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$1200 Computer Build

R

richtea

n00b
Joined
Dec 11, 2010
Messages
45
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Mostly programming and gaming with the odd bit of Photoshop.

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

$1200 (Shipping Included)

3) Where do you live?

England

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

CPU, CPU Cooler, Motherboard, RAM, Video Card, Power Supply, Case, Monitors (Not to be included in the Budget)

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

OCZ Vertex 2E 120GB SSD

6) Will you be overclocking?

Yes, if easily done.

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

Plan on getting two Dell U2412M's (Not part of budget)

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

End of this week.

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.

Don't require advanced features, would be nice to have SATA 6GB's though and Crossfire support for future. Also I would like the motherboard not to have integrated graphics if possible.

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

Yes, Legal copy of Windows 7 64 Bit.


CURRENT BUILD LIST

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD4-B3, Intel Z68 Express, S 1155, DDR3 2133, SATA 6Gb/s, RAID, ATX, USB 3

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked, S1155, Sandy Bridge, Quad Core, 3.3GHz, GPU 850Mhz, 6MB Cache, 95W OEM

Memory: 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance Jet Black, PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC, CAS 9-9-9-24, XMP, 1.50V

Graphics: MSI HD 6870 HAWK AMD Radeon Graphics Card with Twin Frozr III fan - 1GB

SSD Drive: Vertex 2E 120GB

CPU Cooler: Be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced BK014 CPU Cooler LGA775/1155/1156/1366/AM2/AM2+/ AM3/754/940

Power Supply: 600W PSU, Coolermaster Silent Pro M AMBAD3, Modular, 83%Eff', 80 PLUS Bronze, SLI/CrossFire, EPS 12V, Quiet Fan, ATX

Case: Fractal Design Define R3, Black Pearl, Mid Tower Case w/o PSU

DVD Drive: Samsung WriteMaster SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±R, 12x DVD±R, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, SATA, Black, OEM
 
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Since all you want is Crossfire support and SATA 6.0Gb/s, you should be fine with either of these motherboards:
$130 - MSI P67A-G43 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard
$133 - MSI P67A-G45 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard

RAM wise, more than likely that Corsair RAM is overpriced. Do note that there is little to no real world difference between DDR3 1600 and DDR3 1333 RAM in apps and games. So go for the cheapest 8GB set of DDR3 1333 RAM rated at 1.5V you can find and you should be set. Corsair or G.Skill are good choices.

GPU wise, assuming that the UK and US have similar prices, that MSI card is also overpriced since it's right in the price range of the faster GTX 560 and occasionally GTX 560 Ti. So look at those cards instead.

PSU wise, again assuming that the UK and US have similar prices, that PSU is more than likely overpriced. It's a good PSU but it's often overpriced here in the U.S. So go for the Corsair 650TX V2 or Corsair 650HX if you want modular.

Of all the parts listed, the SSD is probably the weakest. Granted you are reusing it but have to let you know that SSD is probably one of the worst choices possible for a SSD now. If you were buying brand new, I would have recommended the faster, more reliable, more stable, and better supported Intel 510 series or Crucial m4 series SSDs. Hell I would have recommended the older Intel 320 series and Crucial C300 series over that OCZ SSD.
 
Thanks for your feedback and advice.

Is the SSD really that bad? When I purchased it a year ago, it was apparently the best value SSD on the market.

The cost of the MSI card in England is £140, which is roughly $230. Do you consider that overpriced?

I am wanting to use a modular PSU for this build and the Corsair 650HX you suggested puts a deeper hole in my pocket than the CoolerMaster one. £67.16 vs £91.98. Do you have any thoughts on Antec PSU's? Specifically this one: http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MTc1OQ==

Danny Bui said:
Since all you want is Crossfire support and SATA 6.0Gb/s, you should be fine with either of these motherboards:
$130 - MSI P67A-G43 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard
$133 - MSI P67A-G45 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard

RAM wise, more than likely that Corsair RAM is overpriced. Do note that there is little to no real world difference between DDR3 1600 and DDR3 1333 RAM in apps and games. So go for the cheapest 8GB set of DDR3 1333 RAM rated at 1.5V you can find and you should be set. Corsair or G.Skill are good choices.

