fiestaforesta

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Hi All.

I am setting up a 1500$ build for a new gaming pc. This is what I have so far-

Seagate 1TB HDD- $79.99
EVGA Superclocked GTX 580- $489.99
(Combo Deal) Corsair 650D + Corsair HX 850W PSU- $334.98
(Combo Deal) i5 2500k + Gigabyte GA-P67-UD4-B3- $364.98
Corsair H80- $91.99

Total- $1,375.38

Now, I realize there is no RAM in the build. What I need to know is whether I should make some cheaper choices in the build to downgrade the price so I can get 8GB's of RAM and an SSD, or should I spring for 16GB's of ram, which is in my budget. The SSD i think should be at least 60GB's if not 90GB's.

Thanks for the help in advance!
 

justjohn5

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You should get 8 gigs of RAM and an SSD.
16GB's is over kill. 8 GB's is a perfect amount, and you really do not need anything over that.
An SSD would be a better choice. You can put your windows on that, and some games :) Get an SSD with around 120 GB's and your fine. best of luck
 

fiestaforesta

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Okay, but then the issue becomes price. 8 gigs of ram, plus a 120GB SSD will exceed my budget of 1500$.
 

fiestaforesta

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For one, get a samsung spinpoint f3 1tb, that cuts off $10

See if you live near a microcenter www.microcenter.com

they have gg deals on mobo/cpus so you can get your i5 2500k for like $180 if you can pick it up from one of their stores >_<

I do infact live by one :D

I will set up a cart and update it when I am done.
 
The SSD makes soooo much diffrence I went from a 4 drive raid 0 hard drives to a singe gen 2 sata 2 ssd and everything is instant office loads in 1 second windows 15 seconds ect. it will be the single biggest speed increase I have seen in a computer upgrade.

Thently
 

fiestaforesta

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Even the closed loop systems like the H80?
Can you then recommend me a good air cooler that will fit in my case and not make it sound like a jet taking off?
I am interested in overclocking the CPU as well.
 

vigilante212

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Lots of people seem to like the hyper 212 cooler. The specs rate about the same as with the v8 cooler, but make sure your case is big enough to fit them first. Your power supply is overkill and you may save some money there, but i see you are getting it in a bundle look around. You may be able to get a slightly cheaper HD. Also the link below has your card for 399 its new, open box though. I have seen them as low as $466. PS don't forget to figure in shipping costs.

http://www.mobilepc.com/Electronics/EVGA-GeForce-GTX-580-Superclocked-1536-MB-PCI-E-2-0
 

fiestaforesta

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Thanks for the help, but the 580 there is out of stock. Hmm, I was looking for something more high end on the cooler, I'd like to try and get my i5 to at least 4.5 GHz (5.0 is my dream goal).

And the final cost does include shipping.
 

Wamphryi

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You only need 4 GB RAM for gaming. 8 GB will not assist your gaming but it is to small to be useful for RAM Drive and Video Editing especially HD Video Editing. IMHO the best way to go is either have 4 GB RAM or 16 GB RAM. I put 16 GB in my machine and it used every MB of it caching up the HD files I was working on. When it finally ran out of RAM to cache in the PC started Hard Faulting and performance dropped accordingly.

 
G

Guest

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your casing and psu are WAY TOO EXPANSIVE....

go to a 450W psu, around 90$
and a antec 400 or whatever its called for 50$
 

internetlad

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You can pick up OCZ Agility 3's at a pretty solid price now (I saw a 60 for 69 bucks at newegg on special) I personally own the 120 and I say that so long as you don't have issues it works great. (sounds stupid but it makes sense if you know the stories surrounding the drive) Basically if it works on your system without doing weird retarded *** it's a great drive for a solid price, If it does do weird stuff, RMA that bad boy, or tinker with flashing firmware, maybe you'll find a revision that works.

That said, 16 GB won't do jack for you over 8 GB unless you're using some pretty specialized programs that can recognize that much RAM. Hell, I Have 4 Gb in my system and I've never been wanting for more RAM. Until we see programs designed specifically for 64 bit OS, and not spun off from a 32 bit code we won't have any use for near that much RAM.

EDIT: Ignore DoctorPink's remarks, you can NEVER overdo the PSU, it's the most important part of the computer IMHO.

