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$800 Build - Ordering Tomorrow HELP!

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Hey Guys, I am building my own gaming computer and I'm going to order either tomorrow or later today, so I need your help picking the rest of the parts for my build.
Approximate Purchase Date: This week.

Budget Range: $800 before rebates, $1000 with monitor and OS

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming/Internet/Work

Parts Not Required: Monitor, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: NewEgg Microcenter

Approximate Purchase Date: Today Or Tomorrow

Parts Preferences: Intel i5 2500k (180 @ Microcenter)
EVGA gtx 560 ti FPB (239 @ Newegg)

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Possible in the future

Monitor Resolution:1920x1080

Additional Comments: Well I need the most help picking the motherboard ( I was thinking maybe the ASRock extreme4?), PSU, and RAM( Do I need more than 4 gigs?). I will be playing a lot of GPU-demanding games such as Crysis 1 and 2, Call Of Duty, WoW, Linage, Gunz, Minecraft, and others, and I'll be amazed if the system you guys help me build will be able to max out Crysis 2 :) . I am also a multi-tab person, so when I browse, I use around 10 tabs at any given time and want my computer not to freeze when I do that. Oh yeah i also have the case picked out- Antec 300 illusion( due to the 4 included fans) and would love free shipping. So yeah, comment away :) 

More about : 800 build ordering tomorrow

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I would get the cheapest z68 that does pcies 16x/8x/4x, which was around $120 to weeks ago but now seems to be closer to $150. That way next year you can add sli. Then in 2 years you can get a proper mobo that does 16x/16x/16x or maybe even more for a decent price. You can tranfer the CPU, 2 cards, buy a third to put in that mobo. The next year you can upgrade the CPU that will still be compatible with your second mobo.
Homebuilt system Authority

make sure you grab the i5-2500k + mobo at microcenter, as theres a bundle deal for $40 off.
id grab the following for a future SLI build:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

and the i5 + one of these microcenter mobo's (stock varies store to store, id reserve them online):
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...

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Yes all of them, except the g43. I wouldn't go with an MSI mobo though, as they've been getting pretty bad reviews. Do you own one?
I have one question about SLI- is x16,x8 or x8,x8 better? Because most of the affordable boards have either of those.
Homebuilt system Authority

id go with the Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H.
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...
I do own an MSI P67A GD65 (it was the first B3 mobo on newegg), and ive had no problems with it, its a great board.

All the above boards have x8/x8 pci-e lanes, which is what you need for SLI. They run x16 with one card, and x8/x8 with two. Lesser boards run x16,x4, and much more expensive boards with an NF200 bridge can run x16/x16. Benchmarks have shown that there is only a very small performance difference between x16/x16 and x8/x8 on sandy bridge, with mid-high graphics
look at the 1080p chart comparing P67+NF200 x16/x16 vs P67 x8/x8 :
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/p67-gaming-3-way-sl...

um the radeon gpu according to toms hardware article is supposed to be better than the 560ti but its up to you. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... 240
here is the link to the article http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-...

EDIT I just put my computer together and have an msi p67a G43 board and am having no problems with it. so don't dicount them there z68 boards are pretty much the same from what I hear http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... good review on the p67.

jackspeed said:
um the radeon gpu according to toms hardware article is supposed to be better than the 560ti

The article says that its better than the 560 non-ti

I actually am kind of considering the MSI board now... I'm gonna go to Microcenter tomorrow to check out the prices in the store itself and then I'll decide.

jackspeed said:
about the 6950 "It outperforms the GeForce GTX 560 Ti in enough situations, on average, to score the sole recommendation."

:sarcastic:  Lol, my bad, I was reading at the wrong place

OK, This is what I came up with:
CPU: Intel core i5 2500k $180

GPU: EVGA GeForce gtx 560 ti Yes, i know you guys told me to get the dual-fan version but with this one I get lifetime warranty, free shipping, and $25 MIR, opposed to 7.87 shipping, 3 year warrany, and $20 MIR - $240 25MIR

RAM: Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 limited edition $50

PSU: Antec High Current Gamer Series 750W $75 25MIR

Case: Rosewill Challenger $50

HHD+ DVD drive combo: THIS $70

Monitor: AOC 22" 1080p Monitor $130

OS: Windows 7 $95

Motherboard: Okay, without the mobo, the build is about $950, so when I add it the total comes to $1100 :( 
However I've narrowed down the boards i want to these:
Gigabyte Z68X UD3H $120, 15MIR

ASRock Z68 Extreme4 $155

ASRock P67 Extreme4 $150+ 8 shipping

MSI P67A-GD65 $145 20MIR

ASUS P8P67 PRO $150

PS: Do I need a return policy for any of the parts?

