First time $1400 budget gaming pc, need input

weedn

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Jan 2, 2012
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i posted a build earlier this month, i changed a few things on it with a higher budget and different deals available on newegg, wanted to get some input, opinions or maybe suggestions on this build from some who know more then I before i finally pull the trigger.

thank you in advanced



Approximate Purchase Date: before jan 30

Budget Range: $1300-$1400 before rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important:gaming, media server, surfing the net

Parts Not Required:monitor, keyboard mouse

Preferred Website(s) for Parts:newegg

Country: usa, las vegas

Parts Preferences: intel, amd with eyefinity

Overclocking: yes, eventually

SLI or Crossfire: maybe

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: need windows 7 in addition to the hardware, need to be able to use multiple monitors, have only 1 for now, going to get 2 more at 1920x1080 each, buying everything with my tax returns, just need some input before i pull the trigger.

here are the parts prices and deals i came up with



Case: NZXT Phantom black w/orange trim full atx tower http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146073 $129.00 + 15% off with promo code

Motherboard:ASRock Extreme 4 GEN3 pcie 3.0 usb 3.0 plus windows 7 64bit SP1 OS http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.791361.13-157-264 $279.98

CPU: intel i5 2500k combo with 8gigs 1600 corsair vengance 240 pin ddr3 RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.805842 $264.98

RAM: ^^^^^8 gigs corsair vengance^^^^^

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1tb 32mb cache with free msi dvd burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697 $134.99

Disk Drive^^^^^msi dvd burner^^^^^

SSD: Corsair Force sata3 120GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233191 $179.99 + $30 MIR

GPU: Sapphire hd6950 2GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102954 $259 + $7.56 S&H + $20 MIR

PSU: Thermaltake 750W Modular PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153136 $89.99 + $20 MIR

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master hyper 212 EVO http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 $34.99

TOTAL: $1366.03 before rebates after promo code for case


Again thank you in advance for the input :D



 
For the most part, it looks reasonable.

1) For the SSD, I would look to Intel, Samsung, or crucial, in that order for reliability.
Read this on component return rates:
http://www.behardware.com/articles/810-6/components-returns-rates.html
While you are at it, check the return rates for your other parts.

2) Thermaltake seens to be of uncerttain quality, I don't know about this particular model.
My short list of quality psu's include PC P&C, Corsair, Seasonic, Antec or XFX.
You might want to pick a tier 1 or 2 unit from this list:
http://www.johnnylucky.org/power-supplies/ranking.html

3) You might want to defer the hard drive purchase until the current crazy prices come back to normal. A 120gb SSD by itself will hold the OS and a dozen games.
 
^+1 on the delayed HDD, especially if you have an external HDD or something for your music/media.

I think the SSD'll be OK. Those are generally seen as the most reliable brands, yes, but they're significantly more expensive. Just back up; most SSDs fail at a rate comparable to HDDs.

Go for a $90 XFX 80+ Silver 750W PSU.
My short list: Antec, NZXT, Corsair, XFX, Silverstone, OCZ, Seasonic.

That mobo's a little expensive. I'd either drop to a $120 Gigabyte Z68A-D3H-B3 or add $5 for an excellent MSI Z68A-GD80.
 

The part about most reliable ssds are more expensive by a lot, but the crucial m4 is better, more space, and only $5 more
 

somekidxd

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I would wait on HDD, but you can if you want to, just add it in. But heres a suggestion:(can +$90 for i7 2600k). If you want to stay closeyour budget, i would go for a hitachi 500gb 7200rpm and i7 2600k with the below list and the price is around $1430.

Intel Core i5 2500k $230
Asrock Extreme3 Gen3 $122
GIGABYTE GTX 570 $345
Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory $40
Crucial M4 128GB $185
Antec 750w $100
LG CD/DVD Burner 22x $20
Corsair 400r $100
Cooler Master hyper 212 EVO $35
Windows 7 $100

Total: $1277

GTX 570>6950. Even in CF/SLI.

