New Intel Gaming System, Need Advice.

[Galea]

Hi,

I'm trying to build a new gaming system by using certain parts from my current one. It's 3 years old but I've recently upgraded a couple of things. My PC is hardly ever off so I need a solid system.

Here's what I have so far:
Corsair TX650 PSU (I'm hoping this will be enough)
EVGA GeForce 560ti (just bought it)
Apevia X-Plorer ATX Mid-Tower Case (current case, 3 years old -- might buy a new one if necessary)
SATA3 500 GB drive (Will this be fine on a SATA6 system?)
DVD Rom (IDE/PATA)
Windows Vista 32-64 bit Ultimate SP2 / Windows 7 Home

=========

I need help matching the above with the following:
CPU: Intel (Either i5 or i7) -- Budget $200-$250
Motherboard: Best motherboard under $170 for that Intel CPU. It must have an IDE/PATA port + a socket for the 560ti. Need a reliable brand. The IDE/PATA port is because I have 3 working DVD burners and I don't want to spend extra $$ on a SATA one; unless the MoBo is really worth it.
RAM: What's the best I can get for under $70? 16GB? 12GB? Brand?
Hard Drive: I'm a Seagate fan but I've no idea what's the best brand right now. Need a SATA6 1TB+.

Budget per component is just an approximate of what I'm willing to pay. If there's a much better component for a few extra bucks then why not?


Approximate Purchase Date: November - Black Friday.


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, video making, streaming, extreme multi-tasking and web-browsing (50+tabs open at a time) etc.


Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com, Amazon.com


Overclocking: No


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*UPDATED*
List of what I'm probably getting (thanks to your recommendations!):
CPU: i5 Intel Sandy Bridge 2500k
Motherboard: an AsRock, need help choosing one
RAM: Ripjaws 2 x 4GB

 

[hellfire24]

2500k is the best bang for buck cpu.performs head to head with 2600k in gaming.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

cheap,powerful and advanced motherboard-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

8 gb is more than enough.you cannot use 6gb or 12gb(triple channel memory) with sandybridges.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

best bang for buck hard drive-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

all the best

 

[jerreddredd]

hellfire24's MB doesn't support PATA but this one does:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157253

I prefer this ram as it doesn't have tall heat sinks to interfere with the cpu cooler
free shipping and $2 less.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186

I agree on the i5 2500K for gaming and on his/her recommendation for the HDD. you don't need a SATA6G interface on a mechanical drive only on top of the line SSD's. (M4/Vertex3 etc...)

the PSU is fine, so is the case.

 

[morgoth780]

hellfire24's MB doesn't support PATA but this one does:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157253

I prefer this ram as it doesn't have tall heat sinks to interfere with the cpu cooler
free shipping and $2 less.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186

I agree on the i5 2500K for gaming and on his/her recommendation for the HDD. you don't need a SATA6G interface on a mechanical drive only on top of the line SSD's. (M4/Vertex3 etc...)

the PSU is fine, so is the case.

your motherboard doesn't have pci-e 3.0, and doesn't support sli.

 

[hellfire24]

hellfire24's MB doesn't support PATA but this one does:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157253

I prefer this ram as it doesn't have tall heat sinks to interfere with the cpu cooler
free shipping and $2 less.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186

I agree on the i5 2500K for gaming and on his/her recommendation for the HDD. you don't need a SATA6G interface on a mechanical drive only on top of the line SSD's. (M4/Vertex3 etc...)

the PSU is fine, so is the case.

your mobo does not supports pci-e 3.0.it lacks SLI feature and in other words it is a garbage for a gamer IMO.
ripjaws X series is one of the best RAM modules out there.i have never heard people having problems of either heatsink arrangement or anything else.

 

[morgoth780]

your mobo does not supports pci-e 3.0.it lacks SLI feature and in other words it is a garbage for a gamer IMO.
ripjaws X series is one of the best RAM modules out there.i have never heard people having problems of either heatsink arrangement or anything else.

+1

 

[mauler184]

the z68 as rock is a great board. And a dvd burner isnt a fortune they are 20 buck give or take 3 bucks.

 

[Galea]

Thank you!

