[Solved] What do you think of this?

Forum Systems : Homebuilt [Solved] What do you think of this?

I posted a couple days ago about upgrading my gateway's graphic memory to dedicated graphics card and still plan on doing that but i also want to build a computer from ground up which i have done a few times before. I created a list on new egg but i will also list it out here. Keep in mind that there are no storage drives yet as I am still looking around. I know i want a ssd for most used programs and not os and probably a 320gb to 500gb for a good price or a 1tb for a great price but with this Hard Drive Crisis its hard to find a decent deal.

Anyways this will not be for serious gaming but just random games here and there. It will probably be upgraded later on but right now this is fine for me i think.

Case: Cooler Master Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP $99.99 ($20.00 Instant) $79.99
Mobo: Asus Sabertooth P67 (REV 3.0) $219.99 ($20.00 Instant) $199.99
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9R $49.99
PSU: Cooler Master GX 450W RS450-ACAAD3-US $59.99
Graphics Card: EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForece 550 Ti 1GB 192-Bit GDDR5 $144.99 ($10.00 Instant) $134.99
CPU: Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz TB) 1155 95W $189.99
CD Drive: LITE-ON DVD Burner iHAS124-04 $17.99

Windows 7 HP OEM $99.99

Total Before Shipping: $832.92 (No Sales Tax in my area) S&H: $18.78 Final total: $851.70

If you could maybe make some suggestions, I would prefer to stay under right around where i am unless there is better and cheaper out there. I do have some fans laying around and other stuff to. Also if you could view it at new egg and leave a rating that would be very awesome

One last thing: I am still thinking about a cpu fan. Any Suggestions would be great. I want to try water cooling but not sure about it yet.

Here is the link to the wish list:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=18459172

Message edited by xlrdxrevengex on 01-21-2012 at 12:35:47 AM

Reply to xlrdxrevengex

Hello! I would not go with that build, You can definitely make it better with that budget. The first thing is the case, which you can switch to the Rosewill Challenger:
http://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-CHA [...] B003YVJJ5Y
or the NZXT gamma:
http://www.amazon.com/GAMMA-Classi [...] B002UDK9U6

Another thing that is overpriced is the Motherboard, the Savertooth is extremely overpriced for a motherboard, The ASRock Extreme 3 Z68 is a great alternative:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157271

This is a great RAM bundle that is cheaper and yet reliable:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820313086

You can now start making your build better. The CM PSU is not a reliable one, you also should also make it a larger wattage, something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341017

You can also go with a better graphics card, such as the gtx 560Ti, anything below that isn't worth it with a $800 build:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125401
If you have the money, go with the gtx 570:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130622

Now, the CPU, I don't get why you would want an aftermarket HSF if the CPU you chose could not overclock. Go with the i5 2500k for an overclockable CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115072
You can overclock to around 4.5GHz with decent temperatures with the CM Hyper 212+:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835103065

Reply to r0aringdrag0n

If you are not a serious gamer then what games do you intend to play on this Pc because there is a difference with the parts you need since even casual gaming can require good parts.if you don't intend to overclock the cpu at all then you can go with a cheaper cpu , and if you want to overclock then you need an unlocked cpu.

Intel Core i3-2130 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I32130
$149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115092

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$121.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157271

Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
$99.99 and a $15 rebate makes it $84.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371049

EVGA 01G-P3-1561-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$229.99 and a $20 rebate makes it $209.99

If you keep the case , the ram , the dvd player and the OS that you had chosen and switched out for these parts then you would have a better balanced Pc and the total would be $815.92 after rebates.

