Need comments on my buildup!

[enigmas325]

Hi, this is my first time building my own desktop and I seriously need some experts help here! The desktop would be used for normal usage: movie, music, photo sharing, gaming, etc. (Not a hardcore gamer though, but still wants to play most of them games in the market). I do plan to OC things...

So here's the buildup I got so far. Feel free to comment on it and tell me what I should change.

Budget under $1200 USD

Processor: Intel Core i5 2500 Quad Core Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ

MoBo: ASUS P8Z68-V LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model 996770

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GT 220 1GB DDR3 625MHz 128-bit PCI-E 2.0 Video Card - 01G-P3-1226-LR

Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 600W ATX12V V2.2 24pin

Cooler: corsair cooling hydro series h60 high performance cpu cooler system

Hard Drive: 500GB or 1T

Case: Antec Nine Hundred

DVD writer: Samsung SH-S243D/ bebe 24X black DVD writer SATA OEM

Monitor: Samsung 23" or 24" (~$150-180) any suggestion?

Any comment or suggestions?

 

[draken24]

Id stay away feom the tt psu and move to something higher quality corsair, antec, seasonic..

Also whats up with that video card? Itl play movies flash games old games.. However it wont really handle any newer games... Especially ones that arent out yet... with the size monitor ur looking at to gMe with the machine ur gonna need a gtx460 or above... Id say get a 560ti or if u wanba max stuff out a gtx570.. U can save some money with the amd variant wich I believe is,either the 6950 or 6970..

Decent mobitor would be the asus vh248 I think tge model it is... Id post some links but im on my phone

 

[Dangman]

Please answer the stickied "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST!" so that we can help you better.

However right off the bat:
- That PSU is a shitty shitty PSU. Go for this PSU instead:
$90 - Corsair 650TX V2 650W PSU

- Case wise, that Antec 900 is a poor poor choice for the money on account of how cramped it is. I recommend these cases instead:
$70 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58W ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K56 ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master CM690 II Advance ATX Case
$100 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$106 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$127 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black ATX Case
$110 - NZXT Whisper WHI - 001BK ATX Full Tower Case
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$165 - Corsair Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$220 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$220 - Cooler Master ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B ATX Case
$220 - Lian Li PC-A71F Black ATX Case
$290 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case
$330 - Silverstone Temjin SST-TJ07B Full Tower ATX Case

- If you're planning on overclocking, you need to go with the i5 2500K. You listed the regular non-overclocking capable i5 2500.

 

[E4g1e]

Please answer the stickied "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST!" so that we can help you better.

However right off the bat:
- That PSU is a shitty shitty PSU. Go for this PSU instead:
$90 - Corsair 650TX V2 650W PSU

- Case wise, that Antec 900 is a poor poor choice for the money on account of how cramped it is. I recommend these cases instead:
$70 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58W ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K56 ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master CM690 II Advance ATX Case
$100 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$106 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$127 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black ATX Case
$110 - NZXT Whisper WHI - 001BK ATX Full Tower Case
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$165 - Corsair Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$220 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$220 - Cooler Master ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B ATX Case
$220 - Lian Li PC-A71F Black ATX Case
$290 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case
$330 - Silverstone Temjin SST-TJ07B Full Tower ATX Case

- If you're planning on overclocking, you need to go with the i5 2500K. You listed the regular non-overclocking capable i5 2500.

I agree with you on the PSU and case. The PSU is effectively only a 400W PSU masquerading as a 600W unit.

As for the plain i5-2500, make that limited-overclocking capable, not non-overclocking capable: Even on a P67 or Z68 motherboard, the OP would have been limited to 4.1 / 4.0 / 3.9 / 3.8 GHz (stock Turbo is 3.7 / 3.6 / 3.5 / 3.4 GHz) with that CPU if intentionally overclocked.

And that GT 220 is not really suitable for any of today's games these days. In fact, if the OP chooses the i5-2500K instead of the plain i5-2500, the GT 220 would no longer be worth the current going price.

 

[enigmas325]

Thanks for the help! I have answered the questions here


If you're gonna ask us to build/list a PC for you or seek advice about a build, please answer all of the following questions:

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

The desktop would be used for normal usage: movie, music, photo sharing, gaming, etc. (Not a hardcore gamer though, but still wants to play most of them games in the market)

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$1200 tax and shipping included

3) Where do you live?

