Need suggestions on new mid/high end build

M

msny

2[H]4U
Joined
Sep 5, 2001
Messages
2,197
Heres what I'm looking at.
Long time member, so I trust your advice.

Current box is 4 years old, core 2 duo. Built last 4 computers,
over the years, but have been out of it, as to what is good right now.

So these are my guesses, after looking around.

I like to purchase from Newegg or Amazon mostly.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Old time gamer, but fell away about 3 years ago and would like to
get back to it a little bit.

So 30% gaming, 40% programming (work in IT), 30% video & picture
editing from vacations, trips.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Up to $1800.00 tops.

3) Where do you live?
Ohio, USA

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid
answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU - Intel I7 - 2600k?
Suggest a good aftermarket HS/fan please?

Motherboard - ASUS P8P67 - several flavors of this board, help me decide which one I need?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...31706&cm_re=asus_p8p67-_-13-131-706-_-Product

Video - ATI or Nvidia, mid to high end, don't care which flavor, whats good?

Hard Drive - Need new, thinking of SSD drive as boot drive? Suggrst one.

Ram - I've always had good luck with Corsair, whats good for this MB? 8mb? More?

Power Supply - I like this one.
TX750 V2 PSU -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&cm_re=TX750-_-17-139-006-_-Product

New mouse and keyboard, maybe wireless?

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply.
List make and model.
Can I reuse this case? I really like it.
LIAN LI PC-60APLUSII Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112069

Fantom eSata 2T GreenDrive for backup, video & picture storage - new
Two 250gig WD Hard Drives 7200RPM - maybe reuse these

Dell 24" LCD - will keep and buy new one later, unless theres room in price ceiling.
If so, suggest one please.

DVD - LG White 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 10X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW
48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE DVD Burner With LightScribe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136105
Do I need a new one?

6) Will you be overclocking?
Only if it makes any real difference in real world apps?
So,...maybe.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
See above.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within 2 to 3 weeks.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
USB 3.0 would be nice, using eSata drive now, see above.
One video card good for gaming ect.
Raid - nope.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Need Windows 7 64bit license.
Must be able to remote into work for IT support.
Have home network,

Thanks for your suggestions!
 
Just a follow-up question:
Ohio, USA
Click to expand...

Where in ohio? I know there's 3 Microcenters in ohio. One in Cincinnati, one in cbus, and the other somewhere in cleveland. Would you buy from Microcenter?
 
Dual (or triple?) 23+ inch monitors are a must here, you have enough money there to buy two high end PCs without software of course.

2600k for sure, a 256 gig ssd drive for a boot drive would be a good idea. Do not reuse your old WD 250 gigs- sell them off for cheap in the fs/t forum on hardforum. Buy a nice 2T internal HD (external if that's your preference but I prefer it to be in the case. You may need a new dvdrom if your new motherboard doesn't have IDE support- you'd need to buy a new sata dvdrom.
 
msny said:
Power Supply - I like this one.
TX750 V2 PSU -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&cm_re=TX750-_-17-139-006-_-Product
Click to expand...

I like this one too. If you're considering SLI or Crossfire you might consider going up to an 850, but this is a very good PSU for single GPU and even light (like two 6870s) Crossfire work. (I'd just go with a single card solution for your system based on what you've described -- probably a Radeon 6950 2GB, but you can probably afford a Radeon 6970, which will be helpful if you go with a multi-monitor setup.)

msny said:
Can I reuse this case? I really like it.
LIAN LI PC-60APLUSII Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112069
Click to expand...

While you can reuse that case, I'd consider getting a new one with all 120mm+ fans. Lian Li still makes great cases. This is one to consider, but with your budget I think you can get a VERY nice case if you wanted to.

msny said:
DVD - LG White 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 10X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW
48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE DVD Burner With LightScribe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136105
Do I need a new one?
Click to expand...

Yes. Ideally you'll purge your system of IDE since very few boards have any IDE ports. DVD burners being only about $20 makes them one of the easiest to replace. Have you considered a Bluray drive?

msny said:
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
USB 3.0 would be nice, using eSata drive now, see above.
One video card good for gaming ect.
Raid - nope.
Click to expand...

Almost every Sandy Bridge motherboard will have USB 3, SATA 6 and RAID. eSATA is the one that isn't standard, but you still have a lot of board choices.

msny said:
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Need Windows 7 64bit license.
Must be able to remote into work for IT support.
Have home network
Click to expand...

You're probably looking at Windows 7 Professional, but you may be able to get away with Home Premium depending on how you remote into work for IT support. So what software do you use? If you'd like to compare the editions yourself this is a decent place to start.

(I've got a major food coma right now and can't bring myself to configure a build, but your budget is very good. You can meet all your performance objectives below budget, so it'll be up to you to decide on how many "luxury" items you get (a nice case, extra monitors, etc.) I'll check back on this thread and throw a build together for you later.)
 
Lycidas said:
Just a follow-up question:


Where in ohio? I know there's 3 Microcenters in ohio. One in Cincinnati, one in cbus, and the other somewhere in cleveland. Would you buy from Microcenter?
Click to expand...

Toledo, northwest Ohio.

All those cities are too far away..
Cleveland is nearest at 110 miles.
 
tonytnnt said:
I like this one too. If you're considering SLI or Crossfire you might consider going up to an 850, but this is a very good PSU for single GPU and even light (like two 6870s) Crossfire work. (I'd just go with a single card solution for your system based on what you've described -- probably a Radeon 6950 2GB, but you can probably afford a Radeon 6970, which will be helpful if you go with a multi-monitor setup.)



While you can reuse that case, I'd consider getting a new one with all 120mm+ fans. Lian Li still makes great cases. This is one to consider, but with your budget I think you can get a VERY nice case if you wanted to.



Yes. Ideally you'll purge your system of IDE since very few boards have any IDE ports. DVD burners being only about $20 makes them one of the easiest to replace. Have you considered a Bluray drive?



Almost every Sandy Bridge motherboard will have USB 3, SATA 6 and RAID. eSATA is the one that isn't standard, but you still have a lot of board choices.



You're probably looking at Windows 7 Professional, but you may be able to get away with Home Premium depending on how you remote into work for IT support. So what software do you use? If you'd like to compare the editions yourself this is a decent place to start.

(I've got a major food coma right now and can't bring myself to configure a build, but your budget is very good. You can meet all your performance objectives below budget, so it'll be up to you to decide on how many "luxury" items you get (a nice case, extra monitors, etc.) I'll check back on this thread and throw a build together for you later.)
Click to expand...

tony-

Thanks for the great suggestions here.

First on the video card.
Since gaming would be secondary, is the Crossfire/SLI solution
gonna deliver that much more in performance vs cost in my situation?
I'm still thinking a high end single card.
So for ATI its a 6970?
What is it for nVidia?

Multi monitors...sounds like a plan.
I can use the extra real estate in programming also.
Suggest 2 good monitors please.

I'll check out that case. I do prefer Lian Li.
That case looks great.
I like the brushed aluminum sliver finish though.
What would you consider the next one up?

Windows 7 Pro 64bit for sure then.

Lets go with a Blu-Ray.
I already have one in the living room for my Netflix DVD's.
Suggest one please.

So should I buy the ASUS model MB (Rev?) that supports Crossfire/SLI in
case I decide to move up to it later?
I may just go with the Corsair 850W anyways.
What ya think?

I'm thinking the SSD is a go, with a 1T or 2T internal drive.
Suggest one please.

While I know from experience that nothing is future proof,
I still like options, and an upgrade path 6 months from now.

What about RAM?

Anyones thoughts appreciated.
 
Last edited:
CleanSlate said:
Dual (or triple?) 23+ inch monitors are a must here, you have enough money there to buy two high end PCs without software of course.

