So, I'm considering building a new computer soon, and I figured I'd come to the forums and ask for advice on the parts I've selected. Pertinent Information: I live in the U.S, the computer is pretty much solely for browsing the net and gaming, I don't need a harddrive as the one in my current comp is less then a year old and is 750 Gigs and I don't need more space then that.

The main help I'm looking for, is pricing, as my Google-Fu(and Subsequently my shopping skills) are fairly poor, and I imagine that the parts I've picked out might be able to be found elsewhere cheaper(I only looked on Newegg). If you can find a similar item for a part that performs the same but is cheaper, feel free to suggest that as well.

The parts:

Motherboard:(I found a few for this, I'm not sure which yet)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188096

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130596

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131773

Processor:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074

Graphics Card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121446

Memory:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145325

PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817812013

Case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811322006

And, last but not least, I found Windows 7 Home edition 64-Bit for $100.00

The rough price for all of that, after rebates is right around 895, so If you can find deals that are cheaper but still the same part(or again, similar enough that performance is the same), please suggest them. If you find something that performs a bit better for the same price, please also suggest.

I know there is supposed to be a specific forum to post stuff like this in, but I'm not sure which one it is, so I figured i"d just post this here, as I've seen similar threads for this in the past and seen quality advice given out.

1. Do you have a Microcenter nearby? usually there's good deals on the i5 2500k there

2. The memory you chose is very expensive and the advantages of it are fairly useless outside of a few motherboards and in an overclocking build (which judging from your CPU choice, yours most certainly isn't)

3. Your PSU has a much higher wattage than you need, I'd look into a modular PSU at a lower wattage.

4. One of the motherboards you listed is mATX instead of full ATX. Do you care one way or the other?

5. Your case choice seems like overkill if not planning on overclocking and the front eSATA < USB 3.0

6. Where's your hard drive?

First thing you need to consider is what do you need/want in a motherboard? USB 3.0 and how many, expansion slots and how many, wake-on-lan, USB 3.0 headers (for front-panel USB 3.0), SATA III and how many (and how many SATA in general). These and a few others aren't easily worked around if you find you need/want one/more of one later.

1.There might be a computer shop somewhere in the nearest major town(hagerstown), but I think the best I could realistically hope for would be Best Buy.

2. See, that's the kind of advice I could use. I actually figured 90 bucks for 8Gigs of Ram was a pretty good deal, and it wasn't the Fastest ram out there, nor the slowest. The last time I bought RAM for a system(separately) was about 8 years ago, and I paid 55 bucks for a stick of 256Megs, LOL. I'm not worried about it being useful for overclocking, so if you have a better option, please suggest it. I just want good, reliable ram that's not going to be bottle-necked, though I don't particularly run multiple programs at once.

3. I like my system to be future-proofed for upgrades, and I figured an 800Watt PSU would be appropriate. What would you suggest? I was under the impression that a Geforce 560 would require roughly close to that. I don't want my PSU to fry and then Subsequently fry other parts.

4. Hell, you're right, I didn't even notice that it was a Micro board. No, I don't need a micro-board, the case I listed isn't a small one.

5. Actually, I may or may not look into over-clocking, I've never done it before to be honest, so I'm a bit leery of it. The issue is, is where my case sits, it's right next to a heat-duct, and it's under my desk, so while it's not exactly in a closed, confined space, it's not exactly out in the open with plenty of room to breathe and keep cool, so 6 Fans seems like a good idea to me.

6. As I mentioned before I started listing out ye olde links for parts, I have a hard-drive already, it's less then a year old and is 750 Gigs, it's 10k RPM with I think 16-bit cache(It might be 32-bit Cache, Unsure), I don't really need anything bigger then that.

Other stuff: I'm not actually that informed of what the purpose of 3.0 Slots is, I specifically looked for MOBOs that had at least 2 2.0 PCI slots included, but I didn't think to many things NEEDED the 3.0 slots yet, certainly nothing in my build, correct? I'm "Fairly" knowledgeable in parts, but not an expert, so if you have to get technical, feel free, but if you get to technical, I may have to ask questions ^^

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314


It's much more that a modular PSU is so much nicer than anything else. You can also easily manage with a quality 600-650 watt PSU with plenty of room to spare.


