New Gaming Computer Build

[thenewpcgamer]

Hey guys, I have posted this thread because I will be building my new computer and I need your advice since I'm kind-of new at this. I will be showing you all the components I have right now and I want you to tell me if everything is compatible and your opinions if I should or shouldn't get that part and why. Also, I need help choosing out a monitor for my build. This will be mostly a gaming computer but I will also be video/audio editing and sometimes watching movies. (And my preferred website to buy the components is newegg.)

CPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131760&Tpk=asus%20maximus%20iv%20extreme-z

RAM: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144

Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130587&nm_mc=OTC-Channel&cm_mmc=OTC-channel-_-Video+Cards-_-EVGA-_-14130587&srccode=cii_7240466&cpncode=28-4877020&DEPA=0&refer=channel&CMP=OTC-

Hard Drive: http://www.jr.com/western-digital/pe/WD_WD6402AAEXSP/#productTabDetails

SSD: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167049

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703028

Optical Drive: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
Also, I would like a Blu-Ray player (Not a burner). So, if you have any recommendations for the player please feel free to post them. (I would possibly like to have it the same brand as the other optical drive I will be getting, but anything is fine.)

Case: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160&Tpk=COOLER%20MASTER%20HAF%20932%20Advanced

Keyboard: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-920-002232-Gaming-Keyboard-G110/dp/B002RRLQIO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317475241&sr=8-1

Mouse: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104318

Monitor: As I said, I haven't chosen a monitor yet, so I would like someone to give me some recommendations. Here are some details for what I wan't on my monitor: I wan't it to play Blu-Ray and have HDMI. I don't want it too big because I will be sitting right in front of it.

Ok, so let me know what you think of this build and let me know if I'm missing anything. Also tell me if everything is compatible or if you would advise against any of my components and some recommendations for a Blu-Ray burner and a monitor. Thank you in advance.

 

[thenewpcgamer]

I forgot to post some additional details.

For the monitor I want a 1920x1080 resolution.

I live in Canada but I can easily get parts shipped to USA and pick them up or have them mailed to me since I have friends that live there.

And I will first use my stock fan for my CPU but if it gets too hot I will buy a new one, but for now, no CPU fan.

I will not be overclocking or SLI for now. (I might later on)

I'm pretty sure that's it. If you need any more information just post it on this thread and I will reply ASAP.

 

[Why_Me]

FREE SHIPPING

These two retailers (Direct Canada & Best Direct) are affiliated, both use the same shipping addy out of Richmond, BC, and both offer free ground shipping.

http://www.directcanada.com/contact/

http://www.bestdirect.ca/contact/


http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/234034/RC-932-KKN5-GP/COOLERMASTER/ $124.29
Cooler Master Haf 932 Advanced Full Tower EATX Case 7X5.25 2X3.5 5X3.5INT USB3.0 eSATA 1394 Black

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=13220AC6971&vpn=OCZ-ZX1000W&manufacture=OCZ $177.72 MIR $147.72
OCZ ZX Series 1000W ATX12V 24PIN Active PFC 80 Plus Gold 83A Power Supply 140MM Fan Black 5 Yr Wrty

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530BD3019&vpn=MAXIMUS%20IV%20EXTREME%20REV%203.0&manufacture=ASUS $319.28
ASUS Maximus IV Extreme REV3.0 EATX LGA1155 P67 4PCI-E16 PCI-E4 PCI-E Sandy Bridge B3 Motherboard

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/232639/BX80623I52500K/Intel/ $208.79
Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/237385/RR-212E-20PK-R1/COOLERMASTER/ $29.43
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA1155 LGA1156 120MM

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/232488/R4-BMBS-20PK-R0/COOLERMASTER/ $6.60
Coolermaster Blade Master 120 Black 120MM PWM Case Fan 600-2000RPM 21.2-76.8CFM

