Would appreciate feedback on my newegg build before I finalize

[dx11101]

Hey guys I am pretty proficient with assembly since I have assembled many computers in the past 15+ years but I have not kept up well with the new stuff. Their are so many cpu's, chipsets, and gpu's that it took me forever to pick a motherboard and a cpu. I have the case, PSU, and DVD drive from my old system. I also have my windows 7 home premium retail box and 3 Hdd's totaling 4TB from my old system. I parted out my 790FX phenom x4 940 system on ebay about a year ago and have been using my mid-range core2 laptop since.
I think its time to bring my box back to life. Any advice would be super duper appreciated.

heres my cart:

SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express
$169.99
(i think this is the best bang but I am not sure which Ge force is comparable at 169.99 pricepoint) AMD Gpu's play nice with Intel rigs right?

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
$84.99 Do i have to overclock to run my ram at 1600??? I dont like to overclock. Will my motherboard default at a lower speed? I only ask this because i have had too many experiences over the years with RAM and Motherboards that claim faster speeds then the CPU actually gives.

MSI P67A-C43 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel
$114.99
(had a hard time finding a motherboard, maybe someone has a better idea? Can't stomach spending $150-200 on a mobo) I also want to keep power consumption under control and dont care much about extra slots for Crossfire and SLI.

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad
$224.99
(the 2600k is $100 more but I dont think it is $100 faster) I might consider going for the i7 if their is a reason i dont know about. I run some games like BC2 and Supreme Commander 1 and 2. And I also run some linux stuff in Virtual Box. All of which my laptop unsatisfactorily runs hahaha.

Subtotal: $594.96 before the tax man

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

Games like Bad Company 2 and Supreme Commander 1 and 2. Maybe some new games like Duke Nukem or upcoming Tribes Ascend. Linux stuff under Virtual Box. Running Folding@home sometimes.

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

$500-700

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.

No Brand Preference

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

Tower, PSU 750 Watt Thermaltake, HDD's (2TB Hitachi, 1TB Seagate, 1TB WD) DVD drive

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

no

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

No Overclocking

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

1920x1200

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

within 2 weeks

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

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I would get the best card for gaming first then allocate the money among the rest.

 

[dx11101]

So which videocard do you have in mind?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Are you a casual gamer? or do you try to win?

 

[Chapbass]

I would get the best card for gaming first then allocate the money among the rest.

At 1920x1200, I would agree with this. Maybe get the intel 2400 chip for a bit less cash, then drop an extra 100-150 on the video card. Not really sure on models as I'm not in that market, but someone will be around to answer that in a few minutes im sure .

 

[Cogman]

At 1920x1200, I would agree with this. Maybe get the intel 2400 chip for a bit less cash, then drop an extra 100-150 on the video card. Not really sure on models as I'm not in that market, but someone will be around to answer that in a few minutes im sure .

It looks like its between the GTX 590 and ATI 6990. Depending on the game, one will be faster than the other. For the price, the 6850 really isn't that bad. If I were to upgrade, I would probably go with the GTX 560 as the next competitor before looking at the 590s and 6990s.

 

[dx11101]

my 4870 ran Bad Company 2 just fine. Is the 6850 not lots faster then the 4870? I would get a Geforce card too but I am not sure which one.

It looks like the Geforce GTX 560ti is a better but it is also in the ~$230 area.

I am confused when you say do you want to play casual or actually win.

 

[dx11101]

It looks like its between the GTX 590 and ATI 6990. Depending on the game, one will be faster than the other. For the price, the 6850 really isn't that bad. If I were to upgrade, I would probably go with the GTX 560 as the next competitor before looking at the 590s and 6990s.

so you guys would prefer
MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB

much much more then a 6850? How much faster is it going to perform in games you think? Im going to try find some benchmarks for this right now.

 

[Cogman]

my 4870 ran Bad Company 2 just fine. Is the 6850 not lots faster then the 4870? I would get a Geforce card too but I am not sure which one.

The 6850 should be decently faster, probably around 15->20% if I'm navigating my benchmarks right.

It looks like the Geforce GTX 560ti is a better but it is also in the ~$230 area.

