$1200-1400 first time build...gaming and work

Chad333

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Jan 10, 2012
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This is a first time build for me. Please let me know if there is anything on here that is incompatible or if you have any suggestions.


Approximate Purchase Date: 1-2 weeks (mostly this week to take advantage of certain deals and for the stuff that isn't on sale right now I might wait until next week to see if the new month adds any specials)

Budget Range: $1200-1400 preferably in the low end

System Usage from Most to Least Important: games, work (Word, spreadsheets, PPT, photoshop), internet, light home movie editing

Parts Not Required: Monitor (1920x1200) 26 inch, keyboard, mouse

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Microcenter and Amazon, but will buy from others if cheaper

Country: US

Parts Preferences: Don't care as long as they are reliable

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Yes, but in the future

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200 26inch

Additional Comments: Windows 7

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Rosewill THOR V2 Gaming ATX Full Tower Computer
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147053

MSI Z77A-GD65 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130643

Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD2BAA 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148526

OCZ ZX Series 850W Fully-Modular 80PLUS Gold High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandybridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341044

Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104173

GIGABYTE GV-R785OC-2GD Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125419

Core i5 2500K LGA 1155 Boxed Processor
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354589

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model GH22NS90B - Retail - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136240


This build is roughly $1,200 (a little over) with all the rebates. I am debating between adding an HDD or going all SSD, which is why I only have 256GB of drive space on this build. If I go all SSD I will just buy SSD's as what I have fills up.

Also, debating whether to get Ivy. I haven't seen any for sale yet, so I'm not sure of their price point.

My ultimate goal is always to hit the sweetspot for performance and cash like the i5 2500k has been.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
Well getting a Ivy i5 isn't gonna be any different than the Sandy Bridge i5 so unless you get a I7 with hyper threading... your not gonna get the best work horse....

For gaming all you need is a Intel Core I5 2500K or I5 3570K but if your gonna be doing video rendering or things of that line... You need a I7
 

kulladoctor

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Speaking of Graphics card, this system is definitely Graphics limited.If you do have a bit more money to spare, I would definetly pour that into a better card, such as 7950 or 570 GTX.

Question about All SSD: I have a 256 gb ssd and I love having all my frequently played games on it. But I dont think I would get another SSD. I complemented my storage by swapping out my 320 gb laptop hard drive with a 128 gb ssd, and then using it in my desktop. This gives me ample storage. Also, there is no benefit of saving things like music and movies on SSDs, as the load times for these media are already pretty low on hard drives. SSDs make most sense for boot drive and programs, such as games and photoshop etc.

Finally, imo its worth spending the extra $15 to get Ripjaw or Vengence Ram.
 

Chad333

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Thanks for the recommendations.

I probably won't be spending more on the graphics card, as an extra $150 doesn't seem to buy much of an increase with the 7950 and zero increase from the 570 GTX based on Tom's Hierarchy Chart. Plus, Tom's lists the 7850 as "Exceptional for 1920x1200."
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
I will probably do your SSD/HDD suggestion. I will keep the 256 GB SSD and add a 1 TB Cavier Black since there is a special until the end of the month.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

I'm not against the extra $15. Is there a reason? More reliable? Faster? Etc. I'm just curious. Are these the Ripjaws you were talking about? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231536
 

kulladoctor

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The advantage of the ripjaws is that they are more Overclockable. Not that it matters very much, its just my opinion that since ram is a big part of your system, you might as well get the best if you dont have to spend too much more in absolute terms. But I am not an expert in this, and maybe I just bought in to the fancy packaging and online reviews.

for +$100, you get the 7870 which gives you a 25% increase in performance. This may be worth it, because you can bump up details by 1-2 tiers with that kind of performance increase.

 

pacioli

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They are compatible 1155 chipsets...
It is the latest and greatest with upgrade potential in the future...
IB is a mediocre increase in performance at best...
The combo deal is a great deal...
How could anyone be disappointed with the i5 2500K? No one complains, "Oh my i5 2500K is so slow. I have to get a faster chip because my FPS sucks."
 

Chad333

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That's interesting. It has almost the same number of USB 3.0 ports and probably enough native 3.0 ports. It also has 2 3.0 PCI Express slots and 4 6GB SATA ports. I will have to seriously consider that. Thanks.
 

They are compatible. I am not denying that. What I am getting at is that you need the i5-3570k and a Z77 mobo to get all the features of Ivy Bridge.
 

pacioli

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An i5 2500K and a Z77 has all the same features as an i5 2500K and a Z68. If they cost the same why not go with the newer more commonly available motherboard...

All the z68 and P67 boards are getting phased out... They are becoming hard to find. The Z77 boards cost the same as the older chipsets... Why not get the Z77 if it costs the same and has the same available features?
 

Chad333

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Thanks for the help so far guys.

Ok, I have updated my build based on some helpful suggestions:

Motherboard Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 89.99
Processor i5 2500k 179.99
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 19.99
Memory G. Skill Ripjaws X Series 1866 49.99
Graphics MSI R7870 331.49
Case Rosewill Thor V2 Full Tower 119.99
SSD Drive Crucial M4 256GB 244.99
Hard Drive WD Cavier Blue 500GB 6Gb/s 84.99
Optical LG 22x DVD Burner 16.99
Power OCZ ZX 850W 80PLUS GOLD 129.99

1268.4


Motherboard Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 89.99
Processor i5 2500k 179.99
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 19.99
Memory G. Skill Ripjaws X Series 1866 49.99
Graphics HIS 7950 369.99
Case Rosewill Thor V2 Full Tower 119.99
SSD Drive Crucial M4 256GB 244.99
Hard Drive WD Cavier Blue 500GB 6Gb/s 84.99
Optical LG 22x DVD Burner 16.99
Power OCZ ZX 1000W 80PLUS GOLD 159.99

1336.9


These prices include all rebates and promotions except for the $20 gift card and $20 credit card promotion, so everything will be $40 less than the total listed. The Motherboard, Processor, and CPU cooler are all going to come from Microcenter, and the rest from Newegg.

Graphics:
1) Is the the 7950 worth the extra $39?
2) Are these good brands for graphics cards?
7950
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161400
7870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127662

Power:
1) Do I need the 1000watt if I plan to Crossfire in the future? I would just buy an extra 7870 or 7950 when the prices drop in 1-2 years.

 

Brent H

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Sorry to randomly jump in here, but I was looking at that mobo too... where are you seeing the 50$ off? Was it just a one day deal? Because right now it's back at $139



@OP: I could be totally wrong so don't take my word for it until someone says I'm right, but I'd personally go up to the 7950 for the overclocking abilities. I've read reviews that the Sapphire 7950 OC card can get up to over 1100 mhz with a little extra overclocking past the factory OC. Again, I'm a total noob at this, but it seems like that would be worth the 40 extra bucks now for increased performance in the future.