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15380BD5211&vpn=F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL&manufacture=G.SKILL $51.27
G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/233111/ST31000524AS/Seagate/ $49.79
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 7200.12 1TB SATA 32MB Cache 3.5IN Internal Hard Drive OEM

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/225965/DRW-24B1ST%20Bulk/ASUS/ $19.80
ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer OEM Black

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/237201/AS510S3-120GM-C/A-Data%20Technology/ $189.67
ADATA AS510S3-120GM-C 120GB 2.5IN SATA3 SandForce SF-2281 Solid State Disk Drive SSD

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12980BD9256&vpn=N580GTX%20Twin%20Frozr%20II/OC&manufacture=MSI $489.69 MIR $459.69
MSI GeForce GTX 580 Twin Frozr II OC 800MHZ 1536MB GDDR5 2XDVI Mini-HDMI PCI-E DirectX 11 Video Card

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/222137/GFC-02050/MICROSOFT/ $93.79
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT SP1 DVD OEM

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530MN8844&vpn=ML248H&manufacture=ASUS $192.40
ASUS ML248H 24IN LED Widescreen LCD Monitor 1920X1080 HDMI DVI VGA 10M:1DCR 2MS - Black

 

[kajabla]

Yep, 2500K for sure. For gaming, the 2600K is just a waste of money.
You don't need anywhere near that kind of wattage for a single 2500K, unless I somehow missed the fact that you're going SLI. A Corsair TX650W would be fine for one 580.

 

[geofelt]

I like your list, and have no problems with it.
I would like to add a couple of suggestions.

1) If $100 is not very important to you, get the 2600K. But for gaming, save $100 and get the 2500K. Few games use more than two or three cores, so the extra hyperthreaded tasks will go mostly unused. Also, If someone can walk into a microcenter in the us for you, they can buy a 2500K for $150 or so.

2) The evga gtx580 is very good, but the superclocked version is about the same price.

3) Get an aftermarket cooler up front. It will let you run cooler and quieter. If you oc, (that's why you are getting a "K") you can oc higher and easier.
I hate to tear apart a working pc to add a cooler later. Also, the stock intel pushpin mounts are notoriously difficult to install properly. A backplate mount is more secure and easier to install. A good cooler need not be expensive, $30 or so. Look for a Xigmatek gaia or cm hyper212.

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

 

[kajabla]

^cooler! yep.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

-CPU - Won't help w/ the gaming but the HT on the 2600k will be huge help with video editing so worth the extra $95 or so.

-MoBo - Great choice ..... do ya need it....will WS revolution do and ave lotta dough ? Both give you x16 x16 GFX lanes and that;s where the cost bump comes from.... but if you don't go SLI, it's wasted.

-RAM - Drop the heat sinks. The only cooling effect of these big coolers is that they "look cool". While they served a purpose (when they were effective) w/ DDR2, they are absolutely useless on DDR3.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=773&Itemid=67&limit=1&limitstart=1

At more than 2" tall in certain areas the Corsair Vengeance could pose a problem for users like me who use large coolers such as the Scythe Mugen 2. I was able to use the Corsair Vengeance only after I mounted the fan on my cooler on the backside. Size is definitely a concern with heat spreaders of this size and therefore I encourage users to check that they will have enough space under their heatsinks before purchasing the Corsair Vengeance kit.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=773&Itemid=67&limit=1&limitstart=6

The problem I have with the Corsair Vengeance is the same I have with many kits of RAM on the market. Companies insist on putting large coolers on their RAM and it limits the choice in CPU heatsinks that can be used within users system. DDR3 does not require these elaborate coolers with its lower voltages which translate to lower temperatures then RAM saw during the DDR, and DDR2 era. Corsair is correcting this with low profile versions of its Vengeance line but ultimately I would like to see the average size of coolers drop instead of having to look for specific low profile versions of a memory line.

