750BCAG9/dp/B0033YD9RG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1303543540&sr=1-1

Jonny guru says: This unit combines utterly amazing voltage regulation with outstanding efficiency and just about the best ripple and noise suppression I have ever seen. And it does it all silently, too, because I sure couldn't hear that fan at any time. Even in the hot box. I almost wish I could hand out better than a perfect score, but I can't so I won't

 

[raptorjesus]

Best answer selected by RaptorJesus.