Jump to content

Need thoughts on updated PC build before I buy


Nadril

Recommended Posts

Updated build. Thinking of ordering this soon, what do you guys think?

 

 

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $65, $55 /w MIB

Samsung 1TB 7200RPM 3.5" HD $60

EVGA GTX560Ti 1GB $240, $210 /w MIB

Sony DVD Drive $17

ANTEC 650W PSU $70

G.SKILL Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 $70

GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155 Motherboard $180

Intel Core i5-2500k 3.3Ghz $220

Windows 7 home SP1 64bit $99

Cooler master CPU Cooler $28

 

TOTAL: $1,046.42 or $1,006.42 /w MIB

 

Do you guys feel like the extra $150 or so spent is worth it? I probably plan on adding a second GTX560Ti later down the road if I need to and I obviously plan on overclocking the CPU (and possibly the GPU, it apparently overclocks fairly well).

 

[hide]It's about that time. I'm thinking about building a new PC here soon, probably after I start my internship job and get some extra money.

 

Mostly I'm just getting something that will be fairly 'future proof' or at least last me a bit. Obviously Battlefield 3 is big on my mind and my goal is to be able to run that very well at a 1920x1080 resolution. Anyways here is what I got so far:

 

 

 

|CPU| i5-2500 Sandy Bridge $210

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073&cm_re=i5_2500-_-19-115-073-_-Product

 

 

|GPU| GTX560 Ti 1GB $200 ($230 before $30 rebate)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133384

 

 

|MOBO| BIOSTAR TZ68A+ LGA 1155 Motherboard $100

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138319

 

 

|RAM| G.SKILL Ripjaws 8GB RAM (2 x 4GB) DDR3 $70

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311

 

 

|CASE| Sentey Case $45 (out of stock atm, I know)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811322021

 

 

|PSU| OCZ 700W PSU $60 ($90 before $30 rebate)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018

 

 

|DVD| Sony DVD drive $17

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118031

 

 

|HD| WD Black 640GB 7200RPM HD $60

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

 

 

TOTAL: $762 before OS. ($857 with Windows 7)

 

 

The justification on the HD is I already have a 1TB I use to store a lot of my stuff on. I could upgrade it to a 1TB if I really felt necessary though. Is spending the extra bit of money on the 7200RPM hard drives worth it? As far as the other stuff goes I think its kind of standard. I'm probably sticking with NVIDIA because they are what I'm used to and the sad truth is a lot of games are optimized first for NVIDIA and second for ATI.

 

I'm a bit weary on the mobo, I'm not sure how much I would really want to spend on one. Also I would assume 8GB is more than enough, yeah?

 

Is there any bits of extra that I could spend that would give me a significant boost? I want to stay under $1,000 as much as possible.

 

 

So yeah just looking for any second opinions here. I'm not sure when I'll be building it (maybe not until August) but I'm getting the planning done now.[/hide]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[hide=spam]

Get the K version. Even if you don't plan to overclock, it is only a little more expensive and you won't turn around in the future and kick yourself because you can't overclock. I would add a coolermaster hyper 212+ so you can do just a bit of overclocking - its just so easy with the SB chips it just seems silly not to.

 

|GPU| GTX560 Ti 1GB $200 ($230 before $30 rebate)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133384

I haven't heard of the brand before - perhaps it is an american one that they don't have over here. Make sure you don't buy bad brand cards.

 

|MOBO| BIOSTAR TZ68A+ LGA 1155 Motherboard $100

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138319

I would avoid Biostar for a good rig. The asus P8P67 is a good performance range, otherwise I think you should look at Gigabyte. I agree with "I'm a bit weary on the mobo".

 

|RAM| G.SKILL Ripjaws 8GB RAM (2 x 4GB) DDR3 $70

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311

Nothing really wrong with this, but for overclocking I would go with the 1600MHz version. If you want future-proofing, I would say maybe go for CL8/7, but I doubt that makes too much of a difference at all.

 

As you said, 1TB vs 640GB is completely up to you. WD Caviar Black is a solid choice.

 

Is spending the extra bit of money on the 7200RPM hard drives worth it?

I haven't tried it for myself properly, but everything I've heard says that 7200RPM is very much worth it over 5400RPM.

 

Also I would assume 8GB is more than enough, yeah?

Unless you're doing loads and loads of HD video rendering 8GB is perfect.

 

Is there any bits of extra that I could spend that would give me a significant boost?

As I mentioned earlier, I would get a cooler for that 2500k. The 212+ is a very good cooler which is nice and cheap, but you could look at the DH-14 and the Corsair watercooling series if you want to go a bit higher. You could squeeze an SSD in there too, but that's up to you to decide. If you're fine at the moment with your setup then I don't think you'll need one, although everyone who has one who I've talked to love theirs.[/hide]

RIP TET

 

original.png

 

"That which does not kill us makes us stronger." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah ok, I didn't know the difference between 2500 and 2500K.

Yeah, the only difference is the ability to change the multiplier thus allowing you to OC (that's how you overclock SB, rather than changing speeds) :thumbup:

RIP TET

 

original.png

 

"That which does not kill us makes us stronger." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you already have a 1tb to store stuff on, then I would get an SSD instead of a HDD. They are seriously the best performance boost for the money. Everything is just faster with it, boot times will be 30 seconds or less compared to over a minute with a HDD, the entire windows interface will seem snappier, even just browsing around on the internet seems snappier (because of quick seek times for the temp inet files).

