Mid-Range Build for my dad. (First Build)

[Cheeseter]

Hello all! My Name is D and this is my first post in this forum and I'm planning on staying. Heard a lot of great things about you guys. I'm building a system for my dad and just wanted to make sure that everything will work. This is my first build I have ever done by myself, so just wanting to be safe. Thanks!


Approximate Purchase Date: Today or tomorrow

Budget Range: Under USD $2,000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Transferring pictures and files/Word, Excel/Web Browsing

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Country of Origin: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel and Nvidia

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Motherboard: MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130574

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115071

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144

GPU: GIGABYTE GV-N26UD-896M REV2.0 GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125391

PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V v2.91 (Got 850W to be safe when he upgrades this system later)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009

SSD: Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F120GBGT-BK 2.5" 120GB SATA III
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233191

Optical x2: Sony Optiarc Black SATA Model AD-726Ss-0B LightScribe Support
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118040

Card Reader: Rosewill RCR-IC001 40-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB Port
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820223103

HDD x2: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068

OEM Version of Win7 Home Premium 64-bit

Thanks for looking this over!

 

[genghiskron]

please fill out the form linked in my signature so we have all the necessary information to help you. in particular, we need to know the budget and system usage.

 

[wintermint]

If you have absolutely no need for overclocking, it's safe to drop down to a i5-2400 and a H6x motherboard. However, you should really drop down to at least a i5-2500k because the $100 difference isn't justifiable unless your father will be doing 3D rendering work. You can find G.Skill Ripjaws Series ram for $65. You don't need 850W for power supply. 400-500 is more than enough. I will go for 650-750 if he plans to do SLI. You should get the Samsung Spinpoint F3 instead. They have good performance and also 1TB each.

Check this link: http://www.hwcompare.com/5818/geforce-gtx-260-vs-radeon-hd-6770/
There's more energy efficient graphic cards if you're interested.

 

[Cheeseter]

please fill out the form linked in my signature so we have all the necessary information to help you. in particular, we need to know the budget and system usage.

Thanks for that, filled it out

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

Overall the build looks good and I don’t see any real problems. I would say that you are a little overkill on the power supply take a look at this tool it is very good to help you find the low end on the power supply that you need http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp. Also what are going to be doing with this system? Unless you are going to be doing a lot of video/audio type work you might find that you are better of stepping down to the Intel® Core™ i5-2500.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[Cheeseter]

If you have absolutely no need for overclocking, it's safe to drop down to a i5-2400 and a H6x motherboard. However, you should really drop down to at least a i5-2500k because the $100 difference isn't justifiable unless your father will be doing 3D rendering work. You can find G.Skill Ripjaws Series ram for $65. You don't need 850W for power supply. 400-500 is more than enough. I will go for 650-750 if he plans to do SLI. You should get the Samsung Spinpoint F3 instead. They have good performance and also 1TB each.

Check this link: http://www.hwcompare.com/5818/geforce-gtx-260-vs-radeon-hd-6770/
There's more energy efficient graphic cards if you're interested.

For the CPU, he told me he wanted the best, and is willing to pay the extra money for it.

I got him a 850W PSU so he wouldn't have to buy a new one when he upgrades this rig in 3-5 years. And when he upgrades, he will be using a SLI config. With this in mind, would it be safe to go down to the 650-750 range?

The RAM I got is only 1.5v, which is why I picked it.

And the WD drives are SATA 6.0GB/s and have a 64MB Cache.

Lastly, I want to stay Nvidia because that's what we've used and I just like them better

 

[Cheeseter]

Overall the build looks good and I don’t see any real problems. I would say that you are a little overkill on the power supply take a look at this tool it is very good to help you find the low end on the power supply that you need http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp. Also what are going to be doing with this system? Unless you are going to be doing a lot of video/audio type work you might find that you are better of stepping down to the Intel® Core™ i5-2500.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

Coming from you and wintermint I dropped the PSU to a 650W.
With the CPU, my dad said he wanted the best in this price range and is willing to pay for it, so that's why I got him the i7-2600. At times he does do lots of video editing, so I don't think it will all go to waste.

Thanks all you guys for the help!!

 

[Cheeseter]

Best answer selected by Cheeseter.

 

[DXRick]

"System Usage from Most to Least Important: Transferring pictures and files/Word, Excel/Web Browsing"

But, he will upgrade to SLI in 3-5 years?

It looks like he just wants a basic a desktop, and you want to build him a powerful gaming PC. You could easily build him a decent office PC for under $1000.

 

[wintermint]

Trust me the i5-2500k is the BEST without squandering your money. It's completely worth its price. You should top if with a P67 or Z68 motherboard.