New build, need advice

[onetracklanding]

So it's been about 7 years since I last built a computer.. obviously a lot has changed haha I need some opinions on what to do.

My budget :$800-$1000 with some flexibility
I want an intel/nvidia set up..
I have CD drives and stuff from my old computer so thats not necessary. I don't play games too often but would definitely like to be able to run diablo III, starcraft 2, battlefield 3, etc.

This is what I was looking at so far:

Processor:
Intel Core i5-2500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115072

Mother Board: (not sure if it is over the top)
ASUS P8Z68-V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131729

Power supply:
Not sure but I was thinking 750-850W???

GPU:
I was debating between the Geforce 560ti, Geforce 570, or going SLI with 2 weaker cards.. What do you think?

Ram:
Probably 8gb??

Case:
I have no idea

Hard drive:
I have no idea

Does anyone have suggestions any comments?

Thanks

[Sunburn74]

Microcenter is offering 80 dollars off any z68 board if you purchase a 2600k at 279 USD.

With that combo, you can grab a 2600k+ a GA-Z68AP-D3 board for $299 before taxes.

[MJZ82]

I would suggest one decent video card. If you need better graphics, get a better card. I don't see much point to getting more than one graphics card on a newly built system unless you need lots of monitors, or if you are getting a top-of-the-line card and one won't satisfy you. If, down the road, you want to upgrade, you can add another card, maybe even find a similar one to what you have that is used and much cheaper at that time.

750w should be fine, even if you add another graphics card later.

That motherboard is great, and the bios makes it a breeze to overclock if you'd like to. You can find good boards that are a little cheaper, but I don't think you'll have any problems with this one.

8GB RAM should be plenty for your use, and it's the sweet spot right now, price-wise.

Cases: I recently got the NZXT H2. I'm pretty happy with it, but that's my preference. It has a solid, sober look to it, which I prefer over a lot of the 'gamer' cases that look like they were designed by people that install underbody light kits on early 90's civics. Fractal Design makes some pretty nice looking cases with a similar aesthetic to them.

Hard drive(s) just depends on what else you are doing besides playing those few games. If that's about it, get a cheap but name-brand 1TB drive and you'll be fine. If you have further concerns regarding speed/reliability then there are certainly ways you can use up the rest of your budget here.

[mdk77777]

Power supply:
Not sure but I was thinking 750-850W???

I was thinking of building a house.
Not decided on one or two story.

Something between a 900 sq ft shotgun, or maybe a 3000 sq ft colonial.

Can you give me an estimate of the board feet of lumber required?

Once you have a grip on what you are building, you can try this calculator :

http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8437

[JustAnEngineer]

I need some opinions on what to do.

Welcome to the Tech Report!

Have you checked out the System Guide? The Utility Player could meet your criteria.

Power supply: Not sure but I was thinking 750-850W???

The Corsair TX650 V2 is a good power supply with enough capacity for all but the most extreme systems.

GPU: Geforce GTX560Ti

This is the most appealing card with an NVidia GPU. If you'd consider an AMD-based card, the Radeon HD6950 provides excellent bang for the buck.

RAM, Case, Hard drive, Does anyone have suggestions?

2x4 GiB or 4x4 GiB of PC3-12800 or PC3-15000
1 TB Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3
BD-ROM / DVD-RW
Antec Three Hundred
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM

[ludi]

Looks like the specs you're eying are very close to what I just ordered, which was based on the TR Utility Player. Take a quick look here if you're curious:

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=78234

[onetracklanding]

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies.

ive done a lot more research and this is what I have come down to:

Total Cost: $1161
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129042

ASUS P8Z68-V LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131729

Thermaltake TR2 RX 750W Bronze W0382RU ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817153136

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115070

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231314

Antec Kuhler H2O 620 Liquid Cooling System
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835209049

HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D HDS721010DLE630 (0F13180) 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822145533

EVGA Geforce gtx 570 (debating on 2 cheaper video cards, what do you think?)
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked ... 552&sr=8-1

Do you see anywhere that I can save money? Better deals you know of or if I am going overboard with some of these parts?? I don't know anything about cooling..

Thanks,
Dylan

[JustAnEngineer]

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K

The Core i5-2500K might provide nearly equal performance in some applications.

