First build, please check it out. Any advice will be appreciated.

[jonathanyu96]

I've been doing my research (like a good boy) and I came up with a build. Overall I would want a 1000$ budget, but I could exceed a little. And then there's the monitor, mouse, keyboard, and OS I gotta buy. But I will worry about that later.

My preferences:
-Prefer Intel build. No sli or crossfire. No raid? Tell me if I should. Looked for parts on Newegg, but necessarily won't buy everything there. Prefer a cool case. No water-cooling.

My concerns:
-When I calculated the total price of my build, I got like $1300, not including the peripherals. So I am looking to cut down the price, while having a really good build. When I was making the build, I tend to look for parts that are "top sellers and best rated" on Newegg. So please give any advices on my build, like cutting down the cost or recommending different parts and etc. This is my first time making a thread here, so I appreciate your help. Thanks.

My build:

1) CPU- Intel Core i5 2500k Sandy Bridge Probably won't change this.

2) Mobo- AsRock z68 Extreme Gen3 Not too confident on motherboards.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

3) RAM- G. Skill Ripjaws Series Is there a better one than this? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

4) Case- Cooler Master Haf 932 I like this case, even though its a bit pricey...

5) Power Supply- Corsair Professional Series HX750 Is this 140$ PSU really necessarily?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

6) CPU Heatsink- Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus... I'm okay spending $30 on this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

7) Video Card- GTX 560 Ti I'm kinda confident on this, and kinda not...

8) HDD- Samsung Spinpoint F3 Is this good? Can I get a cheaper one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

9) SDD- Crucial M4 64GB Do I need both sdd and hdd?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441 Or should I not get a HDD, and get a 128GB sdd?

Thanks!

 

[TheBigTroll]

for 900 dollars heres what i would get.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bHQO

if you would like to overclock, you will need a i5 3570k, a p8z77-v LK motherboard, and a hyper 212 evo.

a cheap monitor right now at newegg.com is the asus vs228h-p.

 

[g-unit1111]

5) Power Supply- Corsair Professional Series HX750 Is this 140$ PSU really necessarily?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139010

No - you can get by with a way less expensive PSU.

8) HDD- Samsung Spinpoint F3 Is this good? Can I get a cheaper one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152185

That's fine.

9) SDD- Crucial M4 64GB Do I need both sdd and hdd?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820148441 Or should I not get a HDD, and get a 128GB sdd?

It's recommended that you use an HD with an SSD due to the limited storage capacity / high cost per GB. Most games can take a crazy amount of storage (BF3 uses 25GB).

7) Video Card- GTX 560 Ti I'm kinda confident on this, and kinda not...

You can get a way better GPU for a $1300 budget. Try this setup:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($145.98 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($407.55 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($98.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1211.44
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

 

[TheBigTroll]

g-unit1111. im pretty sure he said 1000 dollars

 

[kab1985]

for 900 dollars heres what i would get.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bHQO

if you would like to overclock, you will need a i5 3570k, a p8z77-v LK motherboard, and a hyper 212 evo.

a cheap monitor right now at newegg.com is the asus vs228h-p.

This seems like a good/standard $1000 build. I don't see anything wrong with it (excellent choice on case). If you want to go with a SSD, I would get a 128GB crucial M4 (mostly recommending a larger size, the M4 is just what I went with). I had a 60GB that filled up way too fast for comfort. I wanted to run a couple games from the SSD instead of the HDD. The price of solid state has been steadily decreasing, so a 128 isn't too expensive anymore.

 

[spat55]

I've been doing my research (like a good boy) and I came up with a build. Overall I would want a 1000$ budget, but I could exceed a little. And then there's the monitor, mouse, keyboard, and OS I gotta buy. But I will worry about that later.

My preferences:
-Prefer Intel build. No sli or crossfire. No raid? Tell me if I should. Looked for parts on Newegg, but necessarily won't buy everything there. Prefer a cool case. No water-cooling.

My concerns:
-When I calculated the total price of my build, I got like $1300, not including the peripherals. So I am looking to cut down the price, while having a really good build. When I was making the build, I tend to look for parts that are "top sellers and best rated" on Newegg. So please give any advices on my build, like cutting down the cost or recommending different parts and etc. This is my first time making a thread here, so I appreciate your help. Thanks.

My build:

1) CPU- Intel Core i5 2500k Sandy Bridge Probably won't change this.

2) Mobo- AsRock z68 Extreme Gen3 Not too confident on motherboards.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

3) RAM- G. Skill Ripjaws Series Is there a better one than this? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

4) Case- Cooler Master Haf 932 I like this case, even though its a bit pricey...

5) Power Supply- Corsair Professional Series HX750 Is this 140$ PSU really necessarily?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

6) CPU Heatsink- Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus... I'm okay spending $30 on this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

7) Video Card- GTX 560 Ti I'm kinda confident on this, and kinda not...

