1st Build 1300-1500 Budget

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Thalamus

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Mar 26, 2012
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Good Evening Everyone :)

Approximate Purchase Date: Next Couple Weeks

Budget Range:$1300-$1500 USD

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Surfing and Word Processing

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Would like to get most from one site due to shipping costs but have been researching Newegg and Tigerdirect but am rather new to the scene and lost

Country: USA

Parts Preferences:by brand or type: None I think. I have always been told Intel was the way to go which is why I chose the CPU that I did

Overclocking: No Clue

SLI or Crossfire:No Clue

Monitor Resolution:Not sure upgrading monitor soon after

Additional Comments:I know people have asked these questions a million times and I am sure some are tired of answering but I know some people enjoy helping others in thier bid for little bit of PC happiness. I personally am deciding to try and assemble my own because I cannot seem to find a prebuilt that has everything I "think" I want/need. So I decided to bring it here to see if someone can help me since I dont really know which is better and which is not necessary or overpriced for what it does etc. So I went onto newegg and didnt have much luck but I went onto Tigerdirect recently and these are the items I have decided on.. The only think I know is I want a case that can maybe handle upgrades or new harware later on and not confined with no space.

Mobo: ASUS P8Z68-V LX Intel Z68 Motherboard - ATX, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Intel Z68 Express, 2200MHz-DDR3 (O.C.), SATA 6.0 Gb/s, RAID, 8-CH Audio, Gigabit LAN, SuperSpeed USB 3.0, CrossFireX Ready
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1124769&sku=A455-3505
129.99

Processor: Intel Core i5-2500 BX80623I52500 Processor - Quad Core, 6MB L3 Cache, 1MB L2 Cache, 3.30 GHz (3.70 GHz Max Turbo), Socket H2 (LGA1155), 95W, Fan, Retail
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7073162&sku=I69-2500
209.99 (Before Rebate)

Video Card: EVGA 01G-P3-1460-KR GeForce GTX 560 Video Card - 1GB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), 2x Dual-Link DVI-I, Mini-HDMI, DirectX 11, Dual-Slot, SLI Ready
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=555323&sku=E145-1560
195.99 (Before Rebate)

Power Supply: Corsair CMPSU-750TXV2 Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 Power Supply - 750 Watts, ATX, 140mm Fan, 80 Plus Bronze, SLI Ready, Active PFC
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7195038&sku=C13-2802
Price: 104.99 (Before Rebate)

Case: Corsair Obsidian Series® 650D Mid Tower Case - ATX, Micro ATX, 4x Ext 5.25", 6x Int 3.5", 2x 200mm Fans, 1x 120mm Fan, 4x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0, 1x IEEE 1394, 4-Channel Fan Controller
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7134880&sku=C13-2515
Price: 174.99 (Before Rebate)

Optical: Lite-On IHAS324-98 Internal DVD Writer - DVD+R 24X, DVD-R 24X, DVD+RW 8X, DVD-RW 6X, CD-R 48X, CD-RW 32X, SATA
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5311068&sku=L12-1348
Price: 29.99

Cooler: Corsair CAFA50 A50 Air Series Performance CPU Cooler - 120mm, LGA 775, LGA 1366, LGA 1156, AM2, AM3
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6101294&sku=C13-2572
Price: 24.99

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64BIT Operating System Software - OEM DVD, English
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5213932&sku=M17-7302
Price: 99.99

Other (No Clue if Even Needed): Masscool STARS-700 Silver Color Thermal Grease
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6470733&sku=S457-2646
Price: 9.99

Hard Drive: Western Digital WD1002FAEX 1TB Caviar Black Hard Drive - 1TB, 7200RPM, 64MB, SATA 6Gbs
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6076939&sku=TSD-1000FAEX
Price: 139.99

SSD: I Hear having one for windows to load is smart...dont know

RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue 16GB (4x 4GB) DDR3-1600MHz Desktop Memory Kit
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1749425&sku=C13-5720%20B
Price: 86.99

Networking: Linksys WMP54G PCI Wireless Adapter - 54Mbps, 802.11g
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=628082&sku=L48-2200
Price: 49.96

Total:1257.86 Before Shipping and Rebates

I am sadly new and want to make sure I can get the best I can. I mainly use it for light class work and playing older games but would like my wife and I to be able to play wow on highest settings and medium(ish) on other games. I dont play any hard core games or video editing. I also dont know if I need anything else I am going off tutorials I have read and this will be my first PC I am building. Thank you in advance so much for any help you can bring me.
 