Reply to inzone

I like inzone's suggestion. If you are going to be doing word processing, then you do not need a extreme graphics card, even with mild gaming. Something like the Radeon 6870 is enough:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102948

If you want a HDD, the cheapest one for the money is the Hitachi 500GB drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822145299
However, the Hitachi drive is not as a reputable company as Western Digital or Seagate, so something more expensive is the Seagate barracuda 500GB:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148767
Finally, if you don't care about read/write speeds, the WD green 320GB is a cheap drive to store stuff on:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136770
The only downside is that the WD drive is "green" and therefore only spins at 5400RPM vs Hitachi and Seagate's 7200RPM, meaning the read and write speeds will be slower. The drive is also smaller so you will be able to store less data, which may push to you to buy the Seagate or Hitachi drive instead

Reply to r0aringdrag0n

Holy cow i have not clue what i was thinking. I think looks took my brain over. I noticed it after i posted this and was like ooops. Thanks for the input though. I plan on playing minecraft at the far render and fancy graphics with a few mods on there. As well as playing some other games like simulators, single player game modes mainly on bf3, mw3, Crysis 2, etc. But i do not need highest settings i just want to mess around. This is just a start of a build i will more then likely upgrade it as time goes on to better stuff. I already have a personal tower for office work stuff.

As well i do plan on doing some overclocking not to much but just a little here and there. Get the feel of this world again. I let an xbox and ps3 consume me too much and really miss out on PC games my budget is about $1000.00 actually though. I was mainly wanting to keep the price so far around there if not cheaper but overall it is about $1000.00

Message edited by xlrdxrevengex on 01-21-2012 at 06:31:07 AM

Reply to xlrdxrevengex

If you plan on playing games like Crysis 2 and BF3 even on single player mode you will need a beefy video card to get playable fps even on medium settings. Being a hardcore gammer or just messing around the game is still the same and requires the same components to get off the ground so to speak. The hardcore gammer will be playing at max resolution and ultra settings thus requireing high powered parts. The games are still very demanding to even start playing and with a low budget video card there will be a lot of lag.

Reply to inzone

Wow things have changed alot. Thanks inzone. I will probably keep researching all of this up to get me back into the swing of things.

Reply to xlrdxrevengex

Best answer

So You want to overclock? There are 2 ways you can go, either go cheaper (AMD route) or go more expensive (Intel). The cheaper route will obviously not performance as well as the more expensive route. By going with AMD, you're able to get an overclockable system for around $650 (not including OS, keyboard, monitor, etc). If you wish to go with Intel, you're going to spend way more than $650 for overclocking. As for Gaming, you do need a beefy graphics card to play modern games with decent settings, however, you don't need a card that is over $300 to play the games and enjoy them.
I would go with these setups for overclocking:

AMD route (Cheaper):
CPU: AMD FX-4100 $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103996

Graphics: SAPPHIRE 100314-3L Radeon HD 6870 $165
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102948

MoBo: ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157280

PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341017

Case: NZXT Gamma $40
http://www.amazon.com/GAMMA-Classi [...] B002UDK9U6

HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148767

RAM: G.SKILL Value Series 8GB $37
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231424

Heatsink+Fan: CM Hyper 212+ $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835103065

DVD-ROM: SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner $16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151244
Total: $648

Explanation: The CPU, FX-4100, is a decent AMD CPU. The reason why AMD is cheaper is because AMD's beginner line of CPUs allow overclocking, therefore bringing the total cost of the computer down. The 6870 is a great graphics card that is capable of playing BF3 on high settings without any problems. The ASRock motherboard has lots of features. It has 2 PCIe slots supporting Crossfire, however, they're set at x16 and x4, which is not optimal for Crossfiring. The OCZ Modstream is a great power supply, it will be more than sufficient in providing power to your computer. The NZXT Gamma is a great case, it is designed for gaming, so longer graphics cards, such as the Radeon 6870 can fit in the case. The Seagate Barracuda is a 500GB drive, it is extremely overpriced but we really can't do too much. 8GB of RAM is more than enough for a gaming computer, I rarely use more than 3GB with google chrome running (average of 10tabs lol) and BF3 running. The Hyper 212+ is for overclocking, if you didn't know already, overclocking heats the CPU more, meaning you need an after market heatsink and fan. The DVD burner is pretty self explanatory.