 

weedn

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Jan 2, 2012
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ok guys thanks for all the input.

im going to go with that plexor m3 for my ssd, going with a antec eathwatts 750W psu, going to drop the HDD down to a 500GB hitachi, its a pretty decent price for what it is and it will take me awhile to fill that up, i need to have decent storage because my other 1TB HDD that i have is nearly full and i dont want to put anymore stress on it.

im going to use the savings to go with an hd6970 instead, it only puts me $10 overbudget for far greater performance.

going to stick with all the other same stuff, the 2500k is all i need since im not going to do any video editing or anything, ill stick with the mobo, the price it shows on my list looks high because its comboed with windows 7, its a good price for what it is

here is an updated list, let me know what you guys think

Case: NZXT Phantom black w/orange trim full atx tower http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146073 $129.00 + 15% off with promo code

Motherboard:ASRock Extreme 4 GEN3 pcie 3.0 usb 3.0 plus windows 7 64bit SP1 OS COMBO http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.791361.13-157-264 $279.98

OS:^^^^windows 7 home premium 64 bit sp1^^^^

CPU: intel i5 2500k COMBO with 8gigs 1600 corsair vengance 240 pin ddr3 RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.805842 $264.98

RAM: ^^^^^8 gigs corsair vengance^^^^^

HDD: hitachi 500GB HDD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145299 $69.99 with $10 off promo code

Disk Drive: asus dvd burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 $18.99

SSD: plexor m3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820249014 $184.99 +$2 shipping

GPU: xfx HD6970 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150517 $349.99 + $25 MIR

PSU: antec earthwatts 750W psu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371051

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master hyper 212 EVO http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 $34.99

TOTAL before rebates, after shipping and promo codes $1409.50+ $25 MIR


i think i like this setup much better, gives me enough storage to last me till prices come back down and will perform greater then what i had before
hopefully the wait wont be to long for the HDD prices to recover

let me know what you guys think and thanks again for all the advice, its really paying off :D
 
I'll repeat my earlier advice:
That mobo's a little expensive. I'd either drop to a $120 Gigabyte Z68A-D3H-B3 or add $5 for an excellent MSI Z68A-GD80, though you probably don't need it.

Get a Patriot Pyro SSD instead. It's got the same capacity and the same price, but it's faster.

Why do you keep replacing "Antec" with "Corsair"? It's an Antec Earthwatts PSU.
 

weedn

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my bad on the antec corsair confusion, i fixed it

that MSI Z68A-GD80 board looks great, but its like $50 more expensive then the asrock one i picked or the equally priced ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3, and $100 more then the gigabyte one you recommended. this is off of newegg, unless you have a link to one that is $125, if so im all there

MSI Z68A-GD80 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130610 $229.99

ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131792 $179.99

ASROCK EXTREME4 GEN3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157264 $184.99

the Gigabyte Z68A-D3H-B3 looks good, but is it pcie 3.0 compatible? newegg doesnt mention this on there product page at all. and it doesnt have any usb 3.0 headers on it, i dont want to have to go through the trouble of getting an adapter to use the port on the top of the case

i think i might switch to the ASUS mobo. its $5 cheaper then the one i had.
 

ToKiiNzSo1337

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Jan 26, 2012
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the guy that said about the 570 sounds good but go down to a 120$ ASrock extreme Gen3 p67 mobo they are great for gaming and make sure you have a good airflow case he said the corsair 400r and that is arguably the best 100$ case around
 

weedn

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im aware that the IB 1155 CPU's are required for even using pcie 3.0, however, im not to keen on that subject, i just figured having it would help pave the way for future GPU upgradability for the next few years, granted i end up getting an IB CPU, probably be a good 2 years before i think about that though.

but if you think its not all that necessary then i think ill go for that gigabyte you posted, thank you for the info.

ive also been doing a little case research, although i like that phantom a lot, ive been eyeing the rosewill thor v2 and corsair 500r.

on newegg there a little more expensive then that phantom currently since its on sale, but i think the others may be more practical then it also

suggestions? or thoughts?
 
You don't really need to worry about practicality in your price range. Almost any case that you can find above $60, let alone $100, will work just fine. Choose by stylistic preference.
 

weedn

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i was sorta thinking the same thing, thats why i went with the phantom in the first place.

but those white thor v2 and 500r's look pretty cool too, ill just go off of personal preference on that, since they all seem to be pretty good, ill probably stroll into frys and see if they have any on display i can look at up close and personal before i make that decision

thanks for all the help!

ill post what i end up with after i make the order, should be getting that tax return deposite any day now