Critique my build + Suggestions please

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konical

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Hey, i'm building my next computer, pricing out parts. goals are for 16 GB of ram, an overclockable processor, and a quality motherboard / power supply.

Suggestions, comments, and anything else is welcome! Let me know how this build stacks up in your eyes and what could be better

Here's the price breakdown and specific item codes from Newegg

SAPPHIRE 100312-1GSR Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
Item #: N82E16814102921
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$242.99
Graphics card total : $242.99 + $8 shipping = $250.99 - $20 mail in rebate

Thermaltake TR2 RX 750W Bronze W0382RU ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular ...
Item #: N82E16817153136
-$15.00 Instant
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$114.99
$99.99
Power Supply total : $99.99 + $2 shipping = $101.99 - $20 mail in rebate

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
Item #: N82E16820231314
$189.98
($94.99 each)
2
EMCKEJG73 Discount From Promo Code -$38.00

Patriot X-Porter 2GB Flash Drive (USB2.0 Portable) Model PSF2GUSB
Item #: N82E16820241103
-$5.99 Saving
$11.98
$0.00
($0.00 each)
Memory total : $151.98 for 16 GB (4 x 4 GB) & 2 flash drives


MSI P67A-C43 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813130571
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
-$10.00 Instant
$124.99
Mobo total : $114.99 + $8 shipping = $122.99

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
Item #: N82E16819115072
Rosewill FUTURE Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case,come with Four Fans-2x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan,1x Top 120mm Fan,1x Rear ...
Item #: N82E16811147108
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$35.00 Combo
$304.98
$269.98
Processor + Case total : $269.98


Total on Newegg including shipping after instant discounts : $894.95
Total mail in rebates available : $40


Additionally a cooler from amazon

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler, RR-B10-212P-G1
CPU Fan Total : $29.51


Grand Total for Build : $ 924.46

Here's the reason list


I chose the HD6950 to be able to change the clocks to 6970
I chose the Thermaltake 750w as a quality power supply without risk of running low on juice
I chose G.Skills ram after much price hunting on Newegg, finding it to the best in price for a DDR3 1600. It has stock timings of 9-9-9-24, overclockable to around 8-8-8-24. Didn't care about the flash drives but might as well
I chose the MSI mobo, as it's a trusted board rated highly on newegg and not too many boards out there for the LGA 1155 socket
I chose the Intel 2500k due to it's significant overclock potential. The case came with it in a combo deal, a light case with a tool less design, cable management and 4 fans
Lastly, the coolmaster fan is recommended in quite a few places for the intel 2500k, so I went with that.


Again, any comments or suggestions are welcome!
 
Generally filling out the Sticky (look at the first sticky in the General Hardware forum) helps us figure out what's best for your build. I have no idea what resolution monitor you have, so none of these parts really matter since I'm just going to assume you have between 640x480 and 5120x4800.

However, for your parts:

Okay, so Sapphire only has a 2 year warranty on their GPUs. XFX has a lifetime. But XFX's 1 GB card has some terrible quality issues. So either consider their 2 GB card, or alternatively consider an EVGA Geforce GTX 560Ti. This is one of the few nVidia cards I currently recommend, and it's a direct replacement for a 6950 1GB.
$253 (before $20 MIR) - EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB
$275 (before $30 MIR) - XFX HD-695X-CNFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB

Personally, I'm not a fan of Thermaltake PSUs. I usually recommend Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, and XFX. There are other quality models out there (Sparkle Computer has a decent 1250 W for example.) For this build you should be okay with a 600W to 750W PSU. If you want a 750W, the Corsair 750TX V2 is pretty good.
$105 (before $10 MIR) - Corsair TX750 V2

Get a Cooler Master HAF 912 for your case and take advantage of a different CPU combo deal.
$60 - Cooler Master HAF 912
$320 - Core i5-2500k + MSI P67A-C43

I think if you implement my above suggestions you'll see it costs $3 more than your original build (assuming you use the GTX 560) and should be a better computer overall. Of course you can mix and match things too.
 
