Advice on building first PC

[siningy]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to build my first PC after using this old laptops thats probably quite a few generations behind. A friend told me about this site and I was hoping to get some advice on what parts to use. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I will primarily be playing games with the PC but will also be doing some CAD work and photo editing. I'd like to be able to play BF3 on high settings if possible.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I’m like to budget around 900-1000 dollars for everything after shipping and tax.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

I live in the US, in Chapel Hill, NC.
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.
• Case
• Mobo
• Cpu
• Gpu
• Psu-I may be upgrading to having two 6970’s in crossfire as a hand-me-down in a few months so would like a mobo and psu that could support it.
• Ram
• Wireless card
• dvd drive

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I will not be reusing any parts
6) Will you be overclocking?
I do not think I will need to overclock
7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1920x1080 24in
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Sometime in mid February
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? etc.
I would like to be able to support Crossfire and have usb 3.0
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I have windows 7 pro 64 bit


The parts I was thinking about using are:
Intel I5 2500K
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-BOX8062...UXHQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328250762&sr=8-1

XFX Radeon 6950 2gb
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ULZ7YY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

[Dangman]

Welcome to the forum! Hope you get the help you need!

Now onto to the PC:
You need to decide whether not you want the option to overclock past 3.6Ghz right now. Here's the deal: If you're not going to overclock past 3.6Ghz, then you're basically wasting $40 as the slightly lower clocked but 3.6Ghz OC capable Core i5 2400 is $40 cheaper:
$190 - Intel Core i5-2400 CPU

However note that the Core i5 2500K can overclock to around 4.2Ghz to 4.5Ghz on average. Up to you if the chance to overclock to 4.2Ghz to 4.5Ghz is worth an extra $40. Well $70 actually once you factor in the cost of a $30 HSF that'll provide enough cooling for a 4Ghz+ overclock.

I'm guessing you have Amazon Prime or something judging from your Amazon.com links? Or will you be fine with Newegg.com?

 

[siningy]

Hi Danny,

Thank you for taking the time to look at my thread. I think I would like the option to overclock in the future. I do have amazon prime but I don't mind ordering from either site.

I forgot to mention that I would need a HDD and was thinking of using this case:

Cooler Master HAF 912 Mid Tower ATX Case:
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master...UTF8&coliid=I1EPQCFJBWFRYK&colid=OBLZ0YC8OTH2

 

[Dangman]

Prelim build:
$230 - Intel Core i5-2500K CPU
$145 - Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 ATX Motherboard
$37 - G.Skill Value Series F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$260 - XFX HD-695X-CNFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB PCI-E Video Card
$91 - Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$16 - LG GH22NS90B DVD Burner
$28 - Asus PCE-N15 Wireless Adapter
$25 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
$100 - Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W PSU
----
Total: $932 plus tax and shipping

As for the case, will you be fine with just having two hard drives max with that case? I ask because a Crossfire setup may require you to remove the upper hard drive cage which then limits you to two hard drives max.

 

[edge929]

I would largely agree with Danny's listing with one exception. If you can avoid buying a HDD right now, do so, as they are overly expensive because of the floods/shortage. The good news is the SSDs are still getting cheaper. Newegg had a Patriot 128GB for $110 AR with the awesome Sandforce 2281 controller. Saw the Intel 120GB 320 for $110 AR earlier this week too. Yes they are "still" expensive but provide the single fastest upgrade in your entire system, forget the CPU/RAM, the disk drive is the bottleneck in every modern system.

 

[siningy]

Thanks for all the help so far. I probably won’t need more than two hard drives so having to remove the upper cage should be no problem if I need to. I don’t have a HDD available to me so I plan on buying on for now. I’d like to get a SSD and probably a larger HDD later once I switch in the two 6970s.
Concerning PSU’s, what do you guys think of the Corsair TX750 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021)? The price difference isn’t really an issue but I’ve heard good things regarding corsair PSU’s? Would you recommend Antect over Corsair? Thanks
-SIning