New Sandy Bridge Build, Help Evaluating Components

Sirrus233

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Dec 5, 2008
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Hi Everyone! I've had the same PC for a while now, upgrading only slightly here and there every once in a while. But when it's 2011 and you're working with an 80 GB HDD, It's time for change! I've been doing some research on a Sandy Bridge build, and here's what I have so far. Thought I'd ask the community here (and seriously, you guys are awesome) for advice:

Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next week or two


Budget Range: $1100-$1400


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming!


Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, OS, speakers. If I didn't list it, I'm pretty sure I don't need it.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I've been using Newegg, but I was going to cross-check prices with Amazon before ordering.


Country of Origin: United States


Parts Preferences: I don't think I have an particular preferences. I've been out of the loop so long, I don't have much of a feel for what's good or reliable anymore. Help here would be appreciated.


Overclocking: I've never done it before, but I'd like to with this build.


SLI or Crossfire: Maybe. What do you guys think?


Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200 (or maybe higher? Is this based on the monitor or the card I use? I currently run in 1920x1200)


Additional Comments: I'm a little concerned about the case I chose. I'm worried that the LEDs flashing through the case will get obnoxious - but I'm not very knowledgeable about what makes a "good case". I'd also like opinions on the value of the graphics card I chose. A quieter computer would be nice. I'd like this computer to be upgradeable for a few years if possible. Finally, overclocking advice would be wonderful - specifically, do you think I need to buy more than just stock cooling?

Thanks all!

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ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204


Antec Twelve Hundred V3 Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129100


Western Digital Caviar Black WD1502FAEX 1.5TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136793


XFX HD-697A-CNFC Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150517


CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V v2.2 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006


G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-8GBXH
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231440


ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229


Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

TOTAL COST (after rebates/discounts/shipping): $1,281.28


What do you think folks? Any help at all is extremely awesome. Thank you!
 
Solution
Yep.. Good build! I would second the Samsung F3 1TB, but would keep the low latency DDR3-1333. Add to that an aftermarket CPU cooler (if you want to overclock) and pull the trigger.

That case is pretty solid with its fans and should keep you running cool. The 750w PSU should be enough to add a second HD 6970 down the road to run CrossFire, but I tend to go a size up on the PSU and would recommend an 850w. For a single GPU the 650w is good.
Yep.. Good build! I would second the Samsung F3 1TB, but would keep the low latency DDR3-1333. Add to that an aftermarket CPU cooler (if you want to overclock) and pull the trigger.

That case is pretty solid with its fans and should keep you running cool. The 750w PSU should be enough to add a second HD 6970 down the road to run CrossFire, but I tend to go a size up on the PSU and would recommend an 850w. For a single GPU the 650w is good.
 
Solution

Sirrus233

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Dec 5, 2008
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Wow, thanks a lot for the helpful responses, folks!

The Samsung drive seems to be really popular. Can I ask what its advantages are over the drive I picked? It's a step down in size (the drive I have up there is 1.5 TB, whereas the Samsung is only 1 TB), but it seems like there's a lot of recommendations toward it.

Also, I've heard it would be possible to overclock the CPU to around 4 GHz even on stock cooling. Is that correct?