New gaming build

[SmokeDankTrees]

This will be my first PC build. I have never built a computer before, but it seems to be pretty easy. I have been doing a lot of research on PC parts, I would really like to get all your opinions on the items I chose. I will use this PC for mostly gaming and watching movies. A big priority of mine is being able to multi task, specifically: being able to play a game and download music/ movies/ burn movies to dvd at the same time w/o compromising the quality/performance of the game I am playing.

Approximate Purchase Date: After AMD bulldozer

Budget Range: about $1500

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, movies, and browsing

Country of Origin: US

Overclocking: I have never done this before, but after I build my PC I plan to do an extensive amount of research on this, so yes

SLI or Crossfire: yes, in the near future

Monitor Resolution: This is something i would like to get help on. I would like to spend at most $300. Please give recommendations on monitors. preferably on a 23'-27' monitor.

Additional Comments: I would like to get some recommendations on a computer case. I want to spend at most $150 on this. I would like a Sleek case, one with a window to check out my hardware, nothing that looks too aggressive. I REALLY like the way the corsair obsidian 800d looks, the only problem is that its too big an cost too much.


My build (so far)

■ cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 $225

■ MoBo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157240 $220

■gpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127562 $290

■cpu cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181013 $105

■psu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010 $140

■memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428 $95

■HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533 $90

■burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335 $26

Total: 1200

 

[genghiskron]

you may or may not like the looks of these 2 cases:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112238

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227

 

[mjmjpfaff]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004WK3KKQ/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&qid=1305350978&sr=1-47&condition=new
it is a good case and a window on the side

 

[SmokeDankTrees]

thanks for the the reply. How is my build? Is it stable?

Also what about monitor? what kind of monitor do you recommend?

 

[mjmjpfaff]

-did you already buy those parts? i would of gone with this cpu cooler:
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-V6GT-220-Watt-RR-V6GT-22PK-R1/dp/B003XNG6LI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1305381390&sr=1-4
(probably same performance as that liquid cooler)
-this hard drive
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1305381580&sr=1-2
-that motherboard is *** waste of money get this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229&Tpk=p67%20extreme4
-same card save 5$ on free shipping and same mir
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-DisplayPort-R6950-TWIN-FROZR/dp/B004MPR1WO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1305381779&sr=1-1

if you already bought these parts i would not feel too great about it since with that saved money you could of bought an ssd.

 

[SmokeDankTrees]

-did you already buy those parts? i would of gone with this cpu cooler:
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-V6GT-220-Watt-RR-V6GT-22PK-R1/dp/B003XNG6LI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1305381390&sr=1-4
(probably same performance as that liquid cooler)
-this hard drive
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1305381580&sr=1-2
-that motherboard is *** waste of money get this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229&Tpk=p67%20extreme4
-same card save 5$ on free shipping and same mir
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-DisplayPort-R6950-TWIN-FROZR/dp/B004MPR1WO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1305381779&sr=1-1

if you already bought these parts i would not feel too great about it since with that saved money you could of bought an ssd.

Thanks for the input. I have not purchased these parts yet. I intend in buying it after the AMD bulldozer comes out, in hope that the price of the i5 2500k will go down. The only reason i chose that MoBo is because it looks pretty cool (prob a bad choice to buy a product). Sweet now i can get a better gpu on the money I saved. Thanks a lot.

If anyone has any other suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.

 

[genghiskron]

mj made some great suggestions.
prices change alot from day to day, so keep an eye out on prices.
For example, the HX850w is cheaper than the HX750w right now for whatever reason:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011&Tpk=hx850
Its always a great idea to post your build on here the day before you buy, as people may show you the best available deals. You may also want to buy some parts as they go on sale, but keep in mind that its easier to exchange parts within 30 days of purchase, and if you buy a mobo to far in advance, you wont be able to know if it works. After 30 days you have to exchange through the manufacturer instead of newegg.

 

[zkevwlu]

If you're waiting that long you might as well get yourself a Z68 board vs. the P67 you have right now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128493&cm_re=gigabyte_z68-_-13-128-493-_-Product

That's the UD3P, which I'm assuming is 1 step up from the standard UD3 and will support CrossFire/SLI. You can also go with a standard UD3 if you want to save an additional 20 bucks but it won't have SLI support (not a problem if you're buying AMD cards).

