i7 Build Help

[Boardin087]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming/casting games

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
No budget, would like to save as much money as possible and stay under 1000 but I'm not going to worry if it goes up a few hundred more, i plan on having it for awhile.

3) Where do you live?
PA, but I can get to a Microcenter when I travel to MD for work if needed.

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.
PSU/MOBO/PROCESSOR/Memory/Case

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Monitors/Mousepad/Mouse/Keyboard/Graphics Card/Hard Drive, Optical drive

6) Will you be overclocking?
Probably?

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
32 inch tv and 24inch monitor. Will prob go back to 2 24's

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Not a rush but within a month

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.
usb 3.0, sata 6gb/s, everything else optional.

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

 

[xBanzai89]

What resolution and video card are you using?

 

[Boardin087]

hd5770 and 1900x 1080. Will be upgrdaing video card in the next few months

 

[xBanzai89]

Ok well here we go:

Core i5 2500K/MSI P67-G45 combo - $339.98
GSKill 2x4GB DDR3 1333Mhz - $49.99
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-620 620W - $69.99

Total = $459.96 + $7.63 Shipping = $467.59 - $40 MIRs = $427.59

You maybe able to get a better deal at Microcenter with that 2500K and a motherboard if they are still doing the $40 off the motherboard/CPU combo there on top of the cheaper 2500K.

I can think of a few cases off the top of my head, but here is a list Danny_Bui recommends.

$70 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58W ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K56 ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master CM690 II Advance ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$100 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$110 - NZXT Whisper WHI - 001BK ATX Full Tower Case
$110 - Lian Li PC-60FN ATX Case
$110 - Lian Li PC-7FN ATX Case
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$127 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Lian Li PC-9F ATX Case
$143 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-002OR Black Finish w/Orange Trim Full Tower ATX Case
$150 - Corsair Graphite Series 600T ATX Case

 

[Boardin087]

how bout for an i7..... with 16gb ram

 

[xBanzai89]

A 2600K will not net you any gains above a 2500K in gaming. 16GB of ram really isn't going to help either, but with ram prices so low you can get that much if you wish.

 

[tiraides]

For emphasis, again, you don't need an i7-2600K or 16GB of RAM for gaming.

You can grab everything except for the RAM at Micro Center. I recommend buying the RAM from NewEgg as you can find a larger selection for comparatively less (though I believe that MC will allow you to price-match with NewEgg... in that case, grab either Corsair XMS3 or Corsair Vengeance RAM from MC). Regardless of what you choose (but avoid OCZ or other lesser-known brands), make sure that you're grabbing 1.5V RAM. You don't really need DDR3 1600 RAM, so don't buy it if you can find DDR3 1333 RAM for less.

Since you said that you'd probably overclock your processor, you also need to look at grabbing a good third-party CPU cooler. Either the Xigmatek Gaia or the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus would be an effective yet inexpensive option.

 

[Boardin087]

A 2600K will not net you any gains above a 2500K in gaming. 16GB of ram really isn't going to help either, but with ram prices so low you can get that much if you wish.

I'm surprised to hear this as I thought hte CPU was the bottleneck on most modern games. I'd like to be able to stream my sc2 games at a high bitrate. if I can do this with a 2500k then I'll go with that. As for ram. Seems silly not to get a lot with it being sooooooooo cheap. Maybe ill grab 8gb?

Thanks for all of the good advice. I think Im going to stay with the retail cpu cooler and grab an aftermarket one when I finish the rest of the upgrade and get a new GFX card/ssd/sound card in a few months. any other advice?

 

[Boardin087]

For emphasis, again, you don't need an i7-2600K or 16GB of RAM for gaming.

You can grab everything except for the RAM at Micro Center. I recommend buying the RAM from NewEgg as you can find a larger selection for comparatively less (though I believe that MC will allow you to price-match with NewEgg... in that case, grab either Corsair XMS3 or Corsair Vengeance RAM from MC). Regardless of what you choose (but avoid OCZ or other lesser-known brands), make sure that you're grabbing 1.5V RAM. You don't really need DDR3 1600 RAM, so don't buy it if you can find DDR3 1333 RAM for less.

Since you said that you'd probably overclock your processor, you also need to look at grabbing a good third-party CPU cooler. Either the Xigmatek Gaia or the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus would be an effective yet inexpensive option.

really like g.skill so I'm going to go with that I think. Any recommended sets specifically?

 

[xBanzai89]

I'm surprised to hear this as I thought hte CPU was the bottleneck on most modern games. I'd like to be able to stream my sc2 games at a high bitrate. if I can do this with a 2500k then I'll go with that. As for ram. Seems silly not to get a lot with it being sooooooooo cheap. Maybe ill grab 8gb?

Thanks for all of the good advice. I think Im going to stay with the retail cpu cooler and grab an aftermarket one when I finish the rest of the upgrade and get a new GFX card/ssd/sound card in a few months. any other advice?

SC2 is a cpu bound game, but it isn't really multithreaded so the 2600K will not out do a 2500K there. Check this review out here. 8GB of ram should be plently for the years to come till your next build as well. Really nothing else to tweak until you do your above mentioned upgrades next.

 

[Boardin087]

SC2 is a cpu bound game, but it isn't really multithreaded so the 2600K will not out do a 2500K there. Check this review out here. 8GB of ram should be plently for the years to come till your next build as well. Really nothing else to tweak until you do your above mentioned upgrades next.

Thanks for your help. gonna go to a MC this week

 

[xBanzai89]

If you are going there make sure you take advantage of this combo deal and I recommend this motherboard.

 

[tiraides]

really like g.skill so I'm going to go with that I think. Any recommended sets specifically?

You can go with the cheapest G.Skill kit available. Heatspreaders aren't really needed for RAM if you have a good cooling setup inside your case.

Thanks for all of the good advice. I think Im going to stay with the retail cpu cooler and grab an aftermarket one when I finish the rest of the upgrade and get a new GFX card/ssd/sound card in a few months. any other advice?

Seriously, grab the aftermarket CPU cooler now. The ones that I recommended earlier cost around $30, and you originally planned on spending $150 more on the i7-2600 and an additional 8GB of RAM. Additionally, the aftermarket CPU cooler takes some time to install -- and in many older cases, you will have to remove the motherboard from the case before you can install it. It's better to buy the CPU cooler now and install it right away than wait until the rest of your upgrades arrive just so you can disassemble your entire computer.

As for future upgrades, hold off on the sound card purchase until you give the onboard sound a try. If you want to game on both monitors, you should consider a high-end video card like the GTX 570 or the HD 6950. StarCraft II isn't as graphically demanding as many first-person shooter games, but the "extended" resolution from playing on two monitors simultaneously will demand some more GPU power.

As for SSDs, I'd rather wait until you're ready to buy one. There's always the chance that a newer, better model will be available.

If you are going there make sure you take advantage of this combo deal and I recommend this motherboard.

You can also buy the CPU cooler (either one) from there.