Help me save money (New Computer Build)

[minipwn]

Ok, so my current computer is on its way out and I've convinced my wife I need a new one. I have not followed PC parts too much since I built my last computer and got out of my job at Fry's Electronics.

Below is the build I am leaning toward, but I'm thinking it may be too much for what I need. My main concerns are i5 vs. i7, which mobo, and which case to get.

This computer will be for:

Gaming (WoW, CS:S, TF2, Portals, Crysis 2, Duke Nukem (lol?), Batman, etc.)
DVD re-encoding (for iPad watching)
Some photo manipulation (Photoshop CS5, maybe 5.5)
Maybe some audio mixing if I never get myself a MacBook pro.
FRAPS videos

I think it would be nice if I could save $100 on the processor, but I think the i7 would be a nice thing to have.

And the motherboard is the other thing, I've always loved ASUS boards but have read a bunch of bad reviews for their Z68 stuff. I decided to go with the eVGA board because I read great things about it, but if I was mislead by the poor ASUS reviews, I'd love to go back to their boards.

I don't plan on doing any overclocking. I never have, but that doesn't mean I won't. As far as I understand it's pretty easy to get a significant boost in performance if you have the proper cooling.


Intel Core i7-2600K 3.4GHz LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
Item #:N82E16819115070
$314.99

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820233144
$74.99

EVGA SuperClocked GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 012-P3-1572-AR Video Card
Item #:N82E16814130595
$339.99

EVGA P67 SLI 130-SB-E675-KR ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #:N82E16813188073
$199.99

CORSAIR Professional Series HX650 (CMPSU-650HX) 650W Power Supply
Item #:N82E16817139012
$119.99

Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7261S-0B LightScribe Support
Item #:N82E16827118040
$19.99

OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Item #: N82E16820227706
$229.99

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" SATA 6.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #:N82E16822136533
$89.99

Grand Total:$1,389.92


What do you guys think? Am I right in thinking that the i7 is more than I need? Should I go with an ASUS mobo over the eVGA?

I want to thank everyone for their help in advance. I got wonderful help really quickly when I wanted to know how much my current computer is worth. Thanks!!

[Djinni]

First: Drop the SSD.... If you need to save money here is where you do it.
Second: I'm fairly sure that EVGA is a premium manufacturer , look out for an ASRock, ASUS, MSI or Gigabyte motherboard.
Third: Corsairs TX range is supposedly much cheaper than the HX range and isn't any worse. (Some say it's better)
Fourth: Look out for a Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB drive, it's 4ms slower on seek time than the WD Caviar Black other than that its the same.

An unless you find you spend most of your time converting files for your ipad the i5 will do you fine.

---------- Post added 2011-07-21 at 07:27 PM ----------

P.S Those prices seem pretty steep... where are you buying from?

[Optochip]

Go with an i5 over an i7, all the i7 nets you is HyperThreading, which has been proven many times over to be maybe a 1-3 FPS increase in games. HT is more for video editing/rendering/CAD software use.

You could also step down to 4GB of RAM (I have 4GB of Corsair XMS3 DDR3-1600 and I have never gotten near capping out my RAM) and if you find you need more then you can buy another 4GB kit.

---------- Post added 2011-07-21 at 02:35 PM ----------

P.S Those prices seem pretty steep... where are you buying from?

I can tell from the Item Numbers that it's Newegg :P

[Djinni]

Go with an i5 over an i7, all the i7 nets you is HyperThreading, which has been proven many times over to be maybe a 1-3 FPS increase in games. HT is more for video editing/rendering/CAD software use.

You could also step down to 4GB of RAM (I have 4GB of Corsair XMS3 DDR3-1600 and I have never gotten near capping out my RAM) and if you find you need more then you can buy another 4GB kit.

---------- Post added 2011-07-21 at 02:35 PM ----------



I can tell from the Item Numbers that it's Newegg :P

are you sure? I thought newegg was cheaper than that....

[Optochip]

are you sure? I thought newegg was cheaper than that....

I just double checked a bunch of the Item Numbers, those are definitely Newegg Item Numbers and prices (give or take $5-$10 fluctuations).

For processors if you live near a Microcenter I'd suggest getting your CPU from there, they offer price matching on their CPU's (But that's because they ALWAYS have the lowest prices on processors by a fair margin, even with tax).

[Djinni]

I just double checked a bunch of the Item Numbers, those are definitely Newegg Item Numbers and prices (give or take $5-$10 fluctuations).

For processors if you live near a Microcenter I'd suggest getting your CPU from there, they offer price matching on their CPU's (But that's because they ALWAYS have the lowest prices on processors by a fair margin, even with tax).

At those prices it'd be cheaper to buy it in England and ship it over....

[Asera]

Intel Core i7-2600K 3.4GHz LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
Item #:N82E16819115070
$314.99

Bump this down to an i5 2500K.

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820233144
$74.99

This is probably fine, but I've been seeing some good deals on 8gb RipjawsX kits lately. Namely this:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...l&promoid=1304

EVGA SuperClocked GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 012-P3-1572-AR Video Card
Item #:N82E16814130595
$339.99

At this price point, the Radeon HD 6970 would be a better option for price/performance/watt.

