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need help! thx

E

enigmas325

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Joined
May 23, 2011
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Hi, my friend wants to build his own desktop too and would like some advice from you guys! this is his first time building his own desktop and he 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). he also plan to OC things...



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?

Under $1200 tax and shipping included

3) Where do you live?

California

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 (which one do you recommend:Intel core i7 2600k or i5 2500k??), 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" to 24"

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,
 
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You forgot to answer a question:

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

What motherboard features does your friend really need? If you're trying to fit a PC tower and its internals plus a monitor and (possibly) the operating system, then you may need to cut some corners somewhere. (And why does your friend need onboard video if he plans on gaming? For decent frame rates, by default, you're going to need a mid-range video card at the very least.)
 
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Window 7 ultimate in 64 bits

I guess he don't need an onboard video but a video card that can support WOW. However, these should be included in the mother board if possible: SATA 6Gb/s, onboard audio, USB 3.0, Firewire, RAID,
 
EDIT: Somehow, my Amazon links are messing things up, so I've eliminated the links. FYI, Amazon doesn't charge California shoppers any sales tax.

$224 - Intel Core i5 2500K processor
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler
$125 - MSI P67A-G43 (B3) ATX motherboard
$85 - Patriot Sector 5 G Series 2x4GB DDR3 1333 dual-channel kit
$25 - Lite-On IHAS424-98 SATA DVD burner
$61 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB HDD
$245 - XFX HD695XZNFC Radeon HD 6950 1GB PCI-E 2.1 (x16) video card
$95 - Corsair TX650 V2 650 watt power supply
$60 - Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX mid-tower case
$199 - Acer H243H bmid 24" monitor
=====
$1144 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)
 
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I wonder whats the difference between i7 2600k and i5 2500k? if he can afford an i7 2600k, do you recommend him to get that? and if its i7 2600k would anything above changes too?

Thank you
 
I'm no expert on this by any manner of speaking, but I believe the difference is that the i7 has hyperthreading (or whatever it's called). So it has 4 physical cores, but the computer see's it as 8. I'm not sure of all the technical stuff that is involved, but this is the only real difference I could ever find between an i5 2500k and an i7 2600k.

In my area the price difference is around $150 - $200.
 
The only significant difference between the i5-2500K and the i7-2600K is the i7-2600K's Hyper Threading support, and the cost difference is $100. But since the primary purpose of this system is gaming, it's not worth buying the i7-2600K over the i5-2500K.

A better investment of money would be towards an SSD like the Intel 510 120GB or the Crucial m4 128GB. You can buy a lower capacity SSD, like a 64GB model, but many people often want the additional space. However, a good SSD like the above mentioned ones cost over $200 -- from Amazon directly, the m4 (128GB) costs around $250 and the Intel 510 (120GB) costs around $285. You'd have to consider buying a cheaper case, power supply, and video card -- and you may have to consider 4GB of RAM instead of 8GB (which is really unnecessary for most games) -- to fit one of those SSDs into your budget.
 
thank you all!! u guys are awesome! he decided to go for what tiraides suggested :) once again thx u!
 
Why does he want the 560 Ti? The HD 6950 is the better card. Stick with the HD 6950.

You don't need to change the power supply, as the Corsair TX650 V2 has more than enough power for any single-GPU video card in the market today.

The HAF 912 comes with two 120mm front-mounted fans, but it can support up to two 200mm fans (one in the front and one in the top), one 140mm fan (left side), and one 120mm fan (rear). I recommend that you keep the two front-mounted fans in place and add a 200mm top fan and two 120mm fans (one for the left, which can support it, and one for the rear).

I normally recommend Yate Loon fans as they give excellent performance for a relatively low cost, but NewEgg and Amazon don't stock them. Unfortunately, the largest size that Yate Loon makes is 140mm. Regardless of which brand/manufacturer that you choose -- I personally prefer to use the same brand, if not model, for all of my case fans -- you shouldn't need to spend any more than $15 per fan. You'll be golden if you generally spend less than $10 per fan.
 
hi

i try to build my computer today since finally all my parts are here! but after i finish building it, my monitor can't detect it. is it because the WATT is not enough so that my monitor can't detect the graphic card? or any other guesses?

thanks
 
enigmas325 said:
hi

i try to build my computer today since finally all my parts are here! but after i finish building it, my monitor can't detect it. is it because the WATT is not enough so that my monitor can't detect the graphic card? or any other guesses?

thanks
Click to expand...

Hit up the stickied "Basic Troubleshooting Guide" on what to do when the PC does not POST. Report back after you've done those steps.

Also specs of the PC that you actually bought would help.
 
Problem: connected everything to the mobo (including graphic card) but the monitor cannot detect it.

what i bought:
$224 - Intel Core i5 2500K processor
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler
$125 - MSI P67A-G43 (B3) ATX motherboard
$85 - Patriot Sector 5 G Series 2x4GB DDR3 1333 dual-channel kit
$25 - Lite-On IHAS424-98 SATA DVD burner
$61 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB HDD
$245 - EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti SuperClocked 1GB GDDR5 video card
$95 - Corsair TX650 V2 650 watt power supply
$60 - Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX mid-tower case
$170 - Samsung S22A350H 21.5" W 2ms 1920x1080 LED Monitor

Yes, i am going to overclock it

*6 fans 120mm and 1 fan 200mm

what i done so far:
i have finished connecting every wire but the monitor cannot detect my computer.
 
Again, read the stickied "Basic Troubleshooting Guide"
 
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