I would pick up a corsair PSU over the Thermaltake.
Get a better HSF setup, I have used that coolermaster and its a piece of shit... Maybe I just had a bad experience but it gave me some pretty shitty numbers...

Personal preference here but I would squeeze out the extra cash for an ASUS or Gigabyte board, OCing options will be better IMO...
 
General questions/answers

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
All of the above, mostly at the same time, with about 30 chrome tabs open as well. I can't keep 20 chrome tabs open without my current 4gb system flushing tabs to the cache on disk.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
700-1200. yes

3) Where do you live?
south carolina

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, ram, graphics, mobo, power, cooling.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
SATA hard drives (3), nothing else

6) Will you be overclocking?
Overclocking graphics, ram, and CPU

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
3 monitors, one fed through a switch. 1920x1080, seperate screens (not stretching windows across screens)

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
when I receive the parts / 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? etc.
raid 1, SATA 6gb/s for future ssd, no esata or onboard video or firewire or sli needed.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
yes. 64bit win7, probably pro.


@tonytnnt

$275 (before $30 MIR) - XFX HD-695X-CNFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB
1 extra gig for 25 bucks? Sold

That case "$60 - Cooler Master HAF 912" is pretty heavy, 17 pounds, includes only 2 fans, and the inside of the case looks like it's just begging to cut me. Looks a little better but i'm always function over beauty
Heres a direct link to the Rosewill one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147108&Tpk=rosewell future

@6foot4geek
It's actually not extra cash for a Gigabyte board, but a small drop in audio/USBs available and the Gigabyte one does not have as many reviews in this price range either.

Here's what I was comparing the MSI to (Gigabyte board)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128487

Here's the MSI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130571
 
Hellz yes that MSI board is better then that Gigabyte board, ew.
IF you are comparing those boards def. stick with the MSI one.

And to semi butt in on tonytnnt, That Rosewill case looks like a POS if you ask me... I have the larger HAF 932, granted its a beast and heavy as *#$& but its solid and not butt ugly lol.
Any opposition to this case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...29073&cm_re=antec_case-_-11-129-073-_-Product

I love Antec cases, they are solid but still usually fairly light and the cooling options are great!
 
konical said:
That case "$60 - Cooler Master HAF 912" is pretty heavy, 17 pounds, includes only 2 fans, and the inside of the case looks like it's just begging to cut me. Looks a little better but i'm always function over beauty
Heres a direct link to the Rosewill one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147108&Tpk=rosewell future
Click to expand...
Yeah but in this case you're aiming for function over beauty AND quality. A 10.52 lbs case? That screams low/cheap quality. Especially since the ~$40 Coolermaster Elite 341 or Elite 330 cases weighs 13.3 pounds yet both do feel a little cheap and can be easily damaged. So a 10.52 pound case is gonna of significantly lower quality than those cheap cases.

So I highly recommend going with that Coolermaster HAF 912 case.

Also, ditch that Thermaltake PSU: The only decent Thermaltake PSUs are part of their Toughpower and Purepower RX lineup. The rest are pretty crappy. Especially the ones branded under the TR2 line. So definitely go with the Corsair 750TX V2 PSU that tony posted. Its actually gonna be even superior to the GOOD Thermaltake PSUs let alone the crappy TR2 ones.

EDIT: And another thing about the cases: That Coolermaster actually has better cable management and space features than that Rosewill case. The HAF 912 has more room behind/beneath the motherboard in which to hide more cables than the Rosewill. In addition, should you need more room to fit a longer video card or more room in general, the top hard drive bay is actually removable. Finally, the HAF 912 has more openings on the motherboard tray to better route cables. In fact, note the location of the 8Pin EPS connector on your motherboard. Note the fact that both cases mentioned have bottom mounted PSUs. The HAF 912 has a opening in the top left of the case as well as thick enough space underneath the motherboard tray to route the 8Pin EPS12V cable underneath and then through that top left opening. Then finally connected to the 8Pin EPS 12V connector on the mobo. The Rosewill case you chose does not have such an opening. As such you will need to route the 8Pin EPS12V cable across top of the motherboard just to reach that connector.
 
