Not sure how to complete my build

[Dakaladan]

So I spent the last two days crawling the web and reading in order to fin out what the best parts would be for my money (wish I came here first). I came up with a build and would not like to go much over 1k$. I will list what I got so far and what I'm missing :

Approximate Purchase Date: As soon as I'm fixed on what I'm buying

Budget Range: around 1K$ after rebates, awesome if it is less.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming and general usage

Parts Not Required: Pretty much all the accessories you can think of.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Anything that ships for free in Canada

Country of Origin: Canada

Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking: Yes, I'm aiming for 4.7Ghz or so on i5-2500 so nothing extreme

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe at some point in the future or now if that's my best bang for the buck

Monitor Resolution: 1360x768 tv

Additional Comments: Thanks for taking the time to help me out


Case - COOLER MASTER CM690 II Advanced Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K

GPU - I have absolutely no clue I had my mind set on HD 6950 2GB but I read here on some threads that some people did not consider a single one of those to be suitable for a gaming rig + I read that I might not be able to get my hands on a flashable 6950 anymore which was one of the reason I wanted to get that one. And on top of it all the brand choices confuse me to the extreme.

PSU - XFX 850W PRO850W XXX Edition Single Rail ATX 12V 70A 24PIN ATX Modular Power Supply 80PLUS Silver (might be an overkill I guess but I'm trying to plan for the future too)

Ram - G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory

Motherboard - ASRock Z68 EXTREME3 GEN3 ATX LGA1155 DDR3 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E SATA3 USB3.0 SLI CrossFireX Motherboard

CPU Cooler - Whatever I should get I saw a lot of people going for COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus, so I guess that's a good option but I know nothing of it to be honnest

HDD - I don't need any, I'd like to get a ssd though, I'm just not sure what I should get I never really heard about those before I started reading yesterday.

DVD Drive - any (20$)

OS - None needed.

So basically all of what I listed so far get me to 650$ but I'm missing a GPU maybe a ssd (which I still don't know a lot about). a bunch of fans (the only ones i could find for a good price/quality ratio were scythe's kazemaru 2 which are said to be loud so maybe I'll need a fan controller too ?), thermal paste and that's about it.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sky03]

With your monitor (tv) resolution, the 6950 is more than enough.

Over 4.5ghz and OCing gets a bit more complicated.

If you get the 6950, a good 750w psu is all you need to crossfire in the future.

 

[Outlander_04]

with your monitor resolution a 6850 is over kill and a 6770 is all you would need.


Likewise with the processor . Even a stock clocked 2500k is more powerful than you need so OCing it for gaming will make no difference

 

[Why_Me]

FREE SHIPPING

These two retailers (Direct Canada & Best Direct) are affiliated, both use the same shipping addy out of Richmond, BC, and both offer free ground shipping.

http://www.directcanada.com/contact/

http://www.bestdirect.ca/contact/

This build allows you to add another one of those cards later on in SLI.

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/216224/RC-922M-KKN1-GP/COOLERMASTER/ $83.60
Coolermaster Haf 922 Mid Tower ATX Case Black 5X5.25 5X3.5INT Front Audio USB eSATA No PSU

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/228326/R4-LUS-07AR-GP/COOLERMASTER/ $11.00
Coolermaster Megaflow 200MM Red LED Case Fan 700RPM for HAF932 922 Cosmos S Atcs 840 Storm Sniper

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/231687/HCG-750/ANTEC/ $94.50
Antec High Current Gamer 750W 24PIN ATX12V V2.3 Active PFC 80 Plus Bronze SLI Power Supply 135mm Fan

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_722&item_id=041471 $149.99 MIR $129.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/232639/BX80623I52500K/Intel/ $208.79
Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/218427/RR-B10-212P-G1/COOLERMASTER/ $22.00
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA1155 LGA1156 120MM

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15380BD5211&vpn=F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL&manufacture=G.SKILL $48.05
G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/233111/ST31000524AS/Seagate/ $49.79
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 7200.12 1TB SATA 32MB Cache 3.5IN Internal Hard Drive OEM

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/225965/DRW-24B1ST%20Bulk/ASUS/ $16.79
ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer OEM Black

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11830BD9294&vpn=GV-N560OC-1GI&manufacture=GIGABYTE $233.10 MIR $203.10
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 Ti Fermi 900MHZ 1GB 4.0GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI Mini HDMI DIRECTX11 PCI-E Video Card

Total: $917.61

 

[Dakaladan]

with your monitor resolution a 6850 is over kill and a 6770 is all you would need.


Likewise with the processor . Even a stock clocked 2500k is more powerful than you need so OCing it for gaming will make no difference

Yes, I will be buying another 1080p tv somewhere in a somewhat near future, so then I'll be using a 1920x1080 resolution which is why I was looking at the hd 6950 2gb.

I also want my computer to be able to run games for the next 4 years or so so I don't mind overkilling on some aspect because I don't want to have to upgrade 3/4 of my computer next year.

