Gaming PC build help

[Lale777]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Gaming/Home and Office

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

Maximum Budget is 1500 (with shipping and tax included). Parents are covering 200 on the monitor, so 1700 is approachable.

3) Where do you live?

Lincoln, Nebraska

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc.

CPU - i5 2500K at 219.99
GPU - Radeon HD 6970 at 319.99
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) at 64.99
Tower - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case at 139.99
Motherboard -MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard at 172.99
HDD - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive at 59.99
CD/DVD - LG DVD±RW SuperMulti Drive 22X at 18.99
PSU - CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX850 (CMPSU-850AX) 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply at 189.99
CPU Cooling - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler at 29.49
Mouse - Thermaltake Tt eSports Element 9 Buttons USB Wired Laser 6500 dpi Gaming Mouse at 69.68
Keyboard - I-ROCKS KR-6820E-BK Black 104 Key USB Wired Backlit Gaming Keyboard (Orange LED) at 29.99
Monitor - LG M2380D-PU Black 23" 1080p 5ms Full HD LED Backlight TV Monitor w/DTV Tuner 250cd/m2 DC 5,000,000:1 at 299.99

Total Shipping on Newegg: 27.39
Total Shipping on Amazon: 0.00
Total Cost: 1643.76 at this time. 200 off the top from the monitor due to outside financing, and I come in at 1443.76, just within budget

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply.

Reusing the Wireless networking card i believe.

6) Will you be overclocking?

Any advice on maybe OCing to 4.0-4.2 GHz stable normally after purchase would be appreciated, first attempt at OCing. Reviews say anything over 4.2 GHz is overkill, mostly bragging rights.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?

Have a 21" 1280x1024 now, planning on a 23" 1920x1024.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Beginning purchases August 1st

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.

Crossfire would be nice for future decisions and playroom, but not necessary.
RAID is not needed
USB 3.0 is a yes
Will use a separate Video Card
eSATA is useful, not necessary.
SATA 6 GB/s would be nice, not a must.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Windows XP 32 bit, upping to Windows 7 64-bit



I did research the parts and try to make a decent build to start. This will be my first self-built computer and all, so thanks a ton in advance for the advice!

 

[Lycidas]

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

around August when/(if? ) the Zambezis come out

You're planning the build a tad too early. Wait until late july or at least until the Zambezis comes out to re-bump the thread so we can recommend relevant parts. Deals change daily (and weekly and monthly). One stick of RAM that is recommended one day might not be the same stick the next!

 

[Lale777]

OK, will do, thanks!

 

[tonytnnt]

Yeah, in general make a post about 3 weeks before you're ready to buy. RAM prices fluctuate a lot, there could be new developments in the GPU arena (probably price changes by August) and more AM3+ motherboards will be out once AMD releases some CPUs.

Meanwhile, if you need to pass the time until Zambezi comes out, feel free to visit me in Omaha and fill some sandbags.

 

[Lale777]

I edited the original due to circumstance changes, and I've now come to within a 2 to 3 week period before I'll definitely be purchasing pieces for the rig.

Any and all advice is appreciated, thanks so much

 

[Dangman]

So you only have a 15" monitor for now? When are you planning on upgrading the monitor?

Also I do not recommend that AMD CPU or AMD motherboard as they really really overpriced for what you get.

Also go with Windows 7. When upgrading from XP to 7, all 7 does is keep the user files in a seperate files and the old windows installtion in a folder marked "Windows.old". Most of the time, the settings will not transfer over.

 

[Lale777]

I plan on upping the monitor in December, it just won't fit in the budget at the moment... around Christmas i'm probably going to upgrade to a 27" or 31".

As for the MoBo/CPU, I was really hoping to be able to keep my current computer until Zambezi hit the market, but as it is that is not seemingly possible, so I want to be able to upgrade sometime next spring, maybe even possibly to the Komodos, without having to buy a new motherboard as well. At the moment the only game I play regularly is Lord of the Rings Online, and that is a fairly hobby style gaming, so I figure the CPU can keep up with that. I really am more concerned about having very decent graphics when I play, so if the Phenom will not do this I'm open to suggestions I suppose.

Final thing: I have XP 32 bit, can i upgrade that with an upgrade pack to Windows 7 64 bit?

 

[Lale777]

I re-measured, it is 16" wide by 13.5" tall, and 21" from corner to corner. My bad... I will change the original post.

