New Comp Build, 1.9K-2k Budget.....

[jones911]

I plan on purchasing all my parts in the last week of this month. I am asking for advice way before I pull the trigger on this build just in case I miss something. I plan on using this build for gaming and for school purposes.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: End of Sept.

BUDGET RANGE: ~1,900-2000

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, School

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: speakers, operating system, keyboard, mouse

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com or tigerdirect

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel

OVERCLOCKING: CPU yes

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe


CASE:
Cooler Master HAF 932 Blue RC KKN3 $159.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119213

MOTHERBOARD:
Asus P6X58D-E LGA 1366 $219.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131641

PSU:
Kingwin Lazer LZ-1000W Modular PSU $159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121068

VIDEO CARD: (Not sure)
Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon HD 5870 OR $399.99
Palit Geforce GTX 460 x2 $460.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102872
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600030348%20600007323%20600062521&IsNodeId=1&name=GeForce%20GTX%20460%20%28Fermi%29

RAM:
A-Date Plus Series 6GB DDR3 1600 $149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211390

CPU:
Intel i7 950 $299.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115211

HEATSINK:
Thermalright Venomous X-RT 120mm CPU Cooler $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835109030

HD:
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 RPM $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

MONITOR:
ASUS VE276Q 27in Monitor $329.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236091

CD/DVD Drive:
Lite-on drive $23.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335

The total is between $1893.89-$1953.90 with my current build. I am also trying to take the following information into consideration: I know AMD is planning a price drop for the 5800 series, this might make my decision on a video card a lot easier if it happens before the end of Sept. I am also curious how SLI and Crossfire scale with the current video cards on the market. I also considered purchasing a GTX 470 or 480 but the power consumption/heat has me a little worried. I might change the case for the regular HAF 932 KKN1 which is 20 dollars cheaper, I just like the blue lights on my current build = ) Please do not suggest any Solid state drives, I do mind longer loading times in my games...once the price drops a little maybe I would consider it but as of right now I will pass. One last thing, please do not suggest the Gigabyte UD3R motherboard. I am a big fan of Gigabyte but this board has got a few issues I am hoping to avoid. I am looking foward to all suggestions or ideas toward my future build.

 

[z0mbi]

No heat issues so far. This card is absolutely murdering all my games and it's actually running fairly quiet. I've still got the doors off my case, though, since I'm still mucking about in there.

 

[aznshinobi]

No, all items you buy will have a significant DOA percentage. I blame part of that on UPS's 6 foot fall policy, but in general DOAs are just an unlucky occurrence. With any skill you can diagnose the issue and send it for an RMA/refund within the first month.

Right? I agree. It isn't always the companies fault. For instance I bought practically all my stuff locally, NONE of them were DOA, clearly its just a shipping issue.

 

[capt_taco]

Personally, I think the case is one of the most important places to dump some cash. Having bought cheap mid-towers in the past, and now being on my second full-tower 'expensive' case, I can safely say I will never go back. Full towers are soooo much easier to work in, that alone is worth the added space and weight they take up. The expensive cases often have features that make it alot easier to muck around in your system, like side loading hard drive bays that don't require you to take all the cards off of your MoBo just to swap drives in and out, MoBo trays that slide out the back, and cable management.

My last two cases have been CoolerMaster. First a Comstacker, and my recent build is using a Cosmos. The Cosmos is a great case, and I highly recommend it.

Oh, I also got free shipping on the Cosmos through Newegg. Otherwise, I would have bought it from Amazon since I get free 2-day shipping through my Prime account. If you know anyone with a Prime account, you could always have them buy the heavy stuff for you.

I dunno. I've built with both and genuinely don't think there's a problem with mid-towers. If you get one that's set up intelligently, you won't have to do a lot of work anyway -- with the Antec 300, for example (that has to be my favorite low/mid priced case right now, by the way), they have access points in just the right places so that you don't have to take the whole damn machine apart to make most changes.

Yes, there are other cases where it's exactly the opposite. On my current machine, I HAD to go for a full-vinyl case so you could see all the pretty lights and it would look bad-ass, but I definitely paid the price in having to spend an hour and a half disassembling and reassembling the thing from time to time. There are plenty of mid-towers that aren't like that, though, and every bit as easy to work with as a full tower (again ,the Antec 300 being the best example I can think of). And the way I look at it now, if you get everything right the first time, you won't have to open the damn thing up very often, so the case becomes a lot less important. If he saves $50 on the case, he could just drop a GTX 480 in for a video card and be set for as long as he wants.

 

[aznshinobi]

The Antec 300 although as great as it is, it's not exactly the best for cable management. The Antec 902 is a great case I have one its easy to cable manage not to mention the great fan controllers, handy if you don't want to buy one and install it yourself. Its also not SO expensive. Another good mid-tower is the Cooler Master Storm Scout, best budget case in my opinion because the stock cooling is so quiet. That or the Tempest is pretty nice, from NZXT.

But Capt, I think the reason he may wants a Full-tower, they are generally easier to cable manage because of the extra space. Also, fitting this like cards (IE the 5970) is assured to fit most of the time, as well as Heatsink clearance.

IF you like full towers, I'd actually recommend Lian-Li they have a few Full-towers on sale right now. Like the PC-A70F, its 159.99 + 19.99 shipping but the total still is only 10$ more than the cosmos, but the thing about Lian-Li there build quality is actually a lot nicer than most brands. Plus its Fully aluminum so its lighter and probably will lower your temps (a tiny bit because of airflow stuff) rather than the Cosmos. Also cooling is quieter cause lian li uses anti-vibration screws stuff like that.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112243

 

[jones911]

Best answer selected by jones911.

 

[boiler1990]

BTW 3D is kind of useless so many people are like orgasming over 3D, but really it isnt a big deal, You have to spend a load on 3D glasses and its just alot of things you don't need to spend on, plus most games like Rage won't support 3D, Crysis 2 is the only real 3D game i've heard about.

I bought the Asus VG236H 3D Monitor Bundle and got Just Cause 2 and Metro 2033 for free with my GTX 460 (EVGA), and they work fantastically. JC2 looks great with it's destructive environments and all of the flying/driving machines, and FPS games like 2033 are immersive. There are many games that are compatible with the 3D, but I don't own any of them...

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey