My Computer

[matthebat]

Hey everyone, I just finished planning* my new computer and I was wondering if all the parts worked together and it was the best choice...

*I haven't bought the compnents yet but I have asked around and looked at their catalogue and picked the components that I think will work best with my budget.

Budget: $1500

Buying From: PCDIY (This is not up for debate)

Resolution: 1960x1080

Components NOT required: Mouse

Country: Australia

Being Built: Next Week

Specifications of Computer:

MOTHERBOARD: Z68X-UD3H-B3
CORE: i7 2700K
RAM: 8GB kit 2133 (4GB x 2) G. Skill Ripjaws-X CL11
GRAPHICS CARD: AMD Radeon 6970 2GB Gigabyte OC
PSU: Antec TP 750W
MONITOR: 21.5" Samsung S22A300B
SPEAKERS: 5.1 Surround Speakers Edifier M1550
OS: MS OEM 64Bit Windows 7 Home Premium
KEYBOARD: Microsoft Curve 2000
CASE: NZXT Lexa S Black Steel

Total Price: $1525

I realise that I am slightly over budget but I am allowed to have this. I can't go any more over budget, if you think I should change/add something that would increase the price, please also suggest something that I can 'down-grade' so that the budget is still intact.

Please let me know if there's something I've missed or these parts don't work together or you just think that I'm making the wrong choice with one of the components mentioned above...

 

[tlmck]

It all looks good, although I would opt for a 7970 card if the budget allowed.

I would also think you might need a motherboard to plug all that into. A Gigabyte or ASUS board with a z68 chipset is preferred. If you do plan on the 7970 card, a board with PCIe 3.0 is best. The 6970 will be fine with a 2.0 spec board.

The processor is fine, but for gaming the i5-2500k is just as good.

The ram is a bit overkill, and you may also have trouble finding boards to support it. For OC, DDR3 1600 with CL9 or lower timing will be good, although the better quality Gskill 1333 speed stuff can handle a bit of overclock as well. Non OC default is 1333 anyway.

You might also consider a 23" monitor. It has sort of become the gaming standard, and number one seller overall.

Everything else looks great.

 

[matthebat]

The budget doesn't allow for a 7970 card.

Sorry, I must have missed the motherboard when choosing the parts. I think I'm going with a Z68X-UD3H-B3. I'm not sure if it'll be compatible or not though...

I will be using the computer for more than gaming, I will be using it to make 3D objects and do some animating as well which is why I decided to go with the 2700K.

The 23" monitor doesn't fit into my budget, unless you can tell me something that I can cut down on to put it in, besides, I don't see it as something that is as necessary as a graphics card and stuff.

 

[tlmck]

You could drop to a 650 watt PSU if you are staying with one video card.

Also, unless you plan on heavy overclocking, the 1333 speed ram will be fine. Get 8gb now, and pick up another 8gb later.

You could go with a lower cost Gigabyte or ASUS z68 board. The quality is the same, it's just that the lower cost boards will have less features. Even the lower cost uATX board will do dual vid cards these days. I believe one of the main features of your selected board is that it does triple card video. My ASUS P8Z68-M Pro, is not the lowest cost board, but it is a very good uATX board that will also do dual cards. It has been flawless so far. In think even the $108 dollar Gigabyte may work for you.

Now that you mention the 3D objects and animating, I do recall reading recently that the new 7970 cards are supposed to excel at this sort of thing. You might research getting something like a PCIe 3.0 z68 board, a i5-2500k and a 7970 card. It may be a better deal that way, I do not know. I think I also read that the new Intel Ivy Bridge chips coming in April will help even more with such stuff. I don't have any real experience with such things other than some light AutoCAD years ago, and we had workstation machines that did not do gaming. Anyway, might be worth checking out.