BleepingComputer.com: Building a Computer

Hi, I am looking to build a computer for gaming and other basic needs. I have came up with a list of parts and was wanting some feedback from experienced builders. All feedback is appreciated

Cost: $1,400

Processor - Intel Core i5 2500k Sandy Bridge 3.3Ghz

Processor Fan - Cooler Master Hyper 212

SDD - Corsair Force Series 60GB Sata III Internal Solid State Drive

HDD - Samsung Spinpoint 1Tb 7200RPM Sata 3.0gb/s

GPU - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 ti (factory oc, GV-N560OC)

RAM - Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 RAM

Motherboard - Asus P8P67 Pro Motherboard

Case - Cooler Master CM690 II

OS - Windows 7 Home Premium OEM

Power Supply - Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W

I have never built a computer before and was wondering if I have all components needed and if there is anything I should look out for. Thanks in advance!

This post has been edited by vikramhoods: 02 February 2012 - 06:18 PM

That price seems a little high for a I5 and only 60Gb SSD.. Where are the prices from?

By comparison I built my Brothers I7 2600, 120Gb SSD, 1Tb HDD, case and all under $1000. Not a fancy video card of course since he doesn't game. That was almost a year ago of course and hdd prices are up. But you could start with a 120Gb or 160GB SSD and no hard drive to get going. I think I've used 80+ Gb on my system drive.

One thought is go Bigger on the SSD, I just saw a 120 (128?) SSD on sale today only for $109 after $40 MIR.

Good Luck
Roger

This post has been edited by rotor123: 02 February 2012 - 06:54 PM

rotor123, on 02 February 2012 - 06:49 PM, said:

Thanks for the response. The prices are Newegg.ca, the Canadian website is a bit more expensive than the American counterpart. Do you think it would be better to use an old 5400RPM 300GB HDD that I have in my current computer and an SDD to load my OS on or do you think it would be better to just scrap the SDD and only go with the HDD?

Also, I saw this pre-built computer that has similair specs to wait I am looking for but it is a CyberpowerPC and I have heard that they have poor build quality. Your input on this computer would be appretiated. Thanks.

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/cyberpowerpc-cyberpowerpc-gamer-xtreme-desktop-computer-featuring-intel-core-i7-2600k-gxi230-english-gxi230/10170687.aspx?path=a5a33fc660debd62134f54868a3f2b96en02

This post has been edited by vikramhoods: 02 February 2012 - 07:13 PM

Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8P67 PRO ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($185.98 @ Best Buy)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($167.27 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Corsair Force 60GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($145.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB Video Card ($222.55 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master CM690 II Advanced ATX Mid Tower Case ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1272.72
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-02-02 22:56 EST-0500)

Saved you some money. Those are all trusted websites for buying PC parts from. Also you didn't add an optical drive. Not sure if you already have one or not. Also I would recommend an anti-static wristband.

If you ever need help picking parts out go to http://pcpartpicker.com/

Edit: That's the price including with shipping. Most of them have it free.

This post has been edited by pJ`: 02 February 2012 - 11:10 PM

Those prices in the previous post link to American sites that only service customers in the USA, you need Canadian retailers like NCIX and Newegg.ca. You also don't really need an anti-static wristband if you don't move around alot and discharge the static electricity on the unpainted metal in the case. As for changes, I would go for something in the Radeon 6950 line as it is a bit faster without the need for an overclocked card at the same price. I would go for the HIS IceQ X H695QN1G2M Radeon HD 6950 1GB. That is also a decent case, just remember that if you want multiple GPU's, you really should use a full tower due to thermal and spacing issues.

Also when you get your SSD, remember to update it to the latest firmware.

I was unaware he was Canadian. Please disregard my post.

If you want to use the 5400 RPM drive use it as a data drive as it is slow by todays standards. Use a SSD for the boot drive. Get a bigger than 60Gb SSD to make life easier. with a 120Gb you won't have to go crazy keeping it's size down and the extra room will help extend it's life.

AS Michael said

Quote

Read user reviews on whatever parts you select. The difference between buying one already built and building your own is the control over parts quaility when you build it. A gaming computer takes a beating compared to one used for Word processing and Internet.

I would get a little more feedback on parts from the knowledgeable people here Build it yourself. Don't forget to include the Operating System and Antivirus in your figures.

If I were buying a prebuilt it would be a large brand name computer. for Gaming maybe a Alienware. With Intel based OS computers I have built all of them except two when I didn't have the time. I started when I assembled a 8088 IBM PC Turbo clone that ran at 8Mhz and had a whopping 256Kilobytes of memory and dual floppy drives for storage.

Before that you bought one from Apple, Radio Shack, Atari, Commodore etc. Ready to go that usually hooked up to the TV set. Online was 300 baud modem to Compuserve or a local BBS.

Good Luck with your decision.

