New build, what do you think?

[solego]

I've finally sat down and put something together on paper. I'm not entirely computer savvy, but I believe it is all compatible. If there is anything wrong, please clue me in.

Also, if I could do better or save money, let me know.

CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K $219.99

CPU Cooler - 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 $28.43

OS - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM $99.99

Case - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Compucase Case with USB 3.0 and Black Interior $129.99 after MIR

PSU - Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply $79.99 after MIR

MOBO - GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $159.99

Memory - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL $57.99

Monitor - ASUS VH236H Black 23" 2ms Full HD Widescreen LCD Monitor w/ Speakers 300 cd/m2 20000 :1 (ASCR) $159.99 after MIR

KB & Mouse - GIGABYTE GK-K6800 Glossy Black USB Wired Standard Professional Multimedia Keyboard $32.98

Speakers - ALTEC LANSING VS2620 5 Watts RMS 2.0 Value Computer Speakers $19.99

HDD & CD/DVD - SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-222AB - OEM & 1x Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA $73.48


I'm stuck on the graphics card because I'm not sure what the real difference between these two is, other than the price.

GPU 1 - EVGA SuperClocked 012-P3-1572-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $314.99 after MIR

or

GPU 2 -ASUS ENGTX570 DCII/2DIS/1280MD5 GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $319.99 after MIR

So far the total price is $1382.80

Thanx in advance to everyone for offering advice

Mike

 

[danraies]

The video cards are pretty similar. I'd go with the first unless you need a display port connection or you're worried about cooling. However if you want to add a second card for SLI in the future you should probably get a bigger power supply.

There's not too much to say - you've done pretty well. The Samsung Spinpoint F3 is probably a slightly better drive than the Seagate you've chosen there, but I use a Seagate myself and it works fine.

The only change I would make is a higher wattage PSU with a single +12V rail, but multiple +12V rails are fine most of the time and the PSU you've chosen is fine if you only want to run one card.

 

[mjmjpfaff]

get this gtx 570- http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-PCI-Express-Graphics-012-P3-1573-KR/dp/B004O6MOC8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1313715455&sr=8-4 300$ after mail in rebate

850w PSU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207011 100$ after m.i.r.

case- http://www.amazon.com/NZXT-Crafted-Tower-Steel-Chassis/dp/B003WE9WQY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1313715776&sr=8-5 120$
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147107&Tpk=rosewill%20blackhawk 90$ cools better than the haf X- http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/dragon-rider-chaser-mk-i,2992-8.html

 

[solego]

This PSU gets good reviews. How does this look?

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply $124.99

How is the Samsung better? Is it just a better quality brand, or is there a real difference between these exact hard drives?

Anybody else?

Mike

 

[mjmjpfaff]

ya the tx 850 is a great psu. the samsung is just a little faster thats all not really worth it though since you have the combo deal

 

[danraies]

This PSU gets good reviews. How does this look?

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply $124.99

How is the Samsung better? Is it just a better quality brand, or is there a real difference between these exact hard drives?

The PSU is good - the enthusiast series is very reliable. I have a 650W Enthusiast series PSU and it works great.

The F3 just benchmarks a little higher than the competition in its price range.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2009/10/06/samsung-spinpoint-f3-1tb-review/1
The Seagate you chose is a perfectly respectable drive, though. Benchmarks are different than real life anyway, so you probably won't ever notice the difference.

 

[solego]

I compared the PSUs and found that the reviews were lacking with the one you mentioned when compared to the one I found.

I do think I will stick with the CoolerMaster case. The build quality seems better also when looking at the reviews.

As far as the GTX570 you found, it's rather ironic you found that at the price you did. I am expecting $300 in Amazon gift cards in the mail. Unfortunately, they're not due for 4 to 6 weeks. I'm not sure I feel like waiting that long. Besides, that can buy me a lot of books on my Kindle.

Thanx for taking the time to look, though!

Anybody else?

Mike

 

[solego]

The PSU is good - the enthusiast series is very reliable. I have a 650W Enthusiast series PSU and it works great.

The F3 just benchmarks a little higher than the competition in its price range.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2009/10/06/samsung-spinpoint-f3-1tb-review/1
The Seagate you chose is a perfectly respectable drive, though. Benchmarks are different than real life anyway, so you probably won't ever notice the difference.

It seems I've made some rather good guesses, then. All of the parts chosen were based mainly on reviews and from what I've read about on here. I've never actually built a computer as my last one was custom built and cost me over $2300.

At least now I have a better understanding what everything does and can now recognize somewhat which components are not out of date. And most importantly, I will save $1000 doing it myself.

Mike

 

[danraies]

As far as the GTX570 you found, it's rather ironic you found that at the price you did. I am expecting $300 in Amazon gift cards in the mail. Unfortunately, they're not due for 4 to 6 weeks. I'm not sure I feel like waiting that long.

You could also get a second GTX570 when your gift card gets here!

 

[solego]

Holy crap! You're right! I didn't even think about that.

I do have another question. Is there a big difference between the screen resolutions of 1920x1080 and 1920x1200? Did I get those sizes right?

Also, should I throw an SSD in there? And if I do, is there an instructional manual floating out there on how to run a computer with two different hard drives?
Mike

 

[farsuka]

An SSD will add a decent amount of performance gain, and the difference between 16:9 and 16:10 is marginal at best, honestly.

 

[danraies]

Using two hard drives is easy enough. When you install windows it will ask you where you want the OS to be and you can format the HDD from windows for mass storage. It's a little more difficult to optimize your ssd for windows, but there are several tutorials online for that. You could start with the stickies in the TH storage section.