PLEASE help me get at least a 20-30 bucks off!!

sarinaide said:
Don't get that RAM, it says it is 1.65v RAM which is no good

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... at $60

I did this build on NEWEGG and got less than $1000

http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingCart.aspx?sub...

Hey can you please briefly write the parts you got :) 

and I'm thinking of getting THESE or THESE I've been seeing a lot of people with Mushkins and I never saw one person complain from them + they got a MIR
Homebuilt system Expert

CASE: Antec 300 $54 with MIR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

PSU: ANTEC HCG 750 $85 with MIR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

MOBO: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 $ 150 (Tomshardware best buy for $100-150 boards)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Biostar TZ68A+ RCH $ 130 or the TZ68A+ for $100

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

It is another endorsed board, lowend cost with some good high end results, the limitations though are; only (16x/4x Crossfire) and not USB front headers.

CPU: I5 2500K $ 220 or I3 2100 &125

RAM: Mushkin Radioactive 1.5v DDR3 1600C9 (8GB) $48 MIR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Corsair Vengeance XMP DDR3 1600C9 (8GB) $61

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GSKill Snipers DDR3 1600C9 $56

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GSkill RipJaws DDR 1600C9 $60

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GPU: GTX 570 $290 MIR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GTX 560 $ 180 MIR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GTX 560 TI $215 MIR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

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Just get those writer and HDD combo's for $70 and a Coolermaster Hyper 212 + HS/Cooler for $30



Okay, I am pretty set on all of the parts (with your help), but i only have a couple of last questions:
1. Is the difference between the z68xp-d3h and z68x-ud3h major because I'm seeking that all black look :D  ?
2. Let's say I get DDR3 1333 memory. Isn't it easy to OC it to 1600?
3. Do I need protection plans of any of the parts?

1. Get the cheaper one, there is no real difference.
2. You don't need more than 4g of memory, I have 8gb corsair vengeance and I haven't hit 30 percent + of usage yet. And depending on your motherboard its sometimes easy to overclock I own a gigabyte motherboard (high quality strongly reccommended) but there isn't a real differrence between 1333 and 1600.
3m protection plans aren't nessecary just handle the parts cafefully and if they don't work that's when warranties kick in
Homebuilt system Authority

there arent really major differences between the z68xp-ud3 and z68x-ud3h.

read these two articles (dont just look at the recommendation at the end, READ):
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z68xp-ud3-dz68db,29...
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/asrock-z68-extreme4...

the key thing to take away from both of these articles is that the "Toms Hardware Recommended" award is often based on minor differences. There are alot of good mobos out there. The z68xp-ud3 wins in its category and the z68x-ud3h loses in its higher price category. This doesnt mean that the z68xp-ud3 is better than the z68x-ud3h, especially when you consider that the price difference at microcenter is only $5.

The performance difference between 1333 and 1600 in games is extremely small. Typically you can find 8gb 1600 mhz memory for the same price or $5 more, in which case, why not? Ram goes on sale constantly.

Id skip the protection plans.
Homebuilt system Expert

stew669 said:
Okay, I am pretty set on all of the parts (with your help), but i only have a couple of last questions:
1. Is the difference between the z68xp-d3h and z68x-ud3h major because I'm seeking that all black look :D  ?
2. Let's say I get DDR3 1333 memory. Isn't it easy to OC it to 1600?
3. Do I need protection plans of any of the parts?


Those boards are virtually the same board, one is black and the other is blue. Performance wise non is better than the other.

If there wasn't a difference between 1333 and 1600 then they would not distinguish between them. Whether the day to day user can notice the difference is the real issue. I wish I can find that article that compared 4GB vs 8GB and 1333 vs 1600 where in encoding and data transfer stress tests the 1333 fell off horribly while 1866 gave no gains. Right now 1600 is the sweet spot.

Well, I'd like to say thank you to all the people that gave me advice and took part in this thread. I just ordered half the parts for the build, which were:
Cooler Master HAF 912
EVGA gtx 560 ti FPB
G.SKILL Sniper 8 GB DDR3-1600
Seagate barracuda 1tb 7200rpm SATA 6.0GB/s
Windows 7 64 bit
And a random DVD drive :D 
all of this came down to under 500 bucks- like 494 something because i found a couple of coupons that took off 25 bucks
Now, I have to buy the rest of the stuff and I'll pass by Microcenter by the end of this week to do so

Again, I'd like to thank traumadisaster, genghiskron, jackspeed, chilypepper, and Sarinaide. I'll tell you how it performs once I put it togeter :) 
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