The Ultimate 'Build-A-PC' Thread. Complete With Pricings & Recommendations (06/06/10)

Hey again. I started looking around for some parts since I last posted and have a build I'd like some feedback on.

Intel Core i3-2120 Sandy Bridge 3.3 GHz
ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155
Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB
Western Digital 1TB HD
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB DDR3
OCZ Fatal1ty 550W Modular Gaming Power Supply
ASUS 24X DVD Burner
nMEDIAPC ZE-C68 USB 2.0 Card Reader

I'm trying to keep the price to around 600-ish as that's my budget, with a case also factoring into the equation. Hopefully some good sales go on later this month, but in the mean time I'd like to know if this is a decent enough set-up for that price point. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
 
[quote name='Prota']Hey again. I started looking around for some parts since I last posted and have a build I'd like some feedback on.

Intel Core i3-2120 Sandy Bridge 3.3 GHz
ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155
Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB
Western Digital 1TB HD
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB DDR3
OCZ Fatal1ty 550W Modular Gaming Power Supply
ASUS 24X DVD Burner
nMEDIAPC ZE-C68 USB 2.0 Card Reader

I'm trying to keep the price to around 600-ish as that's my budget, with a case also factoring into the equation. Hopefully some good sales go on later this month, but in the mean time I'd like to know if this is a decent enough set-up for that price point. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.[/QUOTE]
Sorry for the late response. The only things that really jump out at me are the slightly overkill PSU (550W being a bit more than you need; but really, if it's a decent price and rated at least 80+ bronze, fuckwhatever) and the motherboard. A Z77 motherboard is meant for much higher-end processors, whereas your choice of processor fits better with an H67 motherboard.
 
I am planning to build a pc and I have a couple of questions because its been years since i last built one.

Im planning to piece this computer together over the course of a year or so. What is a good order to buy the parts in? IE what pieces should i hold off buying the most in anticipation of a pirce drop.

Also, I plan to have this PC be located in my TV stand. It is open air so ventilation isnt an issue, but the height clearance is only 9''. Can someone reccomend a good case to get for a guy on a budget?
 
[quote name='The Crotch']Sorry for the late response. The only things that really jump out at me are the slightly overkill PSU (550W being a bit more than you need; but really, if it's a decent price and rated at least 80+ bronze, fuckwhatever) and the motherboard. A Z77 motherboard is meant for much higher-end processors, whereas your choice of processor fits better with an H67 motherboard.[/QUOTE]

I heard that one shouldn't skimp on the motherboard which is why I looked at that one. I do like the savings if I change to an H67 though. I'm waiting until Black Friday and Cyber Monday to buy everything, and depending on the sales I could always try for some better parts that may fit the price points of some of these, including the processor. I don't know how good Newegg's FB/CM deals are, but I'm hoping on them being really good.
 
Fair enough advice, since that shit can be kind of complicated. Z77 is meant for third-generation, overclocked processors. Yours is second-generation and can't be overclocked. If you upgrade your processor, you may want to disregard what I said about downgrading to an H67. If you get a CPU for overclocking (it'll have a "k" at the end; eg. "i3-2120k"), you'll want to get an aftermarket heatsink to go with it.
 
[quote name='chibilaharl']Can someone reccomend a good case to get for a guy on a budget?[/QUOTE]


Need to know your budget before we can recommend anything :D
 
thanks for responding J-cart, but my friend finally got back to me after bugging him for weeks. we settled on the coolermaster HAR 912 . its a mid sized which was outside what i originally planned, but i think this will work out alot better. I am also looking at a budget of about 500-600 on my pc. anyone care to recommend a good MOBO? I was thinking of something compatible with the I-series chips since I am used to them, but im not against other options. Also are SSD's compatible with most of today's MOBO?
 
Hey all, just need some quick input. Newegg is having a 6 hour sale, from 9am-3pm on a EVGA Z68 FTW 160-SB-E689-KR LGA 1155 motherboard. It's $60 after a MIR, but doesn't have many reviews and sone weird cons were mentioned. If anyone sees this early enough, should I bite?
​
 
I really hope the text is not as ridiculously huge as it appears on my phone. If so, sorry about that.
 
