First build - Need advice and opinions

[Slick82]

I'll be heading into building my own desktop this time around as opposed to a prebuilt, and I basically need advice and opinions on how the build(s) look so far and what parts I should be using. I'll be using the pc mainly for gaming @ 1680x1050 resolutions, maxed settings at potentially 4xAA and 8xAF. I'll be using the build to run BF3 and the like. I have some of the major components selected so far, although I'm still at odds over which parts to select in some cases.


Current Setup:

LITE-ON DVD Burner

COOLER MASTER HAF 912

CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM

ZOTAC ZT-50301-10M GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi)

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68

Intel Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost)


Parts I'm fairly certain of:

Cooler Master Case (from what someone told me it cools very well)

Samsung Spinpoint F3 (many people recommend these hard drives, and the price is great for its capabilities)

ZOTAC 560 Ti (was going to go with a Twin Frozr II OC until I heard of the issues people were having on them; some were on their 3rd or 4th RMA, and the NVIDIA support forums are flooded with artifacting issues with factory OC'd cards. ZOTAC is apparantly a sister company to SAPPHIRE, a highly regarded ATI brand, and EVGA didn't sell any reference-clocked 1GB versions on NewEgg)

Intel core i5-2500 (same as above; decided against overclocking and therefore downgraded to the standard version)


Parts I'm unsure of:

LITE-ON DVD Burner (I honestly don't know which DVD burner I should purchase. Was debating about purchasing an LG but they apparantly have speed issues, while many people seem to always go with LITE-ON in their builds)

Corsair CX600 (Mixed bag of opinions from people; some suggest the Antec Earthwatts 650, others suggest this one, others suggest the TX650 from Corsair since it's higher quality. What I have the most concern with is the high pitch noise some people are commenting about with their CX600's)

Ripjaws RAM (certain of brand name and size, though a little confused as to what speed to get (1333MHZ, 1600MHZ, and the like))

ASRock Extreme3 Gen3 (wasn't really sure whether to mark this as certain of or not; one person commented that he always went with ASRock motherboards, while others suggest GIGABYTE and ASUS)


That's basically where I'm at so far. My current setup was largely inspired by TweakGuides' "Hardware Confusion 2009" guide, where he expressed his reasons against overclocking and some of the parts he selected in his build. Ultimately I'm sortof along the same line as he is; wanting a system that will work from the moment its powered on and have almost no issues, and can withstand years of use.

Thanks for the responses

 

[yycraven]

For the PSU go with Newegg.ca - CORSAIR Professional Series HX650 (CMPSU-650HX) 650W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Newegg.ca - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL6D-4GBXH

the motherboard looks to be good, but I am sure other guys will let you know more on it.

 

[Pabz0r545]

If you are dead set on running BF3 at max settings you might need some more firepower. Check this article out.

Battlefield 3 will need monster rig to run on ultra settings | PC Gamer

Of course this could also mean you might need a bigger power supply. I'm not sure though you'd have to ask the experts that one.

 

[CroSsFiRe2009]

While I respect a persons logic to not overclock. The reasons used in that guide are a crock of shit from a quick glance at it. Heat, power use and the potential for decreased lifespan of the chip are acceptable reasons, instability and random bsods etc from overclocking are not and are signs of unstable, bad oc's.

However, if you really don't think you're going to overclock, I'd still suggest you consider getting a k series 2500k over the 2500. In a few years if you still have the cpu, you might change your mind when an overclock can extend the usefulness of your system and delay an upgrade. Also, it's the same price for both processors if you pricematch at ncix most of the time.

As for the DVD burner, I don't think you can go wrong with either LG or lite-on, just get whatever is cheap. It's rare that you'll find some issue with a particular brand or series of burners unless you have very specific needs only offered by a particular burner (ie. burning games for wii or something that required a specific type of burner)

With LGA1155, ram speed doesn't matter much but at current prices, if makes more sense to buy 1600mhz ram over 1333 since the price difference is almost negligible ($5-$10) between the two. G.skill itself is a reliable brand and many members can vouch for their reliability.

Not sure about the CX600 but generally with corsair products, you can't really go wrong. I'd personally pony up a bit more to get a TX at least but if price is important, it's hard to argue against the cx. As for the Earthwatts 650, it's a quiet and nice psu but the unsleeved wires look a bit hideous which is pretty much the only con.

I can't comment on the mobo since I don't know much about it but if I remember correctly the power phases were a bit lackign to similarly priced mobos from asus/gigabyte (double check this)

Hope this helps

 

[Stock]

Well thought out budget build. :thumb:

A few comments & suggestions:

The CX600 will be fine even if you decide to overclock down the road. As for the motherboard, I've never used ASRock but something I consider is whether or not the RMA center is within Canada or requires a trip across the border. Again, I'm sure the mobo will suit your needs just fine. Lastly, if you browse some reviews you'll discover that mem speed barely affects performance...if anything tighter timing will yield better performance results when you overclock. Hope this helps!

 

[lightninstrikr]

I'd personally go with a little more power on the PSU and try for a better certification (silver/gold preferable). PSU's run most efficient somewhere from 30%-50% load so IMO it's better to have a little more than you need than a bit less. Also depending on where you live in Canada I hear power is quite expensive which means a more efficient PSU could actually save you more money in the long run...

Your MoBo seems to be good for what you are building but I would definitely pay the $5-$10 extra for 1600 vs 1333 RAM.

That's my 3.14 cents and hope it helps!

 

[keto]

I just have this sinking feeling that a lot of recent buyers of 560/570 level cards might be very let down when the *real* BF3 is released, with all available graphics options. Will they still be playable? O heck yes, but I don't think they're going to have all the eye candy they expected. <-That there was speculation and opinion, don't go too hard on me.

 

[Pabz0r545]

I just have this sinking feeling that a lot of recent buyers of 560/570 level cards might be very let down when the *real* BF3 is released, with all available graphics options. Will they still be playable? O heck yes, but I don't think they're going to have all the eye candy they expected. <-That there was speculation and opinion, don't go too hard on me.

No you're right. According to Daniel Matros, community manager at DICE, you will need 2 580's in SLI to make the most of the Frostbite 2 engine.

 

[Skippman]

No you're right. According to Daniel Matros, community manager at DICE, you will need 2 580's in SLI to make the most of the Frostbite 2 engine.

TWO 580's!?!

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!!!

That's insane! Who's going to blow a grand on GPU's to play one game at max? DICE has lost it's mind. It's bad enough they turned BF into CoD.

I'll be happy with one 570 for now. Grown folks have bills to pay.

 

[Pabz0r545]

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is right LOL(took me a minute. It is insane and really, only the die hard gamers will be dishing out the dough to play it on maximum graphic settings. BUt.... hasn't it always cost 700 or more for top notch vid cards to play the newest best graphic leading edge games?