Build advice, how can i reduce cost

[VladDracule]

Main Application: Gaming, perhaps for coding with school, unsure as to how much coding ill be able to perform at home as opposed to at school

Main games currently interested in: SWTOR, Witcher 2, may repurchase skyrim on PC, bought originally on xbox 360 because i was unsure whether or not my current set up could run it well. Also the next releases of Starcraft 2, maybe diablo III

May also look into Terra when it launches

Current chosen parts:
Chip - Intel i7-2600k

Board - Asus P8P67 PRO REV 3.1

Ram - T555-5115 ::Transcend TX2000KLN-8GK aXeRam Overlocking Memory Kit - 8GB (2x 4GB), PC3-16000, DDR3-2000MHz, 9-11-9-24 CAS Latency, Intel XMP Ready(0.5 lbs)

HDD - TSD-500AAKX ::Western Digital WD5000AAKX Caviar Blue Hard Drive - 500GB, 3.5", SATA 6Gbps, 7200RPM, 16MB(1.05 lbs)

Sound Card - X-fi xtreme gamer (may recycle and use onboard on current rig unless you can recommend a much better card)

Optical Drive - P67-2024 :lextor PX-B320SA Blu Ray Player - DVD and CD Burner, DVD+R 16X, DVD+RW 8X, DVD-RW 6X, DVD-RAM 12X, CD-R 48X, SATA, Lightscribe(2.4 lbs)

Video Card - EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 Video Card - 1280MB GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0, Dual DVI, Mini HDMI, SLI, DirectX 11(2.95 lbs)

PSU - Corsair CP-9020006-NA Professional Series Gold AX650 Modular Power Supply - 650W, 80 Plus Gold, 120mm Fan, Active PFC, Single +12V Rail(8.2 lbs)

Case - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4776230&sku=A107-1130

I like the case having built in fan controllers so if im wanting to leave the rig on overnight to DL something i can tone the fans down.

My first instinct is that i can go with a lower video card such as a 560, but i could only find a PNY on tigerdirect and i saw alot of threads here saying people do not like their support.

I do not plan on overclocking as i never have before so the MOBO may be able to be reduced in cost as well, however i read this particular MOBO pretty much overclocks the chip to 3.8 on its own for performance gains which i do like

I dont intent to SLI the cards unless i would need to

Monitor choice would probably be a single 1920-1080P with perhaps the possibility of 3d for when its more adaptable in the game world.

SWTOR isnt very graphic intensive at this point however they do intend to add high res graphics and AA functions.

The HDDs confuse me because from western digital i have seen cheaper cost with more storage on the say green series among others, do these come with a performance impact?

ill be recycling my network card which is a USB cisco i believe 2500k, but would maybe prefer an internal option, but not necessary

 

[SticKx911]

that list looks like all mid range hardware other than cpu. I'd say drop to a good i5, that should save you some cash, and I wouldn't think you'd notice too big of a difference considering the rest of your selections.

 

[Dangman]

Are you stuck with TD or something?

For now, drop the CPU down to the Core i5 2500K as that should be enough for your needs. Also, ditch the RAM as well: With Intel CPUs, you want RAM rated at 1.5V or below or otherwise you'll risk killing/damaging the CPU. Speed wise, it's been shown time and time again that RAM speeds above DDR3 1600 RAM do not provide a noticeable performance with Intel's SB CPUs. As such, look for RAM rated at 1.5V and at DDR3 1600 speeds and you'll be fine.

 

[VladDracule]

how about this RAM? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7025824&CatId=4329

I hear corsair may not always be worth it, and should i step down the video card in addition to the chip? Stepping down the chip seems like it would give me less lasting power though, the rig in my sig because i built fairly top end has lasted me a good 4.5 years before needing to consider an upgrade

If i should step down the vid card would going to a 560 be sufficient or can i go even lower? i dont think the price difference is much between these 2 cards

 

[Dangman]

Please answer my first question

how about this RAM? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7025824&CatId=4329

Really poor choice considering that you can get 16GB of RAM for that much.

If i should step down the vid card would going to a 560 be sufficient or can i go even lower? i dont think the price difference is much between these 2 cards

No, go for the GTX 560 Ti 448 Core as it provides 97% of the performance of the GTX 570 at 85% of the costs.

 

[VladDracule]

there nothing on TD in that speed for 16gb i dont need that much ill have to look on newegg

 

[Dangman]

Ok, one last time: Are you stuck with TD or something?

Do you have to buy from TD or can you buy from Newegg?

 

[VladDracule]

no i just havent looked at newegg yet, im posting from my phone ill take a look later

 

[Dangman]

Please answer the following questions:
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
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.

 

[VladDracule]

raid not so much, firewire yes. SLI or Crossfire isnt a must by any means. USB 3.0 preferred.

Sata 6 gb id say is a must cause i do also do photo editing and this will directly affect load times in adobe bridge

as far as building probably within the next month

 

[Dangman]

Ok, I recommend this setup:

$190 - Intel Core i5-2400 CPU
$130 - Asus P8Z68-V LE Intel Z68 ATX Motherboard
$70 - 2 x Patriot Signature PSD38G1600KH 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$295 - eVGA 012-P3-2066-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores FTW 1280MB PCI-E Video Card
$126 - Hitachi Desktar 7K1000.D HDS721010DLE630 1TB SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$100 - SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W Modular PSU
----
Total: $911 shipped

Cases wise, I recommend the following cases:
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
$70 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58 ATX Case
$70 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K56 ATX Case
$80 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58W ATX Case
$65 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$98 - Cooler Master CM690 II Advance ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$100 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$120 - Lian Li PC-9F ATX Case
$120 - Fractal Design Define R3 Arctic White ATX Case
$130 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl ATX Case
$120 - Fractal Design Define R3 Silver Arrow ATX Case
$133 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$137 - Antec P280 ATX Case
$140 - Antec Performance One Series P183 V3 ATX Case
$143 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$144 - Silverstone RV03B-W ATX case
$160 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$164 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$178 - Silverstone RV02B-EW ATX case
$190 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B ATX Case
$270 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case

I would not go with that Apevia case as it has little to no cable management and its quality doesn't match its price. I would only recommend that Apevia case if you're a 14 year old who loves bright colors and loves to waste money.

 

[VladDracule]

reading a few of the other threads i notice that the i5 vs i7 shows very little improvement in gaming performance correct?

What instances would the I7 show improved times? One thing i didnt mention is that if i can find a legal program to do it eventually i am planning on getting a very large drive and backing up my bluray movies completely uncompressed and hooking it up to the rig in my signature and making these available through a server. Would the i7 be faster when it comes to ripping/encoding these?

Also i know there is a difference between processor and GPU driven games, most of them modern day from what i can tell are still GPU driven games, is that why the I7 doesnt show an increase in performance.

With the video card you listed would the GPU be the limiting factor or the i5 in terms of gaming performance?

Thanks for all the help reading all of your threads you are extremely knowledgeable on the current market!

 

[Dangman]

reading a few of the other threads i notice that the i5 vs i7 shows very little improvement in gaming performance correct?

Correct.

Would the i7 be faster when it comes to ripping/encoding these?

Ripping, no. Encoding, yes. Pretty much most instances where you're doing a lot of video, 3D, or audio editing/rendering as those usages scenarios usually involves programs that are heavily multi-threaded.

With the video card you listed would the GPU be the limiting factor or the i5 in terms of gaming performance?

Definitely the video card once you start overclocking the i5 or i7 to around 4.4Ghz.