Holidays Build

[mfenn]

i would get this Galaxy GTX 570. It trades blows with the radeon 6970 and is consistently faster then the radeon 6950. At 269.99 AR and a free Batman AC game its a steal compared to the $250 radeon 6950.

What, you're saying that Arkham City is worth more than Deus Ex 3? Don't make me get all JC Denton on your ass. :awe:

But seriously, the GTX 570 is a good deal at that price. I don't know how loud it will be compared to a dual-fan 6950 2GB though.

 

[Buckeye269]

I'm not too sure about Galaxy though..

 

[mfenn]

I'm not too sure about Galaxy though..

The card should work fine and Newegg will take care of you if you get a DOA. Like lehtv said though, don't expect a stellar support experience if the card dies a year from now.

 

[Buckeye269]

That's the main reason I was leaning towards an evga card. I started my compiling today. I bought windows 7 and an nzxt phantom.

 

[Buckeye269]

I bought windows 7 and an nzxt phantom today off of newegg's black Friday sale.

 

[mfenn]

That's the main reason I was leaning towards an evga card. I started my compiling today. I bought windows 7 and an nzxt phantom.

I would not pay the EVGA tax. The Sapphire 6950 2GB is good, or if you are really worried about warranty, get the XFX version.

 

[Buckeye269]

Ok, updated list. I have a case and windows 7.
Mobo: GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 LGA 1155 Z68 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU:i5 2500k
GPU:EVGA SuperClocked 012-P3-1572-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
RAM:CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B
HDD:Barracuda 1TB 7,200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive ST310005N1A1AS-RK
Monitor:AOC e2243Fw 22" LED 1080p Monitor

I know that the psu is overkill but I want to have something in case I would ever go SLI.

 

[lehtv]

Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 costs $45 less after rebate. The only differences really are that the PCB is not black, and it doesn't have eSATA, DVI or VGA - none of which will be needed.

I would go with Sapphire or XFX 6950 2GB. XFX if you really care about warranty and customer service, Sapphire if you want to unlock the card for a small performance boost.

An 80+ silver modular XFX 750W XXX is $90 AR at ncix, but the rebate validity period ended yesterday... maybe check that page in a few days for a new rebate deal.

8GB Patriot Signature 1600MHz $28 AR

On newegg a faster Hitachi 7K1000.D 1TB costs the same, the 750GB version "only" $110.

Also I'm not a fan of 21.5" monitors. So small... You should get at least 23.6", or you could even afford a 27" LED monitor if you save on all the mobo, GPU, RAM and HDD.

 

[Buckeye269]

At Micro Center you get 50 off if you buy a mobo and cpu together. After rebate in the mobo and cpu in my list cost $270.

 

[mfenn]

Mobo & CPU combo looks OK to me but the rest of the parts are bad values. The PSU, GPU, RAM, and HDD together cost $662. You can get 6950 2GB CFX for the nearly same money by only giving up 500GB of HDD space. The 6950 2GB CFX setup will of course completely smoke a GTX 570.

XFX 6950 2GB x2 $480 AR
XFX Core 750 $75 AR
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $38
Seagate 500GB $90
Total: $683 AR

 

[Buckeye269]

I got paid today so I can knock off a few more items. I'm thinking of this time around getting a psu, ram, and a disk drive.
psu:CORSAIR Gaming Series GS700 700W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply - $89 after coupon and rebate

ram:G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBSR - $30 after code

drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM - $20. Had over 2K reviews and had a 5 egg standing.

 

[lehtv]

XFX 750W XXX is still $90 AR on ncix, the rebate dates have updated. Compared to GS700 - higher output, two tiers better efficiency, modularity, Seasonic built, 5-yr warranty.

 

[Buckeye269]

Do the ram and drive look good though?

 

[mfenn]

Do the ram and drive look good though?

Yeah they are fine.

 

[Buckeye269]

Ordered the ram and disk drive. I also bought a corsair 700 watt psu at best buy today.

 

[mfenn]

Ordered the ram and disk drive. I also bought a corsair 700 watt psu at best buy today.

Which one and for how much?

 

[Buckeye269]

I assume you mean which one on the psu. I bought the corsair gs700 for 90 after employee discount and taxes.

 

[mfenn]

Meh, I would take it back. You can get the XFX 750W that I linked above from NCIX. The XFX is better and costs less.

 

[Buckeye269]

I already have it and taking it back would make me feel like a tool since I work there.

 

[mfenn]

Your loss.

 

[Buckeye269]

For hard drives, should I buy a 500 gb and then a smaller (~60 gb) ssd or just buy a 1 tb w/ no ssd?

 

[fffblackmage]

I'd get the SSD for sure. I'm sure you can get by with just 500GB of bulk storage space, at least until HDD prices come back down anyways.

 

[lehtv]

For hard drives, should I buy a 500 gb and then a smaller (~60 gb) ssd or just buy a 1 tb w/ no ssd?

Hard to answer that generally, need to see the exact products that you're considering

 

[Buckeye269]

I think I'll just stick to my original plan and get a seagate barracuda 1tb drive.

 

[mfenn]

How much are you paying for it? If it is up around $200, you would be better off with a 64GB SSD plus a 500GB HDD unless you really really need that storage space.