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[Help] New Computer Build ($1700 Budget)
Going to be getting a fat check here soon and I think I want to build a computer with it. Decided to bring it to the mmorpg forums and see what you guys think. I'm designing this computer with FFXIV, Rift and the ability to livestream pretty fluidly in mind. Trying to keep my spending limit to around $1700 but I could go a little bit higher if necessary.
The main issue that I'm having here is that I feel like I'm using parts that are way too powerful and unnecessary. I'm unsure what kind of changes to make here.
Comments
think you should just go buy alienware for that money, no idea why u want to compilate the PC by yourself with that budget.
Personally, I'd remove the iCore and add AMD there, also MOST DEF not an nVIDIA card (I myself had them for life, but next one I'm buying is ATI).
Unless you absolutely need top of the line for bragging rights or whatever, I'd cut everything down one notch. Get the i5-2500k for $230, a GTX 570 for $330-$350, 4GB DDR3 for $90 (i5-2500k is dual channel), Corsair 750TX 750W PSU for $90. Switch the mobo to a Socket 1155 to fit the i5-2500k.
All that will save you several hundred dollars and the machine will still be amazing. The price premium on the very top end parts is not worth the performance.
The rest of that money could go toward a 3D/120Hz monitor, or 2 extra monitors for Surround/Eyefinity, also an SSD would be a nice addition to it.
You could also SLI the 570's but if you aren't using 3D or Surround/Eyefinity you don't need the extra horsepower.
If you do want very top of the line I'd swap mobo to 1155 and grab the i7-2600k, and drop the RAM to 4GB or bump to 8GB.
You've pretty much got the wrong platform entirely. Bloomfield is obsolete now, as Sandy Bridge is vastly superior--and cheaper, too. Processor/heatsink combo deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.584454
On your budget, you've got some options. One option would be to go SLI or CrossFire. For example, here's a motherboard/OS combo deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.591012
And then you could get either two Radeon HD 6970s:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161356
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127554
(two different brands chosen so that you can use the rebate on each; they're both reference cards, and physically identical)
or two GeForce GTX 570s:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500185
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162070
(again, different brands so that you can get the rebate on both)
For two video cards, you'd probably want a bigger case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197
Could add a couple of side fans, too.
On your budget, I'd definitely get an SSD, in addition to the hard drive. Something like this would be nice:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227551
That's currently $200 before a $30 rebate, but that won't last long. If it's gone, you could try this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227593
Solid state drives are really, really fast, so if you want a program to be fast and responsive, you install it on the SSD and it will. Put the OS and your main programs on the SSD. You can also get a hard drive for bulk storage for things like videos, pictures, or music, where speed doesn't matter. That really depends on how much capacity you need, though.
Sandy Bridge has a dual channel memory controller, so you want two modules, not three. You could probably justify 8 GB on that budget:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231424
You could just get a power supply that's good enough to not cause any problems:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371022
That's probably a little better than what you had picked above. Or you could shell out for something super high end:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087
Optical drives are pretty much a commodity now, so I don't have any advice there other than don't pay too much, and don't get an LG one with the "bluebirds" firmware.
Another direction you could go, if the power where you live isn't especially stable, would be to get an uninterruptible power supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842102070
That way, if you lose power for short periods of time, it doesn't matter and the computer keeps working--and the power outage won't damage hardware or prevent you from saving your work. If your electricity is stable enough that you can't remember the last time you had power difficulties, then there's no real need for a UPS.
Or if you get a Radeon HD 6970, you could buy some extra monitors and go with a three monitor Eyefinity setup, where the game window is spread across three monitors for huge resolutions. Nvidia cards don't support three monitors off of a single card, so you'd basically have to go with AMD if you want that, or get a bigger budget for two Nvidia cards and also three monitors.
Another option would be that you don't actually have to spend all of the money. I'm not really assembling a complete build here, because what you should get depends some on your preferences.
Change of plans: apparently Sandy Bridge chipsets are defective and have been pulled off the market. Thus, you may want to wait until they are reintroduced in April, or until AMD launches their upcoming Bulldozer architecture.
Ya agree go Sandbridge or Bulldozer from AMD, dont get the 580 video card either way over priced, the 570 has so very little less performance for a fraction of the price.
You also dont need 850 watts power supply unless your running 2 video cards.
core i7, gtx 480, 4gb ram, 500gb hard drive, $25~ dvd player, $150-200 PSU, $200~ Monitor.
Guild Wars 2's 50 minutes game play video:
http://n4g.com/news/592585/guild-wars-2-50-minutes-of-pure-gameplay
Everything We Know about GW2:
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/287180/page/1
Qty.
