Hi folks...its time for me to replace my 2004 Dell XPS Gen III PC...before that I built an AMD Thunderbird PC and now I want to build again since its cheaper than buying a prebuilt.
Please tell me what you think about the items I've selected so far. I want a mix of an an HTPC and mid/mid-upper gaming PC
Approximate Purchase Date: Tomorrow or Friday from amazon.com using 1 day shipping.
Budget Range: $1000 or under (under being better)
System Usage from Most to Least Important: General computing, 1080p viewing thru Boxee or XMBC, streaming 1080p to iDevice and xbox, gaming at 1920x1080 on my 63" Samsung Plasma with no jaggies and looking better than playing the game on xbox 360
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, DVD drive, Case?...i have an old Antec SX1030 case from my Thunderbird build back in the day...can I still just use this and save the $75-100 on a new case?
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon.com. I'd like to do Newegg but pointless if there's 1-2 days proccessing order hold up. Amazon actually ships the same day if you select next day shipping.
Country of Origin: [borat] US&A [/borat]
Parts Preferences: Intel
Overclocking: Probably but not a priority...would just set it once and forget about it
SLI or Crossfire: No
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 using my 63" Samsung plasma as a monitor right now
Additional Comments: Want a mix of HTPC and decent gaming
Here's what I've chosen so far
Intel i5 2500K:
$219
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EBUXHQ
Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1 GB DDR5 DL-DVI-I/SL-DVI-D/HDMI/Dual Mini DP PCI-Express Graphics Card 100314-2SR:
$179
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004E0KV3I
ASUS LGA 1155 SATA 6Gbps USB 3.0 Supported Intel Z68 ATX DDR3 2400 Motherboards P8Z68-V PRO
$194
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00503EA80
Corsair Builder Series CX600 600 watt 80 Plus Certified Power Supply Compatible with Intel and AMD Platforms ATX 700 CMPSU-600CXV2
$43 after $20 rebate
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W2T2UQ
Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3
$60.99
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004CRSM4I
After rebates I'm at about 699 so far....I'm not sure if I should get a CPU fan or just use the stock one that comes with the i5.
I planned on throwing in my old 5200RPM 75GB HDD in that already has Windows 7 Ultimate on it....or should I go all out and get a 64GB SSD? Right now I have 40GBs left on my drive, would only have to install Adobe CS4 and then some games....64GB might not be enough.
How do I know if the Z68 board has onboard graphics in case i wanted to test out the Quick Sync feature of the i5 GPU?
As i mentioned earlier...i would love to just be able to use my old Antec SX1030 case...4 fans in it..should be good enough?
http://images.tweaktown.com/content/1/5/15_1.jpg
Do I really need 8GB ram? I can cut the price in half with just 4GB. CAS 8 or 9 better?
Audio: I just plan on using the optical out to my AVR for sound..i'm assuming that supports DTS and 5.1...that's all my old AVR supports.
What I'd like to know is there anything I should swap out that's either better quality for not that much more money....or something that's just as good as what I chose but cheaper.
Thanks in advance for any help...sorry for all the questions. I just want to be sure and happy with what I buy.
Please tell me what you think about the items I've selected so far. I want a mix of an an HTPC and mid/mid-upper gaming PC
Approximate Purchase Date: Tomorrow or Friday from amazon.com using 1 day shipping.
Budget Range: $1000 or under (under being better)
System Usage from Most to Least Important: General computing, 1080p viewing thru Boxee or XMBC, streaming 1080p to iDevice and xbox, gaming at 1920x1080 on my 63" Samsung Plasma with no jaggies and looking better than playing the game on xbox 360
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, DVD drive, Case?...i have an old Antec SX1030 case from my Thunderbird build back in the day...can I still just use this and save the $75-100 on a new case?
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon.com. I'd like to do Newegg but pointless if there's 1-2 days proccessing order hold up. Amazon actually ships the same day if you select next day shipping.
Country of Origin: [borat] US&A [/borat]
Parts Preferences: Intel
Overclocking: Probably but not a priority...would just set it once and forget about it
SLI or Crossfire: No
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 using my 63" Samsung plasma as a monitor right now
Additional Comments: Want a mix of HTPC and decent gaming
Here's what I've chosen so far
Intel i5 2500K:
$219
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EBUXHQ
Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1 GB DDR5 DL-DVI-I/SL-DVI-D/HDMI/Dual Mini DP PCI-Express Graphics Card 100314-2SR:
$179
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004E0KV3I
ASUS LGA 1155 SATA 6Gbps USB 3.0 Supported Intel Z68 ATX DDR3 2400 Motherboards P8Z68-V PRO
$194
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00503EA80
Corsair Builder Series CX600 600 watt 80 Plus Certified Power Supply Compatible with Intel and AMD Platforms ATX 700 CMPSU-600CXV2
$43 after $20 rebate
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W2T2UQ
Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3
$60.99
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004CRSM4I
After rebates I'm at about 699 so far....I'm not sure if I should get a CPU fan or just use the stock one that comes with the i5.
I planned on throwing in my old 5200RPM 75GB HDD in that already has Windows 7 Ultimate on it....or should I go all out and get a 64GB SSD? Right now I have 40GBs left on my drive, would only have to install Adobe CS4 and then some games....64GB might not be enough.
How do I know if the Z68 board has onboard graphics in case i wanted to test out the Quick Sync feature of the i5 GPU?
As i mentioned earlier...i would love to just be able to use my old Antec SX1030 case...4 fans in it..should be good enough?
http://images.tweaktown.com/content/1/5/15_1.jpg
Do I really need 8GB ram? I can cut the price in half with just 4GB. CAS 8 or 9 better?
Audio: I just plan on using the optical out to my AVR for sound..i'm assuming that supports DTS and 5.1...that's all my old AVR supports.
What I'd like to know is there anything I should swap out that's either better quality for not that much more money....or something that's just as good as what I chose but cheaper.
Thanks in advance for any help...sorry for all the questions. I just want to be sure and happy with what I buy.