GPU wise, assuming that the UK and US have similar prices, that MSI card is also overpriced since it's right in the price range of the faster GTX 560 and occasionally GTX 560 Ti. So look at those cards instead.

PSU wise, again assuming that the UK and US have similar prices, that PSU is more than likely overpriced. It's a good PSU but it's often overpriced here in the U.S. So go for the Corsair 650TX V2 or Corsair 650HX if you want modular.

Of all the parts listed, the SSD is probably the weakest. Granted you are reusing it but have to let you know that SSD is probably one of the worst choices possible for a SSD now. If you were buying brand new, I would have recommended the faster, more reliable, more stable, and better supported Intel 510 series or Crucial m4 series SSDs. Hell I would have recommended the older Intel 320 series and Crucial C300 series over that OCZ SSD.
Click to expand...
 
richtea said:
Is the SSD really that bad? When I purchased it a year ago, it was apparently the best value SSD on the market.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately we didn't know what we knew now. Ples you're one of the lucky ones if your SSD has survived this long. Simply put, when OCZ switched to a different process, they lowered the performance of that SSD by quite a large margin. Unfortunately, that OCZ's performance wasn't all that great to begin with as it was shown in real world tests that its real world performance was far far below what the stated specs said. Plus there were all those reliability issues in addition to many cases where that SSD slowly degraded in performance over time. And then there's OCZ's relatively poor customer support.

richtea said:
The cost of the MSI card in England is £140, which is roughly $230. Do you consider that overpriced?
Click to expand...
Extremely overpriced. A good HD 6870 should not cost more than $200. Any higher and it's a ripoff.
richtea said:
I am wanting to use a modular PSU for this build and the Corsair 650HX you suggested puts a deeper hole in my pocket than the CoolerMaster one. £67.16 vs £91.98. Do you have any thoughts on Antec PSU's? Specifically this one: http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MTc1OQ==
Click to expand...

That particular Antec is a semi-modular PSU. A lot of the cables are still attached. But it's a good quality PSU.
 
Danny Bui said:
Unfortunately we didn't know what we knew now. Ples you're one of the lucky ones if your SSD has survived this long. Simply put, when OCZ switched to a different process, they lowered the performance of that SSD by quite a large margin. Unfortunately, that OCZ's performance wasn't all that great to begin with as it was shown in real world tests that its real world performance was far far below what the stated specs said. Plus there were all those reliability issues in addition to many cases where that SSD slowly degraded in performance over time. And then there's OCZ's relatively poor customer support.


Extremely overpriced. A good HD 6870 should not cost more than $200. Any higher and it's a ripoff.


That particular Antec is a semi-modular PSU. A lot of the cables are still attached. But it's a good quality PSU.
Click to expand...

In regards to the Graphics Card, am I right by thinking a single Nvidia card cannot have 3 monitors connected to it?
 
After doing a little bit of research on modular PSU's, what fully modular power supply would people recommend?
 
richtea said:
In regards to the Graphics Card, am I right by thinking a single Nvidia card cannot have 3 monitors connected to it?
Click to expand...
Correct. If you need three monitors connection from a single GPU, see how much more the HD 6950 1GB or HD 6950 2GB costs.
richtea said:
After doing a little bit of research on modular PSU's, what fully modular power supply would people recommend?
Click to expand...

$115 - SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W Modular PSU
$120 - Corsair 650HX 650W Modular PSU
$140 - NZXT HALE90-750-M 750W Modular PSU
$150 - Corsair 750HX 750W Modular PSU
$166 - Seasonic X750 Gold 750W Modular PSU
 
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