Buy or try to build for the first time

[mfenn]

Huge thanks to everyone who posted. Newegg has been kicking out some nice coupon codes and discounts, and I have been able to up-spec a few parts for some of the recommendations. I have read this thread no less than 20-30 times as I have been reviewing parts and costs/benefit tradeoffs.

Here is what is coming:

ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

(big discount code meant only like $20 over the lower level one)

Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I7860

(dropping in price pretty nicely, still- a bit of a splurge, as it was $40 more than the i5). But a screamer with great reviews.

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

(great deal, $25 code meant its only a couple of bucks more for the quicker RAM).

CASE ANTEC|NINE HUNDRED TWO

The case was another splurge, as it will carry over between builds. The aggressive price and discount code brought it close enough for me to click "buy".

The power supply is the previously mentioned Seasonic 650 modular

Still some stuff left obviously.

Eh, it seems like some of your money was spent just because you could. Solid choices, but I don't know if your extra ~$100 was well spent for a gaming rig.

 

[Highmodulus]

Eh, it seems like some of your money was spent just because you could. Solid choices, but I don't know if your extra ~$100 was well spent for a gaming rig.

Your probably right- Newegg is good at leading me astray. On the MB/Processor/RAM I could have went cheaper for sure, but liked the return on the extra money. With combo pricing and discount codes (much more aggressive ones on the high end 1156 stuff for sure), often the price was very close in the end. Of course, $20 here, $20 there adds up in the end.

The hardest choice was the Processor. I went back and forth on that for a while. Probably spent a bit too much for it, but the aggressive discounting and combo pricing, and the strong out of the box performance led to me to say "what the heck" and go for the i7.

Any recommendations on CPU coolers you like? Primary LCD's for 1080+ gaming? Thanks again for your help- you guys are amazing!

 

[mfenn]

Any recommendations on CPU coolers you like? Primary LCD's for 1080+ gaming? Thanks again for your help- you guys are amazing!

I'm a fan of the Hyper 212 for cheap n' cheerful and of the Noctua DH-U12P for higher end stuff.

As for LCDs, I personally only use IPS screens like the Dell U2311H and U2410. Those are pricey though, so if you're looking for something cheaper ASUS has some good 23.6" 1080P monitors for ~$200.

 

[Highmodulus]

Are the IPS monitors worth it for a gaming/web machine in your opinion?

FWIW, I clawed back a good bit of the $100 splurging by omitting the BluRay. I have a PS3, so really I did not need it. The $20 ASUS burner was good enough. Ordered the 1 TB hard drive you guys suggested.

Looks like the price drops are coming tomorrow on the GTX 460 and especially the 470's (which also are subject to preexisting MIRs expiring at the end of the month).

 

[mfenn]

Are the IPS monitors worth it for a gaming/web machine in your opinion?

From a strict necessity, they are not definitely overkill and a waste. Nothing that you will be doing with a gaming/general usage machine really needs the color accuracy, color gamut, or contrast ratio (real contrast ration, not any of this dynamic crap) that an IPS monitor provides.

I love the beautiful, accurate colors though.

 

[Highmodulus]

From a strict necessity, they are not definitely overkill and a waste. Nothing that you will be doing with a gaming/general usage machine really needs the color accuracy, color gamut, or contrast ratio (real contrast ration, not any of this dynamic crap) that an IPS monitor provides.

I love the beautiful, accurate colors though.

Me too. Off to the Dell website!

 

[Highmodulus]

After reading all the reviews and benches, just ordered a 6870 from the Egg. This one:

SAPPHIRE 100314SR Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

Several discounted GTX470s were tempting too. I love the smell of price wars in the morning!

 

[Highmodulus]

From a strict necessity, they are not definitely overkill and a waste. Nothing that you will be doing with a gaming/general usage machine really needs the color accuracy, color gamut, or contrast ratio (real contrast ration, not any of this dynamic crap) that an IPS monitor provides.

I love the beautiful, accurate colors though.

Just ordered it now- thanks for the advice again!

It was discounted $60 today, and there was a 10% discount code out there. Website is clear you can combine them (reading the T's and C's) but wouldn't do it.

Talked to a very motivated Dell CS rep, he put me on hold and manually set through the discount: $485-ish before tax, with free shipping! Woot. Tax took some of the fun out of it, but I was stuck with that no matter what. Replacing a sub-pat Acer 23 monitor with this- can't wait.

 

[mfenn]

After reading all the reviews and benches, just ordered a 6870 from the Egg. This one:

SAPPHIRE 100314SR Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

Several discounted GTX470s were tempting too. I love the smell of price wars in the morning!

Good choice. The 6870 is looking very good at $230 and the prices should only go down! (crosses fingers, hopes that we won't see a repeat of the 5870 pricing)

Just ordered it now- thanks for the advice again!

It was discounted $60 today, and there was a 10% discount code out there. Website is clear you can combine them (reading the T's and C's) but wouldn't do it.

Talked to a very motivated Dell CS rep, he put me on hold and manually set through the discount: $485-ish before tax, with free shipping! Woot. Tax took some of the fun out of it, but I was stuck with that no matter what. Replacing a sub-pat Acer 23 monitor with this- can't wait.

So I take it you went with the U2410? it's a very good monitor, I have one myself! Just make sure that you take advantage of the precalibrated Adobe RGB or sRGB modes, whichever looks better in your lighting, for me it was the Adobe RGB.

 

[Highmodulus]

So I take it you went with the U2410? it's a very good monitor, I have one myself! Just make sure that you take advantage of the precalibrated Adobe RGB or sRGB modes, whichever looks better in your lighting, for me it was the Adobe RGB.

Yes I did. Like Dell monitors in general, and your recommendation helped a lot. It was a bit more in price, but with the nice price on the 6870 and holding off on a SSD for now I could fit it in the budget. Like the case, I figure its something that would carry over between builds.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Hot Deals is a dangerous forum.

Yes, yes it is. Trust me

 

[VirtualLarry]

After reading all the reviews and benches, just ordered a 6870 from the Egg. This one:

SAPPHIRE 100314SR Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

I ordered the same one!

 

[Highmodulus]

Nice!