- Jan 31, 2012
- 33
- 0
- 18,540
Purchase Date: Anytime Now through mid-year 2012
System Usage: Gaming, internet
Not needed: Monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers
Preferred Parts from : Newegg
Country: USA
Overclocking : Not planned
SLI or Crossfire : Not planned
Resolution : 1680 x 1050 (for now)
Okay, so it's been a very long time since I build my own computer (think Celeron 333 OCed to 450+, mid 90s style). Since then I've just been making do with prebuilt Dell systems. I've been generally happy with these in terms of longevity and performance (I don't usually demand the high performance, and my dells last typically more than 5 years). Lately though, I've looking for a new system, and dell has moved away from the performance/price range I like with there being too big a gap between the 8300 XPS which can only be fitted with a 6770 and the silly Alienwares that either start at $2k or are goofy xbox lookalikes.
With that said, I've been lurking here and reading up on components. I've put together the list below, but would like input on my choices. Generally, I'll be sticking to a single video card. I'm mainly making this system to play the upcoming Guild wars 2, which probably won't demand the very highest end video cards, and I'd like to play Skyrim, which does. I am however, willing to pay a premium to achieve the following goals (in order of importance):
1.) Longevity/quality (Won't die after a year because it's cheap or at the bleeding edge)
2.) Quietness (would like a system that doesn't sound like an aircraft taking off)
3.) furtureproof (this is hard, but an example is; I'd like PCI 3 capabilities in case the next gen cards are really impressive).
I'm not willing to pay a big premium to squeeze that extra 10-15% performance out.
NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811146068
$109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136939Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARX 1TB IntelliPower SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136939
$119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127608MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support ...
Item #: N82E16814127608
$269.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817116015NZXT HALE82 HALE82-750-M 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817116015
$109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233170CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9B
Item #: N82E16820233170
$59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130610MSI Z68A-GD80 (G3) LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Item #: N82E16813130610
$229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ...
$229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
$189.99
Total price before rebates: $1319.92 ($1209.92 after)
Are these good components? Am I overdoing it on the MB or GPU (I read that games like Skyrim can benefit from 2GB over 1)? Is that PSU any good (I know it's probably overpowered, but I like modular design). Can you see ways I can cut the price a bit without sacrificing quality?
Alternatively, I've got some time before Guild wars 2 is released, and if you think waiting a few months would be worthwhile, let me know what I should be looking for (Ivy bridge, 28nm GPUs, etc...)
I've always used NVidia, but I don't need to be, if there is an AMD product that would be better for the money.
Thanks!
(Edit) I will be using Win7 Pro which I can get from work for $25, and a optical drive that I've got floating around.(/Edit)
System Usage: Gaming, internet
Not needed: Monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers
Preferred Parts from : Newegg
Country: USA
Overclocking : Not planned
SLI or Crossfire : Not planned
Resolution : 1680 x 1050 (for now)
Okay, so it's been a very long time since I build my own computer (think Celeron 333 OCed to 450+, mid 90s style). Since then I've just been making do with prebuilt Dell systems. I've been generally happy with these in terms of longevity and performance (I don't usually demand the high performance, and my dells last typically more than 5 years). Lately though, I've looking for a new system, and dell has moved away from the performance/price range I like with there being too big a gap between the 8300 XPS which can only be fitted with a 6770 and the silly Alienwares that either start at $2k or are goofy xbox lookalikes.
With that said, I've been lurking here and reading up on components. I've put together the list below, but would like input on my choices. Generally, I'll be sticking to a single video card. I'm mainly making this system to play the upcoming Guild wars 2, which probably won't demand the very highest end video cards, and I'd like to play Skyrim, which does. I am however, willing to pay a premium to achieve the following goals (in order of importance):
1.) Longevity/quality (Won't die after a year because it's cheap or at the bleeding edge)
2.) Quietness (would like a system that doesn't sound like an aircraft taking off)
3.) furtureproof (this is hard, but an example is; I'd like PCI 3 capabilities in case the next gen cards are really impressive).
I'm not willing to pay a big premium to squeeze that extra 10-15% performance out.
NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811146068
$109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136939Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARX 1TB IntelliPower SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136939
$119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127608MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support ...
Item #: N82E16814127608
$269.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817116015NZXT HALE82 HALE82-750-M 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817116015
$109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233170CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9B
Item #: N82E16820233170
$59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130610MSI Z68A-GD80 (G3) LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Item #: N82E16813130610
$229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ...
$229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
$189.99
Total price before rebates: $1319.92 ($1209.92 after)
Are these good components? Am I overdoing it on the MB or GPU (I read that games like Skyrim can benefit from 2GB over 1)? Is that PSU any good (I know it's probably overpowered, but I like modular design). Can you see ways I can cut the price a bit without sacrificing quality?
Alternatively, I've got some time before Guild wars 2 is released, and if you think waiting a few months would be worthwhile, let me know what I should be looking for (Ivy bridge, 28nm GPUs, etc...)
I've always used NVidia, but I don't need to be, if there is an AMD product that would be better for the money.
Thanks!
(Edit) I will be using Win7 Pro which I can get from work for $25, and a optical drive that I've got floating around.(/Edit)
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