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New rig

K

Kanten

n00b
Joined
Aug 31, 2011
Messages
15
I've been on my C2D E6600/8800GTX system for 4.5 years now and it's looking like now is the time to finally retire the old box now that it's barely breaking minimum specs on new releases.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming primarily, possibly some light video work.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1500 give or take.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
USA, Central IL.
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.
Case, PSU, Mobo, CPU, RAM, GPU, HDD, SSD, CPU. (Essentially all of the basics besides monitor and KB/M.)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Monitor, KB/M (Logitech G15 Gen 1, Logitech G400), Samsung Ecogreen 2TB (storage drive).
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Samsung SyncMaster 215TW 21.5"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Soon as humanly possible.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
SLI support for future upgrades, SATA 6Gb/s for SSD, overclockability.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Not yet, in progress.


Tentative parts list:

Case: CM 690 II Advanced (Might do some LANs so a full tower is probably impractical, also like the HAF922 but the lack of painted interior bugs me from an aesthetic pov.)
PSU: Corsair HX850 (Headroom for possible SLI upgrade)
Mobo: ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 (Like the backup display capability IGP provides in case the GPU melts down.)
CPU: Intel i5 2500k
GPU: EVGA GTX560 Ti Superclocked
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL 2x4GB
HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB WD1001FALS
SSD: Crucial M4 128GB
ODD: LG WH12LS30
HSF: CM Hyper212+

Newegg wishlist: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=16953332
 
Looks decent. If the HDD is just for storage, you could consider switching the Black drive for a Green one instead - save some heat in the case. Any particular reason you are going with the Extreme4 Gen 3 over the basic Extreme4? If all you are buying the Gen 3 for is the PCIe 3.0, I wouldn't bother - instead pocket the $40 difference and go with the basic one.
 
I do not recommend that RAM as you can get cheaper RAM here:
$44.99 - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

Please note that there is no performance difference between DDR3 1333 and DDR3 1600, but the 1600 is cheaper right now.

I do not recommend that hard drive at all as this faster hard drive is cheaper:
$74.99 - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
 
Forceman said:
Looks decent. If the HDD is just for storage, you could consider switching the Black drive for a Green one instead - save some heat in the case. Any particular reason you are going with the Extreme4 Gen 3 over the basic Extreme4? If all you are buying the Gen 3 for is the PCIe 3.0, I wouldn't bother - instead pocket the $40 difference and go with the basic one.
Click to expand...

I have the existing 2TB for storage. The 1TB is to function as a drive to run applications aside from the SSD, since for a gaming system, 128gb fills fast.

Right now the Gen3 is actually a mere $5 above the old Extreme4, and actually with rebate ends up $5 cheaper. With a negligible price difference, I assumed the newer one would be the way to go.
 
Kanten said:
I have the existing 2TB for storage. The 1TB is to function as a drive to run applications aside from the SSD, since for a gaming system, 128gb fills fast.

Right now the Gen3 is actually a mere $5 above the old Extreme4, and actually with rebate ends up $5 cheaper. With a negligible price difference, I assumed the newer one would be the way to go.
Click to expand...

Then I highly recommend going with the faster and cheaper Samsung drive.
 
Skillz said:
I do not recommend that hard drive at all as this faster hard drive is cheaper:
$74.99 - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
Click to expand...
The OP isn't from Canada :). Here's the correct HDD link, Katen:
$60 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

At $190, that AsRock mobo is a bit of waste of money on account of it only having a one year warranty. That's crap considering that many other mobos around $120 and up have three year warranties. I recommend taking a look at these mobos instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128498
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131729
 
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Oh crap, I had that tab open when I was helping out our Northern member. Thanks!
 
Danny Bui said:
The OP isn't from Canada :). Here's the correct HDD link, Katen:
$60 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

At $190, that AsRock mobo is a bit of waste of money on account of it only having a one year warranty. That's crap considering that many other mobos around $120 and up have three year warranties. I recommend taking a look at these mobos instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128498
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131729
Click to expand...

I thought ASRock had two years? I've only heard good things about their 1155 boards so far.

Switched out the WD for the F3 now in the build plan.
 
You're still paying more money for less warranty. I second what Danny says as well.

Gigabyte, MSI and ASUS all make solid boards for Z68.
 
Kanten said:
I thought ASRock had two years? I've only heard good things about their 1155 boards so far.
Click to expand...
Not saying they're bad motherboards. Just that I think they're a poor value and purchase choice due to the short warranty.

