Building a PC

[CAN]

itt we learn abec is a hoarder

[Sanderz]

itt we learn abec is a hoarder

We've known this for years. He had to have every shield and weapon that was equippable even if they weren't upgrades.

[Firecrest]

Here's where I've ended up:

Code:

CAS: Cooler Master Elite 431 Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Side-Panel Window
CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-3570 3.40 GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1155
FAN: Intel Certified CPU Fan & Heatsink
HDD: 128GB ADATA SP900 SATA-III 6.0Gb/s - 550 MB/s Read & 520 MB/s Write (Single Drive)
HDD2: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 7200 RPM HDD (Single Drive)
MEMORY: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1866MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair XMS)
MOTHERBOARD: [CrossFireX] ASUS P8Z77-V LX Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ IRST, Lucid Virtu MVP, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, 2x PCIe x16 (1 Gen3, 1 Gen2), 2x PCIe x1 & 3 PCI
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium
POWERSUPPLY: 750 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-750TXV2 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)

Total price is $1148. Dropping down to an i5, 8GB memory and Win7 Home let me add the SSD and up the graphics card without changing the price much.

[Crazy Diana]

i would ship you a copy of windows free of charge international but youll just buy the $300 version anyway

edit: wait what is a major brand powered by nvidia? make sure that shits evga

[Firecrest]

edit: wait what is a major brand powered by nvidia? make sure that shits evga

Yeah. I noticed that too. I assume that's how they save some money by giving me whatever brand they can get a deal on. Everything I read said it doesn't really matter what brand it is though. Just what's inside it. Not true?

[Crazy Diana]

good warranties if it goes bad

[Crazy Diana]

http://www.evga.com/support/warranty/

lifetime warranty? yesplz

[jackslammer]

Here's where I've ended up:

Code:

CAS: Cooler Master Elite 431 Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Side-Panel Window
CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-3570 3.40 GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1155
FAN: Intel Certified CPU Fan & Heatsink
HDD: 128GB ADATA SP900 SATA-III 6.0Gb/s - 550 MB/s Read & 520 MB/s Write (Single Drive)
HDD2: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 7200 RPM HDD (Single Drive)
MEMORY: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1866MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair XMS)
MOTHERBOARD: [CrossFireX] ASUS P8Z77-V LX Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ IRST, Lucid Virtu MVP, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, 2x PCIe x16 (1 Gen3, 1 Gen2), 2x PCIe x1 & 3 PCI
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium
POWERSUPPLY: 750 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-750TXV2 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)

Total price is $1148. Dropping down to an i5, 8GB memory and Win7 Home let me add the SSD and up the graphics card without changing the price much.

I like ADATA's RAM and that SSD has a standard Sandforce controller but I'd go with a better SSD like the Crucial m4, Intel 320 or 330, Samsung 830 or 840, OCZ Vertex 4, etc. Rages mentioned how the new generation of SSDs are around the corner, and the Samsung 840 is amongst the first of them, here is a review of it: http://www.anandtech.com/show/6337/samsu...0gb-review

It's only $10 more than the ADATA SP9000 on Newegg as well: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820147188

Here's a good deal on a GPU although if you can get a 670 for less than $300 stick with that;

EVGA 03G-P4-3661-KR GeForce GTX 660 Ti 3GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$329.99 - $10.00IR - $32.00 promo code "HARDOCP1X31A" (10%) - $20.00IR = $267.99 with free shipping
Promo Expires on 11/6/12

[Firecrest]

Thanks for the SSD advice. I picked the ADATA because it had a 550 MB/s read and 520 MB/s write with 128GB. At the same price point, the 330 had 500 MB/s read and 450 MB/s write with 120GB. 8GB and 50-70 MB/s isn't a huge deal, but it that's basically how I made my decision. Intel does match the ADATA's SP900 stats with their 520 for about $20 more. That might be a worthwhile upgrade.

I hadn't looked into Samsung yet though. Thanks for the tip and the links. I'll do some more research.

[Firecrest]

Haha. Interesting factoid I just discovered as I was poking around. I installed the OS on my current machine on 11/06/06. Exactly six years ago today. I'm sure you all care deeply about this coincidence. You are welcome for bringing it to your attention.