Ordering tomorrow - check my build

[timeywimey]

Approximate Purchase Date: Wednesday


Budget Range: $950


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Web surfing, Media


Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, OS


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: NewEgg or Amazon


Country of Origin: USA


Parts Preferences: None


Overclocking: Yes


SLI or Crossfire: No


Monitor Resolution: 1680 x 1050

Additional Comments: I've been working on this for weeks. All of my combos ran out so I had to start over yesterday. Luckily I came into a bit more money and have more wiggle room. This is the final product.

My only real question is which brand of 560 ti do you recommend? I'm between the MSI Hawk and the ASUS DirectCUII TOP. Though, I have had two EVGA cards so far and had excellent experiences with that company. It seems that no matter which card I read newegg reviews for there are bad reviews and good reviews.

CPU - 2500k http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

GPU - MSI GTX560 ti Twin Frozr II http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565 *

Mobo - ASRock Z68 Extreme3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 *

PSU - Corsair 650TX http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.737949 *

RAM - G.skill Sniper 8GB DDR3 1600 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231416 *

HDD - Samsung F3 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.737949 *

DVD - LG http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136238

Case - Antec 300 Illusion http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066 *

HSF - Hyper 212 EVO http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 *

Changes have *

 

[striker410]

Looks pretty good! A few notes though.
-go with the MSI Twin Frozr. Great cooler.
-Get a cheaper mobo. An ASRock Extreme3 Gen3 is a pretty sweet board, and it's PCI-E 3.0 capable!
-Better PSU! Rosewill makes crappy PSU's. A 750w from Antec, Corsair, XFX, Seasonic, Or PC Power & Cooling would be excellent. The extra wattage would allow you to add another card in the future.
-Look into the Antec 300 and HAF 912. Better cases for same price.

Thats it! Great build, have fun.

 

[timeywimey]

The reviews I found on that PSU seemed alright. I was hesitant about the Rosewill name too but Proximon rated it pretty highly on his PSU database. HardwareSecrets also had good things to say about it. If it really is a crappy PSU I don't want it. But nothing really pointed to it being so.

I could afford a more expensive PSU if I went with an ASRock board, but I heard it has a buggy UEFI which creates unstable OCs. I'm concerned about the z68 loop too. That's been my biggest dilemma, finding a motherboard I feel comfortable with.

I'll check out the cases. I mainly went the Challenger because it comes with so many fans for the low price.

 

[Outlander_04]

Toms hardware gave that case an award

FOR BEING CHEAP

it was the best they had on test for less than $50 .Back then it was $40 . Its made of light flexible 0.6 mm metal and the front is a special blend of plastic made from distortium and scratchium

The Antec 300 is better . Much better . $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042
So is the coolermaster HAF 912 @ $60

 

[timeywimey]

Already switched the cases out. I have two 120mm fans from my older PC so they'll fit nicely.

 

[abekl]

For the cooler, go for the hyper 212 EVO. It's a refinement of the hyper 212 Plus, and has better heat dissipation scores.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

 

[timeywimey]

Thanks. I like the changes in the EVO.

Right now I'm contemplating the motherboard change.

I found a good combo deal that has the Corsair 650tx with the Samsung F3 1TB HD.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.737949

I don't really plan on SLIing at all. So to go above that is wasteful I think.

 

[striker410]

The reviews I found on that PSU seemed alright. I was hesitant about the Rosewill name too but Proximon rated it pretty highly on his PSU database. HardwareSecrets also had good things to say about it. If it really is a crappy PSU I don't want it. But nothing really pointed to it being so.

I could afford a more expensive PSU if I went with an ASRock board, but I heard it has a buggy UEFI which creates unstable OCs. I'm concerned about the z68 loop too. That's been my biggest dilemma, finding a motherboard I feel comfortable with.

Alright, I hear that. Realize that getting that PSU means you won't be able to do SLI in the future.

ASRock boards are quite good IMO. They are owned by Asus, so they have relatively high quality control. But go with what you feel comfortable with, I'm just trying to point out a few deals and such.

 

[timeywimey]

I really do appreciate the help. I don't think I'll be doing any SLI configurations though.

Microstuttering and temperature hassles have turned me off from it.

I've been recommended that Extreme3 board many many times so perhaps I'm worried over nothing.

A friend recommended the PC Power and Cooling Silencer MK II http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703026

I think I'm going with it. Very highly rated. Don't want to cheap out on the PSU. If I knew that Rosewill wouldn't crap out on me I'd go with it.

