Advice on what to buy for new system

[RaviR]

Hey guys, I'm going to rebuild a brand new system and wanted to know if you guys had any advice on the different parts to get. I'm building a gaming system but nothing over to expensive. Here is a list of what I'm thinking of getting so far. Any feedback on other parts that can be better at around the same total price would be appreciated. Thank you.
Amazon.com: ASUS LGA 1155 - Z68 - PCIe 3.0 and UEFI BIOS Intel Z68 ATX DDR3 2200 LGA 1155 Motherboards P8Z68-V/GEN3: Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Intel Core i5-2500K Processor: Electronics

Amazon.com: Cooler Master V6GT 220-Watt CPU Cooler RR-V6GT-22PK-R1: Electronics

Amazon.com: Corsair Enthusiast Series 750-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply Compatible with Intel Core i3, i5, i7 and AMD platforms - CMPSU-750TXV2: Electronics

Amazon.com: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti Superclocked 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card - Lifetime Warranty 01G-P3-1563-AR: Electronics

Amazon.com: Corsair Vengeance Blue 16 GB DDR3 SDRAM Dual Channel Memory Kit CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B: Electronics

Haven't decided on HD's or case as yet lol
*EDIT* if any part can be replaced with something cheaper that will perform better please let me know

 

[nckfrtg28]

On the Video Card I would go a head and just buy the 2GB version.

EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2048 MB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 2DVI/Mini-HDMI SLI Ready Graphics Card, 02G-P3-1568-KR

 

[pparks1]

Unless you are going with an SLI video setup, you won't need 750 watts of power on your power supply.

And you won't use 16GB of RAM for a gaming machine, I'd strongly suggest cutting that back to 8GB of RAM.

You may not need a huge CPU cooler unless you plan to overclock. The stock cooler should suffice.

 

[RaviR]

Unless you are going with an SLI video setup, you won't need 750 watts of power on your power supply.

And you won't use 16GB of RAM for a gaming machine, I'd strongly suggest cutting that back to 8GB of RAM.

You may not need a huge CPU cooler unless you plan to overclock. The stock cooler should suffice.

I'll take your advice on the RAM for sure. As for the CPU cooler i read in a couple reviews that the stock cooler wasn't enough and additional cooling was needed. As i don't have AC in my room would the stock cooler be enough?
As for the PSU the EVGA card is what i'm thinking of getting so should i get another PSU?

 

[RaviR]

As for the RAM any thing specific i should get?
*EDIT*

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Venge...ectronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1331225898&sr=1-1-fkmr0

this one?

 

[bobkn]

As for the CPU cooler i read in a couple reviews that the stock cooler wasn't enough and additional cooling was needed. As i don't have AC in my room would the stock cooler be enough?
As for the PSU the EVGA card is what i'm thinking of getting so should i get another PSU?

The stock cooler is probably OK if you never overclock the CPU. As you mention a 2500k, that suggests that you are considering overclocking.

The V6 isn't expensive as third-party coolers go, but there are cheaper ones that are still highly regarded, like:

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+

(Hyper 212 EVO).

As regards the PSU, the main harm in getting an oversized one is to your wallet. To go with you graphics card, eVGA recommends at least a 500W PSU, with 30A or more available at +12V. This one may be a decent compromise between price and performance:

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Certi...T2UQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1331229162&sr=8-2

(Corsair builder series CX600, 40A at +12V).

 

[IcarusII]

heya. Just bought a new rig and spent months researching it.

Your mobo choice and processor choice are great.

i wnet for the Gelid Tranquillo rev 2 cpu cooler. VERY quiet and you will still be able to overclock it to 3.8-4Ghz on that cooler in almost total silence. 25 quid.

I would suggest the crucial ballistix sport 1600Mhz ram. you dont need anything faster for sandybridge and that processor. 2 x 4 gb sticks cost me 32 quid. low profile too so wont hit the fan on the cpu cooler.

The 2gb vid card is not a bad buy but unless you are gaming in stupidly high resolutions then i would not worry too much about it. I game at 1920 x 1200 and I plugged for the GTX 570 in the end for a bit more kick which only gas 1.3 Gb onboard. When playing skyring with that, with the new texture pack they released i git 1.1-1.2 gb. Battlefield 3 may want more. YMMV. The 560ti is a great bang for buck card. concider getting a 2nd later for SLI power!

O grabbed an 850w PSU (corsair AX) becasue i wanted quality and reserves - one day ill grab another GTX 570 and i want enough left to do overclocking and run 3 or 4 HDD's. If you are only having a single GFX card and dont intend to have muchm more in the system then as others have said 550-650 max. Quality not quantity is the rule for PSU's. XFX is another good brand, but ive been corsair all the way for years.

Hope that helps
Are you in the UK or abroad?

 

[RaviR]

heya. Just bought a new rig and spent months researching it.

Your mobo choice and processor choice are great.

i wnet for the Gelid Tranquillo rev 2 cpu cooler. VERY quiet and you will still be able to overclock it to 3.8-4Ghz on that cooler in almost total silence. 25 quid.

I would suggest the crucial ballistix sport 1600Mhz ram. you dont need anything faster for sandybridge and that processor. 2 x 4 gb sticks cost me 32 quid. low profile too so wont hit the fan on the cpu cooler.

The 2gb vid card is not a bad buy but unless you are gaming in stupidly high resolutions then i would not worry too much about it. I game at 1920 x 1200 and I plugged for the GTX 570 in the end for a bit more kick which only gas 1.3 Gb onboard. When playing skyring with that, with the new texture pack they released i git 1.1-1.2 gb. Battlefield 3 may want more. YMMV. The 560ti is a great bang for buck card. concider getting a 2nd later for SLI power!

