Buying a new Computer (finally)

[FrOgM]

the money you give dell to build you one is 3x the rig you can buy your self....screw giving the Computer whores your money go build your own and it will make you a happy happy man

[glasscasket]

i built my rig for obo 700 and it runs bf3 on high just dandy.

cheaped out on the case and hds cauz i had those already.

i hear 5870's are cheap now.

[linemanstud]

What's your experience & enthusiasm level? If you've never built a system before, it will be interesting for you. If you've got an experienced friend, he could help you build it much faster (offer him something worthwhile). When building, some of the tedious details can be ignored, but new builders don't know that.

I have only really built a computer once about 10 years ago for a tech class that I was in, but to be honest I don't remember much about it. I do have several friends that are savvy on this kind of thing, and a few of those are computer engineers. Right now I'm not all that excited to build one because my workload is fairly heavy (we haven't finished the harvest yet), but I'm hoping that around thanksgiving or so I will have the time and motivation to do this.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I woulda been lost otherwise . Keep em coming too, I have a little while to shop around yet. Although I am still confused about what kind of a video card I should go with.

[Dead...Again]

If you have a little time, I would recommend you get an idea of the parts you want, then keep an eye out for sales/bargains. Check techbargains and the other deal sites daily, and when you see a deal, jump on it. That is what I did with my current system. I picked up the parts over about a month's time.

Some things, like memory, you can be more flexible on, so when you see something that might be a good deal, post here and we'll give you feedback.

[linemanstud]

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/M...px?ID=17747325

I hope that works. Anyhow, those are the components that I am looking at right now. Let me know if I am forgetting anything or what you think about those. I would be coming in just under budget if that was all I had to buy. I'm pretty sure I can get an operating system for cheap or free through either the University or through some of my friends, so I'm not so worried about that.


That link only works if you have a newegg account apparently. I'm pretty much terrible at this. Any suggestions for how to make that viewable for you guys?

[WalkinTarget]

Ehh, that link is to YOUR wish list, which doesn't look to be a public (shared) list. Only person that can see it is you

[linemanstud]

Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

There, I think I figured it out.

[Duke{CLR}]

That's a tripple channel kit. Get a dual kit with 8gb. If you don't never want to overclock I guess the non K cpu will work but if you are spending that much just drop a bit more on the k.

[WalkinTarget]

Two things that stand out for me on the list:

1) That is a 560 Non TI card. There is a sizable difference between the 560 and 560ti cards.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...-top,2944.html

2) The P67 board is the same price as a Z68, but offers none of the benefits of the Z68. Its older technology that nets you no upgrade path if you'd decide to add an SSD as a cache drive.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...hing,2938.html

They may be a smidge cheaper, but these are two things you cant cheap out on when doing a build. I'll also agree with Duke on the RAM selection - go with the 8gb kit, as a triple channel kit is wasted on your dual channel board.

[Dead...Again]

I would go with a 2500K instead of a 2500.

[WalkinTarget]

2500 isn't too bad of a chip. It will be capped at 4.1ghz, whereas the 2500k is not capped and can achieve 4.5+.

For all the talk about the non-K chips not being as performance oriented, while it is true to a large extent, 4.1ghz is nothing to sneeze at and will run any game quite well.

Having said that ... I'd go K as well
Price isn't enough to sway me, ecpecially if you are near a MicroCenter.

[juneau]

K is over rated.

[Dead...Again]

2500 isn't too bad of a chip. It will be capped at 4.1ghz, whereas the 2500k is not capped and can achieve 4.5+.

For all the talk about the non-K chips not being as performance oriented, while it is true to a large extent, 4.1ghz is nothing to sneeze at and will run any game quite well.

Having said that ... I'd go K as well
Price isn't enough to sway me, ecpecially if you are near a MicroCenter.

the 2500's max turbo frequency is 3.7GHz.

[Donziboy2]

The few $ for the 2500k is worth it. you can run on air at 4.5 with no issues.


That z68 does not have very good reviews.

There is a thing called pagefile that works just fine on SSD.....
But since you dont have the $$ for it thats not a real issue.

[{CLR} Cobalt]

Whats wrong with the I7 chips. I got a 930 up to 4.0 easily and it rock da house.