 

[Why_Me]

Any gtx 560ti that goes for $273 when you thrown in shipping is a hose job imo, especially when it takes all of a few minutes to use MSI's free Afterburner proggy to o/c any of those cards. Also micro stutter is over rated. Anyways here's some options to look consider.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JLNZXU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER $224.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
MSI GeForce GTX560 1 GB DDR5 2DVI/Mini HDMI PCI-Express Video Card N560GTX TI TWIN FROZR II OC

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 $124.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341049 $99.99 - $74.99 after mail-in rebate card FREE SHIPPING
OCZ ZS Series OCZ-ZS750W 750W ATX12V v2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Performance Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119240 $79.99 FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER Storm Enforcer SGC-1000-KWN1 Black SECC / ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ATX PS2 / EPS 12V (optional ) Power Supply

or...

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Tower-Case-RC-912-KKN1/dp/B003ZM7YTA $59.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master HAF 912 Mid Tower ATX Case (RC-912-KKN1)

 

[iam2thecrowe]

remove the rosewill PSU, those things are trouble waiting to happen. Go with antec, Corsair, XFX, Seasonic or PCP&C. The motherboard is also poop, go with a gen 3 board that supports IB and PCIE-3, Asrock and MSI are currently the only companies that have these available and Asus are releasing new boards too.

 

[striker410]

Any gtx 560ti that goes for $273 when you thrown in shipping is a hose job imo, especially when it takes all of a few minutes to use MSI's free Afterburner proggy to o/c any of those cards. Also micro stutter is over rated. Anyways here's some options to look consider.

I agree completely with all but 1 suggestion. I'd prefer an Antec to the OCZ, but it's just me. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371051&Tpk=antec%20earthwatts%20750

 

[timeywimey]

That card from Amazon must be on backorder because its telling me it'll ship in 2-4 weeks.

I'm going with the ASRock board and have reflected the change in the original post. Now for the PSU...

650w is enough for a single card, right?

If so I'm considering the following:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.737949

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044

 

[cmadrid]

http://www.newegg.com/Special/ShellShocker.aspx?cm_sp=ShellShocker-_-20-231-416-_-10042011_2

8gb of G Skill for $40 currently..

I like the PSU/HDD combo!

 

[timeywimey]

Doesn't the Hawk have a better cooler (Twin Frozr II vs III)? That's how I was justifying the higher price. If there's no difference then I'll of course grab the cheaper card and OC it myself. I think the allure of a factory OC + better cooler made me ignore the price.

I'm going with the Corsair 650TX unless someone has a problem with that particular PSU.

Thanks for the memory deal. Reviews for it are positive. Money saved.

 

[cmadrid]

$10 off w/ promo code EMCJKKF59, ends 10/10

dont forget the promo code for the PSU! Unless they don't work with combos for some reason

 

[cmadrid]

$10 off w/ promo code EMCKAGK22, ends 10/6

there is a promo code for the spinpoint f3 1tb as well! if the codes don't work with the combo then it is $2 cheaper to just use the two codes, lol

 

[timeywimey]

Don't think you can stack, but I am already using the $10 off for the HD.

 

[cmadrid]

worth trying.. put the other one in and see if it works too.. let me know! =o

 

[timeywimey]

Neither works now funnily enough. But newcustomer10 did. Weird, because I'm not a new customer. $10 off still.

 

[striker410]

The TFIII is a bit better than the second iteration, but not enough to justify the price. The reason that one is more expensive is it comes pre-overclocked. Go with the TFII version, I've used a TFII card and it's a fantastic cooler. Quiet and cool.

And 650w is plenty for a single card. 400w is enough, but i wouldn't go less than 500w if you want to OC.

 

[timeywimey]

I'm going to OC to around 4.5ghz on the CPU. I'll probably OC to 950 - 1000 mhz on the GPU depending on temperature levels.

I was originally looking at a 550w PSU (Antec Bp550) but I got the impression that I should go higher just from reading around here.

I have a bit of extra money because of the savings you guys helped me with. Would an Antec 900 be a better option for a case? It comes with some nice fans to help with cooling. I'd need to spend $40 alone to get the fans it comes with vs. the 300 only having a 140mm top and 120mm rear fan.

 

[striker410]

If you'd like a bit better cooling, here's a pretty sweet solution: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066 The 900's have a problem with cable management (ie there is none) So paying $10 more for some sweet colored fans on the 300 seems like a good deal to me.

A 550w would probably be ok, just make sure it has the right connectors.

 

[timeywimey]

That's a pretty good deal for 2 more fans. Added.

Well looks like everything is settled then. I could go lower on the PSU but I'm comfortable with the quality of my current PSU.

Doesn't look like there is much else I can do to it.

 

[timeywimey]

Best answer selected by timeywimey.