Intel Route (More expensive):

CPU: Intel i5 2500k $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115072

Graphics: gtx 560Ti $210
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125401

MoBo: ASRock Extreme 3 Z68 $122
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157271

PSU: Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371049

Case: CM HAF 912 $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] =HAF%20912

HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148767

RAM: G.SKILL Value Series 8GB $37
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231424

Heatsink+Fan: CM Hyper 212+ $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835103065

DVD-ROM: SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner $16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151244

Total: $889

Explanation: If you didn't realize, I changed some components that really didn't need to be changed from the other build (such as the graphics card, case, power supply). I did this because you would probably want the components for this build. The Intel i5 2500k is the lowest CPU that allows for overclocking in Intel's line of CPUs, it also happens to be one of the best CPUs for gaming out there. The gtx 560Ti is a step up from the Radeon 6870, I chose this because if you wish to go with Intel, then you would certainly want to have a better graphics card in the system. The ASRock Extreme 3 Z68 is a GREAT board that supports SLI and Crossfire. It is also PCIe 3.0, which means it can support newer graphics cards (the Radeon 7000s series). I chose the Antec 750W because it will give you more room for upgrades in the future (such as SLI). The HAF is a great case, it provides great air flow and has enough room for all your components. The rest of the items on the list are from the previous AMD build

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to r0aringdrag0n

Best answer selected by xlrdxrevengex.

Reply to xlrdxrevengex

Thanks for the info I will be going with the Intel solution and probably change out some but not sure yet. Thanks Again

Reply to xlrdxrevengex

Also one last thing is there any place that has win 7 for a excellent price? OEM Preferred

Reply to xlrdxrevengex

The standard price for Win7 HP 64bit is $100, idk if there are cheaper ones

Reply to r0aringdrag0n

r0aringdrag0n wrote :

HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148767

RAM: G.SKILL Value Series 8GB $37
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231424

So after looking over both of these items i am kind of curious.

First off with the HDD why would i go with 16mb cache instead of 32 or 64? I though you would want more cache correct me if i am wrong.

Secondly I have read many things about ram styles and some people recommend ram without heatspreaders and some with heatspreaders or heatsinks w/e there called. In my head i think that without them air flow is better. Right? My thinking on this is mainly because there is more room for airflow between the sticks where as with h/s you fill the gap even more between your ram which air can now really only pass through the top correct?

Reply to xlrdxrevengex

1. I chose the Seagate drive because it is relatively cheap...since HDDs are so overpriced nowadays
2. Heatspreaders are there to cool your RAM, although I'm pretty sure they don't really make a difference in the RAM temperatures. It only looks fancy, and you make a good point on how it might mess with the airflow.

Reply to r0aringdrag0n

You do want 32 or 64 mb cache and the purpose of the hest spreader is to bring the heat to the top where it can be dissapated better and you don't have to depend on the air flow to get between the sticks. You would need a fan aimed directly between the sticks?

Reply to inzone

So lets redo this and post what i think will work for me.

I decided to go with the a better case. I chose the case mainly because i have herd good things on it and i just really like the style and it is worth the extra cash. So here is the final build list minus OS.

Intel Setup:

Mobo: ASRock z68 Extreme3 Gen3 $121.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157271

CPU: Intel i5-2500k SB $229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115072

RAM: G.Skill value series 2 x4gb (8gb) $36.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231424

PSU:Antec high current 750w $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371049

Graphics:Gigabyte GeForce 560ti $209.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125401

HDD:Seagate Barracuda 500gb $84.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148767

Case: Cooler Master Storm Scout $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119196

Fan: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus $29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835103065

DVD: Samsung 22x DVD Burner $15.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151244

$58.00 in Instant Rebates
$35.00 in Mail In Rebates
$919.91 before s/h
$930.01 w/ s/h
$895.01 w/ s/h after all rebates

I know this does not include the OS but i am fine with that. If anyone has some suggestions please feel free to give in.

I was going to go with the extreme4 over the extreme3 because of the extra slots but after thinking about the extra $63.00 i decided it is way not worth it and i could use the extra 63 someplace else.

Reply to xlrdxrevengex

I like it

Reply to r0aringdrag0n

Good choices !

Reply to inzone

Thanks again for all the help guys. One last thing though. Should i go for a 32mb, 64mb or just stick with the 16mb? I do plan on getting a ssd later on for programs and games i use most

Reply to xlrdxrevengex