Input on this $1000 Budget Build for Gaming

[xposeidon]

Hey guys I'd like some input on this build, it's to be around a 1000 dollar budget, i initially had planned to buy an i7-2600k cpu but after research seems like i5-2500k will run a game just as good, on which i took advantage to upgrade the graphics card instead, some of these parts were recommended by a game building website. Anyways my plan with this one is to run Guild Wars 2 on High/Ultra settings, which from what I read my graphics card should accomplish, how does everything else look?

- CPU - i5-2500K - 267.99(Updated)
- Motherboard - ASUS P8Z68-V PRO Version - 189.99 (Updated)
- CPU Cooler - CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler - 34.99 (Updated)
- Graphics Card - GTX 570 by Asus (I like this, either this or the GTX 560Ti) - 349.99
- Power Supply - Thermaltake TRX-650M TR2 RX 650-Watt Modular Power Supply - 84.99 (Updated)
- Hard Drive - Seagate ST95005620AS Momentus XT 500GB Solid State Hybrid Drive - 500GB, 7200 RPM, SATA 3Gb/s - 139.99
- Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B Vengeance Desktop Memory Kit (Very Recommended) - 8gb (2x4g) DDR3 - 44.99
- Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy SE - 29.99
- NZXT LEXS-001BK Lexa S Crafted Series Mid Tower PC Case - 69.99
- Sony Optiarc AD7280S-OB 24x DVDRW Drive (Basic thing for game discs) - 17.99

Total - $1,253.47 (Updated)

Let me know what you think and if the parts seem good enough, main concerns are the hard drive/power supply.

 

[xtremegamer2da-max]

change psu to corsair ax650 change ram to g.skill and save up 4 a corsair force series 3 60gb ssd

 

[catatafish]

+1 on the corsair PSU, don't skimp on the PSU.

I'm assuming you're going to overclock since you're buying the "K" CPU, so you'll want an aftermarket PSU cooler. The case coolers have no bearing on the PSU cooling really. The hyper 212 evo is a popular choice.

Is there a reason you're going premium on the mobo? You can get a very nice mobo for $180 range. I'm very happy with my ASUS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131792&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Motherboards+-+Intel-_-ASUS-_-13131792

 

[quicksand10]

Agh, I thought I posted earlier but I guess I didn't!

I suggest dropping the CPU+Motherboard bundle. Get the 2500k and a Z68 motherboard, like the ASUS P8Z68-V LX (solid, value, USB3, SATA III).

Everything looks good other than that. Your PSU is definitely enough.

One last thing, I have a question... (usually I don't ask because people who get sound cards know about sound more than I do)
Why are you getting a sound card?

EDIT: Also, consider getting the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler with some Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste to give you a bit more overclocking margin.

 

[xposeidon]

Okay I'll probably switch to the Corsair CPU, and get that Asus Mobo that you guys like, the reason for room for improvement is my budget is tight right now but with time I can add/upgrade stuff, such as more ram, a SSD, etc.

Sound card I was getting because I have my pc connected to a stereo and I want to get good sound out of it.

If the cooler is really necessary then I'll take a look at that Hyper 212.

About overclocking, I probably won't at first but if I find the need then I wanted to keep it an option.

As for the RAM, will the switch from Corsair to G.Skill make that much impact?

With the PSU and motherboard replacement and cooler I'm sitting at $1,117.88

Thanks for the replies and I await your new input with the added info.

Edit: I also stumbled across this bundle, looks okay but the gpus is a downgrade, let me know what you think. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2062562&CatId=4149

 

[catatafish]

As for the RAM, will the switch from Corsair to G.Skill make that much impact?

One is red with fancy fins, the other is black with ribs.....so no. Pick the one you like to look at.

Edit:
Nice bundle, a little overkill on the cooler. The GPU still pwns.

 

[quicksand10]

Really good bundle actually... i7-2600k unnecessary but for the price it's pretty good.

However, like catatafish said, the liquid cooler really is overkill.

 

[xposeidon]

Overkill? Is that bad? Also looking at this bundle and my current setup, which is updated, Do you recommend going for the bundle or keep the build?

Edit - I'm liking the bundle more and more, 16gb ram, 60gb SSD upgraded cpu and good motherboard, the only downgrade if, is the gpu but that can always be upgraded?

 

[quicksand10]

Yup.

And no, the liquid cooler is not necessarily bad if you take the time to install it correctly. The only issue is that mistakes can easily happen.

That said, for the price, if you are iffy on using the water cooling stuff, you can get the bundle and you can get a CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO and use that, all while staying in your price range.

And yeah, if you find that the GPU isn't good enough, you can always sell it online (kijiji, craigslist, that beautiful stuff..) and buy another one!

 

[tekman42]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703030

ABSOLUTELY THE MOST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK!

I gave this same answer just a few minutes ago and it is very applicable here as well as a better bargain by far...saves you $50 after rebate and provides more power that is also super clean! Use that savings to upgrade the gpu if you need to!


