Gamer/Enthusiast Build(Max $1600 Including Monitor and OS)

[s3cr3tw3ap0n]

Approximate Purchase Date: Some time in May

Budget Range: My max spending budget is $1600, however I would like the most bang for the buck.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Programming, Small amount of video editing, Movies

Parts Not Required: I don't need speakers, mouse or keyboard

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: I would prefer Intel+Nvidia however if there is anything better, than I would rather go with that.

Overclocking: I have never over clocked before but I plan on over clocking

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: This is the build I have so far, however I am unsure about several parts.

NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case-$140(I really like the look of this case and it seems like a good one also)

XFX Core Edition PRO850W (P1-850S-NLB9)-$120(I think this is a good deal as it is a 850w Bronze power supply for a reasonable price, which should give me a lot of room for over clocking and if I decide to upgrade monitor and graphics card in the future)

Intel Core i7-2600K-$315 (I'm not really sure whether to pick up a 2500k or a 2600k, Is hyper threading good for the tasks I listed?)

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus-$35

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - OEM-$20

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive-$65

G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBSR-$85(Whats the difference between DDR3 1333 and DDR3 1600?)

ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard-$160(I'm still deciding between this one or the P8P67 Pro, they both seem like good motherboards)

ASUS ENGTX570 DCII/2DIS/1280MD5 GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card-$350

ASUS VH238H Black 23" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers 250 cd/m2 ASCR 50,000,000:1-$180(I wasn't sure about picking the right monitor and I picked this one because it has several reviews on newegg and also had a 2ms response time which is good for gaming)

Windows Home Premium-$100

This brings me to $1570

Any feedback is appreciated and thanks!

 

[jmsellars1]

That build looks pretty good but if youre only doing a bit of video editing i think the i5-2500k would suffice and would probably save you enough cash to get GTX 560Ti SLI since your PSU and motherboard can easily handle it.

With the RAM i would suggest going with 1600Mhz since youre overclocking, it's better than 1333Mhz for this purpose. As your CPU clock speed increases, your RAM frequency increases, 1600Mhz gives you a bit of room to play with.

 

[banthracis]

CPu wise, depends on how much video editing exactly. Hyperthreading is a significant boost there, but if it's something you'll be doing once a month or so, the extra few minutes saved probably aren't worth the extra money.

PSU is a good choice though you don't need 850W. A 750 will be fine. You can also consider grabbing a XFX black edition PSU instead for the modular and 80+ silver.

Better RAM kit for $90 after promo code
Rijaw x, ddr3 1600 cas 8
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445&cm_re=g_skill_ddr3_1600_8gb-_-20-231-445-_-Product

the 1600mhz refers to speed of ram. Cas refers to the latency of the RAM.
In general high speed and lower latency is better, but the difference isn't that big.

 

[banthracis]

With the RAM i would suggest going with 1600Mhz since youre overclocking, it's better than 1333Mhz for this purpose. As your CPU clock speed increases, your RAM frequency increases, 1600Mhz gives you a bit of room to play with.

SB CPU's are limited to multiplier OCing only, so the frequency doesn't actually matter.

edit: Before someone complains, this is not to say higher speed ram is useless since you can change ratio to utilize faster RAM. However, for the purpose of CPU OCing, you don't need faster RAM.

 

[Why_Me]

@ the OP

If you have no plans on ever using dual vid cards then there is no need for that board and psu.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157230 $129.99 FREE SHIPPING
ASRock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207007 $88.99 - $58.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
XFX P1-650X-CAH9 650W ATX12V v2.2 / ESP12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

Between the Intel® Core™ I5 2500K and the Intel Core I7 2600K, comes down to 100 MHz and hyper-threading. So the big value between them is how much video editing that you will be doing? When it comes to games very few of them will take advantage of more than 3 threads so the Intel Core I5 2500K ends up being the processor of choice for gaming. On the other hand if you are going to be doing more video/audio or heavy multi-threaded work you find the Intel Core I7 2600K to be the better choice.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[dayman500]

Thank you for all the replies and suggestions!
I decided the extra $100 for hyper threading wasn't worth it and I changed it to a 2500k. Also I changed the mother board to the one Why_Me suggested. Banthracis, the promo on the RAM you suggested ends in April so I won't be able to use it. Are there any RAM suggestions anyone can give? Also will 650w Power Supply be able to power my build? After changing the items and prices, I am at $1450 which leaves me $150 to spend. What should the money be used for? Would a 60GB SSD work? Thank You.

 

[dayman500]

Bump, before it gets lost in the abyss of threads

 

[banthracis]

PSU is fine. It'll run a single 570 no prob. If you want to sli though, you'll need a 750.

RAM wise, just grab any 1.5v, ddr3 1333/1600 cas 7/8/9 kit. Look for the best price with highest speed and lowest timings when you buy, they're too many deals going to tell you the best buy for next month.

SSD wise you'll want an 80gb one min.
Win 7 20gb
Basic apps 10gb

Unless you do lots of tweaking
System restore- 5gb
Page file- 4gb
Hibernation support -2gb
Unless you junction- games install/save lots of stuff onto main drive-
so another 2-4gb.
Temp files and other stuff that builds up over time-~2gb after a few months
Spare space to maintain SSd performance- SF1200 12% of total space or 7.7gb
Intel 7% or 4.2gb

total before games:49-56gb.

 

[jmsellars1]

SB CPU's are limited to multiplier OCing only, so the frequency doesn't actually matter.

edit: Before someone complains, this is not to say higher speed ram is useless since you can change ratio to utilize faster RAM. However, for the purpose of CPU OCing, you don't need faster RAM.

Ok thanks for the info