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Another Sandy Bridge Gaming Build (please confirm hardware choices)

A

Avogadro

Member
Hello,

It's time to upgrade my 4-year old system now that Sandy Bridge is out. Let me start by answering the "Top 10 Questions."

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Most of the time gaming, with the balance being general MS Office/Web surfing tasks. I might watch the occasional downloaded movie or TV show.
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2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread.

I can spend up to $2k, but would prefer not to and probably don't need to.
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3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA, from NewEgg.
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4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

I've had good luck with the manufacturers I've chosen below (Asus, EVGA, Corsair) but could be easily convinced to make a different choice if the price/performance ratio is better.
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5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

I will keep my current case (Antec 900) and DVD drive/burner (an Asus 24B1ST that I bought a couple months back when my old one died)
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6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Yes I have, and I have also tried to keep up with the discussions of SB in the CPU and motherboard forums.
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7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

I will overclock the i5-2500K CPU for sure, but I'm not interested in bleeding-edge liquid cooling or other hardcore tactics. I'd like to crank it to a point, on air, where I can leave it alone and not worry about stability or lifespan. My impression is that ~4.0GHz with the stock cooler is the "butter zone" for what I want to do.
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8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

Currently 1680x1050, but I will upgrade to a 1920x1200 monitor when/if funds permit.
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9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Over the next few weeks. I'm in no rush.
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10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.

No worries. Rather have someone rip me here than waste money or buy stuff that doesn't play nicely together.
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Here are my initial thoughts:

Case - Antec 900 (coming over from my current system)

DVD Burner - Asus 24B1ST (coming over from my current system)

PSU - Corsair AX-750 (expensive but very high quality, why mess around?)
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139016

CPU - i5-2500K (already ordered from the Egg and on its way)
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...tel%20i5-2500K

Mobo - Asus P8P67 Pro (ditto, and yes I know I overpaid 🙁 )
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-682-_-Product

Memory - G.Skill Ripjaws 8MB (2x4GB, 1.5v, DDR3-1600) - should be OK, right?
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-314-_-Product

GPU - EVGA GTX570 SuperClocked (the overclocked version is only $10 more than stock, so why not)
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-595-_-Product

Storage - combo of an OCZ Vertex 2 120GB SSD and WD Caviar Black 750MB
SSD Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-551-_-Product
HDD Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-283-_-Product

Thank you in advance for your advice and suggestions!

_____________________________________________
EDIT 1/12: Second pass with some new thoughts based on mfenn and Davidh's suggestions:

Case - Antec 900 (coming over from my current system)

DVD Burner - Asus 24B1ST (coming over from my current system)

PSU - XFX XXX Edition 650 (on sale!)
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817207002

CPU - i5-2500K (already ordered from the Egg and on its way)
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...tel%20i5-2500K

Mobo - Asus P8P67 Pro (ditto, and yes I know I overpaid 🙁 )
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-682-_-Product

Memory - G.Skill Value Series 8MB (2x4GB, 1.5v, DDR3-1333) (don't need the 1600, and the Ripjaws looked a little too fanboyish for my tastes anyway)
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231424

GPU - MSI GTX570
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127552

Storage - an OCZ Vertex 2 120GB SSD and Samsung F3 1TB HDD
SSD Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-551-_-Product
HDD Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152185
 
Last edited:
I forgot to mention two things:

1) I already have a copy of Windows 7 and a keyboard/mouse combination that I like, so didn't factor those into the build.

2) My goal is to build a machine that is very reliable with enough flexibility and power to allow for some upgrades as time goes by. I got good advice back in 2006 when I built my current rig, and was happy that I got 4 solid years out of it with zero problems.
 
Comments inline:

Avogadro said:
Case - Antec 900 (coming over from my current system)

DVD Burner - Asus 24B1ST (coming over from my current system)
Click to expand...

Should be fine.

Avogadro said:
PSU - Corsair AX-750 (expensive but very high quality, why mess around?)
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139016
Click to expand...

Paying for quality is one thing, but this is just waste. This XFX 650W is $60 AR, and will do everything that you need it to.

Avogadro said:
CPU - i5-2500K (already ordered from the Egg and on its way)
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...tel%20i5-2500K

Mobo - Asus P8P67 Pro (ditto, and yes I know I overpaid 🙁 )
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-682-_-Product
Click to expand...

If you can float the cash, I would send these two back to Newegg and get the 2500K + UD3 combo for $335 instead.

Avogadro said:
Memory - G.Skill Ripjaws 8MB (2x4GB, 1.5v, DDR3-1600) - should be OK, right?
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-314-_-Product
Click to expand...

Again, fine but a waste of money. Here's an $80 DDR3 1333 kit which is just as good.

