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| skyR Canada. October 29 2011 03:00. Posts 11354 | Profile # |
On October 29 2011 02:40 furlyman wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Hi guys, just wanted to get some feedback on a build a friend of mine and I put together. For reference, I am new to building computers and my knowledge is somewhat limited though I have put a decent amount of time into researching this build. I am also going to pose a few questions at the bottom that have been my main concerns when deciding on parts. In advance, I appreciate the feedback and suggestions!
Budget: $1000-$1150
Use: Primarily Gaming
Build:
Motherboard:
1. GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard (149.99)
OR
2. MSI Z68A-GD55 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS (159.99)
CPU
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K (214.99)
Memory / Ram
1. Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT51264BA160A (49.99) -
Recommended by a friend, didnt do too much research on this aspect of the build.
GPU
1. Combo deal on newegg (I know I probably dont need a PE / OC card, but with the combo deal it ends up being about the same as the other 570's) - MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III PE/OC GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
CD/DVD
1. ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM (20.99)
HD
Open to all suggestions.
Possible : 1. Western Digital Scorpio Black wd5000bpkt 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive (89.99)
OR
2. Samsung F3 Spinpoint (if I can find it?)
Case
1. COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (89.99)
PSU
Part of the combo deal with the graphics cards, I know its overkill for my current setup but with the combo deal its about the same price as many 650W PSU and I would like to eventually SLI my 570's
1. CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 850W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
Heatsink
1. COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R1 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+
Thermal Paste
1. IC DIAMOND 7 CARAT 1.5 GRAM THERMAL COMPOUND (3.99)
Base Cost: All builds end with a base cost of 1000-1100 which is just about my budget. I do not need a monitor, keyboard, mouse , or any peripherals.
As I said before, I am not extremely knowledgeable, though I have spent a couple of weeks researching all this stuff so I hope I am not too far off. Any constructive input would be appreciated. Thank you!
I pressume you're referring to this power supply and graphics card combo listed at $464.98: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.749991
Which does not turn out to be less expensive than purchasing components seperately for a total of $444.98, $20 less (not including the bigger mail in rebate). Keep in mind the graphics card is identical and both the XFX and Corsair power supply is manufactured by Seasonic and based off the same design:
MSI GTX 560 Twin Frozr III PE/OC @ $339.99 http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=62945&promoid=1316
XFX Core Edition Pro 850 @ $104.99 ($74.99 after mail in rebate) http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=63239&promoid=1316
The Core i5 2500k is available for $189.99: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=57962&promoid=1316
The difference between the older Hyper 212+ and the newer EVO is negligible. I would just pick up the older Hyper 212+ for $22.99: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=41337&promoid=1316
The difference between 1333MHz and 1600MHz memory is negligible as well. I would pick this GSkill Sniper 2x4GB 1333MHz cas9 kit for $38.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231417 This kit will most likely run at 1600MHz without a voltage change as well.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/sandy-bridge-ddr3.html http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3 http://techreport.com/articles.x/20377
I would pick up this Samsung DVD burner for $16.99: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=60344&promoid=1316
Harddrive prices have gone up due to the Thailand flooding so availability will be limited and pricing will be high until the new year.
I suggest getting an SSD such as the Crucial M4 64gb for $108.99: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=60444&promoid=1316
Motherboard choice is up to you, the two are basically identical except for the Gigabyte not having UEFI. |
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| furlyman October 29 2011 03:03. Posts 53 | Profile # |
| Nice, thanks for the help skyR. I have never used ncix and I didnt do alot of price matching (basically just went off newegg). Is it a pretty trusted site? How is the RMA policy? Thanks again! |
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| skyR Canada. October 29 2011 03:16. Posts 11354 | Profile # |
Not really pricematching, it's just searching for deals.
NCIX is the premiere retailer for computer hardware in Canada and they just recently expanded to the states by opening a California warehouse. NCIX has a thirty day RMA period and their state-side RMA department is located in California. I'm not sure if they expanded their customer service to the states as well. I rather deal with the manufacturers directly than with the retailer though unless you're returning a product (if you want a refund, you'll have to pay a restocking fee of 15%). |
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| Dannnnn_The_Man United States. October 29 2011 06:29. Posts 166 | Profile # |
| Skyr what's your opinion in the h50/h70 . I'm think about getting one. Does black friday usually have good deals on power supply units, I want to pick up a modular one. Last edit: 2011-10-29 06:32:27 |
| | "I reject your reality and substitute my own!" |
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| Myrmidon United States. October 29 2011 06:54. Posts 8553 | Profile Blog # |
I'm not skyR, but all you need to do is look around at reviews to see that the H50 and H70 have mediocre performance relative to their price and are somewhat noisy. The best air coolers of similar price perform better. Another disadvantage is that this means less airflow around the CPU area (more airflow would be better for cooling the CPU voltage regulator parts and I guess the RAM).
