Gaming/Home PC (~$1300)

[chriskay301]

Approximate Purchase Date: End of June/Early July

Budget Range: 1000-1300

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Surfing, Gaming, Day to Day Stuff

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg, tigerdirect

Country of Origin: United States

Parts Preferences: Intel, Nvidia

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: Haven't Really thought about much.

Additional Comments: Would like something that would be sufficient for the next 5 years or so. Also becoming an engineering major and may need to use some graphic intense programs in the coming years.


Case: Antec DF-85 Black ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129087

Mobo: ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131701

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070&cm_re=i7_2600k-_-19-115-070-_-Product

CPU Cooler: Spire TherMax Eclipse II
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11423/cpu-spi-28/Spire_TherMax_Eclipse_II_Five_DT_Heatpipe_Universal_CPU_Cooler_SP984B1-V2_-_Sockets_77511561366939AM2AM2AM3.html

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

GPU: ASUS ENGTX560 DCII OC/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121446

PSU: Ultra X3 ULT40311 1000-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, PCI-E Ready, Energy Efficient, Modular
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4267989&csid=_23

HD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKX 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136770

Optical Drive: Plextor PX-L890SA-26 24X DVDRW Optical Drive - Internal, SATA, Lightscribe
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7030575&CatId=1624


Just curious if this would be the best option for the money. Also wondering if an SSD is really worth it or whether waiting around for a year or two until they drop in price would be fine. Thanks for the help!

 

[gkay09]

^ Some suggestions -

Here is a rebuild,...

CPU + Mobo
i7 + Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4-B3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.660712

RAM - Same, also check this one - It has much lower voltage
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231461

CASE - IMO even this would do -
LIAN LI Lancool PC-K63 - Has USB3.0 & 5 stock fans,... Also these mid towers are pretty roomy...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112320

PSU + HDD
Corsair 750TX + Samsung F3 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.668399

Video card - You have said that you prefer Nvidia cards, but take a look at this one -
HD 6870 with 2 Free games
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.656810
Review vs GTX 560-
http://www.guru3d.com/article/ecs-geforce-gtx-560-review/19
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.656810

SSD - If you have money to spare, then surely a SSD for boot would be very good,...
Right now the prices have come down quiet a bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227725

 

[chriskay301]

wow..the hd 6870 does seem to be quite better. I can see how I missed that when searching newegg. Do you think the 750w psu would be enough to possibly crossfire two of these cards in the future though?

With the mobo combo you sent I could have the extra money to do the ssd drive as well. Thanks for the suggestions so far!

 

[gkay09]

^ Yes that 750W has enough power to handle 2x HD 6870s in Crossfire, actually it can even handle 2x HD 6970s,...

 

[mjmjpfaff]

for your computer usage the i5 2500k is best for you and cheaper . games and surfing the internet wont use hyper threading. heavy video editing and such does.

that motherboard is a waste of money just go with the asrock p67 extreme4 or this gigabyte board- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128488&cm_re=gigabyte_p67-_-13-128-488-_-Product

nzxt phantom 120$- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067&cm_re=nzxt_phantom-_-11-146-067-_-Product

cpu cooler- hyper 212 plus at amazon for 30$ (10$ cheaper than newegg)

hdd and psu- http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.668399&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

gtx 560 ti (beats out 6870) 220$- http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-PCI-Express-Graphics-01G-P3-1567-KR/dp/B004XUCCRM/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1307978523&sr=1-2 -the psu can sli these cards

 

[grody]

Nice suggestions. And you can definitely find some cheap second gen SSDs with third gen coming out.

 

[chriskay301]

I think im definitely going to take a step down to one of the suggested mobos above. I do like the look of the phantom case but I am, however, turned off due to the lack of usb 3.0 ports on the top of the case.

 

[chriskay301]

So atm..i went to this set up..lol
The CPU, cooler, optical drive all remained the same.

Case: NZXT Phantom Black/Green
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7335349&CatId=1510

or Black/Orange
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146073&cm_re=nzxt_phantom-_-11-146-073-_-Product

Mobo: Asus P8P67 Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131703&cm_re=p8p67_pro-_-13-131-703-_-Product

Ram: G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231461

GPU: XFX HD-687A-ZDFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150521&cm_re=6870_hd-_-14-150-521-_-Product
(I liked the dual fan setup better, with rebate its cheaper than single fan)

PSU: Corsair 750hx (Couldn't stand non modular psu.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010&Tpk=750hx

HD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

SSD: Crucial 64gb M4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441&cm_re=64gb_M4-_-20-148-441-_-Product

Thoughts on this build?

 

[mjmjpfaff]

di you even read my post games/ surfing the internet will no use hyperthreading which only the 2600k has. you will be practically throwing away money because you wont use the extras the 2600k has to offer

 

[chriskay301]

yeah I meant to change that too. I switched to the 2500k. And I believe I'm going to spend the little extra and get a stock gtx 560 ti and overclock it to the superclocked version or possibly higher. Thanks for the suggestions. Hopefully I can get all the money together soon! =D