Gaming Are these good parts for building a new PC for the first time

[jargus]

I'm planning on making my first custom build PC within the monthand half-two months. I've never done it before I'm not sure how comptaible all my parts are but I think these all work well together. My budget limit is around 1500$.

ASRock Z68 EXTREME4 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157264
EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support FPB Video ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-90G 2.5" 90GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227759

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311

Samsung by Seagate Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ/ST500DM005 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102003


I know I'm missing a case I'm don't know yet what a good one would be. Also I think the motherboard I picked has onboard audio sound isn't a major issue for me so I might remove the sound card from the build. Could any of these parts be swapped for better ones at similar price?

Also I found a site ibuypower.com I configured a similar build there for around 1200$. However I've heard some say that the quality of the builds are not good or the parts are cheap. What I'm looking for is a quality build that will last me for many years. However, since I've never built a myself, I'm not sure how well I can do it myself. If ibuypower is reliable, should I buy from them to ensure the computer is of sound qaulity, or should I order the separate parts and take caution is building it myself? Which is the better the option for me? Thanks for any helpful replies.

 

[Originality]

Have a look at the Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z motherboard and MSI 560 Ti Twin Frozr II/OC. Also have a look at the Silverstone FT03 or Antec 1200v3 for cases.

Also since you've not mentioned any CPU cooler, consider the Arctic Freezer 13 or Corsair H60.

Finally, since you've got a SSD listed, consider the 3TB Western Digital Caviar Green instead of the Samsung Spinpoint F3.

 

[Midna]

You rich, son?

This is way over the top. I'm this is to be a gaming computer, right? It's way more than you need for any game right now. Though actually, you've skimped a bit on the graphics card compared to the processor.

Speaking of the processor, there's more reasons than just price not to get that one. The Ivy Bridge line of intel processors hits in April. Your sandy bridge i7 there is going to be severely devalued in a few months. If you don't want to wait until April to build, I'd recommend the i5 2500k. As a matter of fact, there is very, very little difference between the 2600k and the 2500k, especially for the price difference.

Sorry, I'm rambling. Here, tl;dr:
Consider waiting to build until Ivy bridge hits
Get a better graphics card if you're in it for gaming
Go for the i5 2500k instead of the i7 2600k
Try harder to reduce overall costs. I assume you're not Scrooge McDuck

 

[Originality]

Ivybridge hits in April? I keep hearing its coming in Q3.

 

[Midna]

I checked around again and yeah, that's what all the news sources say.

 

[DiscostewSM]

According to Tom's Hardware, going beyond an i5-2500k begins to have diminishing returns in relation to gaming. Price just goes higher with performance unable to match it.

 

[CannonFoddr]

According to Tom's Hardware, going beyond an i5-2500k begins to have diminishing returns in relation to gaming. Price just goes higher with performance unable to match it.

I agree -
I myself am consider updating my aging 4-5year old E6750 PC 'soon' (still deciding on what motherboard to get first, waiting for HDD prices to go down - among other things) & all reviews I've been reading up state that the i5-2500K offer more 'bang-for-buck' than more expensive processors (you'll also save >$110 buying this instead of that 'i7') & apparently is even more 'easily overclockable' if you're into that sort of thing (I'm not) up to (& above) ~4Ghz

The reviews I've been reading about the type of graphics card (GTX 560 Ti 1Gb) have actually been favorable although THAT particular manufacturer wasn't reviewed & I believe that same design by different manufacturer can have different results

The PSU - that's one area I'm not sure about....
Being a 750w one should be OK for everything you've mentioned - with room to spare if you want to add more stuff like extra HDD, or go into overclocking &/or water cooling etc - later on,
but IIRC a MINIMUM of 600w from a well known manufacturer (i.e. NOT a generic 'no-named' one) would also suffice (I'm sure some1 will correct me about this). This is usually the size to have for 'modern day' general use PC's

Not using the 'stock cooler' is also a good investment - these are usually 'just capable' of keeping the CPU cool... if you live in a hot climate, have a badly ventilated room or you plan to overclock, they may struggle to keep it suitably cool

I've heard most on-board sound cards nearly rival dedicated sound cards now-a-days
- I myself (on my aging old PC) have used the onboard for quite a while when playing games like halflife/TF2 without problems - it depends really if you plan to use the PC with surround sound speakers (like as a media centre) or just headphones etc (usually game playing)
[BTW, I just use headphones mostly so I don't disturb anyone else in the house]

 

[qlum]

The Asus Xonar DG is a better sound card at the same price than the one you are looking at.
With your budget it would be better to get a 2500k instead and replace the gpu with a 570.
The newer OCZ SSD's have quite a reputation of failing because of the new sandforce controllers so I wouldn't recommend them, the crucial m4 has a far better repand it will give you 38gb extra at a lower price.
The power supply is not modular which means all the cables will be fixed and the ones you don't use can't be removed, this can be annoying with cable management.

