Build Feedback

[royaleduke]

Alright, I think I am almost ready to order might wait a couple more weeks or so but here's the parts list after I managed to get a bit more money.

MOBO: Asrock Extreme4 LGA 1155 mobo

HARD DRIVE: 500GB Western Digital Blue

DISK DRIVE: Asus DVD/CD RW+ dvd burner/reader/writer

GPU: Nvidia GTX 580 Graphics Card(open to debate on this but I'm pretty much sold on this card)

I think I'll just stick with a reference 580, I've looked at the others and I think I'll just stick with a ref card vs the non-ref and it saves me some money. Plus, it looks like the stock GTX 580 cooler is pretty good.

CPU: Core i5 2500k

MEMORY: G.skill Ripjaws X 1333 DDR3 4gb kit

CASE: Coolermaster HAF 922

OS: System builder pack of Windows 7 64-bit

PSU: Corsair 650TX

I don't plan to SLI, and I'm pretty sure if I overclock my system it should definitely still be stable. If not I'll upgrade to the TX750. Any input on this?

CPU Cooler: Stock for now, but an H70 later or if I can come up with the extra before I order.

Total: $1265~ give or take.

FYI, this is kinda like a dream come true lol I've always been a PC gamer at heart and I've always wanted a true gaming PC but I've never had one and never had the opportunity to get one. The opportunity has come along at long last! I can finally abandon the console scene and subpar computing.

LOL My backlog of awesome pc games I must play and own is HUGE(well...there's only about 10-15 or so...) and I can't wait to get back into playing TF2, CS:S, etc again. Also, I can't wait to finally experience Witcher 1 and 2!

Oh and let's not forget two little gems called BATTLEFIELD 3 AND SKYRIM!!!! OHH YEAAAH.

 

[rvilkman]

Switch your HDD to Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB it's about $60-65 and faster than the blue, it's kinda silly putting a lower end HDD into a pretty high end gaming rig like this one.

Get a 2x2GB kit of 1.5V CAS9 1600MHz memory, it will give you a little bit of a performance boost and cost hardly anything extra.

Make sure you get the Corsair TX650 V2 it's slightly more efficient, should be sufficient for overclocking and your GPU.

Not sure if that MB is P67 or Z68, but then you can't really go wrong with either one, both being tom's recommended buys.

 

[Why_Me]

If you have no plans of running dual vid cards then the extreme4 is a waste of $ imo. Take a look at this board down below.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157230 $119.99 FREE SHIPPING
ASRock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

GTX 580 System Requirements: Minimum of a 600 Watt power supply. (Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 42 Amps.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371048 $74.99 - $59.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-620 620W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply +12V@48A

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428 $83.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

 

[royaleduke]

If you have no plans of running dual vid cards then the extreme4 is a waste of $ imo. Take a look at this board down below.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157230 $119.99 FREE SHIPPING
ASRock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

GTX 580 System Requirements: Minimum of a 600 Watt power supply. (Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 42 Amps.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371048 $74.99 - $59.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-620 620W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply +12V@48A

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428 $83.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

Well, I am probably going to stick with the extreme4 for stability, and OC capability, and for possible SLI later on down the line(I know I'll need a decent 750-850w for that of which I'll go with Corsair).

As for stepping up to 1600mhz I've heard it doesn't really matter and that 8gb is overkill, especially for gaming. Though I'd be lying if I wasn't tempted to get 8 gigs just to say I have 8gigs lol. I'll keep it under advisement though!

I honestly think the hard drive is fine, but I might get the Sammy spinpoint anyway.

Ahh, I forgot to list that the Asrock Extreme4 is a P67 as I don't need the Z68 capabilities.

Thanks for the feedback guys, I appreciate it.

 

[Why_Me]

Well, I am probably going to stick with the extreme4 for stability, and OC capability, and for possible SLI later on down the line(I know I'll need a decent 750-850w for that of which I'll go with Corsair).

As for stepping up to 1600mhz I've heard it doesn't really matter and that 8gb is overkill, especially for gaming. Though I'd be lying if I wasn't tempted to get 8 gigs just to say I have 8gigs lol. I'll keep it under advisement though!

I honestly think the hard drive is fine, but I might get the Sammy spinpoint anyway.

Ahh, I forgot to list that the Asrock Extreme4 is a P67 as I don't need the Z68 capabilities.

Thanks for the feedback guys, I appreciate it.

That 1TB h/d was recommended for the fact it's a quicker h/d than the WD 500 (platter density). If you do plan on running dual vid cards then you want a 900+w psu for dual 580's. If anyone on here tells you different...link them to google and tell them to shut it.

A 750w psu is not going to push dual 580's, and if you are thinking of adding another vid card later down the road along with changing your psu later down the road, I would bet the farm right now that it never happens for the fact something bigger and better is going to be out there by that time, not to mention games will more likely be more demanding.

btw, that asrock pro3 will get you a stable 4.4 - 4.6ghz if you have a decent cpu cooler.

 

[boiler1990]

^I wouldn't believe for a second that you could run SLI 580s on a 750W - MAYBE an 850W if we're talking something like the Corsair 850HX. The 6950s can run Crossfire on 750W, and the 580s draw much more power...

The Extreme4 is a good OCer from what I hear as well. If you want a good and cheap air cooler, get the Cooler Master Hyper 212+. It does a phenomenal job and is only ~$30. It works better than those gimmicks Corsair calls water coolers

8GB is a lot of RAM, but it is always nice to be able to say you have a ton (don't go wasting money though ). I've burned up 9GB (on X58) using MATLAB for group projects. I was running millions of trials though, so it's somewhat of an exception to everyday usage.

With a lot of games, you'll most likely eat up most (i.e. 50% or more) of a 1TB drive, especially with the OS on the same drive. I'd recommend the F3 as well, just because A) it is faster and B) storage is cheap now.

Just for our information, what resolution are you going to gaming at?

 

[royaleduke]

^I wouldn't believe for a second that you could run SLI 580s on a 750W - MAYBE an 850W if we're talking something like the Corsair 850HX. The 6950s can run Crossfire on 750W, and the 580s draw much more power...

The Extreme4 is a good OCer from what I hear as well. If you want a good and cheap air cooler, get the Cooler Master Hyper 212+. It does a phenomenal job and is only ~$30. It works better than those gimmicks Corsair calls water coolers

8GB is a lot of RAM, but it is always nice to be able to say you have a ton (don't go wasting money though ). I've burned up 9GB (on X58) using MATLAB for group projects. I was running millions of trials though, so it's somewhat of an exception to everyday usage.

With a lot of games, you'll most likely eat up most (i.e. 50% or more) of a 1TB drive, especially with the OS on the same drive. I'd recommend the F3 as well, just because A) it is faster and B) storage is cheap now.

Just for our information, what resolution are you going to gaming at?

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply, I've been busy lol. I looked at my original post and I have no Idea why I said I was going to buy the Corsair H70, I actually meant to say the Noctua D14! Not the H70 I was awfully tired when I posted that.

As for Resolution I prefer 1080P or 1680x1050 for gaming, yes a GTX 580 is overkill but I want it.


I'll consider getting the 1tb drive, that said I can't see myself using all of a 500gb drive and is it really that much faster? I'd rather spend less and get a not as fast drive, as the WD seemed like it wasn't that much slower for my needs. Your input is greatly appreciated though, I loves me some good educating!

Anyway, I just thought I'd update my build and reply!

The only thing that has changed is:

CPU Cooler: Corsair A70 dual fan air cpu cooler(46 bucks on newegg, read some great reviews)

Memory: I decided to go with 4gbs of Gskill Ripjaws X DDR3 1600, I'll stick with 4gigs for now and get 8 gigs if I need it later.

MOBO: ASRock Pro3 P67, I don't plan on SLI as I'd rather just have one high end card

And I added the Asus VE247H Monitor(still looking into monitors, so recommendations are welcome under $200 please) my tv died so I need a new display for my PC, and I'm debating the X4 Sidewinder Keyboard if it's worth getting a fancy gaming keyboard over just a standard logitech one.

Also getting some headphones(a pair of Sony MDRXD200's) and the Razer Deathadder to my list so it's a bit more pricey now but I should be able to work it out.

Everything else is set and all I got to wait for is getting the money together by the end of July hopefully.