To Build Now or Hold Off

C

Cod

Gawd
Joined
Mar 21, 2003
Messages
642
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Primarily gaming (console replacement) and HTPC.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
~$1200; budget isn't a huge concern so its flexible, however, I'm a price/value kind of guy. For example, I'm not interested in spending $100 more for a minimal performance increase.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Washington DC, USA (until July) then Honolulu, HI (late August).

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, motherboard, RAM, SSD, video card, case (more info below), PSU, ODD

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

6) Will you be overclocking?
Likely; however, cooling and sound concerns will be accessed after initial build (more info below)

7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1920x1080; Samsung 40" LCD

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within two months (before moving) or after the move in 4 months

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.
Based on the case I'm using, I need a motherboard with at least 2 x USB 3.0 headers (mid-board). Nothing else special that isn't common on most boards today.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit; however, thinking about upgrading to Pro 64-bit or Windows 8


As mentioned earlier, my family and I are moving to Hawaii in August. There are a few reasons I'm confused about whether or not to build before or after the move. Currently, I live in Washington DC and have access to two Microcenter locations (both about 20-mins away); however, in Hawaii, I lose that. The other thing I mentioned above is the case. I will be ordering a Silverstone GD06 in the next few days, unless someone can convince me otherwise, since it is one of the only HTPC cases that will fit in my TV stand and the only cases my wife thinks looks good enough to be shown in public. Also, I should mention that I have a NAS currently loaded with 2 x 2TB HDDs and about 75% free space.

From this build, I want a machine capable of playing games at medium settings and above for at least four-to-five years before replacing anything (if possible) and is easily upgradable w/o rebuilding from scratch. It needs to have great playback from NAS. Last, the machine needs to be quiet. So here's what I've come up with so far:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-M PRO Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($167.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($85.00 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($128.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone GD06B HTPC Case ($122.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Silverstone 700W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112-04 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($74.99 @ TigerDirect)
Total: $1043.50

Any ideas and/or thoughts? Any help is greatly appreciated and I'm open to any and all ideas / suggestions.

EDIT: I should have mentioned I don't play many FPS games. Primarily play RTS and simulation.
 
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Now is a good time to build as all the new stuff has just come out. Nothing big/new to be coming out soon.
 
Whether or not to build the PC in D.C or Honolulu really depends on much it's gonna cost you to ship the PC from D.C to Honolulu and whether or not you think it'll survive the journey. The shipping costs is pretty much the main issue: AFAIK, there are no free shipping options to HI from most computer hardware stores. In fact, as a test, I added this RAM to my cart which has free shipping. I entered in a CA zip code and still got the free shipping. Then I entered in a HI zip code. $20 for shipping was added. Amazon does the same thing IIRC.

So basically if the shipping cost from D.C is less than the cost of buying the parts in HI itself + the added costs for the CPU and mobo not being from MC, definitely build now and hope it survives shipping.

Microcenter has that exact Asus mobo. So buy that mobo from MC as MC will knock off $50 off the cost of the motherboard if you buy a Z77 or Z68 with a 2500K or 3570K. Also note that this specific deal ends on June 3rd.

PSU wise, despite being labeled as a "700W" PSU, its output capability on the +12V rail is actually closer to that of a lower-end 600W PSU. I'm also a little uneasy on the quality of that PSU as well. I recommend this PSU instead:
$90 - SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W Modular PSU

It actually offers more power on the +12V rail than the Silverstone.

As for the GPU, I'd up the GPU to the HD 7850 2GB since the extra VRAM will help out in future games and it runs significantly cooler than the GTX 560 TI.
 
Thanks for the suggestions Danny. From initial readings, the PSU suggested will be to large for the case as the SeaSonic is 6.3" deep and the case will only support 5.9" in depth. I'll look into the GPU suggestion further as I admittedly haven't done a lot of research into the AMD cards.

As for shipping a completed PC, its pretty much a non-issue since my employer pays for my move and any damages incurred are covered by full replacement. So, if they break it, I get the part replaced on their dime.

I'm beginning to think building now may be the best option, unless prices are going to dip a lot in the next few months (highly doubt it).
 
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Hmm, I'd spend the extra cash for this PSU then:
$130 - Corsair HX650 650W Modular PSU

It's 5.9" so it should fit.

Also I found out some more info about the Silverstone: it's a Sirfa built PSU. Hence why it's low priced: its quality probably isn't that good.

Then definitely build now.
 
