Need advice/suggestions for budget i5 2500k build

[fitch303]

I've decided to build my own computer for the first time and need some advice from all of you regarding a few pieces of hardware. I plan on buying the components within the next week or so. The computer will be used primarily for folding@home, web browsing, home theater and light gaming (AOE, Rome total war). Due to my current hardware restrictions I don't participate in heavy gaming but see myself getting into it once I complete this build. Right now I have a sony notebook running a intel t2080 dual core pentium with 2 gigs of rams and integrated graphics, highly outdated lol. I'd like to keep everything around $500 and wont need a monitor for now as I'll be using my 40 inch 1080p lcd tv. I already have a copy of windows 7 and live a few miles away from a microcenter and prefer buying everything local from this store in Cincinnati.

I initially was going to buy a phenom 2 965be but found a brand new Intel i5 2500k in the internet for $120 so the system will be based around it. Down the road I plan on overclocking so I'll need a motherboard which supports that feature, Pretty much wont need dual graphic cards. I would like to purchase the smallest, most discrete case within reason. Not into windows and radical design with many lights...just a simple looking case that's more cube like that a tower.

Thus far I have chosen these parts but keep in mind there may be features I can't think of or dont know about and may not be making the best decision...hence asking for your advice.


Build date approx 1 week
Budget 500-600
System Usage from Most to Least Important: folding@gome, web browsing usually 12-15 tabs open, some gaming, hd media server
Are you buying a monitor: not for awhile, will be using my 40 inch lcd tv
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Microcenter but would purchase online if it's a good deal
Location: Cincinnati
Overclocking: Down the road
Processor- Intel i5 2500k $120
Motherboard- ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Motherb...Overkill? $134.99 http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0387554
Ram-Corsair Vengeance Series 8GB DDR3-1600 PC3-12800) $39.99 http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354611
Graphics- (Suggested by a friend of mine, I'm indifferent to amd or nvidia) HIS H777F1G2M iCooler Radeon HD 7770 1024MB GDDR5 $139 - $30 rebate http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0387845
Hard drive- Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 7,200 RPM SATA 3 $62.99 http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0347353

Optical drive Blue ray reader- ?
Psu?
Case?

 

[g-unit1111]

If you're going to be buying a 2500K, there's no point in pairing it with a Z77 motherboard. Get a Z68 motherboard instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128512

I wouldn't purchase a BD-R reader - it's really unnecessary. Get a cheapo DVD reader for $17 and then upgrade your GPU to a Radeon 7850: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102999

For PSU and case I'd have to know how much you want to spend before suggesting parts.

 

[fitch303]

I'd like to spend around 50-60 for the case and around the same for a psu. I'm buying the Blue ray player so I watch it on my Tv, do graphics cards upscale?

 

[twelve25]

Where'd you get that processor for $120? I might buy one!

I think your board is probably overkill, and you'd be better served finding a good $70-80 board and then putting an extra $40-50 into your graphics card and going with a 7850 or GTX650 TI. Maybe something like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P709YI/?tag=pcpapi-20

 

[twelve25]

If you're going to be buying a 2500K, there's no point in pairing it with a Z77 motherboard. Get a Z68 motherboard instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128512
.

I was going to say z68, too, but I couldn't find any good deals on a Z68 board. That one you linked to has bad reviews and is only cheaper after a rebate. There are better deals on Z75 or Z77 boards.

 

[fitch303]

Where'd you get that processor for $120? I might buy one!

I think your board is probably overkill, and you'd be better served finding a good $70-80 board and then putting an extra $40-50 into your graphics card and going with a 7850 or GTX650 TI. Maybe something like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P709YI/?tag=pcpapi-20

Found it on craigslist, seemed like a good deal.

 

[g-unit1111]

I was going to say z68, too, but I couldn't find any good deals on a Z68 board. That one you linked to has bad reviews and is only cheaper after a rebate. There are better deals on Z75 or Z77 boards.

Don't take store reviews seriously - they mean nothing most of the time and don't really have any base to go on other than you like this product or you don't. I have the Z68XP-UD3P and it works great, I haven't had a single problem with it and even after a CPU upgrade. The bad thing is when you pair a Z77 motherboard with a 2500K you lose the key feature of Ivy Bridge and that is PCI 3.0.

I'd like to spend around 50-60 for the case and around the same for a psu. I'm buying the Blue ray player so I watch it on my Tv, do graphics cards upscale?

I've had incredible difficulty getting BD-R movies to play through PC on a variety of configurations and it's a gigantic pain in the ass. You're better off just playing regular DVDs.

For the case here's a couple around that price range I'd recommend:

- Corsair 200R: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139018
- Antec 300 Illusion: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066
- Cooler Master HAF 912; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
- Fractal Design Core 3000: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352010
- NZXT Source 210: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146075

And then for power supplies here's a couple that I would recommend:

- Seasonic S12 II 520W: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094
- XFX Pro 550W: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013
- Corsair Builder Series CX600: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028

 

[dish_moose]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
great deal.
-Bruce
EDIT: ANTEC 302 is a decent not flashy case - I like mine.

 

[fitch303]

I liked some of the cases posted above but then ran accross this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119261

 

[twelve25]

I liked some of the cases posted above but then ran accross this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119261

That's a mini-ITX form factor. They are compact, but there are airflow and space limitations. On a budget, you can't really get a GOOD mini ITX case. There are some like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163208
That would be pretty good, but it's going to be more money for less room/watts than a higher end micro-ATX case . You also won't want to overclock too much.

 

[twelve25]

Don't take store reviews seriously - they mean nothing most of the time and don't really have any base to go on other than you like this product or you don't. I have the Z68XP-UD3P and it works great, I haven't had a single problem with it and even after a CPU upgrade. The bad thing is when you pair a Z77 motherboard with a 2500K you lose the key feature of Ivy Bridge and that is PCI 3.0.

When you've got nearly 100 out of 250 reviews saying it's either dead out of the box or flaky/BSOD after less than a year, I take notice. A good share of newegg reviewers are pretty tech savvy. Plus it's not any cheaper than a Z77/75 board, so why would you take a potentially flaky board for MORE money? That Asrock Pro3 Z75 gives up nothing over the board you linked, yet it's $40 cheaper and has good reviews. There's a gigabyte Z75 board at microcenter for $80.

I agree you won't get any additional benefit from a Z77 board, but why would you pay more for a Z68 board? Right now the guy just needs a bang for the buck board that works with his chip. So looking at the compatible overclocking chipsets, that' Z68/75/77. Find the best deal on a decent board in any of those chipsets and you are set.

 

[g-unit1111]

That's a mini-ITX form factor. They are compact, but there are airflow and space limitations. On a budget, you can't really get a GOOD mini ITX case. There are some like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811163208
That would be pretty good, but it's going to be more money for less room/watts than a higher end micro-ATX case . You also won't want to overclock too much.

Yeah mITX builds are quite a challenge because of the airflow limitations.

When you've got nearly 100 out of 250 reviews saying it's either dead out of the box or flaky/BSOD after less than a year, I take notice. A good share of newegg reviewers are pretty tech savvy. Plus it's not any cheaper than a Z77/75 board, so why would you take a potentially flaky board for MORE money? That Asrock Pro3 Z75 gives up nothing over the board you linked, yet it's $40 cheaper and has good reviews. There's a gigabyte Z75 board at microcenter for $80.

There is some truth to that, I'll agree, but at the same time I have looked extremely close at the negative reviews and a lot of them don't have anything to do with the actual product itself - rather some wanker will complain about a bad refund or a UPS error. I noticed this when I bought my first SSD - I was looking closely at the OCZ Vertex 3 because it had really good deals on a 120GB drive but when I checked out the negative reviews they really didn't have anything to do with BSODs or DOAs but bad refunds. I was like WTF?

 

[fitch303]

Think i'll stock with Matx. Microcenter has this board for $100 bucks, might be worth buying.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/389357/P8Z77-M_PRO_LGA_1155_Z77_mATX_Intel_Motherboard

 

[fitch303]

169.99 for the 3570k and 54.99 for the ASRock PRO3.

already purchased a cpu from craigslist. i5 2500k for $120

 

[g-unit1111]

Store reviews of a product should be ignored period. Out of those 250 reviews how many people do you think bought that product and never wrote a review? Then out of those 100 negative reviews I wonder how many of them messed it up by not knowing what they were doing or didn't have a proper PSU.

Yeah that's another thing about store reviews that annoys me - a good 90% of the things people complain about could be prevented had they read their instruction manual first.

 

[jonjonjon]

When you've got nearly 100 out of 250 reviews saying it's either dead out of the box or flaky/BSOD after less than a year, I take notice. A good share of newegg reviewers are pretty tech savvy. Plus it's not any cheaper than a Z77/75 board, so why would you take a potentially flaky board for MORE money? That Asrock Pro3 Z75 gives up nothing over the board you linked, yet it's $40 cheaper and has good reviews. There's a gigabyte Z75 board at microcenter for $80.

I agree you won't get any additional benefit from a Z77 board, but why would you pay more for a Z68 board? Right now the guy just needs a bang for the buck board that works with his chip. So looking at the compatible overclocking chipsets, that' Z68/75/77. Find the best deal on a decent board in any of those chipsets and you are set.

P67 also allows overclocking but doesn't support integrated graphics. i don't know why the P67 & Z68 boards haven't dropped in price. who is still buying them when they are priced at same as Z77?

 

[fitch303]

I've decided that for now I'm going to wait a few weeks to pick up a discrete graphics card (tax return) so I'll need a MB with onboard graphics. Would like to stay as close to or under $100 as possible, usb 3.0 would be nice but not necessarily needed. Overclocking is a must, and has to be micro atx, sata 3. Hdmi out would be awesome considering that's how I plan on using mt 40 in ch tv with this computer and would allow me to hold off on a graphics card.


Basically what's on this screen from microcenter.

http://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.aspx?N=4294966996+4294939941+4294963346&NTX=&NTT=&NTK=all&sortby=pricelow

 

[twelve25]

I think you could get a better deal online, but really with your requirements, this is the one I'd get from microcenter: http://www.microcenter.com/product/387629/Z77_Pro4-M_1155_mATX_Intel_Motherboard

It might be the ONLY one that meets your requirements at microcenter.

 

[fitch303]

Best answer selected by fitch303.