O grabbed an 850w PSU (corsair AX) becasue i wanted quality and reserves - one day ill grab another GTX 570 and i want enough left to do overclocking and run 3 or 4 HDD's. If you are only having a single GFX card and dont intend to have muchm more in the system then as others have said 550-650 max. Quality not quantity is the rule for PSU's. XFX is another good brand, but ive been corsair all the way for years.

Hope that helps
Are you in the UK or abroad?

Thank you for the response. I'll use the single GTX for now but i plan on getting another later on. As for the PSU I'll definitely change to the 600w. As well as 8GB of RAM, guess 16GB was just overdoing it.

Abroad, I'm from the Caribbean, Trinidad to be exact

 

[RaviR]

As for the CPU cooler i read in a couple reviews that the stock cooler wasn't enough and additional cooling was needed. As i don't have AC in my room would the stock cooler be enough?
As for the PSU the EVGA card is what i'm thinking of getting so should i get another PSU?

The stock cooler is probably OK if you never overclock the CPU. As you mention a 2500k, that suggests that you are considering overclocking.

The V6 isn't expensive as third-party coolers go, but there are cheaper ones that are still highly regarded, like:

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+

(Hyper 212 EVO).

As regards the PSU, the main harm in getting an oversized one is to your wallet. To go with you graphics card, eVGA recommends at least a 500W PSU, with 30A or more available at +12V. This one may be a decent compromise between price and performance:

Amazon.com: Corsair Builder Series CX600 600 watt 80 Plus Certified Power Supply Compatible with Intel and AMD Platforms ATX 700 CMPSU-600CXV2: Electronics

(Corsair builder series CX600, 40A at +12V).

Would the Hyper 212 EVO fit properly on my Mobo? I'll get the 600W PSU then and save some $ lol

 

[essenbe]

I would check the cooler you choose and the ram clearance. The cololer will stick out over the ram, you will need to get low profile ram or remove heatsinks (voiding the warranty). Also, that cooler is 165mm tall. Make sure whatever case you get will accomodate it. At 165mm you're probably talking a full tower case, and some of them it will be a tight fit.

 

[IIllytch321]

I have a single gtx 560 for now with a 1000 watt psu so I can have room to get a second gtx 560 in the future. Good to have the extra room. Hate to want a second card later and find out you need to buy another psu to run it.

I'd agree with an aftermarket cooler for that, too, if you're into gaming.

RAM that have huge heatsinks are probably not even necessary, so it could help clearance if you stay away from fancy looking RAM with super massive heatsinks, heh.

 

[DeaconFrost]

I'm not sure offhand if the Hyper 212 Evo works on Socket 1155 or not. If it does, great. If not, the cheaper Hyper 212+ does, and works very well. Most review sources will call it the best air cooler out there. I have two fo them, and couldn't be happier with the performance or noise (or lack of).

 

[IcarusII]

Just one word of warning with your plan:

People were advising you go for a 600w PSU becasue they thought you were only going to run one GFX card.

If you plan on runung two fairly modern and beefy GFX cards in the future in SLI then I would concider now what PSU you will require.

The rule of thumb seems to be about 550W for a single GFX card + rest of system and then add 300w if you intend to add another card.

hence with my intention to run 2 x GTX 570s I grabbed an 850w to be done with it.

others may have better numbers for you.

Matt

 

[IIllytch321]

NewEgg has a "PSU calculator" that might be able to give you a rough idea of what you'd need given future endeavors.

 

[RaviR]

I'm not sure offhand if the Hyper 212 Evo works on Socket 1155 or not. If it does, great. If not, the cheaper Hyper 212+ does, and works very well. Most review sources will call it the best air cooler out there. I have two fo them, and couldn't be happier with the performance or noise (or lack of).

The Hyper 212 would keep the i5 cool under load?

 

[RaviR]

Just one word of warning with your plan:

People were advising you go for a 600w PSU becasue they thought you were only going to run one GFX card.

If you plan on runung two fairly modern and beefy GFX cards in the future in SLI then I would concider now what PSU you will require.

The rule of thumb seems to be about 550W for a single GFX card + rest of system and then add 300w if you intend to add another card.

hence with my intention to run 2 x GTX 570s I grabbed an 850w to be done with it.

others may have better numbers for you.

Matt

Makes sense, won't want to end up having to buy another PSU down the line.

 

[bobkn]

I'm not sure offhand if the Hyper 212 Evo works on Socket 1155 or not. If it does, great. If not, the cheaper Hyper 212+ does, and works very well. Most review sources will call it the best air cooler out there. I have two fo them, and couldn't be happier with the performance or noise (or lack of).

I own neither. It appears that the Evo is a slightly newer version, adding Socket 2011 support. (Pretty much irrelevant.) Both support Socket 1155. Both use PWM fans. If you can get the plus for significantly less money than the Evo, that's what I suggest.

It looks like the fan may interfere with RAM taller than 37 mm. However, the simple solution would be to reverse the fan and put it on the side away from the DIMM slots. (I did that with a Thermalright Ultra 120.) That wouldn't interfere with any height RAM.

 

[essenbe]

I don't own one either, but ram like G Skill Sniper and Ripjaws is 40mm. I believe the fan fits with clips, you could slide the fan up 4mm with probably no decrease in effectiveness.

 

[RaviR]

Guess I'll have to do some further research if I am getting an after market cooling fan. But as was mentioned the stock cooling fan would be enough if i don't over clock right? Also the other parts mobo,gfx card, ram and psu are all an acceptable combo?

 

[RaviR]

sorry for the long thread but my friend just brought these cpu to my attention. So the question is intel or amd? They both are cheaper than the i5 but are they as good on performance?
Newegg.com - AMD FX-8120 Zambezi 3.1GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor FD8120FRGUBOX

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX