$900-1200 New Build by First Timer

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Chad333

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Jan 10, 2012
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As a first time builder, I have done a lot of research for myself and it would be great to get some thoughts on this build. Problems? Suggestions? Etc.


Approximate Purchase Date: Late January

Budget Range: $900-1200 after rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, internet, work (MS Office), media center

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor (26 inch 1920x1200, speakers, OS (Win 7)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I guess Newegg, but suggestions are welcome. I will use Micro Center for the i5 2500k (I'm near one)

Country: U.S.

Parts Preferences: No specific brands other than I like to buy quality and will pay for it if I have to.

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe - In a year or two I may add another card to bump up the performance

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200 at 26 inches

Additional Comments: fairly quiet PC, absolutely no neon lights, I plan on keeping this roughly 4 years with a potential graphics card or cards upgrade and maybe an Ivy Bridge in 2-3 years if enough of an improvement


PARTS:

i5 2500k - This really seems to be the sweet spot.
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354589

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard (motherboards are probably were I lack the most knowledge)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler bracket included LGA 2011 i7 i5 775 1155 AMD and dual fan push pull compatible (Tom's had this rated high)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233082

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 (I'm concerned about clearance with Xigmatek heat sink)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144

SAPPHIRE 100314-3L Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC256D/AM 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Desktop Upgrade Kit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147135

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233&cm_sp=Cat_Computer_Cases-_-Weekly_Deals-_-11-119-233

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750M 750W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular High Performance Power Supply $109 (if there is a cheaper equivalent that would be great)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139030

Around $1100 total for this build. I know the total GB's for my hard drive is lower than normal, but I plan on expanding it with SSD's as I fill them up. I'm done with HDD's. Especially, now that all the good ones are so much more expensive because of the flooding in Thailand.

Any thoughts would be welcome. Thanks.
 
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It looks pretty good but a couple of suggestions:

XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler bracket included LGA 2011 i7 i5 775 1155 AMD and dual fan push pull compatible (Tom's had this rated high)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233082

I really don't like this cooler. I had one and it comes with way too many loose parts and incredibly cheap thermal paste. When I installed it I got CPU temperature read errors left and right, and eventually lost the motherboard as a result. Something like one of these would be better:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099...

g-unit1111

Titan
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It looks pretty good but a couple of suggestions:

XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler bracket included LGA 2011 i7 i5 775 1155 AMD and dual fan push pull compatible (Tom's had this rated high)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233082

I really don't like this cooler. I had one and it comes with way too many loose parts and incredibly cheap thermal paste. When I installed it I got CPU temperature read errors left and right, and eventually lost the motherboard as a result. Something like one of these would be better:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835288001

SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC256D/AM 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Desktop Upgrade Kit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820147135

256GB for an SSD is major overkill and you're looking at a $300 - $400 drive on top of that (or almost 1/3 of your budget). What you should do here is drop this to a 64GB and invest the difference in getting a 1TB Samsung Spinpoint and put the rest into getting a better video card.

Maybe try a setup like this:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 - $59.99
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 - $89.99
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 - $159.99
CPU: 3.30GHz Intel Core i5-2500K - $219.99
Cooler: EVGA Super Cooler M020 - $49.99
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaw X 1600MHz 1.5V 8GB (2 x 4GB) - $46.99
SSD: 64GB Crucial M4 - $109.99
HD: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 - $159.99
Optical: LG 22X DVD Burner - $17.99
Video Card: EVGA Geforce GTX 560TI - $249.99

Total: $1164.93
 
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Chad333

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Jan 10, 2012
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Thanks a lot. I appreciate the specific advice. This is the first really negative comment I have come across on that cooler. I will have to take a look at your suggestions.

I have seen other recommendations for that motherboard. I will definitely re-evaluate that.

I see your point on the cost, performance, and size of the SSD vs HD, but I like the instantaneous response from everything on solid state. I realize the performance upgrade after the boot isn't huge, but I'm willing to pay for it. My budget is more to prevent me from getting out of control than because of lack of funds.

Thanks again.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
Thanks a lot. I appreciate the specific advice. This is the first really negative comment I have come across on that cooler. I will have to take a look at your suggestions.

I have seen other recommendations for that motherboard. I will definitely re-evaluate that.

Yeah I certainly didn't have good luck with that cooler. I eventually salvaged that CPU and am using it in my home system right now.

The motherboard I have in my workstation is the UD3P and it's been excellent so far. I've been really impressed with the way that build turned out.

I see your point on the cost, performance, and size of the SSD vs HD, but I like the instantaneous response from everything on solid state. I realize the performance upgrade after the boot isn't huge, but I'm willing to pay for it. My budget is more to prevent me from getting out of control than because of lack of funds.

The instant response from SSD is great, I'll agree, but I really hesitate to spend $400 on one drive. In my workstation I have the same 64GB Crucial - 1TB Spinpoint setup and it's been really amazing so far. I store OS and a couple of programs (MS Office, etc) on the main drive, and I store everything else (large data files, that sort of thing) on the Spinpoint, and I still get the same results.
 
i5 2500K $180
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354589
Asrock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 $122
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
Patriot 8GB DDR3 1600 $35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570
Antec 650w $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044
Diamond 7970 3GB $550
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103201
Nova 2 60GB $85 ($10 MIR)
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-2-5-Inch-Solid-Drives-CSSD-V60GB2/dp/B0057A5RA6%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquid1240995-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB0057A5RA6
Corsair 400R + Seagate 500GB $165 ($10 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.812374
Asus DVD Drive $19
http://www.amazon.com/Asus-24xDVD%C2%B1RW-24x8x16x-48x32x48x-DRW-24B1ST/dp/B0033Z2BAQ/ref=pd_bxgy_pc_img_b
Cooler Master Hyper 212+ $27
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Sleeve-RR-B10-212P-G1/dp/B002G1YPH0%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquid1240995-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB002G1YPH0
Total: $1258 before rebates

This would give you the future proofing from the card, it'll last awhile and you'll be able to get another one in the future since I'd assume it'll last at least 1-2 years. You still get the SSD but a 500GB as well, it's just that space-wise the SSD is cut back. Cooler in my opinion is better, least for the money,
 
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