 

[tiraides]

What's the resolution of the monitor? In many ways, that is more important than its size.

A $1500 system and no SSD? Why aren't you considering Intel's Sandy Bridge?

 

[tonytnnt]

It's really hard for me to recommend AMD processors currently on the market for this budget... Intel is just really so dominant right now. The Core i3-2100 runs games as well as an AMD Phenom II x6. To quote a recent HardOCP review:

If you are building now, you are crazy to build anything else besides a Sandy Bridge system unless the $200 price point of the processor is outside of your budget. AMD still stands out with its full lineup of sub-$200 Black Edition processors if you are looking for a more budgeted build.

If AMD is really the way you want to go, I guess I'd go with one of these two:

$110 - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
or
$170 - AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition

Out of the two, I'd get the 955 since you're planning on upgrading soonish anyways.

Also, for your motherboard, be sure to get an actual AM3+ socket and not a BIOS upgrade board for maximum compatibility. There's no guarantee your board will run Zambezi at this point, let alone Komodos. (If it's not on the motherboard's processor compatibility list, it's not guaranteed at this point.) That said, a 990X or 990FX motherboard will hopefully work. But there's no telling how well it will work with a Bulldozer chip. You're rolling the dice.

For the rest of this build, I'll assume you spent $300 for a CPU + motherboard, leaving $1200 left.

Get the discounted upgrade. See this FAQ. Just choose custom install.

The 990FX and 990X chipsets officially support up to DDR3 1600, and that should be a safe purchase. If you were going Intel I'd say just get DDR3 1333.

The rest of my suggested build is below.

$65 - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
$60 - Samsung F3 1TB 7200 RPM
$150 - HAF 932 (pick a case you like. Danny has a list of good quality cases that you should be able to find on General Hardware. Alternatively look in the Cases subforum. Also, you can easily get away with a normal sized case, like the HAF 912.)
$19 - LG DVD±RW SuperMulti Drive 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model GH22NS50 Bulk - OEM
$340 - XFX HD-697A-CNFC Radeon HD 6970 2GB
$190 - CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX850 (CMPSU-850AX) 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply (You can get away with much, much less of a power supply. Like a Corsair TX850 V2 for $135. But you originally specified a 80 Plus Gold Modular PSU. And the 850W will cover you for at least dual card crossfire. A good 650W will cover any single card system with room to spare.)
$215 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 128GB
$170 - ASUS VE247H Black 23.6"

Total: $1509

If you were to drop to the TX850 V2 and a HAF 912 you might be able to afford a bigger monitor. If you knew you'd never Crossfire/SLI, you could drop your power supply down to a 650 and still have more than enough power, and even more money toward a monitor. For $250 you can get a Sandy Bridge system (CPU + motherboard). About $315 gets you a 2500k and a motherboard, which will allow you to OC.

Edit: I didn't see that you had a cooler, mouse, and keyboard in there. Drop down to the Corsair TX850 V2 and the HAF 912 to free up some budget for those items.

 

[Lale777]

It's really hard for me to recommend AMD processors currently on the market for this budget... Intel is just really so dominant right now. The Core i3-2100 runs games as well as an AMD Phenom II x6.

I guess my only question is whether or not Intel's have a problem with being more fragile or buggier then AMDs, since both can run what I play very well. I understand Intels are more powerful, but I've come from a long line of AMD scrap builds (at the moment I'm on an Athlon 64 X2 5400+, complete with IDE/SATA mix in cables and a Radeon HD 3200 graphics that is dieing) and my family insists this is the case. I don't mind one way or the other, although as previously mentioned I'd have loved to have waited for the Zambezi to see if it was near the powerhouse Intel's i5/i7's are. I'll look into an alternative Intel build, as it really comes down to me, but that is the reason I've been staying from them.

The ASUS Crosshair Formula V that I have in my preliminary build plan is AM3+, and I know Gigabyte has some out as well.

 

[Lale777]

What's the resolution of the monitor? In many ways, that is more important than its size.

A $1500 system and no SSD? Why aren't you considering Intel's Sandy Bridge?

The SSD that I've found have such a small amount of memory for near triple the cost, so I felt it didn't make as much sense, although it was something I looked into a little bit. This is basically a complete overhaul, nothing in my old system save the speakers and monitor is being kept. I guess that is why I didn't decide SSD.

