1400$ or less bang for buck performance pc

[in-the-neo-matrix]

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, memory intensive programs

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: canadian websites, tigerdirect.ca, newegg.ca etc

Parts Preferences: no

Overclocking: yes

SLI or Crossfire: no

Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080


budget: 1400$ or less

I'm looking for a good pc for the money. It's a bonus if it's quiet, but with these parts I kinda doubt it but doesn't hurt to reduce sound as much as possible.

I was thinking:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 220$
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 150$
GPU: GeForce GTX 570 330$
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 110$
HHD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 T1 x2 (raid) 120$
PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 115$
SSD: Crucial RealSSD C300 120$
Case: Fractal Design Define R3 115$
CPU cooling: Noctua NH-U12P SE2 80$

Planning on overclocking i5 + 570.

I don't know what fans to get, what rpm and such. Define r3 comes with 2 stock ones, I read they're alright. The second fan on the Noctua NH-U12P SE2 is redudant so I was thinking of making that one a case fan, does that make any sense? It's a NF-P12. I was also thinking of getting a gentletyphoon as a top fan.

This is not just a gaming rig. The 16 GB ram is there for a reason and it's not going away. Out of curiosity how much is it going to hurt performance?

Do I need 750w or 850w psu?

Is it worth it to raid the hdd for 60$ extra?

Is is worth it to have a ssd for boot/OS?

Any parts I can switch out and save money without losing much performance?

Any obvious problems compatibility problems or parts not fitting in the case?

 

[008Rohit]

Processor: Intel Core i5 2500K $220
HSF: CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ $30
Mobo: Asrock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX $130
RAM: 2x ( Gskill RipjawsX 2x4GB 1.5V CAS9 1600Mhz) $55x2 = $110
GPU: HIS IceQ Turbo H697QT2G2M Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 - $370
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200rpm $60
SSD : Corsair Force Series 3 60GB 2.5" Solid State Drive $80
DVD: LG DVD R/W $20
PSU : CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 - $110
Case : COOLER MASTER HAF 922 BLUE RC-922M ATX Mid Tower : $100

Total : $1230

* You can overclock the processor upto 4.5Ghz with the Hyper 212+ if you need. Basically turbo boost does its job pretty fine, still, if you are an enthusiast or freak then....

* The motherboard offers PCIe 3.0 slots. SLI/CF at x8/x8 dual mode.

* The RAM being 1.5v is ideal for Sandy Bridge.

* The GPU comes with special HSF from HIS. Highly overclockable, it can maxx out BF3 at 1080p alone.

1. A quality 750W PSU can actually run two HD 6970's in Crossfire. A quality 600-650W Unit is recommended for a single card.

2. No Idea.

3. Yeah, it makes the PC boot at blazing fast speeds also games can access required data faster, so faster overall performance.
Feel free to ask me if you have any questions in mind.

 

[Why_Me]

I'm not sure why you chose that board and psu if you have no plans on going with dual vid cards later on.

These two outfits (Direct Canada & Best Direct) are affiliated and both ship out of the same warehouse in Richmond, BC. They both offer FREE SHIPPING.

http://www.directcanada.com
http://www.directcanada.com/contact/

http://www.bestdirect.ca
http://www.bestdirect.ca/contact/


http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/231688/HCG-620/ANTEC/ $66.69
Antec High Current Gamer 620W 48A 24PIN ATX12V V2.3 Active PFC 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply 135mm Fan

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/232639/BX80623I52500K/Intel/ $208.79
Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15380BD5211&vpn=F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL&manufacture=G.SKILL $45.03
G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/233111/ST31000524AS/Seagate/ $49.79
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 7200.12 1TB SATA 32MB Cache 3.5IN Internal Hard Drive OEM

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/225965/DRW-24B1ST%20Bulk/ASUS/ $16.79
ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer OEM Black

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/234805/CT128M4SSD2/CRUCIAL%20TECHNOLOGY/ $198.20
Crucial M4 SSD Micron C400 128GB 2.5IN Solid State Disk Flash Drive SATA3 6Gbps

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/crucial-m4-ssd-firmware-update,13314.html <----- Crucial M4 Firmware update

 

[phenom90]

actually... only three things you can get better.... for mobo... you can get this one...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

this mobo has support for pcie 3.0 which is good for future upgrades of graphics card which utilise this standard...
for more info go through this page...