As for the case, get whichever one you want. It's your money and it's not like any case is going to increase performance, but it will affect the experience of assembling and maintaining your computer, plus if it looks nice that's always good.
 

Wamphryi

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It is not true that 16 GB of RAM cannot be used. It is true that "Programs" for the most part will not use anywhere that much, even 64 bit programs. It is the use of caching that the advantage is found. Video Editing in HD is very taxing on the system. When I load up Corel X4 and require it to bookmark several GB of HD Video footage 4 GB RAM was not enough. When I boosted the RAM to 16 GB I found a significant increase in the PC"s ability to handle large HD files. The program ended up using all 16 GB of RAM to cache and when it ran out performance dropped as the system started hard faulting.

The point I am making is this. 4 GB is more than enough for a Gamer. 8 GB is a waste plain and simple. 8 GB is not enough to employ RAM Drive (very useful) or to cache up enough data for HD editing. 16 GB however is. So if you are going to game get 4 GB. If you want to Video Edit especially in HD then get 16 GB. Avoid 8 GB. 8 GB is to much for gaming and not enough for Video Editing.

 

fiestaforesta

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Okay, thanks for the suggestions. Here is the new build-

From Microcenter, In Store pick up-

Intel Core i5 2500k-$179.99
Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4-B3-$149.99

SUBTOTAL: $358.46

From NewEgg-

EVGA Superclocked GTX 580- $489.99
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB- $57.99
Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F120GB-$224.99
(Combo Deal)-Corsair Obsidian Series 650D and CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850-$289.98
Corsair H80- $91.99

SUBTOTAL: $1,154.94

Grand Total: $1,513.40

Thoughts? I see that Wamphryi suggested going for 4 gb of RAM instead of 8. I still feel 4 is too low, does the processor support tri-channel? Maybe i can go in the middle and get 6GB worth of RAM? Plus doesn't ram increase the speed of your system?

EDIT: I goofed and forgot the HDD,
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB- $49.99
SSD: Corsair Force CSSD-F 115GB- $159.99

FINAL Grand Total: $1,498.39
 

internetlad

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To my knowledge the only processors that support triple channel ram are the 1366s. If you get an 1155 (sandy bridge) like the 2500k you won't get that benifit.

The idea of walking into a computer store and meeting a salesman frothing at the mouth screaming MORE RAM, IT NEEDS MORE RAM is dead and gone. This was true for a long time as the ram was the bottleneck, but as time has passed the silicon has caught up with the rest of the PC. It's now the HDD that is the bottleneck. Either way RAM is dirt cheap and you won't be hurting from the extra 20 bucks between a 4 and an 8 gig kit. Plain and simple, programs don't know how to use that sort of overhead. In my understanding most are still made for the 32 bit market for compatibility, then adjusted to 64 bit, crippling it in a way. Think of when Valve came out with 64 bit HL2. Do you think they built a new game from the ground up? It's far cheaper to edit code than write a whole new program.

The only way you'll be getting a true 64 bit program is if there isn't a 32 bit version of that same program, and I can't think of any program where this is the truth.
 

internetlad

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coolers are usually more about the distance from the board to the case door (width), which isn't any different in an mid ATX or a full ATX, as that's only height and a little bit of length. IMHO you should be fine.

The bulk of a liquid cooler is outside the case in the form of a radiator anyways. You should be more worried about under desk space or the like.
 



The fan and radiator sit outside the back of the case usually . There will be plenty of room inside .
Actually water cooling is over kill for a such a cool processor as a sandy bridge . People are getting huge overclocks on the tsock cooler , and massive oc's on $30 mid range units like the hyper 212 .
 

masseybe84

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I am not a big believer in overclocked GPUs. I would go with the cheaper PNY card and just manually overclock it myself.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133360
It makes it easier if you decide to SLI in the future as well since you won't have to worry about getting the exact same overclocked card. The closed box cooling system is a good choice with that case (no side fan) especially if you decide to get another 580 down the road which the GPU will be more than capable of handling.
At the prices of RAM right now why not get 8 gbs? Especially with a 1500 dollar budget. All just opinions though as your final build looks solid. Everything from this point is just nit picking. You should be very happy regardless of your 1500 dollar purchase.
 

masseybe84

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True but it's always nice having a little air moving between 2 tightly packed GPUs.