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konical,

I also agree with the suggestions of the others, especially the PSU: That Thermaltake TR2 RX 750W costs way too much money (even after you receive the rebate) for what is effectively only a 450W to 500W PSU (and a mediocre-quality 450W to 500W PSU, at that).
 
Since you essentially have a $1200 limit, why again aren't you buying an SSD now?
 
I'd personally jump on a modular power supply with a smaller case like that. If the Thermaltake isn't to your liking shell out a few extra $$ and pick up another brand, but in my experience never buying Antec again after 3 failed PSU's and one of those completely destroying my computer, Thermaltake is solid for me, but I think it's the Toughtpower someone mentioned above.

Looking great otherwise!
 
MADDX.jpg




I wrote out a long post, it got ate by having to login again, but in general
1. The case I selected is newer, includes usb 3.0 on the front, has a good internal look to it
2. I combo'd out the power supply to the recommended Corsair, however there was a combo deal to the 850 watts, which made it cheaper than the 750watts of any brand, so I went with that
3. The XFX 6950 I have listed is a non-reference unit, meaning the shaders are not unlocked. I don't know what this means for the overclockability of the GPU but.... it ain't looking good.
 
There is another strike against your choice of case: It is somewhat cramped on the inside. Though the case has decent cable management features, the somewhat shorter depth equals less room from rear to front. This complicates connecting internal hard drives somewhat, especially if the ports on your chosen motherboard are along the front edge of the board instead of on the board.
 
konical said:
1. The case I selected is newer, includes usb 3.0 on the front, has a good internal look to it
Click to expand...
So you didn't read anything I wrote then?

Is USB 3.0 that valuable to you that you're willing to skimp on quality, cable management, cooling, and space?
 
1. Quality - Ok then I decided to go for a see-through acrylic case, as it's much heavier then this rosewill it should be sturdier according to you guys right?
2. Cable Management - Don't know how big of a problem this will be, as I don't have modular psu. I don't care about hiding the cables, only so that the cables aren't hitting fans
3. Cooling - More fans at the same/near same price point. Smaller space prevents pockets of air from forming, more fans +smaller space = better overall
4. Space - The CPU cooler and the GPU fit.
 
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konical said:
1. Quality - Ok then I decided to go for a see-through acrylic case, as it's much heavier then this rosewill it should be studier according to you guys right?
2. Cable Management - Don't know how big of a problem this will be, as I don't have modular psu. I don't care about hiding the cables, only so that the cables aren't hitting fans
3. Cooling - More fans at the same/near same price point. Smaller space prevents pockets of air from forming, more fans +smaller space = better overall
4. Space - The CPU cooler and the GPU fit.
Click to expand...

You still didn't read everything that's wrong with that case. When I said it's somewhat cramped, I meant that the motherboard itself is a somewhat tight squeeze into the case's motherboard mounting panel. The internal SATA ports might get jammed in very tightly against the hard drive cage, leaving you with little if any room at all whatsoever to manouver any SATA plugs into their ports (at least not without completely dismounting the entire motherboard just to get at the ports).
 
konical said:
1. Quality - Ok then I decided to go for a see-through acrylic case, as it's much heavier then this rosewill it should be studier according to you guys right?
2. Cable Management - Don't know how big of a problem this will be, as I don't have modular psu. I don't care about hiding the cables, only so that the cables aren't hitting fans
3. Cooling - More fans at the same/near same price point. Smaller space prevents pockets of air from forming, more fans +smaller space = better overall
4. Space - The CPU cooler and the GPU fit.
Click to expand...

1. Way to be sarcastic there. If you want to ignore the weight/quality issue, go ahead.
2. Again read what I wrote earlier about 8Pin EPS12V connector.
3. And I'm willing to bet those Rosewill fans are of inferior and of lower cooling capability than the Coolermaster. In addition, what you said isn't entirely true: smaller cases are known for being warmer than larger cases.
4. Can't argue with you here. However, there's a good chance that the power cable for that video card will hit or have to be routed through the HDD bay

I know you're trying to aim for best bang for the buck here but that Rosewill simply isn't it. That one extra fan does not make up for all of the litany of issues with that Rosewill case.
 
