New Build : 2500k + z68(?) + the rest

[pascalthib]

HI everyone!

During the last week, i have been building my new computer. But since the last one i built was around 7-8 years ago, I think I could use your help for my final components!

Here we go!

Approximate Purchase Date : : Today / Tomorrow

Budget Range: i would say ~1000 (+tax).

System Usage from Most to Least Important : gaming (willing to try every game possible ), MS office, watching movie (on the computer and on TV 1080p w/ cable) , surfing, photoshop (occasionnaly)

Parts Not Required: I will use my old Keyboard and mouse (USB) + Win 7

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Website that deliver in Canada (Québec to be exact!) (ex : newegg.ca, ncix.ca, tigerdirect.ca, directcanada.com). Cheaper price (including shipping) win. (Parts may come from different places)

Country of Origin: Canada (Québec)


Parts Preferences:

Here is the part that I already bought during the w-e.

- CPU : i5-2500k ( 209,99 $CAD) (MemoryHouse.com)

- Video Card : Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 xtreme 149,99$ CAD (Tigerdirect.ca ... it was sold out at vuugo.com (133$) )

- Hard Drive : Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA3 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5IN Dual Proc Hard Drive OEM 79,99$. (MemoryHouse.com) I'm planning on buying a SSD when it goes cheaper. ( in 1-2 year?)

- DVD : Samsung SH-S223L/BEBS 22X SATA DVD Writer Lightscribe OEM with Software 19$ (MemoryHouse.com)

- Memory : G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL8-8-8-24 1.5V Memory Kit 91,58$ CAD (DirectCanada.com)

So the real question now ....
What do I buy next????


- Motherboard : Z68 .. but which one is good for me ? I was thinking staying around 150$. The Motherboards presented in the z68 review seems to have stuff that i won't need. Should I pay up to 200$ ???

- Fan : Standard or Should i get an other one if i want to OC a little?

- Case : ~50-80$ ? Any suggestion? I don't want LED light. I want something simple that will meet my need and have vents .

- Powersupply : What do you suggest for this setting? 600w?

- Monitor Again, What do you suggest and what do you use? I will use this monitor only in my "home office" for gaming, pleasure and work. starting at 21 in and nothing bigger than 24 in. and it should be choose for it gaming ability. I don't want to spend more than 200$ on it. I was aiming more for 150$. What is the best size for playing less than a meter away of my face? Without built-in speaker will be better (since they aren't good at all)

Speakers : I will find myself some regular 2.1, maybe 40$ on that.

Did I forget anything important that should be in the list?

Overclocking: YES!!! I plan to go overclock if i need to. go to 4,5 Ghz (if I can) and i'm thinking of overclocking the GPU too.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe later this year, i will buy an other card. But i won't have more than 2 card!

That's it,

Thanks for your help!

EDIT :
1- I must add that it would be nice if the motherboard have a wireless connexion (but not bluetooth).

2- Note that i will plug in 3 external drive that i have atm (which were useful since i had a laptop) About that, do you think i should make them internal drives by breaking the case? (i have 3 lacie external hard-drive *1tb+1tb+500mo see : http://www.lacie.com/ca/products/product.htm?id=10270)

3- Having a usb port and audio (mic-headphone) in front of the case would be great too

4- Do you suggest having more fan?

 

[banthracis]

Samsung Spinpoint F3 is a better HD choice, though no biggie if you already bought the WD.

Is there any particular reason you want z68? It's a good $30 more than equivalent p67 atm and nothing you've listed seems to make SSD caching or quick synch necessary for you.

Stock intel HSF will work for a mild overclock, 4.0 pretty easily, maybe up to 4.4, 4.5

It will be loud though. A good budget HSF is a Hyper 212 plus

Case in that range include Rosewill destroyer and antec 300 after rebate
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147144&Tpk=rosewill%20destroyer
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042&cm_re=antec_300-_-11-129-042-_-Product

If you don't plan to Xfire then a 550w is fine.
An Antec TP 550 is only $40 AR right now.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371020&cm_re=antec_550-_-17-371-020-_-Product

If you do, the new Corsair 750TX is $100 AR
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021&cm_re=750w_psu-_-17-139-021-_-Product

shop around for cheapest 1080p monitor. Should be able to get a 21.5" or maybe even a 23" one for ~$150. No big diff btwn brands, just make sure it has the ports you want.

most cases have front panel usb and mic.

Don't think any mobo comes with wireless LAN. You can just pick up a cheap PCIe card or usb card if you need it.

 

[nd_hunter]

directcanada.com offers free shipping on orders over $50. They seem to have some of the best prices to boot.

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912. ~$60
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212+ ~$20
PSU: XFX 650w ~$80
Monitor: ASUS VE238H ~$170

Are you going to encode videos? If so, you will want a Z68 board that has Lucid Virtu. This will dramatically lower the time it takes to do this. Look at the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 or ASUS P8Z68-V or -V Pro. These are around $200. The Gigabyte GA-Z68-UD3H will give you this for a little less, but I'm not sure it's available yet.

 

[pascalthib]

Thanks for your time and answers!

About the Samsung Spinpoint F3, reviews say that it is a better product, but i already bought the other one :S

For the PSU, i would likely take the XFX 650w (in my budget and since i will maybe crossfire later.

About the Case, i saw reviews about each of those you listed, im still not sure, but it is conforting to know that you recommend them. I will take the time to study them and probably ask more question later!

I think that you both may be right and the biggest question here should be P67 or Z68

It is true that maybe the Z68 won't bring much to me. I don't plan to encode videos (or rarely) and i would prefer having a SSD as principal later than a SSD cache now. But can (if I may say it like that) the "video-out" from the motherboard be useful for me if i use the GPU for my monitor and the motherboard one for watching movies on my tv-monitor?

If i would be better with a p67, what do you recommend?

Thanks again.

Edit : For the case, do you recommand USB3 in front? (before last week, i didnt even know that it existed!!)

 

[nd_hunter]

Thanks for your time and answers!

About the Samsung Spinpoint F3, reviews say that it is a better product, but i already bought the other one :S

For the PSU, i would likely take the XFX 650w (in my budget and since i will maybe crossfire later.

About the Case, i saw reviews about each of those you listed, im still not sure, but it is conforting to know that you recommend them. I will take the time to study them and probably ask more question later!

I think that you both may be right and the biggest question here should be P67 or Z68

It is true that maybe the Z68 won't bring much to me. I don't plan to encode videos (or rarely) and i would prefer having a SSD as principal later than a SSD cache now. But can (if I may say it like that) the "video-out" from the motherboard be useful for me if i use the GPU for my monitor and the motherboard one for watching movies on my tv-monitor?

If i would be better with a p67, what do you recommend?

Thanks again.

About the case, I own the HAF 912. It was easy to work in and has a high build quality about it.

P67 is the way to go for you. Since you mentioned you want the ability to Crossfire, I would go with either the Gigabyte GA-P67-UD4-B3, Asus P8P67 Pro, or ASRock P67 Extreme4. There isn't as much a price difference in Canada as there is here in the States, though the ASRock should run slightly cheaper.

As far as the video out (motherboard vs. gpu) question...I am pretty sure it's one or the other. That 5850 has multiple video-out ports so that isn't an issue, plus you should be going with P67, so it's a moot point anyway.

 

[cmadrid]

ASRock P67 Extreme4 should suit your needs well

 

[pascalthib]

Okay, thanks everyone for your help.

I "think" i will go with the HAF 912 and the ASRock P67 Extreme4. I guess that what bug me the most is that I won't be able to take full avantage of the possibility that offer the i5-2500k. But it is true that I probably just DON'T need it and NEVER use it !

The MB cost more than i anticipated but the case is cheaper and the MB come with a usb 3.0 front panel. (so I don't need to pay more for a case with usb3 in front)

@nd_hunter and others : What about fans ? Do I need to buy other fans with the HAF 912 for my setup? (like it seems that there is a place for one on top, in front and on the side)

 

[nd_hunter]

I bought two 200mm Megaflow fans. One is in the front for intake, moving the included 120mm fan that was originally there to the side as an intake also. The other Megaflow went to the top of the case an an exhaust fan. The Megaflow fans are red LED-lit fans. They glow more than they shine and the red matches the red LEDs for power and HDD activity. I also changed my keyboard so the LEDs are red. It looks good without being annoying or obtrusive. I have cool temps across my HDD, my overclocked GPU (MSI R6950 2GB) and my CPU (Hyper 212+ cooler). I think you would be fine with the fans that come with the case. My advice is to put things together and see where your temps are at and then order the fans if you need them.

 

[pascalthib]

OK!! I must say that i'm not an LED fan

Well , that's a good advice, about the fans, I will keep that in mind, thanks!

