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steeltoe

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 15, 2004
Messages
168
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming, Movies
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around $600
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
USA
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+Fan, Mobo, Ram, HD, Sound card or onboard audio
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Case Super Lanboy II, Asus DVDr SATA, PSU AeroCool Zero DBA 620W, nvidia 8800GT
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
LCD TV 32" HDMI
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Yesterday
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.
Onboard Audio is preferable.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes but it's XP. Pick me a Win 7

This is an old gaming, media rig I'm re-doing. I'm through with tweaking and overclocking but I'm quite capable of tweaking any bios, OS settings if need be. I want SSD drives in the new rig. I may upgrade the vid card at a later date but It's been handling all the games I play fine so it's not crucial. I prefer Newegg as a vendor since I'm a long time customer. Intel combos and simple air cooling are preferrable. Thanks!
 
Does your TV support a 720p or a 1080p resolution?

Which games do you play? How do you watch your movies (streaming, ripping, DVD/BR)?

Can you raise the budget a bit? An OEM copy of Windows 7 costs at least $100 on its own. Plus, your SSD requirement means that you'll need to spend at least $100 on a good 128GB model. And you may want to add a power supply to your build list; the AeroCool Zero DBA doesn't appear to have enough power in its 12V rails (30A, if NewEgg is correct) for a modern system.
 
tiraides said:
Does your TV support a 720p or a 1080p resolution?

Which games do you play? How do you watch your movies (streaming, ripping, DVD/BR)?

Can you raise the budget a bit? An OEM copy of Windows 7 costs at least $100 on its own. Plus, your SSD requirement means that you'll need to spend at least $100 on a good 128GB model. And you may want to add a power supply to your build list; the AeroCool Zero DBA doesn't appear to have enough power in its 12V rails (30A, if NewEgg is correct) for a modern system.
Click to expand...


720p
TW2 right now.
Yup the budget can go up. As for OS I just need to know what version of Win7 is best I can get a dicsount. I'm looking at turn-key combo here not an uber rig.
 
steeltoe said:
I'm looking at this What sayeth the court?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the SSD that's in that "deal" is one of the slower-performing Sandforce-based SSDs due to its use of asynchronous-mode NAND flash ICs. Also, the RAM that's in that combo is a bit overpriced, especially since 2 x 8GB kits that we normally recommend cost closer to $100. Thus, even after discounts, the SSD and RAM are overpriced given the SSD's performance and reliability while Ivy Bridge does not take anywhere close to full advantage of RAM that's higher than DDR3-1600 in bandwidth.
 
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What budget should I shoot for? I can easily budget a $3000 system but I probably don't need it:D. Can you throw some ideas to me given my criteria so far? I think a Core i5 based build should do fine for my needs.
 
$800-ish without a new GPU:
$307 - Intel Core i5-3470 CPU + MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard combo
$46 - G.Skill Ripjaws Series F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$119 - Samsung 830 128GB SSD
$90 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$64 - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W PSU
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
$100 - Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit OEM
---
Total: $776 shipped
 
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Thanks a lot! That's perfect!

PS: Do you think the PSU is necessary? Just asking because I see some other forum posts running my same PSU with Sandy Bridge, Single GPU combos.

PPS: I have an OCZ Modstream 520 lying around as well
 
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steeltoe said:
Do you think the PSU is necessary? Just asking because I see some other forum posts running my same PSU with Sandy Bridge, Single GPU combos.

PPS: I have an OCZ Modstream 520 lying around as well
Click to expand...

Yes. The PSU has 30A in its (combined) 12V rail(s), which is very low for a 600-watt power supply. Plus, it's over several years old, so there's no guarantee that it can reach its highest rated load. Since you have the funds to buy a new PSU, it's better to be safe than sorry -- especially since a bad PSU has the potential to ruin your entire system by itself.

The OCZ ModXStream is even worse, especially if you bought it around the same time as your AeroCool PSU. The long story short about OCZ is that the company has a long history of quality and customer service issues ranging from its PSUs to its SSDs.
 
Yeah what Tiraides said. I also included a new case since your current case is a bit lacking when it comes cable management and proper GPU cooling.
 
And now the waiting begins. Thanks again guys for aiding in the fleecing of my wallet. Hehe.
 
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