Building my first PC, any suggestions/advice would be awesome!

[Ronald Mcdonald]

1. Mainly used for gaming, hoping to be able to most of the current games at max setting and still be able to meet minimum requirements for future games 2/3 years down the road.

2. I'm currently at $1626 with my current build, I think this is my upper limit.

3. Canada

4. No brand preference, other than Intel over AMD for CPUs.

5. Don't have any current parts to reuse.

6. I've been reading about PC building on and off for the past few month...

7. Plan to OC

8. 1920:1080 or 1920:1200... not really sure

9. 2 or 3 weeks from now

Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth P67 (REV 3.0) ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($219.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Hard Drive: Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($234.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 570 1.25GB Video Card ($339.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Corsair 650D ATX Mid Tower Case ($189.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: Corsair 850W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($189.99 @ Newegg Canada)
(got the 850W bc I might SLI down the road if I find a good deal on another GTX 570)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $1563.91
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

Also Coolermaster hyper 212+

This is going to be my first build ever, feeling kind of intimidated... I tried my best to make sure all parts are compatible for each other, any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Go for cheapr RAM. and a cheaper case. like the haf 922

 

[mnewsham]

1600 bucks and no solid state drive? If I weren't on my phone I would correct this build for you. Mfenn or someone else should be here in a bit to give you a new build, if they dont by later tonight I will drop back in and get you a much better build.

 

[Ronald Mcdonald]

Go for cheapr RAM. and a cheaper case. like the haf 922

Any suggestions for the RAM?

1600 bucks and no solid state drive? If I weren't on my phone I would correct this build for you. Mfenn or someone else should be here in a bit to give you a new build, if they dont by later tonight I will drop back in and get you a much better build.

PCpartpicker just labeled it as hard drive, but if you look at the link, I selected the crucial C300. Although I'm now leaning towards the newer crucial M4

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820148448

 

[T_Yamamoto]

RAM:http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820231424
CASE: HAF 922, is cheaper and has better airflow

 

[Ronald Mcdonald]

Thanks! I think I might get the haf 922, but it doesn't look like the RAM you posted is compatible with P67 mobos? This is what I see on the features list

Compatible M/B Chipset:

Intel P55
lntel H55
Intel X48
Intel P45
Intel X38
AMD 890 Series
AMD 790 Series

 

[T_Yamamoto]

well sorry.
Look for the cheapest ram. it doesnt have to have heat spreaders on them.

 

[mfenn]

Thanks! I think I might get the haf 922, but it doesn't look like the RAM you posted is compatible with P67 mobos? This is what I see on the features list

It is compatible, they just haven't updated the product page.

 

[mfenn]

1600 bucks and no solid state drive? If I weren't on my phone I would correct this build for you. Mfenn or someone else should be here in a bit to give you a new build, if they dont by later tonight I will drop back in and get you a much better build.

Here to serve! :awe:

OP, you're spending quite a lot of money in places that don't really help you. Here's something better for less money (drop the second 6950 2GB if you'd rather get an even lower cost).

i5 2500K + GA-Z68A-D3H combo $325
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $48
6950 2GB x2 $520
Intel 320 120GB $195
Samsung F3 1TB $75
Samsung DVD Burner $18
XFX Core 650W $80 AR
HAF 922 $90
Corsair CAFA50 $20 AR
Total: $1371 AR

Even after shipping and before rebates, you're still looking at $1450 or so.

 

[Ronald Mcdonald]

Here to serve! :awe:

OP, you're spending quite a lot of money in places that don't really help you. Here's something better for less money (drop the second 6950 2GB if you'd rather get an even lower cost).

i5 2500K + GA-Z68A-D3H combo $325
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $48
6950 2GB x2 $520
Intel 320 120GB $195
Samsung F3 1TB $75
Samsung DVD Burner $18
XFX Core 650W $80 AR
HAF 922 $90
Corsair CAFA50 $20 AR
Total: $1371 AR

Even after shipping and before rebates, you're still looking at $1450 or so.

Thanks for the feedback! Now that I look back, my first build definitely wasn't getting the most bang for the buck... How does this build (based off of your suggestion) sound?

Since I'm from Canada, so I was able to find some reputable Canadian retailers that offered free shipping, which turns out to be even cheaper than Newegg for most cases.

