Please rate my build $1000-$1200

[sigmanova]

Greetings ladies & gents, this is my first post here but I've been gratefully lurking around and learning as much as I can from all the helpful information here.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Gaming (mostly Starcraft 2, Counterstrike: Source, and maybe Diablo 3), torrenting, e-mail, general web-surfing.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

Around $1100; I'd like to keep it under $1,500 after factoring in a new keyboard, mouse, and LCD monitor.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA

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.

Intel Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Antec-Fanboy

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

N/A; all new parts.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Yes.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

No overclocking at all; I plan to keep it entirely at stock speeds.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

1920x1080.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

End of October/Early November

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.

Critique away!

Here's what I came up with so far:

Intel Core i5-760
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-067-_-Product

Corsair XMS3 4GB DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-260-_-Product

Samsung 1TB Spinpoint 7200RPM HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-185-_-Product

i'll probably throw in another 1.5 or 2TB hdd as well

ASUS P7P55D-E LGA 1156 SATA 6gb/s USB 3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-620-_-Product

LG 24X DVD burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-177-_-Product

MSI Geforce GTX 460 1GB GDDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-510-_-Product

Antec Nine Hundred Two Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...0hundred%20two

PSU

Antec 650W Earthwatts
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-015-_-Product

Any and all assistance is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time!

Also would an aftermarket heatsink be necessary for the i5-760 along with Artic Silver 5? Or just apply Artic Silver 5 to the stock cooler? I may be running the computer 24/7 during the winter months and plan on intense gaming sessions in Starcraft 2.

 

[Davidh373]

Corsair XMS3 4GB DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-260-_-Product

The Corsair Ram can be replaced with this since your motherboard only uses up to that speed. The 1600 RAM will be clocked down to 1333 anyway.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-274-_-Product

Antec Nine Hundred Two Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...0hundred%20two

This is WAY overkill. There is no sense taking up space you don't need to right? Get the 600 at most, and the 300 at least.

Other than that you have a great i5 build. There may be combos scattered around also, so keep an eye out for those.

 

[fffblackmage]

Also would an aftermarket heatsink be necessary for the i5-760 along with Artic Silver 5? Or just apply Artic Silver 5 to the stock cooler? I may be running the computer 24/7 during the winter months and plan on intense gaming sessions in Starcraft 2.

Definitely not necessary. The stock cooler is sufficient. It's also not worth replacing the TIM already on the stock cooler with AS5.

edit: The 6xxx series is coming out soon, it might be worth waiting for that.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

If you aren't overclocking, dispense with that 1600MHz memory and get some 1333MHz DDR3. Also, if you're going to add another hard drive in, you might as well use that money to get an SSD instead.

And yeah. The Nine Hundred Two isn't really necessary. Get a 300 and save the money for that SSD. It'll make much more difference.

 

[sigmanova]

Thank you everyone for your helpful comments. I will stick with the stock cooler and disregard the AS5. I will also downgrade to the G.skill 1333Mhz DD3 as suggested.

I know the Antec Nine Hundred Two isn't necessary at all but it looks so cool ; On that note I'll probably go for the Antec 300 or 600

 

[mfenn]

I agree with everyone else about the memory and case.

Here's a combo deal with the i5 760 + GA-P55-USB3 + Antec DF-10 case. The DF-10 is a Nine Hundred Two-ish case, but in the combo you're getting it for $50.

I also prefer the GA-P55-USB3 in that combo to the P7P55D-E because it's cheaper and SATA 6Gb/s is a non-feature to me, mostly because the Marvell controller that the mobo manufacturers are using is utter trash. Anand found that it is actually slower than the ICH10R SATA 3Gb/s controller.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

If you overclock, why not go with an iy 1366 and be readyh for dual GPU's if you ever decide on it? People argue 1156 vs 1366 but when you overclock the point becomes moot IMO

yup, didn't read the post, lol carry on

 

[sigmanova]

Thank you mfenn for your input. I'll be purchasing most of my parts off amazon.com as the prices are pretty competitive and I can avoid paying taxes & shipping (thereby saving at least $100).

The memory is the only thing I will be getting off newegg (the g.skill 4gb ripjaws 1333). As for the case, I will be getting the Antec 300 as it's a very simple case at the right price (~$60).

I apologize if I am asking this in the wrong section of the forums but is:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...g%20P2450H

a good choice for a monitor? I am currently using a Dell 2007WFP that works great but will be needing something for 1920x1080 applications.

Again, I greatly appreciate everyone's time in assisting me with my build. Thank you so much!

 

[Sp12]

It'll be a step down in image quality, the 2007WFP is one of the better 1680 panels (hence why I have 3), it's a bit on the expensive side regardless.

 

[mfenn]

Thank you mfenn for your input. I'll be purchasing most of my parts off amazon.com as the prices are pretty competitive and I can avoid paying taxes & shipping (thereby saving at least $100).

The memory is the only thing I will be getting off newegg (the g.skill 4gb ripjaws 1333). As for the case, I will be getting the Antec 300 as it's a very simple case at the right price (~$60).

I apologize if I am asking this in the wrong section of the forums but is:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...g%20P2450H

a good choice for a monitor? I am currently using a Dell 2007WFP that works great but will be needing something for 1920x1080 applications.

