# Building my first gaming pc. This look good?



## ddrnick (Jul 23, 2011)

SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-222AL LightScribe Support - OEM  Item #: N82E16827151235Return Policy: Standard Return Policy 
*Protect Your Investment (expand for options)*




$22.99 








 Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case  Item #: N82E16811129021Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
-$6.00 Instant
$30.00 Mail-in Rebate $105.99$99.99 








 Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC ...  Item #: N82E16817371026Return Policy: Standard Return Policy 
*Protect Your Investment (expand for options)*



-$65.00 Instant
$139.99$74.99 








 CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B  Item #: N82E16820145345Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
-$5.00 Instant
$79.99$74.99 








Open Box:  ASRock P67 EXTREME6 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard  Item #: N82E16813157231RReturn Policy: Open Box Refund Only Return Policy
-$80.00 Instant
$219.99$139.99 








 Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K  Item #: N82E16819115072Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy 
*Protect Your Investment (expand for options)*




$219.99 










  Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K  Item #: N82E16819115072Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy 

*Protect Your Investment (expand for options)*
  CORSAIR H80 (CWCH80) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler  Item #: N82E16835181016Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

​ Image Gallery 









*EVGA GeForce GTX 480* 

1536MB Memory
PCI-E 2.0 16x
700Mhz GPU Clock Speed
3696Mhz Memory Clock Speed
NVIDIA SLI ready


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Asus or Gigabyte are the better Mobo choices for good quality/reliability.
SeaSonic-XFX-Corsair for a top quality PSU to power/protect your investment.
4GB (2X2) is more than enough RAM for any game and most all apps and you avoid the possible problems with 4GB sticks.
Liquid cooling offers no advantage for normal use. Air is just as efficient and no concerns over leakage/damage.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

See if there is a Microcenter store in your area> Micro Center - Intel Core i5 2500K LGA 1155 Boxed Processor 179648

They currently have a good discount deal for a MB and CPU purchase.
I shy away from open box deals sometimes they work out other times not.


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## ddrnick (Jul 23, 2011)

Going liquid cooling because I plan on OCing the i5-2500k to ~4.7


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## Proxyman (May 30, 2011)

The price you will pay for having to deal with a bad open box purchase is more than the savings you think you are going to get. There's a reason why it's "Open Box". Someone else went through the trouble of purchasing it, having it shipped to them and they went to trouble of paying to ship it back for a reason. Personally, I think NewEgg uses "Open Box" purchases in order to verify that hardware is bad. If it comes back twice, then it's bad.


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## ddrnick (Jul 23, 2011)

Actually now i'm thinking about 
*Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler
* instead


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## hhnq04 (Mar 19, 2008)

Same sentiments as already expressed by Tyree and wrench.
Prefer the Noctua over the Corsair.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

If you want to push the CPU that high best to look at a top of the line Motherboard to handle the current needed> http://www.newegg.com/Productcompare


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## Proxyman (May 30, 2011)

OCing is a waste of time and money, IMO. Work a few days extra, and simply purchase the added performance with cold, hard cash. It will be cheaper in the longer run, then spending money and time trying to make hardware function outside it's specs. Water cooling is dangerous also, especially for a 1st timer. Makes no sense to me to overclock an i5 with water cooling, when you could simply buy a top-of-the-line i7.

CPU power isn't the bottleneck anymore anyways. Video is where the performance edge is.


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## ddrnick (Jul 23, 2011)

This is my new updated setup.

LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer - Bulk - 24X DVD+R
$20.99

COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$69.99

Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply 
$69.99

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ
$36.99

Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler
$79.99

Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CT040G3K5 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive
$99.99

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

GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD4-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$159.99

EVGA 01G-P3-1561-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$179.99


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

I would replace the Antec PSU. When Antec was made by Seasonic they were good PSU's, but now they are produced by Delta Group whom make many of the OEM computers power supplies. We all know the low quality of OEM power supplies. I would replace with a 750w XFX or Corsair TX, AX and HX units.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Some of the High Current Gamer Series Antecs are made by SeaSonic but that one is a Delta unit.
Spend the extra $25 now for the XFX or Corsair to insure top quality.