8) HDD- Samsung Spinpoint F3 Is this good? Can I get a cheaper one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

9) SDD- Crucial M4 64GB Do I need both sdd and hdd?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441 Or should I not get a HDD, and get a 128GB sdd?

Thanks!

If i were you i'd get this case, http://www.dabs.com/products/coolermaster-elite-430-black-7B18.html?src=15 and i'll check the others now.

I would drop the SDD and get myself a radeon 7850, i have it and runs BF3 on ultra on single player but if ur on 64 players multi it'll be high but overclocks really well to.

 

[jonathanyu96]

I wanted a 1000$ budget at first but I could exceed. But I want to cut down that $1300 price of the build I made, a little.

So far, I appreciate the different builds you guys recommended.

Non-budget wise
I researched about the new i5 3rd generation, but I found out that the 2500k is actually better off for me.
Is the z77 motherboards better? I guess I will wait for more opinions on the motherboard.
I feel that the 560Ti video card is good. Should I get a better one?

Budget-wise
I am still wondering if I should I have both SDD and HDD. If I just keep a HDD, isn't 1TB enough?
The case I want is pretty expensive and I can get a cheaper case to lower my budget, but I'm tempted to keep it. To me, it looks like the coolest case. For now, I'll have HAF 932 as my case.
You guys recommended cheaper power supplies. I will look into that.
Do I need a sound card?

 

[jonathanyu96]

Sorry that comment was kinda late.
Spat, I will look into the video card you recommended me. And maybe the case.

 

[TheBigTroll]

the 3450 or 3570k would be better. they are faster and use less power. they also have native usb3 support and PCI-E 3.0

z77 boards are for the 3570k or the 3770k. otherwise, the p8h77-v would be just as good. h77 chipset is z77 without overclocking

7850 is better tha 560ti

the SSD boost your system speed by almost 10 times (5-20 sec boot times). you can stick with a hard drive, but a SSD is so much better. the ssd is only for the OS, important apps, and some games you want to load faster in.

 

[g-unit1111]

I wanted a 1000$ budget at first but I could exceed. But I want to cut down that $1300 price of the build I made, a little.

So far, I appreciate the different builds you guys recommended.

Non-budget wise
I researched about the new i5 3rd generation, but I found out that the 2500k is actually better off for me.
Is the z77 motherboards better? I guess I will wait for more opinions on the motherboard.
I feel that the 560Ti video card is good. Should I get a better one?

Budget-wise
I am still wondering if I should I have both SDD and HDD. If I just keep a HDD, isn't 1TB enough?
The case I want is pretty expensive and I can get a cheaper case to lower my budget, but I'm tempted to keep it. To me, it looks like the coolest case. For now, I'll have HAF 932 as my case.
You guys recommended cheaper power supplies. I will look into that.
Do I need a sound card?

Non-budget wise:
1. The i5-3570K will unlock PCI Gen 3, so should you go for a better video card you will get the full functionality of it.
2. The 560TI is good, but in that price range the Radeon 7850 is better.

Budget-wise:
1. Yes - 1TB will be plenty - make sure your primary HD is 7200 RPM, not 5900 RPM.
2. I wouldn't recommend pouring that much of your budget on the case, it's better spent on the GPU.
3. The Corsair HX750 is an excellent PSU no question but you can get PSUs that are just as good for 1/2 the cost.
4. No - sound cards aren't needed.

 

[spat55]

I wanted a 1000$ budget at first but I could exceed. But I want to cut down that $1300 price of the build I made, a little.

So far, I appreciate the different builds you guys recommended.

Non-budget wise
I researched about the new i5 3rd generation, but I found out that the 2500k is actually better off for me.
Is the z77 motherboards better? I guess I will wait for more opinions on the motherboard.
I feel that the 560Ti video card is good. Should I get a better one?

Budget-wise
I am still wondering if I should I have both SDD and HDD. If I just keep a HDD, isn't 1TB enough?
The case I want is pretty expensive and I can get a cheaper case to lower my budget, but I'm tempted to keep it. To me, it looks like the coolest case. For now, I'll have HAF 932 as my case.
You guys recommended cheaper power supplies. I will look into that.
Do I need a sound card?

i'd get a xfx core edition 550w for what you want, i have it and it's great, really quiet too.

 

[spat55]

Sorry that comment was kinda late.
Spat, I will look into the video card you recommended me. And maybe the case.

no worries mate, im in england so the links i give will be english but you can take the part number out and put it into newegg etc.

 

[jonathanyu96]

Non-budget wise:
1. The i5-3570K will unlock PCI Gen 3, so should you go for a better video card you will get the full functionality of it.
2. The 560TI is good, but in that price range the Radeon 7850 is better.