As for overclocking, the 2500k is so easy to OC you don't need to do any research really. Multiplier can go up to 42 (4.2 GHz) without increases to the stock voltage. The upperlimit of my UD3 board was 4.8 GHz at 1.4v. I couldn't get it to stabilize past 4.8 in prime95 below 1.45v so I'm assuming that's the best you can do with it before the thermal stress becomes impractical. If you want higher clock speeds than 4.8 at a more reasonable voltage, I would recommend you dish out another $100 bucks for a mobo with better power control, like this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128492&cm_re=gigabyte_Z68-_-13-128-492-_-Product

This is the hard drive I recommend for everyone. Lowest known failure rates and great price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=samsung%20spinpoint%20f3


Since you're so far underbudget you might as well pick up one of these as well

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227550&cm_re=OCZ_vertex_2-_-20-227-550-_-Product

Or if you're willing to dish out a little more for the latest hardware:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227714&cm_re=OCZ_vertex_3-_-20-227-714-_-Product

 

[mjmjpfaff]

i already linked the same samsung hard drive but it was form amazon and 5$ cheaper. and good find on the vertex 2. i still think the z68's are not that great so i still think the p67 extrem4 is the way to go

 

[Why_Me]

Dual factory over clocked gtx 560's in SLI, after market cpu h/s (thermal paste included), 8GB of low voltage RAM, Windows 7, LED full HD HDMI 2ms gaming monitor, etc...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004WK3KKQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER $89.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Storm Enforcer USB 3.0 Mid Tower ATX Case with Window and Black Interior (SGC-1000-KWN1)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021 $104.99 - $94.99 after mail-in rebate card FREE SHIPPING
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply

http://www.amazon.com/ASRock-P67-Extreme4-B3-Motherboard/dp/B004QTHYZK/ref=sr_1_13?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1305482210&sr=1-13 $159.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASRock P67 Extreme4 B3 Intel P67 ATX DDR3 2133 Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.644264 $296.98 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G1YPH0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER $29.51 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler, RR-B10-212P-G1

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_2?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1305475482&sr=1-2 $59.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Samsung Desktop Class Spinpoint F3 1 TB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 32 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare-OEM Drives, HD103SJ

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289 $19.99
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X 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 CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565 You Save: $15.00 $239.99 (Before $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) FREE SHIPPING
MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565 You Save: $15.00 $239.99 (Before $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) FREE SHIPPING
MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 $99.99 FREE SHIPPING
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit English 1-Pack - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236117 $179.99 - $169.99 after mail-in rebate card FREE SHIPPING
ASUS VH238H Black 23" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers 250 cd/m2 ASCR 50,000,000:1

Total: $1,521.40 - $1,461.40 after mail in rebates

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?category_id=19&product_id=3038 <----- professional reviews, specs, and pics of that CM case

http://www.madshrimps.be/articles/article/1000116#axzz1EqpvWFEN <---Review on that Asrock motherboard after the latest bios update

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1098/pg2/asrock-extreme4-p67-and-fatal1ty-professional-p67-vs-x58-with-core-i7-950-review-asrock-p67-extreme4.html <---Review on that Asrock motherboard after the latest bios update

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4080/welcome-to-sandy-bridge-with-the-asrock-p67-extreme4 <--- Review before the latest bios...and it still smoked the Asus and Gigabyte boards in it's class

http://www.asrock.com/news/events/201102ex/warranty.html <---- Asrock two year warranty

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=P67%20Extreme4 <----- ASRock P67 Extreme4 Motherboard

http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-n560gtx-ti-twin-frozer-ii-review/ <----- review of that MSI card

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2011/01/27/msi-geforce-gtx-560-ti-1gb-review/1 <----- review of that MSI card

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/msi_gtx560_twinfrozr_2/ <----- review of that MSI card

http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/msi-n560gtx-ti-twin-frozr-ii-review-the-ultimate-560/ <----- review of that MSI card

 

[mjmjpfaff]

again well done why_me

 

[genghiskron]

this is why it really bugs me that there is no $1500 system builder contest, $2000 is lame.