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.

 

[sp12]

IMO that 27in looks like crap, 1920 resolution at 27in is mediocre, and low enough a single 470 would be fine.

I think an i5-760+470 build with a nicer monitor would be a better investment. An SSD would also make sense. Dell U2711 comes to mind.

And then:

i5-760 210$
MSI-P55a-G55 105$
G.skill eco series 99$
850 watt XFX black edition PSU 105$
Samsung F3 75$
Litescribe DVD burner 20$
GTX 470 240-270$
HAF 922 90$

 

[jones911]

Thankyou for the list of suggestions. I prefer to stick with the i7-950 but I did make a few changes below:

Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X58 LGA 1366 Intel X58 $199.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131665

Case: HAF 932 KKN1 129.99

Monitor: SAMSUNG XL2370-1 Charcoal Gray 23" 2ms 299.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001380

These few changes saved me a little over 100 dollars. I might purchase a SSD later on but I will pass on one for right now.

 

[sp12]

The XFX PSU is still nicer. It's higher efficiency, and more than capable of SLIing 400 series cards.

IMO in that price range you could grab a nice IPS like a Dell U2311.

i5s beat the equivalent i7 per clock. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/47?vs=109

 

[boiler1990]

Dang, they did drop the 950 price. Luckily I got my 930 for only $200 instead of $289

I'd stick with the i7 series, but I would go with sp12's XFX Black Edition PSU recommendation. They B.E. PSUs are made by Seasonic, which is THE best PSU manufacturer in the biz. I was looking at SLIing GTX 460s (upgraded to one, looking at a second), and everybody recommended the XFX as a PSU upgrade. It's also modular, which is very nice.

On that note, I'd also recommend dual GTX 460s. The 768MB versions in SLI outperformed a single GTX 480 at stock clocks, and boosted that performance by overclocking it. The 1GB cards show a significant performance difference from the 768MBs, so in SLI they could handle pretty much anything you wanted to throw at your computer.
Here's the comparison review:
http://www.fudzilla.com/reviews/reviews/reviews/evga-gtx-460-sli-vs-gtx-480

If you play your cards right (pun intended), you can get a bunch of free games. I bought the EVGA 1GB with the Lifetime Warranty and Newegg bundled it with Just Cause 2 for free (and it's a great game), and EVGA is giving away Metro 2033 for free when you register a Fermi card (and maybe some motherboards?). Metro 2033 requires 2 460s on full settings; I can't do it with one. Also, both games are 3D compatible (JC2 works great; Metro 2033 is now not loading, but it seems the game is somewhat inherently buggy).

 

[boiler1990]

Also, I bought the ASUS VG236H 3D monitor + Nvidia kit bundle, and that monitor is probably one of the nicest I've ever seen. It's ridiculously glossy, and the 3D works really well (Nvidia's programming/drivers just suck). Of course, monitors are all really personal pref.

 

[jones911]

I will start doing some more research on the XFX Black Edition PSU. I did find one that is 850w but I am afraid I will need one with a little more juice. A lot of people seem to feel running MSI N470GTX Twin Frozr II GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI x2 (SLI) would require around 1000w to have a little head room. I did look into the ASUS VG236H and I was very impressed. I know their are suppose to be two options, one is just purchasing the monitor while the other comes with the Nvidia Kit. I have no intentions of using the Nvidia Kit but I am also having trouble finding just the monitor for sale. If I come accross just the monitor I will purchase it. Thankyou for all the suggestions, please keep them coming.

 

[calguyhunk]

Anyone buying a $2000 comp should seriously wait for a few months IMO. With all the new stuff coming out from Intel, AMD, ATI, (& new SSD's too), you could easily get the new stuff (if they're any good) for the same budget, or save a lot by going with these stuff.

Maybe it's just me, but I seriously hope you'll consider holding onto your cash for just a little while longer.

 

[jones911]

I am putting some thought into waiting but I am not sure how all this will work out. I know ATI plans on dropping their prices on the 5800 series cards but I am not sure if the price drop will be accross the board. I am also paying attention to Intel but it doesnt look like any new i7's on the new socket will be released till the mid of next year. I know they plan on releasing new i5's for the new socket 1155 very soon but I am not sure if the recently linked benchmarks are worth me waiting. I am considering waiting for AMD's new socket and cpu (bulldozer i think??) but again I have not seen anything on the internet to let me know how well it will perform (I apologize if any of this info is wrong, just trying to remember everything I read). I know there is a lot of new technology hitting the market soon but their will always be something bigger and better hitting the market.

 

[boiler1990]

Nothing AMD offers will match an i7-950. Not even the 6-cores.