2600k for sure, a 256 gig ssd drive for a boot drive would be a good idea. Do not reuse your old WD 250 gigs- sell them off for cheap in the fs/t forum on hardforum. Buy a nice 2T internal HD (external if that's your preference but I prefer it to be in the case. You may need a new dvdrom if your new motherboard doesn't have IDE support- you'd need to buy a new sata dvdrom.
Click to expand...

OK, I'll take that to heart....sounds good.
 
msny said:
First on the video card.
Since gaming would be secondary, is the Crossfire/SLI solution
gonna deliver that much more in performance vs cost in my situation?
Click to expand...
No.
msny said:
I'm still thinking a high end single card.
So for ATI its a 6970?
What is it for nVidia?
Click to expand...
Technically it would be the GTX 580 but that card is a really really poor buy for the money. In fact, a lot of Nvidia's current GPU lineup is overpriced for the performance you get. In fact, we generally only recommend Nvidia when the user is likely take advantage of Nvidia's CUDA featuers.

So in this situation, stick to either the HD 6950 2GB or HD 6970 2GB if you want bang for the buck value.

msny said:
Multi monitors...sounds like a plan.
I can use the extra real estate in programming also.
Suggest 2 good monitors please.
Click to expand...
$160 - Acer V233HAJbd Black 23" Widescreen LCD Monitor
$200 - Asus VE248H Black 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor

msny said:
I'll check out that case. I do prefer Lian Li.
That case looks great.
I like the brushed aluminum sliver finish though.
What would you consider the next one up?
Click to expand...
Yeah unless you're wiling to go and cut up your current Lian Li case to fit a 120mm fan, you're better off getting a new case. I recommend any of these cases:
$106 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$127 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black ATX Case
$110 - NZXT Whisper WHI - 001BK ATX Full Tower Case
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$165 - Corsair Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$220 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$220 - Cooler Master ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B ATX Case
$220 - Lian Li PC-A71F Black ATX Case
$290 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case
$330 - Silverstone Temjin SST-TJ07B Full Tower ATX Case


msny said:
So should I buy the ASUS model MB (Rev?) that supports Crossfire/SLI in
case I decide to move up to it later?
I may just go with the Corsair 850W anyways.
What ya think?
Click to expand...
If you're really likely to upgrade to SLI, then yes spend the extra cash for a SLI capable mobo. Same goes for the PSU: you think that you're very likely to upgrade to a Crossfire or SLI setup, then up your PSU to taht Corsair 850W.
msny said:
I'm thinking the SSD is a go, with a 1T or 2T internal drive.
Suggest one please.
Click to expand...
Go for Crucial's C300, C400, or m4 series SSDs or Intel's 320 or 510 series SSDs.

msny said:
What about RAM?
Click to expand...
Get four of this and you'll be fine
$41 - G.Skill Ripjaw Series F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
 
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CleanSlate said:
Read the one star feed back on this monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009243

It's comedy gold.
Click to expand...

Even the five star review isn't very reassuring :eek:

@OP, for, your photography, how seriously do you take color accuracy? In general I'd say for most people those monitors are great. But if you're the type that really gets into photography you may want to consider an IPS monitor. They're generally better with colors, but their refresh rate isn't quite as good. I don't notice any ghosting problems with mine when playing FPSes.
 
tonytnnt said:
Even the five star review isn't very reassuring :eek:

@OP, for, your photography, how seriously do you take color accuracy? In general I'd say for most people those monitors are great. But if you're the type that really gets into photography you may want to consider an IPS monitor. They're generally better with colors, but their refresh rate isn't quite as good. I don't notice any ghosting problems with mine when playing FPSes.
Click to expand...


I think the ASUS monitors will suffice.
My collection is an amature one, and not professional.

If that monitor gives the best of both worlds for gaming
& pictures/video, I'm sold on it.
 
Danny Bui said:
No.

Technically it would be the GTX 580 but that card is a really really poor buy for the money. In fact, a lot of Nvidia's current GPU lineup is overpriced for the performance you get. In fact, we generally only recommend Nvidia when the user is likely take advantage of Nvidia's CUDA featuers.

