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New Rig - Parts Advice

brickerz

n00b
Joined
Jan 9, 2013
Messages
2
My coworker wants to build a pc, but he's saving for a wedding and his wife is tightening the purse strings. I've wanted to build a new one, so I'm selling him mine for dirt cheap. Here's what I currently have:

Silverstone FT-02 Case
i5-2500k
Gigabite P67ud3b3 Mobo
16gb g.skill ripjaws
sapphire 6870
thunderbolt 560w PSU

I'm giving him everything except the CPU for 150. Here's what I'm replacing it with, any recommendations or changes you think I should make? (staying in roughly the same budget)

XFX Double D FX797GTDFC Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video ...
Item #: N82E16814150632

GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

CORSAIR HX Series HX850 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC ...

COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN3-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0 and Black ...

G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL10Q-32GBZL
 
Why don't you sell the i5-2500K to your friend and go with the i5-3570K instead? Ivy Bridge offers native PCI Express 3.0 and USB 3.0 support.

Why do you need 32GB of RAM? Your build appears to be a gaming machine. Am I wrong?

What's the model number of the "thunderbolt" PSU? It seems like a "generic brand" to me.

Is your copy of Windows OEM or retail? Are you selling that to him as well?
 
Why don't you sell the i5-2500K to your friend and go with the i5-3570K instead? Ivy Bridge offers native PCI Express 3.0 and USB 3.0 support.
I'm not sure what the benefit of going to the 3570k is. If I wanted to upgrade, I would think a LGA2011 socket would make more sense so I could get an x79 and quad channel RAM. That's more than I'd like to spend though, I think. I don't OC currently past 4.3ghz though.
Why do you need 32GB of RAM? Your build appears to be a gaming machine. Am I wrong?
You're not wrong. 32gb? I needed to replace the ram, and 16gb is not much less than 32GB. Why do you think I should lower to 16gb?
What's the model number of the "thunderbolt" PSU? It seems like a "generic brand" to me.
It's a Thortech, generic enough. I've had it for a year and a half, works great, no issues at all.
Is your copy of Windows OEM or retail? Are you selling that to him as well?
Our company provides windows licenses to us for personal and work computers.
 
You're correct in thinking that moving from the i5-2500K to the i5-3570K is a lateral move at best. The i5-3570K performs slightly better at stock speeds whereas the i5-2500K is the better overclocker. I simply figured that it would make more sense for you to give your friend the entire rig, including the processor. (Does he already have one on hand?)

You really don't need more than 8GB of RAM for a gaming machine. That's the reason why I asked about what you were using your system for. 16GB is fine as the prices aren't crazy for a 2x8GB kit compared to a 2x4GB kit. I personally believe that you don't need 32GB for this build.

I'm not a fan of the PSU you're giving your friend, but that's all I'll say on that. On your PSU, however, you don't really need the full power of the HX850 for one HD 7970... but since it's on sale, grab it now.
 
I agree, for a gaming machine, 16gb is already more than enough. If you check your task manager, you'll find that you rarely use past 4gb. 16gb or even 32gb would be useful in situations where you are heavily rendering video with multiply other applications running like, final cut, after effects, illustrator, photoshop, web browser , etc all running at same time.
 
Do you really need a 850W power supply? If I understand your listing properly you only have one video card for which probably a 550w would do. I don't know how much more power the 7970 draws as compared to GTX680, but I currently have a 750w PSU for my SLI 680 and other components without any issues at all.
 
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