My Final Decision on Build

[unRaveled]

Hey guys. I've spent weeks and days researching and looking for parts and this is going to be my final conclusion. I want you guys to check and see if the parts are compatible and working with each other. For me, I think they work together. You guys can make some suggestions and feel free to add some tips and suggestions. I'm planning to buy the parts on Sunday so I want to make sure before I buy it. Hopefully everything works out when I build it and my first build will be SUCCESSFUL!!!!!

So here are my parts:

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500k - 169.99
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - 19.99
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 - 126.04
Memory: Kingston HyperX 2x4gb - 39.99
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200rpm - 77.99
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7870 - 279.99
Case: Rosewill Challanger - 49.99
Power Supply: OCZ 600W ATX12V - 29.99
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B - 17.99
Monitor: Asus VE228H 21.5" - 129.98
OS: Windows 7 64bit - 90.65
Keyboard: Microsoft Keyboard 200 Wired Standard - 8.99

= $1041.58 USD
I don't want to exceed $1050.00 USD. $1050.00 USD is my budget!

 

[bigcyco1]

You need a different PSU 29.99 for a PSU sounds like it's junk to me the rest is good though

 

[DavidY]

You need a different PSU 29.99 for a PSU sounds like it's junk to me the rest is good though

I agree on that poor PS. Get a 550 watt XFX Core Edition Pro Series (Seasonic) PS instead. Another is the 650 watt Corsair TX650V2 (Seasonic). Another in this price range ($60-$70) is the Antec EA-650 Green (Delta).

Dave

 

[s3anister]

Hey guys. I've spent weeks and days researching and looking for parts and this is going to be my final conclusion. I want you guys to check and see if the parts are compatible and working with each other. For me, I think they work together. You guys can make some suggestions and feel free to add some tips and suggestions. I'm planning to buy the parts on Sunday so I want to make sure before I buy it. Hopefully everything works out when I build it and my first build will be SUCCESSFUL!!!!!

So here are my parts:

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500k - 169.99
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - 19.99
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 - 126.04
Memory: Kingston HyperX 2x4gb - 39.99
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200rpm - 77.99
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7870 - 279.99
Case: Rosewill Challanger - 49.99
Power Supply: OCZ 600W ATX12V - 29.99
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B - 17.99
Monitor: Asus VE228H 21.5" - 129.98
OS: Windows 7 64bit - 90.65
Keyboard: Microsoft Keyboard 200 Wired Standard - 8.99

= $1041.58 USD
I don't want to exceed $1050.00 USD. $1050.00 USD is my budget!

It's definitely not bad, but there are a few changes that I would recommend you make.

First, you absolutely need a good power supply. There are only two or three power supplies under $50 that are any decent and they're all around the $40 mark so this $30 OCZ unit worries me (I'd like to see exactly what model of OCZ power supply you're looking at, if you could supply that info please). My vote is for the Corsair TX650V2, it's one of the best in its price range (currently $79.99FS on Newegg. Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020&Tpk=Corsair%20TX650%20v2 ).

Second, I'm not sure why you would buy the Hyper 212 Plus when you could get the 212 EVO for only $10 more dollars plus free shipping at Newegg... (Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 )

Third, trust me when I say out of everything one could possibly do wrong in building a computer this far into 2012 is buy anything less than 8GB of RAM (2x4GB). Especially so when you consider how cheap DDR3 is, even in its DDR3-1600 iteration. Intel processors see little gains from any DDR3 speed above DDR3-1333 so you can save money there (with an unlocked processor you can change the memory dividers and obviously, the multiplier, so there is almost no need to get fast RAM like in the old days).

Lastly, this is just preference for me, but I would try to shoot for a Z77 board and the Intel Core i5-3570K so you can take full advantage of the latest LucidLogix Virtu features; totally not necessary, though.

 

[s3anister]

Also, as a RAM recommendation, Newegg has a shellshocker deal going on for the G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800). As of now it's selling for $44.99FS (Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231548 ). At the very least I suggest buying this or another 8gig kit vs. a 4gig kit.

EDIT: The timings on this RAM are 8-8-8 for DDR3-1600 which is what really stands out for me; most DDR3-1600 kits on average run at 9-9-9.

 

[azeem40]

Everyone who said that the PSU sucks is wrong. All OCZ 600W PSUs, like the StealthXStream, GameXStream, and the ModXStream are good PSUs and provide higher wattage than stated.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/OCZ-ModXStream-Pro-600-W-Power-Supply-Review/936/9

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/OCZ-StealthXStream-600-W-Power-Supply-Review/451/10

 

[s3anister]

Everyone who said that the PSU sucks is wrong. All OCZ 600W PSUs, like the StealthXStream, GameXStream, and the ModXStream are good PSUs and provide higher wattage than stated.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/OCZ-ModXStream-Pro-600-W-Power-Supply-Review/936/9

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/OCZ-StealthXStream-600-W-Power-Supply-Review/451/10

I don't think you understood what we were talking about.

