Building New Computer Soon

[darkness357]

Approximate Purchase Date: 1-2 Months

Budget Range: $1500 - $2000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Running Mac OSX Lion, Gaming, Watching Movies

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Amazon

Country of Origin: United States

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, LED LCD Monitor 21" or above

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in the future

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Needs to be able to run Mac OSX Lion


Here is the build I came up with:

Case:

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Blue RC-932-KKN3-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119213


Monitor:

Asus VE228H 21.5" Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor w/Speakers - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236100


CPU:

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115070


GPU (I do not know if the 580 is worth the extra $100 or not):

EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130593

EVGA 015-P3-1580-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130587


PSU:

Sparkle Computer Corp GOLD CLASS SCC-750AF 750W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active, 0.99PF Typical PFC Power Supply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103053


Motherboard:

GIGABYTE GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128503


RAM:

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145345


HDDs:

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136284

Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148348


DVD/CD Drive (Not sure if I should get a BlueRay compatible drive or not):

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135204

ASUS Black Blu-ray Drive SATA Model BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135247


Card Reader (Not sure which card reader is better quality):

AFT PRO-55U All-in-one USB 2.0 Card Reader - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820176021

HP AR941AA 22-in-1 USB 2.0 Card Reader - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820326037


Wireless Adapter:

ASUS PCE-N10 PCI Express Wireless Adapter - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833320071


Extras:

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835100007

Rosewill RTK-045 45 Piece Premium Computer Tool Kit - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16899261003

CyberPower 850 6 Feet 8 Outlets 2400 Joules Home/Office Surge Protection - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812120401

 

[darkness357]

This build is $1700 before rebates:

CPU:

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072


CPU Cooler:

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065


Monitor:

Asus VE228H 21.5" Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor w/Speakers - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236100


Case:

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Blue RC-932-KKN3-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119213


Motherboard:

GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128506


RAM:

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345


DVD:
Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - OEM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118039


HDD:

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148448


GPU:

EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593


PSU:

CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 (CMPSU-850HX) 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

Card Reader:

HP AR941AA 22-in-1 USB 2.0 Card Reader - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820326037


WiFi Adapter:

Rosewill RNX-N150UBE USB 2.0 Wireless Adapter - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166055


Extra:

CyberPower 850 6 Feet 8 Outlets 2400 Joules Home/Office Surge Protection - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812120401

Patriot Xporter XT Boost 8GB Flash Drive (USB 2.0 Portable) Model PEF8GUSB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220252






My budget is at the most $2000

- I already have a pair of headphones and I do not need speakers.

 

[darkness357]

Would I benefit from buying the i7 and the 580 or is the i5 and 570 just as good? If possible I would rather save money then purchase a higher cost gpu and cpu that only deliver a marginal amount of extra performance.

 

[darkness357]

Okay, after more thinking I think I have come up with a good build, but I need some more comments/suggestions on the parts before I make a decision. Here is the build that I came up with:


Total = $1700

CPU:

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072


CPU Cooler:
 
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065


Monitor:

Asus VE228H 21.5" Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor w/Speakers - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236100


Case:

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Blue RC-932-KKN3-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119213


Motherboard:

GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128506


RAM:

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345


DVD:
Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - OEM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118039


HDD:

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148448


GPU:

EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593


PSU:

CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 (CMPSU-850HX) 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011


Card Reader:

HP AR941AA 22-in-1 USB 2.0 Card Reader - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820326037


WiFi Adapter:

Rosewill RNX-N150UBE USB 2.0 Wireless Adapter - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166055


Extra:

CyberPower 850 6 Feet 8 Outlets 2400 Joules Home/Office Surge Protection - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812120401

Patriot Xporter XT Boost 8GB Flash Drive (USB 2.0 Portable) Model PEF8GUSB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N




The specific questions I have are:

- Should I get this ram instead - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233196 , I was considering them because they have a lower heatsink, but I do not know if they are the same as the regular corsair vengeance besides the shorter heatsinks?

- Are there any benefits to the 580 over the 570, from what I have seen the 580 only gives an average of 5-8 frames more than the 570?

- Does the i7 offer any other benefits besides hyper threading, and .1 GHz more?

 

[darkness357]

Its unsure wether or not HT will even be incorperated into the large mass population of games, but I guess if you feel like paying a $100 premium for something that MAY be useful later on in the future lol then do it.... I would instead get the i5 2500k, oc it to a nice 4ghz with a good hsf (scythe or hyper) and spend that $100 on a better gpu or some new games to test out.

Okay, I think I will still get the i5 then and I will probably overclock it in the future since I am getting the hyper 212 plus. Are there any significant increases of performance with the 580 over the 570 for the extra $130 that it costs? Also, which RAM do you think I should get, the taller heatsink corsair or the shorter heatsink corsair? Will the hyper 212 plus fit in the Haf 932?

