2k Gaming rig build ready-> could you please critique

I think you could trim the fat a bit on your RAM, i got 2x4GB sticks for like $45, and the mother board seems expensive, mine was around $150, but I have an AMD x4 and a MSI 6870 (yours will kick my butt)

Also look for a different case, New Egg has a thermalake i really like for $75 that fits everything nicely and has three case fans.

You can get a 60GB SSD from New Egg for less than half of what your paying for the 128GB methinks. I'd get that and put your favorite game and Windows 7 on it. The other drive will be fine for load times.

Great deal on the Power Supply!

Easy on the $100 for mouse and keyboard...I'd go with a nice mouse with lots of buttons, but the keyboard can be anything really...at least in my opinion.

Overall i think this could save you around $100, $150...

That video card is a beast though.

I completely agree there- not a fan of spending hundreds on peripherals.



Totally agree, and EVGA is awesome - but at the same time the Radeon 7970s are not even a couple weeks away from dropping, and from the initial reviews I've been reading about the cards it looks like they'll blow everything else out of the water.  



You're not going to save money by going somewhere else. The thing about Amazon is that they don't sell PC parts directly - they source that out to other retailers, and most of the time those other sellers aren't that great at honoring RMA's, which is where Newegg excels over a lot of the competition. And a lot of the smaller retailers you're buying from - I would definitely question their legitimacy when it comes to supporting a defective product. It's one thing to sell a product, it's another thing to support it. You have to think of it in terms of time = money.



You will need a good cooling system then, which is something I don't see listed. For the price I'd highly recommend this fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168..., or the EVGA M020 - both deliver performance equivalent to what a single 120mm closed block radiator (Corsair H80) would.

Alternately you could go with a closed block liquid loop like the Corsair H100.



Yeah - you have to be really careful with Windows licensing, same with Autodesk, Adobe CS, and everything else you can think of. If you don't have legit copies they will come after you.



Not sure I'd go with that case since it's not that highly rated. For the price you can definitely do better - maybe the Cooler Master HAF 922, or the new Antec 1100, or even something like the Corsair Carbide or Fractal Design Arc MIDI.



Don't get the Dominator - the large heat sinks will not allow you to install any aftermarket coolers you plan to buy, and if you're planning to overclock, this will certainly not be a good choice. This would be much better RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... or - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...



I'm not going to totally advise you against getting an Asrock board but at the same time I will say that they are a pretty mixed bag - either you'll get a great board or you'll get one that will fail on you after a short period. Asus and Gigabyte are the best, IMO. You should at least research a couple of different boards before buying. I'd suggest these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Windows won't care about your university copy. You are supposed to uninstall and buy your own when you leave college but they don't know/care.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... here is your RAM $50 bucks.

Other than that I wouldn't skimp out on anything else. You have a solid build.

I would check with microcenter, they have CPU/Mobo bundles a lot of the time, could save you some extra $$ on the Mobo.

Seconded, and Micro center has a better return policy than places like NewEgg, Amazon, etc, where you have to ship the items.

I'd much prefer to just drive it back myself while going out to get the milk.

I really like my AMD Phenom, if you are interested in those at all.

I've never really had to pay for shipping when returning items to Newegg. Amazon - that all depends on who's selling the item as to what their return policy is, it could be really good with one seller, really horrible with the next.



I too am running a Phenom II x6, and it's been a great CPU so far. I might go FX depending on what the next crop brings.

But for now you really can't beat the price/performance ratio of the Intel i5-2500K.