$1100 with recycled case/hdd/optical drive

[foolycooly]

We will be recycling a cm690 case, 750gb caviar black HDD and an optical drive. Primary uses are gaming/browsing. This is what I have roughed out:

cpu: i5 3750k - $189.99 at microcenter

mobo: asrock extreme4 z77 - $79.99 after $50 off with cpu purchase promo at microcenter

cpu cooler: hyper 212+ $19.99 after MIR at newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065)

memory: g.skill ares 8gb DDR3 1866 $44.99 at newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231550)

SSD: 120gb 840 $99.99 at Adorama (http://www.adorama.com/SSG7TD120KW.html?utm_term=Other&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=Other&utm_source=cj_3938566)

GPU: MSI 660ti PE OC $299.99 after $10 MIR at newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127696)

PSU: Corsair HX 650 Modular $99.99 after $20 MIR at newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012)

Windows 7 64 bit $89.98 at outletpc (http://www.outletpc.com/c5740.html?utm_source=c5740&utm_medium=shopping%2Bengine&utm_campaign=pcpartpicker)

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Total after tax and MIRs comes to $935.71. I am open to any suggestions for improvement.

Thanks for looking.

 

[djangoringo]

Get the plextor m5s in microcenter, it's a better ssd with mlc nand, the samsung 840 non pro has tlc nand which is inferior in terms of durability and speeds in heavy load.
Also it's cheaper : http://www.microcenter.com/product/398905/M5s_PX-128M5S_128GB_SATA_II_60Gb-s_25_Internal_Solid_State_Drive_(SSD)_with_Marvell_88SS9174_Controller
There's cheaper ram : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148544
If you want higher frequency, overclock it yourself, either way, the memory controller of the cpu only supports up to 1600 mhz, anything beyond that is consider overclocked.
Review of the ram : http://www.pureoverclock.com/Review-detail/crucial-ballistix-sport-series-8gb-kit-4gbx2-ddr3-pc3-12800-1600mhz/11/
The capstone 650M is as good as the corsair but without the chirping noise(also cheaper) :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182263&Tpk=capstone%20650m

 

[foolycooly]

Get the plextor m5s in microcenter, it's a better ssd with mlc nand, the samsung 840 non pro has tlc nand which is inferior in terms of durability and speeds in heavy load.
Also it's cheaper : http://www.microcenter.com/product/398905/M5s_PX-128M5S_128GB_SATA_II_60Gb-s_25_Internal_Solid_State_Drive_(SSD)_with_Marvell_88SS9174_Controller
There's cheaper ram : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148544
If you want higher frequency, overclock it yourself, either way, the memory controller of the cpu only supports up to 1600 mhz, anything beyond that is consider overclocked.
Review of the ram : http://www.pureoverclock.com/Review-detail/crucial-ballistix-sport-series-8gb-kit-4gbx2-ddr3-pc3-12800-1600mhz/11/
The capstone 650M is as good as the corsair but without the chirping noise(also cheaper) :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182263&Tpk=capstone%20650m

Thank you for the information. I was thinking since we came in under the $1100 mark we might look at moving up to a 250 or 256gb SSD. I'm not sure where exactly i stand on the TLC nand but from my above average amount of research I feel that the durability won't come into play during the normal usage/lifespan of the drive. I will definitely look into the plextor since I'll be at microcenter at some point anyway.

RAM looks good...it seems like ram is ram these days assuming it is from a reputable brand and has decent timings.

My rosewill negative bias is engrained deep...I will look more into the unit you suggested.

Thanks again.

 

[djangoringo]

What matters is that the plextor m5s is a better ssd and cheaper, if you're going to a microcenter store, it goes for 95$, since you won't pay for shipping.
The capstone psus were made by super flower, which is a high quality psu make, as reputable as seasonic.
There's plenty of good reviews of the capstone series.

 

[foolycooly]

I should add that this will be powering 3 23" 1080p monitors. I don't think the user will be doing any sort of multi-screen gaming though.

 

[djangoringo]

Yes, the 660 ti supports triple monitor with nvidia surround so it will do.

 

[foolycooly]

Yes, the 660 ti supports triple monitor with nvidia surround so it will do.

I also just realized that the 3 monitors he bought don't have DVI inputs:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-S23B550V-23-Inch-LED-Lit-Monitor/dp/B007TO3EK8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1361136843&sr=1-1&keywords=syncmaster+s23b550

In terms of configuring everything...would there be any performance issues with running 2 monitors with a DVI to VGA adapter and 1 with HDMI?

Thanks.

 

[djangoringo]

No, use one dp to hdmi adapter, one hdmi to the hdmi and one dvi to hdmi/vga.

 

[foolycooly]

Any thoughts on the CX series modular PSUs from Corsair? I had decided to go with the Rosewill unit that you suggested, but we are now thinking of going ahead and getting everything at Microcenter (in store). They don't carry Rosewill.

