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[DONE] Building a PC in 3 months, need your help. [Final Cost $1500] :)

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Just an hour away? Well, in that case, don't spend the extra cash on gas just to get a monitor! Micro Center has the best prices on CPUs by ~$40, plus they often have good bundle deals on motherboards. (Practically any Z77 will do.)

i suggested that with post #16, where's the love :wub:

It depends on the usage but for Gaming I would never want IPS. Just too slow.

i've been gaming on an IPS for 6 or 7 years now :colbert:
 
i suggested that with post #16, where's the love :wub:



i've been gaming on an IPS for 6 or 7 years now :colbert:

That's fine, I'm picky with my gaming though. I've seen some good IPS panels and even the fastest ones I found bugged me. I have to have TN for games even if I sacrifice colors and picture clarity. That's just because I'm a gamer first and I don't use my PC for photoshop and professional stuff.
 
DSF,
Thanks for the suggestion! But the reason I want to use my credit card is to develop my credit score. I am not sure if PayPal does anything for credit score, if it does then I may have to look in to it. A great suggestion none the less. Thanks!
-theastrohaut

That's not really how a credit card works. You do want to charge something to the card every month to keep the credit history active. That charge could be $2 and it wouldn't matter. In fact, maxing out your credit card every month hurts your credit rating because it increases your ratio of used credit to available credit.
 
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/a37t
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/a37t/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/a37t/benchmarks/

Note : Bolded because I am not going to be buying from the particular vendor.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper N520 43.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.69 @ NCIX US)

Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Hard Drive: Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ CompUSA)

Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)

Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($144.49 @ NCIX US)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($98.99 @ B&H)

Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($47.52 @ B&H)

Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Wired Laser Mouse ($47.99 @ Dell Small Business)


Total: $1553.59

(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-06-13 17:10 EDT-0400)

-TheAstrohaut

Here's my comments:
- CPU: Good
- Cooler: The Hyper 212+ has a bigger fan (more surface area) and costs less
- Mobo: Since you don't have extra parts laying around to do a BIOS update with, you'll want to get a Z77 board like the ASRock Z77 Pro4. Don't worry about the lack of SLI support, GTX 670 SLI is entirely pointless at 1080p.
- RAM: Fine, but this Samsung costs the same and can overclock like mad.
- HDD : WD Blacks are usually the most expensive drives, and not for any good reason. This Seagate is $90 today, $100 regular price.
- SSD : You can get the Crucal M4 128GB for the same price as the C300 64GB.
- GPU: Fine
- PSU: See above about SLI. The Seasonic M12II 520W is plenty of power for a single GTX 670.
- ODD : Fine
- Monitor, OS, Mouse, Keyboard: All good
 
That's not really how a credit card works. You do want to charge something to the card every month to keep the credit history active. That charge could be $2 and it wouldn't matter. In fact, maxing out your credit card every month hurts your credit rating because it increases your ratio of used credit to available credit.

That's why I am not really going to be maxing out my credit card. Although it doesn't hurt your credit history if you pay it off when the statement arrives even if you somehow max it out.

-TheAstrohaut
 
Here's my comments:
- CPU: Good
- Cooler: The Hyper 212+ has a bigger fan (more surface area) and costs less
- Mobo: Since you don't have extra parts laying around to do a BIOS update with, you'll want to get a Z77 board like the ASRock Z77 Pro4. Don't worry about the lack of SLI support, GTX 670 SLI is entirely pointless at 1080p.
- RAM: Fine, but this Samsung costs the same and can overclock like mad.
- HDD : WD Blacks are usually the most expensive drives, and not for any good reason. This Seagate is $90 today, $100 regular price.
- SSD : You can get the Crucal M4 128GB for the same price as the C300 64GB.
- GPU: Fine
- PSU: See above about SLI. The Seasonic M12II 520W is plenty of power for a single GTX 670.
- ODD : Fine
- Monitor, OS, Mouse, Keyboard: All good

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/a7p0
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/a7p0/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/a7p0/benchmarks/

*****!!!!!Changes are highlighted in BOLD********!!!!!!!

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Hard Drive: Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.99 @
Newegg)

Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ CompUSA)

Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: Corsair 550W ATX12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)

Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($144.49 @ NCIX US)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($98.99 @ B&H)

Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($47.52 @ B&H)

Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Wired Laser Mouse ($47.99 @ Dell Small Business)

Total: $1534.89
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-06-14 11:07 EDT-0400)

I updated the list as per your suggestion, Thanks for that. I had a question though. With a PSU that low, are you sure it will be okay? I just want to make sure, Thanks.

-TheAstrohaut
 
This Seasonic PSU supplies almost as much power and is modular for $25-30 less, depending on shipping:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151093
Edit: And with one video card, that sort of PSU is totally fine. If you were going to SLI you'd want a little more headroom, but running a computer, even with overclocking, takes a lot less power than people seem to think.

Also, are you buying the CPU online or in store? If you're traveling to the store you should be able to get a nice Z77 motherboard bundled with the CPU for $50 off. No reason to spend $110 on Newegg if you can do that.
 
