1,400+/- Build; Final thoughts?

[memony]

Hello everyone. I recently asked the community for help on a CyberPower build for my daughter's graduation present. She is going off to college in a couple of months and I'd rather she not drag off my old desktop. The main purpose of this desktop will be: light graphic design work, gaming, and gaming while recording. She might overclock in the future, but she's just learning what overclocking entails so it might be a while up the road. She'll be on campus housing, in a large shared bedroom. She has room for 2 displays, but would like the system to not be overly noisy.

On a personal note, I'll be helping her build this but I honestly haven't worked with computer parts in many, many years. This seems like a better experience than buying one prebuilt, though, so I'm willing to give it the college try, so to speak.

Approximate Purchase Date: This week or next, was hoping to utilize July 4 Sales

Budget Range: Up to $1,400 ~ 1,500 before rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, light graphic design work, gaming while recording, web browsing, streaming, and video/music.

Parts Not Required: Mouse, Keyboard, and OS already taken care of. I would like advice on well performing/reasonably priced ~24 inch displays (for dual display setup). Black Caviar HDD.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, NCIX, Microcenter, anything works, really.

Country: USA, California.

Parts Preferences: No preference.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Yes, in the future.

Monitor Resolution: Undecided ; Considering the ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ASCR 20000:1 (1000:1) W/Speakers. On sale, good reviews. Not sure if I could pick up a similar display cheaper though.

155$ on sale @ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052

Additional Comments: Thank you in advance!

The part list I have below is based on the CyberPower build. I like that I'll have a lot more options, but at the same time all of the options are leaving me at a bit of a loss to what is best. My main concern is putting together a solid, well rounded rig that she can upgrade as necessary in the future.

Build 1:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bmpF

CPU Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Asus P8Z77-V PRO Was originally suggested to me. As was Asus P9X79 Pro, but friends had mixed feelings on it.
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Hard Drive (changing this to an SSD in the 120GB~ range) Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Plextor M3 Pro Series PX-256M3P 2.5" 120GB (SATA III MLC 7mm Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) with Transfer Kit just went on sale at Newegg.
Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card
Case Corsair Graphite 600t or Corsair Vengeance C70; Not sure if the 600T will have room for everything because, I believe, its a bit smaller.
Power Supply Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer

- I'm pretty sure the i5 will be sufficient.
- I'd like advice on the motherboard, video card, and memory options if my selections are unwise.

I'm not decided on this build at all. Honestly, I have no preference, really, on any of the parts I've picked so if you have a better build please let me know!

I think I've covered everything. Looking forward to your replies so I can start purchasing parts.

 

[g-unit1111]

The P9X79 Pro won't work with the i5-3570K, you'll need the i7-3820. If you're going to be working with large files (video editing, rending, etc) then the extra cores of the i7 and the extra RAM power will come in handy.

I think the SSD is kind of overkill - I personally don't recommend high capacity SSDs due to the unusually high cost per GB, and that's on the higher-end models. You'll get more bang for your buck if you go with a small SSD (~128GB) and a large secondary HD (~2TB).

Both Corsair cases you were recommended will house everything - I have the Graphite 600T and it can house anything you can think of. If you want to be on the safe side I'd recommend the NZXT Switch 810: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146089

 

[memony]

Thank you for the reply. I honestly think for the SSD I won't go over 120/128GB. The Plextor 256GB was on sale, for a relatively reasonable price, but it seems to have sold out.

Thank you for your input on the P9X79 Pro. Would that combination with the i7 3820 be better overall or should I stick to the i5/available motherboards for her needs?

 

[memony]

I updated the original post to reflect some July 4 sale prices/items. Still looking for some input before I make the purchases, thanks!

 

[g-unit1111]

Thank you for the reply. I honestly think for the SSD I won't go over 120/128GB. The Plextor 256GB was on sale, for a relatively reasonable price, but it seems to have sold out.

Thank you for your input on the P9X79 Pro. Would that combination with the i7 3820 be better overall or should I stick to the i5/available motherboards for her needs?

You'll need an entirely different configuration if you're going X79 as you'll need completely different RAM and a couple other things.

 

[obsama1]

I would recommend the i7 3770K or i7 2600K instead. Just as powerful as the 3820, but cheaper. The X79 motherboards are expensive, and unless you get the 3930K or above, you will not notice a difference.

 

[g-unit1111]

I would recommend the i7 3770K or i7 2600K instead. Just as powerful as the 3820, but cheaper. The X79 motherboards are expensive, and unless you get the 3930K or above, you will not notice a difference.

You can get the Asrock X79 Extreme 6 which is a full featured 64GB motherboard for $260.

 

[memony]

My second build is staying away from the x79's.

Quite like the first, but with a few changes. Any suggestions? Probably going to head out to microcenter this weekend.

Build 2:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bpV7

Still trying to decide between:

Asus P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790
and
Asus P8Z77-V Pro http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131819

Open to new mobo suggestions!

 

[memony]

I would recommend the i7 3770K or i7 2600K instead. Just as powerful as the 3820, but cheaper. The X79 motherboards are expensive, and unless you get the 3930K or above, you will not notice a difference.

I think I'll just scrap the x79 suggestion and go with something nearer to my original setup.

Final-ish build:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bpV7

CPU Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard or P8Z77 V-Pro? Still undecided.
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Hard Drive Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card -- Not sure if the difference in the FTW version is worth it.
Case Corsair 600T White Graphite ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer

 

[manofchalk]

I think I'll just scrap the x79 suggestion and go with something nearer to my original setup.

Final-ish build:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bpV7

CPU Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard or P8Z77 V-Pro? Still undecided.
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Hard Drive Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card -- Not sure if the difference in the FTW version is worth it.
Case Corsair 600T White Graphite ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer

Get a Z77 motherboard, it will better support your Ivy Bridge CPU and has various features like internal USB3 headers and PCI-3.

Make sure that graphics card has non-stock cooling on it, as far as I'm aware EVGA dont. Stock designs run hotter and are louder than custom cooling solutions. The ASUS and Gigabyte models are non stock and are very quite.

The FTW edition is just a factory overclocked card with a bigger price tag, you can just bump the clock speeds up yourself for free.

 

[memony]

Get a Z77 motherboard, it will better support your Ivy Bridge CPU and has various features like internal USB3 headers and PCI-3.

Make sure that graphics card has non-stock cooling on it, as far as I'm aware EVGA dont. Stock designs run hotter and are louder than custom cooling solutions. The ASUS and Gigabyte models are non stock and are very quite.

The FTW edition is just a factory overclocked card with a bigger price tag, you can just bump the clock speeds up yourself for free.

Thank you for the reply. Is the Asus V-Pro (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131819) a decent option?


Thanks for the info on the card, the Asus GTX 670 (This, I think: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121637) is a better option then? I've also heard good things about the Galaxy GC version, but not sure if it's worth the additional money or, like the FTW, the same results can be achieved oc'ing at home. Also, I've never owned something made by Galaxy (that i can recall) so I have my qualms about picking this one : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162109

 

[manofchalk]

The ASUS GTX670 is a very good card. It will serve you well.

That is a great board, you wont have any issues with it (Think I just jinxed it, oh well).

 

[memony]

The ASUS GTX670 is a very good card. It will serve you well.

That is a great board, you wont have any issues with it (Think I just jinxed it, oh well).

Hah, thanks for that. I'll probably go for the ASUS version over the Galaxy version, then.

 

[memony]

Best answer selected by memony.