The monitor is 1280x1024

 

[tonytnnt]

I guess my only question is whether or not Intel's have a problem with being more fragile or buggier then AMDs, since both can run what I play very well. I understand Intels are more powerful, but I've come from a long line of AMD scrap builds (at the moment I'm on an Athlon 64 X2 5400+, complete with IDE/SATA mix in cables and a Radeon HD 3200 graphics that is dieing) and my family insists this is the case. I don't mind one way or the other, although as previously mentioned I'd have loved to have waited for the Zambezi to see if it was near the powerhouse Intel's i5/i7's are. I'll look into an alternative Intel build, as it really comes down to me, but that is the reason I've been staying from them.

The ASUS Crosshair Formula V that I have in my preliminary build plan is AM3+, and I know Gigabyte has some out as well.

Sandy Bridge had chipset issues at the very begininning, but Intel fixed the problem at great expense at the hardware level (unlike nVidia with their IGPs.) CPUs from both AMD and Intel are generally the last thing I check for actual failure in a system. I've never actually seen a dead CPU. Dead GPUs, motherboards, hard drives, sound cards, power supplies -- those are all common. CPUs? Pretty rare. Also, I haven't seen a higher failure rate among Intel motherboards vs AMD ones. It's usually something like a capacitor that pops, which is up to the motherboard maker, and not the chipset maker. I do have a special place in my heart for AMD (my first personal and not shared computer was a T-bird) but their strategy of coming out with new chip designs every 4 to 5 years when Intel is on a 2 to 3 year tick-tock plan isn't working.

An AMD CPU would enable you to play most games fairly well. However, you are considering a high end GPU where you would run into CPU limitations more often than you would if you had a more mainstream GPU (like a Radeon 6870.) But when you look at how a $150 Core i5-2400 goes up against a Phenom II x4 980 Black Edition or an x6 1100T Black Edition it's not pretty. When you get to the $220 Core i5-2500k with its overclocking abilities the situation gets even worse for AMD -- even on a bang for the buck comparison.

If your budget was lower, I'd definitely say look at an AMD system. But with a $1500 budget spending $300 to $350 on a motherboard and CPU combo isn't crazy.

Do remember that even though I think Intel is the better fit for a $1500 gaming rig, that doesn't mean you need to follow my advice. You're spending YOUR money on this system so at the end of the day you should get what YOU want. For everyday tasks you won't be able to tell the difference between the systems. And for gaming, hopefully when you can feel the difference you'll be upgrading to Bulldozer anyways.

As for the SSD, don't look at it as a storage solution. It's more of a turbo boost for your file system. Your system will boot faster if you install Windows to it, and then a few of your most used programs. The standard hard drive will still be your main storage device. That said, I didn't get one for my rig, but I would have if I'd had a larger budget.

And get a new monitor ASAP. You probably have a 19" 4:3 LCD btw.

 

[Lale777]

I understand that in the end its my choice, just would hate to make the wrong one.

In the end, if I down the graphics to a 6950 and switch the CPU to an i7 2600K and an ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard, along with an upgrade in RAM to Patriot Viper Xtreme 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000), it is a 20 dollar difference. That means I can't upgrade to Bulldozer, but at the moment i don't even know how it sizes up.

As for monitors, what are some suggestions?

 

[tonytnnt]

Well, hold on. Why not consider this -- a mainstream motherboard is only about $120 to $150. If you dropped down to the 2500k and didn't get the 1866 RAM (which has no performance benefit on Sandy Bridge -- maxes out at 1333 MHz) you could probably afford to replace your motherboard and sell your CPU and motherboard on eBay, Craigslist, etc. Hopefully you'd get $200+ for the CPU and motherboard 9 to 12 months from now, which combined with the $100 in savings by dropping from the 2600k to the 2500k would get you most of the way to Bulldozer, or whatever else you'd prefer to get. Nobody says you can't swap out the motherboard too! Also, the 2600k doesn't run games any better than the 2500k because Hyper-threading isn't all that beneficial in gaming. You can check out HardOCP, Anandtech, or any number of review sites for verification of that.

This could be one of those times where you can have your cake and eat it too.

I'll post some monitors later (gotta go.) What are you studying in school? If color accuracy is important (say you're in photography or filmography) my advice would be different than if you were in the sciences (though I'm in the sciences and have a better than average monitor when it comes to color accuracy.)

 

[Lale777]

I'll post some monitors later (gotta go.) What are you studying in school? If color accuracy is important (say you're in photography or filmography) my advice would be different than if you were in the sciences (though I'm in the sciences and have a better than average monitor when it comes to color accuracy.)