Danny Bui said:
Hmm, I'd spend the extra cash for this PSU then:
$130 - Corsair HX650 650W Modular PSU

It's 5.9" so it should fit.

Also I found out some more info about the Silverstone: it's a Sirfa built PSU. Hence why it's low priced: its quality probably isn't that good.

Then definitely build now.
Click to expand...
Is a 650W PSU going to be enough?
 
Cod said:
Is a 650W PSU going to be enough?
Click to expand...

Yes (if it's good quality). There are a lot of so-called "650W" PSUs that are crappy or even shitty. Stay away from those (on a unit-by-unit basis since there are dozens, if not hundreds, of different PSUs that claim "650W").

There is a new PSU calculator that's more "accurate" than most. I used that calculator, and discovered that your proposed system needs only 570W even when the CPU is heavily overclocked and you're folding 24/7 on that proposed build.
 
E4g1e said:
Yes (if it's good quality). There are a lot of so-called "650W" PSUs that are crappy or even shitty. Stay away from those (on a unit-by-unit basis since there are dozens, if not hundreds, of different PSUs that claim "650W").

There is a new PSU calculator that's more "accurate" than most. I used that calculator, and discovered that your proposed system needs only 570W even when the CPU is heavily overclocked and you're folding 24/7 on that proposed build.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the guidance.

I've decided to start ordering parts since I won't have Microcenter access in two months. So here's what I'm going with unless anyone has some serious suggestions:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Scythe BIG Shuriken 2 Rev. B 45.5 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-M PRO Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($155.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Silverstone GD05B HTPC Case ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($56.23 @ Amazon)
Total: $1143.15

Again, my goal is to have a quality HTPC / gaming rig that is cool, quiet, and can give me at least 5-years of solid performance before I even think about upgrading. My wife approved the look of the GD05, so going that route freed up about $50 over the GD06 and gives me more PSU flexibility; thus, going with Danny's original suggestion. As usual, any suggestions / tips are greatly appreciated.
 
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You're still making the same mistake: Microcenter has that exact Asus mobo. So buy that mobo from MC as MC will knock off $50 off the cost of the motherboard if you buy a Z77 or Z68 with a 2500K or 3570K. Also note that this specific deal ends on June 3rd

Also, are you actually going to go for 32GB of RAM or what?.
 
Danny Bui said:
You're still making the same mistake: Microcenter has that exact Asus mobo. So buy that mobo from MC as MC will knock off $50 off the cost of the motherboard if you buy a Z77 or Z68 with a 2500K or 3570K. Also note that this specific deal ends on June 3rd

Also, are you actually going to go for 32GB of RAM or what?.
Click to expand...
Hmm...I thought the PC / Mobo deal ended on 31 May. Guess I need to pack up the kids and take a trip tomorrow morning.

As far as memory is concerned, I wanted to leave my options open to upgrade to 32GB in the future. The only memory hog programs I run on a daily basis are AutoCAD and Maya. Do you think the 16GB on 2-sticks is overkill?
 
Cod said:
Hmm...I thought the PC / Mobo deal ended on 31 May. Guess I need to pack up the kids and take a trip tomorrow morning.
Click to expand...
Nope June 3rd. So better take advantage of it.

Cod said:
As far as memory is concerned, I wanted to leave my options open to upgrade to 32GB in the future. The only memory hog programs I run on a daily basis are AutoCAD and Maya. Do you think the 16GB on 2-sticks is overkill?
Click to expand...

You would need Windows 7 Pro in order to use 32GB of RAM. If you're going to be using AutoCAD and Maya extensively, then yes go for 32GB of RAM. Otherwise, go for a 4 x 4GB setup.
 
Wow, that GD06 looks like a really neat case, I did not know about it before.

watch out recommending PSUs guys, it will only fit them up to 150mm long
 
jojo69 said:
Wow, that GD06 looks like a really neat case, I did not know about it before.

watch out recommending PSUs guys, it will only fit them up to 150mm long
Click to expand...
The PSU and other spacing issues is why I'm going with the GD05 instead.

Thanks for the help Danny. The only reason I'm not going with the full 32GB right away is to save a few bucks on the initial build.
 
Just got back from Microcenter and decided to "upgrade" a little while I was there. I picked up the same motherboard (ASUS P8Z77-M Pro), but upgraded to the i5-3570K since it was only $20 more. Got both for $320.

I plan on ordering the rest of the parts online this afternoon.
 
Good news! The PC is built and up-and-running. No problems through any stress tests and the system is very quiet. Thanks for the help guys.
 
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