Received great advice so far: My final build (hopefully)

[Guinness74]

First time builder here. Aside from the overpowering worry that I am going to botch this whole thing up, could use some final expert advice on the build. I've already posted and received some great feedback that I have incorporated. The main questions I feel are remaining are:
1) Should I go with a 120GB SSD and have a boot drive? or a smaller (40GB) SSD and use it for caching. If boot drive is the option, should I only install my OS on it?

2) Any good guides on how to actually put this mess of expensive equipment together without frying every last piece of it?

Approximate Purchase Date: June 2011

Budget Range: $1,600-$1,800 (would always prefer the lesser)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, iTunes, General Use

Parts Not Required: OS (Windows 7), speakers (Klipsch Promedia 2.1)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg

Country of Origin: USA

Overclocking: yes, but NO idea how to do it.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, but not likely

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Here is my revised build.

CPU:
Intel Core i5 2500K ($224.99)

Heatsink:
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 ($39.99)

MB:
ASRock Z68 Extreme4 ($189.99)

RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaw 8GB (2 x 4GB) ($94.99)

GPU:
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6970 2GB ($364.99)

Case:
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 ($154.48)

PS:
Corsair Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ($89.99)

Hard Drive:
Western Digital 1TB 7200 RPM ($84.99)

Solid State Drive:
OCZ Vertex 2 120GB ($209.99)

DVD-RW:
Asus DVD-RW ($21.99)

Media Reader:
Koutech all-in-one ($19.99)

Monitor:
Asus VE248H 24" 1920x1080 ($199.99)

Keyboard:
RAZER Blackwidow Mechanical ($79.99)

Mouse:
Logitech MX518 ($37.99)

TOTAL: $1,825.93

 

[Puppies04]

If you are just going to put the OS on the SSD an 80gb one will be more than enough, save yourself some pennies or if you decide to use the caching feture on the Z68 board just grab a 60gb one as i think the cache size is limited to 64GB. As far as guides go check out youtube there are quite a few different videos you can familiarize yourself with before you start building.

A few tips...

* Take your time, no point rushing and damaging something

* Remember the term "zero insertion force" if you are having to push something too hard it probably isnt supposed to go there *Chuckle*

Edit. Also if you are looking at shaving a bit more from the price drop down to 4GB of RAM you really dont need more than that for gaming

* Get yourself an anti-static wristband, the last thing you want to do is fry a component.

Also if you decide to overclock it read this guide from start to finish then follow it to the letter. http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/overclocking/39184-p67-sandy-bridge-overclocking-guide-beginners.html

Hope this helped.

Edit.

Also if you are looking at shaving a bit more from the total price consider dropping down to 4GB of RAM you really wont need more than that for gaming.

 

[Anomaly1964]

Awesome Rig!

 

[fffblackmage]

Cheaper and just as good as the WD Black:
$65 - Samsung F3 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...msung%20f3

Cheaper ram:
$85 - Patriot Signature 2x4GB DDR3-1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220569

And are you sure a cheaper Z68 mobo can't do what you want?

 

[Guinness74]

Good call-out on MB. I think there is a pro version. I'm using primarily for gaming so these reco's are good if I can skim a bit off the top w/o losing performance.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

Is there a rebate on that OCZ drive? They can be a good deal at $160-180, but if you're gonna pay $210 you should get a Crucial C300 or Intel 320.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Do some research on the 6950 card. I knew they were able to be flashed to a 6970 but I heard the later revisions weren't able to so see if you can find a 6950 that can be flashed and save yourself some moola. Make a post in the vid section about it.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I think you would like the feel of the Steel Series 6Gv2 keys vs the RBW. I had the RBW for about a week. I liked it and after I returned it and got the Steel Series I was confident I made the right decision.

 

[mfenn]

Arrrrrgggg...... How many threads are we going to have on the same build? OP, you should PM Zap with the link to the "canonical" one and let him lock the rest.

 

[mfenn]

Cheaper and just as good as the WD Black:
$65 - Samsung F3 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...msung%20f3

Cheaper ram:
$85 - Patriot Signature 2x4GB DDR3-1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220569

And are you sure a cheaper Z68 mobo can't do what you want?

:thumbsup: I'd also recommend a 60GB drive at the minimum.

Do some research on the 6950 card. I knew they were able to be flashed to a 6970 but I heard the later revisions weren't able to so see if you can find a 6950 that can be flashed and save yourself some moola. Make a post in the vid section about it.

The reference model 6950 2GB cards could be flashed, but those look to have pretty much dried up. I did find this reference HIS 6950 2GB though.

 

[Guinness74]

OK, LAST TIME...I think I have incorporated those recommendations that worked for me, while still sticking to some components that I was partial to (i.e., case). Any final advice, or even humor me with a blessing as I shamelessly seek validation (to provide an ounce of confidence that I'm starting to actually have a clue what I'm doing) would be great.

Build:

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K ($224.99)

Heatsink: Antec Kuhler H2O 620 Liquid Cooler ($79.99)
Probably overkill, but any fan/heatsink combo over 150mm tall (almost all) prevented me from using side fan on case (completely vain but loved the case and the blue LED on side fan).

MB: GIGABYTE GA-Z68MX-UD2H ($159.99)

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaw 8GB (2 x 4GB) ($94.99)

GPU: XFX HD-697A-CNFC Radeon HD 6970 2GB ($319.99)

Case: IN WIN Dragon Rider Black ($129.99)
Again, was a sucker for the look here.

PS: Antec TruePower New TP-650 650W ($79.99)
Wanted to ensure I had a modular PS for cable management

Hard Drive: Western Digital 1TB 7200 RPM ($84.99)
Got several recommendations for Samsung product, but newegg reviews showed a consistent fail rate complaint that scared me off a bit.