I'm in school for secondary ed and social sciences, but i take lots of trips (and thusly pictures) so color accuracy doesn't hurt but isn't an end-all-be-all. Also a fair bit of casual gaming, not serious or anything, just the occasional raid or late nighter.

 

[Lale777]

so, a build with an i5 2500K and 1600 MHz RAM and keeping the 6950 Graphics places total costs to about 1250.
Is 1600 MHz still overkill? The price difference between the two GSkills, one at 1333 and one at 1600 was 10 dollars, both based for P67 Motherboard which I chose and both have XMP.

I looked at a few SSDs, how much GBs would be worth looking into for one, and what would be some good manufacturers?

Edit: I overlooked the SSD you suggested earlier, however with that in the budget the price is now just over 1450. Is there a smaller/cheaper SSD then 128 GB that would work for the suggested purpose?

 

[tonytnnt]

Alright,

The SSD question is easier. The Crucial M4 is a very good bang for the buck (among SSDs.) The Intel 510 is also very good, but more expensive. The OCZ Vertex 3 is the fastest SSD on the market, but it's more expensive than the M4.

A 64GB drive is pretty much just a boot drive. I wouldn't plan on installing too many other things on there -- just the OS, drivers, etc. If you had a 128GB drive you could install a few games or other programs.

The monitor question is trickier.

What size monitor did you want to look for? Something in the 23 or 24" area or more along the 27" to 30" that you mentioned before? You can probably get a 27" 1080p display without stretching your budget too much (they're around $250 to $300 for a non-IPS display.) You can definitely get a 23 or 24" 1080p display in your budget, and I linked to one in my suggested build. If you want a higher resolution 27" display you're looking at prices over $800.

If you're picky about color accuracy, the display technology I was talking about is called IPS. It's what Apple uses in their iMacs and their stand alone monitors (not in their laptops though.) IPS displays are a type of LCD that has a better viewing angle and color accuracy, but their refresh rate is slower than a traditional TN LCD panel. I have an IPS display (the NEC listed in my signature), and I don't notice any ghosting or other refresh rate problems when playing first person shooters like Battlefield Bad Company 2 or Team Fortress 2. I do love how vibrant my screen is, and it's not even a very high quality IPS one -- definitely an entry level one.

But they're more expensive than a standard display, and to be honest, most people wouldn't notice a difference without doing a side by side comparison. I'm currently putting together a rig for my girlfriend that will not have an IPS screen because it's not worth the extra cost for her.

 

[Lale777]

I'm fine staying at 24" or lower. I skimmed through Newegg and found 5 monitors that look nice.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005230 at 179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824262012 at 159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824113024 at 209.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001487 at 199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005196 at 199.99

All seem to have decent reviews, and range from 21.5" to 24"
So I suppose that those are similar to what I'm looking at. How do IPS monitors stand in price wise around these sizes?

 

[Lale777]

Looking it over, the Bulldozers are going to be released sometime this year but the beginning always has bugs or defects.. and if the phenom is going to bottleneck the video card then that isn't a good idea, so I feel I will probably go with the i5 2500K, the ASUS Sabertooth P67 Motherboard with 8GB (2x4GB) of GSkill Ripjaws X Series 1600 MHz RAM, and stick with it for a year or two before looking into the Bulldozer Architecture again. If I go with a new monitor now I will cut back to a Radeon HD 6950, as I wasn't planning to overclock the video card anyway (I don't even know how to overclock the CPU, but it is something I may look at).

I will update the OP to reflect these changes

 

[diesel_man]

I'm fine staying at 24" or lower. I skimmed through Newegg and found 5 monitors that look nice.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005230 at 179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824262012 at 159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824113024 at 209.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001487 at 199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005196 at 199.99

All seem to have decent reviews, and range from 21.5" to 24"
So I suppose that those are similar to what I'm looking at. How do IPS monitors stand in price wise around these sizes?

I'd reccomend that Gateway monitor, I bought my FHD2400 about 3-4 yrs ago, and I love it.

 

[Lale777]

I'd reccomend that Gateway monitor, I bought my FHD2400 about 3-4 yrs ago, and I love it.

Thanks I'll keep that in mind

 

[tonytnnt]

Don't forget the combo deals!

