So my build has begun, help me finish it!

thesmelliestsock.

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 6, 2003
Messages
1,214
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Gaming is my #1 priority


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

$1,500 or so pre-tax and shipping.


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

Philadelphia, PA


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.

Ok, here we go. I already picked up a few things and have more on the way. I'm primarily shopping the sales and finding bargains on parts that I like. This is what I have purchased so far:

Case: Lian-Li PC-K9WX = $80
CPU: Intel i7-2600K CPU + Corsair H60 Cooler = $255
MOBO: ASUS P8Z68-V LX = $70
SSD: Corsair Force Series GT 128GB = $120
RAM: G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) = $40
Monitor: HP 2511x LED $165

So I'm currently sitting at $730, remaining budget of about $800 to work with. I need the remaining parts to finish out this build. I'm pretty much sold on the NVidia GTX680 and am currently waiting patiently for it to come back in stock. That should put me a little over a grand, which should leave me another $500 or so to finish out the build. I would like a good optical drive with Blueray, a powerful enough (preferably modular) PSU, and whatever other loose odds and ends I'm just not thinking about right now.


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

None, this is from scratch.


6) Will you be overclocking?

Yes, purchased an H60 Cooler. Would like to give the i7-2600K a nice boost in performance. Whatever it typically can achieve with a similar setup at safe temps and voltages.


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

1920 x 1080, 25"


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

In the process of purchasing parts now


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.

Own the motherboard already


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

Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

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Please help me finish my build! I haven't built a PC since 2004 so I've been out of the loop for a long time. I've been trying to do as much reading and research as possible playing catch-up. I'm not the most thorough person when it comes to these kinds of threads so please don't hesitate to ask me any questions if I left anything out!

Thanks!
 
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SSD wise, I'd go for the Crucial m4 128GB SSD instead.

I recommend this PSU:
$146 - Seasonic X650 Gold 650W Modular PSU

RAM wise, I recommend this:
$48 - G.Skill Sniper F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM
 
I'd have waited 2 weeks for Ivy Bridge at same price point as Sandy Bridge....with more integrated features.
 
I'd have waited 2 weeks for Ivy Bridge at same price point as Sandy Bridge....with more integrated features.

Yeah? Do you have any sort of information on potential pricing for a comparable IB? I didn't think the 3rd-gen i7's would be anywhere near that price ($200).
 
SSD wise, I'd go for the Crucial m4 128GB SSD instead.

Why's that?

I also did some research on the RAM you recommended and pulled the trigger. NewEgg had a 15% off coupon code and free shipping so it was a no brainer. That's one less thing to worry about, thanks! Updated my original post to reflect the purchase.
 
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·PitBuLL·;1038609193 said:
Yeah? Do you have any sort of information on potential pricing for a comparable IB? I didn't think the 3rd-gen i7's would be anywhere near that price ($200).
Generally Intel releases their CPUs at or around the price range of their older CPUs. So there would have been an IB CPU around that $200 price point. With that said, the 2600K you bought was a really good deal and you didn't do too bad there.
·PitBuLL·;1038609196 said:
Why's that?
Because the SSD you chose is a Sandforce based SSD. The Crucial M4 128GB is a bit more reliable and stable that many Sandforce SSDs.
 
Generally Intel releases their CPUs at or around the price range of their older CPUs. So there would have been an IB CPU around that $200 price point. With that said, the 2600K you bought was a really good deal and you didn't do too bad there.

Because the SSD you chose is a Sandforce based SSD. The Crucial M4 128GB is a bit more reliable and stable that many Sandforce SSDs.

Yeah I should have been more specific about the individual price of the CPU. At $200 I felt it was a steal and wouldn't get an equivalent or maybe I should say a much "better" performing Ivy Bridge CPU at that price.

I read a lot of recent reviews for the Corsair SSD and it seems that the general thought is that they've significantly improved in reliability over the past year. Plus it was only $120 new. I find SSD prices to be so unreasonable... It seemed a $1/GB was the best I was going to do.
 
Picked up an HP 2511x monitor today brand new for almost half off... Just need to get a power supply, video card, optical drive and a second HDD for media storage.
 
Update:

Most everything came in except for the RAM, DVD drive and the MSI GTX 680 I purchased. I assembled the machine using some RAM I borrowed from my friend temporarily. This PC runs so damn fast... And I love this screen! The video card is arriving today, I'll take some better pictures of the tower itself once I install it.

photovsq.jpg
 
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