Finally about to build my custom PC! Final Opinions ?

liveanimals

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Hello everyone, Josh Stone here. I posted a thread a couple of months back with a general build I had in mind and got a lot of awesome feedback. I've reflected on that, talked more and did some more research and come up with what I believe is a great build.

CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core
CPU Cooler - Cooler Master DP6-9EDSA-0L-GP
Motherboard - ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155
Memory - Corsair Dominator 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600
Storage - Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Video Card - EVGA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB
Case - Antec Two Hundred(v2) ATX Mid Tower
Power Supply - Antec 500W ATX12V
Optical Drive - Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer
Monitor - Asus VE248Q 24.0"
Operating System - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium

I didn't want to put much more than a grand in it, and it's added up to be right on the money.

I'm really looking to be able to play Battlefield 3 on Ultra. I have a lot of other games I'm planning to play, but that is my first and foremost requirement. I have seen a lot of great benchmarks from the GTX 480 playing Battlefield 3 on Ultra, so I should be good to go on that front. I've realized for the extra little bit of money I really might as well upgrade to 8GBs of RAM.

So what else? Any input would be welcome, really. Like I said it seems like this will definitely meet my needs and work great, but I want to triple check on it before I start purchasing the parts.

Thanks,

Josh.
 

deadlockedworld

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Have you considered swapping the 2500k out for the newer 3570k? Not sure if the 3570 was out when you did your first build post. Performance wise they shouldn't be that different, but if you can get a newer 22nm part instead of the older 32nm, why not?
 
Performance wise they shouldn't be that different, but if you can get a newer 22nm part instead of the older 32nm, why not?

I can think of a couple reasons lol.

It costs more typically, doesn't really perform any better. Although it touts "lower power consumption" when you overclock its just as hungry as the 2500K. At stock speeds you'd have to run it for a year or two to break even on the electric bill compared to the extra price you paid up front.

As for feedback on the build itself. I would get at least a 600 watt PSU with a GTX 480. Those things are power hogs, you add that on top of overclocking, its just too close for comfort.
 

liveanimals

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So would a 600 watt PSU be good to go or should I try to get something over 600, and what would be a solid PSU you would recommend for this build, or does it really make a difference between different manufactures.

Thanks!
 

Hi,

Yes a 600 watt should be fine, although, you might consider another video card altogether to avoid the heavy electricity uses the GTX 480s have. You might consider this. The GTX 480s perform about as well as the GTX 570s, and 7850s overclock enough generally to perform on par with GTX 570s. this would eliminate the problem altogether.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102999
But I would consider this PSU to be off good quality:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

OR a little cheaper:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028&Tpk=cx600
 

I agree with you, I didn't see that part of the build, yea, that cooler you're looking at is more or less identical to the cooler that comes with the 2500Ks, its not really an "upgrade" more a "sidegrade". 212 Evos are great coolers.
 

liveanimals

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So the 7850s are also capable of producing Ultra results on the likes of Battlefield 3, Crysis, ect.?

And between a 570 and 7850 what would be the way to go.

So far ;

- Better CPU Cooler.

- Ditch the 480 in favor of a GTX 570 or Radeon 7850.

- Better Power Supply

Also, how much more would these raise the cost from 1K. Shouldn't be much right? I was just looking for an estimate I can go do the hard numbers later.

 
Yes sir.

Battlefield 3 does tend to like Nvidia cards slightly better than AMD ones because of the way its coded. However, pretty much every other game the 7850 performs better than the 560 TI, and as I said typically overclocks well enough to stand up to the GTX 570. So its your call on that.

Stock to stock benches:

7850 vs 560 TI
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=547

7850 vs 570
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=518

560 TI vs 570
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/547?vs=518

If going with a GTX 570, I would recommend either EVGA or Zotac branded ones. The 560 TI Kamen linked too isn't a bad choice either. Better power supply isn't necessary if not getting GTX 480, as all 3 of these cards use substantially less power than it.
 

liveanimals

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So a better option over the 480 would most definitely be either;

- EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2GB 822MHz - 240 $

- ASUS Radeon HD 7850 2GB 870 MHz - 250 $

Is that the correct price point ? And is that correct period ?

The GTX 480 is 210, so it's not far off for something better.

Appreciate all the quick replys!
 
Asus isn't bad for making video cards, but for AMD video cards, Sapphire hands down makes the best. Asus wouldn't be a bad contender for 2nd place however.

$250
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102999

And yea, if the 560 TI is only $10 less, I'd go 7850, but then again, you're talking to a disgruntled person who paid $170 for a 550 TI factory overclocked when for that price I could have had a 6870. I've facepalmed myself enough over it :lol:

I've always bought Nvidia for no other reason than I was more familiar with their model numbering system. No longer.
 

liveanimals

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Cool enough. I will more than likely go with the Sapphire 7850 taking that into account. Definitely looking forward to getting it all put together.

On that note - How much would a general price be to have someone assemble it, or is that an easy enough task to handle yourself?



 
On that note - How much would a general price be to have someone assemble it, or is that an easy enough task to handle yourself?

