CASE IN WIN Dragon Rider Black Full Tower http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108376 139.99 PSU CORSAIR HX Series 850W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011 169.99 FAN CONTROLLER NZXT SEN-001LX Sentry LX Aluminum Fan Controller http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811992004 49.99 MOTHERBOARD ASUS P8P67 PRO http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7089723&sku=A455-3027 189.99 CPU 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 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072&cm_re=2500k-_-19-115-072-_-Product 224.99 CPU COOLER COOLER MASTER Hyper N 520 RR-920-N520-GP 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103057 34.99 MEMORY G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314&cm_re=8gb-_-20-231-314-_-Product 104.99 HARDDRIVE SAMSUNG Spinpoint 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 69.99 SSD Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...e=Crucial_RealSSD_C300-_-20-148-348-_-Product 264.99 GPU EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593&cm_re=GTX_570-_-14-130-593-_-Product 349.99 SOUND CARD ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132006&Tpk=Xonar DX 89.99 DVD LG DVD Burner Bulk Black SATA Model http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136177 18.99 OP Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit – OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754 99.99 MONITOR ASUS VG236HE Black 23" 1920X1080 2ms Height,Swivel & Tilt Adjustable Full HD 3D Widescreen LCD Monitor 400 cd/m2 100,000:1 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236104 349.99 TOTAL $2158.86 USD Just looking for a stamp of approval (input on changes welcome) before I set off to buy the parts. Thanks guys. EDIT : Changed Monitor. Changed CPU. Changed Memory. Changed SSD. Changed Sound Card.
If you can afford it, get a 120hz 24" monitor such as Asus VG236 or LG W2363D. The higher refresh rate removes practically all tearing from games and gives just overall smoother look in both games and desktop. Also, do you actually need such an expensive sound card? Wouldn't something like Xonar DX be enough for gaming? EDIT: VG236 isn't 24", just 1080p
Thanks for the input about the monitor. I had peeked around briefly for a 120hz monitor, but I had issues finding any decent ones. The Asus VG236 looks solid. I shied away from the Xonar DX because of back and forth reviews concerning it's quality. If I go for the Asus VG236 however, I might go with a cheaper option for the sound card. Does anyone have any other suggestions for a video card in Xonar DX range ($50-$90 USD)?
Which reviews were suspicious of its quality? All the reviews I read before buying it were wholly positive. I don't really need anything else from a soundcard than good sound quality, good equalizer, and Dolby Headphone. The latter is such an amazing thing to have (for me at least) that I just wouldn't trade this card for any Auzentech or Creative card.
i was thinking about a few things .. 1) $329.99 for i7 2600k, which is about 100$ more. and my friend, on processors you may regret later that hey ! just 100$ dollers and i could have bought a 2600k. 2) look for Crucial RealSSD C300 355mb read and 140mb writes are claimed for 264$, why not ? this board does support sata III. 3) i would shave off some dollers from psu and get some antec \ pc power and cooling psu (any other GOOD but cheaper brands to shave off money) and buy silverstone Raven casing heheh (atleast get an unique look no?) these may add about 200 extra bucks on your current specification, but these 200 will put you in different catagory! besides, I am also researching on pc parts now a days, since i have a decent rig for now, i can wait and see what amd has to offer
why not 2x4GB ram? more future proofing, i've that fan controller, looks good ^^ but sometimes loses contact with some fans(not lately)
@ lehtv Reviews on Newegg seem to be overall five/four stars, but the ones posted lately have downed the card's sound quality. I might consider it still though since it is the better of that price range. @ main_shoby 1) It's not something I've completely disregarded yet. Appreciate the back up on that thought. 2) That is not a huge price increase. I'll have to peek at those. 3) Case I'm pretty sold on, I can't seem to get it out of my head. PSU wise I'll peek around at those. @ EspHack I'll peek at the 2x4GB. You're right, it is a better idea for future proofing.
Changed CPU. Changed Memory. Changed SSD. Changed Sound Card. There was some concerns in reviews about the memory working with the new BIOS on the Asus P8p67 Pro, but should be fixed easily with enabling XMP Profile in the BIOS. Final check on the current build changes.
The new GTX 560 Ti reference cards overclock very near GTX 570 with lower power draw and temperature, while costing much less. I previously thought I would go with GTX 570 myself in a month or two, but the GTX 560 Ti is looking like a much better deal to me.
I don't plan on overclocking. I don't like the idea of pushing the components past factory settings. Thank you though.
Then there's the possibility of getting a factory overclocked Ti 560 which is still much cheaper than 570 but performs similarly. E.g. Gigabyte 560 SOC review. At scan.co.uk the cheapest GTX 570 is £275, while Gigabyte 560 SOC is £230.
Replace the 2600K with the 2500K and you get my seal of approval. The 2600K isn't worth it if this thing is mainly for gaming, you're paying for 2 MB extra L3 cache and SMT which both aren't worth the extra $100. I'd rather save that $100 to get more games if I were you. deltatux
@ lehtv I might just stick to the 570. I'm still peeking into the 560 though. Thanks for bringing it up, I wouldn't have seen it otherwise. @ deltatux Yeah, I was thinking further on it and I'll probably drop back to the 2500K. Thanks.
If your going for gaming I would get the 2600k. Most reviews ive seen make it better overall. 2500k is still very good but I would lean towards the 2600k. I am thinking of upgrading as well. I am just waiting to see what other procs come out(AMDs Bulldozer and I think another one is coming). The current Intel procs are the Sandy Bridge chip but Ivory is around the corner. The main difference is that Sandy Bridge only supports dx 10.1 and Ivory will support dx 11. I believe that is only for discrete graphics meaning onboard video? If i'm correct then putting my own card wouldn't make a difference if the onboard video was 10.1 or 11?
Seriously, I can't really see any real world improvements in the 2600K to recommend it over the 2500K, the $100 extra isn't worth it. Sure, the prospects of SMT and 2 MB L3 cache sounds great ... but in reality, they might at most give you 5 - 10% increase for $100. Maybe if it was $50 more then I would say, good deal, go ahead, but that ain't the case. A good rig should meet these criteria: balance between performance and price, durability, and upgradability. If you lobside it, then it's not that fantastic of a rig, unless you can legally print money lol. deltatux
hmm .. i checked some graphs .. i agree with deltatux. also gentleman said hes not going to overclock... i voted for 2600k coz in 2200$ rig 100$ are peanuts.
I'm going to revert back to the 2500k. Thanks for all of the input guys. I think I have the build finalized. I'll let you know how it runs after I get it all set up.
I'm looking for upgraded fan options for my case, but I really draw a blank at this step. I have no idea what to look for. I'm leaning towards performance fans that will keep the case nice and cool, which means it is alright if they are a bit noisy for the power. I would prefer no colors. Do any of you have fans you would recommend? The Dragon Rider has these.. 1 x 120mm Rear Fan 1 x 120mm Front Fan 2 x 120mm Top Fan 1 x 220mm Side LED Fan with switch Thanks guys.