So in this situation, stick to either the HD 6950 2GB or HD 6970 2GB if you want bang for the buck value.


$160 - Acer V233HAJbd Black 23" Widescreen LCD Monitor
$200 - Asus VE248H Black 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor


Yeah unless you're wiling to go and cut up your current Lian Li case to fit a 120mm fan, you're better off getting a new case. I recommend any of these cases:
$106 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$127 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black ATX Case
$110 - NZXT Whisper WHI - 001BK ATX Full Tower Case
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$165 - Corsair Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$220 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$220 - Cooler Master ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B ATX Case
$220 - Lian Li PC-A71F Black ATX Case
$290 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case
$330 - Silverstone Temjin SST-TJ07B Full Tower ATX Case



If you're really likely to upgrade to SLI, then yes spend the extra cash for a SLI capable mobo. Same goes for the PSU: you think that you're very likely to upgrade to a Crossfire or SLI setup, then up your PSU to taht Corsair 850W.

Go for Crucial's C300, C400, or m4 series SSDs or Intel's 320 or 510 series SSDs.


Get four of this and you'll be fine
$41 - G.Skill Ripjaw Series F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
Click to expand...

Danny-

Thanks for your insight.

I will peice together your advice and Tony's into some
price estimates, then post again, and let you guys look at it.

One question here on the RAM.
G. Skill over Crucial?
Does it do better with this MB, or is it just better overall?
16gb, sounds good.

I will look into those 2 ATI cards.

I still need a third party HS/fan?
Any suggestions?

Thanks Danny!
 
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The Cooler Master 212+ is pretty popular. $30 @ Amazon.

Unfortunately for a Lian Li silver cases you REALLY have to pay for it now. Black is just so popular right now. Take a look at the Velocity Micro case instead (included below) and see what you think.

Build:

$327 - Intel Core i5-2500k + G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
$440 (before $40 in MIRs) - XFX HD-697A-CNFC Radeon HD 6970 2GB + CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 850W
$180 - ASUS P8P67 PRO
$100 - LG Bluray Burner + 5 Free blank Bluray discs (if your drive arrives without software and cables, be sure to call Newegg and ask for it. See the reviews for more info.)
$150 - Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB
$61 - Samsung F3 1 TB
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver
$90 (use promo code EMCKEKD52) - Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM
$55 - Logitech G500 Mouse
$62 - Logitech G110 Keyboard (you should go to a Best Buy or some other store and try out mice and keyboards to see if you like how they feel.)

Total: $1619.09
Total after MIRs: $1579.09

A little over budget, no second monitor but there's a lot of parts in there to trim down if you want a second one. Also, consider using the stock Intel heat sink and fan. If you're not currently set on overclocking, stay with the stock one. When you decide to make the plunge get a new one. (Note the above build has a 212+ in it.) The Bluray burner is also a bit of a luxury. If you just want a combo drive (where it reads blurays, but burns DVDs) you can save some money.

I included the P8P67 Pro because it has two eSATA ports on it. Most boards only have one. It's also a very good board in it's own right. If you'd like to save some money and only have one eSATA port, get this: $130 (use promo code EMCKEKD47) - Asus P8P67 LE

I didn't include a second or third monitor, but you're good to go if you decide to get some more in the future.
 
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tonytnnt said:
The Cooler Master 212+ is pretty popular. $30 @ Amazon.

Unfortunately for a Lian Li silver cases you REALLY have to pay for it now. Black is just so popular right now. Take a look at the Velocity Micro case instead (included below) and see what you think.

Build:

$327 - Intel Core i5-2500k + G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
$440 (before $40 in MIRs) - XFX HD-697A-CNFC Radeon HD 6970 2GB + CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 850W
$180 - ASUS P8P67 PRO
$100 - LG Bluray Burner + 5 Free blank Bluray discs (if your drive arrives without software and cables, be sure to call Newegg and ask for it. See the reviews for more info.)
$150 - Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB
$61 - Samsung F3 1 TB
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver
$90 (use promo code EMCKEKD52) - Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM
$55 - Logitech G500 Mouse
$62 - Logitech G110 Keyboard (you should go to a Best Buy or some other store and try out mice and keyboards to see if you like how they feel.)

