Building a new rig for SC2

makken

Golden Member
Aug 28, 2004
1,476
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UPDATE: DOA motherboard, Looking for a replacement

hey guys, helping a friend build a new rig for SC2 / WOW / Schoolwork, here's a copy/paste from the sticky:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
mainly Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft, Sims 3, School/Office work

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$1500 USD including monitor and all accessories

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA, newegg specifically

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.
No Preference, though I'm more comfortable with Intel platforms

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
no current parts

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
of course

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
default speeds

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
Will eventually depend on the monitor, but I'm 99% sure it will be either 1920x1080 or 1920x1200

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
in 3 weeks

Here's what I'm thinking so far:

Intel i5-750 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115215) $194.99
Gigabyte GA-H55M-USB3 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128429) $109.99
Cooler Master Hyper 212 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103065) $49.99
G.Skill 4GB DDR3-1600 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231193) $96.99
Antec TruePower 650W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371021) $99.99
Gigabyte GTX-460 1GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125333) $229.99
Intel X25-M 80GB boot drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820167018) $207.99
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB storage drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152185) $74.99
Lite-ON CD/DVD Burner (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106289) $18.99
Antec 300 Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129066) $69.99
Asus 24" LCD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236049) $219.99
Logitech LS21 2.1 Speakers (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836121019) $25.99
Microsoft Explorer mouse (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836121019) $34.99
Microsoft Comfort Curve keyboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16823109043) $12.99

Total: $1447.86

Anyone see any glaring issues with this build, or have any suggested changes?

The main question I have is what does starcraft 2 stress more? being an RTS I'm going to assume its going to stress the CPU a lot more than other games, but from what I've read, it seems to be destroying GPUs as well. In the setup I have above, will I be GPU or CPU bound running SC2 at max settings at 1920x1080? Will it be better to drop down to an i3 and grab a 5870? I'm fairly confident anything i put together these days will be able to handle WoW and Sims3 with no issues.

thanks
 
Last edited:

jchu14

Senior member
Jul 5, 2001
613
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I see nothing wrong with the build. Just some comments.
1) the Hyper 212 is extraordinarily overpriced at Newegg. Go for another cooler at $50 or find the 212 at a much lower price
2) You might consider getting a i5 760 instead of the 750 if it doesn't cost much more.
3) consider getting something like Vertex 2 120gb for $50 more and 50% more storage.
4) The Antec TPN/Corsair TX/XFX 650watt are all pretty similar in performance. Pick the one that's the cheapest in 3weeks.
5) I would recommend a keyboard/mouse operates at 2.4ghz. The microsoft receiver is quite big and the range is terrible (~4-5 feet at best). If you don't mind wires, I also recommend a wired keyboard. I can't feel the input lag like some people say (I personally think it's just placebo), but you do run into interference issues. I did not have any complaint about my wirelss MS keyboard til I tried playing a racing game. The constant holding down of buttons really highlights any interference you run into.
 

makken

Golden Member
Aug 28, 2004
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Ok, so I order the parts, replaced the PSU with the corsair unit.

However, it looks like i got a bad mobo, just RMA'd it back to newegg. I read people had issues with that mobo, so I elected to get a full refund. So anyone have any recommendations for a new motherboard?
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
Ok, so I order the parts, replaced the PSU with the corsair unit.

However, it looks like i got a bad mobo, just RMA'd it back to newegg. I read people had issues with that mobo, so I elected to get a full refund. So anyone have any recommendations for a new motherboard?

DOA's can happen with any board, but if you want a different board here's a few with the (IMHO more appropriate) P55 chipset:
Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 $130 AR
MSI P55A-G55 $125
 

makken

Golden Member
Aug 28, 2004
1,476
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76
I understand that DOAs will happen, however, I from newegg that quite a few people were getting a power loop cycle with that particular mobo, which was pretty much what I was experiencing, so I would rather err on the side of caution and grab a different one.

thanks for the recommendations, however, what's the difference between that ASUS and this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131604
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
I understand that DOAs will happen, however, I from newegg that quite a few people were getting a power loop cycle with that particular mobo, which was pretty much what I was experiencing, so I would rather err on the side of caution and grab a different one.

thanks for the recommendations, however, what's the difference between that ASUS and this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131604

The Gigabyte and MSI both have SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0. Additionally, the MSI has the capability to go x8/x8 Crossfire.
 

MisterDonut

Senior member
Dec 8, 2009
920
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0
I might go for a SF-based SSD (Corsair Force) instead of the Intel one...or wait for the next gen. Otherwise looks like a good machine :D.