I haven't seen an official confirmation that AsRock Z68 mobos sold in North America have two year warranties. For sure, AsRock's P67 mobos only have a one year warranty in North America. In Europe and Asia, all AsRock mobos do have a two year warranty or longer due to regional laws requiring a longer warranty period.

Besides, even if was two years, as Skillz pointed out: Still paying more money for less warranty.
 
Danny Bui said:
Not saying they're bad motherboards. Just that I think they're a poor value and purchase choice due to the short warranty.

I haven't seen an official confirmation that AsRock Z68 mobos sold in North America have two year warranties. For sure, AsRock's P67 mobos only have a one year warranty in North America. In Europe and Asia, all AsRock mobos do have a two year warranty or longer due to regional laws requiring a longer warranty period.

Besides, even if was two years, as Skillz pointed out: Still paying more money for less warranty.
Click to expand...

Well it's certainly a good point, doing some research, ASRock's RMA system seems a little hazy. Been looking into Asus' lineup now, a little stumped on what the differences between the different models are, particularly the P8Z68-V or the P8Z68-V Pro.
 
Hate to bump this up again but I was wondering if anyone had any feedback on the optical drive? That's pretty much the last question mark I'm having on this build.

Skillz said:
ASUS basically is ASRock.
Click to expand...

Which of the two would you recommend? On the original warranty topic it looks like I could extend the ASRock's warranty to 3-4 years through Newegg while still being somewhat cheaper than the equivalent ASUS board.
 
Kanten said:
Which of the two would you recommend? On the original warranty topic it looks like I could extend the ASRock's warranty to 3-4 years through Newegg while still being somewhat cheaper than the equivalent ASUS board.
Click to expand...

Which AsRock mobo are you talking about? The one linked in your OP?
 
Kanten said:
Ok, what would be the reasons?
Click to expand...

Actually, ASRock's warranty terms are confusing: Their Web site stated a one-year warranty while their technical support stated a two-year warranty.
 
Doing some last-minute reading, I've been hearing comments that the backplate access on the CM690 II doesn't line up with the 1155 socket, could anyone confirm or deny this?
 
IMHO, that's not really that big of a deal if it doesn't. Just Dremel it out. With that being said, I'll have to look around and see.

I don't necessarily recommend ASUS, mostly I recommend Gigabyte or MSI as they are usually cheaper in price but still provide a solid product with 3 year warranty.
 
Kanten said:
Doing some last-minute reading, I've been hearing comments that the backplate access on the CM690 II doesn't line up with the 1155 socket, could anyone confirm or deny this?
Click to expand...
Can't confirm nor deny it.

Kanten said:
Ok, what would be the reasons?
Click to expand...
For one, the warranty terms are indeed confusing as E4g1e said: Their website states a one year warranty whereas their tech support guys says it's a two year warranty. Until they update their website like they say they will in an email sent to me, I'm not going to recommend an $200 AsRock mobo with only a one year warranty

Second, that even if you did buy the extended warranty, it'd push the total cost of that motherboard to around $220 to $230. Now you haven't provided a reason why that AsRock mobo would be worth the extra costs over the Gigabyte and ASus Z68 mobos I recommended earlier.

Third, you're stil paying more money for the warranty to equal to cheaper motherboards. Even if you wanted to overspend on the motherboard, the P8Z68-V Pro costs a full $20 cheaper while matching most of the specs of the AsRock. No, PCI-E 3.0 doesn't mean anything. It'll be at least half a decade before it becomes even remotely useful.
 
AsRock is Asus' budget line - they save money somehow, and it's most likely through lower quality or simply cheaper components (and shorter warranties, lol).

As for optical drive, I stick with Samsungs since they're quiet, as are Asus. I also use NEC/Sony and sometimes LG and Lite-On. Haven't bought an LG nor a Lite-On drive in a while, so I don't know if their drives are still loud or not.
 
enginurd said:
AsRock is Asus' budget line - they save money somehow, and it's most likely through lower quality or simply cheaper components (and shorter warranties, lol).
Click to expand...

Or it could be that it's the exact same quality, they just charge a premium to put the Asus name on it. ;)
 
There's a foxconn stamp on the back of the board.

123456.jpg


Try emailing support and asking them about the fit.