The possible advantage is the form factor actually. If your case can't fit a very large CPU heatsink, it might still be able to fit something like an H50. The block takes a lot less space around the CPU, so no clearance issues with stupidly tall RAM heatspreaders or anything like that. |
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Womwomwom October 29 2011 07:37. Posts 5557 | Profile Blog # |
| Don't get a modular power supply if you don't need a new power supply. It offers nothing new and its honestly not difficult to cable manage (if you really must) with a non-modular power supply. |
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| furlyman October 29 2011 07:50. Posts 53 | Profile # |
| Hey thanks alot skyR I had never heard of these site before and if I use this with your suggestions I should save nearly $150 ! Thanks much! |
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| Quaterno United Kingdom. October 29 2011 08:01. Posts 69 | Profile # |
Hey TL, with Skyrim round the corner and some spare cash lying around I was wondering if anyone had any advice about whether I should upgrade/rebuild/not bother. I have a Q6600 CPU, 4GB DDR2 RAM and a GTX 280. The problem I have with deciding is that my motherboard doesn't support PCI-e 2.0 or DDR3 RAM and I was thinking that those things would be stuff I wanted for upgrading.
If it's the case that I need to upgrade my motherboard then I'd rather wait and just build a new PC next year or something but if throwing in a new GFX card would give me a big boost then that's doable.
What do you guys think? I've been out of the loop in terms of hardware for like 3 years now :S |
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Womwomwom October 29 2011 08:14. Posts 5557 | Profile Blog # |
I suggest you wait and see if Skyrim actually murders your computer before deciding whether or not buying a new system. If Skyrim kills your computer enough that you can't stand it, buy a new desktop; if not, wait till Ivy Bridge and the new 28nm GPUs.
The Q6600 is still workable and the GTX280 still works OK. You can try overclocking to alleviate the problems. |
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| Dannnnn_The_Man United States. October 29 2011 08:27. Posts 166 | Profile # |
Ok, thank you myrmidon, i just wanted to ask because i've always been told by people to not trust reviews.
Also i plan to sli 560 ti's and i don't know if a 450w would handle that. Also the power to the mother board wont reach the top left of the board, which is quite annoying. |
| | "I reject your reality and substitute my own!" |
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| Myrmidon United States. October 29 2011 09:27. Posts 8553 | Profile Blog # |
On October 29 2011 08:27 Dannnnn_The_Man wrote: Ok, thank you myrmidon, i just wanted to ask because i've always been told by people to not trust reviews.
Also i plan to sli 560 ti's and i don't know if a 450w would handle that. Also the power to the mother board wont reach the top left of the board, which is quite annoying.
What reviews? Customer reviews are usually not good for most things except maybe cases, heatsinks (with regards to installation), and so on. I'm talking about proper review sites that do consistent temperature testing of different heatsinks. Quickly look over a few and hopefully you get a decent idea.
I'm not sure why you would want to SLI GTX 560 Ti?
If you're talking about the EPS 12V (8-pin that's 4x2) not reaching the top left properly, just use an extension such as this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812198006 |
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| furlyman October 29 2011 11:39. Posts 53 | Profile # | |
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| Myrmidon United States. October 29 2011 12:05. Posts 8553 | Profile Blog # | |
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| 89vision United States. October 29 2011 13:49. Posts 59 | Profile # |
Apparently the fractal R3 is impossible to order right now, what other silent options do I have? I've seen 1 good, and many bad reviews for the NZXT H2. So that's out, the design on top is completely retarded and the front has poor air intake.
Ive seen gelid and nexus mentioned as good options. |
| | An itch only a deadlift can scratch |
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| Myrmidon United States. October 29 2011 14:14. Posts 8553 | Profile Blog # |
If the cooling requirements are not large and you don't mind having just about 154mm CPU cooler clearance (up to 161mm with foam at that spot cut from the side panel, somewhere in between by just allowing a cooler to press against the foam), Cooler Master Silencio 550 is probably okay if you wanted something a little cheaper.
P183 is probably the way to go though.Last edit: 2011-10-29 14:14:59 |
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| Shikyo Finland. October 29 2011 14:18. Posts 20582 | Profile Blog # | |
| | "I shall wait for you in death's halls, my Love (love love love love~)" |
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Womwomwom October 29 2011 14:27. Posts 5557 | Profile Blog # |
According to reports from guys like Puget Systems, Antec still hasn't fixed the front panel which was the only major problem with the Antec Solo. The door hinges are still flimsy and the power switch still uses a stupid plastic spring design that will certainly break in their lifetime.
Then you've got the price. 1mm steel is great but $130 is still a hard pill to swallow when the Performance One series still exists. Last edit: 2011-10-29 14:31:32 |
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| Shikyo Finland. October 29 2011 14:46. Posts 20582 | Profile Blog # |
The problem with P183 imo is that graphics cards won't fit, so yeah I think it might be the better choice if they do.
130$ is underprice for it anyway. But I'm not sure about the front panel, I didn't see it mentioned in the reviews I read. |
| | "I shall wait for you in death's halls, my Love (love love love love~)" |
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| 89vision United States. October 29 2011 14:48. Posts 59 | Profile # | |
| | An itch only a deadlift can scratch |
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