First build, $800 gaming/video editing pc

[Loneriver]

Approximate Purchase Date: Labor Day weekend

Budget Range: $800 After Rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: internet, Microsoft Office for schoolwork, gaming, video editing

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, Office, optical drive

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, amazon.com, frys.com

Country of Origin: USA

Parts Preferences: I would like to stick with Intel cpu. Also, well-rated, popular brands. Not cheap no-name brands.

Overclocking: Maybe but I never have before and am afraid to mess up

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: This will be the family pc but my kids want to use it for gaming. We have never been able to play intense games on our PC (currently a Dell Dimension 4600 with GeForce FX 5200) so we want to take a big step (but not too big).

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Include a list of any parts you have already selected with descriptively labeled links for parts.

COMBO at Fry's for mobo and cpu:
CPU Intel i7 2600k
Motherboard MSI P67A-GD65
http://www.frys.com/ads/page7
$350 after rebate

Video Card: ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121391
$135 after rebate

COMBO at newegg.com for power supply and RAM:
Power Supply: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B
$108 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.730381

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1502FAEX 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136793
$100

Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm Fan, 1x Rear 120mm Fan, option Fans-2x Side 120mm Fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153
$50

Heat Sink: 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
$28

TOTAL: $771

I have been trying to design a i5-2500k pc for a few weeks now and just saw the the Fry's ad that, unless I am reading it wrong, gets me a better cpu (i7) for basically the same price as if I bought the i5 and the mobo separately. Seems to good to be true so maybe I'm missing something.

Please let me know any suggestions you might have on my setup (compatibility issues? crappy parts? missed parts?) before I purchase it on Monday. Thanks in advance! (Now time to finally go to sleep!)

 

[danraies]

If that mobo/cpu deal is legit then that's what you should get, for sure. There's no gaming advantage in the 2600K over the 2500K but if they're the same price then obviously it's a no-brainer.

If you're not overclocking then you don't need the Hyper 212. It'll be quieter than the stock fan, but you don't need it for cooling at stock speeds so you can leave it off.

A samsung spinpoint f3 will be half the price and the same performance (and quieter)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
$50 with free shipping this weekend. If you need more than 1TB then buy two of these drives.

Take the $50 savings from the hard drive and the $28 savings from the hsf and put it toward a better video card. Maybe a 6850 or a 6870 if you can afford it.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card-game-performance-radeon-hd-6670,2935.html

 

[008Rohit]

Oh crap! Thats an awesome deal! Grab that i7!

Dump the WD drive and get a Samsung or Seagate one. ($60 for both)

With the saved money, get a HD 6850 or 6870.

 

[Loneriver]

I thought if the mobo/cpu combo deal was legit then it might go quickly so I bought it online right after I posted my setup. I should be able to pick it up in-store today.

Both the suggestions so far have been to get the Samsung drive over the WD. Somewhere in Tom's I read that the WD was the best but I guess at twice the price it is overkill as you suggest.

Also, you both say to get an HD 6850 or 6870 video card instead of the GTX 640 1GB. The Tom's video card hierarchy shows that the 460 is at the same level as the 6850 and only one down from the 6870. What is your reasoning to suggest the 6850 or 6870?

Thank you so much for reviewing my system!

 

[danraies]

The 6850 will usually outperform the 460, but admittedly not by much. The 6850 is newer technology, though, and you'll get eyefinity if you ever want it. The 6870 s a step up, though. It's all about what you're willing to spend. At your resolution the 460 will perform very well at medium settings if you don't want to spend the extra money for a slight performance bump.

 

[Loneriver]

Another question. I do want the flexibility to overclock (though I never have and don't know how). Let's say that I decide I don't want to overclock anything. The motherboard (MSI P67A-GD65) says it can handle 1600 OC. If I put DDR3 1600 RAM in this mobo do I have to overclock for it to work? Or will it be able to use it without overclocking? If I do have to overclock then is it super easy? Or should I just get 1333 DDR3 and not worry about it?

 

[danraies]

The 1600 ram will be fine with no overclock and it will be better than 1333. 1600 is what I would recommend.

 

[008Rohit]

danraies is right in both.

 

[Loneriver]

Two more:

1. It makes me a little nervous that Fry's has that combo deal for $350 after rebates (i7-2600k cpu with the MSI P67A-GD65 motherboard. The cpu alone is $300 on newegg after gift card. That means that Fry's is basically valuing the mobo at about $50. Is the motherboard good? It seems to be based on reviews but it still just seems too good to be true.

