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Selectt wrote:

There's a Micro Center which is really close by.
I was wondering if there's any adjustments to this build that you guys would recommend, considering Micro Center's lower prices.

In another thread, I wrote:

If you happened to make it to a Micro Center, you might pick up something like this:
$190 +tax Intel Core i5-3570K
$60 +tax ASRock Z77 Pro4-M
or $115 +tax Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H
or $90 +tax ASRock Z77 Extreme4
That's an unbeatable deal on the processor and motherboard. Newegg charges $403 for the same processor and motherboard that Micro Center sells for $250+tax

mdk77777 wrote:

I stopped using Antec cases. They are not wide enough to allow you to use the Best AIR CPU coolers.

Do you need a cooler taller than the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo? That one fits fine in the Antec NSK3480 or Antec Three Hundred, in my experience.

Selectt wrote:

I was wondering if there was any good Cooler Master case that you guys would recommend.

I'd definitely choose the Antec Three Hundred Illusion over the Cooler Master Elite 335. The Antec case is constructed more solidly with better drive mounting for quieter operation.

So, how about this you guys?

Mobo- ASRock Z77 Pro4-M
Processor- Intel Core i5-3570K (will probably experiment and try overclocking)
Video Card- EVGA Superclocked GTX 560
Memory- CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600
Storage- Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB & OCZ Agility 3 60GB SSD
DVD Drive- Asus DRW-24B1ST
Power Supply- Cooler Master GX 450W
Monitor- ASUS Black 21.5" IPS Panel LED-backlit Widescreen LCD Monitor

CPU and Mobo from Microcenter
All for a total of 1095.97!
I'm getting more and more excited as I think about it, upgrading from a Sony VAIO dual core 2gb RAM laptop XD
Would everything fit? Would the power supply still work for the new components, even if I tried to overclock? or would I need more wattage?
Thanks a ton for your help so far you guys, couldn't have done it without you(:

I'm starting to get the feeling I should just get the sweet spot? Hehe(x
Is the sweet spot the best of the best in the 1000$ price range? Or is there anything I could change?
Would it work if I put the Intel Core i5-3570K from microcenter into the sweet spot?

Selectt wrote:

I'm starting to get the feeling I should just get the sweet spot? Hehe(x
Is the sweet spot the best of the best in the 1000$ price range? Or is there anything I could change?
Would it work if I put the Intel Core i5-3570K from microcenter into the sweet spot?

Have you considered your monitor - that would get the price slightly past your budget ($1100).

The Sweet Spot is quite good. If you really wanted to change something, you could change the sound card to PCI-e.

integer wrote:

Have you considered your monitor - that would get the price slightly past your budget ($1100).

The Sweet Spot is quite good. If you really wanted to change something, you could change the sound card to PCI-e.

You're right..I guess I'm trying to get like, something right before the sweetspot(x

FYI

Example of case $56 delivered.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811112353

And yes, I think it really is better than Antec in about 4 or 5 ways.

Better fans, better HD cage, better cable layout, better ventilation, etc. etc. etc.

I'm not sayin Antec is not quality, or even Value...there are just some better designs in the last few years and in comparison, Antec is getting a little stale.

However, everyone has their own experience.

Selectt wrote:

integer wrote:

Have you considered your monitor - that would get the price slightly past your budget ($1100).

The Sweet Spot is quite good. If you really wanted to change something, you could change the sound card to PCI-e.

You're right..I guess I'm trying to get like, something right before the sweetspot(x

Depends on how much you'd want to shrink your budget further. Some options - taking the sound card off, lesser priced case (possibly a case / PSU combo like some of the Antecs).

integer wrote:

Depends on how much you'd want to shrink your budget further. Some options - taking the sound card off, lesser priced case (possibly a case / PSU combo like some of the Antecs).

Just by about 100, maybe.
Would the Intel Core i5-3570K from Microcenter work with the Sweet Spot's build?

The 380W PSU will be fine, but there are two things to consider.

1) PSU's degrade over time. As a very rough rule, it's a compound 10% per year, so get 1.6x more than you need for 5 years of use, or 1.33X more for 3 years of use.
2) PSU's run at their most efficient when loaded at less than 75%. After that, efficiency drop and fan noise goes up.

Your build is going to idle at around 100W and peak at around 250W, so I would say that a good quality 500W PSU should give you 5 years of reliable, efficient use. The 380W should give you 3 years of reliable use.

Selectt wrote:

Would the Intel Core i5-3570K from Microcenter work with the Sweet Spot's build?

bump!

You would save at least 50 on a better cpu at microcenter plus 50$ off select motrherboards you can get a 3570k for 179 i thinks:)
look on microcenters website and make sure you you select the store you will be visiting.

Selectt wrote:

Would the Intel Core i5-3570K from Microcenter work with the Sweet Spot's build?

Ivy Bridge chips like the 3570K will fit into any Socket 1155 motherboard. If you're buying new, you'd need to be incredibly unlucky to get one with old enough firmware that it needs a BIOS flash first.

Make sure you goto www.microcenter.com and select the store you will be visiting. i am almost positive you can get a 3570k for 179$ and with a motherboard purchase along with a cpu you can get another 50$ off on select motherboards. so you would get 100$ off a cpu motherboard combo.
I just grabbed a i3 2125 for my htpc 119$ but i had a gift card for 50$ so it cost me 69$ and was installed in 5 min:)
Happy camper right now.