New Build - Seeking Help and Advice

[Diddlemouse]

1. Are you building this computer yourself or having one built for you (Like HP, Alienware, or even a small shop)?
Building this myself.

2. What is your budget and does that include shipping/taxes?
Less than $1000 including shipping, Oregon has no sales tax woot.

3. Where do you live (Please list town, state, and country)?
Portland, OR

4. What do you need this computer to do (like gaming, Photoshop, and so on)?
Gaming is its sole purpose in life.

5. What parts will you need for the computer? List what parts specifically, saying you need everything will not do.
GPU, CPU, Motherboard, mouse, headset, RAM and Monitor. Heatsink maybe?

6. Are you reusing any parts for this computer? If so say what parts (make and model).
Western Digital SATA hard disk 150gb OS and 600GB data, CD/DVD drives, keyboard, speakers and monitor. I am using a Zalman copper heatsink, cannot for the life of me remember the fan size.

7. What kind of monitor/resolution do you have or want to get to use for the computer?
Currently on a 19" acer, will upgrade to 21.5" at later date for full 1920x1080 res or I will do the upgrade immediately if within my budget. :D

8. Do you have already have a OS or do you need one? What OS is that?
Windows 7, do not want windows 8.

9. What are you looking for the motherboard to have feature wise? Like SLI, Crossfire, Firewire, USB 3.0, Sata 6.0 Gb/s, and so on.
SATA a must; not entirely certain of the other features, don't think I have ever used them so not terribly important.

10. Any plans to overclock the CPU or GPU?
I would certainly like to. I havent OCed a system yet havent really ever had the need.

11. What time kind of time frame are you planning on ordering these parts?
Waiting to finalize a sale on my old car, once that goes through I will buy these parts. In regards to a time frame, it could be anywhere between a week (hopefully) and (hopefully not) two to three months. If I cant sell the car then I plan to just spoil myself for christmas. Id rather my christmas be in the next couple of weeks obviously.

No Radeon, no AMD. Sticking true to Nvidia and Intel chipsets.

Also my case is a Cooler Master Cosmos (its huge I can fit anything in that beast) so size is of little concern. What I really want is to build something that will keep me playing games for the next 3-5 years. I don't want to buy something that's already super dated, but I understand that 2-3 years down the line I wont be running things on ultra high settings anymore but for the time being I do want ultra settings. Any advice and input would be hugely appreciated. :)

[Goku]

I'm a bit busy between now and tomorrow. Worse case I'll have something up Thursday, but most likely tomorrow.

[Diddlemouse]

Awesome looking forward to what you have to say

[Vancha]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/lh6p

Zowie AM/EC1 evo also come as highly recommended mice (best sensors/tracking, average build quality, apparently).

Headphone-wise, you'd be best off buying dedicated audio headphones and having a clip-on mic or stick-on boom mic. The Zalman clip-on seems to be popular. If you go down that path, head to /r/headphones on Reddit.

Otherwise, just go here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&N=100017745&isNodeId=1&Description=Steelseries+Siberia+V2&x=0&y=0) and pick your favourite colour.

Edit: Forgot to say, I'm not 100% on monitors, but that seems to be one of the best deals going on gaming IPS monitors.

[Goku]

Here is what I have so far:

EVGA 660 Ti - $290 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130837) (w/ coupon code EVKESIGK)
Intel Core i5-3570K / ASUS P8Z77-V LK / GeIL EVO Veloce Series 8GB DDR3 - $354.98 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1033223)
Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W - $44.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030) (w/ coupon code CollegeSave10)
Win 7 64-bit - $99.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986)

Total = $809.95 - $20 (coupons) = $789.95

What hard drives do you have specifically? That 150GB is probably slow but today standards. Either put the OS on the 600GB HDD, which is newer (faster) or get a new HDD/SSD to put the OS on.

You didn't have a PSU listed anywhere so I put one into the build.

In terms of a monitor you can get one now, but I didn't want to include one just yet depending on the OS drive and what else you want to get.

For mice I would look into Logitech. Their mice have always been good. Anything like the MX518, G5, G500, or the G9X.

