$1,000 Gaming Build. Black Friday Deals.

[andreagames]

Approximate Purchase Date: Around Christmas time. Posting now because I want to make sure of the parts I am ordering, in case there is a sale on Black Friday.
-- I know, I know, another one of these threads? But I need to have peace of mind, if that makes sense.

Budget Range: $1,000 Before Rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (BF3, CoD, FPS's, etc.), Internet, and some Video Editing

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, amazon.com (Prefer Amazon if it has Free Super Saver Shipping, and is cheaper), Micro Center, Frys

Country: United States, California

Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Yes

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments:

For sure: (If you have other suggestions, feel free to post)

CPU: i5-2500k - $179.99 - Micro Center

MOBO: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 - $124.99 - NewEgg

Case: HAF 922 - $89.00 - Amazon

GPU: Sapphire Dirt3 Edition 6950 2GB - $259.99 - Amazon (Thinking about purchasing this today, since it's so cheap)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - $34.90 - Amazon

Optical Drive: LITE-ON DVD Burner - $22.99 - NewEgg

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit - $99.99 - Amazon

Total: $812

Not too sure:

RAM: Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB - $49.99 - Amazon
Reason I chose this is because it's low profile, and they will fit with the EVO.

HDD/SSD: I'm not to sure if I should go ahead and buy an SSD since HDD prices are so high right now. I'm sure I could get an SSD now, use my 2TB external hard drive as space, then go ahead and buy an HDD when the prices lower. Need suggestions for an SSD. (Around $100)

[strike]PSU: This is where I'm lost, I think I would need about 850W, since I am going to overclock the i5, Flash the 6950 and Crossfire them. Not too sure what brand to go with, here.[/strike]
XFX Core Edition 850W - $119.99 - NewEgg
--

I know I am about $200 over budget, but my older brother is willing to help me out.

 

[andreagames]

HDD: Seagate - Barracuda 1TB - $54.99 - NewEgg
Is this HDD recommended? It is on sale atm, at a local store, just want to make sure it is a good brand, etc.


Any help/comments/suggestions would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[Silvune]

I think any 7200RPM 1TB drive for under $100 is a good deal atm. Seagate is indeed a good brand.

As for a PSU I think a 750W unit would be perfectly fine.
Corsair 750TXV2 80Plus Bronze $105 ($10 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

XFX Pro 850W Core Edition 80Plus Bronze $120 ($30 rebate, $6 shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207011

Seasonic M12II Bronze 850W 80Plus Bronze Modular $140 ($10 shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151108

 

[andreagames]

Hmm, modular looks nice, but I think I'm going to go with the XFX.
Any suggestions for SSD's? I was lookibg at Crucial M4's, but not too sure, once again.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Things ya might wanna consider before pulling the trigger:

Case - 922 is a bit "long in the tooth" .... no from USB 3 port in this day and age ???? Id go for the Antec 902 V3 or Corsair 500R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129097
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&N=100006644&isNodeId=1&Description=Corsair+500R&x=0&y=0

PSU - XFX Core Edition 850 and don't go gettin' all disappointed about not being 100% modular ..... 100% modular is the silliest idea ever to come along for PSU's ....what's the point of a modular 24 pin cable ? Can you build a system w/o connecting it ? If not, what's the point of making it modular ? Just introduces a potential failure point at increased price. Hybrid modular gives ya best of both worlds..... hard wired cables for absolutely necessary ones and modular for the optional ones.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/power-supplies-psu,8016.html

MoBo - Can't get behind any MoBo where the manufacturer doesn't offer a industry standard 3 year warranty.

GFX - $260 for an 6950 ? Yikes Since ya gonna do SL/CF, are you aware that the two factory OC'd 900MHz 560 TI's ($430 for 2) get higher fps (862 fps) in Guru3D's game tests suite than both the factory OC'd 6950 (759 fps - $480 for 2) and 6970 (825 fps - $640)) ? Here''s something else to consider...the new 560 appears to be a hybrid 560/570 and comes out in just 9 days, reportedly at the same price point.

http://www.tweaktown.com/news/21520/nvidia_s_geforce_gtx_560_ti_448_cores_packs_a_great_green_punch/index.html

NVIDIA doesn't want its crown taken away from the $250-ish price point, which is why they've gone back to the drawing board on the 560 Ti and introduced a redesigned version. The new GeForce GTX 560 Ti will sport the "448 cores" brand extension, which will of course include 448 CUDA cores compared to the 384 on the original 560 Ti. The new SKU will feature the same silicon that is on the GTX 570, 580 and GTX590 cards are based on: GF110.

The chip will carry the marking "GF110-270-A1", aside from the 448 CUDA cores, it will have a memory bus width of 320-bit, 1280MB of RAM (the same as the GTX 570). Clock speeds will be 732MHz core, 1464MHz CUDA and 950MHz actual memory clock speed. The only difference between the GTX 570 and the new 448 core GTX 560 Ti is the CUDA count, 448 versus 480 on the 570.

