New gaming computer

[metacide]

A friend asked me to help him build a new computer. He wants it to be pretty high end with new parts (i.e. no recycling parts from current rig).
His requirements are:
-Able to play Diablo 3 (I laughed when he told me this simply because that would be easy to meet)
-Cost under 1500 not including tax
-be phenomenal for gaming
-have an Asus motherboard
-have an nVidia video card

I'm going to throw in that it should have as many USB 3.0 ports as possible, at least 12GB of RAM, an SSD main drive, a TB secondary drive, and onboard sound. Sound is at the bottom of the priority list.
Also he'd prefer a CD/DVD burner to a BluRay player.

A mutual friend will hook him up with a copy of Windows, so no OS is needed.

Thanks to all of you in advance.

[tsmitho]

12 gigs is way overkill. that build isnt hard at all and for us or what country?

[One_Medic_Army]

Decide on your CPU, everything else will follow.
Might also be a good idea to find a case now that he likes, which will give you motherboard format and how much space you have to work with.

[Clay Pigeon]

No current platforms use tri-channel memory anymore.

The next step after 8 is 16.

Does this person also need a monitor? What about peripherals?

[bullet4o1]

Why does he need an ASUS board?


Intel i7-2600 - $299
Intel BOXDH67BLB3 LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - $90
Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory - $40
Kingston SSDNow V100 SV100S2/128GZ 2.5" 128GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive - $194
OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular High Performance Power Supply - $60 after rebate
REUSE HARD DRIVES - $0 HD prices are horrible right now
LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner - $16
EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1463-KR GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) - $180 after rebate
COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II - $90

Total - $969

[metacide]

Let's see if I can sum this up quickly.
We're in the US.
I know how to build a computer, I enjoy picking out the parts, I simply don't have time to do so with the schedule at work right now. So "just deciding on the CPU" is sort of the problem. I haven't found time to look at the comparisons between this generations models to see which is best.
If you think the next step after 8 is 16, then let's do 16GB of RAM.
Only the tower and internal pieces are needed, no monitor or mouse or keyboard, etc.

Last time he built a computer he had an ASUS and really likes them, so ASUS is his board of preference.

Thanks Bullet, did you get all those prices off of NewEgg? I still need the TB hard drive though the old computer is going to be reused in a different capacity, should be under $100 from NewEgg if I remember right.

[Soltan]

I built a system around the Intel i7-2600K last July. 8GB of RAM is plenty (that's what I have). I have dual 580 GTX and can pretty much play any game at maxed out settings (I use a 30" 2560x1600 monitor so needed a bit more GPU muscle). Hard drive prices are very high right now. I paid $90 for 1 TB WD Black in June. The same drive is going for more than $200 on Newegg now.

[Deslock]

From NewEgg:

ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:Maximus IV Gene-Z
$179.99 -$10.00 Instant $169.99

CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9
$87.99

EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support FPB Video ...
Model #:01G-P3-1561-AR
$249.99

Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:ST1000DM003
$149.99

Plextor PX-M2P Series PX-128M2P 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Model #:PX-128M2P
$249.99

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Model #:DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS
$19.99

CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 (CMPSU-750HX) 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified ...
Model #:CMPSU-750HX
$169.99 -$20.00 Instant $149.99

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ...
Model #:BX80623I72600K
$319.99

COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Model #:RC-692-KKN2 Advanced
$99.99 -$10.00 Instant $89.99


Subtotal: $1,487.91

[bullet4o1]

Let's see if I can sum this up quickly.
Thanks Bullet, did you get all those prices off of NewEgg? I still need the TB hard drive though the old computer is going to be reused in a different capacity, should be under $100 from NewEgg if I remember right.

Yep Newegg.. What Soltan said. That $100 1tb drive is now $200

Hopefully the prices go down within the end of next quarter?

[MrBlah]

1. I recommend this SSD:OCZ Vertex 3 120GB It's one of the fastest ones on the market with read and write speeds maxing out around 500MB/s Only $190, $170 after rebate.

[bullet4o1]

1. I recommend this SSD:OCZ Vertex 3 120GB It's one of the fastest ones on the market with read and write speeds maxing out around 500MB/s Only $190, $170 after rebate.

Nice find. I filtered by 128gb so I didn't see that one.

[The Spanish Inquisition]

Because of recent flooding in Thailand, where something like 30% of all hard drive factories exist, hard drive prices are really high right now. I'm betting that in six months they will be back to normal.

[MrBlah]

Yeah.... I was wondering why those 1TB drives were so expensive. I bought 2 of them for $100 each like 6 months ago.

[Clay Pigeon]

Does this person plan on overclocking in the future, or would he rather save $$ by going with a cpu and board that don't support it?



@Blah, large parts of thailand got flooded, and thailand makes over 50 percent of hard drive components.

[Clay Pigeon]

Hmm newegg is out of stock of the 2500k, the cpu which I bought. hyperthreading isn't needed for gaming, and actually can slightly decrease performance in some games if left on.

I'm basically going to copy/paste my build from 10/27, which I am very happy with. I'm subbing out the 8gig kit for a 16gig kit though. Because 8GB stick prices are so high I'm going with 4x 4GB sticks.



LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 $21.99
Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $99.99 Comes with a front panel USB3 port, and 2 front panel usb 2 ports. If you want more than 1 front usb3, check the p280 from antec, which wasn't available when I did my build. Antec P280 Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Now: $139.99 (2 front usb 3.0 ports) I'm recommending noise reduction cases btw because I don't like hard drive noise. the R3 has extra padded vent ports that can be opened up, but you'd need to buy extra 120 or 140mm case fans to use them. I reused some noctua 120mm fans for its upper 2 moduvent ports. I left the side-panel port closed.
EVGA SuperClocked 012-P3-1572-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $359.99
From NCIXUS: Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB (BX80623I52500K) (57962) $214.99 (substitute from newegg when it gets back in stock if you prefer)
ASRock Z68 EXTREME4 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $184.99 Wonderful board, comes with an internal usb3.0 port header as well as 2 on the back panel. I'm sure you could find something similar from asus for a bit more.
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 $25.99
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML16GX3M4A1600C9B $84.99. I have the 2-stick kit of this. It has enough room to mount under the hsf.

As for hard drives? Reuse unless you're willing to pay over 200 for a 1tb drive.