In terms of headset and speakers totally comes down to your tastes. Some people don't like big bulky headsets, closed vs open ear, and so on. Speakers I'm clueless on. I recommend doing more research on your own to see what you end up liking as I said before this varies person to person.

For a heatsink it depends on what Zalman. Try to see if you can figure it out or take a picture and I'll see if I can.

[Diddlemouse]

Thanks a lot for getting back to this.

In regards to the PSU I'm using a 850w Rosewil I got from a friends computer I tore apart two years ago.

As for the the hard disk you are right, it is extremely dated. I was thinking along the lines of a WD 250gb VelociRaptor. That way I can stay around the same price as the 1TB. I just dont have use for that much space and I can continue using my 600GB for data even though that is also moderately dated. What are your thoughts on this?

I forgot to mention I already have a Windows 7 64bit OEM system builder pack so I plan on using that again for an OS. I have an old Logitech MX518 that I've been using since WOW was released but its on the end of its rope, so you're right their mice are excellent and I will look into your recommendations.

I will take Vanchas advice on the Steelseries headset thats what I was looking for.

Finally, the Zalman heatsinks identity remains hidden to me so I have taken a picture of it and attached it perhaps you will have better luck.

Thanks again for all your advice, Im very pleased with how its coming together and on budget :D

[Goku]

TBH 2010 isn't as old as I was thinking, but now that you freed some of your budget up, I would look into a SSD. You can get a 120GB for $60-$80 now and 240GB for $120-$160. All depends on brand, I prefer Crucial, Samsung, and Plextor personally. These have replaced raptors in terms of getting the best speed from the OS. They are WAY faster.

Is that CPU cooler this one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118003)? If so I think it can handle any overclocking you do. Even if you don't it will better compared to the stock cooler. You may have to buy a new bracket mounting system to properly support the new mobo however.

The monitor Vancha recommended is what I would go with also. If you aren't interested in IPS you can probably get a cheaper one for around $120ish for a TN. IPS has better viewing angles and color accuracy compared to TN panels.

[brucethemoose]

I'll save you some money.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271R

If you have a Microcenter near you:
http://www.microcenter.com/product/354589/Core_i5_2500K_33GHz_LGA_1155_Boxed_Processor

If you don't:
http://www.sabrepc.com/t-Intel-Core-i5-3570K-Sale.aspx


Headsets are usually overpriced, BTW. If you're picky about sound quality, you should use a mic and some good cans.

EDIT:

Goku speaks the truth ^^.

Heres a good 21.5" for a great price.
http://www.frys.com/product/7343254

No Radeon, no AMD. Sticking true to Nvidia and Intel chipsets.

If you do plan to overclock, and they're still going for less than $300, I highly, highly recommend a 7950 like this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Video+Cards-_-Sapphire+Tech-_-14202006

Comes bundled with 4 games, and it basically matches the $500 GTX 680 once you overclock it. I understand brand loyalty, and the 660 TI will be fine, but this is a much better value card IMO, even in games that favor Nvidia like PS2.

[Goku]

Motherboard maybe out of stock at the time of order. I don't normally recommend people cutting corners on that if they have the money to get a brand new board also.

Portland doesn't have any MC near when I looked.

The deal at SaberPC is over, says it ended 10/22.

Headsets come down to what the user prefers in my experience. I use a good pair of AT headphones and a dedicated (but shitty) mic.

[brucethemoose]

True. But despite the price it's basically a Z68 Extreme4 with a few less ports and some different heatsinks. Exact same VRMS, 95% of the layout is the same, which means it's actually a really solid mobo. It's no cheapo board that'll blow up on you, and it's almost always in stock, though you never know when it won't be.

Just noticed the deal was over. Also, the 7950 just went out of stock :/ Deals like that pop up pretty often though.


And true. I can never find a decent dedicated mic.

[Vancha]

Here is what I have so far:

EVGA 660 Ti - $290 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130837) (w/ coupon code EVKESIGK)
Honestly, the ASUS heatsink is worth an extra $10.

For mice I would look into Logitech. Their mice have always been good. Anything like the MX518, G5, G500, or the G9X.
The G400 seems to be very popular. Again, I think it's one of those accidental successes. It pleases the people who fuss about lift off distance, jitter, positive/negative acceleration and such. Supposedly you need to be kind to the cable, though.