What kind of monitor do you have, at what res?
 
enginurd said:
AsRock is Asus' budget line - they save money somehow, and it's most likely through lower quality or simply cheaper components (and shorter warranties, lol).
Click to expand...

Didn't ASRock break off from ASUS a couple years ago?

exdriver said:
What kind of monitor do you have, at what res?
Click to expand...

Samsung SyncMaster 215TW 21.5" at 1680x1050. Been using it since 2006, thought a couple times of looking for a new one but it doesn't seem like the tech has improved much since.
 
I'm not really sure why you would want to SLI with one monitor at 1680x1050. It's more of a headache that you do out of necessity.

Leaving yourself room in your PSU purchase never hurts. I've had PSU's last five years or more. I would advise that you don't plan for a SLI upgrade no more than you plan for a CPU upgrade. It sounds good but in practice it doesn't happen a lot on the Intel side of the game. I would advise you to choose between:

1. A card that provides what you need today, and as much headroom as your budget allows so that you do not have to purchase another one for as long as possible

or

2. That you purchase two video cards now and build the system as an SLI system, and add another or better monitors as you are able, if you think you will do so soon.

I say this because you are better off getting two identical cards at the same time for an SLI build. If you wait, then what happens is Nvidia releases a new series of cards and you have a single 560ti. You ask yourself if you'd rather buy a new card or add another one to your current setup, and unfortunately, the answer to that question is almost always I'd rather have the new card. There's various reasons for this not the least of which is DirectX support. No amount of SLI will give the cards you buy today the features of tomorrow's cards.
 
exdriver said:
I'm not really sure why you would want to SLI with one monitor at 1680x1050. It's more of a headache that you do out of necessity.

Leaving yourself room in your PSU purchase never hurts. I've had PSU's last five years or more. I would advise that you don't plan for a SLI upgrade no more than you plan for a CPU upgrade. It sounds good but in practice it doesn't happen a lot on the Intel side of the game. I would advise you to choose between:

1. A card that provides what you need today, and as much headroom as your budget allows so that you do not have to purchase another one for as long as possible

or

2. That you purchase two video cards now and build the system as an SLI system, and add another or better monitors as you are able, if you think you will do so soon.

I say this because you are better off getting two identical cards at the same time for an SLI build. If you wait, then what happens is Nvidia releases a new series of cards and you have a single 560ti. You ask yourself if you'd rather buy a new card or add another one to your current setup, and unfortunately, the answer to that question is almost always I'd rather have the new card. There's various reasons for this not the least of which is DirectX support. No amount of SLI will give the cards you buy today the features of tomorrow's cards.
Click to expand...

Well the only thing that's really dissuading me from going with an SLI or 570-580 build right now is the fact that Kepler is supposed to be out less than a year from now. Until that got delayed into 2012 my original plan was to wait and see how that turned out before building. Currently I'm still running a E6600/8800GTX system that's barely touching minimum on new releases right now and likely to fall below soon (as well as the GPU itself has died twice this year.)

With a need to build now and a new generation of cards coming out next year, I really didn't want to go above the cost of a single 560 until the playing field reveals itself a little.
 
Kanten said:
Didn't ASRock break off from ASUS a couple years ago? ...
Click to expand...
Not that I know of, although I have been out of the tech news for quite a while now. A quick google search didn't turn up such news?
 
Currently I'm still running a E6600/8800GTX system that's barely touching minimum on new releases right now
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's time.

Well the only thing that's really dissuading me from going with an SLI or 570-580 build right now is the fact that Kepler is supposed to be out less than a year from now.
Click to expand...

If you wait, there will be something else around the corner then. This is a never ending cycle.

The core of a system lasts longer than the video cards as a general rule as it applies to performance and features. I don't like the idea of buying really expensive cards if you have a budget to worry about. You can buy a $500 card, but you might get more mileage out of the same money buying a $250 card today, and buying a $250 card a year or two later. On a similar note you could buy two $250 cards today, but if you don't need an SLI setup, I think you were still better off getting one card now and one card somewhere later down the line.

SLI takes more power, more money, and adds complexity. If you don't need it then don't do it.

What Kepler will add is performance, but do you need more? For a single 570 or 560 at 1680x1050, I don't think so. You probably will not need more for years. If you want to be able to play any game on the market at that resolution I think you can, and if you still wanted to be able to do this two years later and needed more performance, which is questionable, you could buy another card in the same price range and you're still good.
 
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