Upgrade Advice Please $800 Budget

[pous]

Greetings,

I'm looking at upgrading the following parts in my PC:

1. Mobo
2. CPU
3. RAM
4. GPU
5. PSU

I'm keeping my current Antec 900 case and my WD Hard drive(s) so those aren't an issue. For that reason I will also not need a copy of Windows.
My budget is $800 firm after shipping and before rebates, and the big catch is that I can only order from Amazon.com (gotta love those store cards).

Currently this is what I have picked out for myself, I just wanted to get some opinions and go from there:

1. Mobo - gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 (z68 board) - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00518M77U/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
2. CPU - sandy 2500k - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EBUXHQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
3. RAM - corsair vengeance 8gb ddr3 1600 - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004CRSM4I/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
4. GPU - Evga gtx 560 ti 448 core classified - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0069RZ01C/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
5. PSU - Corsair 750tx 80plus bronze - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MYFODI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I'll be gaming on a 22" Acer 1680 x 1050 monitor for now, with plans to potentially buy a 24" later on (for 1600 x 1200)

Thanks for your time and assistance, I'm looking forward to seeing what you think!

 

[g-unit1111]

1. Mobo - gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 (z68 board) - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B [...] PDKIKX0DER

The D3H is the really low end of the Gigabyte spectrum - it will lack a lot of features you'll want to use and has a limited number of PCI-e x 16 slots.

This is the same upgrade path I recommended in another thread:


Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3H - $159.99
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K - $219.99
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 - $29.99
RAM: 8GB (2 x 4GB) G.Skill Ripjaw X 1600MHz 1.5V - $44.99
Video Card: EVGA Geforce GTX 560TI - $249.99

Then maybe get something like this as your PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703027

This setup will run you a bit more but you'll be glad you didn't skimp on the motherboard.

 

[pous]

1. Mobo - gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 (z68 board) - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B [...] PDKIKX0DER

The D3H is the really low end of the Gigabyte spectrum - it will lack a lot of features you'll want to use and has a limited number of PCI-e x 16 slots.

This is the same upgrade path I recommended in another thread:


Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3H - $159.99
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K - $219.99
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 - $29.99
RAM: 8GB (2 x 4GB) G.Skill Ripjaw X 1600MHz 1.5V - $44.99
Video Card: EVGA Geforce GTX 560TI - $249.99

Then maybe get something like this as your PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703027

This setup will run you a bit more but you'll be glad you didn't skimp on the motherboard.

I saw that recommendation and here's my reasoning on my choice.
The motherboard I chose has the ability for SLI, the absolute most I'd ever use would be 2 cards, so I don't really see that as a problem. As for lack of features and such things.... based on several reviews on newegg there have been people OC'ing the 2500k with no problems on this board, so I still don't see where it would really be a problem.

The other thing is that you're pulling parts off of newegg and I have to be able to purchase them at/from amazon.com and the total cannot be over 800 even if it's just by a little bit.

Any thoughts on the 560 ti 448 core classified vs the regular 560 ti? the 448 seems to beat the crap out of it and even match or beat the 570 in a lot of tests.

Thanks for the input, I'm currently playing around with my cart on Amazon to see what I can come up with.

 

[g-unit1111]

The motherboard I chose has the ability for SLI, the absolute most I'd ever use would be 2 cards, so I don't really see that as a problem. As for lack of features and such things.... based on several reviews on newegg there have been people OC'ing the 2500k with no problems on this board, so I still don't see where it would really be a problem.

That's fine. You might want to consider this board for the price as well:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

The other thing is that you're pulling parts off of newegg and I have to be able to purchase them at/from amazon.com and the total cannot be over 800 even if it's just by a little bit.

I generally prefer Newegg because of their selection and RMA / support department. Is there any reason you have to buy from Amazon?

Any thoughts on the 560 ti 448 core classified vs the regular 560 ti? the 448 seems to beat the crap out of it and even match or beat the 570 in a lot of tests.

I don't think it will really matter unless you're doing some really intensive benchmarks on the card. Both choices are good and you really can't go wrong with EVGA.

 

[pous]

The motherboard I chose has the ability for SLI, the absolute most I'd ever use would be 2 cards, so I don't really see that as a problem. As for lack of features and such things.... based on several reviews on newegg there have been people OC'ing the 2500k with no problems on this board, so I still don't see where it would really be a problem.

That's fine. You might want to consider this board for the price as well:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

The other thing is that you're pulling parts off of newegg and I have to be able to purchase them at/from amazon.com and the total cannot be over 800 even if it's just by a little bit.

I generally prefer Newegg because of their selection and RMA / support department. Is there any reason you have to buy from Amazon?

Any thoughts on the 560 ti 448 core classified vs the regular 560 ti? the 448 seems to beat the crap out of it and even match or beat the 570 in a lot of tests.

I don't think it will really matter unless you're doing some really intensive benchmarks on the card. Both choices are good and you really can't go wrong with EVGA.

Hmmm I looked at a similar ASRock board before, just wasn't really sure on their quality. I'm very brand loyal and Gigabyte has never steered me wrong.

As for the reasoning, I have an $800 Amazon Store card which can be used for this upgrade. I could use my New Egg account or just pay cash. But it was a fun personal challenge to try and fit the upgrade into the budget and put it on that particular card to show usage and such.