OCZ 600W ATX12V - 29.99

I don't know of any decent $30 PSU let alone any OCZ PSU that sells for $29.99 which is why I asked for exactly what PSU model it is. The ModXStream (OCZ's ridiculous naming scheme aside) is a very good PSU, but it doesn't sell for $30, it sells for $75 (MSRP of $99).

 

[bigcyco1]

I don't think you understood what we were talking about.

OCZ 600W ATX12V - 29.99

I don't know of any decent $30 PSU let alone any OCZ PSU that sells for $29.99 which is why I asked for exactly what PSU model it is. The ModXStream (OCZ's ridiculous naming scheme aside) is a very good PSU, but it doesn't sell for $30, it sells for $75 (MSRP of $99).

+1

 

[bigcyco1]

Everyone who said that the PSU sucks is wrong. All OCZ 600W PSUs, like the StealthXStream, GameXStream, and the ModXStream are good PSUs and provide higher wattage than stated.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/OCZ-ModXStream-Pro-600-W-Power-Supply-Review/936/9

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/OCZ-StealthXStream-600-W-Power-Supply-Review/451/10

No good PSU i am aware of sells for $29.99

 

[DavidY]

No good PSU i am aware of sells for $29.99

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Antec-VP450-Power-Supply-Review/1487

I have read that the Antec VP450 can be had for $29.99 on occasion.

Dave

 

[bigcyco1]

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Antec-VP450-Power-Supply-Review/1487

I have read that the Antec VP450 can be had for $29.99 on occasion.

Dave

huh interesting i thought it sold for 37.99 well learn something new every day i suppose :lol:

 

[DavidY]

huh interesting i thought it sold for 37.99 well learn something new every day i suppose :lol:

It was on sale for $29.99 here in Canada recently.

Dave

 

[unRaveled]

What's the difference between the Hyper 212 evo and the plus?

Also the original price of the OCZ 600w is 70$. They just raised the price of the OCZ 600w $10 today. I'm thinking the OCZ 600w is on sale or something for a limited time until it gets back up to the original price? Could that be why it cost so low now?

I would have bought that ares but it's no longer 44.99 so is the kingston hyperx 8gb an okay ram or do I need something better?

 

[bigcyco1]

What's the difference between the Hyper 212 evo and the plus?

Also the original price of the OCZ 600w is 70$. They just raised the price of the OCZ 600w $10 today. I'm thinking the OCZ 600w is on sale or something for a limited time until it gets back up to the original price? Could that be why it cost so low now?

I would have bought that ares but it's no longer 44.99 so is the kingston hyperx 8gb an okay ram or do I need something better?

kingston hyperx is fine. There is virtually no difference in performance. The EVO doesn't have the grooves between the heatpipes, otherwise they are nearly identical.The evo will only get you 1-3 degrees C cooler, not really significant for overclocking needs.
here's a comparison between the two:
http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews/cooling/heatsinksfans/13336-cm-hyper-212-evo-cpu-cooler-review?start=5

 

[s3anister]

kingston hyperx is fine. There is virtually no difference in performance. The EVO doesn't have the grooves between the heatpipes, otherwise they are nearly identical.The evo will only get you 1-3 degrees C cooler, not really significant for overclocking needs.
here's a comparison between the two:
http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews/cooling/heatsinksfans/13336-cm-hyper-212-evo-cpu-cooler-review?start=5

The plus is also ~3dBa louder than the EVO while being less efficient. http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2655&page=3

As for 3 degrees separation in Celsius, for me that's enough extra overclocking headroom to warrant the extra cash but it definitely comes down to preference; if the EVO isn't worth the extra cash to you then save some money and don't buy it.

That's too bad that the Ares RAM is no longer on sale, that was a very impressive price for what was being offered. In any case, you can still get DDR3-1600 for the same price the only difference will be in CAS latency (8 vs. 9). Here are my recommendations:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144486
and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546

 

[bigcyco1]

The plus is also ~3dBa louder than the EVO while being less efficient. http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2655&page=3

As for 3 degrees separation in Celsius, for me that's enough extra overclocking headroom to warrant the extra cash but it definitely comes down to preference; if the EVO isn't worth the extra cash to you then save some money and don't buy it.

That's too bad that the Ares RAM is no longer on sale, that was a very impressive price for what was being offered. In any case, you can still get DDR3-1600 for the same price the only difference will be in CAS latency (8 vs. 9). Here are my recommendations:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144486
and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546

he started another thread http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/341843-28-600w#