Avogadro said:
GPU - EVGA GTX570 SuperClocked (the overclocked version is only $10 more than stock, so why not)
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-595-_-Product
Click to expand...

Again, fine but a waste of money. This MSI is $40 cheaper AR.

Avogadro said:
Storage - combo of an OCZ Vertex 2 120GB SSD and WD Caviar Black 750MB
SSD Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-551-_-Product
HDD Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-283-_-Product
Click to expand...

I don't see that combo, but if your effective price for that 750GB drive is any more than $52.50, you are better off with the F3 1TB.

Avogadro said:
Thank you in advance for your advice and suggestions!
Click to expand...

You're welcome, hope that I was able to save you some cash! 🙂
 
Thank you for your comments, mfenn. I definitely appreciate the idea of saving some money. How about we meet in the middle on some of your suggestions? Here are some ideas (I'm also putting all of this together in a "second pass" within my original post).

1) Swap out the AX-750 for a Corsair 650-TX. It's on sale for $90 with an extra $10 MIR (all-in cost only $80), and only $1.99 for shipping.
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

2) Swap out the memory for the DDR-1333 you recommended.

3) Swap out the HDD for a Caviar Blue 500GB. It's only $40 thanks to a promo code. I'll be fine with 500GB.
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136073

4) Swap out the eVGA GPU for the MSI you recommend. I don't know anything about MSI - I'm assuming they have a good rep since you are recommending it.
 
Avogadro said:
3) Swap out the HDD for a Caviar Blue 500GB. It's only $40 thanks to a promo code. I'll be fine with 500GB.
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136073
Click to expand...

I'd pay the extra $20 for a samsung 1TB. The Blue drives aren't anything to write home about... the Samsung F3s are...

Avogadro said:
4) Swap out the eVGA GPU for the MSI you recommend. I don't know anything about MSI - I'm assuming they have a good rep since you are recommending it.
Click to expand...

They are fine.
 
Looking over power supplies a little more, and I failed to notice that a Corsair 650-TX is not modular but the XFX that mfenn suggested is. Keeping the extra spaghetti out of the bottom of my case sounds like a win. Also, I saw that the XFX power supplies are made by Seasonic, so I feel confident that it will be high quality.

I'll also switch to the Samsung F3 hard drive. It seems like there's a lot of people are giving them a thumbs-up.
 
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the model of PSU that this new XFX replaced was very highly rated on jonnyguru.

I would hope the new one is just as good,onyl notable difference you can SEE if the fan is now ugly green :awe:
 
nothing wrong with the ram, but sandy seems to like 1600mhz ram a lot. the difference is a few fps, but if you have the cash to spare, why not go for it?
 
Avogadro said:
Looking over power supplies a little more, and I failed to notice that a Corsair 650-TX is not modular but the XFX that mfenn suggested is. Keeping the extra spaghetti out of the bottom of my case sounds like a win. Also, I saw that the XFX power supplies are made by Seasonic, so I feel confident that it will be high quality.

I'll also switch to the Samsung F3 hard drive. It seems like there's a lot of people are giving them a thumbs-up.
Click to expand...

Add mine! :thumbsup:
 
Thanks again to everyone who gave me advice!

Everything in the "Second Pass" edit was ordered last night, so I could get in on the SSD rebate which expired on the 12th.

Once it all gets here, I'll put it together and let y'all know how it goes.
 
Avogadro said:
Thanks again to everyone who gave me advice!

Everything in the "Second Pass" edit was ordered last night, so I could get in on the SSD rebate which expired on the 12th.

Once it all gets here, I'll put it together and let y'all know how it goes.
Click to expand...

Looks good! :thumbsup:
 
Post-build update.

Props to UPS for getting my Newegg shipment to my house at 6:30PM on a Friday night. I spent all day yesterday taking my old gear out of the Antec 900 case (and getting rid of the dust D: ), reinstalling all the new hardware, installing Windows 7, drivers, etc. and then testing.

Everything works great! I have the CPU at stock speed for now, and plan to wait a few days to make sure the machine is stable (and also for me to do a little more research) before I attempt overclocking. Although I poked around in the new UEFI BIOS a bit during the build process, and it seems very user-friendly.

Did I mention it's screaming fast?

Thanks once again for helping me through the process of picking out hardware. I know I'm going to be very happy with my new rig. 😎
 
mnewsham said:
Its his choice though, 8gb will be good to have in the next two years, I have 4gb now I will probably buy another 4gb next year, buying 8gb now isn't stupid or anything just building to last.
Click to expand...

I agree. Even though I probably don't NEED 8 Gb with my i5-760, I still opted to spend the extra. I'm happy with the performance and don't think the money was wasted.
 
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