New build help/review.

[SeeYah]

I haven't gotten any responses at Tom's Hardware so I'm going to try here.

Original thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/328444-31-build-help-review#t2451454

Approximate Purchase Date: About 2 months from now.

Budget Range: $1000-$1300 Either before or after rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming #1

Parts Not Required: Think I need a full makeover.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg

Country: United States

Parts Preferences: Prefer Intel set-up with Nvidia card.

Overclocking: Rather not do something I have no idea about. Might blow up my system so no.

SLI or Crossfire: I'm not even sure what this is so no.

Monitor Resolution: 1080p

Additional Comments: I'd rather wait for HDD prices to go down because of the flood, so you can leave that out. Or if you could include it within the budget that'd be good too. Or a good SSD since the system I have now I've only used a few GB in memory in around 4 years.

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What I came up with so far.


Processor: Intel 2500k - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX 560 Ti - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565

Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119240

Power Supply: Cosair TX650 V2 650W - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

OS: Windows 7 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Monitor: No idea

Keyboard: No idea

Mouse: No idea

SSD/HDD: No idea

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

Drive: Sony dvd drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118031

Motherboard: Asus Maximus IV - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131759

 

[mokylim]

hi..just a lurker and a fellow 1st time builder here..just wanna mention that i have the same exact RAM except in graphite/black. bought it from frys 2 days ago and it came with a $20 rebate.. might wanna check it out if u have a frys close by..but it could be YMMV though.

 

[Ken g6]

Processor: Perfect.

GPU: Good if you insist on nVIDIA instead of a Sapphire 6950 that could be unlocked to a 6970...

Case: Largely personal choice.

PSU: Here is a cheaper one: $50AR!

Monitor: Here's a nice one. 23", $140AR AP!

HDDs: Nuts, our favorite 750GB HDD is no longer on sale. Here's a 500GB Seagate for $90. For SSDs, look at Crucial M4s. Overall, see what you can afford after everything else is said and done.

RAM: I think I spotted mokylim's black memory. If it's not, get it anyway. Just $40!

Mobo: Why a micro-ATX? I generally recommend an ASRock Extreme3 Gen3. But you're so skittish about performace-increasing features that you could drop to a Pro3 ($100) without noticing any difference. Edit: Except for the front-panel USB 3.0. $150 Gigabyte?

 

[SeeYah]

Processor: Perfect.

GPU: Good if you insist on nVIDIA instead of a Sapphire 6950 that could be unlocked to a 6970...

Case: Largely personal choice.

PSU: Here is a cheaper one: $50AR!

Monitor: Here's a nice one. 23", $140AR AP!

HDDs: Nuts, our favorite 750GB HDD is no longer on sale. Here's a 500GB Seagate for $90. For SSDs, look at Crucial M4s. Overall, see what you can afford after everything else is said and done.

RAM: I think I spotted mokylim's black memory. If it's not, get it anyway. Just $40!

Mobo: Why a micro-ATX? I generally recommend an ASRock Extreme3 Gen3. But you're so skittish about performace-increasing features that you could drop to a Pro3 ($100) without noticing any difference. Edit: Except for the front-panel USB 3.0. $150 Gigabyte?

Thanks for the reply.

- To be honest with ya, I'm not super heavy on the computer scene. I mean I see as far as graphics cards or processors, but when it comes to other stuff I don't have much knowledge.

- Mostly I just look at top sellers on newegg and pick from there. I had no idea about the motherboard lol, I'm gonna drop the Maximus for the Asrock though.

- Thanks for the ram recommendation.

- I hate what happened to HDDs, since a 1TB could've been bought for the same price as a 500GB now. I'm gonna to look into crucial 64/128GBs since I've pretty much managed a large time span without using close to 64GB.

- Gonna drop the PSU from Newegg in favor of the NCIX one.

- Nvidia vs. Radeon, yeah it took me a while to decide on that one. I've looked at videos of people with both cards and they perform well. I'm looking to play Batman Arkham City and that extra PhysX features video just seemed so nice.

Though I'm not sure what you mean by unlocking. Is that like overclocking? Forgive me for being a bit dumb on that area, I try not to tap too far into overclocking because of the risks some people claim it has.

 

[mfenn]

Yes, unlocking is like overclocking. Basically, some 6950 2GBs are really 6970's with a BIOS that locks out the extra shaders. You can flash a 6970 BIOS to unlock the shaders, effectively turning the card into a 6970.

I agree with Ken's recommendations, though I will say that 2 months out is a long time horizon for specific deals. You might want to bump this thread about a week or so before you intend to buy.