[Build Help] ~700$ Gaming Rig - Need Suggestions

aquitas · 17 Jul 2012

Here is a list of parts I already have:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Memory: G.Skill 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ NCIX US)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($85.88 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 6850 1GB Video Card ($135.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $311.84
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

Here is a list of the parts I'm going to purchase:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3550 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.95 @ B&H)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($100.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $584.90
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

So far here is what I need:

1. Is the PSU strong enough/high quality enough
2. What MOBO should I chose, I don't want it to bottleneck and I don't want it to be overkill. Please do not suggest a micro board.
3. Can the 2x2 ram and the 2x6 ram used simultaneously in an efficient, no hassle manner

This build will be used extensively for gaming, music editing, photo/animation editing.
Thanks in advance for your help!

bobkn · 17 Jul 2012

aquitas said:

1. Is the PSU strong enough/high quality enough
2. What MOBO should I chose, I don't want it to bottleneck and I don't want it to be overkill. Please do not suggest a micro board.
3. Can the 2x2 ram and the 2x6 ram used simultaneously in an efficient, no hassle manner

1) yes
2) I don't own one, but the ASRock Z77 Pro4 looks like a good deal. It's narrower than a lot of ATX boards, and the standoff locations may be different, but it's full width (not mATX).
3) Maybe I might not bother trying, though. 8GB isn't bad.

For my own purposes, I'd get an I5-3570k, to allow overclocking. Add a CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus heat sink and fan. (Supposedly, that's about the best inexpensive HSF.) Taken together, that'd add about $60US to your total.

aquitas · 17 Jul 2012

I don't know enough about overclocking to feel comfortable putting my investment on the line. Otherwise i certainly would! I'm reading up on cathodes and led's to add to my case to spice it up a bit.

MY main post had a typo. I didnt mean using 2x2 + 2x6. What i currently own is 2x2, and I am not sure that they are faulty or not (testing shows they are fine but i'm still not positive) so i want to buy ram that complements my current ram but can stand on it's on in a strong system if it has to. Thus the 2x4 instead of another 2x2 to add to my current 2x2. The question was really can i run 2x2 with 2x4, if so i just have to make sure there is a specific single speed in each channel right?

essenbe · 17 Jul 2012

I'd get the 3570K. Because it can overclock, does not mean you have to. You can run it at stock speeds just fine. But, it gives you the option to overclock if you want to later down the road. You listed your 2X2GB as 1600 and your purchase of 2X4GB is 1333. Ram should be a matched set. To answer your question, yes it can be done, but you are asking for ram problems, plus your 1600 ram is going to be running at 1333. If you want to try it, I would buy 1600 ram with the same voltage and timings as what you already have. That will at least give you a better chance it will work together.

bobkn · 17 Jul 2012

aquitas said:

The question was really can i run 2x2 with 2x4, if so i just have to make sure there is a specific single speed in each channel right?

Generally you need to use the same capacity DIMM in the paired slots. (I believe that some AMD boards don't require that, but it'd be optimal anyway.)

The RAM will all run at the same settings, which makes mixing types a little dubious. The SPD (serial presence detect) chip on one type may cause the board to choose settings that don't work with the other. You may be able to get around that with manual settings, but I wouldn't count on being able to mix types.

As regards overclocking, with the k suffix (unlocked) chips, it's very easy. With a good motherboard, changing the multiplier is all that needs to be done; the board will do the rest. The stock cooler may not be up to the job, though.