- May 10, 2011
- 88
- 0
- 18,640
Approximate Purchase Date: Christmas
Budget Range: $1200 before tax/shipping
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to Upgrade: Whole new build
Do you need to buy OS: No
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon, Newegg, NCIX, TigerDirect, Frys
Location: San Diego, California
Parts Preferences: Intel, Nvidia
Overclocking: Yes
SLI or Crossfire: No
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080 currently. Soon hoping to either add two more 1080P's or switch up to a 2560 x 1440
Additional Comments: Sticking with the Bitfenix Prodigy, so the parts have to fit inside. Would like to keep it as quiet as possible while still allowing some good overclocking.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My last build is 5 years old. It is still pretty awesome, but is pretty much as upgraded as it can get without replacing almost everything.
So I feel pretty good about my setup, but would love to get some extra input, especially if I could save a few extra bucks somewhere.
PC Part Picker system here http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qa6M
Case: Bitfenix Prodigy Black $79.99
This is definitely staying and defines more than a few of my other components. Please don't offer me up a whole new build using mATX components or whatnot.
CPU: I5-3570K $219.99
Pretty much a no-brainer on this one
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 $80.77
Love the excellent cooling and excellent noise levels. Looked at water cooling but it didn't seem to have much thermal gain and really increased the noise levels. Also looked at the Hyper 212 but still felt the extra cost was worth the better cooling and acoustics.
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe Mini $184.99
Have to use an ITX mobo. Looked at the ASRock, but it doesn't work with my top choices of heatsinks. Other ITX boards didn't look as gamer/overclocker friendly.
Memory: Samsung MV-3V4G3D/US 8GB (2x4) 1600 C10 $34.99
Low profile to fit with no hassles, and from many reviews seems to be an ungodly overclocker with 1866 C9 practically a given and even better a strong possibility. Mobo only has 2 slots, but I don't really see a need for more than 8GB in the near future anyway.
Storage: Mushkin Chronos 240GB SSD $149.99
To be honest I change this almost everytime I update, because of SSD deals that seem to spring up every other day. I have mainly been looking at this one, the Intel 330, Crucial M4, and OCZ Agility 3 and they all keep juggling for the low price point. I already have a few terabytes of other drives I can either do internal or external for mass storage needs.
GPU: Gigabyte GV-N670OC-2GD (GTX 670) $359.99
All but set on the 670, this particular model seems to overclock nicely while keeping pretty quiet. GPU deals seem to pop up every so often but I really do want to try to keep down on the noise.
Optical Drive: none. If I decide to get one it will be an external blue ray later
PSU: Silverstone Strider Plus 500W $77.17
This is an area I have been having trouble with. I would prefer to stick with a Corsair or a Seasonic, but this is where the Prodigy gives me a little bit of trouble. It can take a PSU 160mm long, but just barely. Modular PSUs tend to need slightly more room because of how the cables plug in, and non-modular means I have to find somewhere to stuff it all. I would love to find the perfect 140mm modular PSU without spending any more money on it, and this Silverstone has been the best compromise I could find. Anyone know a better option?
Additional Case Fan: Bitfenix Spectre 230mm $14.99
My cooling plan is to have the 230mm in the front as an intake, one 140mm on the top as an intake, and one 140mm in the rear as an exhaust, with the CPU cooler blowing directly towards the exhaust. I was going with the large fan in front to keep it quiet while still moving a decent bit of air.
Total Cost: $1197.86
Would love to hear any thoughts, especially if anyone has any Prodigy experience or just small build experience in general. I am hoping to get a 4.5ghz overclock, but depending on temperatures I might ease it down to an even 4.0, as I would prefer it to be able to stay cool and quiet. Also, if anyone wants to recommend a particular part swap, I would appreciate why you think the part I chose isn't as good as the part you want me to swap in, not just how much you like your choice.
Thanks in advance!
Budget Range: $1200 before tax/shipping
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to Upgrade: Whole new build
Do you need to buy OS: No
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon, Newegg, NCIX, TigerDirect, Frys
Location: San Diego, California
Parts Preferences: Intel, Nvidia
Overclocking: Yes
SLI or Crossfire: No
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080 currently. Soon hoping to either add two more 1080P's or switch up to a 2560 x 1440
Additional Comments: Sticking with the Bitfenix Prodigy, so the parts have to fit inside. Would like to keep it as quiet as possible while still allowing some good overclocking.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My last build is 5 years old. It is still pretty awesome, but is pretty much as upgraded as it can get without replacing almost everything.
So I feel pretty good about my setup, but would love to get some extra input, especially if I could save a few extra bucks somewhere.
PC Part Picker system here http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qa6M
Case: Bitfenix Prodigy Black $79.99
This is definitely staying and defines more than a few of my other components. Please don't offer me up a whole new build using mATX components or whatnot.
CPU: I5-3570K $219.99
Pretty much a no-brainer on this one
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 $80.77
Love the excellent cooling and excellent noise levels. Looked at water cooling but it didn't seem to have much thermal gain and really increased the noise levels. Also looked at the Hyper 212 but still felt the extra cost was worth the better cooling and acoustics.
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe Mini $184.99
Have to use an ITX mobo. Looked at the ASRock, but it doesn't work with my top choices of heatsinks. Other ITX boards didn't look as gamer/overclocker friendly.
Memory: Samsung MV-3V4G3D/US 8GB (2x4) 1600 C10 $34.99
Low profile to fit with no hassles, and from many reviews seems to be an ungodly overclocker with 1866 C9 practically a given and even better a strong possibility. Mobo only has 2 slots, but I don't really see a need for more than 8GB in the near future anyway.
Storage: Mushkin Chronos 240GB SSD $149.99
To be honest I change this almost everytime I update, because of SSD deals that seem to spring up every other day. I have mainly been looking at this one, the Intel 330, Crucial M4, and OCZ Agility 3 and they all keep juggling for the low price point. I already have a few terabytes of other drives I can either do internal or external for mass storage needs.
GPU: Gigabyte GV-N670OC-2GD (GTX 670) $359.99
All but set on the 670, this particular model seems to overclock nicely while keeping pretty quiet. GPU deals seem to pop up every so often but I really do want to try to keep down on the noise.
Optical Drive: none. If I decide to get one it will be an external blue ray later
PSU: Silverstone Strider Plus 500W $77.17
This is an area I have been having trouble with. I would prefer to stick with a Corsair or a Seasonic, but this is where the Prodigy gives me a little bit of trouble. It can take a PSU 160mm long, but just barely. Modular PSUs tend to need slightly more room because of how the cables plug in, and non-modular means I have to find somewhere to stuff it all. I would love to find the perfect 140mm modular PSU without spending any more money on it, and this Silverstone has been the best compromise I could find. Anyone know a better option?
Additional Case Fan: Bitfenix Spectre 230mm $14.99
My cooling plan is to have the 230mm in the front as an intake, one 140mm on the top as an intake, and one 140mm in the rear as an exhaust, with the CPU cooler blowing directly towards the exhaust. I was going with the large fan in front to keep it quiet while still moving a decent bit of air.
Total Cost: $1197.86
Would love to hear any thoughts, especially if anyone has any Prodigy experience or just small build experience in general. I am hoping to get a 4.5ghz overclock, but depending on temperatures I might ease it down to an even 4.0, as I would prefer it to be able to stay cool and quiet. Also, if anyone wants to recommend a particular part swap, I would appreciate why you think the part I chose isn't as good as the part you want me to swap in, not just how much you like your choice.
Thanks in advance!
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