Good question. If I personally were doing it for you, I'd probably want $100, and I'd probably make you sign something that says you acknowledge that I guarantee my work for 30 days (with the intention of it meaning if something goes wrong, its because a hardware component failed, not because of something I did wrong in assembling it). You might have trouble however getting an actual shop to do it for you. I dunno though. I know like car mechanic shops almost always will decline to install parts on your vehicle that you brought in yourself. Might sound like they're just being greedy and trying to get you to buy their parts, but really it makes sense, as they don't want the liability of you bringing in sub-par parts and if they don't work right you blaming their shoddy workmanship in the installation for the problem. Although, maybe computers aren't really a fair comparison. But seems logical.

As far as being an easy task, building a computer really isn't that difficult if you take your time, read all the documentation that comes with your parts and watch some videos on youtube. Thats the dirty little secret. Diagnosing and fixing things can be tricky, the actual assembly is so simple, a kid could do it.

If you have a local college in the area, you might see if they have an open PC clinic that might be willing to put the system together for you. I'm a tech student myself, and part of the learning experience is my college hosts a PC clinic which charges people about $100 bucks to fix, install or assemble any computer, and its the students who do it under supervision.
 

liveanimals

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Wow ! I had not thought into it past the point that I figured I could take it to a local shop and have them assemble it. There's a few more independently owned computer shops around my location that I had thought might do it, and I'll call tomorrow and double check. That is a good comparison though and I hadn't even considered it. Hopefully it will fall in place, but if not I appreciate the knowledge of a local Open PC Clinic, I would have never been able to figure that own by myself.

It's not that I couldn't do the assembly on my own, I'm sure I could. I am leaning towards buying quality parts and finding someone who knows what they're doing to do it though. In terms of diagnosing and fixing things, I know this is a continuous process of maintaining PCs. As far as assembly, would having it professionally put together cut down on the immediate problems that may incur from having installed it personally?

 

raytseng

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depends on your skill versus their skill as well as the value of your time.

That being said, if they get at least some traffic, they will have a better setup and get things done faster than you can.

Most places you should be able to take in your printout of your newegg shopping cart, and they should at least meet the price and just charge you build fee, if not beating it. It's a negotiation point at least. If they are professional at all, they shouldn't take it personally if you ask.

I think they are usually more willing to do that, then if you actually bring in your own parts.
 

liveanimals

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I didn't think of that. That could be a good thing to at least attempt, who wouldn't rather have your business even if it meant matching a price point.
 
As far as assembly, would having it professionally put together cut down on the immediate problems that may incur from having installed it personally?
Not necessarily. If one of the parts are bad out of the box, (sometimes its not apparent for a few days or a week or two), doesn't matter how professional the installation is. But yes, it does indeed come down to your skill. Certainly theres a chance you could break something, but as long as your careful you should be able to pull it off.
 

liveanimals

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Hello, just a little update;

I looked around a little bit and found a reputed shop that will either assemble the parts for a fee, or they'll even match the newegg part prices and install everything for no additional charge.

I was happy to at least find one easier avenue to the final steps to getting it all up and running. I should have it all together within 2 weeks, and I'm stoked ! I've been planning to do this for a while so I appreciate the the help. I'll definitely keep you all posted until completion.
 

liveanimals

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Hello everyone, just updating to ask;

If I'm already this far into it would it be worth it to switch out the 560 TI for a GTX 670, and if so, what manafacturer. A reason I had thought is that might be a better choice in the long run, but I'm not sure. I am aware of the price difference, but if it would be better overall it may be worth it.

So basically would it be wise lol or should I just stick with the 560 TI or 7850?

Appreciate it
 

liveanimals

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I believe I can afford it so I will probably go with the 670. Also, real quick;

Since I'm getting the GTX 670, do I need to change any other parts in my PC build to accomidate it ?
Will the 500 W Power Supply cover it, and is the EVO Cooler still good to go?

I appreciate it, I'm going to talk to this guy today about getting it all ordered and whatnot.

 

liveanimals

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Hey everybody! I'm not trying to be a bother but want to triple check before I spend any money.

Final build :

CPU - Intel Core i5-2500k 3.3 GHz Quad Core
Cooler- Hyper 212 Evo
Mobo- ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155
Memory- 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair Dominator
Power Supply - 500W
Asus VE248Q 24"

A few more questions;

Do I need a sound card, or does the motherboard come with that functionality? I am planning to connect it to a surround sound setup through a receiver as well as using headphones.

Would there be a better choice of a mother board for close to within the same range, or what would be the next step up and is it worth it?

Is 4GB Ram enough, and does it matter what manufacturer of memory you buy. One more !!!

Would it be worth it to get the next step up in a CPU, and what would be the best CPU to aim for, being reasonable.

I greatly appreciate the help, just gotta be sure. I would like to have something that's top of the line for as long as possible in terms of power without getting completely unnecessary

Also; is there a better option for a screen than the one listed ? Everything I've read is extremely positive.

A friend gave me some alternatives that supposedly would be 'upgrades', but I've looked them up and it doesn't seem like it at all. That's why I'm asking basically; What's the next step up, and is it worth it, piece by piece.

Thanks so much!