Building a new computer

[Devypoo]

Hi, all. I'm looking to build a new computer.

Budget $830
Resolution 1680x1050
Games / Settings Desired WoW: Mist of Pandaira, Diablo 3, Guild Wars 2, Starcraft 2 - Ultra or max settings.
Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc) Just edit videos for my guild boss kills.
Country United States
Parts that can be reused Optical Drive, Hard drive (can I reuse the operating system on it?)
Do you need an OS? depending on the question above
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)? Could use a new keyboard, but I'll live if you can get better parts.

Here is my current computer, I'm not sure if it would be better just to upgrade, by it's a pretty getto computer, and I have to use a deskfan on it with the case open :x. So I want a computer with good cooling so I don't have to use a desk fan :x

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (32-bit) - Service Pack1

Computer Model: Either a laptop or a custom PC

Motherboard: ECS-USAGeForce6100PM-M2

CPU: AMD Phenom(tm) 8750 Triple-Core Processor, Clock Speed: 2400 MHz, Load: 28%

Installed RAM: 2 GB + 2 GB, Total: 4 GB
RAM available to Windows: 3582 MB, Free: 970 MB

Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series

HDD: MD03200- BJDW-RO SCSI Disk Device (Size: 320 GB)
HDD: WDC WD32 00AAJS-22B4A SCSI Disk Device (Size: 320 GB)

And this is what I put together, changes? Can you build a better setup?

Newegg only please

Case - Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, come with Five Fans, window side panel, top HDD dock http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147107

Graphics Card - EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130625

Power Supply - OCZ ZS Series 750W 80PLUS Bronze High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341049

Memory - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231314

Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128502

Processor - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115072

Operating System (will change if I can reuse my old hard drive with W7 on it) - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116986

And I have never built a computer before, but I've watched this video and it seems easy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUY0tP5jYIo
Is there a video prefer?

Add $15 to shipping
Grand Total: $818.12

[llDemonll]

My Thoughts:

Change Motherboard to ASRock Z68 Extreme3

Change Graphics Card to MSI Twin Frozr III Radeon 6870 or MSI Twin Frozr II GTX 560 Ti

link in my sig also has a very quick overview of what's needed to assemble a computer, it's quite easy

You will also need a Hard Drive; Samsung Spinpoint F3 is a good choice and decently priced

[chazus]

A few things.

1) Your video card is probably the biggest bottleneck. It might be worthwhile to just upgrade that.
2) You CAN use your OS, however you'll need to reinstall windows (or at least do a 'repair' process). I'd recommend back everything up, and do a clean format/install
3) You CAN use your OS, however your are at the limit of your ram with that. Unless you have a 64bit version available, 4gb is your limit, and getting 8gb would be a waste. It literally cannot use more than ~3.75gb.

$800 is a lot to spend on a new computer when the performance increase you'll get out of it is "Yeah it... it runs a bit faster..." I wouldnt call it a 'meh' increase but you wont be going 'whoa'

[Deleted]

I'm aware the links show other web sites at first glance but if you click it you'll see it's the NewEgg prices that are used:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($117.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 600W ATX12V Power Supply ($66.79 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $739.28
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-05-08 18:51 EDT-0400)

This will handle the games you mentioned, I have no idea what the requirements for GW2 is though but I'm sure you'll be fine. If you go with the PSU I mentioned make sure to use the promo code shown on the page. Didn't include a HDD since you mentioned you have one.

You will want Windows 7 64bit to to make use of the 8GB RAM and better performance overall. Also if you can push the budget a little I would get the 6870 MSI Twin frozr that Demon linked.

[Devypoo]

I'm aware the links show other web sites at first glance but if you click it you'll see it's the NewEgg prices that are used:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($117.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 600W ATX12V Power Supply ($66.79 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $739.28
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-05-08 18:51 EDT-0400)

This will handle the games you mentioned, I have no idea what the requirements for GW2 is though but I'm sure you'll be fine. If you go with the PSU I mentioned make sure to use the promo code shown on the page. Didn't include a HDD since you mentioned you have one.

You will want Windows 7 64bit to to make use of the 8GB RAM and better performance overall. Also if you can push the budget a little I would get the 6870 MSI Twin frozr that Demon linked.

So can I just format my current hard drives and buy this build? Also how do you install a new operating system? I know I can just google that, but I'd prefer help on here over another source, or you can just link a good one .

Also it says the total is $740 and my budget is $830 is there anything you would upgrade on the parts you listed?

[Deleted]

Back up any data you want to keep first. Just pop the DVD in, restart and start from your DVD and follow the onscreen instructions. Format the partition and hit install. It's really straight forward. After the OS is installed make sure you install/update your motherboard drivers, either download them before and keep a backup or get them after you're done installing Windows.

Well there is around $40 MIR you have to account for, try adding all the components to your cart and check the total. Picking the MSI 6870 like I mentioned would make the build a little more expensive.

A 560ti would be a nice step up at around $200

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB Video Card ($187.55 @ Newegg)
Total: $187.55
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-05-08 21:34 EDT-0400)

Performance comparison 560ti vs 6870

[Devypoo]

Back up any data you want to keep first. Just pop the DVD in, restart and start from your DVD and follow the onscreen instructions. Format the partition and hit install. It's really straight forward. After the OS is installed make sure you install/update your motherboard drivers, either download them before and keep a backup or get them after you're done installing Windows.

Well there is around $40 MIR you have to account for, try adding all the components to your cart and check the total. Picking the MSI 6870 like I mentioned would make the build a little more expensive.

A 560ti would be a nice step up at around $200

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB Video Card ($187.55 @ Newegg)
Total: $187.55
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-05-08 21:34 EDT-0400)

Performance comparison 560ti vs 6870

Ok the case you listed comes with 6 fans yes? How do I know if I can connect all of them to my motherboard? or do I connect them to the power supply?

[Deleted]

The case comes with a 120mm rear fan and 140mm top mounted fan so that's 2 total. You just plug them into the motherboard fan connectors, they'll get power from those. There is room for 4 more fans. If you're going to get any extra fans I would just get one for front intake.

[Devypoo]

The case comes with a 120mm rear fan and 140mm top mounted fan so that's 2 total. You just plug them into the motherboard fan connectors, they'll get power from those. There is room for 4 more fans. If you're going to get any extra fans I would just get one for front intake.

Ok, if I needed (or wanted) more fans I would just hook those up to the motherboard too?

[Deleted]

Ok, if I needed (or wanted) more fans I would just hook those up to the motherboard too?

Yes, only if you get more fans than there is connectors on the board you'd need a fan controller. Fan controller gets power from the PSU and you plug in the fans to the controller.