dansun1222
Junior Member
Hi all,
I've been building a new gaming PC over the past couple weeks with BF sales and while doing some research I came across this site and it seemed like a great idea to make sure there were no problems I was missing from lack of experience (like trying to add new RAM on my last computer with different timings)
1. Build Use: Gaming, surfing. Focused on Batman:AC and Skyrim. Want to run at high settings (and physx high on Arkham) at 1920x1080.
2. Budget: $750. Needed CPU, MBO, GPU, PSU, RAM and then realized it would be silly to upgrade the components and not my max 1680x1050 monitor so thats in too.
3.Vendor: Newegg, Tigerdirect, Microcenter nearby (Philly,LA or silicon valley)
4. Brand Preference: Intel, Nvidia for Physx, have had good RMA exp with ASUS and EVGA
5. Current Parts: see below
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads: Yes
7. OCing?: I hadnt planned to, but the more and more I read this thread it seems like I should be free extra power
8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with: 1920x1080
9. WHEN do you plan to build it: Next few weeks.
The following parts have been ordered (but can be returned):
1) Motherboard ($90) : ASUS P8Z68-V LX Bought at tiger direct. It seemed like a great price for the Z68 board and I dont plan on ever running SLI or Crossfire. It seemed like Z68 was the obvious sweetspot for the CPU.
2) PSU ($70) - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V Im pretty sure this is overkill after reading a bit more at this forum. I had been looking for 650W PSU, but this was a BF sale and I figured I couldnt go wrong with larger in case I brought in aftermarket coolers later or something. I still have a 630W old PSU from my previous system. Can I use that instead and save money here?
3) RAM ($55) - CORSAIR XMS3 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 I think I made a mistake here. It seems there is no advantage to having more than 8 Gb, and at the time it was a BF sale and I panicked and impulse bought. I think I just paid twice as much as I needed. What do you think?
4) Monitor ($110) - Acer G235HAbd 23'' 5ms 1920x1080 WideScreen This was the cheapest I could find a 1920 monitor for during BF sales, however I realize now it is not 120 hz which seems to be recommended for games. Is this an effect I would notice. It seems to cost me only 20 bucks more or so, but Ill have to return the current one.
Planning to buy:
1) CPU (I5-2500K) Cant find a good price anywhere. MC has it for 180, but none near me 🙁. Newegg is out of stock. I still have two weeks so Im going to keep looking.
2) GPU ($210 or 220) Definitely a 560Ti. Either from Zotac for 209 or from EVGA superclocked for 220.
Total comes to $725
Old Components:
1) Have mouse/keyboard.
2) Hoping to fit it in my old case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5
3)I have an HTPC so I dont store much on this computer: 2x Old 320GB HDD
Any advice, obvious conflicts, mistakes I made, unbalanced components, or feedback in general would be greatly appreciated.
Here is my super silly newbie question. I have Win7 Pro 64bit installed on my current computer that Im gutting to build this one. When I build the computer and hook up my old harddrives to the new computer, will it boot up with Win7 like my current computer? Or should I partion my current HDDs (I have two) to create a new blank partion to install Win7 on when I boot up for the first time?
Second question (And it might be too specific/nuanced for this forum), but with this upgrade Ill still have a Nvidia GTX260 sitting around unused. I know I could make that a dedicated Physx card b/c I have done that before, but would it give me any performance boost, or is that 560Ti so much better that it can do main graphic responsibilities AND physx work load faster than the GTX260 could.
Thank you for reading the post that got longer than I thought and any feedback would be very appreciated!
I've been building a new gaming PC over the past couple weeks with BF sales and while doing some research I came across this site and it seemed like a great idea to make sure there were no problems I was missing from lack of experience (like trying to add new RAM on my last computer with different timings)
1. Build Use: Gaming, surfing. Focused on Batman:AC and Skyrim. Want to run at high settings (and physx high on Arkham) at 1920x1080.
2. Budget: $750. Needed CPU, MBO, GPU, PSU, RAM and then realized it would be silly to upgrade the components and not my max 1680x1050 monitor so thats in too.
3.Vendor: Newegg, Tigerdirect, Microcenter nearby (Philly,LA or silicon valley)
4. Brand Preference: Intel, Nvidia for Physx, have had good RMA exp with ASUS and EVGA
5. Current Parts: see below
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads: Yes
7. OCing?: I hadnt planned to, but the more and more I read this thread it seems like I should be free extra power
8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with: 1920x1080
9. WHEN do you plan to build it: Next few weeks.
The following parts have been ordered (but can be returned):
1) Motherboard ($90) : ASUS P8Z68-V LX Bought at tiger direct. It seemed like a great price for the Z68 board and I dont plan on ever running SLI or Crossfire. It seemed like Z68 was the obvious sweetspot for the CPU.
2) PSU ($70) - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V Im pretty sure this is overkill after reading a bit more at this forum. I had been looking for 650W PSU, but this was a BF sale and I figured I couldnt go wrong with larger in case I brought in aftermarket coolers later or something. I still have a 630W old PSU from my previous system. Can I use that instead and save money here?
3) RAM ($55) - CORSAIR XMS3 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 I think I made a mistake here. It seems there is no advantage to having more than 8 Gb, and at the time it was a BF sale and I panicked and impulse bought. I think I just paid twice as much as I needed. What do you think?
4) Monitor ($110) - Acer G235HAbd 23'' 5ms 1920x1080 WideScreen This was the cheapest I could find a 1920 monitor for during BF sales, however I realize now it is not 120 hz which seems to be recommended for games. Is this an effect I would notice. It seems to cost me only 20 bucks more or so, but Ill have to return the current one.
Planning to buy:
1) CPU (I5-2500K) Cant find a good price anywhere. MC has it for 180, but none near me 🙁. Newegg is out of stock. I still have two weeks so Im going to keep looking.
2) GPU ($210 or 220) Definitely a 560Ti. Either from Zotac for 209 or from EVGA superclocked for 220.
Total comes to $725
Old Components:
1) Have mouse/keyboard.
2) Hoping to fit it in my old case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5
3)I have an HTPC so I dont store much on this computer: 2x Old 320GB HDD
Any advice, obvious conflicts, mistakes I made, unbalanced components, or feedback in general would be greatly appreciated.
Here is my super silly newbie question. I have Win7 Pro 64bit installed on my current computer that Im gutting to build this one. When I build the computer and hook up my old harddrives to the new computer, will it boot up with Win7 like my current computer? Or should I partion my current HDDs (I have two) to create a new blank partion to install Win7 on when I boot up for the first time?
Second question (And it might be too specific/nuanced for this forum), but with this upgrade Ill still have a Nvidia GTX260 sitting around unused. I know I could make that a dedicated Physx card b/c I have done that before, but would it give me any performance boost, or is that 560Ti so much better that it can do main graphic responsibilities AND physx work load faster than the GTX260 could.
Thank you for reading the post that got longer than I thought and any feedback would be very appreciated!