Calguyhunk is right; the new ATI (err, AMD) Radeon 6000 series and Nvidia Gtx 490 cards are right around the corner, which means prices on current cards will drop. That way you'll get the most for your money.

 

[jones911]

I read about the gtx 440 coming out soon (i think that is the name of it) but I have not heard of the GTX 490. When is the 490 suppose to hit the market?

 

[boiler1990]

Well it was slated for an August release, but since that deadline has passed, I don't really know. It will probably be near the 6000 release in order to be directly competitive.
http://www.guru3d.com/news/-nvidia-geforce-gtx-455-460-and-490/

 

[capt_taco]

There is no reason to spend $130 on a case.

None.

 

[boiler1990]

For a full tower case, yes, there is every reason to spend $130 on a case. You won't find many good ones for under that. $130 seems to be the standard these days.

 

[jones911]

There is no reason to spend $130 on a case.

None.

I am willing to listen if you have a suggestion on a possible replacement case.

 

[capt_taco]

For a full tower case, yes, there is every reason to spend $130 on a case. You won't find many good ones for under that. $130 seems to be the standard these days.

Sure you will. I don't know what your definition of a "good" case is, but as long as it's big enough to hold your setup and has space for at least one front fan and one side fan, I'm really not sure exactly what else you NEED from a case.

Yeah, you can get ones with a few extra bells and whistles like a top fan (whose primary purpose, judging by the posts on here, seems to be for spilling soda down the hole and ruining your system), but do you actually NEED that? No, you don't. His setup would do fine in a $50 or $60 mid-tower case, especially if he goes the more advisable route and opts for a single GPU instead of crossfire or SLI. For the extra $80, all you get are looks (maybe), and a few features that you basically have just for the sake of having.

 

[infinite011]

I will start doing some more research on the XFX Black Edition PSU. I did find one that is 850w but I am afraid I will need one with a little more juice. A lot of people seem to feel running MSI N470GTX Twin Frozr II GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI x2 (SLI) would require around 1000w to have a little head room. I did look into the ASUS VG236H and I was very impressed. I know their are suppose to be two options, one is just purchasing the monitor while the other comes with the Nvidia Kit. I have no intentions of using the Nvidia Kit but I am also having trouble finding just the monitor for sale. If I come accross just the monitor I will purchase it. Thankyou for all the suggestions, please keep them coming.

I am using the 850 xfx black for my current build. The first one came DOA. Since I did not have an extra powersupply I needed to pay an $80 service fee to find out which part was defective, and $20 to ship the product back to newegg.

Save yoursefl the headache.

 

[capt_taco]

I am willing to listen if you have a suggestion on a possible replacement case.

The main question is whether you absolutely need a full tower. I'd personally go the mid-tower route, and there are any number of cases for at least $50 less that will do just fine. For example, the Antec 300 is one I've been quite happy with, and is easy to work with and excellent at keeping things cool: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

There it costs $70 + shipping, but look around a little harder and you can get it for at least $20 less. I got one for $39.99 at the local Fry's. A few others I've thought were pretty decent, especially for the price:

In Win Griffin: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108228

Xclio full tower: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103033


Also, the case is probably the one part where it's well worth it to shop around locally at brick-and-mortar stores, owing to the fact that shipping tends to cost a lot. Either you'll pay $15 for shipping or it'll be reflected in the price. If you've got any computer stores nearby, it's definitely recommended to take a look and see what they have, especially on sale.

 

[aznshinobi]

That means nothing, DOA is standard for everything... Your just unlucky, bought several things people complain (DOA RAGE RAGE RAGE ) on newegg, came to me just fine.
XFX 850 Review: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1166/6/

I actually think that Cooler Master Storm Scout would be sufficient for 80$, the HAF 932 is a great case I mean it's a full tower so easier cable management plus the 470, it would be a good option to fit the cards. Although I actually would go with the Asus DirectCU 5850 (not the DirectCu 5850 TOP) because it is only 290$ right now plus a rebate (don't rely on them but its nice if they do send you the cash, Cooler Master sent mine back) Since 5850's use much less power on load than the 470, and the DirectCU 5850 is actually unlocked for voltage (so you don't have to flash bios) also the fact that it really does cool the 5850 is really nice. Another thing is it can be OC'd pretty easily to the performance (even past the performance) of a 5870 while still saving 100$. I know this because at the clocks of 1000/1205 on my 5850 it gets the 3DMark Vantage score of 18125 which is 1k more than a stock 5870 Just saying. Oh and the DirectCU is quieter than ref, sadly i don't have one i have reference design. But if you do want to go Nvidia thats cool too I just don't like the temps on them or the power consumption.

