(New Build) First Time Builder, $1500+ Gaming Build. Keep me from Dell

[brianc538]

Approximate Purchase Date: This week

Budget Range: Around $1500 / Before Rebates. I can adjust the budget though if needed

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Streaming Videos, Surfing the net

Parts Not Required: Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse and speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg or Amazon (Prime member @ Amazon)

Country of Origin: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel and Nvidia

Overclocking: Yes, Later

SLI or Crossfire: Yes/SLI

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: This is a build for my son as a Gaming PC. I want it to be as quiet as possible but I know you have to keep the horsepower cool too! He does play alot of different games but I guess BF3, WoW, MW3 (soon) and others are the most demanding.

What I have found so far from Newegg. I didn't look at Amazon though because they didn't have that Mobo.

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197 $89.99

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad- Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 $219.99 $15 off with promo code EMCJKJG34

MOBO: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 $124.99

HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 $59.99

GPU: MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III PE/OC GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127582 $359.99

PSU/GPU Combo: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 850W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply (Bundled w/2nd MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.749991 $449.99

Ram: G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231461 $49.99

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 $99.99

CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R1 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 $34.99

$1489.10 Total so far. No optical drive but they are pretty cheap and open to suggestions on that. I don't need Blu-ray, just CD/DVD.

Please adjust/suggest as you will. My big problem is that my son loves the Alienware PC's (The look and name I guess) and one thing drawing me that way is through my company I have gained a total of $900 in Gift cards for Dell. I could add to that and get a very nice Alienware PC or build my own and use it for a TV or something later on.
I have combed the threads and I think i'm overloaded! This will be my first build but I don't think I will have any problems as the Forums here have helped alot reading those.
So there it is and I just want to be as future proofed as I can be. I'm not sure if that PSU will be enough but I'm sure you will all chime in! Thanks so much in advance.

 

[morgoth780]

crap. That is a ridiculously nice build. it's perfect. I mean, you could drop to 750w psu, but gtx 570 sli gets to be a bit much for that wattage.

probably the best way to get your son off alienware is to show him how much it would cost to get an alienware with similar specs. The main thing I hate about them is that you have no choice in your motherboard or power supply, so you're kinda limited on pci-e slots.

anyways, that is probably the best build i've seen that was the original post.

 

[BohleyK]

Solid build! Use the $900 gift card from Dell on monitors or TV like you already mentioned.

 

[steelbeast]

You were requesting "quiet", so I would go with a Noctua NF-P12 120mm fan $19 as a replacement for the CPU cooler fan. Solid build man, good job.

EDIT: Odds are you can recycle an old DVD burner you have from a previous rig, but Lite-On is dependable.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

No real complaints other than the MoBo warranty but here's some things to consdier:

-Case is a bit "dated" .... for example has no front panel USB 3. Consider new "current" case designs such as Antec DF-85, 1200 V3, HAF-X / 932 as full towers; 902V3 as mid tower.

-MoBo only has a 2 year warranty. I like the Deluxe but the Pro version has most of the features. Supposed to go on sale Monday
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790

GFX - As ya can see in the reviews below comparing the performance in the various games, due to the 560's bigger OC headroom, the 560 is able to match and even sneak slightly ahead of the 570 when both are OC'd to the max. The 560 also scales better (174% to 166%)

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/nvidia_asus_gtx560ti/4.htm
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/asus_gtx570_review/

Can perhaps a better review sample have changed the results ? .... have other sites come up w/ numbers more favorable to the 570 ?.... probably .... but enough to offset the price difference from $410 to $720 ?

PSU - The TX series (2nd tier) will be just fine for moderate OC's .... Only if ya looking ti squeeze that last 0.1 or 0.2 GHz, a stable MoBo multi-phase voltage control circuit and 1st tier PSU is where ya might wanna go.

Cooler - Hyper 212 was great in its day and its still a great "budget" cooler ..... but it comes up short next to the Hyper 612, Silver Arrow and other newer designs.

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

 

[jsc]

DVD burners: My first choice is Samsung. Second choice is LG. I have owned one LITE-ON. It died within 9 months. Of course, YMMV.

For first-time builders, I recommendlooking at these threads:

Build it yourself:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/274745-13-step-step-guide-building

And although this primarily a troubleshooting thread, the first part contains a checklist that will catch most noob mistakes:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-read-posting-boot-problems

 

[brianc538]

Any suggestions on a 560 ti as far as brand/model? Going from the 570 to the 560, should I still upgrade the PSU as well? That Mobo isn't in stock at Newegg so I will look elsewhere and see what I can find.

 

[cmadrid]

The MSI twin frozr 2 or 3 560ti is very good too!

There are quite a few case options out there.. maybe your son would like to help pick the case out? There is a wide range of 'looks' as far as cases go.

 

[brianc538]

I have updated the Mobo and GPU's. Let me know what you think...any problems you see.

ASRock Z68 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157250 $184.99

MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565 x2 $489.98

 

[brianc538]

I am sticking with the Cooler Master HAF 922. My son likes it a lot and with the new Mobo, I will still have front panel USB 3.0 if I understand that correctly.

 

[steelbeast]

I am sticking with the Cooler Master HAF 922. My son likes it a lot and with the new Mobo, I will still have front panel USB 3.0 if I understand that correctly.

I own the extreme4 myself and it's a much better at OCing than the extreme3 (which I exchanged for the extreme4). Yes, it has a front usb 3.0 panel included. Those GPUs will be tons of fun, i went with CF 6950's myself for a 3x 25in. monitor EyeFinity setup. Enjoy

 

[cmadrid]

seems awesome!

 

[brianc538]

I assume I should OC as soon as I get it together and running?

 

[steelbeast]

I assume I should OC as soon as I get it together and running?

Get all the latest patches, drivers and updates before you do. Then make a backup image / repair disc and OC to your heart's content. You may want to run memtest to be extra safe, in case you need to RMA the RAM. Same with checking your SSD/HDD for bad sectors, but that can take a handful of time.