 

I will never build another computer without one. I haven't looked at them in the past few months and the tech is changing quick so I don't know which one to suggest, but you will be fine with around a 64gb one. I am doing fine with my 40gb, though most people say that is too small. Keep in mind you need to keep 30% of the space free for best performance.

q8tsigindy500fan.jpg

indy500fanan9.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Meh, the reason why I would get an SSD would be to help game performance. I just can't justify the price yet for a bit of an increase in a few games yet. (as I couldn't have enough meaningful applications on a small SSD).

 

Also the 1TB I might just keep as an external drive (I have it in an enclosure atm).

 

 

Maybe I'll upgrade to an SSD later down the road when they start to get a bit cheaper but it is hard for me to justify right now, especially when I could spend that extra money elsewhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can't you just use your old CD drive and possibly RAM to save a bit of money?

10postchm2105.png

8,180

WONGTONG IS THE BEST AND IS MORE SUPERIOR THAN ME

#1 Wongtong stalker.

Im looking for some No Limit soldiers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

SSD prices are dropping rapidly. If you are looking at one check out the new OCZ Vertex 3. They are Sata 3 and are about twice as fast as the Vertex 2. My next one will be a 120GB I'd imagine, the 60Gb doesn't allow for many programs really. Especially if you start loading games.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

boot times will be 30 seconds or less compared to over a minute with a HDD,

 

I don't know about you, but Windows fully boots up to the desktop in less than 30 seconds on my HDD.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can't you just use your old CD drive and possibly RAM to save a bit of money?

 

I've got a laptop >_>.

 

And any old ram I have would be DDR2.

 

SSD prices are dropping rapidly. If you are looking at one check out the new OCZ Vertex 3. They are Sata 3 and are about twice as fast as the Vertex 2. My next one will be a 120GB I'd imagine, the 60Gb doesn't allow for many programs really. Especially if you start loading games.

 

I just don't want to pay $160 for 60GB. My steam folder alone is over 60 gigs of games. I understand that its fast but at the shortest I'm going to wait a year or so to see what happens to SSD's. I feel like I could spend $160 on stuff that would help my PC performance (where it counts) more so than an SSD currently.

 

I mean I just don't think that having my OS and a few games load faster is worth the money.

 

 

boot times will be 30 seconds or less compared to over a minute with a HDD,

 

Also missed this part. For as much as I reboot my system (not much) I think I will miss $160 over 30 seconds.

 

 

Your choice, but I would still suggest it, you don't need to put much else on it other than your OS and your web browser, that's why a 40gb one is generally fine.

 

Again just don't think I really feel like spending the money just for an OS. I think if I wait a year or so than the price will be a lot more manageable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The heat sinks on that RAM may obstruct an aftermarket cooler (which I'd recommend if you get the 2500k and overclock it), I'd get something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260

 

Like I said before, get the 2500k and if your budget will allow it get a Gigabyte motherboard with OCgenie. 1 touch of a button and it'll OC your CPU to 4.2Ghz.

2d26mw.gif

Why can't the Big Bang be done by the hand of God?

It could have, but it is next to impossible because it also could have been caused by the flying spaghetti monster, or one of the other infinite number of deity possibilities.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The heat sinks on that RAM may obstruct an aftermarket cooler (which I'd recommend if you get the 2500k and overclock it), I'd get something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260

 

Like I said before, get the 2500k and if your budget will allow it get a Gigabyte motherboard with OCgenie. 1 touch of a button and it'll OC your CPU to 4.2Ghz.

 

While utilities like OCgenie are good for a base, to get the best performance you should always tweak settings manually, and just check things like vCore aren't getting too highh.

RIP TET

 

original.png

 

"That which does not kill us makes us stronger." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Updated build. Thinking of ordering this soon, what do you guys think?

 

 

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $65, $55 /w MIB

Samsung 1TB 7200RPM 3.5" HD $60

EVGA GTX560Ti 1GB $240, $210 /w MIB

Sony DVD Drive $17

ANTEC 650W PSU $70

G.SKILL Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 $70

GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155 Motherboard $180

Intel Core i5-2500k 3.3Ghz $220

Windows 7 home SP1 64bit $99

Cooler master CPU Cooler $28

 

TOTAL: $1,046.42 or $1,006.42 /w MIB

 

Do you guys feel like the extra $150 or so spent is worth it? I probably plan on adding a second GTX560Ti later down the road if I need to and I obviously plan on overclocking the CPU (and possibly the GPU, it apparently overclocks fairly well).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would get a bigger tower but that is just me. I have the Antec 900 and I'm thinking of upgrading to a Corsair 800D. Although it is like a $300 case...

 

Really? I don't want to spend too much on a tower and this one was probably the best reviewed one around what I wanted to spend. The tower is 18" long and the card is 9" long. Should fit in just fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That RAM may not fit with that heatsink. I´d personally get something like this.

2d26mw.gif

Why can't the Big Bang be done by the hand of God?

It could have, but it is next to impossible because it also could have been caused by the flying spaghetti monster, or one of the other infinite number of deity possibilities.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1- Go with the RAM you had originally chosen, it fits. I have the same RAM in my PC and it fits great.

2- Cut your costs a bit by getting this mobo instead: Mobo

3- Use those savings and get this: MSI GTX560Ti

 

The Twin Frozr cooler with keep your GPU at surprisingly low temps, and it's relatively quiet. It also outperforms that EVGA you chose

 

EVGA: 850MHz core clock, 1700Mhz shader clock, 4104MHz memory clock

MSI: 950MHz core clock, 1900MHz shader clock, 4200MHz memory clock

 

You will see a difference, although both cards can max anything out there.

 

Those are my two cents.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds good to me. I'll make those changes. Probably going to order this thing with those changes. I'll probably keep the smaller ram, just in case. Don't really need the heatsink anyways on them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.