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Thalamus

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Mar 26, 2012
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10,510



*ALso just realized I dont think I can use the OEM version of Win7...sorry didnt realize it. I would obv be changing it to a retail version :)* Do'h
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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*ALso just realized I dont think I can use the OEM version of Win7...sorry didnt realize it. I would obv be changing it to a retail version :)* Do'h
Click to expand...

Nah - you can use the OEM version - you're fine. There's been plenty of debates about the legalities of using the OEM version but I've been using them going all the back to Windows 2000 and have never run into a single issue with any of them. You're on your own for support but that's about it.

That build is a good start but your funds are way mis-managed. For $1300 you can definitely score a better GPU and you definitely don't need things like the extra case fans and thermal grease. It's kind of a waste. Tiger Direct is a good seller but you have to wade through hundreds of crap brands that they sell including their proprietary Ultra and Systemax brands - Newegg has a better selection and they don't carry Ultra products.

Here's a $1300 build I generally recommend:

Case: Fractal Design Arc MIDI - $99.99
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 - $104.99
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3h - $149.99
CPU: 3.30GHz Intel Core i5-2500K - $219.99
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo - $34.99
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB 1333MHz 1.5V - $42.99
SSD: 64GB Crucial M4 - $94.99
HD: Seagate Barracuda ST 1TB - $109.99
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 - $359.99
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - $99.99

Total: $1,337.89

For wifi adapter - get a cheapo $20 wifi adapter and you're set. No need to spend $50 on that one - put that in the GPU.
 
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Thalamus

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Mar 26, 2012
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As for the video card, for what I am using it for should I go that powerful? The only games I play are minecraft and wow (Yea dork I know, blame the wife lol)

Edit: Is that video card a little more powerful then the cpu I plan to use? Sorry for the noob question but I wasent sure what bottlenecking is
 
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mojorisin23

mojorisin23

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I have the 560 Ti 1gb... it runs BF3 on high pretty well. youre case is overkill for sure, you could shave at least $50- 70 off of that. Corsair Carbide 400R for mid or 600 for full.

i dont think you will bottleneck anywhere.... If anything i would make sure my mobo is Gen3 for the latest tech... and you way overkilled on the RAM. stick with 4gb x2 1600 mhz configuration. lastly, i would change the CPU to the 2500k so if in the fuutre you want to overclock you have that possibility...
 
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Thalamus

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Mar 26, 2012
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OK some updates from some of the advice that was given...Ugh I must be irritating some of you...my apologies


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
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

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 FPB Video
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

Mobo: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

Memory: G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

SSD (boot): Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441

Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

With OS and optical (Case undecided not included) Total is: 1141.90
 
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JackNaylorPE

JackNaylorPE

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I'm gonna start w/a more expensive build as, should ya find ya way there it goives you the "top dog" as far as GPU is concerned....but it's $1,716

Case - $ 130 - Corsair 500R White http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139010
PSU - $ 245 - Corsair TX850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.856296
MoBo - $ 685 - ASUS P8z68 Pro http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790
CPU - $ 220 - Intel Core i7-2500K http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Cooler - $ 43 - Hyper 612 PWM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103103
TIM - $ 5 - Shin Etsu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150080
RAM - $ 50 - (2 x 4GB) Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 (White) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233199
GFX - Included - Asus GTX 680 Included with MoBo Combo
GFX - Later - Asus GTX 680 Same
HD - included - WD Black 1 TB Included w/ PSU
SSD - $ 180 - Samsung 830 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147134
DVD Writer - $ 58 - Asus Model BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247
OS - $ 100 - Win 7-64 Home Premium http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Here's an alternate build for $1,451 thou you may wanna wait on the GFX to see how the 660 veru 78xx series competition shakes out. Purposely changed out a few components so ya can mix and match

Case - $ 160 - Antec DF-85 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129087
PSU - $ 120 - Antec CP-850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371024
MoBo - $ 195 - ASUS P8z68 Pro http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790
CPU - $ 220 - Intel Core i7-2500K http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Cooler - $ 43 - Hyper 612 PWM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103103
TIM - $ 5 - Shin Etsu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150080
RAM - $ 50 - (2 x 4GB) Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 (White) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233199
GFX - $ 220 - Asus GTX 560 900Mhz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121425
GFX - Later - Asus GTX 680 Same
HD - $ 100 - Seagate 1 TB 64 MB cache http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840
SSD - $ 180 - Samsung 830 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147134
DVD Writer - $ 58 - Asus Model BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247
OS - $ 100 - Win 7-64 Home Premium http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Notes:

Cases are both strong, Antec PSU is the easily the better of the two both with regard electrical performance and acoustic / thermal properties.