Total: $1619.09
Total after MIRs: $1579.09

A little over budget, no second monitor but there's a lot of parts in there to trim down if you want a second one. Also, consider using the stock Intel heat sink and fan. If you're not currently set on overclocking, stay with the stock one. When you decide to make the plunge get a new one. (Note the above build has a 212+ in it.) The Bluray burner is also a bit of a luxury. If you just want a combo drive (where it reads blurays, but burns DVDs) you can save some money.

I included the P8P67 Pro because it has two eSATA ports on it. Most boards only have one. It's also a very good board in it's own right. If you'd like to save some money and only have one eSATA port, get this: $130 (use promo code EMCKEKD47) - Asus P8P67 LE

I didn't include a second or third monitor, but you're good to go if you decide to get some more in the future.
Click to expand...

OK, I'll be gathering those up and checking them out today.

The bundle price on the i5 with the RAM looks good.

Would there be any performance advantage for an i7 over the i5
in my case? is it worth it?

I'll be dropping keyboard/mouse for now, use what I have already.

I'll post a list latter.
 
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The i7 may help some of your video work encode faster, but it really depends on what software you use. Some software likes hyperthreading, while others (like games) don't seem to benefit from it much.
 
Here is what I have, so far:

NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case

I like the white color, more I look at it.

ASUS P8P67-M PRO (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Like the PRO with 2 eSata ports, is a plus for later on.

XFX HD-697A-CNFC Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

Looks like top notch card.

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

I've always liked Corsair PS, I have an ols 550, and it works great.

Intel 510 Series (Elm Crest) SSDSC2MH120A2K5 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

The spec on this looked good.

Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARS 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

I've always had WC drives, since day one.

Asus VE248H Black 24" 1920X1080 2ms Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers 250 cd/m2 10,000,000:1

Looks like a good performance monitor.

LG Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 10X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA Super Multi WH12LS30 LightScribe Support - OEM

Like the Blu-Ray and the burner for video.

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit English 1-Pack - OEM

No brainer...

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

Required...

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7

Looks like its very popular.

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9Q-16GBXL
Bundle with I5 - 2500k

Nice bundle, good buy.

Total is about $1900.00 before any rebates/discounts.

Slightly over my budget, but it should be OK.

Let me know what you guys think of this config, before i push the button.

Thanks!
 
msny said:
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

I've always liked Corsair PS, I have an ols 550, and it works great.
Click to expand...
Not a good choice since the 850TX V2 version is sligthly cheaper, is of higher quality, and has better performance:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139022

msny said:
Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARS 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

I've always had WC drives, since day one.
Click to expand...
Yeah not that good of a choice for two reasons:
- More than likely you will need to install large sized applications onto the hard drive as that 120GB SSD may not be enough. As such, you're gonna want a fast hard drive for those applications. That WD drive is not a fast drive. So I recommend this fast drive instead:
$61 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

- Even if you want more storage per bang for the buck, that WD Green drive is still a bad buy considering that you can get the 20% faster Samsung 2TB for the same price:
$80 - Samsung Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

So unless you really love WD that much to the point that you're willing to pay more money and get lesser performance, go with the above Samsung drives.
msny said:
LG Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 10X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA Super Multi WH12LS30 LightScribe Support - OEM

Like the Blu-Ray and the burner for video.
Click to expand...
Do note that the stock blu-ray playback software that might come with that drive will not be that great. Over in the HTPC subfourm, virtually every time I see someone complain about the stock blu-ray playback software, a good majority of the responses have been to buy this sotware:
http://www.arcsoft.com/estore/software_title.asp?ProductCode=TMT5P

Note the price. So for a total of $180, you can get perfect and high quality blu-ray playback. But you can probably find a dedicated blu-ray player for that much and you won't have to go through the hassle of setting up the software and diagnosing compatibility/config issues.

msny said:
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

Required...
Click to expand...

