Heading off to Microcenter tomorrow

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entropism

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Well, tax return came through so I'm going tomorrow to pick up my new rig. Anyone have any issues with the following?

I5 3570K - $189
Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB DDR3-1600 - $45
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - $30
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H - $94 (If I can get the $50 bundle discount on an open-box, I'll try for the UD5H which is $20 less than the new UD3H)
Samsung 840 240GB SSD - $151

This is based off the Paterson NJ stock. The Yonkers NY location (about 30 minutes further) has the ASRock Extreme6, but it's listed at $160 ($110 after discount) on the site, plus tax is 1% higher and the tolls would be an extra $16. Not sure if it's worth it honestly. If they still had the $99 deal it would be a different story.
 
I would go with the Asus P8Z77-V LK or MSI Z77A-GD55 instead if they have either of those mobos stock. Costs the same but are of better quality IMO.
 
They have the Asus, and it's a bit cheaper at $75 after discount. The only MSI they have is the Z77A-G45 or Z77A-GD65. The GD65 is $114 after the discount, which is a bit more than I wanted to spend.

I was under the impression the Gigabyte boards were better than the MSIs or low end ASUS boards. I have a gigabyte now, but definitely wouldn't be opposed to changing brands.
 
entropism said:
They have the Asus, and it's a bit cheaper at $75 after discount. The only MSI they have is the Z77A-G45 or Z77A-GD65. The GD65 is $114 after the discount, which is a bit more than I wanted to spend.

I was under the impression the Gigabyte boards were better than the MSIs or low end ASUS boards. I have a gigabyte now, but definitely wouldn't be opposed to changing brands.
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Wrong impression. The Asus and MSI mobos I listed are in the same price range as that Gigabyte. The particular Gigabyte has some quirks which makes me a bit hesitant to recommend:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/06/14/gigabyte_z77xud3h_motherboard_review/#.USVBpaVJPSN
 
If you are willing to try open box items then the Patterson store has the GA-Z77X-UD5H $125 (edit: you already saw this one) and P8Z77-V PRO $152 at heavy discounts; although the PRO may be out of your price range. Otherwise I think the P8Z77-V LK for $125 that Danny suggested is your best bet.
 
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Good to know Danny & Prav, and thanks for the advice. If they honor the $50 combo discount on the open box boards, I'll definitely be interested in the UD5H or the P8Z77-V PRO. Honestly though, the cheaper the better. I'm just looking for a stable board that can OC fairly well (not looking for cutting edge stuff here), and has either an Optical or SPDIF output for my old stereo.
 
What's the thoughts on the MSI Z77A-G45? Haven't seen much as far as reviews go.
 
I dont know anything specific about the -45. but most MSI boards below the -55 model are generally low end with many more sacrifices made in both hardware quality and bios. If you consider another SSD, they also have a good price on the Toshiba 240GB Solid State Drive PC Upgrade Kit $179 . I do not see many reviews for the drive but it should be comparable to the SanDisk Extreme reviewed here: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/11/01/sandisk_extreme_ssd_storage_review/ which also uses the same Toshiba toggle NAND and SF2281controller.
 
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The only reasons I was looking towards the Samsung SSD were reputation and price. It's $170 normally, but $150 when you buy with a CPU/MB combo. Any reason NOT to get the non-pro Samsung?
 
Well the Samsung uses their new TLC NAND which is unproven for long term use which is why many prefer the PRO variant. To compare the Toshiba and the non pro Samsung I would say the Toshiba has premium toggle NAND and a budget controller while the Samsung has a premium controller and budget NAND, pick your poison. Either would likely be fine for average desktop use.
 
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Micro Center will not do the $50 off combo on open box.

I think that memory was $35 @ MC late last week, ask a manager and they will probably still give you the discount.
 
Got the system last night, ended up being a bit cheaper than I expected. The ram was on sale for $40, and I went with the P8Z77-V LK for $75 after discount. Ended up adding a 2 year motherboard replacement plan for $7, just for peace of mind in never having to deal with ASUS' RMA hell. Now I just have to yell at Microsoft for their activation hassles and learn how to OC on a modern board.
 
Thanks for the help, Danny. I was REALLY tempted to get the Asrock Extreme 4 last night, especially with the $7 2 year replacement plan.
 
I took the replacement plan for my Vertex 3 and so far so good. But it's good to know that I deal with MC instead of OCZ. At MC.they have to look me in the eye, lol
 
Yeah, $7 to avoid dealing with ASUS? I would have paid triple. Apparently the replacement plan is based on final price, so the ASUS was $75 after discounts. If I went for the UD3H or GD-65, it would have been about $20 for the plan. Still not bad.
 
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