Buying/upgrading advice

[BicycleMafioso]

Newegg has a warehouse in my location. The downside is I am charged tax.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VAT#The_Nordic_countries <-- And look up Sweden =)

[Scoobasteve1226]

I'm considering getting a crossfire setup, or possibly sometime in the future. Would that power supply be strong enough, or would I need to go up to 750? This is presuming I go with the processor you mentioned since I would use it basically for gaming/movies/a bit of programming (nothing too intense). Also, on a side note, did you happen to have a paladin on Sargeras Alliance around Sunwell time? Just asking bc there was one named Scoobasteve that I used to run with :P.

750 then. If you are SURE you are going to do it.

[Nume]

Well I probably wont do it now, but I'm thinking ~1 year in the future :P. Just seems like it would be a good idea to plan ahead unless the increase in cost is high.

[BicycleMafioso]

Well I probably wont do it now, but I'm thinking ~1 year in the future :P. Just seems like it would be a good idea to plan ahead unless the increase in cost is high.

Buying a new card is more likely to give improvements in one years time.

[Nume]

Buying a new card is more likely to give improvements in one years time.

Heh thats probably a good point. I suppose I'll just go with the 650. Will probably save more money that way. Hate to ask again, but anyone know a good, spacious case? Dont care about looks just want it to have room for everything easily :P

[HotSauce]

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

Il just leave these here
Im going to asume that youl be going with intel for a processor, so get a p67 motherbored. I would suggest getting the Radeon HD 6950 as it is 250$ and rated really high in performance. And I would suggest either a i5 2k or i7 2.6k. the i7 2.6k is 300 (the unclocked version is 330).
So for the nice price of 550, your comp will be up-to-date and running games new games all day. Use the links above as they indicate performance/price of specs

[Nume]

I was putting my setup together on iBuyPower just to see how it all worked (going to build it myself) and with the 6950 gpu selected, it said I shouldn't go under 700w power supply. Are they just crazy or am I missing something?

[BicycleMafioso]

I was putting my setup together on iBuyPower just to see how it all worked (going to build it myself) and with the 6950 gpu selected, it said I shouldn't go under 700w power supply. Are they just crazy or am I missing something?

Dem be trippin', mon.

The whole system will most likely struggle to even come close to the 320w-range, even under extreme circumstances. The most I've seen a build with 6950 pull, is 342w from the wall (ie, not the wattage the system draws, but what the PSU needs to pull from the wall to deliver proper power to the system; assuming it's barely 80+ [too lazy to check up on the PSU itself], that means system-power of 273,6w), and that's with furmark under heavy load.
http://www.sweclockers.com/image/dia...1819beec8dc26a
In other words, you can safely use a 500-650w PSU and still have massive headroom for OCing - heck, you could even Crossfire them if the PSU supports it.

[Nume]

Cool thats what I thought, just was worried bc of what ibuypower said :P. I looked on newegg and they recommended a 540w for my specs so I'm not worried at all now with a 650 :P. Anyways I think I'm ready to go ahead and make the plunge, so I was just wondering if anyone can comment on the configuration I put together:

Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147153
54.99
MSI P67A-GD55 (B3) LGA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130573
$164.99
Intel Core i5-2500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-072-_-Product
$224.99
GIGABYTE GV-R695D5-2GD-B Radeon HD 6950
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125356
$264.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-428-_-Product
$99.99
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-005-_-Product
$89.99
Seagate Barracuda St320005N1A1AS-RK 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148636
$174.99
Total: $1,074.93

Also, I am planning on doing any OCing I can, so will I need to buy additional case fans to keep it from getting too hot? If so can anyone recommend what I need to get for that? Also, am I missing anything? The total ended up being a lot less than I expected so I'm wondering if I just forgot some component :P.

[BicycleMafioso]

You might want to add Win7, an optical drive (optional, but I like to have one) and an aftermarket CPU-cooler (Coolermaster 212+ is very good for its price).
A good CPU-heatsink is more important than case-fans, and since I'm unfamiliar with the Challenger, I'll refrain from comment there. Two Gentle Typhoon 1450 or 1850 RPMs is good to use in Push/Pull for cpu-heatsinks, and A LOT quieter than the included one (I'm told, at least, don't have as 212+), and moves a lot of air

[Nume]

You might want to add Win7, an optical drive (optional, but I like to have one) and an aftermarket CPU-cooler (Coolermaster 212+ is very good for its price).

