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Compatibility Comments for 1st Time Builder?

J

johnlee433

n00b
Joined
Dec 8, 2011
Messages
3
So here is my build thus far.

Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

PSU: CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 (CMPSU-850HX) 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157250

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

RAM: G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231461

HDD: Either http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1323340165&sr=1-14 or http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1323339220&sr=1-7 Are there better/cheaper options?

Optical Drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

GPU: HIS IceQ X Turbo H695QNT2G2M Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161372

HSF: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

I’ve never used a PC with a HSF- how necessary is this?

Thermal Compound: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

OS: Windows 7 64-bit

Any recommendations for a cheap mouse or surge protector?


Will be using computer for: Gaming, Internet, Work.

When prices drop, I’ll probably get another HDD for RAID. I may OC or Crossfire my GPU in the future. My main concern is to get a really good ~$1000 PC that will last up to 5 years with switching outdated parts out over time. Should my specs fulfill that goal? Are there any parts that cost too much for the value (such as MOBO or RAM)? Finally, are my parts compatible and will they fit fine inside the case? Thanks a lot for the help.

*Edit: I've fixed the "borked" links
 
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Just be advised that the ASRock motherboards only have a 2 year warranty, compared to a 3 years that the other major manufacturers (Asus, Gigabyte, MSI) have. The Asus P8Z68-V is a popular choice:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131792

If you plan to overclock, an aftermarket heatsink is pretty much required. If you are going to stick to stock speeds, then the stock cooler is fine (although in that case you should probably just get the i5-2400 instead). The thermal paste that comes with the heatsink is fine to use, no need to buy extra.

Your links are borked, but I'd save the $15 and just get the G.Skill Ripjaws RAM instead of the 1.25V stuff:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

Also, 850W is more than enough for that system, unless you plan to go CrossFire sometime you can save a bundle by dropping down to a 620/650W PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371048
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

If you are looking for a 1TB HDD, this Hitachi is significantly better/faster/cheaper than the ones you listed.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145533

But what you picked out will all work fine.
 
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In addition to what Forceman recommendations, I recommend that you swap video cards for this XFX HD 6950 2GB due to XFX's longer warranty and arguably better support:
$280 - XFX HD-695X-CDFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB PCI-E Video Card

As for the case, I would not go with that Antec 300 case as it is relatively cramped and has little to no cable management features. You can always add more fans easily. You can't add space or cable management easily. So I recommend any of these other roomier and better cable management having cases instead:
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
$60 - Cooler Master HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 ATX Case
$61 - Cooler Master CM690 II Advance nVidia Edition ATX Case


Some additional questions:
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
 
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3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

I currently live in Washington
I have a 20" 1600x900 monitor
I plan on buying the parts this month
 
Hmm... for your resolution the HD 6950 2GB is a bit overkill. You would be fine with the HD 6870 1GB or GTX 560 1GB. But if you're willing to spend all that cash for the HD 6950 2GB, go for it.
 
The thing is, I expect to upgrade to a 1920x1080 sometime in the future when prices drop. I'm just not sure when. Also, I already jumped on the Antec 300 Illusion deal before you suggested better cases. Did I done goof, or will that case still be ok?
 
johnlee433 said:
The thing is, I expect to upgrade to a 1920x1080 sometime in the future when prices drop. I'm just not sure when.
Click to expand...
Fair enough. Though 1920x1080 resolution monitors are fairly cheap at this point. Wait too long and you may end up wasting that money spent on the HD 6950 IMO.

johnlee433 said:
Also, I already jumped on the Antec 300 Illusion deal before you suggested better cases. Did I done goof, or will that case still be ok?
Click to expand...
Goof IMO.
 
If you purchased the case from newegg, you might want to consider returning it flat out and getting another case. Newegg is good for returns as long as the packaging hasn't been opened.

The case isn't terrible, and won't completely dick you or anything, but it will definitely be a pain to work with, and in the long run may cause problems when/if you try to upgrade/crossfire. Keep in mind, cramped = less room to upgrade, and less airflow, and less airflow = less cooling, which is always bad.

Monitor-wise, Newegg has sales just about every week on 1920x1080 monitors. If anything, over christmas they'll probably have another massive sale just like Black Friday, when they had 23'' LEDs for like $130.
 
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