San Francisco

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.

Processor, MoBo, Video Card, Power Supply, Cooler, RAMs, Hard Driver, Case, DVD Writer, and Monitor


6) Will you be overclocking?

Yes

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?

at least 23"

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Now

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.

SATA 6Gb/s, Onboard video, onboard audio, USB 3.0, Firewire, RAID, Crossfire

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

no

By answering these questions you help us help you build a PC that's of better quality, better performing, cheaper or all of the above.

 

[tiraides]

Let me ask sticky question 8 again: Are you ready to start building NOW?

If not, revisit this thread a week or two before you're ready.

 

[enigmas325]

Let me ask sticky question 8 again: Are you ready to start building NOW?

If not, revisit this thread a week or two before you're ready.

Yes, I m ready to build it now

any suggestions?

Thank you!

 

[tiraides]

Go with this build instead:

$100 - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM
$225 - Intel Core i5 2500K
$28 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
$130 - MSI P67A-G43
$82 - Patriot Sector 5 2x4GB DDR3 1333
$61 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB HDD
$26 - Lite-On IHAS424-98 SATA DVD burner
$188 - XFX HD687AZNFC Radeon HD 6870
$110 - Corsair TX750 V2 750W PSU
$60 - Cooler Master HAF 912
$180 - Asus VH242H 23.6" 1920x1080 monitor
=====
$1190 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

Sure, my build uses all of your budget, but it's considerably better than your proposed build:

- No CA tax since all of the parts come from Amazon
- All of the parts have free ground shipping
- Processor with unlocked CPU multiplier (for overclocking)
- Cheaper yet equally capable CPU cooler (again, for overclocking)
- Better quality PSU
- Better designed case with more usable space
- Better video card
- Monitor and OS included

 

[enigmas325]

Go with this build instead:

$100 - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM
$225 - Intel Core i5 2500K
$28 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
$130 - MSI P67A-G43
$82 - Patriot Sector 5 2x4GB DDR3 1333
$61 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB HDD
$26 - Lite-On IHAS424-98 SATA DVD burner
$188 - XFX HD687AZNFC Radeon HD 6870
$110 - Corsair TX750 V2 750W PSU
$60 - Cooler Master HAF 912
$180 - Asus VH242H 23.6" 1920x1080 monitor
=====
$1190 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

Sure, my build uses all of your budget, but it's considerably better than your proposed build:

- No CA tax since all of the parts come from Amazon
- All of the parts have free ground shipping
- Processor with unlocked CPU multiplier (for overclocking)
- Cheaper yet equally capable CPU cooler (again, for overclocking)
- Better quality PSU
- Better designed case with more usable space
- Better video card
- Monitor and OS included

Thank you so much!

I will definitely follow your suggestions!

 

[tiraides]

I forgot to mention this earlier, but I went with the TX750 (instead of Danny Bui's recommendation of the TX650) because I assumed that you would try to buy a second 6870 for CrossFire sooner (within the next 12 months) rather than later.

My advice on CrossFire is this: Try gaming with one video card first, and then determine whether you want to buy a second (identical) card or upgrade to a newer, better card. Not all games are optimized well for CrossFire (or SLI) and CF/SLI is usually a more time-/cost-/power-intensive option than a single high-end video card and a good PSU.

 

[Clichy]

Why not go with a cheaper 5-600w power supply, 4gb of ram and then get a much better video card and not worry about SLI/ Crossfire?

 

[tiraides]

You could, but Amazon sometimes doesn't make finding good parts easy.

Replace the HD 6870 with the 1GB HD 6950, the TX 750 V2 with the TX650 V2, and the Patriot Sector 5 2x4GB kit with one 4GB stick of Patriot Signature RAM.

 

[enigmas325]

once again! thanks for the help! you're awesome!

 

[tiraides]

Not a problem. If you like all of my suggestions, now is as good a time as any to buy everything.

One caveat: Neither the TX650 or TX750 would be suitable for dual 6950s in CrossFire, so if you ever decide to go that route in the future, don't forget to factor in the added costs of a good 850 watt power supply along with the second 6950. But I still stand by my earlier advice regarding CrossFire: try playing a few games with the 6950 first, and compare your current experience to your old one.