I don't think you can go wrong with that thing.

The only fault that I can find is that it supports Sandybridge CPUs only and that really isn't a problem :D This means if one were to buy this mobo, pick up either the i5-2500K or an i7-2600K.
 
Thanks for the quick responses! I decided to take the plunge, that's my first part down. Hopefully an i5 cpu goes on sale since I was aiming for an i3 originally due to my budget. Also, is it required to get a cpu with overclock features for this motherboard, or is that just the preferred/opmital set-up?
 
[quote name='The Crotch']He has a $600 budget, j-cart.[/QUOTE]


And I shall deliver options for his budget.


[quote name='Prota']Thanks for the quick responses! I decided to take the plunge, that's my first part down. Hopefully an i5 cpu goes on sale since I was aiming for an i3 originally due to my budget. Also, is it required to get a cpu with overclock features for this motherboard, or is that just the preferred/opmital set-up?[/QUOTE]


http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=200121

BAM!

Now you just need find one near you that you can enter ;)
 
The only fault that I can find is that it supports Sandybridge CPUs only and that really isn't a problem This means if one were to buy this mobo, pick up either the i5-2500K or an i7-2600K.
Click to expand...
Even the older chipsets should work with Ivy Bridge cpu's. They really didn't change much.
 
[quote name='JBaz']Even the older chipsets should work with Ivy Bridge cpu's. They really didn't change much.[/QUOTE]


The mobo that is in question specifically states that it accepts Sandybridge CPUs, which I believe is why it is on such a cheap sale.
 
[quote name='The Crotch']He has a $600 budget, j-cart.[/QUOTE]
Sad, but true. Here's hoping I can keep it close. I really dont want to hit 700. Thats why I'm curious if the MOBO would still be compatable with a lower end CPU. There's still time to cancel, or I can return down the line if Black Friday doesn't work out.
 
[quote name='j-cart']And I shall deliver options for his budget.





http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=200121

BAM!

Now you just need find one near you that you can enter ;)[/QUOTE]

Holy crap, you rock! :D I have a friend that lives right next to one actually, I can try and see if he can pick one up for me.

[quote name='The Crotch']Optimal, but not necessary.

If you do get a CPU for overclocking, don't forget a heatsink to go with it.[/QUOTE]

I'll keep that in mind then. I don't really know much about overclocking, so I'll do some research.
 
[quote name='j-cart']The mobo that is in question specifically states that it accepts Sandybridge CPUs, which I believe is why it is on such a cheap sale.[/QUOTE]
You are right. Officially from EVGA, it will only support sandy bridge thanks to their crappy EFI. The chipset itself will handle sandy and ivy bridge just the same. Just a way for EVGA to lock their mobo's and make sure people buy their next expensive board.

Anyhow, pair it with $100 i5 2500k and its a good package.
 
Darn, CPU's already sold out. Just got home from work and tried to place an order. I must keep on the look out then. I'll still have my friend check when he heads over there this week.
 
[quote name='Prota']Darn, CPU's already sold out. Just got home from work and tried to place an order. I must keep on the look out then. I'll still have my friend check when he heads over there this week.[/QUOTE]
i5 2500k is in store only.
 
[quote name='JBaz']i5 2500k is in store only.[/QUOTE]
I know, but the website says that it's out of stock at the ones in NY. I was going to see if they allow in-store pick up orders on the site, but when I chose the store it said out of stock at that particular store. Unless they just don't give you the option in general. My friend may go Tuesday, so I'll have him check nonetheless.
 
hey guys,

i recently bought a bunch of steam games from amazon but i couldn't get prototype 2 to run at over 7 fps. guess it's a good time to upgrade. i'm interested in just building a 'home theatre pc" over the winter as i only ever use it plugged into my tv anyway . also wondering if it's worth trying to sell my laptop.

here's what i have :

lenovo y56p
i7 q 740 @ 1.74ghz
4 gig ram
mobility radeon hd 5730

i would like to spend around 800 and use a case that would fit on my stand if possible. i've never built a PC before but I'll nevar buy a laptop that handcuffs me to it's graphics card again. any advice on getting started?
 
