Planning to make next computer

[Kaanalla]

Hi all, so I've recently decided to upgrade my computer sometime around the end of this year. It would be sooner, but car needs working on, and being the college student I am, living at home, that takes precedence.

I've got everything mapped out to last me at least 3 or so years, maybe less, maybe more. Would like some opinions if I should shave something off and add something else, saving money never hurts . Or suggest me to upgrade something also, would like to keep it under $1,500 though.

Here's the list thus far, already have monitors and peripherals.

HAF 932 Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119213
WD Caviar Black 1 TB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119213
XFX HD 6950 2GB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150550
PSU: not sure of, would like some input on this one
8 GB G.Skill Sniper RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231416
P8P67 Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131706
i5 2500k CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115072
Crucial M4 64GB SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148447

And lastly, I've been reading on CPU heatsinks, and well, haven't been able to figure out a good one for my configuration. I chose the Sniper RAM in case I ended up getting a bigger heatsink. If there's some other good heatsink with a lower profile I'll swap it to the Ripjaws.

Thanks in advance!

[Skelly]

Sweet build, no complaints. You can probably get away with any PSU 500W or higher. Don't bother going over 650W.
Pick something from this list http://www.overclock.net/power-suppl...-supplies.html

[vesseblah]

- Cheaper case
- Samsung Spinpoint F3 HDD instead of WD Caviar Black (lot cheaper)
- 1GB model of R6950 (cheaper, and 2gb ram not needed unless you're playing on 2-3 monitors)
- Maybe AsRock Z68 Extreme4 motherboard (more features at bit higher price)
- Something like Corsair TX650 or Antec Truepower 650 or Seasonic M12-II 620 for PSU. All high quality
- You'll end up regretting 64GB SSD. Either get 100-120GB now, or later when you can afford one.

Only huge RAM heatsinks are problem with CPU heatsinks, 99% will work just fine with any cooler.

[llDemonll]

US Configuration (using newegg.com)
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz
MB: [Z68] ASRock Z68 Extreme4 ATX
GPU: XFX Radeon HD 6950
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) 1600
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA III
SSD: OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III
PSU: Antec EarthWatts 650W 80 PLUS Bronze
CPUHS: Corsair A70
CASE: Cooler Master HAF 932 Advance Full Tower
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium OEM (64-bit)
Total Price: $1352 USD
Configure More

RAM is out of stock so shows as $0, it's $75 though so total is $1425 + shipping

[DeltrusDisc]

RAM is out of stock so shows as $0, it's $75 though so total is $1425 + shipping

Not the Agility 3 120GB ||Demon||!!!! >_<
His Crucial m4 is a better choice (wont lolbreak), maybe just up it to 128GB.

[vesseblah]

I have Windows 7 Home Premium disks here, and I've been told on numerous occasions that if I swap motherboards and/or hard drives I can call them up and they will give me a new code, if that is the case I wouldn't need the OS either.

If you have bought full Win7 box from store (that has the silly plastic case and 2 DVD's) you can freely install it into the new computer when you stop using the old one. It should automatically activate online and all. If it's OEM version you've bought, it might be bit trickier. Technically Microsoft does not allow moving it to another computer, but in reality they do care more about retaining paying customers than being anal about it. If your Windows is a version that came with some big brand computer like HP, Dell, Asus etc, it probably can not be re-used, but you can try.

what is the difference between a Z68 board and a P67 board?

Short answer is that Z68 has few small upgrades that you might end up using (especially if you transcode lot of videos to watch on consoles or mobile devices for example), but mostly it's just... newer.

[Kaanalla]

If you have bought full Win7 box from store (that has the silly plastic case and 2 DVD's) you can freely install it into the new computer when you stop using the old one. It should automatically activate online and all. If it's OEM version you've bought, it might be bit trickier. Technically Microsoft does not allow moving it to another computer, but in reality they do care more about retaining paying customers than being anal about it. If your Windows is a version that came with some big brand computer like HP, Dell, Asus etc, it probably can not be re-used, but you can try.

