Building PC around $1300-1500

[danieljkoning]

Hey, I haven't built a computer in 5 years, and am excited to put together something that is a decent gaming machine, but not too too much money. I will be re-using a few of my current components, and I will list that below. I am looking for suggestions, or confirmation.

Case
- Corsair 650D - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139006&Tpk=650d

Power Supply
- Corsair TX850 (or TX750, wondering if I need to go 850) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139022

Motherboard
- ASUS P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790

Processor
- Intel Core i7-2600k Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz LGA 1155 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

SSD
- Corsair Force Series 3 120GB SATA 3 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233206

RAM
- 2 x Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 SDRAM 1600 kit (16GB total) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104173

Video Card
- AMD Radeon HD6950 (not sure which brand to go with yet - suggestions appreciated!)

HDD
- 500GB Seagate 7200RPM drive - I already have this, so I'll be re-using it.
- 2TB Seagate External USB 3.0 - I already have this as well

Optical Drive
- LG Super Multi DVD RW drive - I already have this as well.

Monitor
- Currently using an LG Flatron Wide 22" at 1680x1050 resolution. This may be upgraded later, but I'll use this for now.

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: Not now, maybe later

Additional Comments: I will be using Windows 7 Pro 64-bit on this machine. I want something that will boot in under 30 seconds, and I will be using it for Star Wars: The Old Republic, as well as some other games down the road.

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment on this build.

I look forward to tips and suggestions.

Daniel

 

[danieljkoning]

UPDATE: I am thinking ASUS for the video card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121431

 

[danieljkoning]

After circling around about all sorts of hardware I think I'm sticking with the above list. Going with the Asus 2gb version of the Radeon HD 6950.

 

[azeem40]

Budget?

 

[rog02]

Case
- Corsair 650D

Its a good case, but I think its little costly. Though it is a matter of choice, you can look for other cases which offer good features with reasonable price tags. You can invest that in other parts.

Power Supply
- Corsair TX850 (or TX750, wondering if I need to go 850)

If you are not going for CrossFire / SLI, 750W will be enough.
But if you are going to CF/SLI, 850 will be better.

Motherboard
- ASUS P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3

Its a good mobo.

Processor
- Intel Core i7-2600k Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz LGA 1155

I think, once you should look at i5-2500K. Its not going to beat 2600k, but the price difference is $100.
You should look what performance you are getting after paying $100 more. If that amount of performance is not important for you, then go for 2500K.

Video Card
- AMD Radeon HD6950

Its a good choice.

 

[NeutralEnergy]

I gtg very soon so i'll make this short.

The case is great but take a look at the 600T as well. Different looks, but essentially the same feature.

Go with the 850w psu, definitely. Allows fo more flexibility in the future.

Good MoBo. I'm getting it soon.

Definitely go with the i5-2500k. You'll save yourself $100 and get essentially the same performance (btw you really should look into OCing, just saying).

RAM is a bit overkill, I would go with 8g but... up to you.

If I were you, I would go with the nVidia gtx 560 ti. Lower price, same/better performance, and MUCH better drivers... I own one, too.

Forgot the SSD. Look into the OCW Vertex 3. Much better and not more expensive by much, but again, up to you.

Hope this helps!

-Neutral

 

[danieljkoning]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

I had thought about a few of those points.

I want to make sure that this computer is forwards compatible and forwards relevant. I know that nothing I'm doing right now will take advantage of the hyperthreading on the i7, but I plan to use this as my main gaming rig for at least 5-7 years.

Regarding the RAM: I was really trying to decide whether 16gb was necessary, until my local computer shop offered me these 8gb packs for $29.99, with no shipping. For $30, it seemed almost foolish NOT to get it, when down the road, this speed of RAM might get more expensive due to different speeds becoming the new standard.

Regarding SSD, as far as I can tell, the only difference by going to the OCZ Vertex 3 would be a 40mb/s bump in write speed. I'm not sure if the extra money is worth the 40mb/s in write speed. I'll have to think about this.

As for the case, I did consider the 600T. I have a friend with that case, and it is a really nice case, but I just love how plain and simple the 650D looks, and the local shop was offering it to me at $150. I figured the case is somewhere that I've never spent money in the past, and I've always had to buy a new one whenever I do a new build, just because I start hating the looks and lack of features of the old case. The case is the only thing that doesn't really become dated (I guess until there's a new USB standard again, and I can't use the front USB's for maximum performance). The only thing it lacks, that the 600T has, is the slight white LED's in the fans, but that's ok. As long as the performance is good, I don't care about the lit up look.

Thanks again. I'm going today to order this stuff. I'll keep this up to date with my progress.

DK