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Katalysis

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Aug 8, 2008
Messages
1,813
With two d's, for a double dose of PC pimping. I caught the itch earlier this month, and then I saw the Skyrim screenshots and I am at the point of no return.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
--A little bit of everything. Gaming. Infrequent photoshop use. Lots of multitasking for work, but only office apps and lots of tabs. Want to start folding though.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
--No hard cap per se, but good value is a consideration.
3) Where do you live?
--Illinois (TD tax, no microcenter near, no fry's near)
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, MOBO, RAM, SSD, HSF,
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
--Antec 300
--2x23" Dell ultrasharps
--6400AAKS, 1TB Green
--XFX 6850
--Corsair TX750
6) Will you be overclocking?
--[H]ell yeah.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
--2x1080's
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
--Within a month
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
--SATA 6
--Intel NIC
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
--I should be able to migrate my W7 64 Home.

Here is what I am thinking:
CPU: I am indecisive on this one. Not sure if the 2600k provides enough value over the 2500k.
RAM: $47 AR: 8GB Corsair XMS3 1333 (already purchased; amazing deal that started this in the first place)
MOBO: $184.99:ASUS P8P67 PRO. ASUS tech support on here sold me. Looks like they have been taking care of business and fixed a lot of the issues I have heard about, but I am willing to change my mind. The expandability and Intel NIC pushed me to the PRO.
SSD: $99: Crucial C300 from today's Shell Shocker.
HSF: Not sure. Looks like the Cooler Master 212+ is the go to. Is the thermal paste with it good? I have the Xigmatek in my sig, but not sure if those are compatible.

With a 2500k combo deal from NE, this upgrade will cost: $568.96
With a 2600k combo deal from NE, this upgrade will cost: $671.96

I already have the ram and ssd, so those are locked in. I am assuming my PSU will be able to power all this easily, but maybe that is wishful thinking with a SB overclock? The 6850 is OC'd already, and I would be adding an SSD to go with the AAKS and Green drives. I am open on the MOBO, but I do want the Intel NIC. Maybe add a dedicated sound card.
 
Go with the i5-2500k if gaming is a priority for you. You should only consider the i7-2600k if you plan on using Photoshop more often (to the point that it takes up over 40% of your time on the computer).

The good news is that you can buy the Asus P8P67 Pro together with either processor in a combo deal.

Try out the onboard sound first. You can always buy a dedicated sound card later.

You'll need to buy an LGA1156 adapter for your Xigmatek HSF (it will work on the LGA1155 board). But if you can afford to, go with the Hyper 212 Plus instead.
 
I can get the Hyper 212+. You're right about the 2500k.

I shouldn't have a problem with my Corsair 750TX right? 1 SSD, 2 HDDs, OC'd 6870, OC'd 2500k, 1 DVD burner, 6ish fans?
 
jeremyshaw said:
Don't be an idiot nation in your future GPU choices, and you'll be fine :p
Click to expand...

I've always been an ATI guy. Of course, I used to always be an AMD guy too...

In any event, that is actually a typo; it is actually a 6870 that I regret purchasing. I couldn't hold out on my 4870 512mb any longer, and that was THE card for about two weeks. Still a good card for my resolution, but I am getting the second monitor flickering and flash video issues still.

How about the thermal past that comes with the Hyper? Is that worth using?
 
Katalysis said:
I've always been an ATI guy. Of course, I used to always be an AMD guy too...

In any event, that is actually a typo; it is actually a 6870 that I regret purchasing. I couldn't hold out on my 4870 512mb any longer, and that was THE card for about two weeks. Still a good card for my resolution, but I am getting the second monitor flickering and flash video issues still.

How about the thermal past that comes with the Hyper? Is that worth using?
Click to expand...

heh, not an attack at you, more of a reference to film :p

The HD6870 *should* be about 50-60% faster than your HD4870, AFAIK. The flickering is due to memory speed changes... easy way is to google for a fix, since I don't remember where to find it, lol. The flash issue? I just disabled HW Flash accell in flash. It wasn't worth the trouble, though AMD has been working closely with Adobe on Flash 10.2 beta, as outlined in Anandtech's review of the E-350 mITX board. So maybe this final issue will be resolved, too :)
 
jeremyshaw said:
heh, not an attack at you, more of a reference to film :p

The HD6870 *should* be about 50-60% faster than your HD4870, AFAIK. The flickering is due to memory speed changes... easy way is to google for a fix, since I don't remember where to find it, lol. The flash issue? I just disabled HW Flash accell in flash. It wasn't worth the trouble, though AMD has been working closely with Adobe on Flash 10.2 beta, as outlined in Anandtech's review of the E-350 mITX board. So maybe this final issue will be resolved, too :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, if it holds up for the games at the end of the year, that will be great. I've had it for a little while now, and it was a serious improvement. Not sure if the Q6600 is slowing it down or not.

When Skyrim comes out, if it has some sort of Oblivion grass situation all over again, I will probably get the urge to sell it and get something else.
 
Ordered!

The suspense is already killing me. :) I wonder what will get here first: the RAM with EggSaver shipping on Wednesday, or the 3 day on the CPU, MOBO, and Cooler.
 
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