[Solved] My first build... Need constructive criticism

I am looking to play games such as Diablo 3, battlefield 3, Tribes Ascend. I have an Asus 24 inch monitor, and I would like to keep the price as close to $1000 as possible.

I will be overclocking and adding an aftermarket heatsink in the future. I was hoping this case will offer enough airflow for the added heat.

Will this PSU be enough for overclocking the cpu and gpu in the future? I was trying to design this build with the idea of future Upgradability in mind. Please offer me any advice you have since I am a noob

LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS90B - OEM $16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827136240

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119233

Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148840

MSI R6850 Cyclone PE Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity $165
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127576

SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817151095

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL $42
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231311

ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131806

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ... $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115072

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM $100

Message edited by HairBender on 02-07-2012 at 07:10:21 PM

Reply to HairBender

You can get a few things cheaper

if you live by a Micro center you can get $50 off a MOBO when you get a CPU, so im told.

CPU (179.99) not online, in store only
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0354589

OS (79.99) - http://www.trustprice.com/669867/m [...] -home.html

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to lldsgt

Best answer

You can't afford a fancy mobo on this budget. Get a $120 ASRock Z68 Extreme3 or a similarly priced Gigabyte Z68A-D3H-B3.

With the $60 you're saving right there (and even more, if you can make it to a Microcenter), you can go for a better GPU that won't cause micro-stuttering problems in Crossfire/SLI. I think a 560 Ti would be the way to go.
$215 after rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127594
or $225 (I'd take this one): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127565

You should get a PSU that can handle two of whatever GPU you end up with. A good 650W would be fine for 560 Ti SLI.
$65 after rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341048
or $85 if you're feeling modular. It's a little less installation hassle. Worth $20? You decide. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341051

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by kajabla on 02-07-2012 at 08:39:38 PM

Reply to kajabla

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157271 $121.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125401 $209.99
GIGABYTE GV-N560UD-1G GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820220570 $41.99 FREE SHIPPING
Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory with heatshield Model PSD38G1600KH

------------------------------ "God invented Google so you would stop asking stupid questions."
Reply to Why_Me

lldsgt wrote :

You can get a few things cheaper

if you live by a Micro center you can get $50 off a MOBO when you get a CPU, so im told.

CPU (179.99) not online, in store only
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0354589

OS (79.99) - http://www.trustprice.com/669867/m [...] -home.html

I just contacted the Micro Center nearest to me and the i5 2500k is out of stock The lady did tell me that the $50 off of an Asus z68 motherboard is still being offered for the i7 and i5, but the $180 deal on the i5 ends on the 13th. Maybe they will get some more in before then hopefully. Thank you for the info on that.

Reply to HairBender

kajabla wrote :

You can't afford a fancy mobo on this budget. Get a $120 ASRock Z68 Extreme3 or a similarly priced Gigabyte Z68A-D3H-B3.

With the $60 you're saving right there (and even more, if you can make it to a Microcenter), you can go for a better GPU that won't cause micro-stuttering problems in Crossfire/SLI. I think a 560 Ti would be the way to go.
$215 after rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127594
or $225 (I'd take this one): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127565

You should get a PSU that can handle two of whatever GPU you end up with. A good 650W would be fine for 560 Ti SLI.
$65 after rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341048
or $85 if you're feeling modular. It's a little less installation hassle. Worth $20? You decide. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341051

I agree with you on the motherboard, I was just scared to go cheaper on the motherboard because I didnt really know what the minimum specs were that I needed. I will go with the Asrock Extreme3.

I will Definitly take that 560 ti into serious consideration, I didnt realize the 6870 had that problem.

I figured seasonic was probably the best route since I notice alot of you guys on here preach to never go cheap on the power supply. But with the one you listed I will save a little bit of money.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to HairBender

HairBender wrote :

I agree with you on the motherboard, I was just scared to go cheaper on the motherboard because I didnt really know what the minimum specs were that I needed. I will go with the Asrock Extreme3.

I will Definitly take that 560 ti into serious consideration, I didnt realize the 6870 had that problem.

I figured seasonic was probably the best route since I notice alot of you guys on here preach to never go cheap on the power supply. But with the one you listed I will save a little bit of money.

Personally I would go with a 750w psu for dual 560 ti's. If you were going with dual 6950's than a 650w psu would be just fine, but the 560's are not a power saving card by any means. Where those cards shine over the AMD card and their Nvidia brethren like the 570's and 580's is when it comes to over clocking. That's what the 560 series cards are all about... their ability to over clock and run cool at the same time. When you overclock your cards and your cpu then the psu comes into play. Nothing less than 750w imo.

Spend the extra $10 for 100 more watts and more amps.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341049 <----- like this one here for $100 and free shipping + rebates.

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------ "God invented Google so you would stop asking stupid questions."
Reply to Why_Me

Why_Me wrote :

Personally I would go with a 750w psu for dual 560 ti's. If you were going with dual 6950's than a 650w psu would be just fine, but the 560's are not a power saving card by any means. Where those cards shine over the AMD card and their Nvidia brethren like the 570's and 580's is when it comes to over clocking. That's what the 560 series cards are all about... their ability to over clock and run cool at the same time. When you overclock your cards and your cpu then the psu comes into play. Nothing less than 750w imo.

Spend the extra $10 for 100 more watts and more amps.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341049 <----- like this one here for $100 and free shipping + rebates.

Will I be ok with a 650w psu if I run one overclocked 560 ti and overclock the cpu?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to HairBender

HairBender wrote :

Will I be ok with a 650w psu if I run one overclocked 560 ti and overclock the cpu?

For a single 560ti set up a 520w - 550w will be just fine. If that's the case then look at getting the Asrock Pro 3 Gen 3 for $110 and free shipping at newegg. It's a single card board. If you do want the option to add another one of those cards later on then stick with a dual card board like that Asrock extreme3 gen3 and go with a 750w psu.

------------------------------ "God invented Google so you would stop asking stupid questions."
Reply to Why_Me

I seriously advise you to get SLI-capable parts. It's the easiest and cheapest upgrade you can do in a couple of years, when the single card starts feeling balky.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/gefo [...] -review/14
Cards in full stress: 450W. I don't think OCing will take you more than 50W over that.

Reply to kajabla

I recommend you wait a bit, the ivy bridge cpus and gtx 6xx are coming out in April.

Reply to somekidxd

If you're willing to wait for months, you can always find something better.

Reply to kajabla

Technology moves so fast you could always wait a few months and find something better, but I am like a big kid who cant wait lol.

I will take everyone's advice on going with sli parts and a 750w psu for a dual video card upgrade in the future. Do you think the 560 ti will be available for a while?

Reply to HairBender

Yes, it will. Incidentally, as Why showed me earlier today, the 560 Ti 448 Core is a great GPU. It overclocks beautifully, almost matching the performance of a stock 580. It's a great value at $290; get it if you feel like you can spare the cash. It'll last you longer.

Reply to kajabla

Thanks for your help guys, I do believe I have made my decision and ready to place my order. :bounce:

Changes I have made to build:

GIGABYTE GV-N560UD-1G GeForce GTX 560 Ti
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125401

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157271

Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820220570

OCZ ZS Series 750W 80PLUS Bronze High
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341049

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