The Hyper 612 cooler will give ya 5-7C over the 212.....alternate would be Scythe Mugen 3. TIM tops benchmarkreviews.com 80-way testing

RAM is low profile, won't hit cooler.

560 Ti's price performance ratio made it the king of the hill sales wise over last year and for good reason. This is what hit Steam's servers in February. Grab a factory oc'd version (Asus DCII TOP, Gigabyte, MSI Hawk or Lighting .... frzer only has 6 phase VRM) for the bigger coolers and beefed up 7 or more phase VRM's on PCB

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 ----- 10.25%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 ----- 4.37%
ATI Radeon HD 6950 ----- 3.83%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 ----- 3.76%
ATI Radeon HD 6970 ----- 1.85%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 ----- 3.02%
ATI Radeon HD 6870 ----- 1.37%

SSD - But what 120/128 GB drive is cheaper on purchase date out of THG's Tier 3

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-review-benchmark,3139-6.html

Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 120 GB, OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 120 GB, Patriot WildFire 120 GB, Samsung 830 SSD 128 GB
 
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morgoth780

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based on your usage, i'd go for a much smaller budget, and just 560 or 560ti; a $1500 build is way overkill for what you need. Just save it for a good build later when you start playing games that will be a lot more resource demanding
 
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Thalamus

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So with what you guys are saying, let me make sure I am clear about what I do with the PC. I only play World of Warcraft and Minecraft. With WOW's expansion coming out in the next year I see myself still playing that more. I want to make sure I have a PC that will run those on the higest settings. I just want to avoid paying for top end stuff that I wont even come close to using. I do want the ability to upgrade later since inevitably we all come to that, but even with older GPU etc I will still be able to play. If my budget is higher then it needs to be (very well could be since the games I play) let me know what I should get. I have pretty much decided to stay with the CPU/PSU I have picked but I am lost on the case and if I should get the 560 TI or just stay with the 560 (assuming it would do fine)

As for the SSD mentioned a couple posts above it will only be for windows. Everyone has told me to go with a 64...am I missing something?

If you have a build that would run WOW on highest settings I would LOVE for someone to build me something and if it ends up costing less because I dont need top stuff even better....PS you guys are great!!
 
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mojorisin23

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go with the 560 Ti... its not a big difference to care about. everytthing else on your revised build looked good. perhaps bring the RAM down 1600mhz to save some money there... over 1600 is overkill in my opinion.

and for me the SSD is an extra that's not really necessary.
 
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Thalamus

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Opps, I had ment to pick the 1600mhz in the first place....good call!! one more piece decided

Other inputs anyone? :)
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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The 900 is getting quite a bit outdated - there's no cable management or CPU retention holes so you're SOL if you want to route your cables behind the motherboard tray or install an after market cooler.

 
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Thalamus

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Alright I went back in and picked Case - $ 130 - Corsair 500R White http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811139010

Issues or concerns I should have?

What about the rest of the build, you all are on a roll :)
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Excellent choice.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 ----- 10.25%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 ----- 4.37%
ATI Radeon HD 6950 ----- 3.83%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 ----- 3.76%
ATI Radeon HD 6970 ----- 1.85%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 ----- 3.02%
ATI Radeon HD 6870 ----- 1.37%
Click to expand...

You are aware that there's a whole new generation of video cards on the market, and that cards in the $250 range (Radeon 7850) are far out performing the 570TI, right?
 
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Thalamus

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I dont have the 570ti on the build....do you mean the 560ti?
 
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Thalamus

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Are there any that you would recommend that would work with the CPU I picked? I just want to get the best performance with what I have. I am right around where I think I want to spend for a gaming system that will run what I play at max. Ill definately look at whatever you all have to say
 
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Thalamus

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Updated Build? Probably going to order in the next couple days. Unless anyone has any other suggestions without going up much higher in $$

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
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115072

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 FPB Video
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130604

PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139021

Mobo: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157271

Memory: G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231460

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136284

SSD (boot): Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820148441

Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835103065

Case - $ 130 - Corsair 500R
White http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811139010
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Yeah you should definitely take a look at the Sapphire 7850 and that benchmark article I posted earlier: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102984
 
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