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Looking to build a high-end PC

B

bumjin

n00b
Joined
May 29, 2007
Messages
31
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing?
90% gaming (Dota 2, Black Ops 2, Diablo 3) and 10% multimedia (movies, streaming).

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$4000 and yes, tax and shipping included.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
San Diego, CA

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.
- Computer case = Probably Corsair 550D or any case with quiet features
- CPU = Preferably Intel SB or IB
- Motherboard
- GPU = nVidia 680 GTX
- RAM
- HDD/SDD = Preferably SDD (will be using one)
- PSU
- Cooling = Preferably case fans to replace stock fans that comes with the case and a high-end CPU fan/cooler as long they aren't too loud. Will a Corsair H-100 work here?
- Optical drive = Should I get a BD/DVD burner? I don't really watch Blu-ray movies.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None.

6) Will you be overclocking?
Nope, strictly stock as I have no experience with overclocking.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1680x1050. 20.1" widescreen monitor.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next two weeks.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Not sure but I'll be using a single HDD or SSD, USB 3.0, on-board ethernet, on-board sound system, etc.

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

Before I'd like to begin, the last time I built a new computer was 4-5 years ago where I had nVidia 8800 GTX and Intel Q6600 but after that, I haven't kept up to date with the latest PC technology since.

With a budget of $4000, I can easily achieve a high-end PC but I can't find myself paying $1000 for a processor when I have no intention in overclocking and I can probably get a similar or slightly lower performance from a $300 processor.

Basically, I am looking for an "all stock/super-stock" high-end PC that gives the most bang for the money.

Any suggestions/recommendations are appreciated.
 
Since you live in California, try to buy as much of your parts as possible from Amazon.com as they do not charge CA residents tax like Newegg does. Also, any chance of you getting a larger monitor or two more of those 20.1" LCD monitors? I ask because the GTX 680 is fairly overkill for the relatively small resolution of your monitor (even for high-end games like BF3 or Skyrim)

Cooling wise, if you want quiet, stick to air coolers like the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ as the pump included with those self-contained water cooling kits like the Corsair Hydro series and Antec Kuhler series are fairly noisy. In addition, I would stick with a regular DVD drive since it's more cost-effective to get an independent blu-ray player.

Considering the games you're playing, the small monitor, and your desire not to OC, I'm fairly sure you won't get anywhere near that $4000 budget or even a 1/3rd of it.

EDIT: A little under 1/3rd the budget:

$200 - Intel Core i5-3450
$120 - Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 Motherboard
$40 - Corsair CMV8GX3M2A1333C9 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$230 - Sapphire 100312-3L Radeon HD 6950 2GB PCI-E Video Card
$237 - Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD2 2.5" 256GB SSD
$17 - Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE SATA DVD Burner
$90 - Corsair 650TX V2 650W PSU
$136 - Corsair Obsidian Series 550D ATX Case
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
---
Total: $1100 shipped
 
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Thank you for taking your time coming up with these suggestions, Danny. It's great to have someone like yourself helping us with building new computers.

I would like to note that after building this new computer, I probably won't be upgrading/buying a new computer in the next couple years or so. (If Blizzard comes out with their version of DOTA, you can bet that I'm dedicating most of my free time playing that.)

Also, I just bought a Dell U2711 27" monitor yesterday and the resolution on that thing is pretty huge compared to my old monitor. Would a nVidia 680 GTX work here?

As for the cooling, I don't mind a little noise since I don't leave my computer on when I'm sleeping and I tend to crank up the volume whenever I'm watching movies. Headphones will be used for gaming.

Considering my budget, I know I shouldn't be questioning you on these suggestions you came up with but I was wondering if there are any components that I can spend a little more extra on? But, if there are minimal differences between the components you suggested vs. slightly/more expensive components, I'll go with your suggestions and do some research before making final purchases.

Thank you for reading.
 
bumjin said:
Also, I just bought a Dell U2711 27" monitor yesterday and the resolution on that thing is pretty huge compared to my old monitor. Would a nVidia 680 GTX work here?
Click to expand...
Yes. Though the games you're playing aren't exactly GPU heavy. So you might be fine with the GTX 670.

bumjin said:
Considering my budget, I know I shouldn't be questioning you on these suggestions you came up with but I was wondering if there are any components that I can spend a little more extra on?
Click to expand...
Maybe another set of the RAM I linked so that you get a total of 16GB of RAM. And then the higher-end GPU like the GTX 670 and 680. If you want, you can go for a more expensive case if noise level isn't a concern. I recommend the following cases:
$144 - Silverstone RV03B-WA ATX case
$150 - Silverstone TJ04B-EW ATX Case
$160 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$164 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$178 - Silverstone RV02B-EW ATX case
$162 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$220 - Silverstone FT02S-W ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B ATX Case
$270 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case

Besides that, that's about it. You're not overclocking, you haven't mentioned SLI nor will the games you're playing require that much GPU power. Maybe another 256GB SSD for shits and giggles if you really want to spend money.
 
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No offence but answers like
"6) Will you be overclocking?
Nope, strictly stock as I have no experience with overclocking."
always make me laugh when your willing to spend $500 on a flagship videocard and $4000 on the total system. All it takes is a quick google search and anyone can overclock a 2500k/3570k to 4.5Ghz.
 
You can play the games you listed with a budget far, far below $4k. The $1,100 build Danny suggested fits your needs perfectly, except I'd go with a GTX 670 considering you're gaming on a U2711. Should last you a good couple of years.

And you really should look into overclocking, "no prior experience" is not an excuse for SB/IB overclocking because it's ridiculously simple.
 
If you have the money and really don't care about spending it. I would go for a 512GB Vertex 4.
 
fullvietFX said:
If you have the money and really don't care about spending it. I would go for a 512GB Vertex 4.
Click to expand...

Vertex 4? An OCZ? I still don't get why people still recommend an OCZ with as many problems they have shown with their drives.
 
fullvietFX said:
The Vertex 4 doesn't use Sandforce anymore.
Click to expand...

It's still OCZ. The Octane that also supposedly also uses a Marvell controller infused by OCZ's controller company much like the Vertex 4, needed a month after release a destructive update.

I just don't why people would recommend specially when willing to spend so much, products from a company that has displayed nearly 3 straight years horrible reliability issues. Maybe this is the first time they got it right. But even then who would recommend it and why?
 
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You could also go with the 512GB version of the Crucial M4 if you wanted to spend more money.
 
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