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new build please critque

K

kevws

n00b
Joined
Feb 18, 2012
Messages
29
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
***for the kids gaming and homework
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
***around 1000.00 dollars US.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

***US, Pennsylvania
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.
***CPU, Motherboard, Storage, Memory, Video Card, Case, Power Supply, Optical, Operating System, Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse
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?
***Maybe
7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
***
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
***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 (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
***Nothing special but im not really sure
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
***Buying new

This will be for my kids, they do gaming like GW2, Battlefield, Skyrim, SWTOR, ESO when it comes out. This build will also be for any homework, web games, music, web browsing.

My pcpartpicker link http://pcpartpicker.com/user/kevws70/saved/1UBB

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
You cannot overclock with the 3470 processor you picked out on your list. you'd get a lot more bang for your buck if you bought a used i5 2500k or 3570k on the forum. They sell for $150-$180 and can both overclock to very respectable levels.

I wouldn't pay $200 for the 7870 video card, the new GTX 760 blows it away for only $50 more.
I think the 7870's are overpriced at the moment. The price needs to be lowered to $170ish to make them a fair value.

Stay away from the Antec Basiq line of psus. They're not very good.
The Corsair TX650 is a much better psu and is available on newegg for $80 - $20rebate = $60.

A 1TB seagate drive is available for $68, so that 500gb WD Blue is overpriced.

I'm having a tough time trying to figure out how to squeeze in a solid state drive, but this may be a time where the Seagate hybrid drive may be worth considering. The 500GB version is $80, and the 1TB version is $120. Though, I don't know how the performance compares.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B99JUBQ/?tag=extension-kb-20
 
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mls1995 said:
Why not buy 4670k haswell?
Click to expand...

The OP's budget plus the added requirements for a Windows license, a monitor, and peripherals make the i5-4670K a non-starter. Even if the OP lived near a Micro Center store (and could take advantage of one of the i5-4670K bundle deals), he'd still have to buy a CPU cooler to take full advantage of overclocking.

J Macker said:
I'm having a tough time trying to figure out how to squeeze in a solid state drive, but this may be a time where the Seagate hybrid drive may be worth considering. The 500GB version is $80, and the 1TB version is $120. Though, I don't know how the performance compares.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B99JUBQ/?tag=extension-kb-20
Click to expand...

The best comparison you could make with the new Seagate hybrid drives is to the Momentus XT notebook drives, which were essentially Seagate's "first generation" hybrid drives.

kevws said:
This will be for my kids, they do gaming like GW2, Battlefield, Skyrim, SWTOR, ESO when it comes out. This build will also be for any homework, web games, music, web browsing.

My pcpartpicker link http://pcpartpicker.com/user/kevws70/saved/1UBB

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

I prefer a different tack:

$180 - Intel Core i5-3470 (included $20 discount promo code EMCXNXR22, expires 7/11)
$65 - MSI B75MA-P45
$160 - G.Skill Value Series 2x4GB DDR3 1333 kit and Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM combo
$82 - Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB HDD and Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS SATA DVD burner combo
$250 - EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB video card
$40 - Corsair CX430 430W power supply
$43 - NZXT Source 210 Elite ATX mid-tower case
$16 - Logitech Desktop MK120 USB keyboard and mouse set
$150 - Asus VS238H-P 23.6" 1920x1080 monitor
=====
$986 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

For the most part, I took as many cost-cutting measures I could find. However, I went with J Macker's suggestions on the video card and a larger capacity hard drive. For simplicity's sake, I just stuck with one 1TB HDD versus a hybrid drive or an SSD/HDD combination.

The Corsair CX430 is a much better power supply than the Antec Basiq you were considering earlier. The CX430 should be the bare minimum PSU you consider.

With my proposed build, you can forget about overclocking. Neither the processor nor the motherboard are suited for that task.

I might as well ask: Are you within driving distance of a Micro Center brick-and-mortar store?
 
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For a moment there, I thought you were being difficult with your all-NewEgg list. But I didn't know that Amazon started charging sales tax to Pennsylvania.

I'm not going to fight you over the case. If you prefer the Rosewill Challenger over the NZXT Source 210 Elite, then go for it.

You essentially went with two Asus DVD burners yet again. Why? You don't need two optical drives.

You forgot the power supply in your build list. Get the Corsair CX430.

The i5-3470 is out of stock at NewEgg. You may have to order it from TigerDirect -- or, alternatively, you may need to go for the Haswell-based i5-4570 and a B85 motherboard. Keep in mind that going Haswell will require you to completely change your system to stay under your $1000 limit.

(The i5-3470 is available for less at Ratuken -- formerly Buy.com -- but I don't recommend going there.)
 
You can get around the Amazon - PA sales tax... if you ship to another state. Of course, that onlyy works if you have a relative in another close state to ship to.
 
tiraides said:
Keep in mind that going Haswell will require you to completely change your system to stay under your $1000 limit.
Click to expand...

Why is that? The new CPU and MB are not that much more than what he picked and the rest of the stuff should work with a Haswell build.
 
That Rosewill case doesn't offer any front-panel USB 3.0 ports. Just USB 2.0 ports.

That's one reason I would prefer the NZXT Source 210 Elite case vs. the Rosewill. It's what I used in my last build, it's a few dollars cheaper, and it does have one front-panel USB 3.0 port.

Maybe you don't have any USB 3.0 devices yet, but why cripple yourself? The first time you need to connect a USB 3.0 external device of some sort, you'll appreciate the increased transfer rate, and the convenience of not having to root around at the back of the case. I use a USB 3.0 external HDD to back stuff up, and it's way faster than pokey ol' USB 2.0.