Hey guys. I am thinking about updating my PC - it's been a while (still running an overclocked Core2Duo 6420).
I've put a few comps together in the past, but am a a little out of the loop in terms of hardware atm.
I've done a little research myself and figure I really only need a mobo, ram, processor and graphics card.
I'd like to keep the price/value ratio pretty high.

So what do you think of this as the meat of the new PC:
CPU - Core i5-3570K
MoBo - MSI Z77A-GD65
Ram - 4 4GB DDR3-1600
GPU - Geforce GTX 650 Ti 2GB

I'd really like to keep the around $600. $500 would be great, but I doubt it'd be even close to possible.

Everything else I have is fine (case, PSU, HDs, DVD Drives) - with the exception of wanting a SSD and an upgrade to Win7 (running 32bit Vista :p) and te costs for those two aren't included in the budget.
 
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Sorry for posting this here but I figure that this would be the best place to ask. I have zero knowledge about building a computer and would rather not try something like that as I have a feeling I would break it. However I did see this computer on sale at the moment: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...EMC-111912-Index-_-DesktopPCs-_-83227443-L08D and I am curious if this is even worth the money. It would probably be used for MMOs and maybe some more recent games if possible. I asked a friend of mine and he said that it looked like it could run most games on high, but I wanted a second opinion if possible before I dropped that kind of money. If there is somewhere else I should ask this let me know, thanks.
 
[quote name='vince_carter']hey guys,

i recently bought a bunch of steam games from amazon but i couldn't get prototype 2 to run at over 7 fps. guess it's a good time to upgrade. i'm interested in just building a 'home theatre pc" over the winter as i only ever use it plugged into my tv anyway . also wondering if it's worth trying to sell my laptop.

here's what i have :

lenovo y56p
i7 q 740 @ 1.74ghz
4 gig ram
mobility radeon hd 5730

i would like to spend around 800 and use a case that would fit on my stand if possible. i've never built a PC before but I'll nevar buy a laptop that handcuffs me to it's graphics card again. any advice on getting started?[/QUOTE]
It depends on how much you bought the laptop for and what you are willing to let it go. It doesn't seem like those particular laptops sold very well on ebay right now, but the few I glanced over seemed to price it about 500-600 used. Since they started at 1,000, you'd be losing a bit of money for only having it for a year, but then again if you don't plan on using it anymore, best to cash out now and try you luck on craigslist first before ebay. Even then, this is the worst time to sell a used electronic device with black friday being a few days away along with the biggest selling season of the year.

First of all for your build, you need to measure out your stand to see what case will actually fit in your space; this is going to be vital for anyone to get you started. Plus if the location will hinder any airflow to the front, side, top or back. Some people still think that they could tuck a pc away in an enclosed cabinet to have it neatly out of the way, out of site then fret over the fact that it overheats and dies in the middle of playing a game.

$800 will easily bag you a nice microATX quad core setup with an entry/mid level gpu from either AMD or nvidia. You could go cheap with an ECS entry level motherboard for $30 or step it up for more features like that from Giabyte, MSI, Asus or Asrock(owned by asus). For a microATX i'd spend a bit and go with one that has atleast one or two USB3.0 for a HTPC; overclocking wouldn't be as big as an item so you don't need to expect to spend $200 for this; something in the range of $80-120. Although, if you have space for a full sized ATX board, your options open up a lot more and gets cheaper too with better expansion overhead, but again, depends on your space requirements for your case.

If you have a microcenter or Fry's nearby, I'd checkout the local sales paper and see whats on sale. Microcenter was selling the i5 2500k for $100, which is a steal. Add $100 for a mobo, $40 for 8gb of ram, say $100 for a gtx 650, $60 for a case; you pretty much still come out with about $400 left for a power supply (unless that comes with case), storage, and optical. Even room in the budget for a SSD and windows OS with spare for steam winter sales.

[quote name='glennfrank']Hey guys. I am thinking about updating my PC - it's been a while (still running an overclocked Core2Duo 6420).
I've put a few comps together in the past, but am a a little out of the loop in terms of hardware atm.
I've done a little research myself and figure I really only need a mobo, ram, processor and graphics card.
I'd like to keep the price/value ratio pretty high.