Of the two ATX boards, I'd probably go with the ASUS ones. The boards are more or less equal, but ASUS uses UEFI and has Wake-on-LAN

You're not going to be doing much overclocking with your chosen CPU.

PCI-e 3.0 is pretty useless at this point in the game, it won't become relevant for a few more GPU generations. So far, AMD released one that can use it, but it "uses" it. There was no/negligible difference between using the card in a 3.0 and a 2.0 slot. USB 3.0. on the other hand, is a MASSIVE improvement over USB 2.0. Your motherboard has them on the back, but speaking from experience it's a bit of a PITA to use back panel USB 3.0 on an on-off basis. In order to make use of front-facing USB 3.0 in a realistic manner, though, you need a motherboard with USB 3.0 header pins and a case with front-facing USB 3.0.

Interesting on the RAM. So you're basically implying that I don't need anything faster then the 1600? If so, that's fine, I just didn't want the RAM to be a weak point in the system. The price difference is definitely nice, literally half the price, I'm all for that ^^

What's the difference between a regular PSU and a modular PSU, and could you link me to one that you would suggest for this build? Hell, Maybe I might just keep my current PSU, It's less then a year old as well, and is a 700Watt one.

Honestly, I was leaning towards the ASUS one as well, I'm a fan of ASUS MOBOs, they are well built and tend to last. As usual, if you have any better suggestions then what I listed, feel free! I was hoping I'd get you in this topic, I see you post in these threads all the time, and you give good info ^^

That's fine on the no OCing then. I do still think I might keep the 6-Fan case, simply for the aforementioned reasons(semi-confined space, sitting next to a heat-duct, which is killer in the wintertime). Playing Skyrim on my current rig(it's 5 years old, Quad-core 2.6GHZ Processor, Dual NVIDIA 9600 graphics cards, 3Gigs of ram, 700Watt PSU), I've seen temperatures of 145 Degrees, and even once or twice all the way up to 160, which greatly worries me, and I have 3 Fans on the case, plus CPU Fan, MOBO Fan, and each graphics card has it's own fan as well). But, that might be because of how much older the system is then anything. As usual, further advice greatly appreciated.

On The 3.0 PCI-e and 3.0 USB Ports, I'll admit, my knowledge is sorely lacking. I'll have to look wiki that stuff and read up on it, it's long been a weak spot in my knowledge of computer stuff.

Basically, I want to be able to play Skyrim with a ton of mods(granted, it's going to take a while to get those "tons of mods" since I have a 5GIG Data cap), including graphical overhauls, Diablo 3, Civ V, Heroes VI, similar type building SIMs, and other RPGish games. I don't play stuff like Metro 2033 or anything, so what I've put together(including any further modifications based on advice received) should be able to suffice, and should continue to suffice for the next few years I'd think, correct?

Quite honestly, I doubt you'll even be able to use 1600 MHz. RAM frequency is tied to the mobo and CPU and only really comes into play when overclocking. This was recently brought up on the forums, so you can read more here: http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1367984-what-is-the-difference-between-these-two-memories/

The advantage of a modular PSU is you have much better cable management (and therefore airflow and ease of changing parts). An example one would be: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095


145 F or C... if it's C Even F that's admittedly high. Have you considered working a way to get it away from the heat duct?

I think it'll do fine for your needs.

...or in my case: underclocking. After having several RAM modules blow out on me over the years I'm paranoid about them. I usually buy RAM that's rated higher than I'm actually going to run it and then underclock + undervolt it.

146 F, with spikes all the way up to 165 F. Unfortunately, My desk is a very LARGE desk(A 2-part L-shaped Desk, made out of solid, good quality wood(cost me a grand for it ><), and can only fit in one area in my entire house, and the only spot I can sit the Case is, unfortunately, fairly close to the heat duck. I could move it out further, but I have two daughters, one 4 and one about to turn 9, and both are fairly clumsy, hell they manage to kick the case where it's at now when they come out and stand next to the desk talking to me. If I kept it out, they'd be knocking it over every other day, which I'm pretty sure wouldn't be to healthy.

