New Programming/Gaming Rig

[Immortal1]

I've decided to help my son acquire the proper parts to build the above mentioned rig. After getting caught up on the new technology, we've worked out what I think is a decent build. But first, the required answers to the sticky:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
all normal tasks plus programming and gaming, though he's new to the gaming world so not sure which game at this time.(his USAF buds play so he's gotta be one of the guys)
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$1000-1200
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
As he is in Germany, and unless there is a significant advantage to buying parts there, all parts will be bought here: online or Microcenter
4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
Only preferences are Intel and ATI:the rest is open
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
all new parts, though I have a few small misc items that can be used
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
plenty of reading
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
yes to OverClocking
8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
1920x1200
9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
over the next month or two
10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.
After 10 years on the board (and little to show for it) I have developed a real thick skin!

Anyway on to proposed specs/price sheet:

CPU: Intel i5 2500k $180 (MC)
Motherboard:Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 $150(N) $100(MC bundle)
or
Asus P8Z68-V $180(N) $130(MC bundle)
Ram 2x4GB DDR3 1600 (G.Skill?) $50-60
PSU 600+ modular $50?
SSD 96-128GB $100?
HDD 1-2TB (1 or 2?) $50 each?
Disk Drive (DVD Burner) $25
Case $50-100
Video Card HD6790/6850/GTX460 1GB $140-165
Windows 7 Pro $30 (.edu)
Speakers $75?
Monitor 23-24 $150

This gets me in the $1000 to $1100 price range.

Items already bought:
8GB (2x4GB) G Skill DD3 1600 @ $45 Newegg special
120GB SSD OCZ Vertex Plus @$120 AR Tiger Direct special

Leaning towards:
OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular which can be had for $50 AR (I have one in my rig and and have been very happy with it) though the Antec 620 for $30 AR is mighty appealing
CM Storm Scout case
For HDDs will probably go with a green drive, as it will be storage only and will depend on what special is running at the time though have a slight preference for Samsung.

The motherboard and video card are the big sticking point: with the motherboard not sure on how much it is worth it for additional features at this point. The same goes with the video card, especially on the uncertainty of the types of games. Easily upgraded later though.
Anyway any and all thoughts,ideas and suggestions are appreciated no matter how off base they may seem.
Thanks for reading!:biggrin:

 

[DaveSimmons]

If MC has the $130 ASRock Z68 that would be fine too.

A single 1 TB Samsung should be fine. The $50 regular Spinpoint is quiet and low power, so unless the Green is cheaper don't pay extra.

6850 and GTX 460 are both good cards. you can get the GTX 460 1 GB for $120-130 at newegg right now, just don't buy a "SE" model by mistake

Try to run the card (AMD or nv) for several days before shipping the system (preferably doing some 3D gaming) since this generation of cards seems to have a higher early death rate. (Check Newegg and Amazon feedabck for all the DOA and quick-death complaints. My first GTX 560 died too.)

 

[Ken g6]

Does he have space for, and the ability to cart around, a desktop if he's in the USAF in Germany? Would a laptop be better?

 

[Immortal1]

Does he have space for, and the ability to cart around, a desktop if he's in the USAF in Germany? Would a laptop be better?

Same question I asked him, and promptly thought he was crazy to do this but he does have the space and he will be there for another year at least.
And he does have a laptop, Dell XPS15, which isn't all that bad.
As he is in Computer Ops,I think it's just something that he wants to do to understand computers and say he's done it. (Just gotta think back to when you built your first rig and the rush when it all worked out: least that's how I felt)

 

[Immortal1]

If MC has the $130 ASRock Z68 that would be fine too.

A single 1 TB Samsung should be fine. The $50 regular Spinpoint is quiet and low power, so unless the Green is cheaper don't pay extra.

6850 and GTX 460 are both good cards. you can get the GTX 460 1 GB for $120-130 at newegg right now, just don't buy a "SE" model by mistake

Try to run the card (AMD or nv) for several days before shipping the system (preferably doing some 3D gaming) since this generation of cards seems to have a higher early death rate. (Check Newegg and Amazon feedabck for all the DOA and quick-death complaints. My first GTX 560 died too.)