Again, I greatly appreciate everyone's time in assisting me with my build. Thank you so much!

Ah yes, lovely California. Nothing wrong with asking about the monitor here, since it is part of the build.

It'll be a step down in image quality, the 2007WFP is one of the better 1680 panels (hence why I have 3), it's a bit on the expensive side regardless.

Agree, here's a 23.6" ASUS 1080P for $60 less AR.

 

[sigmanova]

hi again; sorry it's been such a long time since i posted but i finally decided to bite the bullet and buy ALL of my parts today

final build

Intel Core i5-760
ASUS P7P55D-E LGA 1156 SATA 6gb/s USB 3.0
G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1600 (PC3 12800)
MSI Geforce GTX 460 1GB GDDR5
Samsung 1TB Spinpoint F3 7200RPM HDD
Antec 300 Case
Corsair 650W PSU
Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive

I'm going to add larger capacity hard drives later but this is it for now and I figured if I don't buy it today it won't be this cheap again for a while.

total price: $871.95

As for the RAM; the 1333's have all sold out on Newegg but the 1600's are still in stock (and strangely $6 cheaper than the 1333 version). I have read over the specifications and it looks like the 1600 will work just fine; it'll just downclock to 1333. Am I correct in this understanding? I just want to be comfortable hitting the "Buy" button.

Thanks!

 

[muskie32]

Looks nice.
You may want to add a SSD if it is still in your budget

 

[sigmanova]

thanks Muskie. I'll go ahead and order the gskill 4gb 1600 ram right away unless it sold out...otherwise i'll be for a while.

SSD is out of the budget for now. they are tempting but i want them to come down much more in $$$ before committing. i've done my research and this board seems to very enthusiastically recommend the Samsung spinpoints so i'll with that for now.

i ended up ordering this one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

Samsung 23'' PX2370.

hopefully this is a good choice.

 

[mfenn]

Looks good to me. There's nothing wrong with 1.5V DDR3 1600 per se, it's just that it is normally not worth the extra money over 1.5V DDR3 1333.

 

[sigmanova]

thanks mfenn for your input. i am in total agreement with you. except that today with the black friday madness the DDR3 1333 (priced $55.99) at newegg was sold out and the DDR3 1600 was priced at $49.99. i wasn't sure when it would be priced this low again so i bit the bullet.

now i just need to wait for the parts to come in. it'll be my first computer build (i know how to do video cards, PSU's, dvd-drives, hard drives) but i'm unfamiliar with cpu, mobo, and ram.

 

[mfenn]

Congrats! Just read the manual and take your time, you will be fine.

 

[sigmanova]

thanks mfenn.

i reached a bit of a snafu while building the machine.

The RAM i am using (G. Skill 2x 4GB DDR3 Ripjaws 1600):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-277-_-Product

does not seem to "click" into the memory slots on my Asus motherboard. I mean, it goes as far as i can, but the lever that holds it onto place doesnt latch on.

Motherboard I'm using: (ASUS P55 P7P55D-E)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-620-_-Product

I will post some pictures when I have some time tonight or tomorrow so you can see what I mean...

anyone have any thoughts? Perhaps I bought the wrong kind of RAM? I read the specifications and it looked like the G. Skill Ripjaws would be compatible.

I am still a huge newbie at this (my 1st build) so any help or thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[sandorski]

Are you trying to put it in on a flat surface or with the Board installed in the Case? Try a flat surface if you haven't.

 

[sigmanova]

thanks sandorski.

unfortunately i have already drilled the board into the case and am only now putting in the RAM. i didn't realize i had to put the RAM before putting the board into the case. sorry i am still learning

should i try the board on the flat surface? i have already installed the gpu, heatsink (which was sort of a pain to put in)

 

[Davidh373]

thanks sandorski.

unfortunately i have already drilled the board into the case and am only now putting in the RAM. i didn't realize i had to put the RAM before putting the board into the case. sorry i am still learning

should i try the board on the flat surface? i have already installed the gpu, heatsink (which was sort of a pain to put in)

Most of the time it is wise to do that outside the case. It takes more force than you'd think sometimes.

 

[sigmanova]

okay thank you very much David. i'll just unscrew everything and try putting the RAM on the mobo on a flat surface first.

 

[Davidh373]

okay thank you very much David. i'll just unscrew everything and try putting the RAM on the mobo on a flat surface first.

also, make sure it's matching with the notches before you put force into it.

 

[mfenn]

also, make sure it's matching with the notches before you put force into it.

Yep, it only goes in one way!

 

[sigmanova]

I matched up the slots and re-seated the RAM. i pushed it in as far as it will go and the latch is somewhat secure but it didn't "snap" into place. hopefully this will work; i don't want to think the RAM is bad or i got a bad mobo. the RAM is sitting nice and pretty but requires some extra nudging to pop it out...hopefully this is good enough...i don't know of anyone else's experience with the g. skill ripjaws in an ASUS board...

after some time trying to plug everything in; i think i'm done. wish me luck! i hope everything is okay.

 

[Davidh373]

They don't really "snap" but they shouldn't be half out either.