2. You suggest the 6870 video card. The SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100314VXSR Radeon HD 6870 video card is $180 at newegg. This will sound ignorant but is Sapphire a "real" brand? I'm new to pc parts but I've at least heard of ASUS.

Thanks again.

 

[008Rohit]

1. The board is a quality unit. MSI is a reputable MoBo manufacturer.

2. Yeah, Sapphire is a well known brand for AMD Graphics Cards. I suggest a HIS IceQ HD 6870 for better cooling and better overclockability.

 

[danraies]

The MSI P67A-GD65 is a good motherboard, yeah. MSI isn't my first choice but that's a really good deal. Newegg prices the board at $160, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Sapphire is not a top name but using "off-brands" for video cards isn't as big of a deal as it is with some other things like power supplies and motherboards - the guts of the card will be the same. The biggest sacrifice with off-brands is usually the customer service.

 

[Loneriver]

Could someone comment on the power supply I chose?

Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

Tom's seems to like it: "dominate(s) the sub-$100 power supply market". Just wondering if you think it is large enough for the load and if you think it is a quality ps.

 

[danraies]

The corsair enthusiast series is a great line and for the quality of graphics (especially with no sli/crossfire) 650W will be plenty.

I coincidentally have that same model and it's very quiet.

 

[008Rohit]

Its more than enough for any single card setup.

 

[Loneriver]

OK, I may have found why Fry's has the i7-2600k cpu / MSI P67A-GD65 motherboard combo so cheap. The motherboard is NOT described with the (B3) suffix like it is on newegg. If you click on the ad the description that pops up is "Ci7 2600K MSI P67A-GD65".

http://www.frys.com/ads/page7

I tried to see what the (B3) means and it seems like there was an Intel flaw that B3 fixed? In fact someone wrote that now that B3 mobos are available you can't even find non-B3 for sale anymore.

Is Fry's trying to screw over unknowing people (like me) by peddling motherboards with known issues? Should I care that it appears to be non-B3? I can still cancel my order since I haven't picked it up in store yet.

Anyone knowledgeable about B3 please let me know. Thanks.

 

[008Rohit]

Yeah, I saw all the new MoBos with B3 at the end.
Like, mine is DH61WWB3.

 

[danraies]

Is Fry's trying to screw over unknowing people (like me) by peddling motherboards with known issues? Should I care that it appears to be non-B3? I can still cancel my order since I haven't picked it up in store yet.

*sigh* yes, I'm sorry we missed that. It is my understanding that B3 is what fixed the Sandy Bridge chipset issues. If you recall, the first release of Sandy Bridge did not go so well and they recalled a bunch of boards. I'm pretty sure the recall was for motherboards before B3. Someone else should confirm or correct that, though.

Its more than enough for any single card setup.

This isn't actually true any more. Machines with a 590 or 6990 can draw a little over 700W. 650W is plenty for any other card, though

 

[008Rohit]

hmm.. It can deliver 750-800W as its an under rated unit from Corsair. Just read the reviews at hardware secrets.

 

[Loneriver]

Here is what I finally ended up purchasing for my first build:

COMBO at Fry's for mobo and cpu:
CPU: Intel i7 2600k
http://www.frys.com/product/6487392?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Motherboard: MSI P67A-GD65
http://www.frys.com/product/6539933?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

$350 after rebate for combo

Video Card: GIGABYTE GV-R687OC-1GD Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125357&Tpk=GV-R687OC-1GD
$170 after rebate

COMBO at newegg.com for power supply and RAM:
Power Supply: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144&Tpk=CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9

$110 after rebate for combo

Hard Drive: Western Digital 1.5 TB Caviar Black SATA 6 Gb/s 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive - WD1502FAEX
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Caviar-Internal-Desktop/dp/B0036Q7MV0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1315462024&sr=8-2
$100

Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm Fan, 1x Rear 120mm Fan, option Fans-2x Side 120mm Fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153
$50

Monitor: Hannspree 23" LCD Monitor with LED Backlight
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11654973&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|84|1680&N=4047243&Mo=13&No=9&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=1680&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C
$138 after rebate

OS: Windows 7 OEM
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Q0PT3I
$93

Keyboard, mouse, optical drive: $0 (reused ones I already own)

TOTAL: $1011

The parts should arrive this weekend. Thank you to everyone who helped me through the process. Hopefully I won't have to post during the build!

 

[008Rohit]

Great build except the non-B3 MoBo.