Haven't built one in years, need opinions

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AnemicOak

Junior Member
Apr 21, 2010
11
0
0
Hi All,

It's been years since I've built a system (built a lot about 10 years ago). I need a new comp and was all set to just buy something off the shelf and be done with it, but I just can't. So I've been doing some reading and have come up with a system I think will be pretty good for me, but being that it's been so long I'd really appreciate some opinions/tips/etc.

This will kind of be an all purpose multi-tasker. The only game I really play right now it WoW. Will probably be running Adobe's CS4 Creative Suite, but not using it heavily. Other than that, just basic stuff (word processing, web surfing, MP3 stuff), with the possibility of more games in the near future.

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GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128412

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115215

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231193

ASUS CuCore Series EAH5770 CuCore/2DI/1GD5 Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121363

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136284

LITE-ON Black 4X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM SATA Internal 4X Blu-ray Reader Model iHOS104-06 - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106325

Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD/CD Rewritable Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118030

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129021

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116754
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Any reason to up the RAM to 8GB? Video card Ok/Overkill? Decent case/ps?

Thinking I want to keep the cost right around 1K.


Thanks in Advance
 
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AnemicOak

Junior Member
Apr 21, 2010
11
0
0
Just found out I can get an i7 860 at Microcenter for the same price the Egg wants for the i5 750 so may do that instead for a CPU.
 
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mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
It's great to see somebody do such a good job on their first draft!

If you've got a MC nearby, the 860 is a no-brainer.

The GPU is a bit overkill for WoW, depending on your resolution. With the 5770 and 5750 being so close in price, and since you plan to play some more games in the future, I think the 5770 is a good choice.

The PSU is good, although you could probably get by with a 550W. The Nine Hundred is a good case, but be aware that it isn't the quietest. If you want something a little quieter, take a look at the Antec 183.
 
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AnemicOak

Junior Member
Apr 21, 2010
11
0
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Yeah, I think I'm going to pickup the 860 on my lunch break.

I'm not really planning to OC so I'm thinking the stock cooler should be Ok?
 
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AnemicOak

Junior Member
Apr 21, 2010
11
0
0
mfenn said:
The Nine Hundred is a good case, but be aware that it isn't the quietest. If you want something a little quieter, take a look at the Antec 183.
Click to expand...

By not the quietest are we talking jet engine loud or??? I'll check out the 183.
 
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mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
AnemicOak said:
Yeah, I think I'm going to pickup the 860 on my lunch break.

I'm not really planning to OC so I'm thinking the stock cooler should be Ok?
Click to expand...

Yeah the stock cooler will be fine. It's not silent under load, but not ridiculously loud either.

AnemicOak said:
By not the quietest are we talking jet engine loud or??? I'll check out the 183.
Click to expand...

No, we're not talking about FX 5800 levels of noise here. The fans are adjustable speed, so you can avoid the jet engine effect. The Nine Hundred is just really open (good for airflow, not much noise dampening).
 
modestninja

modestninja

Senior member
Jul 17, 2003
753
0
76
AnemicOak said:
Yeah, I think I'm going to pickup the 860 on my lunch break.

I'm not really planning to OC so I'm thinking the stock cooler should be Ok?
Click to expand...

Personally, even if I wasn't OC'ing I'd grab something like the Cooler Master Hyper 212. They can normally be had for ~$30 and I've seen them on sale for as low as ~$20. It will cool much better and be much quieter than stock. Like mfenn said though, the stock cooler will be adequate.

Anyway, overall that looks like a great build for your needs!
 
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AnemicOak

Junior Member
Apr 21, 2010
11
0
0
modestninja said:
Personally, even if I wasn't OC'ing I'd grab something like the Cooler Master Hyper 212. They can normally be had for ~$30 and I've seen them on sale for as low as ~$20. It will cool much better and be much quieter than stock. Like mfenn said though, the stock cooler will be adequate.

Anyway, overall that looks like a great build for your needs!
Click to expand...

Funny you should post this, I've got an 860 and a Hyper 212+ waiting for pickup at MC right now.
 
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AnemicOak

Junior Member
Apr 21, 2010
11
0
0
mfenn & modestninja, thanks for your feedback.

I went ahead and ordered up my parts, now hopefully I can remember how to put it all together. ;)
 
Silenus

Silenus

Senior member
Mar 11, 2008
358
1
81
I will agree with others that your list looks very good right off. The 650watt power supply is certainly way more than you need. A decent supply in the 380-450 range would still be more than enough for this setup....BUT if you think you might ever juice up your video card, or go crossfire than leave the 650... especially if you can get that current rebate.

Now...what I don't see on your list is any kind of BACKUP solution! This is critical. It could be as simple as a second internal drive (NOT RAID! just a second drive that gets regular backups written to it). Or it could be external and only connected when you need. If you don't have huge amounts of data then online backup such as Mozy might be another option. I personally have both. Figure out what will be best for you...but you need to do something for backup. :)
 
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AnemicOak

Junior Member
Apr 21, 2010
11
0
0
imported_Silenus said:
I will agree with others that your list looks very good right off. The 650watt power supply is certainly way more than you need. A decent supply in the 380-450 range would still be more than enough for this setup....BUT if you think you might ever juice up your video card, or go crossfire than leave the 650... especially if you can get that current rebate.

Now...what I don't see on your list is any kind of BACKUP solution! This is critical. It could be as simple as a second internal drive (NOT RAID! just a second drive that gets regular backups written to it). Or it could be external and only connected when you need. If you don't have huge amounts of data then online backup such as Mozy might be another option. I personally have both. Figure out what will be best for you...but you need to do something for backup. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks Silenus. I've currently got a external HD for backups and also an Apple Time Capsule. I also backup to flash drive and DVD for some files for extra redundancy so I'm covered.
 
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AnemicOak

Junior Member
Apr 21, 2010
11
0
0
I just opened the Coolermaster to take a look at it. Are all the aftermarket coolers out there this huge nowadays? :eek:
 
busydude

busydude

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2010
8,793
5
76
AnemicOak said:
I just opened the Coolermaster to take a look at it. Are all the aftermarket coolers out there this huge nowadays? :eek:
Click to expand...

Yes, these days mid-high end coolers come with a 120MM fans. The height if the heatsink ranges from 150mm-160mm. As the number of cores increase the need for effective cooling increases. You can even add one more fan to your heatsink,which supports 2 120mm fans in push-pull config.

This is one of the best air coolers in the market now.

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Reincus

Member
Mar 25, 2010
123
0
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They are just now starting to make NAND flash using 20nm tech. Once that starts hitting the SSD market the current offering are going to bottom out in price to clear inventory. I'll be looking to pick up an SSD at that point, somewhere around 4Q this year.
 
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