The trade off, of course, is up to you. The gains decrease as the price increases.

I am confused when you say do you want to play casual or actually win.

I don't know what he means either. Having a fast GPU doesn't make you win anything other than epeen awards.

 

[dx11101]

Ahhh I see they have two versions. The 560 and the 560ti. 560 is slightly slower then then 3850 and the 560ti is slightly faster. I could also check out the 6870. Those are around $200 dollars but not much faster either.

 

[dx11101]

I have a question about the RAM. Do I want 1333 or 1600? Is the 1600 just purely for overclocking from 1333?

 

[Cogman]

I have a question about the RAM. Do I want 1333 or 1666?

Honestly, it doesn't make that big of a difference in most applications. A higher speed ram will help with overclocking.

 

[dx11101]

Honestly, it doesn't make that big of a difference in most applications. A higher speed ram will help with overclocking.

Is my suspicious correct when I power this thing up the first time and the bios is going to recognized 1600 memory as 1333? But, this wouldnt hurt anything for the RAM to be underclocked though right?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

guys guys, hello!?

1900x1200 and a 1Gb card?

2Gb

 

[Cogman]

Is my suspicious correct when I power this thing up the first time and the bios is going to recognized 1600 memory as 1333? But, this wouldnt hurt anything for the RAM to be underclocked though right?

yes, underclocking won't hurt anything ever.

 

[Cogman]

guys guys, hello!?

1900x1200 and a 1Gb card?

2Gb

yeah, you are probably right.

 

[dx11101]

guys guys, hello!?

1900x1200 and a 1Gb card?

2Gb

Ill make another sample build of a system with more beefy videocard. I take more time picking out computer stuff then most take picking out cars. Maybe a GTX 570 but damn thats expensive. Thanks for the advice so far!

 

[mfenn]

If you want to jump on some combo deals and promos quickly, you should be able to get the best of both worlds.

i5 2400 + GA-Z68A-D3H $295
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $60 AP
6950 2GB $230 AR
Total: $585 AR

 

[dx11101]

If you want to jump on some combo deals and promos quickly, you should be able to get the best of both worlds.

i5 2400 + GA-Z68A-D3H $295
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $60 AP
6950 2GB $230 AR
Total: $585 AR

hi mfenn! That looks like a cool setup! One question, is that motherboard SLI only or does it do crossfire too? I dont plan on doing any multi videocard stuff but I am just curious.

 

[dx11101]

actually i went to gigabytes website and they say it supports both so nevemind. I always thought it was one or the other but i guess the times have changed .

 

[betasub]

^ Yes, the recent series of Intel chipsets can handle multi-card set-ups in both SLI & Crossfire (usually two slots running PCIe2 @8x).

 

[mfenn]

^ Yes, the recent series of Intel chipsets can handle multi-card set-ups in both SLI & Crossfire (usually two slots running PCIe2 @8x).

:thumbsup: Not that I think upgrading to SLI/Crossfire is worth it, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms.

 

[dx11101]

so here it what i put together.

Fry's had a deal $180 for the 2500k and 10% off the motherboard so i bought my stuff there. Also the ram had a $25 dollar rebate which i just mailed off.

pics http://s1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa439/dx11101/

2500k
GA-p67a-UD3-B3
Asus 6870
Kingston Hyper X 1600 8GB

 

[mfenn]

so here it what i put together.

Fry's had a deal $180 for the 2500k and 10% off the motherboard so i bought my stuff there. Also the ram had a $25 dollar rebate which i just mailed off.

pics http://s1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa439/dx11101/

2500k
GA-p67a-UD3-B3
Asus 6870
Kingston Hyper X 1600 8GB

:thumbsup: If that HyperX is 1.65V @ 1600MHz, you probably want to clock it down to 1333Mhz and 1.5V.

 

[dx11101]

i have not checked the voltage yet but it is defaulting to 1333 through the bios autodetect.

So question here. Is this RAM meant to overclock the multiplier or overclock the bus? My bios has the option to set it to 1600 manually but I have a feeling ill just get BSOD's and fail prime95 if i turn that on. I dont really plan on overclocking though, atleast not for a while.