Derp at forgetting OS and drive :P. I'll check out that cooler. If anyone has any experience with cases and can let me know if that will work easily with the existing system, or if I need to change stuff out, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

[Supermuncher]

I run my 6950 with a 550watt bronze certified and it runs fine. But if your thinking x-fire I would buy the bigger PSU now. Having to redo all the cabling sucks, trust me on that one.

And yeah 6950 1gb are $220 from xfx with MiR right now but cannot be flashed, unlike the 2gb versions to 6970's.

[Nume]

And yeah 6950 1gb are $220 from xfx with MiR right now but cannot be flashed, unlike the 2gb versions to 6970's.

Yeah definitely worth the extra ~45 dollars imo. Any other opinions on the build?

[Scoobasteve1226]

Yeah definitely worth the extra ~45 dollars imo. Any other opinions on the build?

It's one of the best setups that you can make with that budget. Spend the extra 35$ to get a Coolermaster hyper 212+, and get an extra fan for a push/pull (You just attach it and good to go) and you can overclock it easy.
This video shows you everything that you need to know. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vBN-cBPs98

[Nume]

Iand get an extra fan for a push/pull (You just attach it and good to go) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vBN-cBPs98

What kind of fan? Just a generic case fan? And would I be replacing the fans that are built in (one 140mm top exhaust fan, one 120mm rear exhaust fan and one 120mm front blue LED fan)?

Edit: Updated total system list to include the coolermaster, windows 7, and an optical drive. Here it is:

Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147153
54.99
MSI P67A-GD55 (B3) LGA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130573
$164.99
Intel Core i5-2500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-072-_-Product
$224.99
GIGABYTE GV-R695D5-2GD-B Radeon HD 6950
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125356
$264.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-428-_-Product
$99.99
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-005-_-Product
$89.99
Seagate Barracuda St320005N1A1AS-RK 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148636
$174.99
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-065-_-Product
$34.99
LG WH10LS30 10X Blu-ray Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo
$79.99
Windows 7 Home Premum 64 Bit System Builder 1pk [Old Version]
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...0TDBZB1V1HDQ4K
$99.99

Total: $1,289.90

Btw does anyone know what Amazon means when it says Windows 7 [Old Version]?

[BicycleMafioso]

What kind of fan? Just a generic case fan? And would I be replacing the fans that are built in (one 140mm top exhaust fan, one 120mm rear exhaust fan and one 120mm front blue LED fan)?

Edit: Updated total system list to include the coolermaster, windows 7, and an optical drive. Here it is:

Like I said - Buy and use two Gentle Typhoons (1450 or 1850RPMs) on the Hyper 212+ in Push/pull ;p
You could use any 120mm fan along with the standard one, if you are completely impervious to sound.
Personally, I can't stand any sounds while playing (including music, but especially game-sounds and computer-sounds), because it's just annoying.

[ElGeFe]

Do you live near a Microcenter? If you do, always check there for processor prices, they are truly crazy. That 2500k is 190 after tax right now... I wish I had one near by....

[Nume]

Do you live near a Microcenter? If you do, always check there for processor prices, they are truly crazy. That 2500k is 190 after tax right now... I wish I had one near by....

Lol dam, closest is like 6 hours away :P.

---------- Post added 2011-03-27 at 05:51 AM ----------

Windows 7 Home Premum 64 Bit System Builder 1pk [Old Version]
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...0TDBZB1V1HDQ4K
$99.99

Btw does anyone know what Amazon means when it says Windows 7 [Old Version]?

Does anyone have the answer to that last question? I ask because I got everything else ordered (ended up going with ACCES FAN SILVERSTONE|FM121 120MM R to go with the coolermaster fan since I dont care about noise and that thing has power) so I want to make sure this OS will work before I order it. Also on that note does anyone know any place you can get os cheaper as a college student or government employee (I'm both)?