Hey! So I've decided that it's time to stop gaming on my laptop and move into the big leagues. I believe I have put together a pretty solid build, but it came out ~$100 more than I was hoping for. I have no problem coughing up that extra $100 if need be, but I would like some input on where I can cut back in order to get into my projected price range.
I'm just going to go down the list of suggested points in the sticky:
Approximate Purchase Date: At the lastest by the end of 2012. I'm aiming for sometime in October.
Budget Range: Ideally $1000-1200 before shipping
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Video Rendering, general word processing
Are you buying a monitor: Yes
Do you need to buy OS: Yes, but I have a question here; since I am looking at an October buy date and Windows 8 is dropping on the 26th, is it worth it to buy Windows 7 for the $40 upgrade price to Windows 8?
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg is definitely my preference, with Ncix a close second, but I'm open to other websites if the savings are quite big.
Location: Decatur, Illinois
Parts Preferences: I prefer brands I trust, such as Intel and Asus. Nvidia cards have also been my preference over Radeon.
Overclocking: Maybe/Yes; I have dabbled in overclocking, but not too much. I've heard that you can get up to 4.2 with the i5-2500k, which would be nice.
SLI or Crossfire: No probably not; perhaps sometime in the future, though
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I've had pretty good performance on most games with my laptop, but it's definitely time to have a solid desktop.
Updated pcpartpicker links:
w/ 120GB SSD and GTX 560 Ti
w/ GTX 670 and no SSD
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+
ASUS P8Z77-V Lk ATX LGA1155 Z77 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI SATA3 SLI DVI HDMI DP USB3.0 Motherboard
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4X1866C9
OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Seagate ST310005N1A1AS-RK 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
ASUS GeForce GTX 560 Ti DirectCU Top OC 900MHZ 1GB 4.2GHZ DDR5 2xDVI HDMI PCI-E DX11 Video Card
COOLER MASTER Storm Enforcer SGC-1000-KWN1 Black SECC / ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ATX PS2 / EPS 12V (optional ) Power Supply
Antec Earthwatts EA-650 Green 650W Power Supply ATX12V 2X38A SLI/CROSSFIRE Active PFC 80PLUS Bronze
ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM
Asus VH238H Black 23" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers 250 cd/m2 ASCR 50,000,000:1
I plan to put my OS and the games I play mostly on the SSD drive, while having 1 TB for all other purposes.
First, how does the build as is look? I think I did a pretty good job, but then again I'm no expert in the field.
My second question is where do you think I would be able to "downgrade", per-say, in order to get within my $1000-1200 window?
Thanks for all your help!
I'm just going to go down the list of suggested points in the sticky:
Approximate Purchase Date: At the lastest by the end of 2012. I'm aiming for sometime in October.
Budget Range: Ideally $1000-1200 before shipping
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Video Rendering, general word processing
Are you buying a monitor: Yes
Do you need to buy OS: Yes, but I have a question here; since I am looking at an October buy date and Windows 8 is dropping on the 26th, is it worth it to buy Windows 7 for the $40 upgrade price to Windows 8?
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg is definitely my preference, with Ncix a close second, but I'm open to other websites if the savings are quite big.
Location: Decatur, Illinois
Parts Preferences: I prefer brands I trust, such as Intel and Asus. Nvidia cards have also been my preference over Radeon.
Overclocking: Maybe/Yes; I have dabbled in overclocking, but not too much. I've heard that you can get up to 4.2 with the i5-2500k, which would be nice.
SLI or Crossfire: No probably not; perhaps sometime in the future, though
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I've had pretty good performance on most games with my laptop, but it's definitely time to have a solid desktop.
Updated pcpartpicker links:
w/ 120GB SSD and GTX 560 Ti
w/ GTX 670 and no SSD
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+
ASUS P8Z77-V Lk ATX LGA1155 Z77 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI SATA3 SLI DVI HDMI DP USB3.0 Motherboard
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4X1866C9
OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Seagate ST310005N1A1AS-RK 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
ASUS GeForce GTX 560 Ti DirectCU Top OC 900MHZ 1GB 4.2GHZ DDR5 2xDVI HDMI PCI-E DX11 Video Card
COOLER MASTER Storm Enforcer SGC-1000-KWN1 Black SECC / ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ATX PS2 / EPS 12V (optional ) Power Supply
Antec Earthwatts EA-650 Green 650W Power Supply ATX12V 2X38A SLI/CROSSFIRE Active PFC 80PLUS Bronze
ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM
Asus VH238H Black 23" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers 250 cd/m2 ASCR 50,000,000:1
I plan to put my OS and the games I play mostly on the SSD drive, while having 1 TB for all other purposes.
First, how does the build as is look? I think I did a pretty good job, but then again I'm no expert in the field.
My second question is where do you think I would be able to "downgrade", per-say, in order to get within my $1000-1200 window?
Thanks for all your help!