The Nearly Extreme (but affordable) PC build project..

[Priest]

So I'm feeling the need to upgrade finally, now that I have a game that actually is pushing me to do so... its been about 3 years on my current machine anyway... which has been a decent system... but as always.. technology has totally outpaced me.

I have a system that a client gave to me that I've been working on for a bit, and found he had mb issues.  Instead of having me fix it, he decided to go MAC. 

The MB is blown... but I should be able to salvage the full tower case, a couple of TB hard drives, a decent 900w power supply, couple of DVD Roms.  The rest I will probably just keep for parts if needed.  I can break off one of the monitors I have set up on my current system, so I'll have a 24" dell that should do.

That leaves me with some parts to upgrade (basically everything else.

So I did some new egg surfing last night and came up with a decent setup thats not over the top, but should run the build a bit better, and let me really see some of the more fine points of the graphics this mod can pump out.

I made a little shopping list... this is what I've got so far:

BIOSTAR TP67XE (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$124.99

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
$219.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM
$69.99

MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video ...
$254.99

I went back and forth between the core i5 and i7.  I may do some video work on the machine as well, so the i7 wouldn't hurt, but not really necessary at this point (and saves me $100). 

Also went back and forth with the video. I could spent another $100 and get the twin GTX460's which would outperform the 560 easily... but in a few months I could always pick up another 560 if 1 still doesn't cut it.

I still am not sold on the motherboard yet... I do a lot of ASUS... but trying to find one that won't cost over $200, and is still pretty decent.

All told about a $650 upgrade.  May do a little more digging to see what else I can find. I still need a decent cooler for the chipset as well.   Should be enough to give me some good solid performance for not too over the top upgrade price.

[Mitchpate]

Biostar is a brand I try to avoid.  If you're on a budget but still want something decent, try ASRock.  They're a child company of Asus and are surprisingly good for the price.

I'm also not too fond of MSI video cards but I know some who swear by them so just make sure the reviews are good before you buy.

Btw, did you explain to your friend that Macs use the exact same parts and part manufacturers as PCs?  The look on a Mac zombie's face when you tell them that is priceless, most of them think Apple makes the whole thing

[Priest]

Well, the biggest problem this guy has is viruses... he's a hackers dream.  Guy is completely ADD, loves to sign up for everything, and reads nothing, clicks everything, and I pretty much clean his machine every few months.  So, for him, it's a worthy investment, considering he pays for every wipe and reload.

Honestly, the MAC OS has a leg up on the PC for a great deal of things... but its a M$ world.  That will change though... as will the PC. 

I looked at a couple of ASRock's... I'll pull up some reviews.  I don't mind MSI.... I have EVGA's atm.. and they've always been decent.  This was really just finding the best price that didn't completely suck.

Appreciate the opinions though... I'm not married to any particular thing... so if you guys have suggestions... I'm all ears.

[Gaigebacca]

Microcenter has the core i5 2500k for $179.99 after instant rebate.  They have been doing fantastic i5+mobo deals for quite a while now, I bought mine from them, and saved nearly $100 off of MSRP, and they will price match NewEgg for anything else too! Worth checking out!

They have the i7 2600k for ~$279 or so I think... So there ya go... I have a i5 2500k @ 4.3GHz and 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz RAM, and 2x 6950's (2GB VRAM) in CrossFire... I get anywhere from 20fps to 140fps in this game... lol, also have a Force3 120GB SSD as main OS drive.

Edit: In response to Steelbarrage - Priest, I don't know where you live, or if you have a MicroCenter near you, but I had to return a DOA motherboard to them, and they gave me no hassles in picking up a replacement.  Although, I did this at the actual store, and not online, so I cannot vouch for their online customer service.

[Steelbarrage]

Asus P8Z68 Pro. The Z68 will help some with video work. I just built my sandy rig on it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131730

Can't really see any justification for the i7 if you plan on doing only a small bit of video work.
Also, I don't think you will need any chipset cooling.

Try going for a stock or SC gtx 570.

Also give the Ripjaws X a week. I got mine on a newegg daily deal for 50 but I regularly see it at 64.

Personally if you will mainly use this for MWLL the gpu isn't very important.
Just OC that 2500k to 4.3 to 4.5 ghz.
I got mine to 4.5 for the first time OCing and it runs it great on high at 1920x1080 on a 768 mb 460 stock.

