[Cowboy4Life]

Hello all,

Just got my taxes and I'm looking to upgrade to a new PC. I mainly use it for gaming, WoW and Star Wars, and also for burning movies. I'm looking to hook up my PC straight into my 50" LCD TV. This is what I have so far and hoping you guys can help refine my choices to make the best PC I can have for under $2000.

Motherboard ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z $180
Processor Intel Core i7 - 2600K $320
Sound Card Titanium HD $135
Video Card AMD Radeon HD 6970 $325
Tower COSMOC II: Ultra Tower $325
Hard Drive Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB WD20EADS $300
Operating System Windows 7 Ultimate $320
DVD Drive LG UH12LS28 Internal Blu-ray Reader/ DVD-Writer
- BD - ROM/ DVD - RAM/R/RW Support - 10x read/ 16x $100
RAM Carsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3 Ram kit quad kit $195

[compnovo]

Cowboy4Life, on 25 January 2012 - 12:44 PM, said:

Hello all,

Just got my taxes and I'm looking to upgrade to a new PC. I mainly use it for gaming, WoW and Star Wars, and also for burning movies. I'm looking to hook up my PC straight into my 50" LCD TV. This is what I have so far and hoping you guys can help refine my choices to make the best PC I can have for under $2000.

Motherboard ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z $180
Processor Intel Core i7 - 2600K $320
Sound Card Titanium HD $135
Video Card AMD Radeon HD 6970 $325
Tower COSMOC II: Ultra Tower $325
Hard Drive Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB WD20EADS $300
Operating System Windows 7 Ultimate $320
DVD Drive LG UH12LS28 Internal Blu-ray Reader/ DVD-Writer
- BD - ROM/ DVD - RAM/R/RW Support - 10x read/ 16x $100
RAM Carsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3 Ram kit quad kit $195

That's a very nice looking build. One question I have is the operating system --- you're spending a lot for Ultimate when Home Premium will give you most of the features. Is there a specific feature you need that only Ultimate provides? If not you can save some money there, perhaps enough to add an SSD for your boot drive (I'm an SSD fan ). Of course if money is no object go for it.

[Cowboy4Life]

Hadn't thought about it, but you're right. Windows 7 home it is. Which SSD would you recommend?

[coastie65]

Hi. Something else worth considering is this Hdd : http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822145533 Granted it is only 1TB but should get you better performance than the one you selected. The other factor is with the Hdd situation the price isn't all that bad either.

If this is the motherboard you have selected and i think it is, a sound card is not necessary: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131806

If you have to have a Ful Sized case, then you want to look at this one and save some money: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119225

This post has been edited by coastie65: 25 January 2012 - 03:00 PM

[compnovo]

Cowboy4Life, on 25 January 2012 - 02:14 PM, said:

Hadn't thought about it, but you're right. Windows 7 home it is. Which SSD would you recommend?

This is just my opinion, mind you, but I have avoided OCZ SSDs because their reviews on Newegg have been pretty bad. The four I've bought this year have been SATAII: two Kingstons (64GB, a birthday gift for my geeky son, and a 128GB for my desktop), one Intel 120GB for my netbook, and a 120GB SanDisk that is currently residing in the PC I built for my wife. The Sandisk has received consistently outstanding reviews for its stability...
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820171545
...but none of my drives are as fast as the current generation of SATAIII drives. That's because I always buy them when they're on sale.
The price/GB is still high on SSDs but my wife, son, and I really like the performance boost we get in page loads, boot times, etc. Windows 7 has native TRIM which keeps them optimized and disables defrag by default (it's said to shorten the life of an SSD).
Tip: If you opt for two drives (boot and storage) it's best to have only the boot drive connected when you install the OS; Win7 sometimes goes a little sideways with more than one drive during the install process.

[compnovo]

coastie65, on 25 January 2012 - 02:45 PM, said:

Hi. Something else worth considering is this Hdd : http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822145533 Granted it is only 1TB but should get you better performance than the one you selected. The other factor is with the Hdd situation the price isn't all that bad either.

My storage drive is a Hitachi 1TB (5400RPM) --- great drive, so I agree with coastie (and faster is better).