Product Description
Savings
Total Price
1
Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136795
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$59.99
1
SAPPHIRE 100311SR Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
Item #: N82E16814102915
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
$379.99
1
SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817151087
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$25.00 Instant
$189.99
$164.99
1
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Item #: N82E16835100007
Return Policy: Consumable Item Refund Only Return Policy
$9.99
2
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL
Item #: N82E16820231311
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$169.98
($84.99 each)
1
ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
Item #: N82E16835118019
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$15.00 Instant
$59.99
$44.99
1
PLEXTOR Black BD Combo Super Multi Drive USB Model PX-B310U
Item #: N82E16827249040
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$139.99
1
Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1CCA 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Item #: N82E16820148361
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
$159.99
$149.99
1
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX
Item #: N82E16819103849
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128441
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
-$25.00 Combo
$389.98
$354.98
1
THQ Gift - Darksiders PC Game
Item #: N82E16800995099
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$39.99 Saving
$39.99
$0.00
1
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811129021
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116754
Return Policy: Software Standard Return Policy
-$6.00 Instant
-$5.00 Combo
$205.98
$194.98
Subtotal:
$1,669.87
If I had $1700 to spend this is what I would get.
You could take $100 off this price if you dont want a blu ray player and just get the $20 or so dvd drive, but blu ray is the future. Hell I don't get movies anymore that aren't blu ray.
Blu-Ray is the present, digital download is the future!
This is what Im building for $1699 CDN mind ya I only have 128gb SSD cause I got like 8 two TB drives laying around.
I ain't paying a 1000 bucks for the Gulftown.
I thought all the Sandys wern't coming out till the 20th.
I'll just wait for Haswell.
CPU
Intel Core i7 950 Quad Core 3.06GHz 8M 4.80 GT/s 130W LGA1366
x 1
CPU Cooling
THERMALTAKE FRIO CPU COOLER For ALL SOCKET
x 1
Motherboard
Asus Motherboard P6X58D-E, Intel X58/ICH10R, 3 PCI-E x16, 6x DDR3-1333, 1600/1333 FSB,SATA,RAID
x 1
Memory
3X2GB Corsair DDR3 1600
x 1
Video Card
Evga Video Card GTX570
x 1
Sound Cards
Onboard Audio
x 1
Hard Drive
Patriot SSD PFZ128GS25SDR
x 1
Optical Drive 1
LG 22X DVD RW w/ Lightscribe +- Dual Layer Serial ATA
x 1
F & C Reader
All in 1 Card Reader
x 1
Network Adapter
Onboard Network Adapter
x 1
Case
NZXT Zero Full Aluminum Tower
x 1
Neon Light
Neon Light Package - 2 Neon Light (blue)
x 1
Power Supply
850W Corsair TX Series Power Supply
x 1
Warranty
One year parts and three years labor warranty, lifetime toll free telephone support. Hardware only.
x 1
LUComputers
Bloomfield doesn't make much sense unless you're going to use multiple video cards in SLI or CrossFire. For a single card, Lynnfield is both better and cheaper. Waiting for Sandy Bridge will get you something a lot better and also cheaper than Bloomfield. It's a question of whether you want it now, or whether you'd rather not have to replace it in a few years.
You are smart to build that computer yourself. You will save money. I did the same back in Dec and saved $250 over having Ibuypower build it. Actually saved $300 if you include shipping.
Your build looks fine just get a better case. That one is too budgety for the rest of your kick butt comnponents!
I love this case but 600 bucks cmon....
Alright I changed my mind and I forgot I have a brand new Obsidian 800D from someone that canceled their order.
So Im a go this route instead.
Asus Motherboard P8P67 Pro
Intel Core i7 2600K Quad Core Unlocked Hyperthreading Processor LGA1155 3.4GHZ
Corsair XMS3 CMX8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-27
Zotac GeForce GTX 560 Ti OC 850MHZ 1GB GDDR5 I love Zotac cards
Corsair Professional HX750W 750W
Noctua NH-U12P SE2
And 5 fans
OCZ Vertex 2 Extended Sandforce 120GB
Comes to $1676 cdn tax and shipping -_-
I have the Lian Li case you have pictured there (red with ATI Crossfire logo), except mine is black and has no fancy logo or anything else. It is an excellent case, and was considerably less than $600 (probably because it isn't red and doesn't have a logo or window or anything), although I can't remember how much it was off hand, I've had it for a good while now. As far as general air circulation goes, it's hard to beat, since the entire front end is open and has fans (with an integrated variable speed fan controller), it would be almost impossible to cook a hard drive in here. The small shroud up top also has a single fan, and I mounted a single 120mm radiator up there as well. The hard drives aren't hotswap capable, but there's room for a good many of them, and they do mount on rails so they do have toolless exchangeability, and there is a lot of open space around the motherboard area.
I know you have Corsair case on hand, and I've read good things about them, so this is just for anyone else perusing this thread.