So, my last build was an FX-51 system...

P

PaperclipGod

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 31, 2011
Messages
368
...built in 2003. Yes, my rig is nearly 10 years old. :eek:

So, please help me build something new.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
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Gaming, browsing (often with 50+ tabs), limited CAD stuff (inventor, architect, etc)

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
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$1000, but my priority is "most bang for the buck". I'd be quite happy to spend less!

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
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Springfield, MA. I'm 1.5-2 hours west of the Boston Microcenter, so unless the deal is outrageous, it probably isnt worth the gas.

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.
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CPU (thinking 2500k)
CPU heatsink
RAM (thinking 8gb, but 16 is appealing)
Mobo
HDD
GPU
PS
OS (Win7 home vs. pro?)

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
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Case (old coolermaster praetorian)
Monitor (mitsu 2070sb)
Keyboard/Mouse
Klipsch 2.1's

6) Will you be overclocking?
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Yes

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
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Mitsubishi 2070sb
22" tube, 20" viewable
2048x1536 max

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
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Within the next day or two, unless i get advice otherwise

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.
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I'm not sure. USB3 would be nice, as would SATA6, but neither are dealbreakers. Do current hdd's even make use of sata6?

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
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No, need an OS. If not for games i'd use linux. I'm not sure if i'm better off with Win7 Home or Pro, though. The main difference seems to be in the amount of ram supported?
 
$345 - Intel Core i5-2500K CPU + MSI P67A-G45 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard
$40 - G.Skill Ripjaws Series F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$213 - Gigabyte GTX 560 TI 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$126 - Hitachi Desktar 7K1000.D HDS721010DLE630 1TB SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$20 - LG GH22NS90B DVD Burner
$69 - Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W PSU
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
$100 - Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit OEM
---
Total: $993 shipped

Notes:
- I included a new case since your current case would not provide enough cooling for a modern setup without being really loud.
- I also included a SATA DVD burner as IDE DVD drives don't work with many current motherboards.
 
Awesome! Thanks very much, Danny!

I'm sad about the case... but I hadn't even considered the cooling considerations. I'm amazed at how much power new systems consume.
 
Yeah there was also the issues of space and cable management as well. So yeah, you're better off with a new case
 
Is there anything you'd change if you had an extra $200? I'm not looking for an excuse to spend more, just wondering if you'd opt for something else if you had more headroom.

Also, can you suggest a wireless card? Forgot I need one.
 
PaperclipGod said:
Is there anything you'd change if you had an extra $200? I'm not looking for an excuse to spend more, just wondering if you'd opt for something else if you had more headroom.

Also, can you suggest a wireless card? Forgot I need one.
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With the extra $200, I would do all of the following:
- Add in a SSD for the OS, small apps, and a game or two with the rest of your data/large program installations on the hard drive:
$120 - Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 64GB SSD w/ USB to SATA Adapter and Drive Cloning software

- Add in this wireless adapter:
$28 - Asus PCE-N15 Wireless Adapter

- Up the GPU to the HD 6950 2GB:
$270 - XFX HD-695X-CNFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB PCI-E Video Card
 
Thanks!

Of all the things that are making me think twice, though, its the power supply. If power demands keep increasing, perhaps i'd save money in the long-term by going with a larger unit that can be reused? Getting a high-efficiency unit is appealing too, since this will probably be left running 24/7.

So... this is whats tempting me:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121089

1000w, 80+ plat, and "only" $200.

However, when I step back, it seems stupid for me to be investing an extra $140 into the power supply instead of more important components.

Can ya help me either justify this component (in the interests of long term savings) or smack some sense into me?
 
Unless you plan on having triple SLI/CFX, you won't need 1000W psu. Even a great 850W PSU will run SLI GTX580s. But then again now once you get into the SLI budget, you might as well get 7970s, which are a lot more energy efficient, and won't require more than 750-850 for sli.

For a single GPU build, the Antec 620 will be more than enough for your needs no matter how many peripherals you have. The current trend in fact has been a decrease in power demand, as more and more companies start becoming aware of the "green efficiency" branding appeal.
 
I don't plan on going SLI, but part of the appeal of the 1000w unit was that its most efficient when at ~50% load... around 91% eff according to jonnyguru.

Plus that unit is down to $190 now... :eek:

Of course, i bought 450w units in 2003 thinking those would be plenty for any future upgrades. :rolleyes:
 
Well if you are planning on waiting another 10 years before your next upgrade, by all means pick up a 1000W. Though in that case, I'd still highly recommend the Seasonic X1000 Platinum instead, even higher efficiency and amazing reliability/low noise levels.
 
PaperclipGod said:
However, when I step back, it seems stupid for me to be investing an extra $140 into the power supply instead of more important components.

Can ya help me either justify this component (in the interests of long term savings) or smack some sense into me?
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As Tsuyoi noted, you honestly do not need a 1000W PSU. The general trend in AMD GPUs right now is energy efficiency. So rather than require larger PSUs, many AMD GPUs will use the same or less amount of power as their older counterparts. A similar trend can somewhat be seen in Nvidia GPus as well. As such, assuming this trend continues, it'll be years, a decade even, before you need a 1000W PSU.

With that said, if you don't care about the money spent, by all means get the 1000W PSU
PaperclipGod said:
Of course, i bought 450w units in 2003 thinking those would be plenty for any future upgrades.
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Well the thing is that back then, many PSUs weren't of good or decent quality by ATX standards. Hell that's still the case today. However, if you had happen to buy a high/good quality 450W PSU back in 2003 (if such a one existed), it technically would have been enough power for a modern system today.
 
^^Not just that, but most systems/PSUs back then had the 5V rail included in the wattage, where most things these days use the 12v rail.
 
All these newegg combos, coupons, instant rebates, rebates, shellshockers, and daily deals are making my head explode.

Every time i think i have the best combo of the above promotions, i see something that seems to offer a better value.

Why oh why cant they just cut out all this marketing and reduce prices across the board?!
 
Actually Promotions/MIRs/discount coupons are made to be deliberately confusing. This is all part of sales 101. See, for any given product, there's always going to be people willing to shell out the full price, no matter what that is, then there's the people who always want to get a discount, and then there's the true bargain hunters that will go to any lengths to get the lowest price. Obviously, you want to sell to all 3 groups, at as high of a price as you can.

But how to do that? If you make the price high enough to scalp the money's no problem group, you lose all your conservative and frugal customers. But if you lower your prices across the board to a point where everyone wants one, you miss out on major bucks from the high rollers.

So what to do? Make the list price at the high point for the high rollers. But have all these complicated and inane discounts for those looking for a bargain. The high rollers can't be bothered to go through the hoops, so they'll still pay list. But you still get to sell to those looking for a bargain. Obviously, the steeper the discount, the more complicated/shorter time you have to cash it in.
 
Jesus christ, and now 2 of the coupon codes in my cart that were working yesterday are now no longer valid, apparently.

This is ridiculous.

Does dell still do the refurbished stuff?
 
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