Finished the build and overclock

1. Rosewill Future Case came with a couple WTFs, but I resolved them. First WTF was the lack of board standoff screws, this was resolved by the fact the raised ridges inside the case were board standoffs anyway. Second WTF was the USB 3.0 front of the case terminates in a USB 3.0 male cable, which through adaptor connects to my mobo just fine

2. Everything worked, running 4.5 GHz on i2500k just fine @ 1.3v, could probably easily tune it down but not bother atm, heat maxes at about 60C-65C after an hour of burn test.

3. Case keeps hard drives very cool.

4. Moved top fan in case to side panel, venting directly over the graphics card.

5. XFX 2gb, you cannot unlock the shaders but can overclock just fine

Probably the easiest build I ever did. In fact, NewEgg just sent me a a few coupon codes. Here's what it said

"Dear ______e,
As a small token of our thanks for your recent purchase of a Rosewill FUTURE Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, please use these bonus coupon codes to save a few dollars as you finish your new computer build or upgrade!

**PROMO CODES ARE NON-TRANSFERABLE and may only be redeemed using the Newegg account attached to this e-mail address.
"


I'm going to snag the 10% coupon code on the Solid 3 SSD, 500MB/sec read/write holy jesus

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227728 = 125 - 12.50 coupon = 112.50
 
No offense, by why do people ask for help in here if they're going to ignore said help. It's great that your system works well, but it was kind of pointless wasting everyones time when you were going to do what you wanted anyway.
 
No offense taken, but I took the advice when it came to the XFX 2gb model. The advice rendered towards the case was laughably wrong, and I hope people consider weight = quality a little less next time.
 
Weight and quality a little less next time?

Haf case = amazing case
Rosewill = ive seen a 4 year old do some damage to one.of them sitting on it at a family party
 
Not flamming either... Ive seen it... Think if I remember right it was a "light" rosewill unicorn..
 
konical said:
The advice rendered towards the case was laughably wrong, and I hope people consider weight = quality a little less next time.
Click to expand...

That wasn't the sole reasons why I was against the case and you know it.

Anyway, enjoy your new build.
 
Danny Bui said:
1. Way to be sarcastic there. If you want to ignore the weight/quality issue, go ahead.
2. Again read what I wrote earlier about 8Pin EPS12V connector.
3. And I'm willing to bet those Rosewill fans are of inferior and of lower cooling capability than the Coolermaster. In addition, what you said isn't entirely true: smaller cases are known for being warmer than larger cases.
4. Can't argue with you here. However, there's a good chance that the power cable for that video card will hit or have to be routed through the HDD bay

I know you're trying to aim for best bang for the buck here but that Rosewill simply isn't it. That one extra fan does not make up for all of the litany of issues with that Rosewill case.
Click to expand...

Ok i'll answer the other points you had about it.

1. Answered
2. Backside of the Rosewill Future case has 3 seperate holes along the edge of the motherboard tray, meaning most of the space is punched out. You can route cables through there all day. The EPS 8pin cable isn't physically long enough to do anything other then direct connect, although that is blamed on the Corsair cable being too short for the non-modular system.
3. No way to tell since I don't have a coolermaster case, but the air being pushed on each fan is comparable/little difference when compared to my old Antec 900 case with the similar fan sizes
4. No the power cable on the xfx 2gb card is top mounted. It could be a problem on power cabling that comes in from the side.

Really here are the actual problems with the case
1. No directions for USB3.0 mounting but you can figure it out
2. Your going to need a few right angle connectors to connect appropriately to the hard drives
3. Extra PCI accessory slots in the back you have to break off to remove (snap out metal strips that you then can screw down if you want), but that shouldn't matter unless you reconfigure your build a lot.
4. Move the top fan to the side of the case.
5. Going to have to think about fan power cabling placement, I just ended up routing the front fan power through one of the extra bays and called it a day.

And thanks, I will :) Just got the new Solid 3 SSD ordered.
 
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