So what do you think of this as the meat of the new PC:
CPU - Core i5-3570K
MoBo - MSI Z77A-GD65
Ram - 4 4GB DDR3-1600
GPU - Geforce GTX 650 Ti 2GB

I'd really like to keep the around $600. $500 would be great, but I doubt it'd be even close to possible.

Everything else I have is fine (case, PSU, HDs, DVD Drives) - with the exception of wanting a SSD and an upgrade to Win7 (running 32bit Vista :p) and te costs for those two aren't included in the budget.[/QUOTE]
Unless you plan on filling those x16 banks with a three way SLI setup, of which it doesn't since you budgeted for a gtx 650 mid range card, it would be a waste of money to spend $160 for that motherboard with features that you will probably never use or even actually need. Honestly, I'd save $60 and look at the asrock extreme 3 or 4 for $100-110. Every bit of what you need and not stuff you won't use. Even try to see if you can get a combo deal with a cpu with it. I know that at microcenter you can save an additional 30-50 bucks in store or see what combo deals shows up on newegg.

And unless you are fixated with having ivy bridge, you could try to pick up the last gen i5 2500k at microcenter for $100 in store if you can still. And older chip, but it still keeps up with its newer ivy bridge brothers as being value-centric cpu's.

As for ram, you don't need 16GB, but even if you went that route, its not that expensive to go 2x 8GB pair since most modern boards now support 32GB on 4 banks. Leaves you headroom for later down the road. You did just miss the newegg G.SKill 2x8GB 1866 ddr3 sale for $40 yesterday, but you shouldn't have a big issue trying to find a similar deal in the coming week.

Here's just an idea for what you can get right now. No sale prices.
PCPartPicker part list /

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($219.99 @ Dell)
Total: $601.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-20 11:50 EST-0500)

With the savings off the motherboard, I just put it towards the videocard, which bumps you to the 660, but honestly for your sake, I'd probably save a few and stick with the 650 or even jump the boat and look at mid range AMD cards. I'd also check around black friday sales and find better prices for everything. I'm certain the i5 3570k would hit $199 (less with combos I bet), asrock mobo maybe $10 cheaper (or better yet, a comparable mobo for way cheaper; EVGA did have that z68 ftw gaming motherboard for $60AR so its not far fetched that something similar for z77 boards be on sale too), snag a 2x4GB 1600 ram set for $20 or find the 2x8GB 1600 on sale for $40 and definitely wait for sales on the video card. You could try to see if any vendors have the older 500 series gpu's for uber cheap. I bet NCIX would have something.

[quote name='koga88']Sorry for posting this here but I figure that this would be the best place to ask. I have zero knowledge about building a computer and would rather not try something like that as I have a feeling I would break it. However I did see this computer on sale at the moment: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...EMC-111912-Index-_-DesktopPCs-_-83227443-L08D and I am curious if this is even worth the money. It would probably be used for MMOs and maybe some more recent games if possible. I asked a friend of mine and he said that it looked like it could run most games on high, but I wanted a second opinion if possible before I dropped that kind of money. If there is somewhere else I should ask this let me know, thanks.[/QUOTE]
Honestly, that really isn't a good deal for what you get. Here's the same setup if bought separately right now, no sales or anything.

PCPartPicker part list /

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.39 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H61M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Mushkin Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($32.66 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Momentus XT 500GB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 650 1GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Dell)
Case: Azza Orion 202 EVO ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Cooler Master Elite Power 460W ATX12V Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($79.99 @ CompUSA)
Total: $559.98
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-20 12:07 EST-0500)

And that's with a name brand 460w power supply that will work; shit you could try to find an antec or corsair 400w PSU for $20ish over than that POS "Soly Tech" 400w crap they threw in that combo "deal". Even then, the parts list doesn't make a whole lot of sense with pairing a decent i5 cpu with a $50 mobo that has less features than the $15-30 ECS entry level board with the same H61 chipset... And you can find 1600 cas9 ddr3 for the same price as 1333 now days so it makes almost no difference to settle with 1333 (even though we are only talking about a few % in performance). POS case with a no thrills deal and limited expansion microATX board; plus $40 more of what we can get yourself? no thanks.