I bought the Win 7 from Best Buy, so I guess that saves me $100.

---------- Post added 2011-07-20 at 11:32 PM ----------

- Cheaper case
- Samsung Spinpoint F3 HDD instead of WD Caviar Black (lot cheaper)
- 1GB model of R6950 (cheaper, and 2gb ram not needed unless you're playing on 2-3 monitors)
- Maybe AsRock Z68 Extreme4 motherboard (more features at bit higher price)
- Something like Corsair TX650 or Antec Truepower 650 or Seasonic M12-II 620 for PSU. All high quality
- You'll end up regretting 64GB SSD. Either get 100-120GB now, or later when you can afford one.

Only huge RAM heatsinks are problem with CPU heatsinks, 99% will work just fine with any cooler.

Chose the case cuz an IRL friend of mine has it and I love the way it looks and wouldn't mind the extra air flow for when I OC my CPU.
As far as SSD goes, will probably up it to the 128GB version, that list is just a rough draft. Not planning on purchasing it till November-January(ish)

[samstein]

Waiting till the end of the year? like December? 6 months to me seems like a good amount of time for prices to go down and new stuff to come out and shift the status of cost effective hardware. I would wait till you are ready to buy to plan it out to make sure the stuff you are buying will be longer lasting. I made my pc 6 months ago and if I had to make it again i would be buying better parts for the same prices i did. Also, it will be Christmas time, and you can pass some of those costs off to someone else =) Prices range for parts so much that you can get someone who usually gets you a $20 gift to get you a dvd drive (if you don't have an old one you can recycle). If you have some generous relatives you can get them to buy you the cpu, gpu, motherboard, or whatever! that means your budget just went up! Or you saved money, either way you win!

[Kaanalla]

Waiting till the end of the year? like December? 6 months to me seems like a good amount of time for prices to go down and new stuff to come out and shift the status of cost effective hardware. I would wait till you are ready to buy to plan it out to make sure the stuff you are buying will be longer lasting. I made my pc 6 months ago and if I had to make it again i would be buying better parts for the same prices i did. Also, it will be Christmas time, and you can pass some of those costs off to someone else =) Prices range for parts so much that you can get someone who usually gets you a $20 gift to get you a dvd drive (if you don't have an old one you can recycle). If you have some generous relatives you can get them to buy you the cpu, gpu, motherboard, or whatever! that means your budget just went up! Or you saved money, either way you win!

I had and hadn't thought of waiting till Christmas time, will probably do it around that time, thanks for the great advice!

[Deleted]

Not the Agility 3 120GB ||Demon||!!!! >_<
His Crucial m4 is a better choice (wont lolbreak), maybe just up it to 128GB.

I think I've seen you say that like 5 times! It didn't work after a week etc. xD

But yeah, go with a bigger SSD or none at all.

[fwilliams]

Honest opinion: you can make do with a cheaper case and give the resource for better hardware than for aesthetics. There are cheaper hard disks out in the market. They do not really matter that much, even with the transfer rates, unless you are going to transfer stuff all day. The rpm's difference is very much negligible as well, but it is your call. The 80gb sad would not be enough. Save more and get something more than 120gb. That would probably be the standard soon, anyway.

[Kaanalla]

Was getting the 2GB version of the HD 6950 for now, and future gaming purposes anyways, and seeing as it's like $40 more atm, why not. As for the SSD, not sure why I'd really need a whole lot more when I plan on using it basically just for my OS, maybe put some other things on it. But for the most part, everything else would go onto the 1TB HD. As of right now I have a 1.5TB WD Caviar Green that I might transfer over as well. So that seems to be more than enough space for almost anything. Especially when what I plan on majoring in, accounting, I don't have to make, watch or really save anything of a large file size.

[Deleted]

Here's the list thus far, already have monitors and peripherals.