The ASRock was another choice but I think there something missing feature wise that he wanted, but could be incorrect.
And agreed, on the green drive, wouldn't pay extra for it and would take a Spinpoint over a green drive.
Thanks for the advice on the video cards: easy enough to throw into my rig and try it out. No gaming but run AutoCad and ArcGis and can run them at the same time.

 

[Ken g6]

OK, then...

CPU: Good.
Motherboard:Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 $150(N) $100(MC bundle) - good deal.
Ram: 2x4GB DDR3 1333 (G.Skill), unless a better deal or bundle comes up. Faster doesn't matter for games.
PSU/HDD : I found a good combo deal. PSU effectively $27 AR AP (on the PSU's main page).
SSD : I've seen this recommended. For ~$100, you get 64GB, no more. :\
Disk Drive (DVD Burner): $20
Case $50-100 - I don't know cases. :$ Edit: Cases are heavy and expensive to ship. Maybe he should get the case?
Video Card: Here's my favorite GTX460 1GB, $130 AR. You can get cheaper ones, but nVIDIA's easier to program than AMD, IMHO.

 

[wand3r3r]

I don't know how you plan to deliver the PC but customs are pretty strict. If you open the boxes and whatnot you may get around it by saying it's his and now your just delivering it. Hopefully the USAF or wherever he is has a delivery system.

 

[Immortal1]

@wand3r3r:
He has an APO(?) mailing address so sending to him is not a problem.
The heavier items (case and speakers) he will have shipped directly to him.
At least that is the way it has been working on other items.

@Ken g6:
The RAM and SSD have already been purchased. Thee SSD is a slower drive, but still faster than an HDD. The combo deal looks interesting, as does the GTX460assing both onto him.
Thanks for the help!

 

[mfenn]

OP, overall Ken's advice is pretty good. However, I think that you've made one crucial mistake with the build, namely the SSD. The original Vertex isn't that great of an SSD, and it's really really cutting into your GPU budget. For a $800 gaming rig (not counting monitor and peripherals), you really should be looking to spend $200 on the GPU.

If you can still return the SSD, I would do so and get a Samsung F3 1TB instead. Then grab a Samsung F3 1TB and a GTX 560 Ti if you can do rebates or a 6870 if you can't.

As for the PSU, check out this Antec 620C for $50 - $20 MIR. Finally, the case is personal preference, but the Antec Three Hundred is a solid choice at $45.

 

[munkle]

If you are programming on it I would recommend getting at least 2 screens, comes in very handy. Also I would recommend a crucial or intel ssd over the ocz. I had an ocz vertex le and gave me problems, my intel 120gb has been great.

 

[Immortal1]

@mfenn:
I can partially agree with you on the SSD: that was the one item that he insisted on and went with it due to price and size. Admittedly, I am not totally experienced SSd's as they are still too expensive for me and might a mistake.
I do like both graphic cards, and both have rebates, and both are doable. Since he really isn't sure of the games he wants to get into (yeah a late bloomer) so I suggested those cards and he could upgrade later if needed. The Samsung drive is the preferred HDD, and will grab 1 or 2. The case is one that I am looking at for my next build as is that PSU, though for wire management I prefer modular.

@munkie:
Second monitor will be up the road, most likely bought on base at the garage sale they seem to always have.

 

[Immortal1]

Update:

Picked up a few more pieces:
Rosewill Cruiser case for $54
XFX HD6870 $150 AR

Question is what PSU do I need to run this card and possibly crossfire in the future?
I saw that Newegg has the Rosewill Extreme Series 750W on sale for $75 in a combo with a card reader but the only reviews I have found are 4 years old but feedback seems good.
Also Newegg has the Samsung 1.5TB 5400RPM HDD for $50. This will be a storage drive only so not concerned with speed.
Also returned the OCZ SSD, so looking for a better deal on a SATA III drive. The Patriot Pyro 60GB is on sale for $75 AR
Good deals or is there something better?