I've been building pcs for 10+ years and I have exclusively built with these
LEGENDARY psus without a single failure...if you read through the cons at newegg...there's only one that indicates a failure...ONLY ONE...and it WAS 4-5 years old before any issue arose...PCPower&Cooling is absolutely reliable and I have performed extensive research on the PSU as it's developed over the past decade and I have found NONE that surpass these psus for reliability and RIPPLE FREE power...the dip experienced when first placing a load on the psu or during extended heavy loads being placed on the psu can create a ripple in the delivered power...the power output from these psus is beyond rock solid and steady...there's virtually NO FLUCTUATION on any portion of the power output...be it 1.5v, 3.3v, 5v, or 12v.

PCPower&Cooling has only subscribed to the SINGLE RAIL design...the psu also exhausts its heat OUT THE BACK of the case thereby not adding to the heat buildup inside the case and it's not MODULAR.

The modular design is a bad idea from an engineers point of view...since modular cabling introduces another "point of failure" into the power scheme! The first designs of modular cables for psus didn't go so well and although in the past 4-5 years the design of the connectors are vastly superior...the point of failure is still there where as solderd connections for all cables is much more reliable in every way.

I'm always willing to give up a bit aesthetically speaking (pretty cabling) for performance AND reliability as well as limiting points of failure as much as possible. It definitely makes troubleshooting a machine that is being stubborn much easier if I don't have to worry about power, the connections for power and heat issues inside my case that arise from inadequate ventilation or unnecessary heat being introduced.

The psu I included also has a manufacturers rebate that drops the price down to below a $100...that's a steal no matter how you look at it and provides for WORRY FREE POWER period. It also almost guarantees no issues with power causing bsod's and machine crashes because of instabilities in the power being supplies or the cabling connectors having increased resistance.

This is from someone who has worked around electricity and electronics for most of 40 years.
I prefer not to have to even worry about the power being supplied, the quality of the build, and/or the connections being faulty, not that I don't ever check, I monitor all voltages on my machine continously when up and running...right on my desktop...but I have never had an issue of ANY KIND with PCPower&Cooling psus period.

My design envelope for any build of a pc includes this note...always spend as much as you can on the power supply...whatever you can afford...the psu is the absolute heart of the machine...without a stable supply of power...the headaches are immense...with a stable supply....ALL COMPONENTS BENEFIT and longevity as well as performance is IMPROVED. That's a fact that cannot be denied!

 

[xposeidon]

So I debated it and after research on the parts I decided it wasn't the bundle for me, the ssd reviews indicated it was faulty, that would have left me with a 5900 rpm hard drive, not too bad but not good enough for what i wanted. The motherboard is good but the graphics that came with it were not going to be enough, and the motherboard wouldn't have let me STI, just corssfire, however the gpu in the bundle is nvidia. So the upgrades i would have made later to replace these items would have been a much greater cost than getting it right the first time.

So I'm going back to my initial build, back on the top which is updated, only items in question really are the Hard Drive and the PSU, the corsair ax650 seems great but the price not so much, and the Hard drive, well im looking around but not too many reviews, looking for something with at least 7200rpm and 500+gb, lastly in question is the case, this was recommended by a website however I don't know how cable management/fans are, this is my 1st build so something that will fit what i have will be great.

let me know what you guys recommend, I am planning to get a SSD and more ram in the future.

Edit: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=744446&CatId=5300 Considering this, size is small but i think it might be enough (will check later on my current pc how much I use) My only questions about this are, is there any cons to using a SSD as your main drive? will it die faster? slow down after a while? etc. Thank You.


Don't...
Bump posts
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/283384-33-read-first

 

[quicksand10]

The PSU is good, the Hard drive, not so much, especially if you're thinking of getting an SSD later. Tom's did a review on it recently, and said it's a good drive for a laptop, but not so good for a desktop, only because an SSD+HDD is an option.

Get a Seagate Barracuda 6Gbps 7200RPM 500GB or Western Digital Caviar Blue (or Caviar Black) 6.0Gbps 7200RPM.

For the case, consider the Antec Three Hundred Two?

 

[xposeidon]

Best answer selected by xposeidon.

 

[xposeidon]

Thanks for your help guys, My final build was

i5-2500k
p8z68-V Pro Motherboard
760w Power Supply
Nvidia GTX 570
The Optical Drive
1tb western digital hdd 7200 rpm
hyper 212 evo
antec 900 black steel mid-atx case (pretty awesome case)
8gb g.skill ram
sound blaster card

Pretty happy with this system with a lot of room for improvement, I installed Skyrim and is running on Ultra settings no problem, it's actually very cool cause of the case which comes with 4 fans, my gpu idles at 30c and the most i've seen it go is 65c, cpu is usually 20c along with the rest of the system, however i'll start overclocking soon but I'll leave that for another thread.