Mmm, better cable management....that might make it worth buying a new PSU after-all, instead of just re-using my current one which I've started to contemplate, LOL. Then again, the prospect of saving 90 bucks by keeping my current PSU makes me feel giddy inside as well,

Glad to see I managed to pick out fairly decent parts on my own, I've been making it a point to read about various computer parts and stuff for the last few years so I could do this stuff myself and help friends out when they wanted to buy.

What about the graphics card? From all accounts, it appears to be a pretty good one, it's a 560, and is DX11 compatible, which is important, since I imagine some games will start requiring DX11 for optimal performance, and I really don't want to be left out in the cold.

It will probably balance pretty well with the CPU you chose. I'd go with the 560 Ti version if you can swing it, though.

Yeah, I was thinking that myself, especially now that I've managed to save some money on the knowledge I can re-use my current PSU, and literally halving the price of the RAM. what would the advantages of upgrading to the Ti model though? Hell, a recommendation on one would be nice as well. I'm looking at them now, I spotted one, wondering what others would suggest.

Also, I posted a thread similar to this on another forum, and somebody mentioned waiting at least a week before I considered purchasing a processor, due to apparently, the release of a new processor called the Ivy Bridge. I'm guessing that would imply that current prices might plummet a little bit more on other processors, either allowing me to get the one I"m looking at for a bit cheaper, OR purchase a slightly better processor for the same price as I'm paying right now. Any idea on the validity of that statement?

The Ti version is "beefier" than the regular 560, and the Ti (448 cores) version is beefier still. They essentially have more processing units available on the GPU, which in general will equate to better framerates. The Ti (448) is significantly more expensive, though. IMO it's not really worth the extra money for the additional cores in that particular case.

Yep, word on the street is that the Ivy Bridge CPUs will hit the streets this coming Sunday (the 29th). That should result in a price reduction on previous-generation processors as retailers try to unload their inventories.

I recommend the HAF 922 or 912 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&N=100006644&isNodeId=1&Description=HAF+&x=0&y=0) instead of the on you have listed because has much better airflow. Personally have the 932 which is overkill for any components you need but o well had the go big or go home mindset

i5 2500k good 560 is good personally would recommend a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130759 bigger bang for your buck its a gen behind but its the top of it's gen so still somewhat better or at least the same.

It looks good, I would probably take the Asus motherboard I'm no computer expert but i would change the PSU to a OSC/Corsair (More famous brand) and the case, go for Antec, what is that brand Sentey to be honest? same thing with the PSU mushkin XD

Just chiming in here although a lot of good advice has already been given....

You say you have a 700W PSU, but exactly what is it? Brand and model? May be old or poor quality enough that you should replace it.

For a Sandybridge setup, memory speeds matter very little with this architecture...even in OCing. I was able to take a 2500K to 4.8GHz with ValueRAM DDR3 1333, so OCing mainly lies on the chip and somewhat on the board. With the i5 2400, your OCing potential is very limited as it is a locked CPU (need at least a 2500K for an unlocked CPU)....I've seen people take it up to 4.0GHz adjusting the BLCK though. But DDR3 1600 is pretty much standard and popular these days and more than you will need for a plain i5 2400.

Here's a combo for CPU+MOBO+RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.894791

The video card is decent, although try to get a GTX 560 Ti as mentioned if possible.

Current PSU is less then a year old, and is an Antec(I snagged it from best buy, I'm not even sure if they sell anything other then Antec). Don't remember what model, but I might have the box around here somewhere, I'll look for it later today(I'm just up right now to put daughter on the bus, so I'm not quite awake).

edit: Also, everyone keeps mentioning that I can't OC the current processor, which I'm ok with, but it also seems from Tig Ol Bitties last post, that perhaps I should aim for a Sandy Bridge 2500k? Is that still an i5? Could I get a link to one on Newegg? If prices for various processors are going to come down after this sunday when the new Ivy Bridge processors come out, perhaps I should go ahead and wait till then and then aim for a 2500k? It would be neat if the option for OCing was there, as I've never done it before, and it would be fun to give it a try(Obviously I'd probably turn to the forums for help with it ^^)

Here's the 2500k CPU. This is probably the most common gaming CPU that people are overclocking right now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Oooh, very nice, that's not to terribly much more then the 2400k I have up(189 compared to 219). Now to wait a week to see if it goes on sale due to the release of the Ivy Bridge Processors!