• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Post Baby Gaming Build/Rebuild

A

Airek

Junior Member
Approximate Purchase Date: Between now and Christmas

Budget Range: Around $700 total.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Surfing, Movies

Parts Not Required: Mouse, Keyboard, Case, Monitor

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: NewEgg

Country of Origin: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel i5 2500k

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 or 1920x1200

Ok, now a small backstory. Basically I have some parts from a computer I built sometime at the end of 2007. Something went out on it a while back, but in the midst of just getting out of the military, getting married, and having a baby girl, repairing it got pushed to the end of the to do list.

So here I am, ready to "fix" it... by basically building new, but salvaging what I can from it. I'd like to build all from scratch, but with my second daughter coming in about three weeks, I'm stuck trying my best to make due.

With this in mind, this is where you folks come in. 🙂 I'll list the parts I currently own that I plan on trying to use again, at least temporarily. I'll spend some time on the formatting of the message to make it easier to figure out.

These are parts I will be reusing if they can manage to get the job done, at least for a while.

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

OCZ GameXStream 600W ATX12V

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive

External Sony DVD Reader/Recorder USB

Logitech Media Keyboard

Mouse

These are new parts I hope to order in the next month or two to complete the build

GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost)

GIGABYTE GV-R695OC-1GD Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ASCR 20000:1 (1000:1) Built-in Speakers

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)

Now, I have a $300 gift card to NewEgg from my wife from our anniversary (yeah, she's cool) to pay for the monitor I was looking at. (still an option, haven't decided yet). After doing way too much research, I've come up with 27" being maybe a little too big for a resolution of 1920x1080, which is why I've come up with the 24" one. Also saves some cash on the gift card, which can go towards the build.

From the parts listed that I'm attempting to reuse, I think the definite parts I can carry over will be the case, hard drive, CD/DVD rom, mouse, and keyboard. The main question would be if the PSU can still power the new hardware. If it can get by, that would be great. That is an upgrade I wouldn't mind making in a few months time.

Now, from the parts I'll be buying shortly, the things I'm not completely sold on thus far is the motherboard (so many variables), and the graphics card. I've always felt like I could get by with a minimalistic MB, but perhaps that's because I haven't done a bunch of BIOS tweaking or overclocking yet. Maybe it's too much MB, maybe it's not enough.

As for the graphics card, I read some TomsHardware articles and forum posts and it seems solid. I'll be doing a single card for at least a year, depending on game performance. I'm usually an nVidia guy, but that's just because in the past when I've built, they were the leaders. Things seem to have shifted a little, unless I'm missing something obvious.

The RAM wasn't wildly researched. I basically heard RipJaws being mentioned over and over in various posts, went to NewEgg to see what the talk was about, and found 5/5 eggs with a reputable amount of reviews.

In conclusion:

I've tried to keep this formatted nicely without boring anyone to death with too much text, so, that being said...

What do you think of the build as a whole? Will the parts I'm trying to use again suffice? Are the new parts I'm hoping to purchase good choices? Do you have a monitor to refer me to between 24" - 27"?

I REALLY appreciate everyone's time. I know these posts are a dime a dozen, but to each individual it's the most important post of the day and we cherish the feedback of the community.

Airek
 
That PSU should still work fine for a single-GPU rig. Incidentally, I also had Antec 900 with a GamexStream not long ago 😛

+1 on 6950 2GB. Sapphire 6950 2GB if you want to unlock it to 6970 shader count (extra 3-5% or so performance), XFX 6950 2GB if you like lifetime warranty. (Which can be handy in the long term if you go crossfire, for instance. Also good second-hand selling point.)

I'd recommend the Asrock Extreme3 Gen3 instead of Gigabyte Z68XP. Great set of features at a more affordable price, plus it's Gen3 so you have the option of pairing it with a PCIe 3.0 graphics card (needs an Intel Ivy Bridge CPU) in a couple of years. 2 years of warranty though.

Get RipjawsX 1600MHz for $47, or the Corsair 1333 linked by Ken g6 if you want to save a few bucks.

If you're going to OC you should get an aftermarket cooler, but you don't have to OC immediately, of course.

If it fits your budget, get an SSD too e.g. Crucial M4 64GB $111 (you'd probably need a 2.5" adapter for that).
 
Last edited:
So awesome... thank you for the responses!

I'm going to take the advice and go with the Sapphire 6950 2GB.

The Asrock Extreme3 Gen3 looks solid, and I can't tell much of a difference between the two except perhaps the Asrock is more future proof. Am I missing something else?

Ken G6: Thank you for bringing that monitor to my attention. I went ahead tonight and ordered this monitor and the Intel Core i5-2500K. The CPU was one of the items I was completely confident in, so I figured I might as well make a purchase to get the ball rolling.

I was hesitant about 23" at first because, for whatever reason, I had my mind set on a 27". Once I thought about 1920x1080 at 27" for a while, I changed my mind to a 25". 23" seemed like a stretch too far, but then I remembered the monitor I was using before it went out on me was a 22" Samsung that I absolutely loved. I feel like 23" will be a great size for 1920x1080 and with all the promos and rebates lined up I had to jump on it.

With the $300 gift card I had mixed with all the promos etc, I got the monitor and CPU for $79 out of my pocket.

Next up: Motherboard, GPU, and RAM.

Thanks again guys!
http://detonator.dynamitedata.com/c...com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
 
The Asrock Extreme3 Gen3 looks solid, and I can't tell much of a difference between the two except perhaps the Asrock is more future proof. Am I missing something else?
Click to expand...

There are a couple of differences in connectivity. Gigabyte has internal USB3 headers for the case, four SATA 6 ports instead of two, Firewire, and PS/2 output for a mouse/keyboard (only needed for n-key rollover keyboards). However, Asrock has eSATA, DVI and VGA outputs. In addition, Asrock has the graphical UEFI BIOS.
 
I agree with Ken with regard to the RAM and GPU. As for the mobo, I think that the ASRock Z68 Pro3 is a great value at $100. You miss out on the internal USB 3.0 header and x8/x8 GPU slots, but you the main features of Z68.
 
The Asrock Pro3 doesn't give the PCIe 3.0 tech ability when IB releases like the Asrock Extreme3 Gen3 does it? If not, that's another thing that's given up for the less money. That may or may not be important depending on what the user wants to do a year or two down the road. The $100 is an attractive price though.
 
Skott said:
The Asrock Pro3 doesn't give the PCIe 3.0 tech ability when IB releases like the Asrock Extreme3 Gen3 does it? If not, that's another thing that's given up for the less money. That may or may not be important depending on what the user wants to do a year or two down the road. The $100 is an attractive price though.
Click to expand...

That is true. However, I don't consider PCIe 3.0 to be much of a feature because modern single cards barely touch PCIe 1.0 speeds, let alone PCIe 2.0.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top