Same spec RAM w/o the silly heat sinks
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186

- GFX - For about the same price (less after $20 MIR) ya could get twin 900 MHz 560 Ti's which would top that 580 by about 40% (862 fps for the twin 560's to 616 for the 590 in Guru3D's gaming test suite)

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121425

All but one of the Asus models I have built with went to 1000MHz w/ no voltage tweaking req'd. The last needed just one notch. EVGA has a great warranty .... on paper ..... I fought with them for 18 months tho on my last EVGA purchase ..... factory OC'd GTX 295 card would not perform at factory OC'd speeds ..... 5 RMA's later they finally sent me a newer but non factory OC'd (480) card. While being RMA'd, I borrowed and put in twin 900MHz 560's and they ran fine so it wasn't the system.

-HD - 1st choice I gonna take strong issue with. For video editing, you need bigger and faster .... given the money ya willing to spend on the MoBo, this seems an automatic

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148506

-SSD - Id recommend a 120 GB 550 MBps model
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233181
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706

-Case / PSU - Id recommend upgrading to the HAF-X (done several builds with both) paired with the Corsair AX850 ..... or, better yet, the Antec 1200V3 or DF-85 paired with the CP-850. Both PSU's get 10,0 jonnyguru rating, but jonny says that equivalent PSU's will cost ya about twice what the CP-850 does ...... the AX850 is just less than 50% more expensive. Read about how the case / PSU are designed for each other here:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article971-page7.html

-Optical BR Reader / DVD Writer:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827249050
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247

- KB - The G510 is a worthwhile upgrade if budget allows:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126100

-Mouse - G500 is a good choice, matches well with the above

-Monitor - Does budget allow for 120 Hz ?
$354 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236104CVF

If not $180
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236059

And I agree, getting a SB CPU w/o overclocking it is a waste. I typically set up my 2600k builds with alternate boots using BIOS profiles......

4.8 GHz w/ HT disabled for gaming
4.6 GHz w/ HT enabled for video editing

The best air cooler IMO is the Thermalright Silver Arrow which is just under the V6 GT in performance but is whisper quiet compared to the extremely loud V6. The Hyper 612 looks promising .... if it ever hits the store shelves.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=797&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=4

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11676/cpu-tri-77/Thermalright_Silver_Arrow_Dual_160mm_x_140mm_Fan_Universal_CPU_Cooler_Sockets_775_1156_1366_AM2_AM2_AM3.html

 

[thenewpcgamer]

-CPU - Won't help w/ the gaming but the HT on the 2600k will be huge help with video editing so worth the extra $95 or so.

-MoBo - Great choice ..... do ya need it....will WS revolution do and ave lotta dough ? Both give you x16 x16 GFX lanes and that;s where the cost bump comes from.... but if you don't go SLI, it's wasted.

-RAM - Drop the heat sinks. The only cooling effect of these big coolers is that they "look cool". While they served a purpose (when they were effective) w/ DDR2, they are absolutely useless on DDR3.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=773&Itemid=67&limit=1&limitstart=1

At more than 2" tall in certain areas the Corsair Vengeance could pose a problem for users like me who use large coolers such as the Scythe Mugen 2. I was able to use the Corsair Vengeance only after I mounted the fan on my cooler on the backside. Size is definitely a concern with heat spreaders of this size and therefore I encourage users to check that they will have enough space under their heatsinks before purchasing the Corsair Vengeance kit.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=773&Itemid=67&limit=1&limitstart=6

The problem I have with the Corsair Vengeance is the same I have with many kits of RAM on the market. Companies insist on putting large coolers on their RAM and it limits the choice in CPU heatsinks that can be used within users system. DDR3 does not require these elaborate coolers with its lower voltages which translate to lower temperatures then RAM saw during the DDR, and DDR2 era. Corsair is correcting this with low profile versions of its Vengeance line but ultimately I would like to see the average size of coolers drop instead of having to look for specific low profile versions of a memory line.