 

[DiscostewSM]

I currently have an EVGA GTX 560 Ti SC in my system. Got it for $180 via rebate offer with Newegg.com some time back. It does rather well, but for some reason, I'm not getting as high performance as reviewers of the card have stated. Thinking it might be my motherboard (Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L rev 1.0).

 

[jargus]

For those saying to pick an in i7 this computer is going to be more processing video than gaming. I can really benefit from using the hyperthreading in Vegas more with an i7 than i5. I'm not sure how long I can wait as what I'm using now is practically on life support already.

I've done some more looking and changed some parts. How are these in comparison to what I've picked so far

SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227759

Case+PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.819694

Opitcal: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151244

As for cooling I'm between http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181015&Tpk=Corsair%20H60 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186039

Also found a similar mobo for less how well does it compare http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

Someone recommened this GPU instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127615

According to newegg this build is about $1250. I've decided not to get the sound as the onbaord sound is enough for my needs. How well would these parts work all work together?

 

[qlum]

For those saying to pick an in i7 this computer is going to be more processing video than gaming. I can really benefit from using the hyperthreading in Vegas more with an i7 than i5. I'm not sure how long I can wait as what I'm using now is practically on life support already.

I've done some more looking and changed some parts. How are these in comparison to what I've picked so far

SSD: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820227759

Case+PSU: http://www.newegg.co...st=Combo.819694

Opitcal: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827151244

As for cooling I'm between http://www.newegg.co...k=Corsair%20H60 or http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835186039

Also found a similar mobo for less how well does it compare http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157271

Someone recommened this GPU instead: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814127615

According to newegg this build is about $1250. I've decided not to get the sound as the onbaord sound is enough for my needs. How well would these parts work all work together?

Saving money by not taking a soundcard is not something I would do if I where you, its only 30$ and unless your speakers/headphone are even cheaper than the soundcard Just buy it, this is something everyone owning a decent soundcard can agree on. just buy this one: http://www.newegg.co...&Tpk=xonar%20dg

SSD: like I said the crucial m4 is a cheaper, and more reliable option as the failure rate of the vertex 3 is quite high due to the sandforce controller it uses: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820148442

psu+mobe: fair enough

optical: can't really go wrong there

Cooling: I have not really heard about the artic one but the NZXT havic would outperform the h60 at a lower price: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835146011

Mobo: I have not much knowledge about intel mobo's

GPU: the core 448 is indeed supposed to be better so go ahead.

 

[Joe88]

onboard sound has come along way
they easily rival and beat those lower priced cards
its not worth it unless you are buying a high end sound card

 

[Originality]

How that I'm home, I can argue without the constraints of a smartphone screen.

Re: OCZ Vertex 3. It used to have all the problems of Sandforce 2000 (BSoDs, dying quickly, instability) but they've had a number of firmware updates since then and now are fairly stable and most problems have been reportedly fixed (I can't say all problems, because only time will tell for the others). They will not die as quickly as you make out (at least, not anymore). This is why I got one for myself. The Samsung 830 (which uses the same controller) is slightly faster, and Samsung are known for their reliability, but it's slightly more expensive. The Crucial M4 recently got a firmware update that improved performance by 70%. This doesn't quite match the Vertex 3 or Samsung 830, but it does make it very good value.

Re: CPU cooler... H60 is a liquid cooler so it'll be much quieter than comparable air coolers. The only problem is that you'll have to mount the radiator onto a case fan (or just replace the fan) and some cases make that very difficult. The Arctic Freezer 13 is the latest iteration from a long line of very good budget-range air coolers, and claims to be able to effectively cool up to 200W of CPU power. Other coolers like the linked NZXT Havik (which is out of stock btw) use the twin-fan design to increase airflow, but are severely limited by the airflow of the case. If the airflow is bad, it'll only push hot air and the heatsink of that particular fan cannot store much heat (compared to the Freezer 13). Fortunately, the chosen case has got good enough airflow to make any of the 3 mentioned coolers a good choice. Personally, because the H60 (or the Antec Kuhler 620, which is almost identical) doesn't have a heatsink standing on top of the CPU (causing motherboard strain, but not much), I think aesthetically it looks MUCH better. Also having the heatsink attached to a fan and not standing in the middle of the case means more effective cooling (even though the Corsair H80 has a twin-fan system that can improve cooling, at an increased price, and the H100 has a radiator twice as long designed to be mounted onto two case fans).

Re: motherboard, personally I don't like Asrock. Recently I've only heard good things about them, but in the past they were the second lowest of budget motherboards you could get (Foxconn being the lowest) and they tended to last roughly a year. That was years ago when my budget for a system upgrade would be around $200 a year, and now they seem to be aiming only at the Z68 range. I can't say whether those motherboards are any good or not, but the reviews seem to be positive. I went with the Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z myself which has been nothing but awesome for me, and I've had many years of good experience with Asus RoG (Republic of Gamers) motherboards. FYI, the Gene-Z has a built in SupremeFX X-Fi 2 soundchip built in if audio is of any importance.