My options in the 6-650w range (modular) are the CX600m, HX650 and some others:

http://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.aspx?N=4294966654+4294957307+383&cat=600-to-675-Watts-%3a-Yes-%3a-Power-Supplies-%3a-Computer-Parts-%3a-Micro-Center

 

[djangoringo]

The cx is made by channel well, it's a decent psu, but for the price, i'd get the capstone 650M in newegg, or if you really must buy it in microcenter get this : http://www.microcenter.com/product/380192/Silencer_Mk_III_Series_600_Watt_ATX_Modular_Power_Supply

 

[foolycooly]

With a few dollars to spare in the budget, we decided to go ahead and grab a new case to keep most of the old pc intact.

Updated build:

cpu: i5 3750k - $189.99 at microcenter (http://www.microcenter.com/product/388577/Core_i5_3570K_34GHz_LGA_1155_Processor)

mobo: asrock extreme4 z77 - $79.99 after $50 off with cpu purchase promo at microcenter (http://www.microcenter.com/product/387554/Z77_Extreme4_LGA_1155_Z77_ATX_Intel_Motherboard)

cpu cooler: hyper 212 EVO $29.99 at microcenter (http://www.microcenter.com/product/373900/Hyper_212_EVO_Universal_CPU_Cooler)

memory: crucial ballistix 8gb DDR3 1600 $44.99 at microcenter (http://www.microcenter.com/product/382101/Ballistix_Sport_8GB_DDR3-1600_%28PC3-12800%29_CL9_Dual_Channel_Desktop_Memory_Kit_%28Two_4GB_Memory_Modules%29)

SSD: 256gb Plextor M5s $169.99 at Microcenter (http://www.microcenter.com/product/398906/M5s_PX-256M5S_256GB_SATA_60Gb-s_25_Internal_Solid_State_Drive_%28SSD%29_with_Marvel_88SS9174_controller)

GPU: MSI 660ti PE OC $287.99 after $20 MIR at microcenter (http://www.microcenter.com/product/402992/N660Ti_PE_2GD5_NVIDIA_GeForce_GTX_660_Ti_Twin_Frozr_IV_Power_Edition_Overclocked_2048MB_GDDR5_PCIe_30_x16_Video_Card)

PSU: PC P&C MK Silencer III $79.99 after $10 MIR at microcenter (http://www.microcenter.com/product/380192/Silencer_Mk_III_Series_600_Watt_ATX_Modular_Power_Supply)

Windows 7 64 bit $94.99 at microcenter (http://www.microcenter.com/product/361170/Windows_7_Home_Premium_SP1_64-bit_OEM_%28PC%29)

case: Corsair 200R $52.99 after $10 MIR at microcenter (http://www.microcenter.com/product/404779/Carbide_Series_200R_Mid_Tower_ATX_Computer_Case)

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$1,073.75 after tax and MIR

This actually ends up being about the same price as a pcpartpicker optimized build getting a lot of the parts online (would have gone with the rosewill capstone and 212+ as the only changes).

I would appreciate any last minute input.

 

[djangoringo]

It's good, good luck with your build.

 

[foolycooly]

Got everything put together earlier today. A couple of minor changes:

The Microcenter near me was out of stock on the M5S 256gb drives. They were, however, running a special on the 840 250gb ($150 when purchased with a mobo). We went ahead and went with the 840 at that price instead of waiting for the Plextor drive. After a lot of research, I am comfortable with that decision. We also added Arctic Silver 5 instead of using the supplied paste from coolermaster. The ballistix ram came in at $34.99 and with the savings on the SSD, we ended up under $1100 after tax and before MIRs.

I really enjoyed working with the Corsair 200r. I was very surprised with the great build quality and cable management options at around the $50 price point. I think it looks very nice as well.

I didn't spend forever getting the cables perfect, but it looks even better than the finished pictures with the rear side panel on.

Whether it was the actual header on the extreme4 mobo or the front panel connector on the case, the USB 3.0 connection shown in the pictures was VERY loose. I ensured that it was fully seated, but it had a ton of play from side to side. That prevented me from getting that cable quite as tight as I wanted. Other than that, everything went in very easily with the 200r's premounted standoffs and the extreme4's excellent layout.

It appears that we ended up with a good chip too as I was able to achieve a stable overclock of 4.4ghz at 1.150 voltage (everything else at auto). During a 10 minute or so prime95 run, the voltage never fluctuated more than the range of 1.145 to 1.151 volts (kudos to ASrock here). Temps did not get above 65 or so during the torture test and idle in the mid to high 20s.

Overall, it was a fun build. Let me know if anyone would like more feedback on any of the components.

Thanks for the help.

 

[djangoringo]

Nice build, it was a pity that the plextor m5s was out of stock, well you got cheaper ram and ssd anyway.
You really got a good chip, for those frequencies and voltage/temperatures, not only you got it cheaper but also a good one.

 

[foolycooly]

Best answer selected by foolycooly.