Budget-wise:
1. Yes - 1TB will be plenty - make sure your primary HD is 7200 RPM, not 5900 RPM.
2. I wouldn't recommend pouring that much of your budget on the case, it's better spent on the GPU.
3. The Corsair HX750 is an excellent PSU no question but you can get PSUs that are just as good for 1/2 the cost.
4. No - sound cards aren't needed.

Can you give me a link to newegg for the Radeon 7850 video card?
Also, can you educate me more on the PCI gen 3?
I decided to find a cheaper PSU. And on the SDD and HDD, I might keep both...

 

[spat55]

Can you give me a link to newegg for the Radeon 7850 video card?
Also, can you educate me more on the PCI gen 3?
I decided to find a cheaper PSU. And on the SDD and HDD, I might keep both...

here you go its really good, plus overclocks well, i havent tried it yet tho, will do soon.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102986

PS. the sapphire i think is best.

 

[g-unit1111]

Can you give me a link to newegg for the Radeon 7850 video card?
Also, can you educate me more on the PCI gen 3?
I decided to find a cheaper PSU. And on the SDD and HDD, I might keep both...

1. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102984
2. Read this - it explains everything you need to know about Ivy Bridge architecture: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-benchmark-core-i7-3770k,3181.html
3. Just make sure it's not a junk brand like Apevia, Ultra, Raidmax, Coolmax, Diablotek, etc. The one I linked to is an excellent price / performance model.

 

[TheBigTroll]

pci gen 3 basically gives you twice as much bandwidth as pci gen 2. it doesnt really help much in single card systems but it helps when you use 2 video cards in the future.

i will give you a link for a UK site for the 7850. hope you dont mind scan.co.uk

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-asus-radeon-hd-7850-directcu-ii-4840mhz-ddr5-870mhz-dvi-i-hdmi-2-x-mini-display-port

 

[sincreator]

It depends on your own personal taste in cases, but if you want a couple of suggestions that are alot lower priced and do the same job then you should check out a couple of Zalman's cases. I personally bought the Zalman Z9 plus, and got it for $44.99. The case was very well built(same build quality as the antec 300), and it has a TON of options you usually will only find on $100+ cases. It even comes with 4 120mm fans(3 blue LED), a fan controller, and a temperature sensor that you can place where ever you want. You can have up to 7 120mm fans, or 4x120mm, and 3x140mm if you ever needed/wanted them. It even has pre drilled holes for a basic water cooling setup. Look at the specs in the link for more information, and read some of the reviews.

Zalman Z9 plus: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=57910&vpn=Z9%20Plus&manufacture=ZALMAN%20TECH&promoid=1015 cheapest place to buy the Z9 plus. Newegg usually got it around $60+...

Or maybe this one would be more to your liking:

Zalman Z11 plus: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=69199&vpn=Z11 Plus&manufacture=ZALMAN TECH

Both cases get really good reviews from other websites, and the customer comments really say it all. I don't know why Tom's hasn't reviewed their cases yet, maybe Zalman hasn't sent them any I suppose...

In the end it's up to yourself, but the money saved on the case could go into more/better hardware....

 

[jonathanyu96]

Hmmm...Okay so whether I get the i5 2500k or the 3570k, is the AsRock z68 Extreme3 Gen3 a good mobo since it supports both PCIe 2.0 and PCIe 3.0? Or if I do go with the i5 3570k, then is there a better mobo for it?
I found that i5 3570k would be a better future proof since it is PCIe 3.0. But isn't i5 2500k better for overclocking and it heats way less than the 3570k?
Lol i didn't expect to change my mind about having to get the 3570k instead of the 2500k.

 

[jonathanyu96]

Actually, yeah I might get the i5 3750k. I just found out that its not much of a difference when it comes to price, lol i know i'm stupid. The reason why I wanted the i5 2500k was because it can overclock a lot and still not be as hot as i5 3570k would be. But it's not necessary to overclock, like to 4.6ghz or more, to play games like bf3 right? I got distracted by the overclocking potential on the sandy bridge. So I'm better off getting the 3570k and a good video card right? So what mobo should i get?

 

[sincreator]

Here is a suggestion on an alternate PSU:

Corsair TX750: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=58382&vpn=CMPSU%2D750TXV2&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1015 $98.99(free shipping) This will save you $40-50, and it is a quality unit as well.

If you were to grab one of the cases I suggested, and grab the cheaper 750w psu from Corsair you could easily go up to a more powerful GPU. Like a HD7950 or a GTX670. GTX670 would be stretching the budget a little though... You would see a fair amount more performance out of one of those then you would with a gtx560ti/HD7850. That is what I would personally do, if I was buying right now.

Oh and here is a pretty nice HD7950 for $314.98(after MIR of $20) http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=70088&vpn=R7950%20Twin%20Frozr%203GD5%2FOC&manufacture=MSI/MicroStar&promoid=1015