Nope. The stock thermal paste that comes with the Coolermater HSF is actually just as good as AS5. Even if you plan on removing and remounting the HSF multiple times, AS5 still isn't a good choice these days to its required 200 hour curing time. The following thermal paste do not have a curing time and will perform just as well, if not better, as AS5:
$10 - Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound
$10 - Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Compound

msny said:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9Q-16GBXL
Bundle with I5 - 2500k

Nice bundle, good buy.
Click to expand...
Not a good buy anymore: Note the price that tonytnnt orginally listed that combo as: $327. It is now $397 + shipping. With that discount, that RAM is only $178 shipped. So really not that good of a buy since DDR3 1600 RAM offers little to no real world performance increase over DDR3 1333 RAM. So save the $14 and go with four of this RAM set instead:
$164 - 4 x G.Skill Ripjaw Series F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM

Yes the performance difference is so little that $14 is a total waste of money. In addition, you can shave off $20 buy getting that mobo and the 2500K as part of this CPU + mobo deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.642531

So yeah, no good reason to go with that CPU + RAM combo deal, especially since its gonna cost $34 more for zero performance increase.
 
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Danny Bui said:
Not a good buy anymore: Note the price that tonytnnt orginally listed that combo as: $327. It is now $397 + shipping. With that discount, that RAM is only $178 shipped. So really not that good of a buy since DDR3 1600 RAM offers little to no real world performance increase over DDR3 1333 RAM. So save the $14 and go with four of this RAM set instead:
$164 - 4 x G.Skill Ripjaw Series F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM

Yes the performance difference is so little that $14 is a total waste of money. In addition, you can shave off $20 buy getting that mobo and the 2500K as part of this CPU + mobo deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.642531

So yeah, no good reason to go with that CPU + RAM combo deal, especially since its gonna cost $34 more for zero performance increase.
Click to expand...

Yup, the sale changed. I picked that RAM because it was cheapest at the time, not because it was faster than the normal stuff. I usually advise people to get DDR3 1333 MHz CL9 1.5V RAM without heatspreaders.
 
Is there no real world difference between CL7 and CL9 ram? I keep seeing people suggest CL9 and from what I remember from years ago, I always tried to minimize my CL value on my ram. I hope there is because I spent extra for my CL7 ram. I think the reason I used to prefer it has to do with OCing.
 
Danny Bui said:
Not a good choice since the 850TX V2 version is sligthly cheaper, is of higher quality, and has better performance:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139022


Yeah not that good of a choice for two reasons:
- More than likely you will need to install large sized applications onto the hard drive as that 120GB SSD may not be enough. As such, you're gonna want a fast hard drive for those applications. That WD drive is not a fast drive. So I recommend this fast drive instead:
$61 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

- Even if you want more storage per bang for the buck, that WD Green drive is still a bad buy considering that you can get the 20% faster Samsung 2TB for the same price:
$80 - Samsung Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

So unless you really love WD that much to the point that you're willing to pay more money and get lesser performance, go with the above Samsung drives.

Do note that the stock blu-ray playback software that might come with that drive will not be that great. Over in the HTPC subfourm, virtually every time I see someone complain about the stock blu-ray playback software, a good majority of the responses have been to buy this sotware:
http://www.arcsoft.com/estore/software_title.asp?ProductCode=TMT5P

Note the price. So for a total of $180, you can get perfect and high quality blu-ray playback. But you can probably find a dedicated blu-ray player for that much and you won't have to go through the hassle of setting up the software and diagnosing compatibility/config issues.



