1. #1
    Keyboard Turner
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    Feedback on PC build

    Hi everyone! I've been playing WoW fairly regularly, albeit casually, for about a year and a half on my 3 year old 15 inch Macbook Pro with 2GB of RAM. It's never beenn easy, but with Cataclysm it has become almost unbearable at times. So I've decided to finally pony up and get a desktop PC. Pretty much everyone says have one built instead of just buying something off the shelf. The problem is that I know next to nothing about computers. I found a small computer company near me (the Philadelphia area) that builds gaming computers and I've been working with the guy on build recommendations.

    I'm looking to spend approximately $1,300 give or take, excluding keyboard, mouse, monitor and OS (I already have them or will pick it up myself). I hope to have a computer with some longevity (so I want to be able to upgrade when I get the hankering) and that will allow me to play WoW (I recently joined a very casual guild that would eventually like to do some raiding, but for now I enjoy running dungeons) at the higher settings. I'd also like to be able to play Diablo 3 when it is released, as well as some old RPGs on Steam. Ideally, it would be nice to play some RPGs that I've traditionally played on the Xbox (because of having a Mac) on the PC (e.g., DAO, Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect), but for the amount I want to spend that may not be possible, at least not on high settings.

    I'm posting below a potential build that this guy suggested and wondered if I could get some feedback about price (parts + labor he is quoting about $1,450), and how this build matches what I described above. It is more than what I had intended to spend, and I don't want to spend the extra money unless there is a good reason to do so. Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions you can share.

    Cpu Intel i7 Bloomfield 3.06ghz 1.00
    21 Motherboard Asus P6x58 Socket 1366 1.00
    22 Ram G.Skill Ripjaws 4gb DDR3 1600mhz 8gbs total 2.00
    23 Power Supply Hec 650w power supply Crossfire/SLI ready 1.00
    24 Hard Drive Sagate Barracuda 1.5TB 7200RPM 1.00
    25 Graphics Card Gigabyte Radeon 6850 HD 11GB DDR5 256bit pipelines 1.00
    26 Dvd/CD Drive LG burner Standard DVD/CD 1.00
    27 Case Xclio Windtunel Fully black, Blue Neon 1.00
    28 Operating System Provided by Customer -
    29 Keyboard none -
    30 Mouse none -
    31 External Drive none -
    32 USB Thumb Drive none -
    33 Card Reader none -
    34 Extra's Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise -
    35 Asquared AntiMaleware Sofware 1 year subscription -
    36
    37 Labor 4-6 hrs 6.00
    38 SUBTOTAL $ 1,457.99
    39 SALES TAX
    40 TOTAL $ 1,457.99

  2. #2
    Legendary! llDemonll's Avatar
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    WAY overpriced for that system.

    If you can, I'd build it yourself as it will save you a lot of money

    Personal favorite system I've been recommending a lot lately:
    CPU: Intel i5 2500K
    Mobo: ASUS Sabertooth P67
    RAM: G.Skill 2x4GB DDR3 1600 (really, any ddr3 1600 2x2gb or 2x4gb will work. for your budget i'd go 2x4gb)
    GPU: Sapphire AMD 6970 (because I like AMD more than nvidia personally, but EVGA GTX 570 is an excellent alternative and the same price)
    HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200RPM (also have a 1TB version here)
    PSU: Seasonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold
    Case: Cooler Master CM 690 Basic with all fans replace with Scythe S-FLEX 800RPM Fan (6 total).
    DVD: Basically anything that can write DVD's. ~$25

    Total runs about $1,300 for what I linked if purchased through Newegg.com

    Better:
    CPU
    PSU
    HDD
    GPU
    Case (at least I think)

    Worse:
    Nothing

    Same:
    RAM

    Verdict: Less money, far better system
    "I'm glad you play better than you read/post on forums." -Ninety
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  3. #3
    ^^^That's a much better rig.

    Only thing I'd change is the case, but I'm biased like that.
    CPU - i7-950 @ 4.1ghz
    GPU - GTX 470 @ 880/1760/2100
    Storage - 2x Crucial C300 64GB SSD Raid 0 / 1x WD CB 1TB / 2x WD CB 640GB
    Memory - 6GB Corsair Dominator 1600
    PSU - 1000W Coolermaster Silent Pro
    Case - Coolermaster HAF X
    CPU Water Block - EK Supreme Nickel/Plexi CPU Water Block
    GPU Water Block - EK GTX 470 Nickel/Plexi GPU Water Block

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by llDemonll View Post
    WAY overpriced for that system.

