I want to put order in today.

[pr3dict]

Hey all, this is my first post here but I have always used reviews and forums posts for all my computer related questions. I have finally come to need a new computer and based on this months $2000 budget and some recent reviews I have picked this system... If anyone has any tweaks or substitutions please let me know.

I will be using the system for gaming and web surfing + movies. I use my computer now as a digital library for all my movies that is why the huge hard drive. Also I might get a tuner and use the computer as a dvr as well.

Thanks for the help guys here is my potential build that I want to order today.

1- Corsair Carbide Series 500R Black Steel structure with molded ABS plastic accent pieces ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811139009

$129.99

2 - Seagate Barracuda Green ST2000DL003 2TB 5900 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822148681

$159.98
($79.99 each)


1 - Dell UltraSharp U2410 (464-7346) Black 24" 6ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor
Item #: N82E16824260020

$539.99


2 - EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support FPB Video ...
Item #: N82E16814130604

$499.98
($249.99 each)

1 - CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 (CMPSU-850HX) 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC ...
Item #: N82E16817139011

$169.99

1 - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-8GBXH
Item #: N82E16820231431

$119.99


1 - ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813157269

$279.99


1 - Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
Item #: N82E16819115070

$314.99


1 - Thermaltake Frio Overclocking-Ready Intel Core i7 (six-core ready) & i5 Compatible Five 8mm Heatpipes Dual 120mm Fans Intel ...
Item #: N82E16835106150

$57.99


1 - LG Black Super Multi SATA WH12LS30 LightScribe Support - OEM
Item #: N82E16827136226

$79.99


1- Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Item #: N82E16820148441

$114.99

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: $2,467.87

 

[psyxix]

If you're patient, you can get all those components at a fair price and save up from 250-500$. The DELL screens go in special every month (too bad they just finished that promotion)

The I7 2600K is an overkill unless you do video editing and intense photoshoping. Get the I5 2500K for gaming and you'll be good to go.

You can save 20-30 dollars on the GTX 560 ti when using rebates (which means 60$ in your pockets).

Instead of the carbide I would suggest the NZXT phantom which comes close to that price in sales (I got mine for 126$). If you can get past the strange style of the case, it provides excellent airflow and great built quality.It's also a full tower so no space restrictions,this is the best bang for the buck.

For the motherboard, will you use every feature included in the package? If the answer is yes, then buy it. If not, go for something basic and buy yourself a 128 gb M4 (it's faster than the 64 gb) instead and go for a p8p67 pro.

 

[pr3dict]

I can wait on the screen if it will save me extra money. Im using a 22inch westinghouse and a 37inch LG tv right now as my monitors but I can wait..

also I picked the 2600k for its overclocking but if it isnt a noticable difference the 2500k will do.

When you say features, what exactly are you referring to. I will be doing sli with maybe another pci-e card in there. I wont be doing dual lan for I cant imagine any benefit for it. I like that it is pci-e 3.0 ready and that it has usb3.0 on it. ALSO it was the pick for best motherboard this month. What are your thoughts on it.

lastly the case was nice for the fact it had usb 3 on the front. the case you showed doesnt bother me in style so I could switch stuff up.

edit:: also the as rock can run the video cards at 16x each while most cards run the lanes at 8x each.

 

[geofelt]

Your list looks good.
I particularly like the Dell monitor. It has a 178/178 viewing angle which is a sign of top quality.
Here are a few suggestions:

1) For gaming, the 2500K is a better buy. Few games use more than two or three cores, so the hyperthreading on the 2600K is not of much use.
When overclocked, the 2500K will reach the same sane limits as the 2600K. You should certainly be > 4.0 which is all you need. Use the extra $100 elsew. If you are near a microcenter, they will sell you a 2500K for $180.

2) GTX560ti is a good graphics card. For gaming, the graphics configuration is the most impoetant factor. That said, I am not much in favor of sli when a good single card will do the job. At 1080P resolution, A single GTX580 will do the job, and be cheaper. You will save on psu(a quality 600w psu will do), on the motherboard, and perhaps case cooling. Only if you are looking at triple monitor gaming, or 2560 x 1600 monitors, might sli be a great idea. You will also avoid any microstuttering issues, or problems with games that do not support dual gpu's well.
If, in the future, you might want more graphics power, just sell the GTX580, and replace it with one of the 28nm cards from Nvidia or AMD next year. The EVGA GTX580 superclocked would be good:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130590

3) Do not worry much about x16 vs x8/x8 pr pci-e 2.0/3.0 issues. Today's cards arent hampered by 2.0/x8.

4) A top end cpu cooler is not needed. Look at the Xigmatek gaia or cm hyper212 which sell for $30.

---------good luck---------------

 

[pr3dict]

As per everyones advice I have moved down to a 2500k

With the video cards, the reviews I have seen show that two 560ti's out perform a 580, and they only cost exactly the same... the 580 is 499 while the two 560ti's are 499 before rebates. I will be running a monitor at 1920x1200 and a hdtv at 1234x692 because it is about 10 feet away and I need to be able to read it. But when watching movies on it I do bump it up to 1080p.


If I was going to start scaling down where I would probably bring the psu down or the motherboard but Im not sure what a viable option would be. any suggestions?

 

[abekl]

I'll comment on a different aspect of the system. The hard drives. Using green hard drives as your primary storage is always a mistake because the drives are always going to sleep aggressively, and you'll always be waiting for them to spin up. Use a black drive as your primary and a green drive as your data drive.

 

[pr3dict]

I'll comment on a different aspect of the system. The hard drives. Using green hard drives as your primary storage is always a mistake because the drives are always going to sleep aggressively, and you'll always be waiting for them to spin up. Use a black drive as your primary and a green drive as your data drive.

I am using Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) as my primary... the two green drives are for all my music/movies and what not and the 2nd one is for a mirror backup.

 

[geofelt]

As per everyones advice I have moved down to a 2500k

With the video cards, the reviews I have seen show that two 560ti's out perform a 580, and they only cost exactly the same... the 580 is 499 while the two 560ti's are 499 before rebates. I will be running a monitor at 1920x1200 and a hdtv at 1234x692 because it is about 10 feet away and I need to be able to read it. But when watching movies on it I do bump it up to 1080p.


If I was going to start scaling down where I would probably bring the psu down or the motherboard but Im not sure what a viable option would be. any suggestions?

You are quite correct that dual GTX560ti will deliver higher FPS in benchmarks than a GTX580.
But, you might want to read this current tom's article on microstuttering,
benchmarks alone do not tell the complete story:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html

For what it is worth, I use a GTX580 on a pair of 2560 x 1600 monitors. The primary one is for gaming, and the other is for static stuff.
I have no problems with it, and run at 60FPS with civ 5.

The psu you need will be determined by the graphics card/s.
A single GTS580 needs 600w with 42a on the 12v rails plus one 6-pin and one 8-pin PCI-E power lead.
Multi cards, you are looking at 750w or 850w.
Whatever you do, buy a QUALITY psu. My short list of quality psu's would include PC P&C, Seasonic, Corsair, XFX, and Antec.
There are some good deals out there, and it is not wrong to get a stronger psu than you need. PC P&C currently has some of the best priced units.
If you are going for sli, look at the silencer 910w for $140 after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703022

All of the P68 and Z68 motherboards will OC to about the same sane levels.
If you have some particular features, buy based on them. I would want 6gb sata and usb3.0.
For a sli based system, look for the two primary pci-e slots to have more than minimum separation. If they are together, the top card will run much hotter. I would not pay a premium for the "enthusiast" motherboards. They are for those who are looking for record seeking overclocks.

I think 64gb is a bit small for the OS SSD. Look for 80 to 120gb if you can afford it.
Today, I think Intel 320 and 510 series are likely to be the most trouble free. Their return rates in the past have been better.
http://www.behardware.com/articles/810-6/components-returns-rates.html

Also, do not be seduced by glowing ssd benchmarks, particularly sequential. The OS does mostly small random reads and writes, a task that any SSD excells at. It turns out that your experience from a performance point of view will be about the same with ANY modern SSD, since response times are very similar. The synthetic benchmarks measure operations at high queue depths, while normal desktop usage is only at one or two.

Also, look at which WD 2tb green drive you are ordering, one is twice as reliable.

 

[pr3dict]

I read the article on micro stuttering and, correct me if im wrong, micro stuttering has real no effect on higher end cards. I agree that I should probably drop down the motherboard a little but ive read many reviews and articles and cant conclude on the right product for me. Thats why i went a little overkill because i figured id better be on the safe side.

Also am going to upgrade the ssd to a higher end one.

 

[Why_Me]

I read the article on micro stuttering and, correct me if im wrong, micro stuttering has real no effect on higher end cards. I agree that I should probably drop down the motherboard a little but ive read many reviews and articles and cant conclude on the right product for me. Thats why i went a little overkill because i figured id better be on the safe side.

Also am going to upgrade the ssd to a higher end one.

I wouldn't drop that board. Toms did an article on here last month showing that those boards with the NF200 Bridge x16 & x16 (like that Asrock extreme7) help reduce micro stutter.

What I would do is I would change that psu to a 950w - 1000w psu for dual 580's. If you look at the Nvidia and/or EVGA forums those 850's get pushed to the max with dual 580's and the life span on them is way short for the fact they are maxed out and running hot as a fried egg. I would also drop the 2600K for a 2500K and I would screw off that Thermaltake frio for a Sycthe SMG 3000 if you plan on o/c to the moon and back, if not then just pick up a CM 212+ h/s.

 

[pr3dict]

I wouldn't drop that board. Toms did an article on here last month showing that those boards with the NF200 Bridge x16 & x16 (like that Asrock extreme7) help reduce micro stutter.

What I would do is I would change that psu to a 950w - 1000w psu for dual 580's. If you look at the Nvidia and/or EVGA forums those 850's get pushed to the max with dual 580's and the life span on them is way short for the fact they are maxed out and running hot as a fried egg. I would also drop the 2600K for a 2500K and I would screw off that Thermaltake frio for a Sycthe SMG 3000 if you plan on o/c to the moon and back, if not then just pick up a CM 212+ h/s.

i have dual 560ti's picked out. with the amount of money im spending I think it would be overkill to go dual 580's. With what ive read they are coming out with some new GPU's in the not so distant future anyway.

 

[Why_Me]

i have dual 560ti's picked out. with the amount of money im spending I think it would be overkill to go dual 580's. With what ive read they are coming out with some new GPU's in the not so distant future anyway.

You can get by with a 750w psu for dual 560's, but then again that 850w gives you some leeway if you want to step it up when those new cards come out. They are supposed to use less juice, but they say that with every new generation vid card that come out and Iv'e yet to see any power usage reduction.

 

[pr3dict]

You can get by with a 750w psu for dual 560's, but then again that 850w gives you some leeway if you want to step it up when those new cards come out. They are supposed to use less juice, but they say that with every new generation vid card that come out and Iv'e yet to see any power usage reduction.

hahaha. what I plan on doing is switching these cards into my 2nd computer when the newer stuff comes out which would require that computer to get a new psu. so isntead of buying another 700-800 ill just put this one in it and buy a bigger one if need be for my primary.

Basically what im getting is

1. i need to upgrade the ssd

2. the processor can go down to an i5

3. and some of my hardware is overkill but it will do everything just fine.

 

[pr3dict]

Best answer selected by pr3dict.

 

[pr3dict]

Ok guys I put the order in last night and everything shipped out today. here is the final build.


Item Number: Item Description: Quantity: Price:
N82E16835106150 CPU COOL TT| CLP0564 RT 1 57.99
N82E16820148442 SSD 128G|CRUCIAL CT128M4SSD2 R 1 199.99
N82E16819115072 CPU INTEL|CORE I5 2500K 3.3G 6M R 1 219.99
N82E16822148681 HDD 2T|SEAGATE ST2000DL003 64M % 2 79.99
N82E16827136226 BLURAY BURNER LG | WH12LS30 % 1 79.99
N82E16814130604 VGA EVGA|01G-P3-1561-AR GTX560 1G R 2 249.99
N82E16813157269 MB ASROCK|Z68 EXTREME7 GEN3 Z68 R 1 279.99
N82E16820231431 MEM 4Gx2|G.SKILL F3-12800CL7D-8GBXH 1 119.99
N82E16817139011 PSU CORSAIR| CMPSU-850HX 850W RT 1 169.99
N82E16811139009 CASE CORSAIR | CARBIDE 500R BK R 1 129.99
N82E16824260020 MNTR DELL|LCD 24" 6MS U2410 R 1 499.99

Grand total of $2480

Out of the many suggestions I got, I decided to keep some of the stuff because i already read reviews on them and were comfortable with the buy, where as if I was going to change some parts just to save maybe 20-60 I would have had to go all over again into reviewing... which is a pain. Thanks for all that helped now I just need to learn the overclocking ways.