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New build seeking advice

K

Kasper17

n00b
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
21
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Engineering work (CAD, programming, etc.) gaming in the future
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
~ 400 or 500
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Richmond VA
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 - would like i5 2500k
Ram - looking at getting 8G now, then another 8 in the future
Power Supply - looking at this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017 but the reviews are pretty iffy.
Motherboard- I'm interested in a Z68 so I can use onboard graphics for now but still OC
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147060
Monitor
Hard drives
6) Will you be overclocking? Yes
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? 21.5"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? soon
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.
onboard video, prefer usb 3.0
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Win 7 64

So basically I need help figuring out the power supply ( would the one linked be ok), and help with choosing a mobo.

Thanks!
 
I am coming from an OCZ ModXStream 700, yes the reviews are iffy on most OCZ products but it ran my PC for years and still running in my GF's PC. I say think of these power supply's as 100 watts less then stated (700 I wouldn't use in a machine needing more then 600 watts)
 
Kasper17 said:
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
~ 400 or 500
Click to expand...
Definitely gonna be closer to $500.
Kasper17 said:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017 but the reviews are pretty iffy.
Click to expand...

As Xonim noted, we generally don't recommend OCZ PSUs on account of their general low quality and being priced too close to or to far above higher quality PSUs. So I recommend these PSUs instead:
$58 - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W PSU
$70 - Seasonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W PSU
$80 - Seasonic S121II 620 620W PSU
$85 - Corsair 650TX V2 650W PSU

While the 520W PSUs would meet your current power needs and will be enough for many low to mid-range video cards, I recommend going with the 620W+ PSU for added head room and the ability to fit most video cards out there.

Xonim said:
And at a quick glance, I can't seem to find any 2500K CPU/mobo combos on Newegg right now...we'll let Danny do what Danny does =)
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I couldn't find a good one either. This month is starting to look a little bad for CPU + mobo combo deals.

Anyway, OP, I recommend this setup:
$220 - Intel Core i5-2500K CPU
$140 - Asus P8Z68-V LE Intel Z68 ATX Motherboard
$45 - G.Skill Ripjaws F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
----
Total: $405 plus tax and shipping.
 
If you order within' the next day, you can get an additional $5 off with a promo code on the RAM Danny recommended.
 
Does anyone know the ram compatibility with that motherboard? Everything looks great but one of the reviews says that their G. Skill Ripjaws 4 X 4GB doesn't work. Not a problem for me right now but possibly could be in the future.
 
The RAM is compatible. No telling why it's not working for them, I never read those reviews.
 
Kasper17 said:
Does anyone know the ram compatibility with that motherboard? Everything looks great but one of the reviews says that their G. Skill Ripjaws 4 X 4GB doesn't work. Not a problem for me right now but possibly could be in the future.
Click to expand...

That was probably G.Skill's DDR3 1600 RAM set. There were some issues with G.Skill's DDR3 1600 RAM and MSI P67 mobos awhile back but I think they resolved that issue with a BIOs update. G.Skill's DDR3 1333 RAM sets worked just fine though
 
Ordered the mobo as well. Anyone think that the 2500k will go on sale anytime soon?
 
The closest one to me is in Nova (about 2 hours away). Maybe I can find an excuse to go up there soon.
 
Well I'm not sure a 4 hour round trip worth of gas + time is worth saving like $40.
 
Kasper17 said:
Anyone have any experience with RAIDMAX PSUs? I'm trying to get a modular supply and this seems like a good price, but I don't know about reliability. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152035
Click to expand...

Very low quality. Probably only capable of 400W under the most ideal of conditions. Ditch it unless you want a paperweight for a PC.

The cheapest modular PSU that I recommend to someone I don't particularly hate, dislike, or annoyed by would be this:
$110 - SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W Modular PSU
 
Ok thanks. I guess I don't really need modular anyways. My case doesn't have a side window so it's not like anyone would see it. I think I might go with the Seasonic 520 or 620 that you recommended earlier. Thanks!
 
Kasper17 said:
Ok thanks. I guess I don't really need modular anyways. My case doesn't have a side window so it's not like anyone would see it. I think I might go with the Seasonic 520 or 620 that you recommended earlier. Thanks!
Click to expand...

For about $10 more then the seasonic 620 you can grab a corsair gamer series 800 and it is a solid PSU, running one now works like a charm and is near silent also.
 
Adzsask said:
For about $10 more then the seasonic 620 you can grab a corsair gamer series 800 and it is a solid PSU, running one now works like a charm and is near silent also.
Click to expand...

I don't recommend this for a few reasons:
1) The price difference is $20, not $10 on Newegg
2) At the $130 price range, there are a ton of other better quality PSUs out there. In fact, the higher quality and larger amperage (70A VS 65A on the 800) Corsair 850TX V2 costs just $5 more than the 800GS. Hell even at the $120 price point there are ton of better quality PSUs out there than the Corsair 800GS.
 
Kasper17 said:
Does anyone think that the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044 would be a decent PSU?
Click to expand...
It's a decent PSU. Not my first choice but a decent PSU nonetheless. Personally I'd spend the extra $15 for the Corsair 650TX V2 as it has more usable power. The Corsair has 52A on the +12V rail whereas the Earthwatts EA650 has 45A on the +12V rail. The vast majority of computer parts run off that +12V rail, especially video cards. So in the long run, the Corsair is better since it has more usable power.

Though even if you want to save $15, that Earthwatts still isn't a good choice considering that you can get the Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W PSU for roughly the same price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371031&Tpk=Neo Eco 620C

The Antec Neo Eco 620C has 48A on the +12V rail compared to the 45A on the Earthwatts.
 
I'd go with this one instead. It's just 1 step up from the one Danny recommended in the post above. It has the same $20 rebate as your earthwatts, so it comes to the same price. The only difference is $2.99 shipping, and it's a better PSU.

EDIT: Danny beat me to it...
 
Yup I ended up getting the Antec Eco 620, i5 2500k comb0 for 210ish, challenger case, g. skill ripjaw 8G ram, asus P8Z68-V LE Intel Z68 ATX Motherboard. Eventually I'll add a SSD and decent video card and cooler
 
Everything came in today and I put it together. Worked great on startup! I'm so new to UBUNTU though it is fun but I don't even know how to get my webcam to work with skype haha
 
Yeah it went way smoother than I thought! (knock on wood lol) Now I keep on looking for upgrades though. I'm hooked!
 
I'd echo Danny. For some reason, people frequently skimp on their PSU out of sheer ignorance. It's also one of the last components newbies think of and by then their budget is virtually run out... resulting in a POS PSU. At best, you will have instabilities... worst... toasted PC components.

Personally, if you have to postpone the build for a few days, week (whatever) to save up for a good PSU, it's worth it. It is continuously one of the most under-rated components of a build (hell, people spend more time worrying about an optical drive than a PSU it seems like).
 
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