First PC. Advice/Suggestions/Compatibility? (~$1500)

[wesmman1]

Approximate Purchase Date: August 2012

Budget Range: ~$1500

Below is what I have in mind, but I need any advice before I start buying. Even though it says $1750. it's around $1600 because there are some deals not shown there I made a post here about a year ago, but that was when I had the slightest knowledge of building computers but now I feel confident. Please, if there are any suggestions, please tell me, or any way I can bring the price a little lower...

Also for the Graphic Cards... my friends cousin said he'd sell me his barely two used Radeon 6970's for $500. Should I take this deal? Or buy fresh Graphic Cards... or even another brand? Like GTX 670's, etc.

Thanks!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($91.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($132.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($102.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Hard Drive: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($249.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 6970 2GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($309.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 6970 2GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($309.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 600T White Graphite ATX Mid Tower Case ($166.55 @ Mac Connection)
Power Supply: Antec 900W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($124.98 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1750.32
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-07-24 17:35 EDT-0400)

 

[devilofdeaths]

you really dont need that much power for 2 6970 i would suggest a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139025&Tpk=corsair%20800w

 

[cranked]

Fine build other than a few things I would suggest.

1. You don't need to go watercooling. I would suggest a nice air cooler like the noctua nh-d14.

2. Your PSU is way overkill for even two 670's. Most you would probably need would be a 750W. Something like this maybe:
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=62224&vpn=P1750BNLG9&manufacture=XFX&promoid=1261

3. Don't get the dual cards. You should always buy the single best card you can afford. I would get either a 670 or a 7970. Either way it's cheaper than what your buddy is trying to sell you and better.

 

[wesmman1]

you really dont need that much power for 2 6970 i would suggest a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139025&Tpk=corsair%20800w

Thanks for the information... The 15% Promo makes it about $93. I'll keep that in mind, thanks!

 

[devilofdeaths]

no problem man just trying to help people with question IE you

 

[aznshinobi]

6970 isn't the route to do right now when the 7870's are cheaper/same price and perform much much better. Especially after a slight overclock to 1ghz.

The Corsair Hydro series coolers are jokes. Expensive but don't perform. Air coolers that are $30 less perform pretty close to them.
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2664&page=7
This cooler is better than the Spire 2 which beat out the H80 in cooling performance and is cheaper than the H80 by $20
http://www.amazon.com/Spire-TherMax-Eclipse-Universal-SP984B1-V3-PWM/dp/tech-data/B0085EYMV6

Check out my $1100 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore
You'd be better off going with the 7950 or the GTX 670. I just suggest the 7950 to save money. After a max overclock the 7950 is better than the 670 OC.

 

[wesmman1]

Fine build other than a few things I would suggest.

1. You don't need to go watercooling. I would suggest a nice air cooler like the noctua nh-d14.

2. Your PSU is way overkill for even two 670's. Most you would probably need would be a 750W. Something like this maybe:
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=62224&vpn=P1750BNLG9&manufacture=XFX&promoid=1261

3. Don't get the dual cards. You should always buy the single best card you can afford. I would get either a 670 or a 7970. Either way it's cheaper than what your buddy is trying to sell you and better.

Is this better? Do I really need a 680, or should I just get the 670, or 6970? I can do with the price, but I need more opinions. Thanks!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($132.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($102.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Hard Drive: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($249.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($519.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 600T White Graphite ATX Mid Tower Case ($166.55 @ Mac Connection)
Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($136.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1655.33
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-07-24 19:53 EDT-0400)

 

[cranked]

I'd get the 670. Performs almost the same as a 680 at 75% of the cost or go with aznshinobi's suggestion of a 7950.

 

[aznshinobi]

IMO you're over spending. The D14 isn't worth the cost, even an enthusiast overclocker really I would say the EVGA Superclock is more than enough.
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclock-CPU-Cooler-M020-00-000234/dp/B0053G6FY6
Review: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1629/6/

As for the HDD, pretty expensive considering a lot of them just sit at $80 currently. Your case is definitely way expensive but it is your choice. I think the 400R is a better case specially for the price but it's all preference.

 

[AyuX]

Fine build other than a few things I would suggest.

1. You don't need to go watercooling. I would suggest a nice air cooler like the noctua nh-d14.

2. Your PSU is way overkill for even two 670's. Most you would probably need would be a 750W. Something like this maybe:
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=62224&vpn=P1750BNLG9&manufacture=XFX&promoid=1261

3. Don't get the dual cards. You should always buy the single best card you can afford. I would get either a 670 or a 7970. Either way it's cheaper than what your buddy is trying to sell you and better.

Don't think that GTX 670 takes too much power because of it's awesome performance. GTX 670 takes around 170W even less than the AMD HD6870. Surely a 650W PSU can run them in SLI. SO I am recommending a Corsair TX650 Modular PSU than the GS800 if you buy a single GTX 670. HD7950 is also recommended

By saving money on the PSU and graphics card, I suggest you get a good motherboard other than AsRock Extreme4. Try Asus p8z77m Pro.

 

[aznshinobi]

The P8Z77 Pro is a terrible board for the price, if you're going to SLI/CF in the future the Micro-ATX version is definitely not the other route to take either.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z77-extreme6-z77a-gd65-z77h2-a2x,3187-22.html

Why go with the TX650M when you could save and go with the Rosewill 750w Hive and save much more
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182133&Tpk=rosewill%20750%20hive
Still modular and similar performance.
Review of the 650w version: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Rosewill-HIVE-650-W-Power-Supply-Review/1460

 

[wesmman1]

Thanks guys, I'll definitely take these answers under consideration... If anyone else has advice, please post!