    If you can, I'd build it yourself as it will save you a lot of money

    Personal favorite system I've been recommending a lot lately:
    CPU: Intel i5 2500K
    Mobo: ASUS Sabertooth P67
    RAM: G.Skill 2x4GB DDR3 1600 (really, any ddr3 1600 2x2gb or 2x4gb will work. for your budget i'd go 2x4gb)
    GPU: Sapphire AMD 6970 (because I like AMD more than nvidia personally, but EVGA GTX 570 is an excellent alternative and the same price)
    HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200RPM (also have a 1TB version here)
    PSU: Seasonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold
    Case: Cooler Master CM 690 Basic with all fans replace with Scythe S-FLEX 800RPM Fan (6 total).
    DVD: Basically anything that can write DVD's. ~$25

    Total runs about $1,300 for what I linked if purchased through Newegg.com

    Better:
    CPU
    PSU
    HDD
    GPU
    Case (at least I think)

    Worse:
    Nothing

    Same:
    RAM

    Verdict: Less money, far better system
    This PSU is somewhat stupid actually , since it doesnt give you any room for any upgrade (After OC)

    I suggest you this one

    Silverstone 750W 80 PLUS Silver

    And i would probably get a Gigabyte Motherboard/GPU combo (Like UD4 and GTX 570) instead of this horrible Sabertooth motherboard.... and Intel CPU +AMD GPU ... No Ty =D lol

    And if you dont mind spending 30$more for a VERY high quality case i suggest you this one Fractal Design R3 ... otherwise the CM 690 II is a really good case , im using one myself.
    Last edited by DarkBlade6; 2011-01-25 at 01:07 AM.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by mnm View Post
    This PSU is somewhat stupid actually , since it doesnt give you any room for any upgrade (After OC)

    I suggest you this one

    Silverstone 750W 80 PLUS Silver

    And i would probably get a Gigabyte Motherboard/GPU combo (Like UD4 and GTX 570) instead of this horrible Sabertooth motherboard.... and Intel CPU +AMD GPU ... No Ty =D lol

    And if you dont mind spending 30$more for a VERY high quality case i suggest you this one Fractal Design R3 ... otherwise the CM 690 II is a really good case , im using one myself.
    A 650W should be absolutely fine for a while.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by llDemonll View Post
    WAY overpriced for that system.

    Mobo: ASUS Sabertooth P67
    RAM: G.Skill 2x4GB DDR3 1600 (really, any ddr3 1600 2x2gb or 2x4gb will work. for your budget i'd go 2x4gb)
    GPU: Sapphire AMD 6970 (because I like AMD more than nvidia personally, but EVGA GTX 570 is an excellent alternative and the same price)
    PSU: Seasonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold
    Speaking of overpriced, the above parts are exactly that. At $1300 I'd cut these down few notches and take 80-120GB SSD instead.

    RAM does not need to be 1600MHz, 1333 is totally fine since you're not overclocking it with Sandy Bridge in the first place. Although that G.Skill kit is pretty cheap for 1600Mhz.

    Buying high end graphics card for games that come out sometime in future is rather poor use for money. I'd bet on good generic card instead (GTX460/Radeon6850) and buy second one for Crossfire/SLI if one is not enough, or a current midrange card in 2-3 years when GTX460 is too weak for medium settings. Better take 750W bronze or silver certified PSU if anticipating possible 2nd graphics card.

    Sabretooth I'm not entirely sure about. Seems like the learned something from the epic fail of x58 Sabretooth which blocked all PCIe expansion ports when using SLI/Crossfire, now it only blocks one PCIe and the PCI but leaves few PCIe ports free.
    Never going to log into this garbage forum again as long as calling obvious troll obvious troll is the easiest way to get banned.
    Trolling should be.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by mnm View Post
    This PSU is somewhat stupid actually , since it doesnt give you any room for any upgrade (After OC)

    I suggest you this one

    Silverstone 750W 80 PLUS Silver

    And i would probably get a Gigabyte Motherboard/GPU combo (Like UD4 and GTX 570) instead of this horrible Sabertooth motherboard.... and Intel CPU +AMD GPU ... No Ty =D lol

    And if you dont mind spending 30$more for a VERY high quality case i suggest you this one Fractal Design R3 ... otherwise the CM 690 II is a really good case , im using one myself.
    Nothing with a Seasonic 650W. It's a top of the line brand anyway, they make Corsair and even XFX power supplies and I'm running that with an OC'd i7-2600k + OC'd 6970. If it was something like "be quiet", ezcool, then I'd worry.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Drakoes View Post
    Nothing with a Seasonic 650W. It's a top of the line brand anyway, they make Corsair and even XFX power supplies and I'm running that with an OC'd i7-2600k + OC'd 6970. If it was something like "be quiet", ezcool, then I'd worry.
    But dude you are probably at 600W on load ... thats horrible !!!
    Last edited by DarkBlade6; 2011-01-25 at 03:00 AM.

  9. #9
    Legendary! llDemonll's Avatar
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    You kidding? Lol. 650w is plenty for a 1gpu setup

    Whoever said intel and amd are a bad idea.. No. You are more wrong than anything.

    Sabertooth I recommended because p8p67 pro is out of stock on newegg and I was looking around at it. I don't have anything that runs on pci so that doesn't bother me

    Ram I didn't figure it mattered, plus it's almost the same price as the 1333mhz
    "I'm glad you play better than you read/post on forums." -Ninety
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  10. #10
    Meh UD4 FTW!

