mercruzyho

Distinguished
Jun 7, 2011
41
0
18,530
Approximate Purchase Date: 20-25 days

Budget Range: After Rebates around $1200 Price can be over by $50 to $75

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, internet, Sony Vegas 9, Lightwave 9, Photoshop Elements.

Parts Not Required: Monitor, KB, mouse, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, EVGA website

Country of Origin: America

Parts Preferences: EVGA for GPU, Intel.

Overclocking: no

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe (dont include psu for 2 sli will upgrade later if need be)

Additional Comments: It doesn't need to be quiet.
 
What is your monitor's resolution? See GPU recommendation for clarification.


Here's what I'd pick and why:

Best CPU for the money, and will easily run everything you intend to. I would only recommend the i7-2600K if you use Vegas/Lightwave/Photoshop for long periods of time and very often. Only then will hyperthreading really be noticeable.

CPU Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212+ - $30 - http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Sleeve-RR-B10-212P-G1/dp/B002G1YPH0
Great cooler for the money. Includes brackets for a second fan. Can also support OCs if desired in the future - increases longevity of build's usefulness.

Motherboard - Gigabyte Z68X-UD3P-B3 - $170 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128493
Gigabyte has been making solid motherboards at prices lower than the comparable Asus boards. This one will support dual GPUs (SLI or CF) and is the latest chipset, which helps with video transcoding.

GPU - Sapphire FLEX 6950 2GB (reference model) - $280 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102929&cm_re=Sapphire_6950_2gb-_-14-102-929-_-Product
If your resolution is 1920x1080 or higher, I would strongly suggest a 6950 2GB as your GPU. It beats out the 560Ti in most games in almost every benchmark comparison. The only reason I would suggest a 560Ti would be if your programs supported CUDA. In general though, your money is better spent on the 6950. There are many different choices, but I'd stick with MSI, Asus, and Sapphire. They make the better AMD cards.
NOTE: Many of the components could be rearranged to afford a 6970/570, and the PSU selected will support CF/SLI 6970s/570s

RAM - G.Skill Sniper 2x4GB 1600MHz Kit - $75 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231416&cm_re=DDR3_1600_8GB-_-20-231-416-_-Product
Good kit of RAM made by one of the best in the business. There are several similar options from other brands/series, so take your pick - they'll all work the same.

PSU - XFX PRO 850W XXX Edition - $155 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207017
This PSU is strong enough to comfortably support dual 6970s/570s, and is semi modular so you won't have all of the PCI-E/SATA/Peripheral power cables in the case until you need them.
NOTE: This can be downgraded to a good 750W PSU if 6950s/560Tis are chosen as the GPUs

Case - Cooler Master HAF 922 - $100 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197&cm_re=HAF_922-_-11-119-197-_-Product
Mid tower case with great airflow, a lot of room, good build quality, and at a reasonable price.
You could afford a bigger case (full tower) if you so desire - it will give you more space and more cooling.

HDD - Samsung F3 1TB - $65 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&cm_re=F3_1TB-_-22-152-185-_-Product
The fastest and most reliable platter drive out there. Don't waste your money on the Caviar Blacks, because they're just overpriced previous generation platters.

Optical Drive - Any DVD/BD drive(s) you want - $20-100
Pick really whatever you want. DVD/RW drives are as low as $20, and BD burners will run around $100.


Grand Total - $1095 + DVD Drive (before rebates). There's plenty of room for tweaking, a bigger GPU, or better peripherals. You can get a high quality 1920x1080 monitor for ~$150 nowadays, so you could upgrade if you don't already have a 1080 monitor, or you could add a second.
 
Well the 6950/570 is only $60 more than the 6950 2GB I listed, and the i7 is $100 more than the i5, which should only put you at about $1300 after adding in the DVD drive. IMO the upgrades would be worth it, and as it stands the build supports dual 6970s/570s.