Nope. The stock thermal paste that comes with the Coolermater HSF is actually just as good as AS5. Even if you plan on removing and remounting the HSF multiple times, AS5 still isn't a good choice these days to its required 200 hour curing time. The following thermal paste do not have a curing time and will perform just as well, if not better, as AS5:
$10 - Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound
$10 - Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Compound


Not a good buy anymore: Note the price that tonytnnt orginally listed that combo as: $327. It is now $397 + shipping. With that discount, that RAM is only $178 shipped. So really not that good of a buy since DDR3 1600 RAM offers little to no real world performance increase over DDR3 1333 RAM. So save the $14 and go with four of this RAM set instead:
$164 - 4 x G.Skill Ripjaw Series F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM

Yes the performance difference is so little that $14 is a total waste of money. In addition, you can shave off $20 buy getting that mobo and the 2500K as part of this CPU + mobo deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.642531

So yeah, no good reason to go with that CPU + RAM combo deal, especially since its gonna cost $34 more for zero performance increase.
Click to expand...

OK, I will take another look at this.

I've switched to the Samsung HD 1TB, and that paste, and will swap out the combo + RAM to the combo + MB.
I've added the RAM seperately.

After thinking it over, lets change the DVD Blu-Ray to a cheaper read only model.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...36232&cm_re=lg_blu_ray-_-27-136-232-_-Product
Is this one OK?

If so, it brings the total down to around $1700.00.

Thanks!
 
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CleanSlate said:
Is there no real world difference between CL7 and CL9 ram? I keep seeing people suggest CL9 and from what I remember from years ago, I always tried to minimize my CL value on my ram. I hope there is because I spent extra for my CL7 ram. I think the reason I used to prefer it has to do with OCing.
Click to expand...

Yup little to no real world difference between CL7 and CL9 RAM outside of synthetic benchmarks.
 
Danny Bui said:
Seems ok.
Click to expand...

Thanks Danny/Tony for taking the time, giving good advice
and saving me $$.

Will order that configuration tomorrow.

Looks like a hot system, costs $400 less then my last build in
07' with the Core 2 Duo.
 
CleanSlate said:
Is there no real world difference between CL7 and CL9 ram? I keep seeing people suggest CL9 and from what I remember from years ago, I always tried to minimize my CL value on my ram. I hope there is because I spent extra for my CL7 ram. I think the reason I used to prefer it has to do with OCing.
Click to expand...

CL7 is theoretically faster than CL9, but it's hard to justify it for the money. You can always test it for yourself. Run tests on your system in CL7, then rerun them in CL9. You can change this setting in the BIOS.

Here's a review. While it seems to have some strange results -- this type of testing really needs a margin of error -- it shows certain modules increasing the performance of a system by a few percentage points (but in most of the tests I'd say the margin of error reduces that a bit.) Left for Dead is the only real program where there appears to be a noticeable benefit.

msny said:
Thanks Danny/Tony for taking the time, giving good advice
and saving me $$.

Will order that configuration tomorrow.

Looks like a hot system, costs $400 less then my last build in
07' with the Core 2 Duo.
Click to expand...

No problem, let us know how it turns out!
 
All ordered from NewEgg, here is the final items
for anyone interested. As stated, system will be used for
some gaming, photo work and programming.

System gives room for upgrades of second SLI
video card, and second monitor.

NZXT FN-140RB 140mm Case Fan
(extra front case fan)

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit English 1-Pack - OEM

ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound

NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case

ASUS P8P67-M PRO (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

Intel 510 Series (Elm Crest) SSDSC2MH120A2K5 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 850W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply

XFX HD-697A-CNFC Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

4 of these - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL

LG Black 10X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Drive Model UH12LS28 OEM LightScribe Support - OEM

Asus VE248H Black 24" 1920X1080 2ms Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers 250 cd/m2 10,000,000:1

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

With discounts/promos/combos total is:
$1871.61

Which was close to my budget.
.
 
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msny said:
OK, I will take another look at this.

I've switched to the Samsung HD 1TB, and that paste, and will swap out the combo + RAM to the combo + MB.
I've added the RAM seperately.

After thinking it over, lets change the DVD Blu-Ray to a cheaper read only model.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...36232&cm_re=lg_blu_ray-_-27-136-232-_-Product
Is this one OK?

