22 replies to this topic

[yoba333]

So this would be my first time building a computer, but my laptop right now is on the low end of the spectrum for gaming and I need something new. I got the idea from some people on the chatroom to build by own desktop, so here it is:

The First Planned Build:
Case : Antec 1200 or HAF 932
Video Card : GeForce GTX 580
CPU: Intel Core i7 2600K
Motherboard: Not sure yet
RAM : Depends on motherboard whether I get dual or triple channel slots but at least 8 MB of DDR3 RAM
Power Unit: Will determine after all other parts are decided
HDD : 1 TB HDD and an SSD card for my OS and games
OS: Windows 7 64 bit
Optical Drive : Asus Black Internal Blu-Ray Drive Model http://www.newegg.co...5-244-_-Product
Sound Card : Would I need one?

The Second Planned Build:
Case : Antec 1200 - $160 Amazon
Video Card - ATI Radeon HD 6790 - $370 Newegg
CPU - Intel Core i7 2600K - $340 Amazon
Motherboard - Unknown due to the error with p67/h67 chipsets
RAM - Depends on Motherboard
HDD - Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB HDD - $90 Newegg
SSD- OCZ Vertex 2 90GB SATA II SSD - $180 Newegg
OS - Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit - $200 Microsoft
Optical Drive - Asus Black Internal Blu-Ray Drive - $40 Newegg
Sound Card - Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio - $50 TigerDirect
Cooler Fan - Scythe Mugen II - $47 Amazon

For a Grand Total of $1477 without the motherboard or RAM... Wow, if you find a cheaper version of these products please tell me.
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I think that's everything, what do you guys think?
I want to be able to play games on it for at least 4-6 more years, could I do it on this build?
Which case would you recommend for good airflow and easy to access parts?
What motherboard should I get?
Would I notice any real difference between an i5 CPU and an i7 CPU?
Are any of those components unnecessarily pricey? Could I bet getting more for less with a different product?
And lastly, is my Blu-Ray Drive good? I will be hooking this up to my HDTV and watching Blu-ray movies as well as playing games. Will I need another optical drive for game disks?

Thanks for all your help, as I said this is my first build and I'm really excited about it.

PS: Some of the games I want to play are:
Fallout New Vegas
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Fallout 3
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Crysis and Crysis 2
and whatever fancy new games come out for the holidays this year.

Edited by yoba333, 04 February 2011 - 01:39 AM.

[Erik005]

The components you selected are very good.

There is a big problem though.

The p67/h67 chipsets have a design error this will be resolved in april. so you will have to wait. Many shops here in The Netherlands have stopped selling socket 1155 motherboards.

As for the case I would go for the antec 1200, this case is very cool and modern.

Edited by Erik005, 03 February 2011 - 02:59 PM.

[yoba333]

Yeah, I heard about that. I can wait that long if I need to, especially considering most of the higher end games I want to play don't come out until later this year.

[Erik005]

One of the best motherboards you can get is the MSI p67a-gd65, just make sure you get the new revision when it comes out.

I would also like to suggest a cooler for the CPU. The scythe Mugen II is the best CPU-cooler around, although you need to get RAM without high heat-spreaders.

[yoba333]

Would my CPU not come with a fan? But i'll check out that cooler. Is the cooler separate from the CPU fan and is it easy to install?
As for RAM, how would I tell if it has high heat-spreaders?

[Erik005]

The core i7-2600k comes with the standard intel cooler which is quite bad, a good cooler ensures a long life.

This is RAM with a low heatspreader. this will fit under any cooler.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820145324

This is RAM with a high heatspreader, this won't fit under most coolers.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820233144

[yoba333]

Alright, thanks. I was considering going to a ATI Radeon HD 6970 which is 200 dollars cheaper than the 580

[Erik005]

The HD6970 will play any game on the market.

And if you get a good powersupply and big case you can always put in another.

When the socket 1155 motherboards are available again in April there will also be 6970s available with good non standard coolers.

As for a case you can also consider the Coolermaster HAF X

Edited by Erik005, 04 February 2011 - 09:34 AM.

[CommanderCrazy]

The 6970 is a reference card. Do not buy it yet.

Once companies rework it, then you should scope it out.

Also, As for case, I'd reccomend these:

The Lancool PC-K58

Edited by CommanderCrazy, 04 February 2011 - 10:46 AM.

[yoba333]

I really like the Antec 1200, is it not a good case?

Also, due to monetary confinements, I will not be building this until early May or this summer. Hopefully by then the mobos will be fixed and the 6970 will be reworked like CommanderCrazy said.

I'm mostly trying to stay on top of this now and get some help making sure this is a worthy build.

Edited by yoba333, 04 February 2011 - 04:05 PM.