vicegripjim

Distinguished
Oct 14, 2011
4
0
18,510
Approximate Purchase Date: Mid November
Budget Range: Under 1500 after taxes and shipping
System Usage: Gaming, office related junk, programming
Parts Not Required: Case (Antec 900), Monitor, keyboard, mouse, PSU? (have an antec 500w but dont think it can hack it)
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.ca or tigerdirecet.ca
Country of Origin: Canada
Overclocking: Maybe, though prefer to
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in the future, rather not risk the stuttering thing at this time.
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200, though i tend to game in a window to keep tabs on other things at the same time.
Additional Comments: I prefer good value on my parts and ideally id like this to be on the quieter side of things with minimum fuss.

Currently threw together the following.

Mobo- GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 - 160$
Video- EVGA 012-P3-1571-KR GeForce GTX 570 - 330$
PSU- Antec HCG-620 620W - 80$ after rebate
CPU- Intel Core i5-2500 - 215$
RAM- G.SKILL Sniper 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 - $110
SSD -Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal - $120 after rebate
HDD- Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB SATA 6.0Gb - 90$ after rebate
OS- win 7 home premium oem - 110$
cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 - 40$

after taxes and shipping comes to around 1350ish

Essentially looking for a sanity check or smarter alternatives where applicable. Rather go single card for now but have the sli option available later down the road. Would like to know if I could reuse my current 500w psu or not. TBH that cooler kinda creeps me out a bit but ive always been a bit jittery on cooler install since cracking an amd back in 2000.

Thanks in advance.
 
Mobo- GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 - 160$
Solid motherboard choice IMO. It's middle of the road, not too expensive and not too cheap. My P67A-UD4-B3 is chugging along just dandy :)

Video- EVGA 012-P3-1571-KR GeForce GTX 570 - 330$
PSU- Antec HCG-620 620W - 80$ after rebate
I'd suggest getting a 750W for a single 570 and 850W for 2x570s. 750W will give you more headroom so the PSU isn't running on max load, and you'll get better efficiencies.

CPU- Intel Core i5-2500 - 215$
No 2500K? How much more is it for the K version in Canada?

RAM- G.SKILL Sniper 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 - $110
Why 16GB RAM? Unless you run a lot of very heavy computational programs (i.e. MATLAB codes, heavy CAD, etc), you won't even come close to using this. Games use ~3-4GB on average, and your added usage will probably use another 1-3GB, depending on the program.

I would get an 8GB kit now, and if you actually need 16GB get a second of the exact kit later.

SSD -Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal - $120 after rebate
HDD- Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB SATA 6.0Gb - 90$ after rebate
Crucial M4 - best SSD to buy right now. Stick with it.

WD Green - one of the slowest drives. I would get a Samsung F3 1TB instead of a WD drive because they're faster and cheaper (at least here in the States - about $20 cheaper). If you need a 2TB drive, get the F4, or you could get two F3s and RAID them for redundancy or for increased speed.

cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 - 40$
The Hyper 212+ is an awesome cooler for the price. I've owned two, and it's definitely one of the most popular here on Tom's. I'd recommend it - as long as you mount it properly, you won't have any problems. Use the Youtube video, not the included instructions (they don't make any sense).
 

casualbuilder

Distinguished
Aug 8, 2011
1,187
0
19,360
Best build i can give you at $1,520 appr. after mail in rebates and %off coupons:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145473

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121429

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139013

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231461

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131773

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

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Free Gifts:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16800999283

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134527

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832312117

Like i said, its all totalled under $1,520, but thats after MIR and % off coupons. Could change depending on when you buy.


If you arent OC'ing the processor yet, you do not need an aftermarket HSF, so you can wait on the 212+ until you wanted to OC your system.

HDD's are cheap, and can be raided for extra performance/security, as well as increased space. If you need more, you can always add another.

Until you give a reason for 16Gb of RAM, 8Gb is overkill for almost everything!

The 580GTX and the i7 2600k is better for gaming by far, and the i7 will give you a better application use performance than the i5.

No need on spending a ton of money on a motherboard, unless it doesnt have the features you need.

the corsair 950W i have on there will support even a second GTX580. Have fun!
 
When gaming there are very few games that can take advantage of more than 3 threads because of this the hyper-threading on the Intel® Core™ i7-2600K has very minimal value in gaming. That means that the Intel Core i7-2600K has only 100MHz and 2MB more cache than the Intel Core i5-2500K but costs a $100 more. You would get better value out of spending the $100 on a small SSD like the Intel SSD 320 40GB to use as a caching drive on a Z68 board.

Now if you are going to be doing something like audio/video creation you may want to go with the Intel Core i7-2600K as those extra threads can play a big part in performance with those types of applications.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team
 
First off, all of the items you posted are from the US; the OP is in Canada, and the prices are numerically a bit higher there.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145473
Even though I own Hitachi drives, I wouldn't recommend them to new buyers because there are better drives for the money, specifically the Samsung F3/F4.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442
A 64GB drive will hold the OS just fine - I have 15GB free on my 64 and I have W7 64bit and the Office 2010 Pro Plus suite installed.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121429
There isn't a real need for the 580. Yes, the OP could afford it, but the 570 can easily be OCed past 580 speeds, and 2x570s > 1x580 any day.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139013
TBH the 950TX isn't a spectacular unit. I'd recommend an HX/AX series Corsair, or something like the PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 750w or 950W (specifically). Those units are all built by Seasonic, the best in the business.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131773
Not many differences between motherboards...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
Unless the OP is using applications that allow for the use of hyperthreading, there is absolutely no reason to buy the i7-2600K. It doesn't perform any better in games than the i5-2500K.



If you arent OC'ing the processor yet, you do not need an aftermarket HSF, so you can wait on the 212+ until you wanted to OC your system.
I never OCed with my Hyper 212+, or even my liquid cooling setup yet, but the lower temps are always nice. A good cooler can also help the airflow in the case.

HDD's are cheap, and can be raided for extra performance/security, as well as increased space. If you need more, you can always add another.
Agreed. That's my justification for recommending one or more F3s.
 


+1. It's nice seeing a company rep that actually understands the practical applications of their products rather than just saying "It's more expensive so it must be better so you should buy it." :)
 


It gives you the appropriate headroom for OCing as well as better efficiencies. Plus, this thing is going to be run at load for most of its life, so a bigger PSU is definitely a worthwhile purchase. Yes, you can run a 2500K-570 on a 650W, but your load will be higher.