new Sandybridge build

[gcrosier]

The psu I was thinking was the 450 watt one, the rosewill capstone 450. Which is 100w less than my current one. I was thinking it would be big enough for my modest system with one mainstream videocard.

I can't afford crossfire or sli at the moment. I had considered it if I could afford two videocards. My 6850 runs really well, and I have overclocked it quite a bit. I probably won't though in the foreseeable future with my current financial situation.

[gcrosier]

Damn, that seasonic is quite a bargain with that 15% off bargain code. I think I might order that.

[gcrosier]

(YAY wife let me use her laptop)

Ok I was considering

i5 2500K $230 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115072
and
Asrock Z68 PRO3 GEN3 $105 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813157279
or
the EXTREME3 GEN3 $121 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813157271
(If i wanted to crossfire in the future and I know both slots run at 8x instead of 16x with two cards)

My Corsair VX550 is getting a little long in the tooth so I was considering the Rosewill Capstone 450W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817182066

Or maybe the capstone 550 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817182068

JAE's link for the Seasonic is very tempting also.

[Aloeus]

its a little step up in price, but the Asus p8z68 V-LE has my recommendation

A week ago i built a similar system to the one your proposing, and the asus board has been a dream, as well as the seasonic 520w recommended in the system guide

[gcrosier]

Yeah, i was thinking about that MB, but trying to cut costs where I can... I really only have about $320 budgeted (IF i get at least $200 for my B-Day) for the CPU and MB, and I know I am going over with my choices already.

[DPete27]

If you want to cut costs then why are you looking at buying a new PSU? Not only that but one that has less wattage than your current one. A decent quality PSU (like the one you have) should be able to be used for many years. I say drop the new PSU if you want to cut costs.

Also, aren't you a little unsettled/curious why your Rosewill PSU is the cheapest of similar wattage 80 Plus Gold PSU's by a significant margin? (tell-tale sign of low quality components)

[JustAnEngineer]

$230 Intel Core i5-2500K quad-core 3.4 (3.7 turbo) overclockable LGA1155 CPU
$110 ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 motherboard
or $130 ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 motherboard
$0 Corsair 550VX (492 W @ 12 V) 80+ PSU

How keen are you on overclocking?
$210 -15 code "EMCNHNC39" Intel Core i5-2500 quad-core 3.4 GHz (3.7 turbo) LGA1155 processor
or $120 -17 combo or -12 combo Intel Core i3-2120 dual-core hyperthreading 3.3 GHz LGA1155 processor

Are you set on ASRock and ATX?
$108 Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 micro-ATX LGA1155 motherboard
or $118 Asus P8Z68-M Pro micro-ATX LGA1155 motherboard
or $133 Asus P8Z68-V LE ATX LGA1155 motherboard
or $80 BioStar H61MU3 micro-ATX LGA1155 motherboard

Do you need some DDR3 memory?
$48 2x4 GiB PC3-12800 G.Skill F3-12800CL9D-8GBXM (DDR3-1600, CAS 9, 1.35 V)

Your existing power supply is just fine.

[gcrosier]

I am not SET on Asrock, I just like what I hear about their (and Asus) UEFI.

I like the IDEA of ATX, being that it could possibly support a 2nd video card 2+ years down the line, maybe. Though this is one of those things that I could go mAtx and cut costs. Or go mAtx and get a better MB than the Asrock. 2+ years down the line, I might be better off financially and another rebuild might not seem like a huge financial hurdle like it does now.

I was thinking of the 2500K and overclocking it slightly now, and in its later years pushing it more to keep up with a newer video card (which is what I did with my current CPU).

I don't need memory because... I was stupid and bought some last time when I thought i could finish the build. The money to finish that build went to a funeral 400 miles away. I have this... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231428

The only reason I was thinking of getting a PSU, was to reduce the possibility that the current problems with my box is my PSU. Though I realize the likely culprit there is the old MB and CPU that have been OCed for a long time.

I have most of the money ($270) right now and enough in savings so $320 isn't a HARD ceiling at all. I could justify spending $50 more than planned on a MB and CPU.

Thanks everyone for your links and thoughts, and I know I have some deciding to do soon.