$400 - Intel Core i5-2500k and Asus Sabertooth P67

I would normally say the Sabertooth is a little overpriced, but I can't find many combo deals with eSATA for less than that. This is one of the few:

$368 - Intel Core i5-2500k and MSI P67A-GD65

This is another one:
$330 - Intel Core i5-2500k and Asus P8P67 LE

 

[Lale777]

Oh! thanks! I hadn't even noticed the combos.

On the subject of monitors, my parents have agreed to pay half the monitor price and the full TV Tuner price (they want a TV Tuner in the monitor, i don't know why, whatever, free monies are free monies ) So I think I'm going to be going with the LG monitor here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005199, so normal price of the monitor was 200, with tuner is 300, so the add on my budget is 100...
If there are any better for what has been described between 21" and 24" and between 100 and 350 in total price, I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Lale777]

I've been looking at combos, instead of the CPU/motherboard, how does this look

279.98 For a Thortech Thunderbolt 850W 80 PLUS GOLD Certified and ASRock P67 Extreme 4

The only concern is whether or not that PSU is a reliable one, I'm going to look into reviews.
The motherboard sounds good according to Newegg and Toms Hardware, I'll look into reviews for it as well.

 

[tonytnnt]

I'm not familiar with Thortech. Jonnyguru.com and their forums is a good place to go for PSU information.

The only downside to ASRock is their shorter warranty period (2 years instead of the more standard 3 years.) Otherwise I've heard good things.

 

[E4g1e]

I'm not familiar with Thortech. Jonnyguru.com and their forums is a good place to go for PSU information.

The only downside to ASRock is their shorter warranty period (2 years instead of the more standard 3 years.) Otherwise I've heard good things.

Actually, since the beginning of this month ASRock in the U.S. has reverted to a 1-year warranty.

And Thortech is the PSU brand of memory manufacturer GeIL. The Thortech PSUs are all made by Sirfa, which also manufactures lower-end units sold by Enermax, the Silencer II line for PC Power & Cooling and many units with the OCZ brand on them.

 

[Lale777]

The motherboard in the combo has a 2 year, and newegg offers an extended 2 year warranty for 30 dollars as well, so would that total to 4 years, or overlap? or is the 2 year on newegg outdated information?

 

[Dangman]

The motherboard in the combo has a 2 year, and newegg offers an extended 2 year warranty for 30 dollars as well, so would that total to 4 years, or overlap? or is the 2 year on newegg outdated information?

Totally outdated information. It would be an overlap in warranty if you spring for the extended two year warranty from Newegg. However, there's no reason to get the extended warranty on that AsRock mobo since it effectively makes it cost just as much as a board from Asus, MSI, or Gigabyte that have three year warranties by default. As such, not much reason to get the AsRock mobo as it would cost the same as more trusted motherboard manufacturers.

 

[Lale777]

OK, updating OP with most recent build specs as per my Newegg Wish List. Should begin purchases around August 1st. If anything seems wrong/odd/can be further improved, I'd love to hear it, as this is a big buy (for me) and I'd like it to go without a hitch if possible Thanks for all the help to date, I know this will end up a great improvement

 

[Dangman]

Tower - The Antec ATX Full Tower Gaming Case, Twelve Hundred V3 (Black) at 159.99

Really crappy choice for the money. Its cramped interior, somewhat poor cable management capability, as well as its actual build quality do not justify the $160 purchase price. There are roomier, better quality, and equal or better cooling cases out there:
$100 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$110 - NZXT Whisper WHI - 001BK ATX Full Tower Case
$110 - Lian Li PC-60FN ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-7FN ATX Case
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$127 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Lian Li PC-9F ATX Case
$143 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-002OR Black Finish w/Orange Trim Full Tower ATX Case
$150 - Corsair Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$155 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$178 - Silverstone RV02B-EW ATX case

Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-P67X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard at 154.99

Not worth getting since there are better P67 motherboards for the money out there. If you can buy before July 31st, then go with this CPU + mobo combo that tony recommended earlier:
$368 - Intel Core i5 2500K CPU + MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard Combo

HDD - Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" at 59.99

Stick with the earlier recommended Samsung drive as its actual performance is higher than that Seagate's.

