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Build Help Please

I

Im a meatball

n00b
Joined
Sep 4, 2012
Messages
6
Hey guys. Building a new PC and need some opinions on the parts I've chosen. I upgrade my PC very rarely and I'd like this build to last a while. For reference, my last build was in 2008 and is below. I thought it was a great build and haven't found a reason to replace it until now.

Old Build
Asus P5Q Pro
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
EVGA GTX 260 (replaced by a GTX 560Ti last year)
G.Skill 4GB DDR2
Western Digital Caviar 640GB
Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W
Windows 7 64bit
Cooler Master CM690 (the first one they released)


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web Browsing, Gaming, Use Photoshop occasionally. I'd like to be able to play games as close to the highest settings I can get. Currently playing Mechwarrior Online and Witcher 2.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$600. I have a GPU, Case, and PSU so the budget is for everything else

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
San Francisco, CA. The microcenter in the area recently closed. Live very close to Fry's Electronics. I have Amazon Prime so that seems to be my best choice.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc.
CPU, Mobo, RAM, SSD, Hard Drive, CPU cooler if overclocking is within budget

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
GPU: EVGA GTX 560Ti Classified 448 Cores
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W (This is 4 years old. Is this still good to use?)
Case: Coolermaster CM690 (This is the first CM690 that came out. Still good for today's components and air flow?)

6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes if I can meet the budget. If not, no big deal.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1920x1080. 27 inch.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
This week; preferably tomorrow.

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)? UEFI? etc.
Overclocking my CPU if within budget, USB 3.0, SATA 6GB/s. No plans for multiple GPUs.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes. Windows 7 Professional 64bit

Here's what I've chosen so far
Mobo: Asus P8Z77-V LK $148.88
CPU: Intel 3570K $229.99
HSF: Coolermaster Hyper 212+ $25.75
Ram: Corsair 8GB DDR3 $44.99
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $86.00
SSD: Cruicial M4 $104.99

Current Total: $640.60 shipped
 
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Dont go with the LX as thats one of the more troublesome version of the Asus Z77 mobos. Go for the LK instead. HSF wise go with the Coolermaster Hyper 212+.
 
Ok thanks, will go with the LK and Hyper 212+. Any suggestions for a good hard drive and memory? I'm having trouble picking parts for those due to the number of similar choices available. Also, are my case and psu still viable for this new build?
 
Ram wise go for the cheapest Corsair DDR3 rated at 1.5V that you can find on Amazon. HDD wise, the Samsunh F3 1TB is my goto drive. Though Amazon should have a Seagate 1TB for $90. Sorry cant provide links since I am on my phone. Your PSU and case are fine
 
Alright, sounds good! I think I found everything you recommended. Could you give the list a quick look and see if these were the parts you had in mind? Unfortunately, the hard drive isn't sold directly by Amazon, but it's such a small package that shipping isn't a big deal. Alternatively, I can go with this Hitachi drive sold by Amazon and it would out to be the same price due to free shipping. Is this a good drive or should I stick with the Samsung? Went a little over $600, but that's fine too.

Mobo: Asus P8Z77-V LK $148.88
CPU: Intel 3570K $229.99
HSF: Coolermaster Hyper 212+ $25.75
Ram: Corsair 8GB DDR3 $44.99
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $86.00
SSD: Cruicial M4 $104.99

Current Total: $640.60 shipped

Thanks again.
 
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Ok, sounds good. One last thing before I make the purchase. Are there any other hard drives you'd recommend? I would go with the Samsung, but since it's sold through a third party vendor, I'll have to wait for it to arrive until next week. I'd rather get everything up and running before Sunday.

Since the Hitachi isn't as reliable, how about this Caviar Black that's at the same price? Or do you think I should just go with the Samsung, build the computer without it, and then just add it in next week when it comes. Any setup issues with doing it that way? This is my first build with an SSD so I'm not completely sure if I have to set them up together or if I can just add the hdd later without a hassle or having to set something up.

Thanks!
 
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The Caviar Black is overpriced. I'd go for the 2TB Samsung F4 actually, it's $120 for twice the storage. It's only 5400rpm compared to the 7200prm on the F3 but that won't really matter since you're running an SSD for the boot drive. I'm running 2 of them and haven't had any problems, sequential transfer speed is about 100MB/s.
 
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slh28 said:
The Caviar Black is overpriced. I'd go for the 2TB Samsung F4 actually, it's $120 for twice the storage. It's only 5400rpm compared to the 7200prm on the F3 but that won't really matter since you're running an SSD for the boot drive. I'm running 2 of them and haven't had any problems, sequential transfer speed is about 100MB/s.
Click to expand...

The Caviar Black I linked is the same price as the others, I believe. I also never got close to filling a 1 TB hard drive I bought 2 years ago. I'm trying to buy everything directly from Amazon. I don't like dealing with Amazon merchants due to countless bad experiences in the past.
 
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Im a meatball said:
The Caviar Black I linked is the same price as the others, I believe. I also never got close to filling a 1 TB hard drive I bought 2 years ago. I'm trying to buy everything directly from Amazon. I don't like dealing with Amazon merchants due to countless bad experiences in the past.
Click to expand...

That Caviar Black is still overpriced, considering that the 1TB Samsung F3 is still slightly faster (sequential-speed-wise) than the Black. Why pay $23 more for a drive whose average sequential transfer speed is more than 10 MB/s slower? I tested both my 1TB F3 and my Black FAEX, and discovered that the F3's average sequential transfer speed is about 115 MB/s versus only 103 MB/s for the Black.
 
Im a meatball said:
Ok, sounds good. One last thing before I make the purchase. Are there any other hard drives you'd recommend?
Click to expand...
If you truly don't trust Amazon merchants (can't fault you for that since I don't trust some of them either) and must have the drive with the order, this Seagate isn't a bad choice considering its price and performance:
http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barra...F8&qid=1346945989&sr=8-2&keywords=Seagate+1TB

Im a meatball said:
Or do you think I should just go with the Samsung, build the computer without it, and then just add it in next week when it comes. Any setup issues with doing it that way?
Click to expand...

AFAIK, no.
 
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