    /Gigabyte fanboi
    CPU - i7-950 @ 4.1ghz
    GPU - GTX 470 @ 880/1760/2100
    Storage - 2x Crucial C300 64GB SSD Raid 0 / 1x WD CB 1TB / 2x WD CB 640GB
    Memory - 6GB Corsair Dominator 1600
    PSU - 1000W Coolermaster Silent Pro
    Case - Coolermaster HAF X
    CPU Water Block - EK Supreme Nickel/Plexi CPU Water Block
    GPU Water Block - EK GTX 470 Nickel/Plexi GPU Water Block

  11. #11
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Drakoes View Post
    Nothing with a Seasonic 650W. It's a top of the line brand anyway, they make Corsair and even XFX power supplies and I'm running that with an OC'd i7-2600k + OC'd 6970. If it was something like "be quiet", ezcool, then I'd worry.
    Be Quiet make very good PSUs, specifically aimed at enthusiasts who want a quiet PC.

  12. #12
    Legendary! llDemonll's Avatar
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    isnt be quiet the bestbuy brand?
    "I'm glad you play better than you read/post on forums." -Ninety
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  13. #13
    The Lightbringer Asera's Avatar
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    I personally dislike the CM690 chassis. A lot.
    red panda red panda red panda!

  14. #14
    Keyboard Turner
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    Okay, after the first couple of posts everyone seems to be responding to the alternative build posted in the second post. I was just wondering if everyone could comment instead on the build I actually posted because I need to make a decision about that. I know nothing about computers and builds, so I was hoping to get some feedback here so that I'm not taken to the cleaners by someone.

    Do others agree that the build is overpriced? Is the build itself bad or just bad for that price? Does the labor (4-6 hours) seem about right or too much? Is this build so bad or overpriced that I should be uncomfortable dealing with this particular person/company going forward and should find someone else or should I just ask him to try again? If I ask him to try again, are there any parameters I could give him?

    Thanks again for any help you can give!

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by rkgrubbs View Post
    Okay, after the first couple of posts everyone seems to be responding to the alternative build posted in the second post. I was just wondering if everyone could comment instead on the build I actually posted because I need to make a decision about that. I know nothing about computers and builds, so I was hoping to get some feedback here so that I'm not taken to the cleaners by someone.

    Do others agree that the build is overpriced? Is the build itself bad or just bad for that price? Does the labor (4-6 hours) seem about right or too much? Is this build so bad or overpriced that I should be uncomfortable dealing with this particular person/company going forward and should find someone else or should I just ask him to try again? If I ask him to try again, are there any parameters I could give him?
    It's very overpriced. www.cyberpowerpc.com will build you same parts for $1200. Also the parts list you got has one big error, i7-950 CPU in it uses triple channel RAM and the guy who's building it would put only 2x4GB on it as dual channel configuration. 6GB would be cheaper and faster. Also putting things together without installing Windows will take only around 2 hours maximum, so 4-6h billing is also bullshit.

    Considering it's over 20% more expensive than the big on-line retailer with an error in memory configuration, you are getting ripped off pretty badly.
    Never going to log into this garbage forum again as long as calling obvious troll obvious troll is the easiest way to get banned.
    Trolling should be.

  16. #16
    Legendary! llDemonll's Avatar
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    i did all the calculations and accidentally closed the tab ><

    your computer comes out to less than $1000, the one I linked is ~$1,200, can be made $100 cheaper by getting a less expensive video card.

    You're basically paying the company $100 / hour to build that computer for you. If you want to pay for shipping I will gladly assemble the whole computer for $100, saving you $400

    edit: if you link him the parts I listed in my post and get a quote on what it would cost to get that computer, you can see the exact markup that they are charging you just to assemble the computer
    "I'm glad you play better than you read/post on forums." -Ninety
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  17. #17
    Deleted
    The charge for the 4-6 Hours labor costs seems a little steep, unless they are providing some kind of overclock on the CPU, or they are stress testing the build, but even then its not something you have to "labor" over, not for a high end generic build like the above. Even the computer case housing the system is fairly generic once you open it up.

    Anyways, the selection of parts seem a little odd and vague. Firstly is that a premium motherboard you get with your potential build? E.g. this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131614 or is it the budget one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131641?

    Secondly the Hec (Compucase) PSU, do you know if its the Zephyr model (better) or X-Power Pro model (worse)?

    Lastly the that platform you're choosing was built to support tri channel memory such as this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231358, which optimises the system performance. What you have linked is dual channel memory, which doesn't.

    Anyways, looking at Newegg, building a similar system with the best versions of those items you've listed should be just over $1170 without delivery. So you're paying around $250 in labor costs, assuming that the parts you've linked are premium.

    I personally think you could do with spending your money elsewhere for better performance, which I guess is not what you're asking. $250 for labor costs for a generic build though? Way too much imho. Hope this helps.
    Last edited by llDemonll; 2011-01-25 at 07:25 PM.

  18. #18
    Simply the fact that he's building a $1000+ computer for you with a Nehalem processor instead of Sandy Bridge just screams rip-off.

    The system that IIDemonII posted immmediately after your original post is a great place to start to get a true high performance build. If you wanted hyperthreading on the processor (e.g. if you have an application that actually BENEFITS from it, which are relatively rare) then you could possibly from the video card down to a GTX 560 or HD 6850 and move to the I7-2600/2600K.

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