Edit: In response to Giagebacca
Priest, do you mind dealing with Microcenter for any RMA?
Thats the only reason I went with Newegg.

[Mitchpate]

Well, the biggest problem this guy has is viruses... he's a hackers dream.  Guy is completely ADD, loves to sign up for everything, and reads nothing, clicks everything, and I pretty much clean his machine every few months.  So, for him, it's a worthy investment, considering he pays for every wipe and reload.

You can change the OS but you cant remove the risk.  He's still going to get viruses and the more recent OSX viruses put Windows viruses to shame.

[Priest]

Upstate NY... so no Microcenter's that I know of around here... but I don't have a problem with dealing with RMA's from whomever... I get some bad boards and such now and then.  Most of the companies that I've dealt with are not too bad with it.

Good things for me to do some research on.... will update in a bit where I am after I do a bit of perusing on MC.

Yea.. I've been hearing about some of the OSX infections that were going around.  I've had to start working on more macs lately... so I'm boning up on the OS a bit more.  I've used it sporatically.... seem to be a lot of people want their ipads and ipods.

[Mitchpate]

If you're in the US, use Newegg.  I've never had any issues RMA'ing parts with them.  The only time people have problems with them is when they're they ones that broke it.

[Priest]

Like the asus motherboard... not too much more.. but the gtx 570's are more than I want to spend.. the difference between the 560 and that is quite a bit... I could do the dual 460 for less.

[Mitchpate]

I wouldn't even consider building a new machine with an SLI config of last-gen cards.  Sure it's cheaper and you get more power but that's as far as that system can ever go without replacing both cards.  You can go tri-SLI but your power bill will be excessive.

The best thing to do is to get a single GTX 500 series card.  That gives you plenty of power and maintains the ability to upgrade later.  The GTX 600 series is coming out in 2012 and the price of the 500 series will drop a good deal when it does.  That's when you pick up a 2nd card and go SLI.

[GB-72AT Talon]

The MSI Hawk series cards are top notch in build quality and they tend to use better spec'd components on the PCB than your vanilla grade cards.  The cooling on them alone is worth $50 and it is extremely effective.  That's good for someone who isn't going to do their own pc maintenance because it means less chance he overheats it between you servicing it.

[Priest]

I wouldn't even consider building a new machine with an SLI config of last-gen cards.  Sure it's cheaper and you get more power but that's as far as that system can ever go without replacing both cards.  You can go tri-SLI but your power bill will be excessive.

The best thing to do is to get a single GTX 500 series card.  That gives you plenty of power and maintains the ability to upgrade later.  The GTX 600 series is coming out in 2012 and the price of the 500 series will drop a good deal when it does.  That's when you pick up a 2nd card and go SLI.

You have to understand a lot of equipment goes through my door, so I can always sell off the cards, or throw them into another build.  Given that, I agree; the 400 series is a bit too aged at this point to go that route.

I have done some of the hawk's, and really that is the bottom line when looking at the cards these days is the cooling fan and heat sink performance.

[Priest]

Well, the build hasn't taken too much of a turn.

Although MSI may not be a favorite, the card I have selected is popular, and has gotten great ratings.  It's an overclocked card out of the box, and has a custom cooler setup that boasts a -20 from the stock cooler.  I'm going to stick with this.

Processor... eh... I get a few dollars off with a special going on... sticking with the i5.

The RAM I am drop to 4GB.  I like the G Skill, although in the past I've used Corsair and OCZ.  Like both, but have heard good things about G Skill.  They do have a 4GB offering around $40.00 that is quite popular (and again has great reviews).

I'm still on the fence with the motherboard.  Looking at 2..

The ASUS P8Z68-V PRO, which is down under $200.00 now.  The other is the ASRock P67 EXTREME4 which comes in about $50 less and has gotten a thumbs up from Tom's Hardware.

Both look like they'll perform well.

Going to probably put down for this sometime this week.

[Come and See]

I went to the local Microcenter (basically a Newegg-priced store) and they were running i5 2600k + high-end MSI board combos for only $300 (saved about $80). Picked up 8 GB of DDR3 Corsair Vengeance 1866 and damages was around $400 total.

The i5 is a good investment as I got it running 4 GHZ at air cooling.

[whatever]

i went out and got a 560 Ti card.. runs really good,most of all runs cooler.

only recently semi-retired my evga 8800 gtx's.. those cards lasted and are still good, probbably going to use them in two

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