My first $700-800 build

[joshua2allen]

Approximate Purchase Date: within the next 2 weeks

Budget Range: $650-$850 after rebate, tax, and shipping

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Web browsing, HD video editing, gaming

Parts Not Required: Speakers, mouse, keyboard, moniter

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Microcenter.com

Country of Origin: United states; Texas

Parts Preferences: Intel i7 2600k processor

Overclocking: Maybe, but probably not

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: I don't know, but I'd like to connect it to a 1080 HDTV


So, here are the parts that I'm thinking about using, the hyperlinks go to Microcenter.com

an intel i7 2600k quad-core processor
a Biostar TP67B+ LGA 1155 P67 ATX Intel Motherboard (here's a newegg link)
a corsair 500w PSU (here's a newegg link)
8 of gb ram
a refurbished 1.5 TB HD (7200rpm)
a mid-tower case
a DVD burner
So, all the above (which doesn't include a graphics card) is $630 after tax and rebates

For the graphic card, I'm looking at either this Radeon HD 6750, or this Radeon 6770.

So, do you have any recommendations for this build?

 

[roblaw42]

Try comparing prices on Amazon and newegg as well as microcenter.

Avoid Biostar for the mobo, it is usually crap. Look at comparable Asus, Asrock, Gigabyte, and Msi. Don't cheap out for Biostar because you will not be happy.

A refurbished hd sounds a little risky. You can get a Seagate Barracuda 1 tb on Amazon right now for $74.95 but buy it soon because all hd prices are skyrocketing.

 

[Emelth]

Get an ASRock Z68 Mobo, if your rig is just for gaming get the i5 2500k (i7 is better for photo/video editting), refurbished = bad idea get the Samsung Spinpoint F3 or Seagate Barracuda, RAM you want DDR3 1600 not 1333 crosair is a better brand.

 

[roblaw42]

Get the i5 2500K and pump the savings into a better graphics card like the Geforce GTX 560 Ti.

 

[joshua2allen]

if your rig is just for gaming get the i5 2500k (i7 is better for photo/video editting), refurbished = bad idea get the Samsung Spinpoint F3 or Seagate Barracuda, RAM you want DDR3 1600 not 1333 crosair is a better brand.

I plan to do HD video editing, which is why I want the i7. I'll take your advice about the HD and get this Seagate Barracuda.

Avoid Biostar for the mobo, it is usually crap. Look at comparable Asus, Asrock, Gigabyte, and Msi. Don't cheap out for Biostar because you will not be happy.

My alternative motherboard was this MSI P67S Mobo. It only has one PCI 2.0 slot, but I don't care about crossfire. The price is really nice, so maybe I could use the extra cash for a better graphics card. Speaking of which, how good of a graphics card do I need to play games on an HDTV?

 

[roblaw42]

Good mobo. Read through these posts for info on a graphics card.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/248029-33-best-video-card-hdtv
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/51226-4-hdtv-computer-monitor-questions

 

[michxymi]

You can also look at AMD FX 8150. It's identical to i7 2600 at multithreaded apps. Also I would go for 16GB RAM

 

[joshua2allen]

Thank you for the replies

Good mobo. Read through these posts for info on a graphics card.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/248029-33-best-video-card-hdtv
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/51226-4-hdtv-computer-monitor-questions

The first link was kinda old, the cards they were mentioning aren't even for sale anymore.
The second thread got really off-topic, But it gave me some very helpful information on configuring the TV.

I found this article here about the best graphic cards of october, so I think I'll go with this Radeon 6770

So, in summary, I'll get...
an intel i7 2600k quad-core processor
a MSI P67S-C43 Motherboard
a corsair 500w PSU
8 of gb ram (DDR3-1600)
a Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HD (7200rpm)
a mid-tower case (bottom-mounted PSU)
a DVD burner
and an XFX Radeon 6770 Graphics card

Any final recommendations?

EDIT:

what the crap! that hard drive on Amazon was $71, now it's $117!. I looked around for others, and I stumpled across this Samsung Spinpoint F4 2TB 5400 RPM for $80. I know it's only 5400 rpm, but still, this seems like a good deal. There was also this Hitachi Deskstar 5K3000 1.5TB, but It doesn't say what the RPM is.

also, I forgot to mention this, but how good are SSDs? I was thinking about getting a 32gb one for the OS

 

[roblaw42]

Looks good and don't listen to the guy above about the AMD FX 8150. The i7 is far superior in every way.

 

[michxymi]

Looks good and don't listen to the guy above about the AMD FX 8150. The i7 is far superior in every way.

The guy has a name, but yea whatever....

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8150-zambezi-bulldozer-990fx,3043-15.html

 

[joshua2allen]

with the hard drive crisis, I'm considering just buying a 32 gb SSD (for the OS and Chrome), and putting all my video files and software on my 500 gb external hard drive. Later, when HD prices are back to normal, I'll buy one, then move all my software to my new HD.

is this a good idea, or are external hard drives completely unusable?

 

[Emelth]

you can use externals but they can get damaged very easy and then you will lose all your data

 

[roblaw42]

Try to get a 64 gb ssd. Then you can run the OS with head room and your computer will be very fast. If you are going to invest in one you might as well spend a little extra to get 64 gb because 32 gb is on the fence for being big enough for the OS.

 

[joshua2allen]

I found this 64 gb Kingston SSD for only $70 (here's a newegg link).

this is a good deal, right?

also, since it's 2.5", will I need this?

 

[roblaw42]

That is a good price. You do not need the adapter, your case has 1 internal 2.5" slot.