 

[darkness357]

Depends on what resolution you will be playing at, for 1920x1080 single monitor resolution you don't wanna burn $500 on a single video card if you don't game at huge resolutions when you can buy something like 2x 560ti (then safetly overclock them on Afterburner) and you will have godly fast 560's. Or If you wan't to skip ocing a 560ti just buy a 570 and add a 2nd later. I would only suggest buying a 580 if one of these is true -

You are basing your build off a 580,
You are gaming at higher than 1920x1080 resolution,
You feel like burning $500 before the prices drop on it when the new 600 series releases,
You aren't getting the FPS you expected in games with 560/570,

As for the ram, G.Skill Ripjaw series has better heatsinks that don't stick up too high.

If you really want like Corsair Vengence 1600mhz 8cas 2x4gb, then you will need to move the two sticks to the 3rd/4th ram slots.

Okay, thank you for your help. I will get the GTX 570 now and wait until the 600 series comes out. I will probably get the ripjaws, but what do you think of this memory set http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233196 ?

 

[darkness357]

good cheap choice with same specs as the ripjaw series.

Really it depends on the size of the heatsinks on the ram and then color imo lol.

So many nice looking ram sticks nowadays, plenty of choices to make. I mainly stick with Corsair/Gskill but that munskin also looks pretty sick. I never even knew they had blue vengence sticks lol I would get the ones you picked to go with my blue mobo any day lol.

These memory sticks http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233196 are made by Corsair not munskin.

 

[darkness357]

Okay, I was actually looking at the mushkin RAM as well, they are all around the same price point, but I think I will get the short heatsink corsair vengeance memory. Because, they should fit under the CPU cooler I am getting and they match my color scheme.

 

[darkness357]

Okay, after more thinking and research I believe I have completed my build that I am going to get in around 1 month unless newer parts or upgrades are released in the next month.


CPU:

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K


CPU Cooler:
 
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7


Monitor:

Asus VE238H 23" Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor w/Speakers


Case:

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Blue RC-932-KKN3-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0


Motherboard:

GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard


RAM:

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9B

DVD:
Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - OEM

HDD:

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)


GPU:

EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card


PSU:

CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 (CMPSU-850HX) 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply


Card Reader:

HP AR941AA 22-in-1 USB 2.0 Card Reader


WiFi Adapter:

Rosewill RNX-N150UBE USB 2.0 Wireless Adapter




A few questions I had were:

- Will I need any extra SATA cables? Does the SSD come with one or not? It does not say on Newegg.

- Will the 128GB SSD be enough to dual boot Windows 7 and OSX Lion?

 

[darkness357]

Also,

- Should I be looking at getting a motherboard that has PCIe 3.0 or not?

 

[mjmjpfaff]

you can always flash the bios on your motherboard when ivy bridge comes out

 

[darkness357]

CPU:

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072


CPU Cooler:
 
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

OR

COOLER MASTER V6 GT RR-V6GT-22PK-R1 120mm DynaLoop CPU Cooler w/ Universal bracket & Dual Fan - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103089


Monitor:

Asus VH238H 23" LED Monitor HDMI 2ms Black Full HD w/Speakers 250 cd/m2 ASCR 50,000,000:1 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236117



Case:

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced Blue Edition RC-932-KKN3-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0, Black Interior and Four Blue LED Fans-1x 230mm front fan, 1x 230mm top fan, 1x 230mm side fan, and 1x 140mm rear fan
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119213

OR

COOLER MASTER HAF X Blue Edition RC-942-KKN3 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case with Black Interior and Four Blue LED Fans-1x 140mm rear fan, 1x 200mm top fan, 1x 200mm side fan, and 1x 230mm front fan - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119239


Motherboard:

GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128506


RAM:

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9B - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233196


DVD:
Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - OEM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118039


HDD:

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185


Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148448



GPU:

EVGA 015-P3-1580-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130587



PSU:

CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 (CMPSU-850HX) 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011


Card Reader:

HP AR941AA 22-in-1 USB 2.0 Card Reader - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820326037



WiFi Adapter:

Rosewill RNX-N150UBE USB 2.0 Wireless Adapter - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166055





I will be buying this build next week, the last few questions I had were:

- Which case is better HAF X or HAF 932 Advanced, both seem similar but the HAF X has dust filters, does the 932 have anything that the HAF X doesn't? I will be buying the blue edition from Newegg if that matters

- Which is a better cpu cooler the cm 212 Hyper Plus or cm V6, from what I have researched the V6 costs more but it comes with two high quality fans, so the prices are almost the same. Are there any other coolers I should look at within the $0-80 range? Does anyone have the V6 and can recommend it over the 212? Also, I have been looking at the Zalman coolers, how do they compare to Cooler MAster?

- What are the steps to take to dual boot Lion and Windows 7? I plan on splitting the 128GB SSD between the two Operating Systems. I have tried looking on Hackintosh sites, but the guides are either for dual booting Snow Leopard and Windows 7 or deal with installing the operating systems on separate HDDs.

 

[darkness357]

Also, is there a major difference between a 23" and a 25" lcd screen? Asus makes both sizes in LED, but I am not sure if it is worth it to spend the extra $100 on the larger screen.