• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Help me review this build

fish8590

n00b
Joined
Sep 11, 2011
Messages
4
1) What will you be doing with this PC?
Gaming, CAD, Steaming HD video online, Schoolwork
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
The system I put together is around 1150, I’d like to keep it around there, could spend a little more
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
State College, Pa
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
CPU, RAM, CPU cooler, Motherboard, RAM, Optical Drive, HDD, Graphics Card, PSU, Case, Monitor
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
No
6) Will you be overclocking?
I’ve never done it before but would like to
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Plan on buying a 23/24” 1920X1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Next couple of days
9) What features do you need in a motherboard?
The build I put together doesnt need to many features but I want to future proof it as much as possible for future upgrades- SATA 6.0 for future SSD, USB 3.0, ivybridge & PCIe support (not a necessity but a plus)
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I can get Windows 7 Professional 64 bit through my school for free

Thanks for the help guys!

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Components I've selected

CPU
219.99
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

CPU Cooler
40.24-10MIR=30.24
ZALMAN CNPS10X Performa 120mm Long life CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118059


GPU
264.99-20.00MIR=244.99
SAPPHIRE 100312-3SR Radeon HD 6950 Dirt3 Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.731435

Motherboard
124.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

RAM
52.99
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186

PSU
109.99-20.00MIR=89.99
PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W High Performance 80PLUS Silver SLI CrossFire ready Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703027

HDD
59.99
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

CASE
79.99
LIAN LI K60B Black CECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112247

MONITOR
176.99-15.00MIR=161.99
ASUS ML238H 23-Inch Wide Ultra-Slim LED Monitor (Black/White)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XU73KY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Have you bought anything yet? I ask because I wouldn't recommend the following parts:

Motherboard: ASRock boards have a one-year warranty, which doesn't make sense when you can find two- or three-year warranty boards for a bit more.

CPU Cooler: The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus is just as good, if not better, but it's cheaper. (And I don't count mail-in rebates, seeing as they don't offer instant discounts upon checkout and they're not 100% guaranteed.)

Memory: You don't need DDR3 1600 RAM as you'll overclock using the i5-2500K's unlocked CPU multiplier. Stick with a cheaper DDR3 1333 set.

Video Card: Spend the extra money for a better quality MSI, Asus, Gigabyte, or XFX (best, with a lifetime limited warranty) card.

Power Supply: The PC P&C Silencer isn't a better quality PSU than the new Corsair V2 series PSU, in spite of its high 80 Plus rating. And if you're only using one video card, there are plenty of good yet cheaper 650 watt power supplies available.

And don't worry about "futureproofing" your motherboard; you're set if you have a P67 or Z68 board. Each board comes with at least two SATA 6Gb/s ports and virtually all of them have USB 3.0 support. And by the time that you really need PCI Express 3.0 -- which will be backwards compatible with PCI Express 2.x technology -- you'll be looking towards a new system anyways.
 
Motherboard: ASRock boards have a one-year warranty, which doesn't make sense when you can find two- or three-year warranty boards for a bit more.

Everyone always says this, but Newegg lists that board as having a 2 year warranty. Do you have a link to something showing it as 1 year? The only thing I found on ASRock's site is that some areas have a 2 year and some areas have a 3 year, but I couldn't find specifics. I'm assuming the 2 year is US and the 3 year is Europe.

Memory: You don't need DDR3 1600 RAM as you'll overclock using the i5-2500K's unlocked CPU multiplier. Stick with a cheaper DDR3 1333 set.

I agree that there isn't much performance difference, but for $10 its probably worth getting the 1600 just in case it matters in the future.
 
Everyone always says this, but Newegg lists that board as having a 2 year warranty. Do you have a link to something showing it as 1 year? The only thing I found on ASRock's site is that some areas have a 2 year and some areas have a 3 year, but I couldn't find specifics. I'm assuming the 2 year is US and the 3 year is Europe.

Actually, ASRock's US site states that all of its motherboards have only a one-year warranty. The info on Newegg is outdated since the 2-year warranty on ASRock motherboards applied only to purchases made between January 1 and June 30, 2011 (that period had already been long passed). At the same time that ASRock reverted its US warranty to one year, ASRock's European warranty reverted to two years (the minimum required by the European Union).
 
Everyone always says this, but Newegg lists that board as having a 2 year warranty. Do you have a link to something showing it as 1 year? The only thing I found on ASRock's site is that some areas have a 2 year and some areas have a 3 year, but I couldn't find specifics. I'm assuming the 2 year is US and the 3 year is Europe.
On the AsRock website:
http://www.asrock.com/support/index.asp?cat=RMA
 
Actually, ASRock's US site states that all of its motherboards have only a one-year warranty. The info on Newegg is outdated since the 2-year warranty on ASRock motherboards applied only to purchases made between January 1 and June 30, 2011 (that period had already been long passed). At the same time that ASRock reverted its US warranty to one year, ASRock's European warranty reverted to two years (the minimum required by the European Union).


Someone needs to let Newegg know - that's a pretty big oversight on their part.
 
I have not bought anything yet

Thanks for pointing out that about the asrock warranty. Ive heard allot of good things about their recent boards being much better quality than the ones they were making a few years back but the one year warranty is making me reconsider. Do you have other suggestions? I'm looking to spend under or around 150 on the motherboard.
 
Remember to follow Tiraides advice to the T. IT's solid advice.

However for a mobo recommendation, I recommend the following:
$130 - MSI P67A-G43 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard
 
Actually, ASRock's US site states that all of its motherboards have only a one-year warranty. The info on Newegg is outdated since the 2-year warranty on ASRock motherboards applied only to purchases made between January 1 and June 30, 2011 (that period had already been long passed). At the same time that ASRock reverted its US warranty to one year, ASRock's European warranty reverted to two years (the minimum required by the European Union).


I emailed ASRock's support, and they said they have a 2 year warranty for P67 and Z68 motherboards in the US.

Also, the web page about the increase in the warranty period mentioned warranty areas with 2 year warranty and areas with 3 year warranties, but no mention of areas with only 1 year warranty.

The extended warranties will vary from purchase locations. For instance, if you purchased ASRock P67/H67 B3 stepping chipset motherboard in a 2-year-warranty territory, your service guarantee is automatically 3 years in total. If you purchased in 3-year-warranty territory, then the service guarantee is automatically 4 in total.
 
Also, the web page about the increase in the warranty period mentioned warranty areas with 2 year warranty and areas with 3 year warranties, but no mention of areas with only 1 year warranty.

That's probably referring tot the European and Malaysia. I know that the Europeans get a two year warranty and Malaysia (possibly south-east or all of Asia) have a three year warranty once you register the mobo online.

What we have here is conflicting information.
 
Back
Top