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Advice for $1200 - $1500 Build

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I haven't been paying any attention to parts for the past 4 or 5 years and I built my first computer (with the Athlon 64 cpu), so I've been getting myself caught up again. I have an unexplainable bias for AMD cpus over Intel cpus, but Intel chips seem to be the better choice by far.

Here's the basic summary info:

Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next month

Budget Range: $1200 - $1500

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, netflix/hulu streaming, some photoshop and video editing, some CFD/FEA code

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: anything that the community considers reputable is fine by me

Country: US

Parts Preferences: I like Zalman a lot.

Overclocking: Yes, maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe down the road

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080, 1920x1200

Additional Comments: I would like a quiet pc, LEDs or windows aren't important to me, would like for this to be "future-proof" as possible... probably upgrading the graphics card a couple of years down the road...

This is what I've come up with so far (I think all the links are correct)...


CPU: i5-3570k (239.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CPU Cooler: Zalman cpns9900max (69.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

MB: ASRock P69 Extreme4 Gen3 (149.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

RAM: Mushkin Enhanced 2x4GB DDR3 2133 (64.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Graphics: Sapphire Radeon HD7870 Ghz Edition (349.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

SSD: Crucial M4 128GB (124.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Case: Zalman Z9 (54.99) **Chose this one instead of the Z9 plus because I felt the windows, thermometer, and fan controller to be unnecessary***
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

PSU: Thermaltake 750W (89.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Optical: Sony 24x DVD-RW (17.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Case Fans: 2 Zalman 120mm (18.46)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit OEM (139.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Total so far: 1321.36

I haven't done any "deal hunting" (comparing prices with Amazon, etc) yet, pretty much looked things up on newegg... Any thoughts from the community? Better ways to allocate money?

More about : advice 1200 1500 build

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G-Unit:

Is there any reason why you don't like Zalman? I've used their cpu coolers before (4-5 years ago) and they worked great. I've never used a Zalman case before, though...

nikuman said:
G-Unit:

Is there any reason why you don't like Zalman? I've used their cpu coolers before (4-5 years ago) and they worked great. I've never used a Zalman case before, though...


The one I had was a pain to clean, a pain to install, and never gave me the numbers or temperatures I wanted and I'd occasionally get temperature read errors, I really like the cooler I'm using now which is the EVGA one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
500R white and HX650

the case is a steal $94.99 with rebates and the PSU is pretty good also
(i can run 2x670 pretty fine with them as they do not take much power)

if you want to be safer with a 700-800W it is fine but only get them if you are doing SLI/xfire or you will just waste your money

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H and i5 3570k

a great mobo make sure to update the bios to get the most out of it, it has 2 PCI 3.0 slots for future SLI/CF

1600 speed ram is the sweet spot for price and performance
try these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
low profile ram and look nice, also for PS and video editing you would be better off with 16GB of ram if you are really into that kind of stuff

an SSD will not fit everything you will need if you are doing PS/ video editing/rendering

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
(recommend second one)

SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Mushkin Enhanced
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Crucial m4

m4 is very reliable
Mushkin is very cheap your pick

Heatsink
if you want to go that much on your heatsink i would rather suggest this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

i would go with something cheaper and can still overclock IB at a 4.2 GHz safely
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
hyper 212+
not better than hyper 212 evo but better price to performance

GPU
your choice of 7850, really like cards from XFX and Sapphire

Thanks for your input boulbox.

I didn't really like how the 500R case looks...

I went with a 750W psu because I figured a easy upgrade to do in a couple of years was to add another graphics card in crossfire. If a lower wattage psu would run both of them (possibly OCed?) and the i5 that's also OCed, then that's good, but I wasn't sure so I went with a larger wattage. Any input?

I'll look into the CoolerMaster cpu cooler... As I said, I'm rather partial to Zalman, but the price difference IS significant, so it's definitely worth considering.

If I were to go with a 7850 and OC it (as azeem suggests), should I get an aftermarket cooler for it as well? Or would the stock cooler (as long as it has 2 fans) be OK?