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Rosewill PSU's arent that good.
OCZ SSD's are the best
that 1.5 HDD will be slow

 

[mfenn]

Update:

Picked up a few more pieces:
Rosewill Cruiser case for $54
XFX HD6870 $150 AR

Question is what PSU do I need to run this card and possibly crossfire in the future?
I saw that Newegg has the Rosewill Extreme Series 750W on sale for $75 in a combo with a card reader but the only reviews I have found are 4 years old but feedback seems good.
Also Newegg has the Samsung 1.5TB 5400RPM HDD for $50. This will be a storage drive only so not concerned with speed.
Also returned the OCZ SSD, so looking for a better deal on a SATA III drive. The Patriot Pyro 60GB is on sale for $75 AR
Good deals or is there something better?

Your friend has about a 3.42% chance of ever upgrading to Crossfire (scientifically determined :awe. It is unlikely to be a good option at any time, so I don't see the need to size the PSU for it, especially considering the budget. The Corsair 430CX is a low-cost option that can power this system without trouble.

The HDD is fine for a storage drive and $75 AR is a good deal on a SF-2281 SSD.

OCZ SSD's are the best

You feeling OK? I don't think I've ever heard anyone utter that statement with a straight face.

 

[Immortal1]

mfenn:
I seriously doubt he would crossfire, and I know that it's not really all it's cracked up to be, but was just passing on what he was thinking.
Picking up both drives, and that Corsair is a steal at $25 AR,but seems like it would be cutting it close, especially if he needed to upgrade anything.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

i meant to say that OCZ SSD's are the worst or something
xD
wasnt thinking wasntt

 

[Ken g6]

that Corsair is a steal at $25 AR,but seems like it would be cutting it close, especially if he needed to upgrade anything.

I'd say it really depends on the GPU. It might be cutting it close if he uses an nVIDIA. But AMDs use a lot less power. A 6870 uses almost 50W less than a 560ti. I imagine a hypothetical Radeon HD 7777 which would be equivalent to that 6870 would use still less.

 

[Puppies04]

i meant to say that OCZ SSD's are the worst or something
xD
wasnt thinking wasntt

I spend a reasonable amount of time in the storage and memory forum and really don't understand this hate that people have for OCZ drives. Sure they had problems but so did everyone else. Just finished reading a thread where 2 AT forum users with several thousand posts each have had 2 and 3 intel drives die on them. Both the people i personally know with SSD's chose OCZ drives because of their price and speed and between the 3 of us and 5 drives (soon to be 6) we haven't had a single issue. Anand even had a meeting with their CEO and was given the most upfront un-bullcrappy question dodging interview I have ever had the chance to read.

TLDR: OCZ drives had problems, so did everybody elses. It is relatively new technology thats the price you pay.

 

[CuriousMike]

You said programming.
You want cores and threads.

 

[Ken g6]

You said programming.
You want cores and threads.

Interesting. But who really compiles anything that big on a regular basis?

In other words, what kind of programming is he doing? (Languages and sizes of code; don't need classified details.)

 

[CuriousMike]

Ken - you're absolutely right.
If this is for solo projects, an i2500k is going to be terrific.

If he's working on projects with hundreds (thousands) of source files ( and/or libraries ), it gets interesting.

The largest projects I've ever worked on would take ~10 minutes for a full rebuild on the equivalent of a 2.5ghz C2D.

The same project takes about 4 minutes for a full rebuild on a 2500k equivalent.

When we tried an SSD in our base systems last year, we didn't net any real difference in build times.

 

[mfenn]

When we tried an SSD in our base systems last year, we didn't net any real difference in build times.

That's interesting. Visual Studio is one of those dog applications that really benefit from SSDs. Though if you are in an enterprise environment with SAS drives in the workstations, and/or run a real developers OS like Linux awe I would imagine that the difference would be less noticeable.

 

[Immortal1]

His programming is of a personal nature: what that entails, I haven't a clue. I can't imagine it being that big, but never know.
I bit on the PSU also: I can always use it if he doesn't.

OCZ seem to be the company everyone loves to hate, no matter which one of their products you're talking about. They had their problems and maybe more so than others for a while, but I personally haven't any additional problems with their products. Maybe lucky: I don't know.

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