FREE SHIPPING

These two retailers (Direct Canada & Best Direct) are affiliated, both use the same shipping addy out of Richmond, BC, and both offer free ground shipping.

http://www.directcanada.com/contact/

http://www.bestdirect.ca/contact/

This build allows you to add another one of those cards later on in SLI.

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/216224/RC-922M-KKN1-GP/COOLERMASTER/ $83.60
Coolermaster Haf 922 Mid Tower ATX Case Black 5X5.25 5X3.5INT Front Audio USB eSATA No PSU

Thanks for the 2 online store those were already the ones I were buying from because their prices are good. Any reason why I should get the HAF 922 over the 690 II Advanced since they are about the same price ?

I was also wondering if 750W will really be more then enough for future crossfire/SLI considering I might also put a Colossus TV Tuner in there + all the accessories I have in the usb ports and possible OC at some point.

 

[Sky03]

Yes that's enough for 6950 crossfire or gtx 560ti sli.

 

[Nim Chimpsky]

With the build below you have room to add a second card in CrossFire, or buy one of the new PCIe 3.0 cards and Ivy Bridge. The cooling is all PWM.

Corsair Carbide Series 400R: $99.99 ($89.99 after rebate)

3 x Thermalright TY-140 (1 bottom, 2 top): $14.99 each ($44.97)

Corsair Professional Series HX850: $169.99

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3: $124.99

Intel Core i5-2500K: $219.99

Thermalright Silver Arrow: $82.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB DDR3 1333: $47.99

Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2GB: $264.99 (244.99 after rebate)

Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB: $59.99

LG CD/DVD Burner: $17.99

Akasa Flexa FP5: $9.99

Total: $1,143.87 ($1,113.87 after rebate)

 

[Dakaladan]

Thx Nim, good ideas in there, for example I had already changed my mind for the 400R case. Glad to see someone recommending it because this is definitely the case I will be getting.

What you linked though is all for USA while I'm in Canada and unfortunately I'm yet to find a single item cheaper on newegg.ca than what I can get on directcanada.com

I'm still very confused as to what GPU I should be getting, I want something that will last me for a long time but I don't want to spend 600$ on it either so with all the brands and versions I really can't set my mind on any 560ti, 570 or 6950 2GB. My plan is to get a 1080p tv and to use it as a monitor so I will probably never go over 1920x1080, but I want to be able to run everything with good performances for the upcoming years too.

And as for the PSU I finally decided to go with XFX 850W core edition and it's much cheaper then Corsair Professional Series HX850: $169.99, anything I should be aware that would justify changing my mind ?

I really like the Akasa Flexa FP5: $9.99 but I did not find anything similar on a Canadian website and it's the same for the Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB: $59.99 which I only read good things about (I could get it on newegg.ca but it would be like 85$ with shipping so it's not such a good deal anymore). Any alternative for those that I could get somewhere in Canada ? I will mostly be buying from directcanada.com and bestdirect.ca.

Thanks to all of you.

 

[Nim Chimpsky]

Thx Nim, good ideas in there, for example I had already changed my mind for the 400R case. Glad to see someone recommending it because this is definitely the case I will be getting.

What you linked though is all for USA while I'm in Canada and unfortunately I'm yet to find a single item cheaper on newegg.ca than what I can get on directcanada.com

Ah, sorry about that. Not familiar with Canadian retailers. If you find cheaper parts that you think are comparable, like that PSU, post them here.

I'm still very confused as to what GPU I should be getting, I want something that will last me for a long time but I don't want to spend 600$ on it either so with all the brands and versions I really can't set my mind on any 560ti, 570 or 6950 2GB. My plan is to get a 1080p tv and to use it as a monitor so I will probably never go over 1920x1080, but I want to be able to run everything with good performances for the upcoming years too.

At 1080p, the 570 will be the best of those choices. It should last you awhile; if somehow not, you can SLI another one later.

And as for the PSU I finally decided to go with XFX 850W core edition and it's much cheaper then Corsair Professional Series HX850: $169.99, anything I should be aware that would justify changing my mind ?

The HX850 is one of the most efficient PSUs ever, but with your build the XFX will be fine even with CrossFire or SLI.

I really like the Akasa Flexa FP5: $9.99 but I did not find anything similar on a Canadian website and it's the same for the Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB: $59.99 which I only read good things about (I could get it on newegg.ca but it would be like 85$ with shipping so it's not such a good deal anymore). Any alternative for those that I could get somewhere in Canada ? I will mostly be buying from directcanada.com and bestdirect.ca.

Thanks to all of you.

It's basically a version of this with more cables. So if you can find that, get it and some PWM Y-splitters if you want my suggested configuration. You can pick a different fan configuration too, but I wouldn't go for a side fan: they don't seem to improve airflow much, and can actually interfere with a front-to-back setup.

