New PC Build ~ $800-1200

[FlipsideJohn]

Approximate Purchase Date: As soon as I figure out the build

Budget Range: $800-$1200 before rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (BF3, Guild Wars2, LoL, DayZ, Starcraft 2), Movies, School work

Are you buying a monitor: I have a 19" Gateway 1440x900, which I would like to upgrade but I can upgrade it later on instead, or would you guys recommend buying a new one now?


Do you need to buy OS: Yes, Windows 7

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg or Amazon

Location: California

Parts Preferences:
2500k or 3750k
8gb 1600mhz
nvidia graphics
What is the benefit of buying a hdd and a ssd? Just the quicker boot time?


Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

My current pc is an AMD x2 6000+ @3ghz, 3gb ram, integrated graphics (pci-e slot broke), and ocz 500w psu.

 

[TheBigTroll]

nvidia doesnt have the bang for the buck that amd currently has. if you had a higher budget, i would have recommended the 670. the 660ti isnt very good value given the 7950 costs just as much but does better

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fCtV

the hard drive you can get later. i would start off with the SSD and when you need more storage, then get the hard drive. most people dont fill up 100gb of storage very fast. when you see a nice hard drive on sale, then pick it up.

it is much easier to add a hard drive to a existing SSD system than vice versa since you dont have to reinstall windows on the SSD later on

 

[TheBigTroll]

you get a overall faster rig with a SSD. everything just seems to move faster

 

[FlipsideJohn]

ahh alright. what do you think about these 3 swaps for your build?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020 - corsair 650w psu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131837 asus mb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146080 - nzxt Tempest 410 case

 

[TheBigTroll]

i have a better power supply than that

the motherboard is your call. i have the LK myself but i only got it because it was super cheap. the ud3h is a overall better board

the case is your call. doesnt matter too much to me

 

[FlipsideJohn]

I only wanted to swap PSU's because I've heard you should stick to antec and corsair. I want a case with great airflow, and room for 2 large cards. I currently have the antec 310 and I feel like its too small for the larger cards.

 

[TheBigTroll]

well, you dont know that my psu is from the same company who makes corsairs power supplies (which is seasonic btw). my unit is more efficent and its modular so it helps with cabling. i have one myself

the antec 302 is big enough. seen one myself

 

[FlipsideJohn]

sorry for double post. I have a 32 inch lcd tv and i was wondering if i could play on that. its 1920x1080

 

[TheBigTroll]

it will play at 1080p no problem.

the 7870 isnt that big

 

[FlipsideJohn]

Oh okay thank you. One last question. I have a 500gb hdd in my current pc (running on vista). Can I take it out and put it in my new setup without vista being installed if I have windows 7 installed on the ssd?

 

[chetorch]

Oh okay thank you. One last question. I have a 500gb hdd in my current pc (running on vista). Can I take it out and put it in my new setup without vista being installed if I have windows 7 installed on the ssd?

just make sure you format your 500GB HDD and it should work!

 

[TheBigTroll]

you also need to reinstall windows since the license is tied to the motherboard and not the drive. you will need windows

 

[chetorch]

If you already have Windows 7 on your SSD then there would be no need to reinstall any Windows on the 500GB HDD. Just format it.

 

[TheBigTroll]

you still need to reactivate it

 

[chetorch]

reactivate Vista on the HDD he will be using for storage along with the SDD that has Windows 7 on it already?

Why?

 

[FlipsideJohn]

i dont think i explained this well. my 500gb hdd has vista on it and i plan on buying a ssd and installing windows 7. Can i still use the hdd in my new system even though it has vista on the hard drive?

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1031726 $131.98 save: $18.00 FREE SHIPPING
Corsair Carbide Series 300R Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1020392 $139.98 save: $15.00 - $20.00 Mail In Rebates FREE SHIPPING
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9B

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1030095 $346.98 save: $18.00
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005O65JXI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A2EUTVCJXLAJ4K $33.45 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2)

http://www.amazon.com/Lite--Super-AllWrite-Layer-Drive/dp/B002YIG9AQ/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1345672179&sr=1-4 $21.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Lite-On Super AllWrite 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive - Bulk - IHAS124-04 Version C (Black)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171646 $94.99 FREE SHIPPING
SanDisk SDSSDP-128G-G25 2.5" 128GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127697 $299.99 FREE SHIPPING
MSI N660Ti PE 2GD5 GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Premium-64bit-System-Builder/dp/B004Q0PT3I/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_b $90.30 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack

Total: $1,159.52 *not including shipping & rebates


http://www.amazon.com/VS228H-P-21-5-Inch-Full-HD-Monitor-Black/dp/B005BZNDOO $136.40 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASUS VS228H-P 21.5-Inch Full-HD LED Monitor (Black) | LED Backlit with 50,000,000:1 ASUS Smart Contrast Ratio; Full 1080P with HDMI

http://usa.asus.com/Display/LCD_Monitors/VS228HP/ <----- another look at that monitor

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z77%20Extreme4/ <----- another look at that board along with a link on there to the latest bios update

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z77-extreme6-z77a-gd65-z77h2-a2x,3187.html <----- Review of that board w/benchmarks

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/asrock_z77_extreme4_review,1.html <----- Review of that board w/benchmarks

http://www.corsair.com/carbide-series-300r-compact-pc-gaming-case.html/ <----- another look at that case

 

[chetorch]

i dont think i explained this well. my 500gb hdd has vista on it and i plan on buying a ssd and installing windows 7. Can i still use the hdd in my new system even though it has vista on the hard drive?

I understood the question well enough the first time.

Yes, you can. Make sure to boot from the SSD with Windows 7 first, then format the 500GB HDD.

 

[TheBigTroll]

if you are to use windows 7 on the old hard drive, it would work but you would have to do a reformat,.

i thought you were going to transfer windows from the hard drive to the SSD. so therefore ignore the previous comments

 

[FlipsideJohn]

okay so i'll just install the hdd after i boot up windows for the first time.
edit: what are the differences between the 2 builds that were posted here?