$750-ish Homebuilt computer: what do you think?

[Mardoo87]

Hey, I'm in the market for a new homebuilt with parts purchased from newegg.com. I put together a wishlist which added up to close the maximum price I'd be willing to pay for a new PC ($800). I'm not very tech-savy though, so I'd imagine at least a few of the parts I have on my list are not compatible with each other. I'd like some professional advice on the matter. If any of these parts I'm going to list are not compatible with each other, then I'd like to know if there are better (similarly priced or cheaper) alternatives out there.

So here's what I have so far:

Intel Core i5-2500K Processor - $219.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

OCZ ZT Series 650W Power Supply - $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341051

BIOSTAR TZ68K+ Motherboard - $124.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138344

SAPPHIRE FleX Radeon HD 6870 Video Card - $199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102924

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB RAM - $46.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

Cooler Master Storm Scout Tower - $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196

Total Price minus S&H: $771.94

 

[sosofm]

PSU : SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095 90$
GPU : SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948 170$
In 200$ price range buy a 560Ti video card
EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604 225$ and 210$ after rebates.

 

[Mardoo87]

Thanks, but I can't help but notice you listed two different videocards (the Sapphire and the GeForce). Do they go well if you use them together, or are you just giving me two different options?

 

[dish_moose]

Not from my personal experience but Biostar is not recommended on this forum very often. AsRock, Asus, Gigabyte.... just read a few posts.
-Bruce

 

[striker410]

Hi! Welcome to the forums.

Looks like a good outline, there's just a few things that could use some adjusting.
-First off, I'm not seeing a DVD drive or HDD. Do you have these already, and are planning to recycle them?
-You have a 2500k but no aftermarket heatsink. If you don't want to overclock, change to an i5-2400.
-I assume this is a gaming machine. For gaming, GPU performance is more important than CPU performance. Now you still need a balance but the GPU should be the focus.

I took your build and tweaked it a little to make it fit better. Tell me what you think!
-CPU: i5-2400 $180 ($10 promo)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074

Mobo: ASRock H61 USB3 $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157236
Or if you're a fan of the feature rich
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

PSU: Antec 500D $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035
GPU: AMD HD 7850 $260 (when in stock)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127663
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 2x4GB 1600MHz $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226191
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181
DVD: LG DVD burner $17
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136236
Case: NZXT Source 210 $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146076

That will give you phenomenal performance for a reasonable cost. Okay, I overspent by $40. However this is a pretty damn fine build for the money. If you live near a Microcenter, you can shave off $30 by getting the 2400 there.

 

[aznshinobi]

Check out my $650 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore
Just switch to the 7850 since you have that extra $100.

Pretty much summed up above. The new 7850 and 7870 have much better performance, they cost less, they are quieter, cooler and overclock better. Plus they consume much less power.

 

[Mardoo87]

Hi! Welcome to the forums.

Looks like a good outline, there's just a few things that could use some adjusting.
-First off, I'm not seeing a DVD drive or HDD. Do you have these already, and are planning to recycle them?
-You have a 2500k but no aftermarket heatsink. If you don't want to overclock, change to an i5-2400.
-I assume this is a gaming machine. For gaming, GPU performance is more important than CPU performance. Now you still need a balance but the GPU should be the focus.

I took your build and tweaked it a little to make it fit better. Tell me what you think!
-CPU: i5-2400 $180 ($10 promo)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074

Mobo: ASRock H61 USB3 $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157236
Or if you're a fan of the feature rich
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

PSU: Antec 500D $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035
GPU: AMD HD 7850 $260 (when in stock)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127663
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 2x4GB 1600MHz $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226191
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181
DVD: LG DVD burner $17
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136236
Case: NZXT Source 210 $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146076

That will give you phenomenal performance for a reasonable cost. Okay, I overspent by $40. However this is a pretty damn fine build for the money. If you live near a Microcenter, you can shave off $30 by getting the 2400 there.
http://media.bestofmicro.com/P/E/328802/original/Avg Game Perf.png

That's nice, but should I stick with the PC Tower I already listed?

Also, I wanted to ask about recyling old hardware: I have a Rosewill RP600V2-S-SL 600W ATX12V v2.01 SLI Ready Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182032&Tpk=Rosewill%20600w) and my current PC tower is an APEVIA X-Infinity ATXB6KLW-BK/420 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 420W Power Supply (I replaced the 420W PSU with the Rosewill) Would I save money by keeping these two bits of hardware, or should I replace it with the PC tower and PSU I have on my wishlist?

 

[striker410]

That's nice, but should I stick with the PC Tower I already listed?

Also, I wanted to ask about recyling old hardware: I have a Rosewill RP600V2-S-SL 600W ATX12V v2.01 SLI Ready Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182032&Tpk=Rosewill%20600w) and my current PC tower is an APEVIA X-Infinity ATXB6KLW-BK/420 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 420W Power Supply (I replaced the 420W PSU with the Rosewill) Would I save money by keeping these two bits of hardware, or should I replace it with the PC tower and PSU I have on my wishlist?

Erm, I'm not sure. That Rosewill is not really the highest quality piece of hardware out there. While I'm sure it would be fine, there's always a chance.

Yeah, I tried to fit your chosen case into the budget, wasn't able to. I overspent as it is :lol: The PSU I suggested is plenty for a 7850, no need to spend more really.

 

[aznshinobi]

Wouldn't use the older Rosewill's except the Hive, Green, and Capstonee.

The tower is reusable if you want to.

 

[Mardoo87]

Ahh, good. The tower will save me money. And I reckon I can keep the Rosewill in the unlikely event that 500w is not enough for my PC. But we'll see. Thanks a bunch everyone.

 

[aznshinobi]

Couldn't fine a review on your specific PSU but here's a 500w from the same series.
http://hardocp.com/article/2009/02/16/entry_level_power_supply_roundup/9
It was given a fail, though I'd take that lightly as HardOCP doesn't always have the most accurate use of "fail" since some PSUs I've seen been given gold elsewhere, they've given a fail.