 

[andreagames]

Things ya might wanna consider before pulling the trigger:

Case - 922 is a bit "long in the tooth" .... no from USB 3 port in this day and age ???? Id go for the Antec 902 V3 or Corsair 500R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129097
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&N=100006644&isNodeId=1&Description=Corsair+500R&x=0&y=0

PSU - XFX Core Edition 850 and don't go gettin' all disappointed about not being 100% modular ..... 100% modular is the silliest idea ever to come along for PSU's ....what's the point of a modular 24 pin cable ? Can you build a system w/o connecting it ? If not, what's the point of making it modular ? Just introduces a potential failure point at increased price. Hybrid modular gives ya best of both worlds..... hard wired cables for absolutely necessary ones and modular for the optional ones.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/power-supplies-psu,8016.html

MoBo - Can't get behind any MoBo where the manufacturer doesn't offer a industry standard 3 year warranty.

GFX - $260 for an 6950 ? Yikes Since ya gonna do SL/CF, are you aware that the two factory OC'd 900MHz 560 TI's ($430 for 2) get higher fps (862 fps) in Guru3D's game tests suite than both the factory OC'd 6950 (759 fps - $480 for 2) and 6970 (825 fps - $640)) ? Here''s something else to consider...the new 560 appears to be a hybrid 560/570 and comes out in just 9 days, reportedly at the same price point.

http://www.tweaktown.com/news/21520/nvidia_s_geforce_gtx_560_ti_448_cores_packs_a_great_green_punch/index.html

NVIDIA doesn't want its crown taken away from the $250-ish price point, which is why they've gone back to the drawing board on the 560 Ti and introduced a redesigned version. The new GeForce GTX 560 Ti will sport the "448 cores" brand extension, which will of course include 448 CUDA cores compared to the 384 on the original 560 Ti. The new SKU will feature the same silicon that is on the GTX 570, 580 and GTX590 cards are based on: GF110.

The chip will carry the marking "GF110-270-A1", aside from the 448 CUDA cores, it will have a memory bus width of 320-bit, 1280MB of RAM (the same as the GTX 570). Clock speeds will be 732MHz core, 1464MHz CUDA and 950MHz actual memory clock speed. The only difference between the GTX 570 and the new 448 core GTX 560 Ti is the CUDA count, 448 versus 480 on the 570.

Hmm, now you are making me doubt the HAF 922 and the 6950. I will most definitely be looking into the two cases, and others.



----

Turns out Best Buy won't ship the Seagate Barracuda to any stores near me. (Seagate Barracuda 1TB) Grab it while you can! I read that the offer ends tomorrow.

I guess I'll end up grabbing an SSD.
Crucial M4 64GB - $113.99 - Amazon ??

Parts will most likely be bought around Christmas and Black Friday, hopefully some items will be on sale

 

[andreagames]

Been doing some more research.
I read, on reddit, the i5-2500k will be down to 149.99 at Micro Center for Black Friday.
Any Z68 motherboard will have an extra $60 off, now I'm wondering, what motherboard to get. I'm between, the ASUS (P8Z68-V PRO) and the (ASRock Z68 Extreme4 GEN3)

With both discounts, 30 off i5, and 60 off the mobo, it comes to around $300.
Any suggestions on which motherboard I should get would be amazing.

---

I've also been looking at Cases, thinking of upgrading to the CM HAF 932 because it's 124.99 then 99.99 after MIR...

 

[andreagames]

No one has anything to say/suggestions? I'm kind of desperate since Black Friday is so close.

 

[farsuka]

I'd say grab a good SSD now, and wait until HDDs are being manufactured again and buy them when they're at ~100 again.

 

[andreagames]

Update (if anyone cares )
I purchased the following items yesterday because they were on sale.
HAF 932 Advanced Full Tower
Hyper 212 EVO
and LITE-ON 24x DVD Burner

I will be going to Micro Center tomorrow to get the i5 for 150, and the P8Z68-V PRO (decided on this mobo instead of the Extreme4 GEN3) for 210, hopefully the i5 doesn't sale out before I get there.

I'm certain on the Sapphire 6950 2GB GPU, W7 64bit, and Corsair Vengeance 8GB (Low Profile).
The PSU on the other hand, still has me worried, the XFX is nice, but only has 12 reviews, which scares me.

And this OCZ Agility 3 120G SATA III SSD looks pretty nice, even IF it does have some bad reviews. Still sketchy though.

Thanks for the help everyone has given me

 

[Silvune]

No reason to be worried by the lack of user reviews on the XFX as it is made by one of the most respected and trusted PSU manufacturers; Seasonic. Plus is has been reviewed multiple times by some of the most trusted and respected PSU reviewers on the net.
Plus user reviews aren't always a good gauge of quality.

I think the OCZ Agility 3 has been having bad reviews because all Sandforce SF-2000 series drives had problems after their initial release, which I believe have been sorted out recently. If I was buying a Sandforce drive myself I would do more research about the subject. OCZ forums probably being one of the best places to go.