This post has been edited by compnovo: 25 January 2012 - 02:58 PM

[waldojim]

There is one very important item that was missing from his list. Unless his case ships with it, the system isn't going to be very useful

Don't forget a power supply. Get a quality unit, with enough power to handle your CPU, Video card, and realistic upgrades and overclocking. As your machine is currently configured, a 500 watt PSU will handle mild overclocking. If you are likely to add in a second video card in the future, then you should consider a 700watt to 850 watt power supply.

[compnovo]

Another thought: You might have noticed that most of the SSDs I've got are aroung 120GB. Right now that's considered the sweet spot because it gives enough room for the OS, your office suite of choice, and a few of your favorite games so you can take advantage of the faster load times.

[compnovo]

waldojim, on 25 January 2012 - 03:03 PM, said:

There is one very important item that was missing from his list. Unless his case ships with it, the system isn't going to be very useful

Picky, picky....

[Cowboy4Life]

compnovo, on 25 January 2012 - 02:52 PM, said:

Cowboy4Life, on 25 January 2012 - 02:14 PM, said:

Hadn't thought about it, but you're right. Windows 7 home it is. Which SSD would you recommend?

This is just my opinion, mind you, but I have avoided OCZ SSDs because their reviews on Newegg have been pretty bad. The four I've bought this year have been SATAII: two Kingstons (64GB, a birthday gift for my geeky son, and a 128GB for my desktop), one Intel 120GB for my netbook, and a 120GB SanDisk that is currently residing in the PC I built for my wife. The Sandisk has received consistently outstanding reviews for its stability...
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820171545
...but none of my drives are as fast as the current generation of SATAIII drives. That's because I always buy them when they're on sale.
The price/GB is still high on SSDs but my wife, son, and I really like the performance boost we get in page loads, boot times, etc. Windows 7 has native TRIM which keeps them optimized and disables defrag by default (it's said to shorten the life of an SSD).
Tip: If you opt for two drives (boot and storage) it's best to have only the boot drive connected when you install the OS; Win7 sometimes goes a little sideways with more than one drive during the install process.

Well this is my first ever PC project, the whole dual drive sounds cool for boot/storage...but I wouldn't know where to start I guess I can always make that part of my research project huh. Does it make a real difference in having dual drives?

[LiveBrianD]

I would dump the sound card (onboard is pretty good), and get Windows 7 Pro (Home supports up to 16GB RAM, and Ultimate is a total waste). I would also downgrade to 8GB RAM (that's 1600MHz and has timings lower than 9-9-9-24). I HIGHLY doubt that you will manage to use all of 8GB, INCLUDING the windows cache stuff. For a lot of people, even 4GB is enough (I would still get 8GB for a high-end machine though). I have 8GB myself and can only use all of it if I run multiple VMs. Otherwise, only 2-3GB is used, plus maybe 2GB for the windows cache. If you have less ram, there's less stress on the memory controller, and you can run the ram at a higher speed and lower timings. If you're putting in an SSD, that hard drive is fine. If it's the boot drive, you want something better. I use a 640GB WD Caviar Black and see no need for an SSD, though I'm not that impatient.

Also, I didn't see a CPU cooler in there (do you really want to use stock cooling?). A Cooler Master 212 is a good option.

Guys, I have a second hard drive in here (a 500GB Samsung) that I use to store VMs, and have never had an issue leaving it connected while reinstalling Windows (which resides on my 640GB WD Black).

Nice catch waldojim - a high-end system without a power supply won't go very far.

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 25 January 2012 - 03:47 PM

[waldojim]

compnovo, on 25 January 2012 - 03:04 PM, said:

waldojim, on 25 January 2012 - 03:03 PM, said:

There is one very important item that was missing from his list. Unless his case ships with it, the system isn't going to be very useful

Picky, picky....

Well, you know, if you don't think it is important or anything...

[coastie65]

LiveBrianD, on 25 January 2012 - 03:47 PM, said:

Also, I didn't see a CPU cooler in there (do you really want to use stock cooling?). A Cooler Master 212 is a good option.

Or a Gelid Tranquillo. Try to read through the posts before you post, the sound card thing was addressed earlier. Want to try and keep this as simple as possible without getting confusing.