Thanks for all the replies, great advice everyone. I'll look into seeing if there is a reasonablly priced SDD that is more than 60GB but I am near the cap of my price range (all of what I have listed with tax and shipping totals to $1,543.93 from Newegg.ca and I don't want to exceed $1,600). I'll look into the Radeon 6950 and compare it to the GTX 560ti via youtube. Also, does anyone have an idea when the prices of HDD will lower? I am thinking that it will be wiser to just get a 120GB SDD as someone recommended and use my old 5400RPM HDD for storage untill they drop in price a bit.

...why would you compare GPU's on YouTube? The framerate is locked there, I think, and you don't get much analysis. Here's is a review round up of the 560 ti as it was launched after the 6950.

DJBPace07, on 03 February 2012 - 04:21 PM, said:

Hmm, after reading the reviews I think I should go with the GTX 560ti, thanks for the link. Another reason I think I'll go with that is because the warranty on the GTX 560ti's is either 3 years or lifetime while I could not find any listed warranty on the Radeon HD 6950. It do see that the Radeon HD 6950 is more powerful but the fact that there is no warranty frightens me as a first time builder. However if anyone has bought one recently please inform me of any warranty that is included (Newegg lists none so I'm assuming there is no warranty :S). Also, after reading the reviews of the GTX 560ti OC from Gigabyte I was dissapointed as there are many negative reviews although, when I looked at EVGA's GTX 560ti that is not overclocked it had very good reviews. So I think I'll change my graphics card to EVGA's GTX 560ti that is not overclocked.

This post has been edited by vikramhoods: 03 February 2012 - 04:47 PM

I've bought 2 6950 and i was given 1 year of warranty.

A few things to keep in mind with GPU's...

Warranties are often pointless if the device works as advertised for about a year. Most computer equipment are either fine out-of-the-box or DOA, very few ever fail more than a few months after purchase.

Warranties are often moot after a year or so due to the GPU upgrade cycle. By the time the warranty ends, most manufacturers are already producing or selling next generation GPU's.

Overclocked GPU's cost more for something you can do yourself at home in software, so you can save money that way.

Most GPU's are reference designs put out by AMD or Nvidia. This means that the cards themselves are identical between manufacturers with the exception of the cooling device. There are exceptions to this, but those are really niche cards that are expensive. In other words, an HIS 6950 is technically the same as an Asus 6950, Sapphire 6950, Diamond 6950, etc. This also means that a review for any card will be a good indicator for all other cards in the series regardless of manufacturer.

Typically, the only differing factors between the cards are the warranties, bundle, cooling device, and, sometimes, ports on the back.

The HIS IceQ X H695QN1G2M Radeon HD 6950 1GB I linked to in an earlier post does come with a two year warranty and Newegg will take the card back for an exchange if it is DOA. All GPU manufacturers offer a warranty and Newegg always lists warranty information on the product page under the "Details" tab in the quick info section on the right hand side.

DJBPace07, on 03 February 2012 - 06:38 PM, said:

Thanks for clearing that up. Deciding on the GPU is giving me the most trouble, I looked at the most popular GPU's on Newegg again and noticed that HIS's Radeon HD 6950 2GB had alot of positive feed back. It is a bit more expensive than the GTX 560ti and the 1gb edition but it seems to be worth it. I think that I might cut getting a new HDD untill later when they're prices drop and just use my old HDD which is a western digital 300GB.

Since you are focused on GPU's, I forgot to mention something. I don't know what resolution you are using, or if you are using more than a single monitor, but a 1GB card will be fine in this situation. However, if you use more than one monitor, or EyeFinity, or game beyond 1920 x 1200 resolution, or use super sample anti aliasing, or anything like "high definition" or "ultra quality" texture packs, it may be best to go beyond a 1GB card. In the future, if you do decide to use multiple graphics cards, it is best to use higher end cards as the performance scaling is often best with these cards. Not all games will scale very well with multiple GPU's and revert down to one, if that one GPU is powerful already, performance won't be too bad.

Here's some guidance:

HIS IceQ X H695QN1G2M Radeon HD 6950 1GB - This goes in between a GTX 560 and 570 in terms of performance. If you need a card with more than 1GB of VRAM, the SAPPHIRE 100312-3SR Radeon HD 6950 Dirt3 Edition 2GB is a good buy.

DIAMOND 6970PE52G Radeon HD 6970 2GB - This is a step up from the 6950. This card, when compared to the GeForce GTX line, goes in between the GTX 570 and 580.

SAPPHIRE 11196-00-40G Radeon HD 7950 3GB - Continuing up the performance ladder, this is one of the newest cards on the market. It is a bit faster than a GTX 580 and you will be paying for it.

HIS H797F3G2M Radeon HD 7970 3GB - This is AMD's flagship GPU and it is also the most powerful card you can buy, well, aside from the dual GPU cards which cost more. It is much more powerful than a GTX 580 and is designed, and priced, for the enthusiast market.