Hmmmm The savings on the video card (stepping down from the 448) would allow for the increase in the motherboard.... HMMMMMM.

Seems like the Corsair 750TX and the Sandy 2500k are set in stone at this point.

Thanks for your continued support, I always like getting other advices and such.

 

[g-unit1111]

Hmmm I looked at a similar ASRock board before, just wasn't really sure on their quality. I'm very brand loyal and Gigabyte has never steered me wrong.

I haven't had any problems with Gigabyte either - my home system uses the 990FXA-UD3 and my workstation uses the Z68XP-UD3P. I really like the way both systems have turned out so far. I recommended that Asrock board because at the price range a lot of people seem to like it.

As for the reasoning, I have an $800 Amazon Store card which can be used for this upgrade. I could use my New Egg account or just pay cash. But it was a fun personal challenge to try and fit the upgrade into the budget and put it on that particular card to show usage and such.

If you've got the credit... why not?

Hmmmm The savings on the video card (stepping down from the 448) would allow for the increase in the motherboard.... HMMMMMM.

Yeah - tough call. Either way it will still be an excellent system. :lol:

You should try to squeeze a good cooler in the budget as well in case you decide to overclock.

 

[pous]

Hmmm I looked at a similar ASRock board before, just wasn't really sure on their quality. I'm very brand loyal and Gigabyte has never steered me wrong.

I haven't had any problems with Gigabyte either - my home system uses the 990FXA-UD3 and my workstation uses the Z68XP-UD3P. I really like the way both systems have turned out so far. I recommended that Asrock board because at the price range a lot of people seem to like it.

As for the reasoning, I have an $800 Amazon Store card which can be used for this upgrade. I could use my New Egg account or just pay cash. But it was a fun personal challenge to try and fit the upgrade into the budget and put it on that particular card to show usage and such.

If you've got the credit... why not?

Hmmmm The savings on the video card (stepping down from the 448) would allow for the increase in the motherboard.... HMMMMMM.

Yeah - tough call. Either way it will still be an excellent system. :lol:

You should try to squeeze a good cooler in the budget as well in case you decide to overclock.

Yeah I thought about that too (the cooler option) and after doing some research I found a few guys that OC'd the 2500k to 4.0 to 4.5 range with just the stock cooler. Granted at 100% load it got up around 90c but I'm fairly certain there's no games currently that'll push it that far, and if/when that happens I could always upgrade at the time.

I think for now I'd be more than happy running at stock speeds since I've currently got an AMD phenom 2 550 black 3.0 cpu..... which was actually a step back from my previous Q6600.

I'm SUPER excited about this build in particular because of the parallels between the 2500k + 560ti and the q6600 + 8800gts 640 from a few years ago.

Thanks again for your continued support

 

[g-unit1111]

Yeah I thought about that too (the cooler option) and after doing some research I found a few guys that OC'd the 2500k to 4.0 to 4.5 range with just the stock cooler. Granted at 100% load it got up around 90c but I'm fairly certain there's no games currently that'll push it that far, and if/when that happens I could always upgrade at the time.

Really? I'm surprised you can get speeds that high with just the stock cooler. I still have the one that came with my i7, it fell apart and I later discovered it was just a piece of aluminum with a plastic fan on top. I guess Intel's become pretty wise about the coolers they include.

I think for now I'd be more than happy running at stock speeds since I've currently got an AMD phenom 2 550 black 3.0 cpu..... which was actually a step back from my previous Q6600.

I had a Q6600 as well and I really liked it. I also like the Phenom II X6 that I'm running now.

I'm SUPER excited about this build in particular because of the parallels between the 2500k + 560ti and the q6600 + 8800gts 640 from a few years ago.

I can kind of see that. Both are excellent CPUs and excellent GPUs. And should last a long time with minimum upgrades.

Thanks again for your continued support

No problem.

 

[pacioli]

I'm running a very similiar rig.

I love the 2500K and the 560 Ti together.

I am also using that Corsair Vengeance RAM. I loved it so much I bought a second set to take my rig to 16 Gb (I know it is overkill but I was feeling depressed that day and saw it on sale for $28)

As far as overclocking the 2500K... you can take it to 4.0Ghz without any problem on stock cooling and your temperatures will stay below 40 Celsius.

 

[pous]

Okay total is currently at $532
I have the Motherboard that g-unit recommended (159.99)
The corsair 750txv2 (99.99)
the 2500k (219.99)
and the corsair vengeance (52.99)

So with that $228 remaining UNDER 800.... can I get a decent SSD (90+gb) DVD drive, and case? HMMMMMM

I've taken the video card out of this budget, and changed it to be essentially a full system otherwise, with this $800 limit imposed. Basically I want the best possible system for $800, and I'll add the video card, OS, Monitor, and other peripherals.

 

[g-unit1111]

So with that $228 remaining UNDER 800.... can I get a decent SSD (90+gb) DVD drive, and case? HMMMMMM

I've taken the video card out of this budget, and changed it to be essentially a full system otherwise, with this $800 limit imposed. Basically I want the best possible system for $800, and I'll add the video card, OS, Monitor, and other peripherals.

You'll probably have to forgo the SSD for now. Just get a cheap 320 - 500GB mechanical drive. Add the SSD later as an upgrade. Any DVD drive will do as they're so cheap you can get any of them for like less than $20.

Case, this is what I'd suggest: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233