My computer, your advice

[Hatedregret]

So I scrounged all over and wrote down what I would imagine is best buyable parts for a top of the line gaming rig. I, However, know nothing about building computers. My grandfather will build whatever I hand him. Please let me know if what I have chosen is right and if the price is acceptable or if I should change around some things.


The total price is 1575.88 right now and thats after rebates and before shipping. I'd love any ideas on how to lower that price down while maintaining more than enough power for upcoming ffxiv and any other game I may want to play in the future.

Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache
SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive 149.99$

Asus P6X58D Premium Motherboard & Intel Core i7 920 Processor w/ Fan Bundle 569.99$

The ultimate Intel X58 Core i7 performance memory 219.99$

BFG GeForce GTX 260 896MD GDDR3 179.99$

NZXT Tempest ATX Mid-Tower Case - Clear Sides, Front USB, eSATA Ports 99.99$

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy SE 29.99$

Ultra LSP750 750-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, SLI-Ready, 135mm Fan Lifetime Warranty * Free Shipping * 59.99$


Lite-On IHDP118-04 Internal DVD Drive - DVD-ROM 18x, CD-ROM 48x, IDE (OEM 19.99$

Logitech 967973-0403 Black 104 Normal Keys PS/2 Standard Deluxe 250 Desktop - OEM 16.99$

Logitech X-540 70 watts 5.1 Speakers 88.99$

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1
120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler 39.99$

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM 99.99$

[Sieg]

I'm going to assume you don't plan on OCing anything.

As far as dropping the price goes:
That mobo is way overpriced. If you still like that board go with the P6X58D-E variant at least.
If there is a microcenter around check there for deals on 920/930s.
Can probably save another 40-50 by buying cheaper ram.
Drop the soundcard, on-board is more than enough these days.
Drop the raptor and pick up a 1TB WD Black or something similar.
I don't know where you're ordering from but that Hyper 212 is overpriced. It goes for 25-30 max.

Other stuff:
GTX 260 ain't a card for a "top of the line gaming rig". Look at the 5850/5870 and the GTX 470/480.
Not a fan of Ultra Power supplies, but they are not that bad.

[Jurgen]

I'm going to assume you don't plan on OCing anything.

As far as dropping the price goes:
That mobo is way overpriced. If you still like that board go with the P6X58D-E variant at least.
If there is a microcenter around check there for deals on 920/930s.
Can probably save another 40-50 by buying cheaper ram.
Drop the soundcard, on-board is more than enough these days.
Drop the raptor and pick up a 1TB WD Black or something similar.
I don't know where you're ordering from but that Hyper 212 is overpriced. It goes for 25-30 max.

Other stuff:
GTX 260 ain't a card for a "top of the line gaming rig". Look at the 5850/5870 and the GTX 470/480.
Not a fan of Ultra Power supplies, but they are not that bad.

Follow this advice.

[Hatedregret]

Swapped out the duo of motherboard and core i7 for

Intel Core i7/i5 LGA1156 4DDR3-2200 CrossFireX/GBE/Raid/... ATX Motherboard GA-P55A-UD3 129.99*

Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W
Quad-Core Desktop Processor Model BX80601930 288.99

which seperately does saves 51 bucks

Raptor swapped to WD black saved right at 70 bucks

Crucial Ballistix 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model BL3KIT25664BN1608 - OEM* added by suggestion.

Caan't find a cheaper hyper 212 from newegg or amazon(new and noobish as to where to shop.

Overall, with dropping speakers as I have some anyway, you saved me a good deal of money.... until I looked up gtx 470. That brought up my total an addition 170 bucks and I know its worth it. I also realize that 470 is bottom line of said options you gave me ; ;.

Lets see now, after dropping speaker price and adding in vid card, price came to 1329.89 which is cheaper than original. Regardless, your suggestions are taken and will work on getting this spec. Any advice on cheaper sites to get parts would be appreciated and thank you for helping mate.

