New main computer build

[Mong0]

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

Gaming (BF3, Skyrim, Portal 2), media server for 2 PS3's, an XBOX 360, a Roku, etc...

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

$1200 - $1500

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

Columbus, OH
where applicable I will be buying from Microcenter if cheaper than Newegg

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. GPU, Motherboard, RAM, Case, PS

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

HDD

6) Will you be overclocking?

Possibly, not an extreme amount

7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

19" CRT 1920X1440

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

Within the next 2 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)? etc.

USB3 , SATA, eSATA, BT(not required but would be nice)

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

Will need OS. More than likely Win 7 64bit


CPU: I5-2500k $179
RAM: 8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600 $43
DVD: Asus 24X $20
Water Cooler: Corsair H100 $119
Case + PS: Corsair 500R and Corsair AX850 $280
GPU: EVGA GTX560 Ti $290

$179
$20
$43
$280
$120
$290
-----------
$933 without Mobo

I was going to go with ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.1) but I am concerned with the number of failure complaints so recommendations are welcome.

I know I could go cheaper with a standard air cooler for the CPU but I would like to stick with water cooling and I like the 500R with the H100 combo.

Any reason to go with 16 GB of ram instead of 8GB?

Also is there any major difference in the different Windows 7 64 bit versions?

Thank you for looking over my build. This is more of a check to see if anyone sees anything majorly wrong or somewhere where I messed up or could go in a different direction.

 

[Tsuyoi]

If you like asus, you can get the P8Z68-V, it's pretty reliable and solves all the major issues ASUS had with the P67 series.

Honestly for gaming purposes 8 gigs is plenty, but RAM's on sale so often these days on Newegg (typically at the tune of $30-35 for 2x4gb 1600) that most people just get 16 gigs unless they're on a really tight budget. I picked up 4x4gb of Gskill DDR3 1600 for $64 total.

For general use all the Windows 7 64 bit versions are pretty much the same. Professional and Ultimate are more for small/large business/enterprise, with features that the average home user won't ever touch.

Also, if you have the budget, I'd suggest a SSD hd to speed up load times and improve your game load times. I know games like BF3 and Skyrim take a while to load levels otherwise. I recommend a crucial M4, 128GB if you can.

 

[silent-circuit]

Yeah, I picked up 16GB of G-Skill RipJaws X DDR3-1600 for $60 shipped ($30 a kit), and that's pretty typical prices lately (you might pay $10-15 more, at the most) so I don't see any reason not to go with 16GB.

If you're a student see if you can get 7 through your university at a discount. If not, Home Premium x64 OEM is probably your best option.

 

[Tsuyoi]

If you have ANY older versions of windows you can install first, and have a student email, MS will do a student upgrade for only $35. Google it.

 

[Mong0]

If I can get Win 7 for that discount that would definitely pay for the SSD. Any reason to go with the Crucial M4 instead of Corsair Force GT 3?

 

[Tsuyoi]

The Corsair Force GT 3 is based on sandforce, and sandforce has a pretty bad track record. Overall, we like the Crucial M4 because its a nice balance between performance, reliability, and cost.

 

[Dangman]

Make sure to get the motherboard from Microcenter as well as they're still running that "$50 off any P67 or Z68 mobo if you buy a 2500K CPU at the same time" deal. The P8Z68-V is a solid choice.

Yes, as Tsuyoi pointed out, the Crucial M4 is a bit more reliable and doesn't have the random BSOD issue that's occuring with the latest Sandforce based SSDs.

 

[Mong0]

Danny where might I find the info on that $50 off deal for the 2500k because I looked on their sight and only saw the discount if you bought a I7 2600k.

Is there a huge difference in performance between the 384 core 560 Ti and the 440 core 560 Ti.

Also should I be worried about maxing out the VRAM in the 560's with Skyrim and look at a 6950/6970? Given all of the troubles I see with AMD cards not performing as well as Nvidia cards and driver issues I was looking to stay away from AMD.

 

[Dangman]

Danny where might I find the info on that $50 off deal for the 2500k because I looked on their sight and only saw the discount if you bought a I7 2600k.

Damn. My mistake. Misread that.

Is there a huge difference in performance between the 384 core 560 Ti and the 440 core 560 Ti.

Yes.

Also should I be worried about maxing out the VRAM in the 560's with Skyrim and look at a 6950/6970? Given all of the troubles I see with AMD cards not performing as well as Nvidia cards and driver issues I was looking to stay away from AMD.

It's largely dependent on what mods you're using with Skyrim, if any. At stock, the game should be fine with the regular VRAM amount. However, apparently if you're using large texture packs and other large graphical improvements mods as well as higher settings (greater than 2 x MSAA IIRC), the stock amount of VRAM might not be enough.