$1500 Gaming Build

[lordravage]

Approximate Purchase Date: 30 Days

Budget Range: $1500 After 7.75 Tax, Shipping, Rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Photoshop, Internet

Parts Not Required: Monitor, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg

Country of Origin: USA

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Not now

Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Additional Comments: I already have a pretty good idea of what I plan on slapping together, just wanted to make sure I'm not missing something new that might have flown under my radar.

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Case: IN WIN Dragon Rider Black 1.0 - 0.8mm SECC Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - $139.99

I know everyone has their own opinion on what case they like. I like this one and unless you have a reason other than "This case is better" I'm sticking with it.

PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W - $89.99

I would like if I could get a modular PSU in here, but I want to stay at 750+ watts for overclocking headroom and of course keep it high quality.

Mobo: ASRock P67 EXTREME4 - $159.99

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K - $224.99

Cooling: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 - $29.98

I know, "cheap cooler sucks", right? This one gets some pretty great reviews, runs the 2500k stable and cool at over 4.5ghz, and is less than $30. I don't plan on squeezing every last drop out of my cpu, I plan on going for 4.2 and keeping the headroom for lifespan.

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 - $104.99

GPU: EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1563-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti - $234.99

I really had a hard time choosing between this and HD6950 1GB/2B. It seems like this card with a slight overclock and the latest drivers edges out the performance win, but the 6950 Xfire scales superbly, which would be a future consideration.

Boot Drive: Corsair Force F40 CSSD-F40GB2 - $109.99

Storage: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB x2 in a RAID 0 - $123.98

Optical: ASUS 24X Burner Black - $23.99

Cheap and basic, but supposedly runs quiet, so I shelled out the extra $2 over other models.

Keyboard: Saitek Cyborg V5 - $46.99

Backlighting and Anti-ghosting are important to me.

Mouse: Logitech G500 - $34.99

Total after tax + shipping ($12.10) - rebates = $1432.04

Thoughts? I'm obviously not penny-pinching, but I want good value purchases.

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

Your build does look good and I can’t see any problems with it. The Intel® Core™ I5-2500K and the ASRock P67 Extreme4 will work well together. The 750w power supply is good for your build. About the only thing that I would change is to look at the Intel SSD 320 40GB or better yet the 80GB. While the Intel SSD 320 80GB is a little above what you were looking to spend the increased space will be an advantage along with the best SSD reliability that the Intel SSDs offer.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[lordravage]

I'm guessing since I only had the one reply, my build must be near perfect!

 

[sadams04]

SSD - A 40GB SSD just isn't big enough... Yes you can install the OS and function, but the SSD will perform better with the more free space it has, and you will constantly be deleting temporary files to free up space. 60GB is a bare minimum IMHO...

MEM - Swap your memory out with the GSKILL below. Both are good modules, but the GSKILL is on sale for $76 using coupon code EMCKEJG73.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3928400&SID=skim2157X567668X5577023fa6a6255641e6b27dd94c0c4b

Other than that you are in good shape!

 

[genghiskron]

^edit: sadams found the same ram, but note that it can be combo'd with the CPU and the code still works (i dont think its supposed to work, but it does)

well, my initial reaction is that with a $100 case (there are GREAT $100 cases like the haf 922), no ssd, a single spinpoint, and a ram+cpu combo like:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.644254
with promo code EMCKEJG73
youd have enough money for a second gtx 560 right off the bat. I agree with intel enthusiast that the 40gb is too small. Personally, i dont feel that faster boot times are worth $100 - a larger capacity SSD is needed to fit your programs if you want to see load improvement there as well - personally i still dont think its worth it
but if you must, Id do the ssd upgrade later as SSD prices continue to fall rapidly, and can be had on sale for 20% less.

At the very least, go with that cpu+ram combo + promo code (that will save you over $40 bucks, and its great ram)

As for the CPU cooler, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 offers superior cooling and can be had for $30 on amazon. I personally prefer the Scythe Mugen aka SCMG-2100, which is $40 on newegg, as it is cooler still and quieter.
CPU cooler comparison:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lga-1156-heatsink,2535-14.html

edit: also, this promo code for windows 7 - 64 bit OEM - EMCKEJG46

 

[lordravage]

^edit: sadams found the same ram, but note that it can be combo'd with the CPU and the code still works (i dont think its supposed to work, but it does)

well, my initial reaction is that with a $100 case (there are GREAT $100 cases like the haf 922), no ssd, a single spinpoint, and a ram+cpu combo like:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.644254
with promo code EMCKEJG73
youd have enough money for a second gtx 560 right off the bat. I agree with intel enthusiast that the 40gb is too small. Personally, i dont feel that faster boot times are worth $100 - a larger capacity SSD is needed to fit your programs if you want to see load improvement there as well - personally i still dont think its worth it
but if you must, Id do the ssd upgrade later as SSD prices continue to fall rapidly, and can be had on sale for 20% less.