HAF 932 Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119213
WD Caviar Black 1 TB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119213
XFX HD 6950 2GB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150550
PSU: not sure of, would like some input on this one
8 GB G.Skill Sniper RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231416
P8P67 Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131706
i5 2500k CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115072
Crucial M4 64GB SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148447

And lastly, I've been reading on CPU heatsinks, and well, haven't been able to figure out a good one for my configuration. I chose the Sniper RAM in case I ended up getting a bigger heatsink. If there's some other good heatsink with a lower profile I'll swap it to the Ripjaws.

Thanks in advance!

Very solid and balanced build and very close to what I'd be getting if I had the money right now. It looks like a good value for money build.

As for the PSU, you'll want somewhere between 500 and 600 Watts, no need for more. People here seem to like Seasonic so they should be alright. Just make sure it's a least a 80+ Bronze PSU.

PS: Feel free to add a Asus Xonar soundcard if you want more than just your onboard sound. Or get an Asus MB with a Creative X-Fi soundchip onboard.

Edit: I agree 160 USD is rather a lot to spend on a case. With so much choice, you could easily get by with 100 USD.

I also agree that the 40 dollars extra for the 2GB model of the Radeon 6950 is a little excessive. Only consider it if you plan to use multiple screens in the foreseeable future.

[Kaanalla]

Very solid and balanced build and very close to what I'd be getting if I had the money right now. It looks like a good value for money build.

As for the PSU, you'll want somewhere between 500 and 600 Watts, no need for more. People here seem to like Seasonic so they should be alright. Just make sure it's a least a 80+ Bronze PSU.

PS: Feel free to add a Asus Xonar soundcard if you want more than just your onboard sound. Or get an Asus MB with a Creative X-Fi soundchip onboard.

Edit: I agree 160 USD is rather a lot to spend on a case. With so much choice, you could easily get by with 100 USD.

I also agree that the 40 dollars extra for the 2GB model of the Radeon 6950 is a little excessive. Only consider it if you plan to use multiple screens in the foreseeable future.

Currently using 2 screens on a 1GB HD 5670, and in the mid-tower case it seems to overheat. I just wanted to make sure that I could get as much air flow as possible to make sure that this time I can be sure that something won't overheat.

And my mom recently bought herself a new monitor, so I've been thinking of taking her old one and hooking it up when I finally upgrade. It's a 19" HP monitor, which is the same thing as I currently have as my second monitor. If I ended up doing that, I might test out the Eyefinity capabilites on three monitors, who knows.

[Deleted]

Currently using 2 screens on a 1GB HD 5670, and in the mid-tower case it seems to overheat. I just wanted to make sure that I could get as much air flow as possible to make sure that this time I can be sure that something won't overheat.

And my mom recently bought herself a new monitor, so I've been thinking of taking her old one and hooking it up when I finally upgrade. It's a 19" HP monitor, which is the same thing as I currently have as my second monitor. If I ended up doing that, I might test out the Eyefinity capabilites on three monitors, who knows.

Kaanalla, a Radeon 6950 is going to be very bored with a 19" screen. Especially if it's still a 4:3 monitor (shudders at the thought).

Don't undervalue the importance of a nice large screen when it comes to gaming. I know we don't talk about it a lot here as it's a very subjective topic but going from a 19" 4:3 screen to a 24" 16:9 Full HD screen is going to bring you 10 times more enjoyment than any new GPU or CPU ever could.

Don't cheap out on arguably one of the most important components of your rig, especially if you have a healthy budget to squander.

[Kaanalla]

Aehm, a Radeon 6950 is going to be very bored with a 19" screen. Especially if it's still a 4:3 monitor (shudder).

Don't undervalue the importance of a nice large screen when it comes to gaming. I know we don't talk about it a lot here as it's a very subjective topic but going from a 19" 4:3 screen to a 24" 16:9 Full HD screen is going to bring you 10 times more enjoyment than any new GPU or CPU ever could.

Don't cheap out on arguably one of the most important components of your rig, especially if you have a healthy budget.

Oh, I understand how much it does change. My main monitor is a 23.6" ASUS 16:9, and absolutely love gaming in 1080p. But seeing as it's just lying around not being used, why not just use it? And if that means I don't have to pay for another monitor, that saves me like $200-$250.