Help with my computer build please

[akmar275]

I am currently building a new custom computer on ibuypower.com, is this a decent site? Or is there a better custom built computers website out there? I would much rather have someone else build the computer and get a warranty and tech support than do it myself. If you have any good changes for a better bang for my buck let me know, my current budget is no higher than 2,000$. I have a few questions about my current setup however.

Whats the big difference between the EVGA 580 1.5gb and the 560 ti 2gb, the 560 is 300$ less and would save me a lot of money. Is it really worth it to jump to the 580 even though the 560 has a 2gb instead of 1.5?

There is also a 560 Ti 1GB PALIT Sonic which has a higher clock rate than the 580 EVGA, is the 580 still better?

There is also the middle of the road 570EVGA which is 1.2gb and still almost 200$ less than the 580. What would you guys go with?

My other major question is about the motherboard, is there any reason to get the most expensive motherboard? I don't really understand the major differences. Also is the onboard sound alright or would I need to spend another 100 and buy a sound card?

One more question! Is getting the 2 hard drives going RAID-0 really risky? and does it truly increase the performance greatly?


Thanks a ton in advance for any help you guys can offer.

Case
CoolerMaster HAF 922 Gaming Case
Processor
Intel® Core™ i7-2600K Processor (4x 3.40GHz/8MB L3 Cache)
Processor Cooling
Asetek 550LC Liquid CPU Cooling System (Intel) - Enermax Dual Silent High Performance Fan Upgrade (Push-Pull Airflow)
Memory
8 GB [2 GB X4] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand
Video Card
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 - 1.5GB - EVGA Superclocked - Single Card
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3-B3
Power Supply
850 Watt -- Corsair CMPSU-850AX
Primary Hard Drive
750 GB HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Dual 750GB Drives (1.5TB Capacity) - RAID 0 High Performance
Optical Drive
24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive [Lightscribe Technology] Black
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel) 64-bit

$1972
I am sure this would be a lot cheaper custom built but it comes with some other perks that I will list here. Once again, if you have a better website let me know! I really feel safer spending the extra money for someone else it build it.

[Free Game Download] - Total War: Shogun 2 Free with Purchase of Intel Core i7 Processor[+$0]
[Free Game Voucher] - Star Trek Online Free with Purchase of Selected Intel Core i5/i7 Processor or SSD[+$0]
iBUYPOWER USB Keyboard **FREE Upgrade to Thermaltake eSPORTS CHALLENGER Gaming Keyboard**
Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower Achieve exceptional airflow in your chassis
iBUYPOWER Specialized Advanced Packaging System Protect your investment during transportation!
Standard Warranty Service Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support
There was also a 5% off and free shipping coupon last I checked

[llDemonll]

Bump for being caught in the spam filter

[Deleted]

I have the MSI 570 and it runs SC2 on extreme and wow on ultra (high shadows) with 8x multisampling with 60 FPS almost anywhere now that there is the DX11 change and i have the i5-2500k so your processor is slightly better than mine so i can definitely recommend the card, also plays crysis 2 on hardcore

good luck with your buy

[wildemu]

everything looks good but you should find out the maker/brand of your hard drive. You don't want some unkown product to botlleneck all those other juicy parts in the system. It would be depressing if they threw in a slow caviar green.

---------- Post added 2011-05-02 at 07:06 PM ----------

My other major question is about the motherboard, is there any reason to get the most expensive motherboard? I don't really understand the major differences. Also is the onboard sound alright or would I need to spend another 100 and buy a sound card?

One more question! Is getting the 2 hard drives going RAID-0 really risky? and does it truly increase the performance greatly?

Since you are getting the 2600k, you need a p67 motherboard so you can properly overclock the board.

If you don't plan on overclocking, take the i7-2600 or even the i-5 2500 if you aren't going to be multi-tasking large HT projects (video encoding, music, etc).

The motherboard you chose is good for the system, but if you dont plan to overclock, take an H67 mobo and take either of the above two processors.

---------- Post added 2011-05-02 at 07:09 PM ----------

Whats the big difference between the EVGA 580 1.5gb and the 560 ti 2gb, the 560 is 300$ less and would save me a lot of money. Is it really worth it to jump to the 580 even though the 560 has a 2gb instead of 1.5?

There is also a 560 Ti 1GB PALIT Sonic which has a higher clock rate than the 580 EVGA, is the 580 still better?

There is also the middle of the road 570EVGA which is 1.2gb and still almost 200$ less than the 580. What would you guys go with?


There is significant difference in performance between the 580 and 560 Ti, and no model of the 560 will ever surpass it even superclocked. The gap between the 580 and 570 is far less in performance, and I would take that one if you are looking to cut some costs.

Like I said before, you can cut costs by going to a locked process (i5-2500 or i7-2600), H67 mobo, and the 570 card.

I don't have too much familiarity with dual-raid hard drive setups, but a sole hitachi deskstar 1tb or samsung spinpoint f3 1tb are very potent and should be enough space for you.

---------- Post added 2011-05-02 at 07:11 PM ----------

Also, on-board audio is sufficient, you don't really need to buy a sound card unless you are an audiophile.

[Xuvial]

My reasoning to go with a 580 was this - if I was going to spend that mind on money, I would get the best model out there and overclock the crap out of it in order to justify the price - which led me to Asus's DirectCU II GTX580. See if you can find it, it should be around the same cost as the EVGA Supreclocked 580. The difference? EVGA has no voltage tweak, which drastically limits overclocking. Asus comes with voltage tweaking, which you WILL need to go beyond 850mhz core (or 870 in some cases), and DirectCU also means running at 5-10c lower @ load.
Unless you plan to SLI two 580's (keep in mind DirectCU takes 3 slots), I highly recommend getting the best 580 out there and just OC'ing the crap out of it - then the cost can be justified over a GTX560 or 570, because neither of those can even come remotely close to a decently-OC'd 580's performance. 580 has massive OC headroom and actually comes underclocked/undervolted....570 doesn't have the same headroom.
The highest I've seen mine touch is 77c under Cry:Warhead.
I'll see if I can touch 950mhz stable on the core. 1ghz+ is also possible but would require borderline watercooling XD