At the very least, go with that cpu+ram combo + promo code (that will save you over $40 bucks, and its great ram)

As for the CPU cooler, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 offers superior cooling and can be had for $30 on amazon. I personally prefer the Scythe Mugen aka SCMG-2100, which is $40 on newegg, as it is cooler still and quieter.
CPU cooler comparison:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lga-1156-heatsink,2535-14.html

edit: also, this promo code for windows 7 - 64 bit OEM - EMCKEJG46

Some good points. Dropping to a single spinpoint would force me to hold off on RAID 0 which would be a pain to switch over to later. I kind of feel that the second 560 wouldn't make much difference right now, gaming at 1920 x 1080 I shouldn't have trouble running anything maxed out with just the one. The combo deal is sweet though, and with the extra $40 I can bump the SSD up to the Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB which gives me more space and is fast enough to make use of the SATA III bus. I still like the Dragon Rider case, even for the extra $30. I will switch over to the Cooler Master Hyper 212 though.

edit: Just noticed the Crucial M4 has a $35 off promo code, making it $115.

 

[ikyung]

Everything looks nice. Yes I agree get the CM 212 Plus CPU cooler instead of the ACF7. The new M4 aka C400 from Crucial is an AWESOME drive. Especially with the 35dollar off code. I am currently using the M4 120GB and let me tell you the read speeds are OFF the charts!

For the case, it is pretty depends on whichever you want, but I suggest looking at the Corsair 600T White Special edition. Oh does it look sweet! =]

Also, for the PSU, once you go modular you can't go back haha. My first 3 builds weren't modular. My 4th one I grabbed the HX series from corsairs and after that I just can't go back to non-modular PSUs. Good luck on your build mate!

 

[lordravage]

Everything looks nice. Yes I agree get the CM 212 Plus CPU cooler instead of the ACF7. The new M4 aka C400 from Crucial is an AWESOME drive. Especially with the 35dollar off code. I am currently using the M4 120GB and let me tell you the read speeds are OFF the charts!

For the case, it is pretty depends on whichever you want, but I suggest looking at the Corsair 600T White Special edition. Oh does it look sweet! =]

Also, for the PSU, once you go modular you can't go back haha. My first 3 builds weren't modular. My 4th one I grabbed the HX series from corsairs and after that I just can't go back to non-modular PSUs. Good luck on your build mate!

I'd love to find a high quality 750 watt modular PSU for under $100. No luck yet, but I've been keeping my eyes open for sales.

 

[mjmjpfaff]

take away sales tax go amazon or tigerdirect.

225$ i5 2500k- http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Processor-i5-2500K-LGA1155-BOX80623I52500K/dp/B004EBUXHQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1305319216&sr=1-1

30$ hyper 212 plus- http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B002G1YPH0/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&qid=1305319251&sr=1-1&condition=new

102.10$ after mir and shipp., psu- http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7195038&CatId=2533

$177 after shipp. no tax asrock p67 extreme4- http://www.outletpc.com/fb8531.html

105$ 60gb vertex 2- http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-Technology-Vertex-2-5-Inch-OCZSSD22VTXE60G/dp/B003NE5JCE/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1305319476&sr=1-2

$120 samsung f3 1tbx2- http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1305319546&sr=1-2

95$ corsair vengeance 8gb- http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-240-Pin-Platforms-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9/dp/B004CRSM4I/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1305319587&sr=1-1

$23 dvd drive- http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B002QGDWLK/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&qid=1305319908&sr=1-2&condition=new

140$ in win dragon rider- http://www.amazon.com/Inwin-Development-DRAGON-RIDER-Chassis/dp/B004IZN3Y8/ref=sr_1_2?
ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1305320098&sr=1-2

$230 after mir. msi gtx 560 ti- http://www.amazon.com/MSI-PCI-Express-N560GTX-TWIN-FROZR/dp/B004JLNZXU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1305320324&sr=1-1

39$ saitek v5 keyboard- http://www.amazon.com/Cyborg-CCB44026N002-06-1-Keyboard/dp/B002SAJCYU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1305319778&sr=1-1

39.25$ after taxes and rebate g500 mouse- get at newegg: good rebate

again i live in CA i dont know if some of these sites are no tax for you too.

total price after shipp. tax and mir: $1325.35
you have over 100$ until you get to your budget you could put that towards a better gpu, ssd, or case.