EVGA P67 SLI 130-SB-E675-KR ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #:N82E16813188073
$199.99

SLi board for non SLi setup is meh. $200 bucks for a P67 board as well is :bwah:. At that point, a Z68 board would be a better option, enabling use of QuickSync for the iPod cross converting you mentioned. Asus P8Z68V Pro has been flawless for me thusfar, which is more than I can say about several other Asus boards I've used.

CORSAIR Professional Series HX650 (CMPSU-650HX) 650W Power Supply
Item #:N82E16817139012
$119.99

Good, but take a look for Antec Truepower units (or was it toughpower?). I'll let someone with more PSU knowledge comment here.

Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7261S-0B LightScribe Support
Item #:N82E16827118040
$19.99

I usually recycle DVD drives. I've been using the same Samsung Writemaster since my Core 2 Duo E8400 setup 3 years ago.

OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Item #: N82E16820227706
$229.99

OCZ is bad. Look at Corsair or Crucial SSD's for better reliability. It will be worth it for the slight speed differences.

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" SATA 6.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #:N82E16822136533
$89.99

The 640GB Caviar Black (WD6401AALS) is about $25 cheaper, and slightly faster than the 1TB version. I strongly recommend the 640GB over the 1TB.

For a storage drive, I would look at the 1.5 or 2TB Caviar Green EARS drives.

[Optochip]

Bump this down to an i5 2500K.

^^^^ Agree

This is probably fine, but I've been seeing some good deals on 8gb RipjawsX kits lately.

^ This as well, although like I stated before you could drop down to a 4GB kit and save some more coin.
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB DDR3-1600 for $39.99 ($29.99 after Rebate) +Free Shipping <-- I've always been partial to my Corsair, but G.Skill has shown through high reviews on Newegg to be a great brand as well. I just had a personal bad experience with a 1 out of 4 DDR2 G.Skill sticks dying.

Good, but take a look for Antec Truepower units (or was it toughpower?). I'll let someone with more PSU knowledge comment here.

He could get a Corsair Gaming Series 600W for $89.99 ($74.98 After Rebate +Free Shipping from Amazon. I have the 800W version of this PSU, high amps on the 12v rail, solid reviews (even a full gutting on HardwareSecrets shows quality components/build). Not to mention the sheathing on the cables and long cables that will accommodate any case PSU layout (PSU on Top or PSU on Bottom)

[Arslay]

The GTX 570 isn't really worth the extra $100 over a GTX 560 TI and in that price range a 6970 would treat you much better.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127578 is the card that you would want as a 560 TI (Twin Frozr cooling and Hawk pre overclocking should take you past a 570.

Or a 6970 as mentioned.

The GTX 570 isn't a bad card, it just is one step from the top and seems subject to much higher diminishing returns for your money that slightly lower cards.
If you really want the i7 then you can use that 560TI and save the money on Gcards (without losing much/any performance) and have the i7

[minipwn]

Ok, I think I'm ready to submit my final build to you guys. I mentioned that I wanted to save money, but it wasn't a necessity. I am pretty brand loyal and if the difference is only a couple of bucks, I'm going to go with my favorite brand.

For your approval:

Every item is purchased from NewEgg using their prices

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Item #: N82E16827135204
$19.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136533
$89.99

EVGA SuperClocked 012-P3-1573-KR GeForce GTX 570 HD w/Display-Port (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP ...
Item #: N82E16814130620
$304.99 after MIR

CORSAIR Professional Series HX650 (CMPSU-650HX) 650W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular ...
Item #: N82E16817139012
$99.99 after MIR

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9
Item #: N82E16820233144
$69.99

ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Item #: N82E16813131730
$209.99

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
Item #: N82E16819115072
$219.99

Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Item #: N82E16820148348
$231.86

Subtotal: $1,246.79


I like the idea of sticking with SATA III drives, and I like the 64mb cache on the WD HDD. I like having a modular power supply.

I did drop from the i7 to the i5 to save ~$100. The memory is a little cheaper, MOBO is a little more expensive. Overall, I think it's at a price point I can handle and I think it will have great performance over my current setup. What do you guys think?

Lastly, I can't decide between the Corsair 600t case or the CoolerMaster HAF cases. I want something quiet, roomy for cable management, and a case with great airflow. Great airflow is most important to me, but being quiet is also really important. So, if you have any personal insight on the 2 cases, I'd love to hear it.

[Djinni]

The HAF X is for keeping your components cool... the Corsair is for well... looking boring.... (personal opinion)

Not much new to say really.... it's all been said and most of it is still valid:

the Samsung Spinpoint is a much cheaper drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152185 only $65 as opposed to the WD's $90.

If you like you can plug it into the Sata 3 (6.0Gbps) to ease your mind.... but it wont make any difference.

In my opinion the Graphics card is a major waste of money. You can easily get a stock clocked one and OC it yourself. for wayy wayy less

[minipwn]

So there's little to no benefit in getting a HDD with 64mb cache and using SATA 3?

As for the graphics card, $304.00 doesn't seem that bad. It's cheaper than some of the other stock GeForce GTX 570s.

I do value all of your opinions. I just need clarification about things that differ from what I've read/been told.