Here's an idea:
PCPartPicker part list /

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G41 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 650 1GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Dell)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.68 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Cooler Master Elite Power 460W ATX12V Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($79.99 @ CompUSA)
Total: $687.60
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-20 12:25 EST-0500)

For just $100 more, you get a much more rounded system; most of that cost is thanks to the 3TB drive, better CPU and motherboard. Yes yes, still all housed in a shitty $30 case with an entry level $20 PSU. I'd probably say invest a bit more on a better power supply and cooling if you plan on taking advantage of the i5 3570k overclocking abilities.

Honestly, if I was doing this as an MMO PC, I'd probably skimp out on the cpu and go with an entry level i3 ivy bridge for $100 less like the i3 3220 dual core with HT. Most games are still more centered around GPU bottlenecks since sandy bridge anyhow.

I got a cheap $60 G630 pentium dual core paired with a gtx 570, a $15 ECS microATX board, $18 Corsair 420w PSU and some leftover 2x2gb g.skill 1600 cas7 ram that's worth maybe $20; the system is less than half the cost of one 570 when I built it. It runs pretty much every game out there, just as well as my more stout i7 570 SLI rig. Its my more portable lan rig when I don't want to lug around my 50lb monster.

Just shows you that you don't need quad core for current gaming, but it does leave you more "future proof". i5 K's are still the best value all around though so if you can afford it, budget it; just do your diligence and find sales. Best time to shop around is now.
 
Thanks a lot JBaz. You've given me a bunch of things to think about.
I appreciate the advice :)

Edit: I noticed you recommended Win8 to koga88 - and I am seeing this more and more places. Is Win8 not as bad as previously thought?
 
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[quote name='JBaz']
Honestly, if I was doing this as an MMO PC, I'd probably skimp out on the cpu and go with an entry level i3 ivy bridge for $100 less like the i3 3220 dual core with HT. Most games are still more centered around GPU bottlenecks since sandy bridge anyhow.
[/QUOTE]


Loved your post, only thing I want to insert here is that SWTOR (see: MMO) is heavily dependent on CPU for it to run smooth. While an i3 ivy bridge is better than most quad-core AMDs, I would always suggest to be on the i5 train or higher.

JBaz, making my workday even more boring by answering everyone questions :D
 
^^also, if you are using an older power supply from the core2duo era, it might be time to update. What exactly do you have now? And do you plan on overclocking the i5 as well? Best cpu air cooler to date is still the coolermaster 212+ or EVO, which can be found for $15 and 25 on sale or less.

As for SSD's, I'd probably take a gander of what will be on sale for black friday or cyber monday. Shouldn't be hard to find the latest gen SataIII drive for $60-80 for 120gigs. Personally, I just have a 120GB sataII ssd still that's not even my MBR boot drive. I just use to store a few games, programs and mostly a scratch disk for video editing. I never turn off my main rig so boot times is useless for me as a selling feature. If I do need to restart, I get off my chair, take a walking circuit around my house and by the time I grab a cool beer from the fridge downstairs (not the mini fridge next to my computer because that's way too easy) the PC should be back up and I get a mini workout... lol
 
Well with the unlocked K chips, its easy as bumping up the multiplier instead of the more unstable front side bus. You could always do a light bump to 4-4.2Ghz on air just to make sure your 12v rails on the power supply don't go all iffy on you with the old rosewill's. I had that same psu, actually 3 and 2 of them burt out within 6 months. I know the new rosewill's are much much better, but its hard for me to even take newegg's brand serious over other quality brands that you can get for the same or cheaper price on sale.

Honestly, just like you thought, I'd float with what you have right now for a while or until you find a really good deal on a modular name brand power supply. What you have is still considered overkill in wattage for just a 77w cpu and a 110w gpu; as long as you got a good motherboard with clean phase power and the 12 and 5v rails from the psu doesn't deviate that much by .3v, you should be good for overclocking.
 
Lots of awesome info and parts to look through. Part of the reason for a new pc is to try out Guild Wars 2, so I'll definitely review all your points as I shop. That and my laptop can't really play much of anything.