Dude, the Crucial C300 is outdated and overpriced. $119 for 64GB is more than most faster current-gen 128GB SSDs are going for now.
 
i'm going to echo the above:

if you're going to get the processor at microcenter, get the board at microcenter as well. with that processor, the asrock z77 pro4 is $70.

and you've got an old and small SSD there, you can get 120 and 128 GB drives for that same price now.
 
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/a7p0
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/a7p0/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/a7p0/benchmarks/

*****!!!!!Changes are highlighted in BOLD********!!!!!!!

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Hard Drive: Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.99 @
Newegg)

Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ CompUSA)

Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: Corsair 550W ATX12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)

Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($144.49 @ NCIX US)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($98.99 @ B&H)

Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($47.52 @ B&H)

Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Wired Laser Mouse ($47.99 @ Dell Small Business)

Total: $1534.89
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-06-14 11:07 EDT-0400)

I updated the list as per your suggestion, Thanks for that. I had a question though. With a PSU that low, are you sure it will be okay? I just want to make sure, Thanks.

-TheAstrohaut

CPU - Good!
Cooler - Good, but I'd get 212 Evo it's better
Mobo - Good! But if you have a microcenter nearby, get the board + CPU from microcenter and save $50
RAM - Overpriced, there's no difference to this $43 kit
HDD - Seagate 1TB 7200RPM for $90, or Seagate 2TB 5900RPM for $100, or Seagate 2TB 7200RPM for $120
SSD - Eh what? Last gen 64GB SSD for $120, when the newer and faster M4 128GB costs the same?
GPU - Meh, that's a reference card. Asus GTX 670 $420 is far superior
Case - Doesn't support USB3.0. If you really like the looks, get HAF XM for $126. If you want to pay <$100 for the case, get Corsair 400R for $90.
PSU - Way overpriced for a 500W unit. Get Seasonic M12II 520W for $60 which is actually better as well.
ODD Good!
Monitor Good!
OS Good!
Keyboard Good but consider a mechanical keyboard like Steelseries 6gv2, Razer Blackwidow
Mouse Good but it's $48... I'd get Logitech G400 for $37 from Amazon

I recommend buying as much as possible from the same place. You should be able to get everything from newegg & NCIX without having to pay noticeably more for anything (except for Logitech G400).
 
Last edited:
This Seasonic PSU supplies almost as much power and is modular for $25-30 less, depending on shipping:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151093
Edit: And with one video card, that sort of PSU is totally fine. If you were going to SLI you'd want a little more headroom, but running a computer, even with overclocking, takes a lot less power than people seem to think.

Also, are you buying the CPU online or in store? If you're traveling to the store you should be able to get a nice Z77 motherboard bundled with the CPU for $50 off. No reason to spend $110 on Newegg if you can do that.

I know I said in my other post that I will be going to the Microcenter, but honestly I am not sure at this point. I will have to decide when the time comes. BTW thanks for the PSU recommendation, I was actually looking for a modular box, but couldn't find it. Thanks.
 
CPU - Good!
Cooler - Good, but I'd get 212 Evo it's better
Mobo - Good! But if you have a microcenter nearby, get the board + CPU from microcenter and save $50
RAM - Overpriced, there's no difference to this $43 kit
HDD - Seagate 1TB 7200RPM for $90, or Seagate 2TB 5900RPM for $100, or Seagate 2TB 7200RPM for $120
SSD - Eh what? Last gen 64GB SSD for $120, when the newer and faster M4 128GB costs the same?
GPU - Meh, that's a reference card. Asus GTX 670 $420 is far superior
Case - Doesn't support USB3.0. If you really like the looks, get HAF XM for $126. If you want to pay <$100 for the case, get Corsair 400R for $90.
PSU - Way overpriced for a 500W unit. Get Seasonic M12II 520W for $60 which is actually better as well.
ODD Good!
Monitor Good!
OS Good!
Mouse Good but it's $48... I'd get Logitech G400 for $37 from Amazon
I recommend buying as much as possible from the same place. You should be able to get everything from newegg & NCIX without having to pay noticeably more for anything (except for Logitech G400).

I think the 212+ will be just fine, I don't want to spend extra on something that will yield only a little bit of difference. Thanks for the RAM suggestion, I will change it. Is seagate reliable?, I heard too many negative reviews about them. I know a lot of you are suggesting me the newer SSD, I will change that as well, thank you. Also, thanks for the Case suggestion, I wasn't sure about the one that I had on the list. Thanks. I am gonna go with the suggested PSU. About the mouse, I heard way too many good things about the deathadder for me to pass it away. But I'll think about it.

-TheAstrohaut
 
I will update the list when I get back from work. Thanks for all the help. And please leave your suggestions here. This really is helping me out.
 
Sorry for such a delayed update post. Finally, I tinkered around a little bit last night with my parts list when I got home from work. I reflected upon your guys's comments and suggestions. Below is the final draft of my list. I just need to make sure that everything and anything on this list makes sense, from every dynamics. Just as an FYI, for those who are wondering. I AM going to go to the Microcenter to get the MB, CPU, and Monitor. It is cheaper that way. Thanks for everyone who suggested me that. Without further ado, this is my list.



CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Microcenter combo offer w/CPU)

Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.24 @ B&H)

Hard Drive: Crucial M4 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($76.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($419.99 @ Newegg)

Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.64 @ Newegg)

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)

Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($144.49 @ Microcenter)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($98.99 @ B&H)

Keyboard: Razer Lycosa Wired Gaming Keyboard ($69.99 @ Best Buy)

Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Wired Laser Mouse ($58.89 @ Wolf Camera)

Total: $1500.16

(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

Special Thanks to these people:

lehtv (suggesting most of the parts)
ElFenix (Tip about the Microcenter)
birthdaymonkey (Brought to my attention the issue w/ SSD pricing logic)
DSF
And BIG THANKS to Ken for giving me the idea to start this thread.

If I missed anyone, Thank You!
 
Not sure about your MC, but mine carried quite a few 8 GB sets for under $40, I picked up one for ~$35 a few weeks ago when I picked up my 3570K.

The motherboard is a nice pick, lots of users here use/recommend them. If you want to save a little more though the Biostar TZ77A/B can be had for around $20 less (I've had no issues with them but Biostar has had a pretty bad name for a while, their current offerings are great for the price imo).

I'd say wait on the SSD, the 128 GB M4 is on sale quite a lot these days, or the slightly faster Samsung 830 for close to or at $100. I feel the <30% cost increase justifies double the capacity, but that is entirely your choice too. If you know you won't be needing more than 64 GB any extra spent is effectively a waste anyways.

Monitor given its size and price I'm not all that sure about, but monitors tend to be more about user preference than cost/"performance" to begin with for most people anyways.

Rest of the build looks pretty good!
 
Not sure about your MC, but mine carried quite a few 8 GB sets for under $40, I picked up one for ~$35 a few weeks ago when I picked up my 3570K.

The motherboard is a nice pick, lots of users here use/recommend them. If you want to save a little more though the Biostar TZ77A/B can be had for around $20 less (I've had no issues with them but Biostar has had a pretty bad name for a while, their current offerings are great for the price imo).

I'd say wait on the SSD, the 128 GB M4 is on sale quite a lot these days, or the slightly faster Samsung 830 for close to or at $100. I feel the <30% cost increase justifies double the capacity, but that is entirely your choice too. If you know you won't be needing more than 64 GB any extra spent is effectively a waste anyways.

Monitor given its size and price I'm not all that sure about, but monitors tend to be more about user preference than cost/"performance" to begin with for most people anyways.

Rest of the build looks pretty good!

If you do find 8gb 2X4gb memory sticks under $40 then please let me know.
 
Not sure about your MC, but mine carried quite a few 8 GB sets for under $40, I picked up one for ~$35 a few weeks ago when I picked up my 3570K.

The motherboard is a nice pick, lots of users here use/recommend them. If you want to save a little more though the Biostar TZ77A/B can be had for around $20 less (I've had no issues with them but Biostar has had a pretty bad name for a while, their current offerings are great for the price imo).

I'd say wait on the SSD, the 128 GB M4 is on sale quite a lot these days, or the slightly faster Samsung 830 for close to or at $100. I feel the <30% cost increase justifies double the capacity, but that is entirely your choice too. If you know you won't be needing more than 64 GB any extra spent is effectively a waste anyways.

Monitor given its size and price I'm not all that sure about, but monitors tend to be more about user preference than cost/"performance" to begin with for most people anyways.

Rest of the build looks pretty good!

Are these the ones you are talking about?
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/patriot-memory-pxd38g1600llk

I am not sure if they are reliable. If they are then please let me know.
 
To begin with, not sure why you're in need of 1600 since in your final draft you have 1333 but that aside:

If you don't mind rebates:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0355690 $40 AR

If you do then:
1) http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0359910 $45
2) http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354611 $45
3) http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0380720 $47

1 and 2 are basically the same thing, different appearances for the flashy heat spreaders so the choice is yours. Option 3 however is a bit more but is a pretty highly recommended set of RAM around here, as I've been told it can overclock amazingly well and operates using slightly less energy (almost insignificant but whatever).
 
Last edited:
Sorry for such a delayed update post. Finally, I tinkered around a little bit last night with my parts list when I got home from work. I reflected upon your guys's comments and suggestions. Below is the final draft of my list. I just need to make sure that everything and anything on this list makes sense, from every dynamics. Just as an FYI, for those who are wondering. I AM going to go to the Microcenter to get the MB, CPU, and Monitor. It is cheaper that way. Thanks for everyone who suggested me that. Without further ado, this is my list.

Special Thanks to these people:

lehtv (suggesting most of the parts)
ElFenix (Tip about the Microcenter)
birthdaymonkey (Brought to my attention the issue w/ SSD pricing logic)
DSF
And BIG THANKS to Ken for giving me the idea to start this thread.

If I missed anyone, Thank You!

Your parts list looks good for the most part, but I would highly suggest spending an extra $48 and getting the 128GB version of the SSD. It's definitely possible to get by with 64GB, but managing the space can get to be a pain.
 
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