Solid State Drive: OCZ OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD3-2VTX120G 3.5" 120GB ($159.99)

DVD-RW: Asus DVD-RW ($21.99)

Media Reader: Koutech all-in-one ($19.99)

Monitor: Dell Ultrasharp U2311H 23” eIPS Monitor 1920x1080 ($287.99)

Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Keyboard ($52.95)

Mouse: RAZER DeathAdder ($44.99)

TOTAL: $1,776.81 (after rebates)

Any thoughts?

 

[mnewsham]

Any reason for the $160 motherboard? This one should work just fine.


Save $14 and get this RAM instead, you WONT notice a difference trust me you WILL NOT NOTICE!!!!!

I just saved you 40 bucks

 

[Guinness74]

Any reason for the $160 motherboard? This one should work just fine.


Save $14 and get this RAM instead, you WONT notice a difference trust me you WILL NOT NOTICE!!!!!

I just saved you 40 bucks

My initial rationale for the more expensive MB was the Displayport...although would love your thoughts if its really necessary or if DVI will work equally as well.

 

[mnewsham]

if using integrated graphics use HDMI unless you have a DP monitor (most aren't) however the HD 6970 (you will be using this no matter what motherboard) has displayport and HDMI and DVI so use the GPU, that's why you are buying it!

 

[Guinness74]

See this is why I need these forums...didn't even occur to me until after you said it that I shouldn't care about MB graphics connections unless using integrated...man I feel stupid...guess I can scale back them

 

[mfenn]

OK, LAST TIME...I think I have incorporated those recommendations that worked for me, while still sticking to some components that I was partial to (i.e., case). Any final advice, or even humor me with a blessing as I shamelessly seek validation (to provide an ounce of confidence that I'm starting to actually have a clue what I'm doing) would be great.

Build:

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K ($224.99)

Heatsink: Antec Kuhler H2O 620 Liquid Cooler ($79.99)
Probably overkill, but any fan/heatsink combo over 150mm tall (almost all) prevented me from using side fan on case (completely vain but loved the case and the blue LED on side fan).

MB: GIGABYTE GA-Z68MX-UD2H ($159.99)

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaw 8GB (2 x 4GB) ($94.99)

GPU: XFX HD-697A-CNFC Radeon HD 6970 2GB ($319.99)

Case: IN WIN Dragon Rider Black ($129.99)
Again, was a sucker for the look here.

PS: Antec TruePower New TP-650 650W ($79.99)
Wanted to ensure I had a modular PS for cable management

Hard Drive: Western Digital 1TB 7200 RPM ($84.99)
Got several recommendations for Samsung product, but newegg reviews showed a consistent fail rate complaint that scared me off a bit.

Solid State Drive: OCZ OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD3-2VTX120G 3.5" 120GB ($159.99)

DVD-RW: Asus DVD-RW ($21.99)

Media Reader: Koutech all-in-one ($19.99)

Monitor: Dell Ultrasharp U2311H 23” eIPS Monitor 1920x1080 ($287.99)

Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Keyboard ($52.95)

Mouse: RAZER DeathAdder ($44.99)

TOTAL: $1,776.81 (after rebates)

Any thoughts?

The case is a personal choice, so don't sweat it. If you like the look, go for it!

In addition to what mnewsham said, I'd like to point out that Newegg reviews are hugely biased towards people who have problems. Data from a major etailer shows that the Samsung F3 1TB is only about 0.3% more likely than the WD to be returned.

Also, this XFX 650W is a Seasonic under the hood and $10 cheaper AR.

 

[Blitz KriegeR]

Should I go with a 120GB SSD and have a boot drive? or a smaller (40GB) SSD and use it for caching. If boot drive is the option, should I only install my OS on it?

Here is my take on that:

SSD Cache will only improve performance on frequently accessed files. The more files you access the larger your cache will need to be to maintain itself. As per anand's article, you can achieve up to 90% of the performance of a pure SSD but only after 3 or more runs (so the app/files are at the top of your cache). Again, you will see no improvement at first and changing your habits for a few days/runs can cause files to be evicted from the cache and you are back at square one HDD performance. A pure SSD will never have this problem. SSD cache size is currently limited to 40GB max. Don't forget caches will only benefit reads and do very little for writes.

In my opinion, if you have the cash to be looking at 80-160GB SSDs then you are better off running it as your main drive and using HDDs only as file storage. You can get a 120GB Vertex 2 for $160 after rebate from newegg this week. 40-60GB Vertex/Agility 2s are currently selling for $95-120. The 20GB intel designed "Z68 cache SSD" is also around $100. If you really have the cash to go top of the line, a 128GB Crucial M4 / 120GB Vertex/Agility 3 / 120GB Intel 320 can be had for around $250.

Speaking as an owner using it daily in my main rig since last Thanksgiving, SSD all the way!

Oh and on a side note, for the love of god, don't quote the entire OP to add some side comment, do what i've done and quote what you are addressing. Makes it so much easier to read for the rest of us....

 

[mfenn]

In my opinion, if you have the cash to be looking at 80-160GB SSDs then you are better off running it as your main drive and using HDDs only as file storage. You can get a 120GB Vertex 2 for $160 after rebate from newegg this week. 40-60GB Vertex/Agility 2s are currently selling for $95-120. The 20GB intel designed "Z68 cache SSD" is also around $100. If you really have the cash to go top of the line, a 128GB Crucial M4 / 120GB Vertex/Agility 3 / 120GB Intel 320 can be had for around $250.

Agree 100%. :thumbsup: