Thoughts on my first build (budget)

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futurefields

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2012
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I'm getting the stuff from newegg this week, and this is my first time doing it so I'm looking forward to all kinds of stuff going wrong. Anyways, here's the list of components

cpu - i5 2500k (seemed like a no brainer. ive always bought intel)
cooler - coolermaster hyper 212 plus (another no brainer based on review)
motherboard - asrock z77 pro4 (interested in some feedback on this)
memory - 8gb ddr1600 g.skill RiPjAwWwW (lol)
gpu - sapphire hd6850 1gb gddr5 (my monitor is only 1280x1024 (probably get a new one for christmas or something), seems the best bang for buck)
hdd - WD Black 500gb 7200rpm 32mb cache (SSD too 'spensive still for this budget rig)
case - antec 300 (should have got the illusion, oh well. going for cheap and proven components that have lots of youtube videos lol)
power supply - antec vp-450 (haha... waiting for the comments on this. i read the review at hardwaresecrets and it seems to be a good budget unit)

and basically I plan on assembling like this

install ram and cpu onto motherboard
install coolermaster 212
mount motherboard
install other cards and hdd etc...
install power supply and run cabling (its a antec 300 heh...)
turn on and pray to the gods be kind to me

thanks!

EDIT:

And here's the questionnaire from the sticky --

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

- Diablo 3 mostly. Typical stuff. Maybe some internet browsing, but I have a laptop I use for most of that.

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

- I was looking to spend around $800... (components are already purchase, just waiting on delivery)

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

- I bought everything from Newegg (not sure if that answers the question)

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.

- I definitely prefer Intel. And I prefer ATi's price/perf ratio so I went with ATi.

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

- None, old computer is all IDE and is just way too old.

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

- Default speeds to start. I'm sure it will be fast enough. Overclock as needed.

8. What resolution will you be using?

- 1280x1024 for probably for the first 6 months. Will get 1080p eventually, and possibly a beefier GPU then as well.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.

- Wednesday, the 6th.
 
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lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
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You should answer the questions in the sticky.

Since your monitor is only 1280x1024, you should squeeze in a monitor upgrade.
 
Ken g6

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
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Dec 11, 1999
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futurefields said:
components are already purchase, just waiting on delivery
Click to expand...
First rule of GH: Ask before you buy!

What can we say now? It should all work. You could have moved some money around here and there, but too late now.
 
F

futurefields

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2012
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Well I'm still interested to hear where you would have shifted money around :)

Personally I wouldn't change a thing except for getting the 300 Illusion. But I'll wait until something goes wrong before I stick to that lol...
 
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futurefields

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2012
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I consider all those parts a downgrade from what I chose, except for the Hard Drive (which is even debatable... but I will take WD Black over Seagate), which is only a storage size upgrade and not a performance upgrade.

Nope, my build is better I think :)
 
T

titan131

Senior member
May 4, 2008
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futurefields said:
I consider all those parts a downgrade from what I chose, except for the Hard Drive (which is even debatable... but I will take WD Black over Seagate), which is only a storage size upgrade and not a performance upgrade.

Nope, my build is better I think :)
Click to expand...

Ofc the parts he suggested (mainly) are a downgrade, that's why they're cheaper and would have saved you money. The point is, none of the parts he is suggesting would have reduced the performance of your machine, just the cost.
 
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lehtv

lehtv

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Dec 8, 2010
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I would've bought a ~$150 1080p monitor and settled for Z68 (-$50 AR), 1333MHz RAM (-$8), stock cooling (-$30), Caviar Blue 500GB (-$20). 6850 plays 1080p alright, and the GPU is always easy to upgrade
 
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futurefields

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Jun 2, 2012
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titan131 said:
Ofc the parts he suggested (mainly) are a downgrade, that's why they're cheaper and would have saved you money. The point is, none of the parts he is suggesting would have reduced the performance of your machine, just the cost.
Click to expand...

Going for budget but still with quality, "gaming-brand" components. The RAM he suggested is kind of a no-name brand, and slower 1333 vs 1600. The G.Skill stuff I chose is literally the best reviewed RAM on Newegg (click on 'best ratings' its first on the list), and only like 8 bucks more, has nicer heat spreaders and is faster.

