Approximate Purchase Date: No hard date, but would like to get everything together in the next few weeks. I'm open to buying parts here and there, not all at once.
Budget Range: ~$800
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Moderate gaming though more is intended in the future, heavy web-browsing (on an average day I normally keep about 75 tabs up; I have a problem), some AI, PS, and occasionally Dreamweaver work for profession.
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I have a work colleague who has graciously offered to pick up parts for me from Micro Center and/or a TigerDirect outlet on his commute from Atlanta. If ordering online, probably newegg.com; I've heard some bad stories about ordering through TigerDirect.
Country of Origin: US
Parts Preferences: The only part I'm pretty dead set on is the Intel i5 2500k
Overclocking: Yes / Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: Yes / Maybe
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080, 1920x1200
Additional Comments: I'm in no hurry to get this thing put together, so I'm open to waiting for deals if they are around the corner.
Well my current laptop is on its final leg and as I sometimes have to depend on my home-PC for my occupation, that puts me in a bad situation. I've been wanting to build a PC for awhile so I figured I'd pass on a pre-built and try my luck doing it myself. My goal is to build something that can handle most games, maybe not at max settings, but at least medium-high, a heavy load due to heavy web browsing, PS and AI work, and the occasional dabbling in Dreamweaver. I'm not actually looking to future-proof myself, but it would be nice if I could make this thing, or at least the majority of the parts, last a good 3-5 years. Here is what I've come up with so far:
CPU: Intel i5 2500k - I'm pretty set on this as I'm eventually looking to overclock, not necessarily at the get-go if I can't fit the additional parts required in my budget, but in the not-so-distant future.
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354589 - $180.00
OR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 if my colleague is unable to purchase at Micro Center. - $220.00
MOBO: After lurking around the forums I've heard a lot of good things about the ASRock Extreme 3 and GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 - $125.00
OR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=qc0scl0bdrty - $124.00
The Extreme 4 also looks interesting
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0367878 - $160.00
RAM: would love 8GB, but if it doesn't fit the budget, 4G is good for now; I can always upgrade later
Graphics: I'm open to suggestions but I've been looking at a GTX 550 Ti. The 560 Ti would be nice but that is a ~$70 price difference that may be better appropriated elsewhere. I'm considering SLI in the future but for now I'm going to stick with a single card.
EVGA http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0360190 - $155.00
OR
MSI Cyclone http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127573 - $145.00
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 - $60.00
PSU: Open to suggestions. Something to power the above parts with some room leftover to perhaps power a second card in SLI if I ever go down that path.
Case: Open to suggestions, but to start the conversation
Antec Illusion http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066&cm_sp=Cat_Computer_Cases-_-Spotlight-_-11-129-066 - $65.00
OR
Antec Black Steel http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042 - $59.00
Optical: Cheap CD/DVD drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151233 - $20.00
Additional cooling: Heard good things about the 212+, but won't be purchasing if it doesn't fit within the budget. I will hold off on overclocking until I can get the needed cooling.
Total using all high-prices: $680 without RAM and PSU included. I figure ~$50 for RAM and ~$75 for a decent PSU and that puts me at $805. I still need to purchase a copy of Windows 7, which is out of scope for this budget, but something I'm keeping in the back of my head.
I'd rather not buy from TigerDirect online because of the horror stories I've read, but I found this barebones kit: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=863122&csid=ITD&body=MAIN
It doesn't exactly contain the best parts, but it is a base to start from. Just something I was thinking about.
On a side note, I will be running dual-monitors: a 27" and 19" now, but hoping to trade the 19" for a 27" or 24" soon.
I'm very willing to shuffle things around so please offer your advice. Anything under $800 is good, anything close to $750 is even better so I don't take the hit of the OS cost so hard.
Budget Range: ~$800
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Moderate gaming though more is intended in the future, heavy web-browsing (on an average day I normally keep about 75 tabs up; I have a problem), some AI, PS, and occasionally Dreamweaver work for profession.
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I have a work colleague who has graciously offered to pick up parts for me from Micro Center and/or a TigerDirect outlet on his commute from Atlanta. If ordering online, probably newegg.com; I've heard some bad stories about ordering through TigerDirect.
Country of Origin: US
Parts Preferences: The only part I'm pretty dead set on is the Intel i5 2500k
Overclocking: Yes / Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: Yes / Maybe
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080, 1920x1200
Additional Comments: I'm in no hurry to get this thing put together, so I'm open to waiting for deals if they are around the corner.
Well my current laptop is on its final leg and as I sometimes have to depend on my home-PC for my occupation, that puts me in a bad situation. I've been wanting to build a PC for awhile so I figured I'd pass on a pre-built and try my luck doing it myself. My goal is to build something that can handle most games, maybe not at max settings, but at least medium-high, a heavy load due to heavy web browsing, PS and AI work, and the occasional dabbling in Dreamweaver. I'm not actually looking to future-proof myself, but it would be nice if I could make this thing, or at least the majority of the parts, last a good 3-5 years. Here is what I've come up with so far:
CPU: Intel i5 2500k - I'm pretty set on this as I'm eventually looking to overclock, not necessarily at the get-go if I can't fit the additional parts required in my budget, but in the not-so-distant future.
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354589 - $180.00
OR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 if my colleague is unable to purchase at Micro Center. - $220.00
MOBO: After lurking around the forums I've heard a lot of good things about the ASRock Extreme 3 and GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 - $125.00
OR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=qc0scl0bdrty - $124.00
The Extreme 4 also looks interesting
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0367878 - $160.00
RAM: would love 8GB, but if it doesn't fit the budget, 4G is good for now; I can always upgrade later
Graphics: I'm open to suggestions but I've been looking at a GTX 550 Ti. The 560 Ti would be nice but that is a ~$70 price difference that may be better appropriated elsewhere. I'm considering SLI in the future but for now I'm going to stick with a single card.
EVGA http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0360190 - $155.00
OR
MSI Cyclone http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127573 - $145.00
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 - $60.00
PSU: Open to suggestions. Something to power the above parts with some room leftover to perhaps power a second card in SLI if I ever go down that path.
Case: Open to suggestions, but to start the conversation
Antec Illusion http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066&cm_sp=Cat_Computer_Cases-_-Spotlight-_-11-129-066 - $65.00
OR
Antec Black Steel http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042 - $59.00
Optical: Cheap CD/DVD drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151233 - $20.00
Additional cooling: Heard good things about the 212+, but won't be purchasing if it doesn't fit within the budget. I will hold off on overclocking until I can get the needed cooling.
Total using all high-prices: $680 without RAM and PSU included. I figure ~$50 for RAM and ~$75 for a decent PSU and that puts me at $805. I still need to purchase a copy of Windows 7, which is out of scope for this budget, but something I'm keeping in the back of my head.
I'd rather not buy from TigerDirect online because of the horror stories I've read, but I found this barebones kit: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=863122&csid=ITD&body=MAIN
It doesn't exactly contain the best parts, but it is a base to start from. Just something I was thinking about.
On a side note, I will be running dual-monitors: a 27" and 19" now, but hoping to trade the 19" for a 27" or 24" soon.
I'm very willing to shuffle things around so please offer your advice. Anything under $800 is good, anything close to $750 is even better so I don't take the hit of the OS cost so hard.
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