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z68%20Extreme3%20Gen3

and for ssd... this new model should runs faster than what you pick right now...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

but it is expensive than the c300... so go for it if your budget allows it...

for psu.. do you want to pick a modular one?? because it gives you a cleaner build...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194093

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152043

there are two models sports modular cable.... priced at $70 and $100 respectively after MIR.... the former seems like a better choice as it saves you more money...
however... if you looking for a higher efficiency psu... the raidmax is a good choice... though $30 expensive than lepa model... at least both model is cheaper than the corsair one... don't worry... these brand may not as popular as corsair... but the quality i can assure you will not be lower than corsair... also i suggested you taking a higher output psu so the next time you want to add second gtx 570 for sli at least it has more headroom than 750w psu.... don't buy a psu with just barely enough power to spare... you never know what you're gonna buy next for your pc....

 

[in-the-neo-matrix]

I did some modifications and ended up with this

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K = 220$
HSF: CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ = 30$
Mobo: Asrock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX = 130$
RAM: 2x Gskill RipjawsX 2x4GB 1.5V CAS9 1600Mhz $55x2 = 110$
GPU: Twin Frozr III PE/OC GeForce GTX 570 333$
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB = 60$
SSD: Crucial M4 C400 128GB = 200$
DVD: DVD R/W = 20$
Case: Fractal Design Define R3 Black = 115$
PSU: SILVERSTONE ST75F-P 750W ATX 120$
Fans: Arctic Cooling Arctic F12 Pro = 6$
Fractal Design Silent Series 140MM = 12$
TOTAL: 1356$

What do you think? 😀

 

[Why_Me]

I did some modifications and ended up with this

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K = 220$
HSF: CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ = 30$
Mobo: Asrock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX = 130$
RAM: 2x Gskill RipjawsX 2x4GB 1.5V CAS9 1600Mhz $55x2 = 110$
GPU: Twin Frozr III PE/OC GeForce GTX 570 333$
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB = 60$
SSD: Crucial M4 C400 128GB = 200$
DVD: DVD R/W = 20$
Case: Fractal Design Define R3 Black = 115$
PSU: SILVERSTONE ST75F-P 750W ATX 120$
Fans: Arctic Cooling Arctic F12 Pro = 6$
Fractal Design Silent Series 140MM = 12$
TOTAL: 1356$

What do you think? 😀

I thought you were Canadian? Why would a Canadian be paying those prices? And does that include shipping charges?

 

[in-the-neo-matrix]

What do you mean, you it's too high or too low?

I only put together the prices roughly.

But anyway, the plan looks like this

CPU: http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12200BD1527&vpn=BX80623I52500K&manufacture=INTEL

210$

HSF: http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC8843&vpn=RR-B10-212P-G1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER

24$

Mobo: http://www6.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?item_id=041471 + 7$ shipping

140$ + 7$ ship

RAM: http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15380BD8579&vpn=F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL&manufacture=G.SKILL

80$

GPU: http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12980BD0157&vpn=N570GTX%20Twin%20Frozr%20III%20PE/OC&manufacture=MSI

333$

HDD: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
would have been 60$ but I won't be able to grab it in time so

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6448061

72$ + 6$ ship

SSD: http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/234805/CT128M4SSD2/CRUCIAL%20TECHNOLOGY/

200$

DVD: DVD R/W = 20$

Case: http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=53537&promoid=1370

115$ + unknown shipping (shipping calculator is broken >.>) only Canadian website that seems to have it so..

PSU: http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=22170AC0247&vpn=ST75F-P&manufacture=Silverstone%20Technology

120$

Fans: http://ncix.com/products/?sku=38112&vpn=F12PROPWM120MM&manufacture=Arctic%20Cooling
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=51284&vpn=6308619&manufacture=Fractal%20Design

7$ + 12$ + unknown shipping

TOTAL: 1346 + ncix unknown shipping$

Only 10$ off the estimate, damn I'm good :lol:

I know I'll get screwed by tax anyway and end up with something costing 1500+.

But now that I look at it I might switch out the mobo and HHD, they're not worth it anymore at those prices lol

Not sure about the RAM, maybe I picked the wrong one 80$ is cheap lol

But right now I don't really know where I'll buy that stuff. Free shipping is nice, but something is bound to be DOA, so I have to check all those websites return policies.