BestDirect.ca: (free shipping)
$208.79 - Core i5 2500K
$155.51 - Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 (the one from the newegg combo didn't have good reviews)
$24.20 - Hyper 212+
$223.65 - Crucial M4 C400 128 GB
$332.02 - EVGA GTX 570 (@732MHz) (Tough choice here...Would crossfiring the 6950 for an additional $200 have any noticeable performance boosts?)
$16.79 - ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X (saves $7.99 on shipping)
$129.79 - XFX PRO850W (Even though the 650W version is cheaper by $50, the 850W will leave the door open for SLI in the future if I find a sale on GTX570s...)
Total: $1162.48 - Including tax and shipping (free)

Newegg:
$99.99 - Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower
$74.99 - Samsung F3 1TB
Total: [FONT=&quot]$207.07 - Including tax and shipping

DirectCanada.com:
$58.71 - G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 (still cheaper than the value series from newegg because its free shipping)

Overall - $1452.73 - includes shipping, taxes, everything...

I feel like I can cut out another $100-$150 by going for a cheaper mobo, 650W PSU and a 6950 over the GTX, but I'm not sure if that is worth it...
[/FONT]

 

[mnewsham]

With the extra 6950 you will be able to crank up the filtering and still maintain 60FPS for most things.

 

[mfenn]

Thanks for the feedback! Now that I look back, my first build definitely wasn't getting the most bang for the buck... How does this build (based off of your suggestion) sound?

Since I'm from Canada, so I was able to find some reputable Canadian retailers that offered free shipping, which turns out to be even cheaper than Newegg for most cases.

BestDirect.ca: (free shipping)
$208.79 - Core i5 2500K
$155.51 - Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 (the one from the newegg combo didn't have good reviews)
$24.20 - Hyper 212+
$223.65 - Crucial M4 C400 128 GB
$332.02 - EVGA GTX 570 (@732MHz) (Tough choice here...Would crossfiring the 6950 for an additional $200 have any noticeable performance boosts?)
$16.79 - ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X (saves $7.99 on shipping)
$129.79 - XFX PRO850W (Even though the 650W version is cheaper by $50, the 850W will leave the door open for SLI in the future if I find a sale on GTX570s...)
Total: $1162.48 - Including tax and shipping (free)

Newegg:
$99.99 - Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower
$74.99 - Samsung F3 1TB
Total: [FONT=&quot]$207.07 - Including tax and shipping

DirectCanada.com:
$58.71 - G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 (still cheaper than the value series from newegg because its free shipping)

Overall - $1452.73 - includes shipping, taxes, everything...

I feel like I can cut out another $100-$150 by going for a cheaper mobo, 650W PSU and a 6950 over the GTX, but I'm not sure if that is worth it...
[/FONT]

The only thing I would really take issue with here is the PSU and GTX 570. They're just not worth it from a bang for the buck perspective IMHO. You can either save money by going with a 6950 2GB and 550W PSU or get the whole enchilada (CFX 6950 2GB + 650W PSU) for nearly the same price as the GTX 570 and 850W.

 

[Ronald Mcdonald]

The only thing I would really take issue with here is the PSU and GTX 570. They're just not worth it from a bang for the buck perspective IMHO. You can either save money by going with a 6950 2GB and 550W PSU or get the whole enchilada (CFX 6950 2GB + 650W PSU) for nearly the same price as the GTX 570 and 850W.

I dunno why, maybe its their marketing or the reviewers that hyped it up or im stubborn, but I just have this raging hard-on for the 570. I ended up getting the Silverstone Strider 750W for $114, I know its an overkill, but I plan to get another 570 a few month down the road (maybe boxing day or something).

I also ended up taking that i5 2500K + GA-Z68A-D3H combo, great deal, couldn't pass it up.

Thanks for your help, hopefully the build works out okay.

 

[mfenn]

I dunno why, maybe its their marketing or the reviewers that hyped it up or im stubborn, but I just have this raging hard-on for the 570. I ended up getting the Silverstone Strider 750W for $114, I know its an overkill, but I plan to get another 570 a few month down the road (maybe boxing day or something).

Suuuure you will. If I had a penny for every time I've heard that one.

I also ended up taking that i5 2500K + GA-Z68A-D3H combo, great deal, couldn't pass it up.

Thanks for your help, hopefully the build works out okay.

Sounds good, you should like it.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Suuuure you will. If I had a penny for every time I've heard that one.

hahaa,i would be a millionare!