Same spec RAM w/o the silly heat sinks
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186

- GFX - For about the same price (less after $20 MIR) ya could get twin 900 MHz 560 Ti's which would top that 580 by about 40% (862 fps for the twin 560's to 616 for the 590 in Guru3D's gaming test suite)

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121425

All but one of the Asus models I have built with went to 1000MHz w/ no voltage tweaking req'd. The last needed just one notch. EVGA has a great warranty .... on paper ..... I fought with them for 18 months tho on my last EVGA purchase ..... factory OC'd GTX 295 card would not perform at factory OC'd speeds ..... 5 RMA's later they finally sent me a newer but non factory OC'd (480) card. While being RMA'd, I borrowed and put in twin 900MHz 560's and they ran fine so it wasn't the system.

-HD - 1st choice I gonna take strong issue with. For video editing, you need bigger and faster .... given the money ya willing to spend on the MoBo, this seems an automatic

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148506

-SSD - Id recommend a 120 GB 550 MBps model
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233181
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706

-Case / PSU - Id recommend upgrading to the HAF-X (done several builds with both) paired with the Corsair AX850 ..... or, better yet, the Antec 1200V3 or DF-85 paired with the CP-850. Both PSU's get 10,0 jonnyguru rating, but jonny says that equivalent PSU's will cost ya about twice what the CP-850 does ...... the AX850 is just less than 50% more expensive. Read about how the case / PSU are designed for each other here:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article971-page7.html

-Optical BR Reader / DVD Writer:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827249050
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247

- KB - The G510 is a worthwhile upgrade if budget allows:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126100

-Mouse - G500 is a good choice, matches well with the above

-Monitor - Does budget allow for 120 Hz ?
$354 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236104CVF

If not $180
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236059

And I agree, getting a SB CPU w/o overclocking it is a waste. I typically set up my 2600k builds with alternate boots using BIOS profiles......

4.8 GHz w/ HT disabled for gaming
4.6 GHz w/ HT enabled for video editing

The best air cooler IMO is the Thermalright Silver Arrow which is just under the V6 GT in performance but is whisper quiet compared to the extremely loud V6. The Hyper 612 looks promising .... if it ever hits the store shelves.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=797&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=4

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11676/cpu-tri-77/Thermalright_Silver_Arrow_Dual_160mm_x_140mm_Fan_Universal_CPU_Cooler_Sockets_775_1156_1366_AM2_AM2_AM3.html

I'm still looking around at your suggestions but I have decided on the two GTX560 instead of the GTX580. One question though, newegg seems to be out of stock of those GPU's so I found it on a different website but I just need you to tell me if they're the same.

Original:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121425

Different Website:
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/235159/ENGTX560%20DCII%20OC2DI1GD5/ASUS/

 

[Why_Me]

I'm still looking around at your suggestions but I have decided on the two GTX560 instead of the GTX580. One question though, newegg seems to be out of stock of those GPU's so I found it on a different website but I just need you to tell me if they're the same.

Original:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121425

Different Website:
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/235159/ENGTX560%20DCII%20OC2DI1GD5/ASUS/

The one you linked is a 560, you want a 560ti. Look @ direct canada for decent prices on vid cards.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-560-amp-edition-gtx-560-directcu-ii-top,2944.html <----- gtx 560 vs gtx 560ti

 

[thenewpcgamer]

Is the CP-850 compatible with the CM HAF-X?

 

[Why_Me]

Is the CP-850 compatible with the CM HAF-X?

Nope. That psu only fits certain Antec cases hence the "CP".

 

[thenewpcgamer]

Is this a good CPU fan?

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

 

[thenewpcgamer]

Also, should I stay with the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z motherboard or downgrade to the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme? Would it be too much of a downgrade?

Original: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131760&Tpk=asus%20maximus%20iv%20extreme-z

Other: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131700

 

[thenewpcgamer]

Anyone got any feedback?