About the monitor, i'm still not decided. You suggested the Asus VE238H. Are you sure about the model? I just can't find it. What kind of monitor is it ?

 

[nd_hunter]

My bad, I did have the model number incorrect. It's VH238H and here's a link.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236117 <-- LED version
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530MN1207&vpn=VH236H&manufacture=ASUS <-- non-LED version

 

[nd_hunter]

About the fans, Cooler Master does make a non-LED version of the Megaflow, but I'm not sure where (or if) you can find it for sale. An alternative is to place a 120mm or 140mm fan on the side (intake) and two 120mm fans in the top (exhaust). Non-LED versions of these are more plentiful.

EDIT: The two fans that come with the case are non-LED.

 

[pascalthib]

ok Thanks, i will take a look

 

[pascalthib]

About the monitor, I'm still unsure. I will probably go with the asus vh236h which seems well rated by gamer. The LED (vh238h) version seems attractive but there isn't a lot of information about that one and I think I'm not ready for that change!

The vh242h seems good too.. I still don't know if Asus is the way for me or not..

And I was thinking of buying from NCIX (even if I pay a bit more) to get the "zero dead pixel" policy at 9,99$.. I would hate to get 1-6 dead pixel and not get it exchanged

 

[nd_hunter]

The LED version offers better contrast (translation: slightly better picture) and some power savings. ASUS offers a very good warranty service on their monitors...you can forgo the $10 NCIX policy and RMA directly through ASUS.
http://service.asus.com/ARR.html

 

[pascalthib]

About the LED, i spent lot of time reading stuff yesterday about it and I just can't make my mind. Some are positive, some negative and other maybe just rumor and not actual fact.

It is difficult to know what is true about LED monitor..

Here is what I read ..
posivite stuff (colors, contrast, power saving, easier on the eyes, better black, eco-friendly, could last longer, input-lag could be better, thinner)
negative stuff (color quality and stability particulary with white, difficulty to ajust colors, a bit more expensive, input-lag could be higher, better black could be a problem for online-gamer (opponent hiding in dark), dim viewing angle, could be halo, less accuracy)

And I can't find Experts reviews on the vh238h but users reviews are good.

Anyways, If you could share your experience about your screen, I guess it would help.

About the ASUS policy, it seems a good one, but they seems to replace the monitor only if more than 5 dead/stuck pixels (can't find the link where i read it) I am wrong?

Edit : tomshardware review about LED didnt help me much. Maybe it is because I don't understand everything.. but still can't make my mind!

 

[pascalthib]

Oh well, finally I ordered the VH238H and I took it from Newegg, I will see by myself if I like it or not!

Anyways thanks for your time!

P.

 

[pascalthib]

Best answer selected by pascalthib.

 

[nd_hunter]

You're welcome. Enjoy your new rig.

 

[pascalthib]

Quick review of the VH248H monitor :
+ : no dead pixels, vivid color, no shadow.
- : I don't think that it is blacklight bleed but the lower half is brighter than the top half. For exemple : can't distinguish a light grey from white at bottom but if move the same image ( or scroll the webpage!) on the top, i clearly can see it. colors seems off when I compare to an other monitor.

It was when brightness was at max (stock setting). At ~50%, color seems way better (or I just got use to it) and the top vs lower brightness difference isnt as prononced anymore. I read somewhere that it "could" be a commun problem with LCD.

If someone know what setting would be good the the asus vh238h monitor, I would appreciate it! (for now I use the standard mode, I don't like the color of the other mode)

Bottom line, I think It a good bargain for the price and it will be fine for my purpose, but maybe other person (like a photographer) would hate this monitor because of the color that seems a bit off to me.
EDIT : Why do they add speaker in monitor since the sound quality is so bad?

About the rest of my setup:

I received and put together everything but my sapphire 5850 xtreme went backorder. Tigerdirect told me that they should get it next week (ordered about the 15 may and it was suppose to be in stock at that time). I don't know if Iwill really receive it or if i'm just waiting for nothing since this card seems discontinued...

About the fans, I ordered some coolermaster megaflow 200mm finally since I couldn't find the black version anywhere, it was cheap and really quiet! (more quiet than my stock fans.. If it get too annoying, I could change the stock fans). And about the leds, If I hate it, I read somewhere that I could cut the leds connections and it would be fine. If I like it, I will change the HDDled and Powerled for blues ones later. Doesn't seems too hard