 

[Dakaladan]

Case - 95$

CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K 209$

GPU - +/- 300$ on a random GTX 570

PSU -XFX 850w Core 108$

Ram - G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D 2x4GB 48$

Motherboard - ASRock Z68 EXTREME3 GEN3 146$

CPU Cooler - CM Hyper 212 plus 22$ ***Should I use the thermal paste that comes with it or buy a diffrent one ?***

HDD - Still need to find something as good as the Spinpoint F3 1TB at a reasonable price (go ahead with any suggestions you might have)

DVD Drive - LG GH24LS70 18$

Total : +/- 1010$ depending on how i fill the gaps.

Fans : I'll go with the 2 top, 1 bottom setup. For some odd reason though I can't find any 140mm fans on the websites I use except a single cheap LED one, would using good 120mm do the work ?

I will probably install filters on the side panel since I don't want dust to get in but as suggested I won't put fans there.

I wonder if I should really get a second fan for the Hyper 212 plus though since I do wish to OC up to 4.5 - 4.7 at some point. I also found this for the fans I guess that would do what I need for the extra case fans.

So what i need is to find the GTX 570 I want, find an alternative to the spinpoint HDD and set my mind on what fans to get. If any of you know anything about GPU brands, HDD and/or fans and can use some of your time on canadadirect.com, bestcanada.ca and newegg.ca in order to give me a few pointers about those things, thank you very much, if not I'll try to read about it and do researches later when I'm back from work.

Thank you so much for all the help so far and thanks even more if you can assist me with those few last things.

 

[Nim Chimpsky]

CPU Cooler - CM Hyper 212 plus 22$ ***Should I use the thermal paste that comes with it or buy a diffrent one ?***

The square of compound they stick on the bottom isn't very good, but it will be fine. If you want something better, though, it's cheap: here's a review of several.

HDD - Still need to find something as good as the Spinpoint F3 1TB at a reasonable price (go ahead with any suggestions you might have)

You could pick any of these. Caviar Green is the slowest and least expensive, Caviar Black the fastest and most expensive. There's also this one. Unfortunately none of those are as good as the F3, so it looks like Canadians are out of luck. The difference shouldn't be too bad.

Fans : I'll go with the 2 top, 1 bottom setup. For some odd reason though I can't find any 140mm fans on the websites I use except a single cheap LED one, would using good 120mm do the work ?

These PWM fans look great, I use the 120mm version. Good 120mm fans would work, since that case takes both sizes, but to achieve the same CFM they need to spin faster; perhaps just a slight difference.

I will probably install filters on the side panel since I don't want dust to get in but as suggested I won't put fans there.

That's a good idea.

I wonder if I should really get a second fan for the Hyper 212 plus though since I do wish to OC up to 4.5 - 4.7 at some point. I also found this for the fans I guess that would do what I need for the extra case fans.

A second fan won't make a huge difference, but it will enable you to get to the same temperature or below with less noise.

So what i need is to find the GTX 570 I want, find an alternative to the spinpoint HDD and set my mind on what fans to get. If any of you know anything about GPU brands, HDD and/or fans and can use some of your time on canadadirect.com, bestcanada.ca and newegg.ca in order to give me a few pointers about those things, thank you very much, if not I'll try to read about it and do researches later when I'm back from work.

Thank you so much for all the help so far and thanks even more if you can assist me with those few last things.

This 570 is overclocked and has a cooler that will exhaust out your case, the better for SLI later. This 570 Has three fans, allowing it to run cooler and quieter, but exhausts into the case, which is fine for 1 card, especially with your fan setup, but is slightly less desirable in SLI than a card with a rear exhaust cooler.

You're welcome!

 

[Dakaladan]

Well thank you very much for the input I should be able to complete my order this week. I truly appreciate that you invested some time looking for me,

I will probably go with the msi gtx 570 you linked and as for the fans if it is only a matter of noise I think I'll get these . I'm sure they are of less quality but for 3 of them it will cost me 1/3 the price, the scythes would be 20 per plus like 15$ shipping while those will be 8$ per and free shipping as long as they get the job done I don't mind if they are a little noisier.

I found these but I think they are not PWN and I read they were VERY noisy.

 

[Nim Chimpsky]

Well thank you very much for the input I should be able to complete my order this week. I truly appreciate that you invested some time looking for me,

I will probably go with the msi gtx 570 you linked and as for the fans if it is only a matter of noise I think I'll get these . I'm sure they are of less quality but for 3 of them it will cost me 1/3 the price, the scythes would be 20 per plus like 15$ shipping while those will be 8$ per and free shipping as long as they get the job done I don't mind if they are a little noisier.

I found these but I think they are not PWN and I read they were VERY noisy.

I'm sure the CM fans will be fine (and just as a suspected, they are about average). It looks like a good deal for a PWM fan. Your other option is to get 3-pin fans that have better CFM/dB along with a fan controller; but I personally like the idea of automatic control, and it's not really saving money if you have to buy a separate piece of equipment.