I think I'll stick to the m4. I also forgot to include a storage HDD, as was my intention. Thanks for catching that.

So these are the changes so far:

CPU & MB: i5-3570k and Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H combo (369.98)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

CPU Cooler: Zalman CPNS9900max OR CoolerMaster Hyper 212 (69.99 or 29.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

RAM: Corsair VENGEANCE 4x4GB DDR3 1600 (97.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GPU: Gigabyte HD 7850 (259.99) **Saphire was sold out, and XFX one had only one fan on the cooler it...**
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

HDD & Optical: Seagate 1TB & ASUS DVDrw (104.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

Total 1244.36 (with Zalman) or 1204.36 (with Coolermaster)

nikuman said:
Thanks for your input boulbox.

I didn't really like how the 500R case looks...

I went with a 750W psu because I figured a easy upgrade to do in a couple of years was to add another graphics card in crossfire. If a lower wattage psu would run both of them (possibly OCed?) and the i5 that's also OCed, then that's good, but I wasn't sure so I went with a larger wattage. Any input?

I'll look into the CoolerMaster cpu cooler... As I said, I'm rather partial to Zalman, but the price difference IS significant, so it's definitely worth considering.

If I were to go with a 7850 and OC it (as azeem suggests), should I get an aftermarket cooler for it as well? Or would the stock cooler (as long as it has 2 fans) be OK?

I think I'll stick to the m4. I also forgot to include a storage HDD, as was my intention. Thanks for catching that.

So these are the changes so far:

CPU & MB: i5-3570k and Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H combo (369.98)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

CPU Cooler: Zalman CPNS9900max OR CoolerMaster Hyper 212 (69.99 or 29.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

RAM: Corsair VENGEANCE 4x4GB DDR3 1600 (97.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GPU: Gigabyte HD 7850 (259.99) **Saphire was sold out, and XFX one had only one fan on the cooler it...**
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

HDD & Optical: Seagate 1TB & ASUS DVDrw (104.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

Total 1244.36 (with Zalman) or 1204.36 (with Coolermaster)


You really seem partial with Zalman :) 

As another one noted, the Noctua NH-D14 is a wonderful cooler, with terrific reviews. I have one, cooling my i7-3770K. Since I'm not OC'ing right now, it's working with only one fan and the noise reduction accessory connected. It doesn't make any sound, really.

For the case, check the Coolermaster HAF series, they're really good at keeping your system cool, and they have very silent fans (their 200mm LED fan is very very quiet).

Samsung makes very good SSD units, I have two 830 256GB :) 

If you appreciate a quiet system, go for a GPU with two or three fans. My GTX570 has only one, and I find it too loud when stressed out.

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Tower-Gaming-Comp... $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Carbide Series 400R Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case - CC-9011011-WW

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

http://www.amazon.com/PC-Power-Cooling-Performance-comp... $106.85 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W High Performance 80PLUS Silver SLI CrossFire ready Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... $239.98 save: $20.00 FREE SHIPPING
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
SanDisk Extreme SDSSDX-120G-G25 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/asrock_z77_extreme... <----- review of that board w/benchmarks

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z77%20Extre... <----- another look at that board along with a link to the latest bios (make sure you update to the latest bios)

http://kb.sandisk.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10476/kw/... <----- recent firmware update for that Sandisk SSD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... $324.98 save: $15.00
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-2... $34.75 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler (RR-212E-20PK-R2)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $46.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAO

http://www.amazon.com/Asus-24xDVD-RW-Serial-Internal-DR... $17.99 Free Standard Shipping (3-5 days)
Asus 24xDVD-RW Serial ATA Internal OEM Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=E... $400 - $420
GTX 670 2GB Video Card

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5818/nvidia-geforce-gtx-6... <----- gtx 670 review with benchmarks

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Premium-64bit-System-Buil... $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack

Total: $1,371.52 *not including shipping and rebates
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