The i5 2500k seems to be back in stock at some stores, but sadly the price has gone up to $159.99. It's still a sale, but I think it might be better to wait for better sales this week. I don't know much about overclocking, so I figured I wouldn't really use it. If I don't, is it still recommended to get a heatsink for the CPU?
 
[quote name='Prota']Lots of awesome info and parts to look through. Part of the reason for a new pc is to try out Guild Wars 2, so I'll definitely review all your points as I shop. That and my laptop can't really play much of anything.

The i5 2500k seems to be back in stock at some stores, but sadly the price has gone up to $159.99. It's still a sale, but I think it might be better to wait for better sales this week. I don't know much about overclocking, so I figured I wouldn't really use it. If I don't, is it still recommended to get a heatsink for the CPU?[/QUOTE]

Yes, for $25 bucks, it is better to have than to not have.
 
[quote name='j-cart']Yes, for $25 bucks, it is better to have than to not have.[/QUOTE]

Better safe than sorry then.
 
I don't know much about overclocking, so I figured I wouldn't really use it. If I don't, is it still recommended to get a heatsink for the CPU?
Click to expand...
You honestly can not go wrong with spending $15 bucks for the Cooler Master 212+ when they go on sale regularly. I've had three of them in the past and can't say anything bad about them for the price. The replacement for the 212+ is the newer EVO, which is about a year old now, but still a much improved heatsink, although its MSRP of $35 is a bit hard to swallow given it barely out performs the 212+ stock for stock, but they can easily be found for 25 on sale.

The only thing that outperforms the 212+/EVO value was the older corsair A50/A70 heatsinks (that look exactly like the CM's) when they went on sale for $5/$12 each. I was lucky to pick up the A70 and threw it in my old old secondary gaming rig last year.


Even if you don't overclock, it will significantly reduce your core temps on full load, there in theory, will extend the operation of your cpu, but really its also quieter than the stock intel heatsinks. Although, intel's heatsinks aren't that bad anymore compared to the crap they were pumping out years ago, but its mostly due to the lower tdp wattage of the cpu's compared to their older flagship processors (130 vs 77).
 
The 212s don't fit with a side fan on an Antec 900, btw. I ordered a side fan, installed it. Then I ordered a 212 Plus cause I couldn't stand the noise my 3570k was putting out. Temperature didn't drop more than a couple degrees, but it's now silent.

Edit: You can upgrade to a 212 far into the future, so I personally wouldn't worry about it now.
 
[quote name='glennfrank']I actually made an error on the Power Supply - that's the one I had bought originally and then gave to my GF when I saw how bright the lights were (I am not a fan of glowing lights/fans in a PC).

I actually have an Antec TruePowerTrio TP3-650 watt.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371001

I am assuming the same advice stands though? I should be ok? :)[/QUOTE]
It's an older Antec, but it should have no problems with today's stuff.

It's actually built by seasonic (one of the best PSU makers) with quality parts using decent mid range OST and Hitachi caps. It didn't garner much respect when launched since it was competing as a value-centric quality no-frills PSU for a decent price. It was mostly targeted as a workstation PSU that could be used for gaming rigs; similar to the NEO lines. I think one of the best things about it is the low voltage deviation on the rails, which was pretty rare 5-10 years ago for consumer level products.

The only downside during that era of PSU's was the whole gimmicky tag lines of "multi-railed" or "SLI ready" when manufacturers were splitting the 12v line into separate circuits within the unit. They mostly did this to increase efficiency, lower noise in the lines (you want clean power, not just constant) as well as to reduce EMI from larger and more costly components from a more stout single railed PSU. It just turned out as a marketing feature to boost the price on these "dedicated gpu power supply units" when in fact it was cost savings.

You "only" have three 19 amp rails that will supply about 228w each; you will just have to be careful of which rails are powering what. Specially if you do get a more powerful mid range/high end graphics card that chews through more power. When this was built, the high end 8800 GTX would only use 145w each; now day's, that's mid-range card territory.

This was also when the 80 plus standards were just coming onto the field, so efficiency was gaining traction as a consumer feature that customers would pay more for. Although, yours would barely hit the normal 80 plus standard.


