Yet another gaming rig for a friend, $1200

[coldsleep]

Just getting ideas on a build for a friend. Haven't had a chance to poke around on newegg yet, I'll get something up soon. I am just recommending parts, the friend is long-distance, will buy and put together.

Approximate Purchase Date: next week or two

Budget Range: $1200ish before rebates, can go a little over if necessary

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, streaming movies

Parts Not Required: Monitor to be purchased separately, 1920x1080

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg, but willing to go elsewhere for a good deal

Country of Origin: USA

Parts Preferences: n/a

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe. Would like to keep the option open, but in all likelihood, this won't be used.

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Prefer an HAF-like case. Would like to try to fit an SSD in, but I know it can be difficult at this price range.

 

[coldsleep]

Tentative build. $1300 before rebates. Least sure about mobo & GPU, as I haven't been keeping up-to-date as much as I should.

CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K - $220 + free shipping
Mobo - Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 - $150 + $3 shipping
RAM - Kingston HyperX 8GB 1600 MHz CAS 9 - $49 + free shipping
SSD - OCZ Agility 3 - $105 + free shipping ($15 MIR)
HDD - Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB - $60 + free shipping
ODD - Samsung Blu-ray retail combo drive - $65 + free shipping
GPU - PNY GTX 570 - $320 + free shipping ($30 MIR)
PSU - Seasonic SS-850HT 850W 80+ Silver Active PFC - $120 + $10 shipping
Case - HAF 922 - $100 + free shipping ($10 MIR)
OS - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - $95 + free shipping

 

[nd_hunter]

You're about spot on for a build in that price range. I would drop the blu-ray drive in favor of a simple dvd writer. Are you really going to watch Blu-rays on your computer? It's much more comfortable on a big-screen while reclining in your Lay-Z-Boy. I'd stay away from OCZ SSDs. I think your best bet right now would be this 64GB Crucial M4. It's $120 shipped with the promo code. This Antec HCG 750w unit has plenty of power to SLI two GTX 570s and is only $100 shipped, plus there is a $25 rebate.

 

[coldsleep]

I see that the Vertex 3 has had some problems, but haven't seen anything about the Agility 3. Crucial m4 is on a nice sale right now, you are quite correct.

I have a Blu-ray combo drive on my own PC, which I do watch from time to time, but I agree that it might be overkill. Just trying to offer options to my friend.

Nice find on the Antec PSU.

 

[Raysito22]

I see that the Vertex 3 has had some problems, but haven't seen anything about the Agility 3. Crucial m4 is on a nice sale right now, you are quite correct.

I have a Blu-ray combo drive on my own PC, which I do watch from time to time, but I agree that it might be overkill. Just trying to offer options to my friend.

Nice find on the Antec PSU.

SSD's with Sandforce controller, no matter brand or model, have problems. I'd staw away from them too (indeed, I bought a new computer last week and changed the last day from OCZ to Crucial myself).

While not all Sandforce-powered SSD's are having trouble with BSOD's, there seem to be a lot of them affected, and as I said, there is no actual reason for it (different rigs with different mobos, different brands and models of SSD's, now OCZ blame Intel for faulty P67 design, though they fail in other rigs too and other SSD's don't have failures on P67 mobos).

I'd say probably 1 of every ten or so SSD's are affected, though I've heard from a real consumer who has always had 1/3 of possibilities of having troubles (1 vertex 3, 1 agility 3, 1 corsair, having 3 of all of them).

So I'd better stay away. Some people solve their problems with new firmwares, but, again, just some of them. Some of them just make their problems bigger. I've read some people saying "it's not such a big problem", "people just hate OCZ" and "problems have already been solved", but none of those statements are actually true.

My 2 cents for Crucial M4. Speed-wise there's not such a big difference (unless for crazy benchmarkers). Real world difference is almost unnoticable.

The rest of the buld looks perfect BTW.

 

[nd_hunter]

SSD's with Sandforce controller, no matter brand or model, have problems. I'd staw away from them too (indeed, I bought a new computer last week and changed the last day from OCZ to Crucial myself).

While not all Sandforce-powered SSD's are having trouble with BSOD's, there seem to be a lot of them affected, and as I said, there is no actual reason for it (different rigs with different mobos, different brands and models of SSD's, now OCZ blame Intel for faulty P67 design, though they fail in other rigs too and other SSD's don't have failures on P67 mobos).

I'd say probably 1 of every ten or so SSD's are affected, though I've heard from a real consumer who has always had 1/3 of possibilities of having troubles (1 vertex 3, 1 agility 3, 1 corsair, having 3 of all of them).

So I'd better stay away. Some people solve their problems with new firmwares, but, again, just some of them. Some of them just make their problems bigger. I've read some people saying "it's not such a big problem", "people just hate OCZ" and "problems have already been solved", but none of those statements are actually true.

My 2 cents for Crucial M4. Speed-wise there's not such a big difference (unless for crazy benchmarkers). Real world difference is almost unnoticable.

The rest of the buld looks perfect BTW.

^^Good stuff. I do have to say I think I would fall into that "people just hate OCZ" group, though I think hate is too strong a word. I just think their quality control is sketchy. I've had bad luck with their memory (hmmm...now they're out of the memory business) and I've know more people who have had problems with their other products than those who haven't. So I would say, as a rule, stay away from OCZ. The only exception to this might be their ZX line of power supplies.

Gotta love the blame game. And now Intel is having issues with their 320 SSDs...I've been wanting one for a while, but think, even though they have matured somewhat, it's still too early for me to add the technology in my rig(s).

EDIT: To the OP, if you want a reliable SSD, your best bet might actually be to go with a SATA II drive. They have been out for a while now and they should be shipping with the latest firmware, resolving any known issues. Also, I noticed that the memory you picked out is 1.65v. It should work, but as a rule 1.5v is the way to go, as that is what Intel recommends for Sandy Bridge.

 

[coldsleep]

Great comments, guys. I stopped paying attention to SSDs about 6 months ago, haven't really been paying attention to the new crop of SATA3 SSDs.

And thanks for the catch on the memory. I'm aware of the 1.5 V requirement, I just wasn't paying attention while putting the build together.

 

[nd_hunter]

I've got 1.65v 1600 C9 memory that is stable (now) at 1333 c7. Lol, go figure. I didn't know when I bought it, but it's still within spec.

 

[Why_Me]

Here's a build that includes a gtx 580 along with the option to add another one later on for SLI.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197 $99.99 - $89.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371050 $129.99 FREE SHIPPING
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-900 900W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502 $118.99 FREE SHIPPING
GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.694804 $266.98 - $15.00 Mail In Rebates FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory with heatshield Model PSD38G1600KH

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065 $29.99 FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 $59.99 FREE SHIPPING
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106334 $21.99
LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS-324-98B

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130587 $459.99
EVGA 015-P3-1580-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 $94.99 FREE SHIPPING
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

Total: $1,282.90 *not including shipping and mail in rebates