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.

 

[aznshinobi]

Oh Plus I've worn them and there really uncomfortable. (3D glasses)

 

[infinite011]

That means nothing, DOA is standard for everything... Your just unlucky, bought several things people complain (DOA RAGE RAGE RAGE ) on newegg, came to me just fine.
XFX 850 Review: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1166/6/

I actually think that Cooler Master Storm Scout would be sufficient for 80$, the HAF 932 is a great case I mean it's a full tower so easier cable management plus the 470, it would be a good option to fit the cards. Although I actually would go with the Asus DirectCU 5850 (not the DirectCu 5850 TOP) because it is only 290$ right now plus a rebate (don't rely on them but its nice if they do send you the cash, Cooler Master sent mine back) Since 5850's use much less power on load than the 470, and the DirectCU 5850 is actually unlocked for voltage (so you don't have to flash bios) also the fact that it really does cool the 5850 is really nice. Another thing is it can be OC'd pretty easily to the performance (even past the performance) of a 5870 while still saving 100$. I know this because at the clocks of 1000/1205 on my 5850 it gets the 3DMark Vantage score of 18125 which is 1k more than a stock 5870 Just saying. Oh and the DirectCU is quieter than ref, sadly i don't have one i have reference design. But if you do want to go Nvidia thats cool too I just don't like the temps on them or the power consumption.

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.

If you consider DOA the standard that is seriously screwed up. As a matter-of-fact your logic says that you are the lucky one. RAGE RAGE RAGE? Nope, I am actually feeling pretty damn good.

 

[sp12]

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.

 

[z0mbi]

The main question is whether you absolutely need a full tower. I'd personally go the mid-tower route, and there are any number of cases for at least $50 less that will do just fine.

Also, the case is probably the one part where it's well worth it to shop around locally at brick-and-mortar stores, owing to the fact that shipping tends to cost a lot. Either you'll pay $15 for shipping or it'll be reflected in the price. If you've got any computer stores nearby, it's definitely recommended to take a look and see what they have, especially on sale.

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.

 

[z0mbi]

OP, here's the specs on the machine I just built. Came to about $2,000, but I didn't need a monitor and I'm using an SSD from my old build. Everything went smoothly, except I had one bad stick of RAM so I'm running on 6GB until I can RMA the other 6GB. If you go with this motherboard and this RAM, I would do some more research first. I'm having an issue where the board is seriously underclocking the RAM and I'm not experienced enough in tweaking the BIOS to feel comfortable making voltage and timing changes manually. It's a great board with a million options for tweaking and overclocking... but it's a bit too advanced for the likes of me, the BIOS has too much stuff going on, haha. Also someone mentioned to me that this board can't run 12GB at 1600, so you have to clock down the RAM to 1333. I don't know why, and I don't know if this is normal or not.

COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Black/ Silver Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Logitech G500 10 Buttons Dual-mode Scroll Wheel USB Wired Laser Gaming Mouse

Logitech 920-000914 Black USB Wired Ultra-thin Illuminated Keyboard

ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

ASUS ENGTX480/2DI/1536MD5 GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-850HX 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80601930

2X CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D

Seagate Barracuda XT ST32000641AS 2TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

 

[jones911]

OP, here's the specs on the machine I just built. Came to about $2,000, but I didn't need a monitor and I'm using an SSD from my old build. Everything went smoothly, except I had one bad stick of RAM so I'm running on 6GB until I can RMA the other 6GB. If you go with this motherboard and this RAM, I would do some more research first. I'm having an issue where the board is seriously underclocking the RAM and I'm not experienced enough in tweaking the BIOS to feel comfortable making voltage and timing changes manually. It's a great board with a million options for tweaking and overclocking... but it's a bit too advanced for the likes of me, the BIOS has too much stuff going on, haha. Also someone mentioned to me that this board can't run 12GB at 1600, so you have to clock down the RAM to 1333. I don't know why, and I don't know if this is normal or not.

COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Black/ Silver Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Logitech G500 10 Buttons Dual-mode Scroll Wheel USB Wired Laser Gaming Mouse

Logitech 920-000914 Black USB Wired Ultra-thin Illuminated Keyboard

ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

ASUS ENGTX480/2DI/1536MD5 GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-850HX 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80601930

2X CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D

Seagate Barracuda XT ST32000641AS 2TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

I remember reading a few reviews that said x58 motherboards have the underclocking problem with ram. I am not sure if this is an across the board problem with x58 motherboards or not. You should be able to find a guide for overclocking your ram. I read a lot of horror stories on the heat put out by the gtx 480 video card, have you ran into any issues?

P.S. Nice build