If you want to read more about what you got, jonnyguru did an indepth review back in 2006.
 
Wow dude, you are ridiculously knowledgeable about this stuff! :)
I appreciate your time & advice. I have more things to consider and am glad I asked here instead of just buying things.
 
Yeah... I'm an overly educated, tech savvy Asian who only works 1 day a month with the capacity to pretty much remember anything. I spend most of my days reading, researching and reviewing anything from trade embargo's of the 16th century to which dye compounds in processed foods will increase your risk of health problems.

When I learn stuff, I'm a bit OCD and need to learn anything and everything, down to the core essentials. It also helps that I still have access to all of the databases from my university so I do take advantage of source materials instead of wikipedia nonsense.

Plus, I play like 80 hours a week worth of video games while reading some scientific paper or journal. A quick BF3 session between sections keeps reading "light". Plus I do push-ups for every death... you really learn to make better in game decisions when a physical detriment is tied in.
 
Hey everyone!
I'm not sure if I'm in the right thread, but if not, feel free to point me in the right direction. Recently I found out that I have what appears to be a dying hard drive in my laptop (an Inspiron N5110), so I'm looking to buy a new one. The hard drive is a Seagate ST9640423AS and from looking online I managed to figure out that it's apparently 2.75in x 3.95in x 0.37 in. I was looking and I found this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148591&Tpk=st95005620as

Would this suffice? Are there any other hard drives I could be looking at (for a cheap price since it's nearing Black Friday) instead?

Thanks, and feel free to ask if you need more info (I'm not very computer-savvy :p).
 
[quote name='Roll']Hey everyone!
I'm not sure if I'm in the right thread, but if not, feel free to point me in the right direction. Recently I found out that I have what appears to be a dying hard drive in my laptop (an Inspiron N5110), so I'm looking to buy a new one. The hard drive is a Seagate ST9640423AS and from looking online I managed to figure out that it's apparently 2.75in x 3.95in x 0.37 in. I was looking and I found this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148591&Tpk=st95005620as

Would this suffice? Are there any other hard drives I could be looking at (for a cheap price since it's nearing Black Friday) instead?

Thanks, and feel free to ask if you need more info (I'm not very computer-savvy :p).[/QUOTE]
If you want a nice drive with storage and a small SSD boost, then the Momentus XT are really nice, specially for that price.

If storage space isn't a huge factor in your laptop and you'd be satisfied with 120-250GB then I'd check out the number of SSD offerings for black friday. Newegg will have the OCZ Vertex 3 sataIII 120GB SSD for $50. If you are iffy about OCZ SSD track record and "horror stories" (which in my experience is so over blown that 9/10 people who bitch about it, never actually owned the product), then look at the Corsair M4, Samsung 830 and tons of other offerings for not much more money; expect 50-80 for a 120gb sized SSD.

I really haven't sift through the BF ad's for SSD's specifically since I already own a few and not in the market for them until they get way way cheaper for "mass" storage.
 
[quote name='JBaz']If you want a nice drive with storage and a small SSD boost, then the Momentus XT are really nice, specially for that price.

If storage space isn't a huge factor in your laptop and you'd be satisfied with 120-250GB then I'd check out the number of SSD offerings for black friday. Newegg will have the OCZ Vertex 3 sataIII 120GB SSD for $50. If you are iffy about OCZ SSD track record and "horror stories" (which in my experience is so over blown that 9/10 people who bitch about it, never actually owned the product), then look at the Corsair M4, Samsung 830 and tons of other offerings for not much more money; expect 50-80 for a 120gb sized SSD.

I really haven't sift through the BF ad's for SSD's specifically since I already own a few and not in the market for them until they get way way cheaper for "mass" storage.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the quick reply!
I'm not sure if 120GB is enough for me, so I think I'm going to have to pass on that one, but I might consider since it looks pretty good anyways. :p

What places should I be on the look out for the hard drive deals this Black Friday? Also, typically, is trying to physically fit the hard drive inside the laptop going to be much of a problem and should I keep that as a main priority when looking for more hard drives?
 
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