[Isiolia]

If you're leaving things at stock speeds, you don't need a third party cooler. Can just use the stock Intel one. Not saying it wouldn't be better, more that there's some money you can save there.
Again, for stock speeds...if you plan to overclock much, then you'll definitely want a solid third party cooler.

If you're willing to compromise a little, dropping down to a P55/i5 750 based system n' a 4GB RAM kit would probably cut around $200 off the price. While the X58/i7 stuff is certainly more capable, if you're trying to cut costs you get a bit more bang for your buck with the mainstream platform.

[Olo401]

On the memory - keep in mind that you'll be getting a tri-channel kit for this system (optimally 3x2GB). As far as brands go, personally I'd recommend this set of Crucial memory sticks since it's only a buck more than both the Patriot kits I saw, it's a better name and it's tuned for gaming performance.

If you have a Microcenter in your area, price out some of your parts there. They usually have some kick-ass in store discounts.

A GTX470 should be just fine for everything coming up for a few years. Personally I think the Radeon 5850 would be a better value in that price range.

Finally, the Hyper 212 is a decent choice for the i7. I personally haven't seen any reviews of it yet so I don't know how it stands up to overclocking or how it compares to other coolers that cost the same or more (i.e. my fave the Noctua U12P). But if just looking to replace Intel's stock cooler without overclocking it's a good choice.

[Hatedregret]

If I may though, could you explain OC? I realize it stands for overclocking but thats as far as my knowledge goes. If I get the usual, Check the stickies, I understand and will do so.

[Avanarius]

GA-P55A-UD3 is a dual channel DDR3 motherboard, no point getting a tri channel memory kit.

Also your changes list a cpu that wont work with this motherboard. You need a LGA 1156 socket cpu

[Hatedregret]

So swapping to the I5 would not only be a better idea, but also mandatory for the specs I have atm?

[Avanarius]

So swapping to the I5 would not only be a better idea, but also mandatory for the specs I have atm?

There are i7 cpu's that work in LGA 1156, you just need to match it to the appropriate socket. (right now you have a LGA 1366 i7 cpu that doesn't fit LGA 1156) Granted an LGA 1366 motherboard is considered faster with tri-channel memory support, it will cost a lot more.

[Hatedregret]

I love you so much for helping, but I have no idea whats going on and I hear laughing in the distance.....

Basically, If i keep all my other specs and just use

Intel Core i5 750 Processor 2.66 GHz 8 MB LGA1156 CPU I5-750BOX

with

Intel Core i7/i5 LGA1156 4DDR3-2200 CrossFireX/GBE/Raid/... ATX Motherboard GA-P55A-UD3 129.99*

it will work well without too many complications?

[Avanarius]

I love you so much for helping, but I have no idea whats going on and I hear laughing in the distance.....

Basically, If i keep all my other specs and just use

Intel Core i5 750 Processor 2.66 GHz 8 MB LGA1156 CPU I5-750BOX

with

Intel Core i7/i5 LGA1156 4DDR3-2200 CrossFireX/GBE/Raid/... ATX Motherboard GA-P55A-UD3 129.99*

it will work well without too many complications?

That would work fine.

Generally you just need to match the socket # on motherbard (this case being LGA 1156) to the socket # on the cpu and it will work (this isn't always the case, but usually is).

[Hatedregret]

that ends up lowering the bill a little more as well so I smile, but it will still run above and beyond games like ffxiv for a year or more? My only main fear.


Actually a lot lower. it's down to 1272.89 from 1575.88 just from this thread and you helpful fellows.

[Avanarius]

that ends up lowering the bill a little more as well so I smile, but it will still run above and beyond games like ffxiv for a year or more? My only main fear.

I think people are over estimating the system requirements of FFXIV quite considerably. Square Enix would be doing themselves in for if they made the requirements as high as a game like Crysis (2) (as terribly coded as it is).

And future proofing yourself is essentially impossible with how fast technologies move. You should just buy for today, and worry about tomorrow later.

