Budget Gamer PC - Review my list of parts please!

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infektion

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Feb 10, 2012
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Ok, so this is a list of parts for a machine that I put together for my brother about a month ago. I'm wondering if there are any obvious changes or small upgrades in price that would yield big upgrades in performance. His is doing great, and I'm about to build one for myself.

Note: SSD for the OS and games (currently World of Warcraft - future will be Diablo 3 and might get back into first person shooter games). I have a 160gb SATA that I will use for music/pictures.

Seems like one of the best Z68 boards out there.
MB: GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Is the Core i7 really worth $100 more? I'm thinking the i5 will be fine for now...?
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B

Is the Vertex 3 worth the price difference here... (wow, actually only $4 more with the mail in rebate - was a bigger price gap before)?
HDD: OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
HDD: OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

DVD: ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM

PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply

Really open to other options on the case. I do like the front/top USB and Audio inputs, but would like to find something a little smaller with a side window - although I could always cut my own :D
Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

THIS is where I need your help. There was a slightly less powerful crossfire or SLI card on Amazon for $100 less than this one a month ago, but I can't find it again. Is this a good card for the money, or is there something cheaper in price that will work just as, or almost as good?
GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Thanks for your input.
-Erik
 
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What's not to like? The i5-2500K is the great sweetspot in processors. Gigabyte makes good z68 boards. The PSU should do OK for 2 card SLI if you don't go too much bigger. The Asus optical drive is all I put in my builds anymore. Quiet and dependable. I have the HAF 912 case and it is great for cooling and roomy behind the mobo panel for hiding cables. The 560ti at $250 is a great card. It's only one tier down from the 570; http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
...and that cost $100 more. Evga is tops in cards. Good choice.

I don't see an after-market cooler in your list. If you decide on one later, those tall RAM heat syncs could be an issue. Plus they make the sticks fatter and less...

EzioAs

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I'd rather go for the MSI GTX560ti twin frozr 2, can overclock better and still keep temps below 65 degrees and chepear btw. Crucial M4 is the most reliable ssd at this time, get this one. Everything else seems good but if you're planning on overclocking, which i assume you're going to since you pick the 2500k, but an aftermarket cooler, a good one would be the thermaltake frio. If not, change to the i5-2400
 

clutchc

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What's not to like? The i5-2500K is the great sweetspot in processors. Gigabyte makes good z68 boards. The PSU should do OK for 2 card SLI if you don't go too much bigger. The Asus optical drive is all I put in my builds anymore. Quiet and dependable. I have the HAF 912 case and it is great for cooling and roomy behind the mobo panel for hiding cables. The 560ti at $250 is a great card. It's only one tier down from the 570; http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
...and that cost $100 more. Evga is tops in cards. Good choice.

I don't see an after-market cooler in your list. If you decide on one later, those tall RAM heat syncs could be an issue. Plus they make the sticks fatter and less air can move between them. Personally, I always go with unshrouded memory sticks. Call me old school, but I don't think the heatsyncs do much good; they're just there 'cause they look sexy.

I have no experience with OCZ SSDs, so I'll leave that for others. But the Crucial M4 line is highly rated, although a bit expensive. I have the little 64GB SSD w/500GB HDD. When the 64GB fills up, I may move up to something bigger. (and hopefully, cheaper by then)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=-1&IsNodeId=1&Description=crucial%20m4&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20
 
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infektion

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Feb 10, 2012
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Thanks,

I ended up getting the Gigabyte board, i5, and the TX750 PSU.

I changed the SSD to the Crucial m4 128gb drive ($15 cheaper at Amazon than NewEgg).

I changed the case to a Xclio Nighthawk Color

I changed the RAM to Crucial Ballistix 8gb with Red and Green LED's on it

And they were sold out of the ASUS drive, so I got a Samsung LightScribe drive that was cheaper, figure I might never use lightscribe discs but what the hey....

Video card/cards to be decided at a later time. For now I just want to get the thing running and I'll use the onboard for a few months. As soon as Diablo 3 drops the prices on the current good models will come down.
 

clutchc

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Sounds like you are going to have a fun build. Be sure to breadboard the motherboard, CPU/HSF, memory, PSU before putting it all together. Then see if it boots into BIOS as it should. That way you won't have to tear everything apart if you get a DOA component. Enjoy.
 
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