If so, it brings the total down to around $1700.00.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Be advised that you'd just be giving up the ability to write onto BD-R or BD-RE disks. The cheaper drive is actually a DVD/CD burner that reads Blu-ray disks. Hardly any computer Blu-ray readers are strictly read-only for all optical media. As such, you can burn DVDs (but only play back Blu-ray discs) with the drive that you linked to.
 
E4g1e said:
Be advised that you'd just be giving up the ability to write onto BD-R or BD-RE disks. The cheaper drive is actually a DVD/CD burner that reads Blu-ray disks. Hardly any computer Blu-ray readers are strictly read-only for all optical media. As such, you can burn DVDs (but only play back Blu-ray discs) with the drive that you linked to.
Click to expand...

Yes, I know...thanks.

Made a price concession to stay in budget, plus found out I'd need
better 3rd party software for Blu-Ray burning. (previous page somewhere)

Not worth it for me, as I dont see burning Blu-Ray disks
as a priority vs the cost.

Also, I will be posting more videos to YouTube/Facebook rather then burning
disks of my trips/vacations anyways.

I have a Fantom 2T backup drive already, which I will use to archive
vs. burning disks.

I also enjoy using Netflix with Blu-Ray for movies. This drive does
that.
 
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Also, asked my network admin at work, and all I need
for remote support is Win 7 HP not Professional.

I use tunneling VPN software that my company gave me
for remote support access, which I use now.

Since I'm on the programming side of IS, I don't use it much now
anyways...;)
 
Got all my parts Friday from Newegg.
Started yesterday, about 1/2 way done now.

Partial review so far.

The only issues I've had are with the NZXT Phantom case wiring instructions.
There not very good, and the diagrams are poor. So your left to your
"figure it out yourself" resources.

While I like the fan control, the wiring took a long time to figure out.
They use little sticky diagrams attached to each fan cord.
On the plus side wiring management looks good. Most of it can be
hidden behind the motherboard. Better have long wires on your PS.

Also with the CoolerMaster 212+ and the G. Skill Ripjaws there is
a space issue. The Ram is a little high and the fan extends off the
heatsink by about an 1/8 of an inch. So, my fan is about an 1/8"
high on the HS and butts the ram. I'll post a picture latter.

Hopefully won't be an issue?

Maybe other MB's have more space between the first ram slot
and where the HS/fan ends up?

Should finish up today, and will post my final review/results.
 
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OK, flipped the power switch and its working.

New BIOS is interesting, needed to tell it I wanted the SSD as
boot drive.

Installing Windows 7 right now.
Whats the normal operating temp for the i5 supposed to be?

Things have sure changed in 5 years...:eek:
 
OK, everything installed.
Running Prime95 overnight to stress test.

Tried to get a BIOS update via the ASNA windows utility, said there
was "no valid one for my box", but I see I have an old one.

Will post in MB forumn on this...

Pictures to come.
 
Ran Prime 95, no errors overnight.

Problem today with the xfx HD6970.
Seeing white pixels as I scroll though documents, web sites ect.
Refresh a web page there gone, scroll again and they appear.
Boot inot safe mode, dont see them at all there.
Using latest Catalyst drivers off there web site.

Boot into safe mode, and i dont see any pixel problems??

Any suggestions anyone?
 
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Try an older driver? Also see if you can test that card in a different PC.
 
Danny Bui said:
Try an older driver? Also see if you can test that card in a different PC.
Click to expand...

Decided to roll back windows to first install and start over.
I then installed the latest Catalyst dirver from ATI.

Seems that wundows update, fubared my system.
I wont let that happen agai, I'll control the updates myself.

Everything is good now, MS must have a display driver somewhere
that messed me up.

Dang it!

EDIT:
They did have a generic driver, and that screwed me, as i tried to put the AMD driver over it!
 
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Last night ran Prime95 for 10 hours no problem until
that dang video driver problem earlier today(ugh!)...:eek:.

Stress test brought the CPU up to 41C max.
System CPU at idle says 15C.

Is that good?
 
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