PSU - Thortech Thunderbolt 850W TTB850G ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply at 179.99

Not a good idea: As E4g1e noted, it's Sirfa made and branded by Geil. As such, its quality is probably not that high to begin with. Not to mention there's not a single PROPER PSU review backing up that PSU. Finally, at that price, you can get confirmed high quality PSUs for around that price range:
$180 - Corsair 850HX 850W Modular PSU
$196 - Corsair Professional Series Gold 850AX 850W Modular PSU

CPU Cooling - ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-B 135mm Long life bearing CPU Cooler Blue LED at 76.48

Not a good choice at all for the money. There are better HSF out there that cool just as well yet are significantly cheaper or cool significantly better but cost the same:
$30 - Xigmatek Gaia SD1283 120mm HSF
$33 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
$40 - Thermalright Cogage TRUE Spirit HSF + $9 - Thermalright LGA1155 Bolt-Thru-Kit
$70 - Corsair Hydro H60 CPU Cooler
$70 - Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B CPU Cooler

 

[Lale777]

Really crappy choice for the money. Its cramped interior, somewhat poor cable management capability, as well as its actual build quality do not justify the $160 purchase price. There are roomier, better quality, and equal or better cooling cases out there:

Thanks, no one had mentioned this and reviews made it sound good and all, plus the nice look to it. I'll look over other cases.

Not worth getting since there are better P67 motherboards for the money out there. If you can buy before July 31st, then go with this CPU + mobo combo that tony recommended earlier:
$368 - Intel Core i5 2500K CPU + MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard Combo

I really can't. Even though I'm purchasing it, I've agreed with family to wait till August 1st. I will continue searching Motherboards, may return to the sabertooth, though i dislike the look of it a bit.

Stick with the earlier recommended Samsung drive as its actual performance is higher than that Seagate's.

K, they're the same price, I have no issues with faster

Not a good idea: As E4g1e noted, it's Sirfa made and branded by Geil. As such, its quality is probably not that high to begin with. Not to mention there's not a single PROPER PSU review backing up that PSU. Finally, at that price, you can get confirmed high quality PSUs for around that price range:
$180 - Corsair 850HX 850W Modular PSU
$196 - Corsair Professional Series Gold 850AX 850W Modular PSU

Yeah, and since that deal also dies July 31st I have no reason, meant to switch back to the Corsair earlier stated, a slip up in my checking.

Not a good choice at all for the money. There are better HSF out there that cool just as well yet are significantly cheaper or cool significantly better but cost the same:
$30 - Xigmatek Gaia SD1283 120mm HSF
$33 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
$40 - Thermalright Cogage TRUE Spirit HSF + $9 - Thermalright LGA1155 Bolt-Thru-Kit
$70 - Corsair Hydro H60 CPU Cooler
$70 - Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B CPU Cooler

Ok. reviews had it looking really good. What is your opinion on the CAFA70 from Corsair? That is what I had originally, but the Zalman seemed to have more decent reviews.

 

[Dangman]

I really can't. Even though I'm purchasing it, I've agreed with family to wait till August 1st. I will continue searching Motherboards, may return to the sabertooth, though i dislike the look of it a bit.

In that case, can you wait until after the first week of August? Usually the first week of any month is a poor time to buy a PC as Newegg's combo deals aren't all out yet and Newegg will occasionally have the previous month's combo deals available but they will be invalid. After the first week, most of Newegg's August combo deals should be out.

In any case, don't bother with the Sabertooth as it's not worht the money.

Ok. reviews had it looking really good. What is your opinion on the CAFA70 from Corsair? That is what I had originally, but the Zalman seemed to have more decent reviews.

The CAFA70 is an ok choice. Its performance is roughly the same as the Cogage TRUE Spirit HSF I recommended earlier.

 

[Lale777]

Ok, looking at the cases, as far as Aesthetics, i LOVE the NZXT White Case, and it looks to be good in reviews on Newegg, not to mention is suggested here, so I think I'll be going with that case. The others seem sort of bland/blockish (so sort of aesthetically based in this case )
As for Motherboard:
an ASRock Extreme 6 for 189.99 which has outstanding reviews on newegg but, as mentioned earlier, will only have a 1 year warranty.

An ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.1) for 179.99 with 1 decent review on Newegg, but a few decent reviews on TigerDirect. I may look for more reviews, but ASUS is a brand I know, so I'm more inclined to trust it. Also, Newegg does not note how long of a warranty.

The cooler, I feel that the Cooler Master Hyper 212, which is almost the same price as the Corsiar, maybe a few pennies difference with shipping, can probably outmatch it. So I'm torn between those two.