So far I've decided to get the Sandybridge i5 2500 and I'm definitely getting an AsRock. I just need help choosing one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627%2050001944%20600093977&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=280|13-157-263^13-157-263-TS%2C13-157-240^13-157-240-TS%2C13-157-229^13-157-229-TS%2C13-157-271^13-157-271-TS%2C13-157-253^13-157-253-TS

3 of them have PATA ports, 2 of them over $200. Thing is I won't use many of their features aside from the basics. If their price is due to all those extra ports then I'd be better off with something under $160. If the price = quality then I can get a $200+ mobo

RAM: Is 8GB RAM the max I can get with that CPU? Will that be enough? I tend to have 50 tabs open in firefox, games, etc

HDD: So Sata6 isn't really a big upgrade in the data transfer speed/rate/etc?

 

[morgoth780]

Thank you!

So far I've decided to get the Sandybridge i5 2500 and I'm definitely getting an AsRock. I just need help choosing one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627%2050001944%20600093977&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=280|13-157-263^13-157-263-TS%2C13-157-240^13-157-240-TS%2C13-157-229^13-157-229-TS%2C13-157-271^13-157-271-TS%2C13-157-253^13-157-253-TS

3 of them have PATA ports, 2 of them over $200. Thing is I won't use many of their features aside from the basics. If their price is due to all those extra ports then I'd be better off with something under $160. If the price = quality then I can get a $200+ mobo

RAM: Is 8GB RAM the max I can get with that CPU? Will that be enough? I tend to have 50 tabs open in firefox, games, etc

HDD: So Sata6 isn't really a big upgrade in the data transfer speed/rate/etc?

the max amount of ram depends on the motherboard, not the cpu. Usually they support either 16gb or 32 gb of ram. However, you would most likely be fine with 8gb of ram, but there would be no reason to go more than 16gb. you may consider, just to be safe, and cause it's really cheap, but I don't think you really need to.

 

[hellfire24]

my father once opened 76 tabs in chrome with 4 gb ddr2 RAM !@!@!@
you dont need anything above 8 gb ATM.add more later.

 

[morgoth780]

my father once opened 76 tabs in chrome with 4 gb ddr2 RAM !@!@!@
you dont need anything above 8 gb ATM.add more later.

16gb isn't very much more than 8gb, so it's not a big deal to get that much unless you're on a tight budget

 

[hellfire24]

it was a suggestion lollllllll!!!!

 

[Galea]

my father once opened 76 tabs in chrome with 4 gb ddr2 RAM !@!@!@
you dont need anything above 8 gb ATM.add more later.

Oh lord. Well, you've convinced me. 8 gbs is all I need.

I wanted to make sure I can actually upgrade to 16gb (if I ever need to).
Thanks, both of you, for your replies!

=============


Question: Are all the Asrock z68 decent Motherboards? I can pick any of those as long as it's a Socket 1155, correct?

 

[morgoth780]

Oh lord. Well, you've convinced me. 8 gbs is all I need.

I wanted to make sure I can actually upgrade to 16gb (if I ever need to).
Thanks, both of you, for your replies!

=============


Question: Are all the Asrock z68 decent Motherboards? I can pick any of those as long as it's a Socket 1155, correct?

most of them are fine, I think. However, the extreme# gen3 boards tend to be better, especially cause of pci-e 3.0

 

[hellfire24]

yeah!!! Asrock z68 are good motherboards.and you cannot use sandybidges unless the motherboard is 1155

 

[jerreddredd]

your mobo does not supports pci-e 3.0.it lacks SLI feature and in other words it is a garbage for a gamer IMO.
ripjaws X series is one of the best RAM modules out there.i have never heard people having problems of either heatsink arrangement or anything else.

there is not an SLi requirement. His PSU won't support SLi of 560ti's. Nor was there a a USB 3.0 requirement in the OPS stated needs.

Personally, I would ditch those old IDE DVD burners and get a quality MB. a SATA DVD burner is only $20!

depending on the MB and Heasink sometimes the first ram slot is unusable - just saying.

I have both Ripjaws and the the Corsair Vengeance (different systems) they are equal in quality and function.

 

[Galea]

- I wont have SLI configuration on the new PC.

- How can I tell if the heatsink will be in the way? I read somewhere that there's a proper order to install the RAM on some MoBos, wont that unusable slot be a problem?

- I still have 3 IDE burners and 1 of them is silver which matches with my case =(. I haven't seen a single silver SATA burner for under $40.

- [strike]his[/strike] her

 

[Galea]

Hi, I'm considering buying a new case as well. This one seems really nice for the price and it has a MoBo foldout: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156063

WIll that be alright with the rest of the components? (The 560Ti, i5 2500k with factory heatsink)