I think it's worth the 8 bucks there.
 
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titan131

Senior member
May 4, 2008
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futurefields said:
Going for budget but still with quality, "gaming-brand" components. The RAM he suggested is kind of a no-name brand, and slower 1333 vs 1600. The G.Skill stuff I chose is literally the best reviewed brand on Newegg, and only like 8 bucks more, has nicer heat spreaders and is faster.

I think it's worth the 8 bucks there.
Click to expand...
With all due respect the difference between 1333MHz and 1600MHz is negligible for gaming and PNY isn't a no-name brand and still comes with a lifetime warranty.

But at this point who cares, your build is still very nice, hope you enjoy it =)
 
DSF

DSF

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Oct 6, 2007
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futurefields said:
Stock cooling on a 2500k?

I think I registered on the wrong forum.
Click to expand...
You registered on a forum where people try to squeeze the highest performance they can out of every dollar. We put less emphasis on meaningless specs, bragging rights and bells and whistles.

For a build where you're not planning to overclock right away, stock cooling is fine unless you're particularly sensitive to the noise. If you want to go aftermarket that's fine of course, but this idea that floats around the internet that Intel's stock cooling is somehow inadequate is silly.

futurefields said:
Going for budget but still with quality, "gaming-brand" components. The RAM he suggested is kind of a no-name brand, and slower 1333 vs 1600. The G.Skill stuff I chose is literally the best reviewed RAM on Newegg (click on 'best ratings' its first on the list), and only like 8 bucks more, has nicer heat spreaders and is faster.

I think it's worth the 8 bucks there.
Click to expand...
RAM speed generally makes no discernible performance difference. A 2% performance difference is 98 FPS vs. 100 FPS. Just doesn't matter.

PNY is also not really an unknown brand. For what it's worth, the thing about "gaming-brands" is that they're often able to mark up their components just based on that perception alone. Half of them don't even manufacture what they sell, they just put a pretty paint job on it.

At any rate, you asked for feedback. You're getting feedback. There's not much point in getting indignant about it.
 
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futurefields

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2012
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Might have been pointless going Z77 for the Sandy Bridge CPU but the equivalent ASRock Z68 board was only $15 cheaper, and I wanted to go ASRock, heard good things about that brand. Figured I'd just get the Z77. I might get an Ivy Bridge CPU down the line, nobody knows how long 1155 will last. Probably not long.

Not a fan of the Z68 Biostar board linked above. Cheaper, yes, but not as good as the ASRock.
 
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futurefields

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Jun 2, 2012
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DSF said:
PNY is also not really an unknown brand. For what it's worth, the thing about "gaming-brands" is that they're often able to mark up their components just based on that perception alone. Half of them don't even manufacture what they sell, they just put a pretty paint job on it.
Click to expand...

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...y&Order=RATING

That's all the desktop RAM on Newegg sorted by best ratings. I see my G.Skill all over that page. The PNY is nowhere to be seen. Infact it only has 4 stars. No point in buying anything off of Newegg with a 4 star review. I made the better choice with the G.Skill, IMO...
 
lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
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What are you talking about? One of those G.Skills has ~100 reviews, same as PNY. The other has 350 reviews.
 
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titan131

Senior member
May 4, 2008
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futurefields said:
Those both have a lot less reviews, which gives the potential for a few bad apples to drag down the entire rating. Some people are going to get a bad stick of RAM, it just happens, regardless of the mfr.
Click to expand...
The PNY ram has a lot less reviews too so the same applies.
futurefields said:
This is the RAM I bought > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231314

Notice both the number of reviews and the average rating.
Click to expand...
At the end of the day, you could be right, it's impossible to know if one is more reliable than the other given the data we have available.
 
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futurefields

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2012
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Also, what kind of performance upgrade should I expect from my Pentium 4 with 6600GT.. which runs Diablo 3 at a whopping 8-18 frames per second (it's been awhile since I upgraded) :)
 
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futurefields

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2012
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For some reason I wanted native USB 3.0 support. Not sure how useful it is going to end up being.
 
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