- Sep 24, 2011
- 6
- 0
- 18,510
Approximate Purchase Date: Within 1 - 2 weeks
Budget Range: 800~ before rebates w/ shipping. I'm a bit flexible but my goal is under $800.
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Web browsing
Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, OS, Heatsink (have a Hyper 212+ already), Case fans (have a couple 120mm already)
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Tigerdirect, Amazon
Country of Origin: US
Parts Preferences: z68/p67
Overclocking: Yes
SLI or Crossfire: No
Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050
Additional Comments: I've scoured this forum for advice by reading other build threads in my price range and I've settled on what seems to be to be a pretty solid build. My main concern now is the motherboard. I wanted to keep my options open for SLI but I've decided to stick with a single card setup to keep costs low. My search for a motherboard has been tough because it seems like all of the boards in my price range have some glaring problem.
The motherboard here in the combo is the Asrock z68 Pro3. Seems nice, but I don't hear good things about overclock stability. I'm not looking for greedy speeds on my 2500k, just around 4.3-4.5ghz. I also looked at the Asrock z68 Extreme3 for the PCI-E 3.0 but also heard about overclock problems mainly having to do with the bios. Also, the overall impression I get from people is Asrock's customer service is awful. Having great experiences with EVGA, I've come to appreciate great customer service so that also deters me from buying an Asrock board.
I also checked out the GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 because of its attractive price and SLI features. I could get a 650w power supply instead and have future proofing and a great motherboard. But I hear that overclocking on the board is different, because of a locked voltage setting or some other.
So if anyone can clear up some of the things I've heard about these boards, or can recommend a motherboard in that $100~ or so range I would appreciate it. Any other advice or money saving deals you know of would be appreciated as well as I'm trying to stick to my budget but maintain quality. Thank you.
Edit: An additional question...do I need a case speaker?
Case - NZXT Gamma - $35.99
PSU - Antec BP550 500watt - $54.99
CPU
GPU - i5 2500k + ASUS GTX560 ti DirectCUII TOP - $453.98
Mobo
RAM - Asrock z68 PRO3 + Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600mhz - $153.98
HD
DVD - Seagate Barracuda 1TB Sata 6.0Gb/s + Samsung DVD-RW SATA - $66.48
Total w/ Ship: $780.06
Budget Range: 800~ before rebates w/ shipping. I'm a bit flexible but my goal is under $800.
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Web browsing
Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, OS, Heatsink (have a Hyper 212+ already), Case fans (have a couple 120mm already)
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Tigerdirect, Amazon
Country of Origin: US
Parts Preferences: z68/p67
Overclocking: Yes
SLI or Crossfire: No
Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050
Additional Comments: I've scoured this forum for advice by reading other build threads in my price range and I've settled on what seems to be to be a pretty solid build. My main concern now is the motherboard. I wanted to keep my options open for SLI but I've decided to stick with a single card setup to keep costs low. My search for a motherboard has been tough because it seems like all of the boards in my price range have some glaring problem.
The motherboard here in the combo is the Asrock z68 Pro3. Seems nice, but I don't hear good things about overclock stability. I'm not looking for greedy speeds on my 2500k, just around 4.3-4.5ghz. I also looked at the Asrock z68 Extreme3 for the PCI-E 3.0 but also heard about overclock problems mainly having to do with the bios. Also, the overall impression I get from people is Asrock's customer service is awful. Having great experiences with EVGA, I've come to appreciate great customer service so that also deters me from buying an Asrock board.
I also checked out the GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 because of its attractive price and SLI features. I could get a 650w power supply instead and have future proofing and a great motherboard. But I hear that overclocking on the board is different, because of a locked voltage setting or some other.
So if anyone can clear up some of the things I've heard about these boards, or can recommend a motherboard in that $100~ or so range I would appreciate it. Any other advice or money saving deals you know of would be appreciated as well as I'm trying to stick to my budget but maintain quality. Thank you.
Edit: An additional question...do I need a case speaker?
Case - NZXT Gamma - $35.99
PSU - Antec BP550 500watt - $54.99
CPU
GPU - i5 2500k + ASUS GTX560 ti DirectCUII TOP - $453.98
Mobo
RAM - Asrock z68 PRO3 + Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600mhz - $153.98
HD
DVD - Seagate Barracuda 1TB Sata 6.0Gb/s + Samsung DVD-RW SATA - $66.48
Total w/ Ship: $780.06
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