1st time builder review

[boba_fett31]

First time builder who knows enough about computers to be a danger to himself. I've spent a good bit of time over the past week looking over this site and others on how build/what to buy. I feel pretty confident in my final product, but wanted to ask the experts opinion.



The computer will be used for streaming games (NHL/MLB), video chat, and some photo and video editing. I'd also like the ability to hook up 2 monitors.

I've got no problem going overkill in order to make this a future build that will last me for the next 4-6 years. I'll be paying in Euros (40% discount) so money isn't too much of an issue, but I don't want to overspend just to overspend.

So far what I've come up with is the following:

Processor:

$314 Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
Comments: After reading reviews I really want to build my system around the I7-2600K

MOBO:

$155 ASUS P8P67 (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131705

OR
$170 MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

OR

$ 150 ASUS P8P67-M PRO (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131707
Comments: Not really sure which one is the best. I'm still researching, and any comments would be greatly appreciated



RAM:
$ 75 G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428
Comments: Maybe a little overkill, but am happy paying for 8GB
Hard Drive:

$88 Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

Comments: I looked also at the WD Caviar Green 2TB, but after reading the recent comments on Newegg it seems like a lot have been DOA.

PSU:
$90 CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supplyhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
Comments: From what I've read, this is the best price/performance PSU, especially since I'll be hooking it up over in Europe and probably over in the States later on.

FAN:
$35 COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact". http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

Comments: Do I even need a fan? It comes in combo at a $15 discount. Would I need a fan if the case has a fan included?



CD/DVD burner:
$25 LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335

Case:
I will pick this up at a later time. My purchases are being shipped to the States and brought over next month. I don't want to load them down with too much stuff.

OS:
$99 Windows 7

Video Card:
$65 HIS H467QR1GH Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161315
Comments; Is it necessary for me to get a video card




All together with combo discounts and promotions the final price is $910.

Any comments/ suggestions/changes anyone would make to my build, would be greatly appreciated. Additionally, outside of screwing\plugging everything into the case and setting up Windows, how much additional work will be required? I doubt I'll be overclocking.


Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[crewton]

If you don't need a computer right now you might want to wait for the z68 boards to come out. Since you won't be doing any gaming you can just use the on board graphics card which I think is better than the 4670 plus comes with quick sync for your photo and video editing.

 

[boba_fett31]

Thanks for the quick response crewton. Unfortunately I'll need to order in the next week or two as my mules will be bringing it over in late May.

 

[crewton]

If that's the case go with an H67 board and skip out on the graphics card. Since you aren't overclocking you really have no use for a p67 board. You also won't need an aftermarket cpu cooler as the 2600k will stay nice and cold on the stock cooler.

motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128474&cm_re=H67-_-13-128-474-_-Product im partial to gigabyte or you can go asus:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131710&cm_re=H67-_-13-131-710-_-Product

but it's out of stock atm H67 boards can only use 1333Mhz ram so you're ram will be throttled back to 1333 which isn't a big deal as you can get 7-8-7-21 timings on it.

 

[mdd1963]

The 2500k costs $100 less, and only runs 100 Mhz slower, still offering great performance at ~33% less cost.

 

[crewton]

True, I assumed he'd want the hyperthreading from the 2600k but looking at the benchmarks from tom's it doesn't improve video transcoding or editing that much.

 

[boba_fett31]

Thanks for the advice guys! I'll go with the ASUS you recommended Crewton, it should be in stock next week which works for me.

I'm not 100% sure I will be doing any overclocking or hyperthreading. The 2600K purchase was mostly a future proofing purchase for me. Is it overkill if this is a computer I plan on keeping for the next ~5 years (if it doesn't die first)?

After reading some other threads I noticed I didn't fill out the specs:
Approximate Purchase Date: (e.g.: this week (the closer the better))


Budget Range: (e.g.: 800-1000) After Rebates


System Usage from Most to Least Important: streaming games, movies,TV, video chat (google/skype),video chat, and some video / photo editing.

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com


Country of Origin: USA (paying in Euros)


Parts Preferences: Have heard/read good things about ASUS, but am not married to getting one


Overclocking: Don't think so


SLI or Crossfire: Don't think so


Monitor Resolution:TBD


Additional Comments: Thanks for any input

 

[crewton]

The 2500k and 2600k are really designed for overclocking and they made it a whole lot easier than it used to be. You can read up on the overclocking thread or google asus overclocking but it pretty much just requires you to turn off the energy saving features and then just increase the multiplier as high as you can until BSOD. I think Asus has the easy oc feature as well to get it to 4.2Ghz without you having to do anything.

The only problem with future proofing is the rate at which processors increase I think you can get 5+ years out of it since you aren't doing things that will require a lot of cpu power. I think in the next 2 years we'll be seeing 6+Ghz processors as the norm making ours look bad. Grabbing a solid motherboard, psu, ram are about the only things that you can really future proof as far as I'm concerned. New cpus and graphic cards just increase too rapidly.