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## ddrnick (Jul 23, 2011)

Amd_Man said:


> I would replace the Antec PSU. When Antec was made by Seasonic they were good PSU's, but now they are produced by Delta Group whom make many of the OEM computers power supplies. We all know the low quality of OEM power supplies. I would replace with a 750w XFX or Corsair TX, AX and HX units.


You mean something like Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply ?


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## ddrnick (Jul 23, 2011)

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply I mean


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

ddrnick said:


> Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply I mean


That is an excellent PSU.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Both 750 Earth Watt models are also made by Delta. 



Tyree said:


> Spend the extra $25 now for the XFX or Corsair to insure top quality.


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

Tyree said:


> Some of the High Current Gamer Series Antecs are made by SeaSonic but that one is a Delta unit.
> Spend the extra $25 now for the XFX or Corsair to insure top quality.


Not any more Tyree. I just rechecked and all the recent build high current models appear to be made by Delta Group. It's sad that they can't stick with a good manufacture instead of switching constantly.


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## Timer5 (Dec 13, 2009)

hey man go with the Corsair one. I have the 650W unit and it has been running perfectly for about 2 years now. Corsair is one of the best companies for Power Supply Units I know this from experience.


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

Timer5 said:


> hey man go with the Corsair one. I have the 650W unit and it has been running perfectly for about 2 years now. Corsair is one of the best companies for Power Supply Units I know this from experience.


Not all Corsair PSu's are top quality. The TX, HX and AX are there top units. The Gaming and builders series while not junk are not the same top quality as the above models.


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## Timer5 (Dec 13, 2009)

Why is the quality lower for the gaming series.


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

They are not made by Seasonic.


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## Proxyman (May 30, 2011)

Timer5 said:


> Why is the quality lower for the gaming series.


You want the real truth?

Because "Gamers" are general young, and generally dumb. They don't understand or care about true performance; what they care about is flashy bright colors and something that really looks FAST. Obviously this is not true for all gamers, but it's true enough that you need to question the quality of any hardware that has some kind of "gamer" label, because frequently the word "gamer" on hardware means substandard crap that people that are mezmerized by flashing lights will pay too much money for.


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

The gamer series are not crap by any means. They're just not as high quality as the TX, HX and AX models. Every computer hardware manufacture has their upper, middle and lower tier products. It's what one chooses that makes the difference.


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## David Mo (Jun 27, 2011)

The TX, HX and AX components are made by Seasonic. That is the difference. I would not trust the Gamer Series cheaper components.

Look at the warranties of the different series of PSU's. This is an indication of how much Corsair trusts the reliability of each.


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

I believe that I already said that thos are made by seasonic in a earlier post.. I wouldn't run the gamer series in my gamer computer, but my surfing and office computer I would.


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## ddrnick (Jul 23, 2011)

LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer - Bulk - 24X DVD+R
$20.99

COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 
$89.99

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply 
$109.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL
$36.99

Thermalright U120eXtrem1366RT R-C 120mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler
$59.99

Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CT040G3K5 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
$99.99

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

GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD4-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard 
$159.99 after combo discount

EVGA 01G-P3-1561-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$179.99

BTW Here is where I am right now. Right on budget unless anyone has more suggestions.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Save some money and drop the SSD. They are very overpriced at this time and offer little more than faster boot times.


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## ddrnick (Jul 23, 2011)

LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer - Bulk - 24X DVD+R
$20.99

COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 
$89.99

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply 
$109.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL
$36.99

Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler
$79.99

Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 
$116.49

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

ASUS P8P67 Deluxe (Rev 3) LGA 1155 Motherboard
$159.99 after combo discount

EVGA 01G-P3-1561-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$179.99

Final thoughts? I think this is looking pretty good. Might buy tomorrow.


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

That looks grood to me. I use the CM690II case and it's a good case. I put a 120mm fan on the bottom too that draws cool air in. I also use the TX 750 PSU and it powers everything flawlessly. You should be happy with that setup. Good luck with the build. :smile:


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