Time to build!

[Duke{CLR}]

If you have a local computer outlet near your home you might get lucky and find a nice case there. Usually saves you shipping.

Plus you can see them in person, if you have a Microcenter or a Frys around it's worth a trip.

Micro Center - Computers, Electronics, Computer Parts, Networking, Gaming, Software, and more!
http://www.frys.com/

[Donziboy2]

Compusa also has cases and parts. Sometimes you can find a deal or 2.

[Tuqui-tuqui]

Unfortunately I don't have any computer centers anywhere near-by. I think I will stick to this one:

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel Plastic Computer Case

Now, let me ask you something. How loud would this system be? (going with what Duke originally posted - the 2500k system. Is it going to sound like a wind tunnel?

And last, with my reward points I can get a 20" monitor for free. I'm deciding between these:

Newegg.com - AOC 2036Sa Piano-black Glossy 201 Built-in Speakers

Newegg.com - Asus VE205T Black 20

Newegg.com - HP 2011x Black 20

For free, I think they are pretty good choices

[Apache Warrior]

Larger fans move more air at slower speeds than smaller fans at higher speeds. Higher speeds equals more sound.
Apache

[Infamous]

i think its just this brand i have. they are much much louder than my old 80 i had in them.

[Tuqui-tuqui]

So I got the 2500k which is the basis for my entire build. Looking around for feedback I was recommended a stronger PSU as well as another card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-908-_-Product

At $169.99 ($154.99 after rebate), I received notes about it on both sides of the spectrum. One was that is was a very good card, but the other side was speaking about ATI Radeon not keeping up with their driver updates. Any thoughts on that guys?

I'm thinking that with a great deal on the CPU and the Video card I can lower the total cost of the system.

[Duke{CLR}]

I don't know too much about the about the ATI cards or how they update their drivers but from I have looked at the 6850 is on par with the GTX 460 and is priced the same as the SC version except no free shipping. The base 460 1GB is down to $139.00 with a rebate but there is a good chance that you could OC this to at least the speeds of the other two and beyond. You can always OC the faster ones which makes it even a harder decision....

I am a bit biased toward EVGA due to the fact that I run two motherboards and 4 video cards from them and that makes it easy for me to keep things current. I can also go to their forums for help too.

Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX 460 SE 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Here is an interesting read on the OCing aspects of the cards.
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...ing-study.html

Here is a thread on the EVGA about the speeds a few are getting.
460 OC Speeds

[Donziboy2]

The 6850 is about 1-2% faster then the 460.
As for OCing. I actually avoid ocing gpu's, ive seen alot of instability with some nvidia cards running stock and moderate temps.

[Tuqui-tuqui]

Thank you for Feedback Donziboy2. I will definitely be keeping the 6850 as my card for a year or so. Also, based on Duke's original recommendation, and a lot of research, I decided on this system:

Intel Core i5 2500k
Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
Purchased for $179.99

Mobo GIGABYTE GA-P67X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P67X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gbs USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$154.99

Memory 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
Newegg.com - Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 4GB Desktop Memory Model 996946
$49.99

Video Radeon HD 6850 1GB
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
$169.99

PSU Antec TruePower New TP-650 650W
Newegg.com - Antec TruePower New TP-650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 Power Supply
$ 79.99

Total Price after the recommendations: $634.95

What do you guys think?

[Pumpkin_Jack]

Unfortunatly my next rig is going to have to be a laptop for college but im thinking of spending in the 1300-1500$ range for one so i should make out ok

[Brian is Huh?!{CLR}]

Unfortunatly my next rig is going to have to be a laptop for college but im thinking of spending in the 1300-1500$ range for one so i should make out ok

get the ASUS G73SW-XA1 Republic of Gamers, its around that price range.. .

[Tuqui-tuqui]

UPDATE TIME!!!!

I've been looking around like crazy and I think I found something I really REALLY like:

Case Cooler Master HAF 912 $47.99 after rebate
Power Supply Corsair 650TX V2 $92.24
CPU Intel i5-2500k $179.99
Heatsink Thermaltake Frio $39.99 after rebate
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 $128.99
Memory 4GB G.Skill Ripjaws F3 4GB 12800 DDR3 $39
Graphics Card XFX 6950 1GB OR EVGA GTX 560 Ti $219.99 after rebate
HDD Varied Brand and Sizes $40 - $80
DVD Lite-On 24X SATA DVD+/-RW $21

TOTAL $ 769.19 - $ 809.19 (cheaper HDD) - $ 849.19 (more expensive HDD).

[Rand{CLR}]

UPDATE TIME!!!!

I've been looking around like crazy and I think I found something I really REALLY like:

Case Cooler Master HAF 912 $47.99 after rebate
Power Supply Corsair 650TX V2 $92.24
CPU Intel i5-2500k $179.99
Heatsink Thermaltake Frio $39.99 after rebate
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 $128.99
Memory 4GB G.Skill Ripjaws F3 4GB 12800 DDR3 $39
Graphics Card XFX 6950 1GB OR EVGA GTX 560 Ti $219.99 after rebate
HDD Varied Brand and Sizes $40 - $80
DVD Lite-On 24X SATA DVD+/-RW $21

TOTAL $ 769.19 - $ 809.19 (cheaper HDD) - $ 849.19 (more expensive HDD).

More RAM. Dirt cheap right now. More power!

Where did you find the 2500K that cheap?

-Rand

[Tuqui-tuqui]

More RAM. Dirt cheap right now. More power!

Where did you find the 2500K that cheap?

-Rand

In-Store pick up:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0354589

RAM? Of course more but I just want to boot the system first

[goldenfooler]

if you are picking anything up at microcenter the sales staff usually sucks.

But the returns are pretty easy.
BTW... if you can make it to paterson NJ... it is 3.5 % sales tax. This might save you some but of course you have to come to paterson.