Re: graphics, the GTX 560 Ti 448 is pretty much a cut back GTX 570 Ti, a bit like how the GTX 560 is a cut back GTX 560 Ti. In terms of value, it's better to go on either side (normal 560 Ti or one step up to 570 Ti). However if you're working to a budget, then it's just a balancing act on how far up the graphics scale you can go. Also, the next generation of nVidia graphics cards are supposed to be just around the corner, but unspecified delays are holding them back (just like with Fermi originally).

 

[Alato]

Your motherboard doesn't need to be that expensive, but if you reeally want, go for it. But then if you're getting it, definitely don't bother with that sound card because you won't gain anything.
Like everyone else has said, go for the i5 instead, spending that much more for nothing's just silly.
Even the power supply's a bit steep price-wise, but I'm pretty stingy when it comes to psu's, so. That's up to your preference- plus it's a pretty good deal at the moment.

 

[jargus]

I've done some more research I've changed to PSU to this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139031

Cooling: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

The motherboard seems to be getting good reviews. What other alternatives are there> The only thing I'm lacking now is a good case. I've seen a few but if doesn't cost too much more I'd one with 4 USB ports in front so far what I've seen only have 2.

 

[Originality]

If front panel USB ports are all you're concerned about, then there are 2 very easy solutions to that. The first, is a front-panel media panel such as this or this. USB3 alternatives are also available at a higher price.

The second is the Silverstone RV03 case which has the motherboard rotated 90 degrees, leaving the back-panel facing up. This way you have at least 6 USB ports easily reachable, in addition to the two on the front. It is also a really excellent case, and one that I've had fun building a Core i7-2600K system in earlier this year.
EDIT: Or go with both. That case with a Maximus IV Gene-Z (using my friend's computer as an example) and a 3-port front media panel had a total of 17 USB ports accessible from the top/front of the computer (12 top, 2 corner, 3 front), 6 of which were USB3.
EDIT2: FAST's pinked USB panel is better than the ones I linked... then again, I only had a quick look through newegg for them.

 

[FAST6191]

Edit must press reply after typing and not watch a TV show in between. Just so you do not limit yourself on the case do know you can get stuff like
http://www.amazon.co.../dp/B000JK7FMW/

Some are extensions that attach to headers on the motherboard (they are approximately standardised and most motherboards will come with adapters if not) and some are hubs so best to pay attention. There is nothing really wrong with hubs but depending upon what you are using them for (I usually see unpowered hubs fall short when people want to charge 4 devices at once on them) hubs might come unstuck.

As for the components afraid right now other than broad "yes it will all fit together and act as a PC" I am not going to be much good as I have not put my time in on the high end components front of late or really bothered to keep right up to date on the prices vs time to new parts and tradeoffs there world. I will add to the drop the sound card chorus- unless you need a custom one for say several line ins (in which case you are probably building a machine for a task and this changes things) or something then no need to get one beyond the onboard ones on most motherboards (they usually do 5.1 or 7.1 and do some form of SPDIF if you decide that is the route for you) and often even use roughly the same chips.

 

[Armadillo]

If you intend to play punkbuster games, I'd get a soundcard. Unless you want to run the risk of the realtek+punkbuster bsod/lockup issues rearing it's head. Been going on for ages now with neither side fixing it and user fixes don't seem to work 100%, except for getting a soundcard.

 

[qlum]

onboard sound has come along way
they easily rival and beat those lower priced cards
its not worth it unless you are buying a high end sound card

There are some cheaper soundcards where this is the case yes but even though the asus xonar dg is cheap its DAC is far better than anything a motherboard integrated chip sound chip will ever get. They may have gone a long way since the 90s but they are still clearly inferior to even a xonar dg. High end sound cards will be better but the difference between a xonar dg and motherboard integrated is a lot bigger than the difference between it and a high end sound card. Even if its just about the noice on the background.

This opinion is typically the opinion of someone who has never used a decent soundcard. I have yet to hear someone owning it actually saying this.

 

[Joe88]

Oh please, as mentioned in another thread about you, "get off your high horse"
He didnt mention any sound hardware he was going to be using, high end surround sound speaker or the cheap ones? headphones (also high end or cheap junky ones)?

I'm sure dealing with driver and software crashes of those cheap sound cards is great and all, but not worth it
If you were going to get a sound card I wouldnt recommend in getting anything lower then the ht omega striker, and thats only if you have the proper equipment to use with it, otherwise you are just throwing your money away to use them with some low end 2.1 system or even a low end 5.1 system, theres no need, onboard sound will perfectly fit your needs