[Isiolia]

If I may though, could you explain OC? I realize it stands for overclocking but thats as far as my knowledge goes. If I get the usual, Check the stickies, I understand and will do so.

Basically...

CPUs aren't manufactured to be exactly one model or another. They make a big wafer of chips with the same standard features, slice it up, and then test the chips. The manufacturing process isn't perfect. Some of the chips will be stable at higher speeds than others. Some will have bad modules, and so on.

The resulting CPUs are binned according to their capabilities. Some products are actually created to make use of flawed chips. The 3-core AMD CPUs, the Radeon 5830, and so on. Part of the chip is disabled, and the functional parts sold as a lower end product.

'course, the other side to this is market demand. In a perfect world for AMD/Intel/whomever, they'd have a customer willing to pay top dollar for a CPU that performed at the level of their premium chips. The reality is that they don't. Most people are buying low or midrange CPUs. To fill the demand, manufacturers may (and often do) sell more capable chips marked as lower end parts.

Exactly what you need to do, or work around, to overclock a CPU or GPU may vary between products. IE, you may have a fixed CPU/bus speed ratio.

Since overclocking often does result in greater heat, greater power requirements, and possibly running other parts of the system faster than spec as well (like RAM), it's something to account for if you plan to do it.

That said, it'll void warranties, and can result in stability issues, though it's become common and easily done in software (as compared to jumpers n' the like years ago).

The flip side is that, if you know you don't intend to mess with it, then it makes little sense to buy premium parts aimed at enthusiasts that are.

It's pretty popular to do for enthusiasts as you can very often push a low(er) price point CPU to (or past) the stock performance level of much more expensive CPUs.

[Sieg]

Mind posting a complete recap of where you are at? 1.2k seems high still considering you only have a 260 in that price. I spent 1.2k on my last PC and that was with a 5870.

[Agito]

Here goes two modular that i think will suit your system very nicely but there's certainly other brands that would also suit your system very nicely.

Corsair HX650w Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...012&Tpk=hx650w

Silverstone ST75F-P 750w http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...59&Tpk=st75f-p

The PSU is the most important part of a computer system, it's wise to get a high quality one as those cheap arab power supplies are awful. Antec, Seasonic, OCZ, PCpower&cooling, Cooler Master GX series, XFX, Silverstone Strider Plus series. I think these are the major names and i believe all of these brands to be of quality.

[Sieg]

You can get an Antec TP 650 for cheaper and its way better than Corsair's 650w.

[Hatedregret]

For the recap,

WD Caviar Black hard drive 79.99

Intel Core i7/i5 LGA1156 4DDR3-2200 CrossFireX/GBE/Raid/...
ATX Motherboard GA-P55A-UD3 129.99

Intel Core i5 750 Processor 2.66 GHz 8 MB LGA1156 CPU I5-750BOX 194.99

Crucial Ballistix 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3
1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model BL3KIT25664BN1608 - OEM 180.99

EVGA GeForce GTX470 1280 MB DDR5 PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card 012-P3-1470-AR 349.99

NZXT Tempest ATX Mid-Tower Case - Clear Sides, Front USB, eSATA Ports 99.99$

Ultra LSP750 750-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, SLI-Ready
135mm Fan Lifetime Warranty * Free Shipping * 59.99$

Lite-On IHDP118-04 Internal DVD Drive - DVD-ROM 18x, CD-ROM 48x, IDE (OEM 19.99$

Logitech 967973-0403 Black 104 Normal Keys PS/2 Standard Deluxe 250 Desktop - OEM 16.99$

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1
120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler 39.99$

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM 99.99$


Thats just for the request. Haven't looked at the suggestions from Agito yet.

[Sieg]

Two quick things:
For the CM 212:
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=FAN...ampaign=CSE-SZ
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-...8&sr=8-1-fkmr0
I believe you can get BCB with with both of those.

For your GTX 470:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...290&CatId=3669
Also available at CompUSA. Can get 12% BCB with TigerDirect.

Other than that, only way it's gonna get cheaper is to go AMD.