Haven't built a PC in awhile help with $2,000 budget

KwwB

April 28, 2012 4:36:47 AM

Approximate Purchase Date: Very soon, preferably before 4/30/12 when many rebates go invalid

Budget Range: Around $2,000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, streaming, web browsing

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com Amazon.com or any other awesome sites I don't know about

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: In the past I've used ASUS and eVGA. Have liked both. Currently looking at my first Radeon card so I don't know about those brands.

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Yes (Future)

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1020, in the future when Crossfire will use two monitors

Additional Comments: PC needs to be sturdy. I have four children 9 yrs of age and younger. My current PC has had various accidents that has required replacing parts or delicate cleaning of sugary liquids spilled on top of computer and down into the computer. Main reason I choose the Sabertooth motherboard.

This is my current build on Newegg.com:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx...

More about : built awhile 000 budget

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J_E_D_70

April 28, 2012 5:28:01 AM

Your usage listed makes a HDD of any kind seem like a waste (or you are ripping movies/music and didn't list that). If you don't need massive storage and looking for other tweaks, you could drop the HDD completely and use the savings to get a 7970 or 680 GTX.

If you get a 2500K, it overclocks as well as a 2550K and you have an integrated GPU if your main GPU ever eats it. Doesn't game well, but works while you wait on the RMA. If you want a small overclock (4.2-ish) and the latest CPU, the i5-3570K comes out in two days.

Don't think the H60 offers anything over the Hyper 212 Evo that costs half the price. Think you have to go H100 with push/pull to really get a lot of benefit. Sure someone will crush me for that...

Might check in a Seasonic or Corsair PSU but OCZ will likely be fine. Only need about 750W worst case for SLI/CF these days but never know where things may go power consumption wise so could be good to have a buffer.

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Zero_

April 28, 2012 5:34:59 AM

Check my sig.

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hellfire24

April 28, 2012 5:46:46 AM

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Why_Me

April 28, 2012 5:52:23 AM

A few things. 16GB of RAM for what you plan on using your PC for is over kill. That 850w psu is over kill. Here's some options to check out.

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Series-Gaming-CC-... $116.16 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Carbide Series 500R Mid Tower Gaming Case CC-9011012-WW

http://www.corsair.com/pc-cases/carbide-series-pc-case/... <----- another look at that case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $169.99
ASRock Z77 Extreme6 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z77%20Extre... <----- another look at that Asrock board

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $134.99
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z77%20Extre... <----- another look at that Asrock board

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-750-Watt-Cer... $138.98 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair HX Professional Series 750-Watt 80 Plus Certified Power Supply Compatible with Core i7 and Core i5 - CMPSU-750HX

http://www.guru3d.com/news/intel-ivy-bridge-gets-prelau... $212
Intel Ivy Bridge i5 3570K 3.4Ghz

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-2... $34.95 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler (RR-212E-20PK-R2)

add this fan down below to that CM EVO up above for a "push - pull effect".

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-BladeMaster-Silent-... $10.90 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Cooler Master BladeMaster 120mm PWM High Air Flow Silent Case Fan R4-BMBS-20PK-R0

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $44.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAB

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Intern... $159.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Seagate Barracuda 7200 3 TB 7200RPM SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST3000DM001

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JLFVNO/ref=ox_sc_a... $349.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASUS HD7870-DC2-2GD5 Radeon 2GB DDR5 VGA/DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort GPU Tweak Utilities PCI-Express 3.0 Graphics Card HD7870-DC2-2GD5

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_7870_Direct_... <----- review of that Asus card w/benchmarks

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hellfire24

April 28, 2012 7:29:57 AM

Why_Me said:

A few things. 16GB of RAM for what you plan on using your PC for is over kill. That 850w psu is over kill. Here's some options to check out.

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Series-Gaming-CC-... $116.16 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Carbide Series 500R Mid Tower Gaming Case CC-9011012-WW

http://www.corsair.com/pc-cases/carbide-series-pc-case/... <----- another look at that case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $169.99
ASRock Z77 Extreme6 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z77%20Extre... <----- another look at that Asrock board

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $134.99
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z77%20Extre... <----- another look at that Asrock board

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-750-Watt-Cer... $138.98 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair HX Professional Series 750-Watt 80 Plus Certified Power Supply Compatible with Core i7 and Core i5 - CMPSU-750HX

http://www.guru3d.com/news/intel-ivy-bridge-gets-prelau... $212
Intel Ivy Bridge i5 3570K 3.4Ghz

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-2... $34.95 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler (RR-212E-20PK-R2)

add this fan down below to that CM EVO up above for a "push - pull effect".

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-BladeMaster-Silent-... $10.90 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Cooler Master BladeMaster 120mm PWM High Air Flow Silent Case Fan R4-BMBS-20PK-R0

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $44.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAB

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Intern... $159.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Seagate Barracuda 7200 3 TB 7200RPM SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST3000DM001

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JLFVNO/ref=ox_sc_a... $349.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASUS HD7870-DC2-2GD5 Radeon 2GB DDR5 VGA/DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort GPU Tweak Utilities PCI-Express 3.0 Graphics Card HD7870-DC2-2GD5

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_7870_Direct_... <----- review of that Asus card w/benchmarks

any good reason for adding a 7870 instead of 680 or any other more powerful card?

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Why_Me

April 28, 2012 7:40:30 AM

hellfire24 said:

any good reason for adding a 7870 instead of 680 or any other more powerful card?

A 680 for that budget would be the way to go, but since he already had a 7870 up top I figured wth. The more I look at that Asus benchmark, the more I like that card for a mid range build. That may all change when the 670 and 660 are released.

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hellfire24

April 28, 2012 7:42:47 AM

let's wait for asker's response then

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KwwB

April 28, 2012 7:49:22 AM

I have never owned a "brand new top of the line" card like a 680 or 7970. They always seem too expensive. In your experiences is it really worth it?

That Asus 7870 is definitely better than the Sapphire I had selected.

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hellfire24

April 28, 2012 8:13:25 AM

for gaming,you should get the best possible core components you can get for your budget.680 will easily fit in your budget.

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KwwB

April 28, 2012 8:51:30 AM

Good point. Now if I could just find a 680 for sale...

Any ideas on a NZXT PSU? Newegg has a 20% off deal this weekend.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Comes out to $82 for 850w

Also this case looks really nice. If you haven't seen it if you could take a look, especially watch the newegg video and tell me what you think.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Price comes out to $136 during the 20% off sale.

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hellfire24

April 28, 2012 8:54:35 AM

nzxt psus(rebranded superflower units) are great.the one you selected is a great value.switch is a great case and for $136,....................mmmmmmmhhmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhmmmmmmm
let me think.............
it's an absolute steal!!!!!! :sol:

don't miss!

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J_E_D_70

April 28, 2012 5:35:22 PM

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?2803...!

Shows the diff between the 4 and the 6. I was going to get the 6 til I realized the power system was the same and I didn't need any of the 6's extras. Only $35 saved but it's an option.

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KwwB

May 4, 2012 5:33:43 AM

Thanks for the help everyone! I now have purchased my new computer and it's all put together except the SSD which arrives tomorrow. I ended up getting a eVGA 680 with the money I saved from suggestions posted here. Total cost ended up being $2,050!

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KwwB

May 4, 2012 5:35:00 AM

Oh yeah! I got the suggested i5-3570K because it was so close to coming out and the price was practically identical!