Is this a good build and is it worth it? GAMING/CAD

[irishbronco5]

Hi I am wondering if this is a good build and is it worth the money? Any flaws in the build? It will be used mainly for gaming(SC2, BFBC2 and when they come out BF3, Diablo 3 etc..) and for school (CAD software.) ATM I do not know how to build a PC by myself so a Pre-built PC with a 3 year warranty would work best for me. Any opinions would be great, I'm looking to buy in the next few days. Thanks

MODIFIED BUILD ON LOWER POSTS


Also, should I get the extra case fans or do you think the stock ones will do?

PRICE - $1448

CARE1:Ultra Enhanced Packaging Solution - Protect Your Dream System During Transit [+19]

CARE2:CoolerMaster Thermal Fusion 400 Extreme Performance CPU - Thermal Compound Optimized for Thermal Dissipation [+10]

CARE3rofessional Wiring for All WIRING Inside The System Chassis - Minimize Cable Exposure, Maximize Airflow in Your System [+19]

CAS:Thermaltake Chaser MK-1 Full Tower Gaming Case W/ Side Panel Window [+35]

CASUPGRADE:12in Meter Light - 8 speed [+15] (Blue Color)

CD:Sony 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive [-47] (BLACK COLOR)

CD2:None

CPU:Intel® Core™ i5-2500K 3.30 GHz 6M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 (All Venom OC Certified) [-106]

CS_FANefault case fans

FA_HDD:None

FAN:Asetek 570LX Liquid Cooling system w/ 240MM Radiator and Dual Fans (Extreme Overclocking Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA) [-20]

FLASHMEDIA:INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)

FREEBIE_GLASS:None

FREEBIE_VC:None

GLASSES:None

HDD:1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [-41] (Single Hard Drive)

HDD2:None

IEEE_CARD:None

IUSB:Built-in USB 2.0 Ports

KEYBOARD:Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard

MB_SRT:None

MEMORY:8GB (2GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)

MONITOR:None

MONITOR2:None

MONITOR3:None

MOTHERBOARD:* [CrossFireX/SLI] GigaByte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 Intel Z68 Chipset DDR3 ATX MB w/ Lucid Virtu + Intel Smart Response Technology & 7.1 Dolby Home Theater Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, 2x SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 3 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI (All Venom OC Certified) [+23]

MOUSE:XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse

MULTIVIEW:Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors

NCSW:None

NETWORK:Onboard Gigabit LAN Network

OS:Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)

OVERCLOCK:Extreme OC (Extreme Overclock 20% or more) [+30]

POWERSUPPLY:* 850 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-850TXV2 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready [+76]

RUSH:NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS

SERVICE:STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT

SOFT1:Free Microsoft® Office® 2010 STARTER EDITION (Reduced-Functionality versions of Word and Excel that include advertising) [+0]

SOUND:Creative Labs SB X-FI Titanium PCI Express Sound Card [+103]

SPEAKERS:None

TEMP:None

TVRC:None

USB:None

USBFLASH:None

USBHD:None

USBX:None

VC_PHYSX:None

VIDEO:NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+97] (EVGA Superclocked)

VIDEO2:None

VIDEO3:None

WNC:None

 

[jmsellars1]

Looks like a massive ripoff to me, they are charging you extra for things like packaging it properly and wiring it properly. Also that power supply is just so far beyond overkill. 450W would probably cover it, maybe 500W because of the overclocks. Even if you added another GPU it would still only need around 650-700W. I think you could build a better system for $1000 if you learned it yourself, i really would recommend it because it's not as hard as it may seem.

 

[jmsellars1]

Just as an example of what you can get for that price:

Intel Core i7-2600k - $314.99
2x4GB G.Skill Ripjaws X 1600Mhz - $57.99
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB - $59.99
MSI Twin Frozr II GTX 570 (Fermi) - $349.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme4 - $184.99
Seasonic SS-850HT 850W - $119.99
Cooler Master HAF X - $169.99
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - $99.99
Corsair HS-1 Headset - $94.99
DVD Burner - $20

Total Before Rebates and Shipping - $1472.91

It is missing the sound card and water cooling but there is a reason for that. USB headsets don't use sound cards, they have built in ones. So just buy a decent USB headset and youre set. With the water cooling there are 2 reasons. You don't really need it unless youre overclocking and youre not going to need to do that for a couple of years, i would just buy the cooling then. Also, i hear bad things about Cyberpower Water Cooling.

 

[irishbronco5]

Ok I took some of your suggestions and modified my build. Ive been watching some videos on how to build a rig myself and I think Im gonna give it a try. It doesn't look to difficult. What do you think?

I5-2500k
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

2 x 4gb ripjaw x 1600 (will these fit with heatsink?)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445

ASUS GTX 570
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121432

ASUS p8z68 v pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131730

Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Cooler Master HAF X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119239

Thermaltake FRIO OCK (plan to overclock to 4.5ghz and eventually 5ghz)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106178&Tpk=THERMALTAKE%20FRIO%20OCK

LOGITECH G35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104281

CORSAIR 650TX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Windows 7 home premium
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

price = $1418 before shipping and rebates

 

[jmsellars1]

I don't know for sure but i would say that RAM probably wouldn't fit under that heatsink. Possibly think of a Corsair H50 or something instead, water cooling may seem scary but the Corsair units are ready made kits, you just plug and play. This way your RAM can be as tall as you want. Alternatively you could get different RAM, Corsair XMS3 or Vengeance LP perhaps. Or any other low profile RAM, don't worry i don't work for Corsair lol.

Something else i will say is, if you do a lot of CAD and stuff i would get the i7 over a CPU cooler. This is because youre not going to need to overclock yet anyway, get the cooler when you actually need to overclock in my opinion. If you don't do much CAD though the i5 is fine.

 

[irishbronco5]

I had a feeling It wouldn't fit with my fan by some other reviews. You say the corsairs are plug and play? Do I have to add water to it regularly? Oh and as far as the i7 goes..I don't do a whole lot of CAD right now(just what im doin for school) so its MAINLY for gaming with CAD on the side(i have an i7 toshiba laptop as well that i could use for CAD if the i7 is better suited for it).
This is probably a dumb question but, in SLI with 2 video cards, do you need to run 2 monitors or can you run dual video cards on 1 monitor?

 

[jmsellars1]

Yeah with the Corsair Hydro series you just fit it and that's it. It's prefilled and never has to be refilled. SLI works on one monitor yes.

Dont worry about the i7 then, the i5 will be fine it will just take slightly longer. Only really worth it if you do it a lot.

 

[irishbronco5]

Alright cool that corsair sounds nice. Will save me room in my case, probably be quieter, and still get me what I need. I think I am going to upgrade the PSU so later on down the line Ill get another 570 in SLI. With overclocking and dual 570s in SLI, would a 750 or 850 watt PSU be better?

 

[jmsellars1]

Think a decent quality 750W would be fine but personally i'd go 850. That Seasonic 850W drive i mentioned earlier looks like great value, Seasonic are widely accepted as one of the very best PSU brands and its 80 plus silver.

 

[irishbronco5]

Ya I would rather have a little extra power than not enough so I agree with the 850. Im liking what im seeing from corsair, I think im gonna go with this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

Thanks for all the help, appreciate it

 

[jmsellars1]

That PSU looks excellent. No problem.

 

[irishbronco5]

Best answer selected by irishbronco5.