Building a computer off of ibuypower. How does it look?

[phont]

CoolerMaster HAF 922 Gaming Case

CPU: i7 2700K Quad core

COOLING: Asetek 550LC Liquid CPU Cooling System (Intel) with ARC Dual Silent High Perfornamce Fan Upgrade (Push-Pull Airflow)

MEM: 8 GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance

GPU: GTX 580 1.5GB EVGA Superclocked

MOBO: ASUS P8Z77-V LX

PSU: 850 Watt Corsair CMPSU-850TXV2

STORAGE: 2 TB SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Gaming is my direct aim.

 

[slicedtoad]

are you opposed to building a computer yourself? You get better performance at a cheaper cost.

If you stick with ibuypower, change:
-i7 to an i5-2500k. No difference in gaming.
-580 to a 680 or 7970
-650W corsair PSU

There are other things to change too but i need a link to the exact page first.

If you want to build yourself (which everyone here will recommend), just say so and someone will link you a build after you give a budget.

 

[phont]

Well, I'm having to do monthly payments is why I'm going the pre-built route otherwise I would build it myself.

What's wrong with the 850W Corsair that I posted?

 

[mojorisin23]

i would stick with the 850W if you plan on SLI/Xfire down the road. its a minimal increase for not having to buy a whole new PSU later on.

make sure the RAM is 4gb x 2. not 2gb x 4, for future expandability.

Change to the i5-2500k like previous poster said.

I would keep the 580 if its a lot cheaper than the 680 and that $$ is an issue (which it seems to be since you need monthly payments).

lose the liquid cooling crap by crappy asetek. i would get a Hyper EVO 212 or Thermaltake FRIO fan. simple and no maintenance.

 

[phont]

Well, I plan to overclock is the whole reason I went with liquid cooling.

Plus, I don't think ibuypower offers non-liquid cooling.

My options were the Corsair Hydro Series H60 Liquid CPU Cooling system or the Asetek 550LC Liquid CPU Cooling.

I was told to not get the H60.

I was comparing the 750W PSUs that I could get.

I could get the Corsair CMPSU-750AX or the Corsair CMPSU-850TXV2.

For the 580x and the 680x, the price is only about a $70 difference.

The 580x is just EVGA Superclocked.

Could I EVGA Superclock it myself on the 680x?




Rig 1: $1785

coolermaster haf 922 case

i7 2700k

asetek 550lc liquid cooling system with fan upgrade (push-pull airflow)

8 GB (4g x2) corsair vengeance

680x 2 GB GPU

asus p8z77-v lx motherboard

850w corsair cmpsu-850txv2

2 tb hard drive

asus xonar dg sound card

intel pro 10/100/100 network card







Rig 2: $1576

coolermaster haf 922 case

i5-3570k

asetek 550lc liquid cooling system with fan upgrade (push-pull airflow)

8 GB (4GB x2) corsair vengeance

580x EVGA Superclocked

ASUS p8z77-v lx

850W Corsair CMPSU-850TXV2

2 TB Hard Drive

ASUS Xonar DG

Intel Pro 10/100/1000



I've got a pre-built computer before and I screwed up by getting bad parts. I want to make sure I get it right this time.

 

[slicedtoad]

ignore the "evga superclock". Just look at what gpu it is. The 680 is a far better gpu than the 580. For $100 difference, it's worth it.

Take the second rig with the following changes:

-680 instead of 580

-650W Corsair PSU. Even SLI 680s can fit on that PSU. 680 TDP = 195W. 3570k TDP = 77W. That's 272 Watts needed on the 12v rail. SLI is 467 Watts needed on the 12v rail. Anything higher than 650W is a waste of money in this generation of parts.

-Drop the sound card and ethernet card. Your mobo has quite good onboard ones already. If you are an audiophile, consider buying a high end sound card from somewhere else since that one isn't great.

-throw in an SSD as your primary drive. The 120GB ADATA one would work.

edit:
about the psu, it upgrades you to the 750W for free anyway.

Also, the 680 will delay shipping till around the 20th. The 7970 is an excellent option if you don't want to wait. The 580 is not a good option since it's overpriced atm.

 

[phont]

In your opinion, how big of a waste is 16 GB of RAM?

 

[slicedtoad]

for gaming it's useless.
There are plenty of uses for it but gaming ain't one of them.

Do you
-edit video or pictures professionally?
-run VMs?
-do any other "workstation" related work?
if not, you only need 8GB. 16GB won't be noticed at all.

 

[phont]

Yea, I do none of that.

At $1671, here's what I have:

CoolerMastery HAF 922 Gaming Case

Cold Cathode Neon Light - Red

6-port NZXT Internal USB Expansion System (worth it?)

i5-3570k with protection

Asetek 550LC Liquid CPU Cooling System - ARC Dual Silent High Performance Fan Upgrade (Push-Pull Airflow)

8 GB (4GB X2) DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance

680x 2GB

ASUS P8Z77-V LX Motherboard

750 Watt Corsair CMPSU-750TXV2

120 GB ADATA Primary Drive

2 TB Hard Drive

 

[slicedtoad]

looks good. The NZXT 6-port is ok if you want it, completely up to you.

It's actually not a bad build for a pre-built, it should play everything at max @ 1080p.

The SSD will vastly improve boot times. You should be able to fit a few programs on it too, just watch the space. Make sure all data (movies, etc) is on the HDD.

The protection on the i5 is only worth it if you plan on massive ocing... I'd drop it because that cooler won't be able to reach the safety limits anyway. But if you need it for peace of mind then it's fine.

Also make sure to get windows if you don't have a copy available already.

 

[phont]

Is the cooler bad?

It only comes with liquid cooling and my options are their awful brand and then a Corsair H60 that I told was worse than the Asetek.

 

[slicedtoad]

it's not horrible for that price. If you want something better you could select the default intel cooler and add a better one from newegg.

The hyper 212 is an excellent cooler per dollar.
If you want something more expensive let me know.

 

[phont]

I've been reading on the 670x and it apparently runs within 5% of the 680.

Should I pick up the 670 2GB EVGA Superclocked for $160 less?

 

[phont]

At $1509, I have:

CoolerMaster HAF 922 Gaming Case
Cold Cathode Neon Light - Red
6 port NZXT Internal USB Expansion System
i5 3570k with protection
Asetek 550LC Liquid CPU Cooling with High Performance Push-Pull Airflow fan
8 GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance
670x EVGA SUperclocked 2GB
ASUS P8Z77-V LX MOBO
750W Corsair CMPSU 750TXV2
120 GB ADATA Primary Drive
2 GB Data Drive

Should I switch the motherboard to a ASRock Z77 Extreme4 for $41 extra or keep the ASUS P8Z77-V LX?

Another option is the ASRock Fatal1ty Z77 Peformance for $58.

 

[slicedtoad]

the advantage of the extreme4 is the ability to do sli in the future. The asus board isn't meant for two cards. So choose based on that since both are good mobos.

also remember to select the 650W which upgrades you to the 750 automatically. If you select the 750W it will upgrade to the 850W.

Also, the gskill ripjaws memory is actually better than corsair's vengeance. But if you prefer the look of corsair go for it, the difference is very minimal.

Yes the 670 is an excellent choice. I wouldn't get the superclocked version since i prefer to OC myself. But it's up to you.

 

[phont]

I went ahead and got the ASRock Fatal1ty Z77 Peformance.

Good choice?

I got the superclocked one.

Should of got the stock version.

 

[slicedtoad]

fatal1ty is fine.
The superclocked card isn't bad, just not my first choice. Don't stress over it though.