gkendall

Distinguished
Mar 20, 2012
22
0
18,510
Approximate Purchase Date: Before end of April

Budget Range: around $1500-$2000 for everything, but no hard limit

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming such as Diablo 3, WOW, SW:TOR

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Any

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: Intel CPU, Nvidia GPU

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Not initially, but maybe SLI in the future

Monitor Resolution: Main: 1920x1200, Secondary 1280x1024

Additional Comments:


I am putting together an Ivy Bridge build. I would like to pick out and buy everything I can ahead of time and then buy the Z77 motherboard, IB processor and DRAM when more information becomes available.

So, here is my proposed build that includes everything except the MB, processor and DRAM:



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
$149.99

SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087
$159.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
$99.99

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+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
$34.99

Intel 520 Series Cherryville SSDSC2CW120A3K5 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167093
$184.99

Combo deal: COOLER MASTER CM Storm Series Trooper (SGC-5000-KKN1) Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.845925
and
LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS90B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.845925
$155.98

Already ordered:
EVGA 02G-P4-2680-KR GeForce GTX 680 Video Card - 2048MB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 3.0 (x16), 1x Dual-Link DVI-I, 1x Dual-Link DVI-D, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort, DirectX 11, Dual-Slot, SLI Ready, GPU Boost
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2295396&CatId=7387
$509

Total before Motherboard, IB processor & DRAM:
1311.17

Thanks for your feedback.
 
Looks good to me, you might/could save 100 bucks if you're in college or know someone that is. I get Windows7 Professional (and every other OP system Microsoft has) for free thru Microsoft Academic Alliance.

If you're planning on using an SSD as your primary boot drive, why not get a cheaper HDD? I got a Seagate 2TB 3.0/GBS from bestbuy for 127 plus tax a couple weeks ago. It was even cheaper there than Newegg. If you want the model number I can find the reciept. But its a 5900RPM drive, higher RPM on HDD =/= faster performance.
 

gkendall

Distinguished
Mar 20, 2012
22
0
18,510
I don't think I know any college students that could get me the Win7 for free, that would be awesome if I did.

I will certainly be booting from the SSD but since most programs and data will be on the hard drive, I figured it would be worth it to get a 6G SATA / 7200 RPM one. If it would save a huge amount of money it might be worth it to change, but if it's only a small amount it's probably not worth changing for me.

So what do others think of this build?

I started with a lower price target and it just kept getting higher and higher. I want this build to be very high performance and to last for a long time, so I want to make sure I'm getting really good stuff. However, it's getting higher priced that I had hoped, so if anyone has any suggestions I'm open if it would save me a substancial amount.

Thanks.
 


Oh I found the receipt, cus I brought it up in another thread. It was 127.19 WITH 6% sales tax. 119.99 without.

Right now because of the Thailand floods hard drives are expensive now more than they would be, and actually Western Digital from news I've read seems to be hurting the most from it, while Seagate is relatively unscathed.

As far as the 5900 drive I got, I boot Ubuntu on it, and I boot Windows7 off a 7200RPM WD Caviar Blue 500GB, I honestly don't notice a difference in speed at all. No, it won't save you a whole heck of a lot of money, but you don't really have to worry about a Sata 3.0 going obsolete any more than a Sata 6.0, they're fully compatible with each other.

You have a higher budget than I did though, so I guess you really don't have to cut as many corners.

Your case is a pretty nice choice, thats a mistake I made with my build 2 months ago. I bought a cheapo case and ended up being disgusted with how cheap it was and ended up buying the 130 dollar case I should have bought to begin with.

Are you firm on wanting a modular power supply? The Corsair TX750 I have is just as good, same wattage, albeit non-modular, and its 105 from newegg.
 

gkendall

Distinguished
Mar 20, 2012
22
0
18,510
The power supply is one thing I'm less sure about. I would like to buy one that would allow me to use two GTX 680's in SLI in the future. Is the one I specified big enough for that? I'm not set on a modular one, but it does seem like that would be nice. A hybrid that was just as good but cost less would be great. I've read that Seasonic is a good PSU brand and that they make some other people's PSU's, but I don't know who and which models. Any suggestions for a PSU?

Thanks.
 



Yea. I did manage to find this http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/Nvidia_GTX_680/16.html

Looks like under load a computer with a single 680 is going to pull 316 watts from the wall. So 2 of them in Sli a 750 watt should cover it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

It actually is made by Seasonic I believe.

This is the power supply I have, it has a ton of connectors. 8 SATA power, 8 molex, even has 2 Floppy disk drive connectors (not that you'd need em) it has 4 PCI power (enough to run 4 680s) despite the fact that I don't think it has enough wattage to power 4 of em. 2 of them yes, 3, maybe....

Its a very well made power supply, very good feel to the finish on it, and no cheapo wires. Only problem is, again its not modular, but if you have a case with good wire management, this isn't a problem.