[LiveBrianD]

waldojim, on 25 January 2012 - 03:55 PM, said:

compnovo, on 25 January 2012 - 03:04 PM, said:

waldojim, on 25 January 2012 - 03:03 PM, said:

There is one very important item that was missing from his list. Unless his case ships with it, the system isn't going to be very useful

Picky, picky....

Well, you know, if you don't think it is important or anything...

Nahh, we could avoid mentioning that and then when his system won't do anything sit there laughing as he can't figure out what's wrong...

coastie65, on 25 January 2012 - 04:26 PM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 25 January 2012 - 03:47 PM, said:

Also, I didn't see a CPU cooler in there (do you really want to use stock cooling?). A Cooler Master 212 is a good option.

Or a Gelid Tranquillo. Try to read through the posts before you post, the sound card thing was addressed earlier. Want to try and keep this as simple as possible without getting confusing.

True, I could be a little better there sometimes when reviewing people's builds.

[compnovo]

LiveBrianD, on 25 January 2012 - 03:47 PM, said:

...and see no need for an SSD, though I'm not that impatient.

What took you so long?

[compnovo]

LiveBrian and I are polar opposites on SSDs.

[Cowboy4Life]

compnovo, on 25 January 2012 - 05:22 PM, said:

LiveBrian and I are polar opposites on SSDs.

That's good for me, since I get to read both sides of the argument...and since I'm new to this it's very helpful.

[compnovo]

Cowboy4Life, on 25 January 2012 - 05:43 PM, said:

compnovo, on 25 January 2012 - 05:22 PM, said:

LiveBrian and I are polar opposites on SSDs.

That's good for me, since I get to read both sides of the argument...and since I'm new to this it's very helpful.

There are good arguments for both sides, mostly cost vs. capacity.

The regulars on this forum like to build their own PCs and tweak them. Since I have a relatively new build I can't afford to completely scrap I went for the SSD upgrade to improve my performance (my AMD motherboard is pretty much maxed out processor-wise). Some folks like coastie have built new Intel systems, LiveBrian upgraded his video card (and I think other parts) --- we all like to play around, a lot depends on our budgets (and what we can talk our wives or parents into ).

This post has been edited by compnovo: 25 January 2012 - 05:53 PM

[coastie65]

LiveBrianD, on 25 January 2012 - 04:37 PM, said:

coastie65, on 25 January 2012 - 04:26 PM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 25 January 2012 - 03:47 PM, said:

Also, I didn't see a CPU cooler in there (do you really want to use stock cooling?). A Cooler Master 212 is a good option.

Or a Gelid Tranquillo. Try to read through the posts before you post, the sound card thing was addressed earlier. Want to try and keep this as simple as possible without getting confusing.

True, I could be a little better there sometimes when reviewing people's builds.

No problem. You did mention that that MOBO has a very good Audio package , which it does.

This post has been edited by coastie65: 25 January 2012 - 06:05 PM

[Cowboy4Life]

compnovo, on 25 January 2012 - 05:51 PM, said:

Cowboy4Life, on 25 January 2012 - 05:43 PM, said:

compnovo, on 25 January 2012 - 05:22 PM, said:

LiveBrian and I are polar opposites on SSDs.

That's good for me, since I get to read both sides of the argument...and since I'm new to this it's very helpful.

There are good arguments for both sides, mostly cost vs. capacity.

The regulars on this forum like to build their own PCs and tweak them. Since I have a relatively new build I can't afford to completely scrap I went for the SSD upgrade to improve my performance (my AMD motherboard is pretty much maxed out processor-wise). Some folks like coastie have built new Intel systems, LiveBrian upgraded his video card (and I think other parts) --- we all like to play around, a lot depends on our budgets (and what we can talk our wives or parents into ).

Well I undestand about budget and getting the wife to approve it, lol. It only took me a whole twelve months.
So, with my $2000 budget for a PC that I will use mainly for turning my torrents and 1yr old daughter videos to DVD's, playing Star Wars, browsing the web and the occational song download. is my system pretty ok or is it overkill? I just hate having to sit there and wait for things to be done.