(time to give wife laptop back)

[gcrosier]

I am leaning towards the asus P8Z68 V-LE. My subtotal is ~40 more than my budget, but I can live with that, quality parts and all. Last time I build a PC I budgeted 125 on my CPU and it lasted me this long, though I was always wanting to upgrade to something better. With the 2500K, i can do some realistic comparisons and not likely see significant improvements for a few years... At one point I was considering an H67 and a G850, that setup would be much nicer than my aging E4400, but i would be in the same spot, always wanting to get something better.

Ok, I think I have decided. Just waiting a few days to mull it over (and wait and see how much more $ i get Father-In-Law hasn't given me his gift yet and he tends to give cash for presents. If he gives me a bunch, maybe I can get an SSD!)

[vargis14]

Do you happen to live near a Microcenter?
A motherboard + 2500k combo is 100$ cheaper then newegg,I am sure it was posted before but i thought i would throw it out there.
Even if you don't live near one perhaps a relative/family member does?
Good luck on your gifts kiddo.

[gcrosier]

Order made. I'm excited! I will let you know how it goes together.

[gcrosier]

My wife bought me a 128Gb Samsung 830 SSD Should have it on Friday, and my other parts tomorrow.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820147134

[gcrosier]

Well, now I just have to get win 7 to run. Made a mistake though, should have looked for my spare TIM before I completed the order. Had to go get some best buy brand stuff, though I am going to order some nicer stud once I get my pc running

[Airmantharp]

Well, now I just have to get win 7 to run. Made a mistake though, should have looked for my spare TIM before I completed the order. Had to go get some best buy brand stuff, though I am going to order some nicer stud once I get my pc running

It probably won't make any difference. My 2500k hit 4.2GHz on the stock cooler with the stock TIM, and is steady at 4.8GHz with the TIM that came on my H60. Pretty much any TIM will work with these CPU's- they don't tend to be constrained by heat when overclocking in conjunction with any decent cooler.

[gcrosier]

I'm not really worried about the TIM, it's just not as nice as arctic silver or the like. I had a weird win 7 install anyways, so I wasn't surprised when it didn't work. Now I have to get things backed uP and a proper win7 install once I get my sad on Friday.

[Sunburn74]

$90 for 8 GiB of PC3-12800 sounds like a great deal, but who knows how much lower memory prices could go in the next two months?

Actually that doesn't sound like a great deal at all. I bought 16gb of 1600mhz ddr3 ram for 99 dollars about 3 months ago. 4gb sticks of corsair vengeance are going for 25 dollars a piece these days.

YAY, I got a new monitor for my birthday. a 23" Samsung B2330 from Costco, a nice upgrade from my 19" Gateway FPD1960.

Well I'm happy you got a new monitor but honestly, you should have gone for a bigger one, especially if gaming is your plan. 23inch is a good start, butI doubt it'll be your final destination monitor wise (it certainly wasn't for me).

[gcrosier]

JustAnEngineer wrote:$90 for 8 GiB of PC3-12800 sounds like a great deal, but who knows how much lower memory prices could go in the next two months?

Actually that doesn't sound like a great deal at all. I bought 16gb of 1600mhz ddr3 ram for 99 dollars about 3 months ago. 4gb sticks of corsair vengeance are going for 25 dollars a piece these days.

Most of those prices were from a year ago. I am fully aware I can get the same thing I got for 50% what I paid for it.

I would LOVE to get a 1900x1200 IPS monitor (or bigger) but it will have to wait a few years.

I have to say, using a mouse inside BIOS, actually Asus UEFI, is AWESOME!

I got windows 7 installed on an older sata drive, and its kinds sluggish (the drive is 4+ years old). I didn't want to mess with the data on my 1Tb samsung drive, so I installed on my older drive. I can't wait until i get win7 running on my SSD though.

[gcrosier]

Well, everything is together. My lowest score in windows experience index is my CPU at 7.6. This runs very nice!

[thegleek]

Well, everything is together. My lowest score in windows experience index is my CPU at 7.6. This runs very nice!

Awesome! I have all 7.3's to 7.8's and only one 5.9 (which is primary hdd transfer rate). The only way this subscore can be improved is with a SSD I bet...