But, the Rosewill case does have a front-panel eSATA connector, which presumably would plug into an internal SATA header on your motherboard. Maybe that's why you prefer it? I've had more problems with eSATA than with USB 3.0 - chiefly, failure of hotplug to work properly - so I'm not really a big fan of eSATA.
 
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rinaldo00 said:
Why is that? The new CPU and MB are not that much more than what he picked and the rest of the stuff should work with a Haswell build.
Click to expand...

The OP apparently has a hard limit of $1000. The OP only had $14 left in Tiraides' original build list. Going Haswell would cost the OP an extra $43 if he goes with the parts that Tiraides suggested
 
Quick question, I have a copy of Windows 7 can I use that license key again ?
 
Danny Bui said:
The OP apparently has a hard limit of $1000. The OP only had $14 left in Tiraides' original build list. Going Haswell would cost the OP an extra $43 if he goes with the parts that Tiraides suggested
Click to expand...

Both CPUs are $199 at Newegg both in stock again
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...a&cm_sp=&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...a&cm_sp=&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite

His MB is $65 at Newegg, the new one is $80

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...a&cm_sp=&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite

http://click.hardforum.com/?url=htt...387&id=1&match=1&source=none&destination=none


I was going with his $ 977.81 build, so $15 is still under

EDIT: Now his original CPU is $179 with promo code, prices change so fast I don't know what the price difference on both systems is
 
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rinaldo00 said:
Both CPUs are $199 at Newegg both in stock again
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...a&cm_sp=&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...a&cm_sp=&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite
Click to expand...
You forgot to factor in the $20 promo code for the Core i5 3470.

rinaldo00 said:
His MB is $65 at Newegg, the new one is $80

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...a&cm_sp=&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite

http://click.hardforum.com/?url=htt...387&id=1&match=1&source=none&destination=none
Click to expand...
Ahh, the MSI doesn't have free shipping any more.

rinaldo00 said:
I was going with his $ 977.81 build, so $15 is still under
Click to expand...
I'm going off Tiraides' build.

kevws said:
My Windows 7 is OEM, and I made a new part list.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/kevws70/saved/1V8d
Click to expand...
Technically, you cannot reuse that Windows 7 key then.

Why do you keep adding two DVD burners?

That case is not a good choice since it only comes with one 120mm fan and has virtually no cable management features. The NZXT Source 210 Elite is far far better case than that Coolermaster.
 
@tiraides
damn bro your builds are good... when ppl tell me you cant build an awesome pc for under $1000 i show them your builds lol
 
rinaldo00 said:
I was going with his $ 977.81 build, so $15 is still under
Click to expand...

You and the OP are both wrong. That $978 total (I automatically round up as a way to force myself to stay under budget) factors in two mail-in rebates (which won't factor in until after the OP purchases everything) and omits the additional costs of the power supply (which I think the OP omitted by accident). Add in the shipping costs (since some parts in the OP's all-NewEgg build don't come with free shipping) and the OP's at least $15 over his budget.

kevws said:
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
***around 1000.00 dollars US.
Click to expand...

Is that a hard limit? Some of your actions suggest that it's not.

Again, do you or your sons need the quad-core processor? It's not required to play the games you mentioned earlier, even though you would gain a notable performance boost compared to a dual-core, four-threaded processor like, for example, the Core i3-3220. Then again, going with the latter would act like an "instant" $50 savings on its own.
 
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My 1000.00 dollar budget isn't firm but I would to be as close as possible. I want to put in two optical drives cause my personal build has only one and sometimes it can be a pain. I have a quad core and I really like it so I give em one too. The monitor is the one I have and I like it have had no problems with it. I am going to change to the NZXT case also.
 
Personally, I'd drop the internal DVD drives and get an external USB one.
 
Let's try this one more time:

$180 - Intel Core i5 3470 (included $20 discount promo code EMCXNXR22, expires 7/11)
$128 - Biostar B75MU3+ and G.Skill Ripjaws 2x4GB DDR3 1333 combo
$250 - EVGA GTX 760
$82 - Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD and Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD burner combo
$17 - Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD burner
$40 - Corsair CX430 430W PSU
$43 - NZXT Source 210 Elite
$15 - Logitech MK120 keyboard/mouse set
$150 - Asus VS238H-P 23.6" 1920x1080 monitor
=====
$905 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

You'll pay shipping on the motherboard and the monitor. I went with the CX430 as I don't believe that the CX500 is worth $20 more.

I believe, however, that it's worth grabbing the NZXT Source 210 Elite from Amazon because it's cheaper even after taxes than it is from NewEgg. NewEgg has the non-Elite version of the Source 210 case for $35 shipped, but it offers only one fan, has no USB 3.0 ports, and doesn't give you any "tool-less" 3.5" and 5.25" drive mounts. (Use NewEgg to compare the Source 210 Elite to the "plain" Source 210.) A second fan alone can cost upwards of $10 (even more if you went with a 140mm fan), so the Source 210 Elite is more than worth its price premium.

I found a B75 motherboard in the Biostar B75MU3+ with similar specs to the MSI B75MA-P45. Unlike the B75MA-P45, I was able to find a decent combo deal to lower costs.

I didn't include the Windows 7 OS because I didn't know where you planned on buying it from. Don't worry, I left the monitor and second optical drive alone.
 
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You may want to reconsider your plan to buy Windows 7 from OutletPC (per PCPartPicker). Apparently, you'll have to pay shipping charges as it costs under $100.

Amazon recently "dropped" the price on an OEM DVD, so it may be worth a second look. Choose "SavingCOST" as the buyer; it's cheaper than Amazon's offering.
 
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