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL

Also consider a similarly-spec'ed Corsair Vengeance kit.

Antec Kuhler H2O 620 Liquid Cooling System

A $26 CoolerMaster Hyper 212 plus provides similar performance with less complexity and cost.

HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D HDS721010DLE630 (0F13180) 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

The Samsung HD103SJ SpinPoint F3 is a better choice.

EVGA Geforce gtx 570

How about one of the hot-clocked GeForce GTX560Ti models from MSI or Zotac or a Radeon HD6950, instead?

[bashar11]

If you are not a huge gamer, you would do very well by getting an i5 2500k, an NVIDEA gtx560 (without the Ti) http://techreport.com/articles.x/20957/10 and using the money you save on a nice SATA3 SSD boot drive (Force 3's are good: http://techreport.com/articles.x/21672/14) and maybe a better case (although thats a personal thing). I seriously recommend the 400r from corsair (it looks way better in person than the photos online http://techreport.com/articles.x/21759)

Personally, I went with the 560Ti because I knew I didn't want to go SLI and that way I was able to go with a standard 600W PSU from corsair and save some money there however the gtx560 is below $200 so it lends itself well to future SLI builds on more of a budget with performance probably looking no where near "budget".
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_557_559&item_id=039081

[Sunburn74]

Like I said microcenter for a limited time is offering 80 dollars off any z68 board if you buy a 2600k at 279 USD. Midrange z68 gigabyte board are going for around 100.

[CB5000]

Considering your most taxing game would be battlefield 3, and you are not a heavy gamer, I would go with the lesser Geforce GTX560 instead, which you can get for as 190$ right now and will provide more than enough performance for BF3 and then some.

The motherboard is a bit overkill for what you say you need since you shouldn't go SLI if you are not a heavy gamer or someone that wants really big benchmark numbers. I think this Asrock mobo would suit you well if you are okay with a brand that has a little bit of a bad reputation http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157251. Personally I've had less problems with Asrock mobos than i have had with ASUS mobos.

I agree with JustaEngineer about the CPU cooler choice. The liquid cooling system is unnecessarily complicated and has a higher failure rate of the pump dying than the fan dying on the standard heat sink. Even if the fan dies, the air movement inside most cases will keep the CPU cool enough because the cooler master's heat sink is pretty beefy. Of course you can also opt for just using the stock low profile cooler since sandy bridge doesn't get terribly hot anyway. I would only go for a aftermarket cooler if you are going to overclock or use something like BOINC or folding at home 24/7. I also agree with this HD choice. The samsung HD is better than the hitachi HD.

For the CPU, the Core i5 2500K should be more than enough horsepower for you. Core i7 would be more useful if you are a heavy video editor, 3D graphics designer, or something that requires more CPU power... but only marginally. IMO the extra cost of the Core i7 isn't worth it for most people.

For the PSU, you don't really need 750W and I've had some bad experiences with Thermaltake PSU's in the past. I'm a fan of PC Power&Cooling and this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703025 500W PSU with a 36A 12V rail will provide more than enough power for you.

[DPete27]

Considering your most taxing game would be battlefield 3, and you are not a heavy gamer, I would go with the lesser Geforce GTX560 instead, which you can get for as 190$ right now and will provide more than enough performance for BF3 and then some.

AMD 6870 is a better value as it can be had for as low as $160 (At roughly the same performance level)
http://techreport.com/articles.x/20957/10

[CB5000]

Considering your most taxing game would be battlefield 3, and you are not a heavy gamer, I would go with the lesser Geforce GTX560 instead, which you can get for as 190$ right now and will provide more than enough performance for BF3 and then some.

AMD 6870 is a better value as it can be had for as low as $160 (At roughly the same performance level)
http://techreport.com/articles.x/20957/10

Yeah I would have suggested that but for some reason the OP wants to get a Nvidia card.

[niblik]

A small addition point, based on my recent build experience: Plan ahead to gather good documentation for your components before you start to physically put your comp together. A lot of components come with just about zero docs and I was forced to go online to get directions on just about everything.

I've heard if you have a laptop or a pad thats it less of a big deal. For me, I had to keep running back and forth between my build project and my older computer that was still hooked up to the internet.