I'm afraid that I may have to risk the first week of august, this computer was supposed to be replaced in late May early June, and the video card is continuing to become worse on me, its been noticeably worse since about April.

 

[Dangman]

As for Motherboard:
an ASRock Extreme 6 for 189.99 which has outstanding reviews on newegg but, as mentioned earlier, will only have a 1 year warranty.

An ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.1) for 179.99 with 1 decent review on Newegg, but a few decent reviews on TigerDirect. I may look for more reviews, but ASUS is a brand I know, so I'm more inclined to trust it. Also, Newegg does not note how long of a warranty.

Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI all have three year warranties. That AsRock shouldn't even be considered due to tis price and one year warranty. As for that Asus mobo, that must be the newest revision of the Asus P8P67 PRO which had an above average defects/issue rate. As such, I'd have to hold out a few more months before I'd recommend that Asus P8P67 PRO again.

Just go with the MSI mobo I recommended earlier. Yes you do lose out on the combo deal but it's still a solid mobo without the combo deal. Otherwise I would not have recommended it.

 

[Lale777]

OK, thanks for helping me Iron out the wrinkles

 

[Dangman]

No prob. Post a final build list before you buy for another once over

And you're welcome

 

[Lycidas]

Monitor - LG M2380D-PU Black 23" 1080p 5ms Full HD LED Backlight TV Monitor w/DTV Tuner 250cd/m2 DC 5,000,000:1 at 299.99

Hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I researched the same monitor a long time ago when I went monitor shopping. I've read and seen reviews of its true color being really bad in comparison to actual color. The gloss on the screen is another issue to be aware of as well as bright back lighting. The reviews on Newegg were all very overly-ecstatic about the monitor (which made me curious about this in the first place) but surfing actual monitor review sites proved otherwise.

I ended up going with Dell's U2311 for about $20 more. It's a 23" as well.

Here's what I liked about it

• The stand is very customizable. Any angle, any height, easy to use.
• Great color. When I got it, I instantly went online and did some color testing and it worked fine.
• Warranty. 3-year if I read correctly.
• It's an IPS monitor, which means if I play FPS games in the future, it'll work nicely.

Here's what I disliked about it:

• Dell has shit QC. However they make up for it with great customer service and replacement of parts rapidly.
• The buttons are on the front right lower corner, took some getting used to, but still easy to use.
• The black is a true black. I like it in some applications, dislike it in others.

Anywho, if you're not all that into true-color, the LG may be fine for you. The reviews I found on that line-up turned me off to it though. The Displays section in [H] is pretty good for reading up on Monitors. I haven't the slightest idea why I spent so much time on it but I figured I'd bring the issue to your attention.

 

[Lale777]

Hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I researched the same monitor a long time ago when I went monitor shopping. I've read and seen reviews of its true color being really bad in comparison to actual color. The gloss on the screen is another issue to be aware of as well as bright back lighting. The reviews on Newegg were all very overly-ecstatic about the monitor (which made me curious about this in the first place) but surfing actual monitor review sites proved otherwise.

I ended up going with Dell's U2311 for about $20 more. It's a 23" as well.

Here's what I liked about it

• The stand is very customizable. Any angle, any height, easy to use.
• Great color. When I got it, I instantly went online and did some color testing and it worked fine.
• Warranty. 3-year if I read correctly.
• It's an IPS monitor, which means if I play FPS games in the future, it'll work nicely.

Here's what I disliked about it:

• Dell has shit QC. However they make up for it with great customer service and replacement of parts rapidly.
• The buttons are on the front right lower corner, took some getting used to, but still easy to use.
• The black is a true black. I like it in some applications, dislike it in others.

Anywho, if you're not all that into true-color, the LG may be fine for you. The reviews I found on that line-up turned me off to it though. The Displays section in [H] is pretty good for reading up on Monitors. I haven't the slightest idea why I spent so much time on it but I figured I'd bring the issue to your attention.

Thanks, the only issue is I've been asked to get a monitor with a TV Tuner in it as well. If you have any suggestions along that line, I'd love to look into them, as I'd rather not end up with a bad piece that makes the overall experience less enjoyable



While here, is there any need to be looking at VGA coolers? I don't plan to OC the video card, so I wasn't planning on it.

 

[Dan_D]

Your build is a damned good setup I can't find any major flaws in today. However, tomorrow that might change. There is a lot of stuff coming out in the very near future so if you can hold off your build for a few weeks or so, you'll have some better choices out there.