# Guidance? Looking to shave a few $$ on new Rig.



## Mrwirez (Nov 5, 2005)

Hello TSF, I love this website! 
I'm about to replace an old AMD Athlon I built about 10 years ago [I know]... It became my wife's everyday computer about 4 years ago. It is now DEAD with a _permanent_ *BSOD*. Anyway, I need to built a computer for my wife AND my boys to play some games on. [11 and 13 years old].

*This new computer will be used for:*

-_Multitasking Work_, MS office, Heavy Internet, Email, 
-_Light_ Video Editing, Video Chat, Skype
-_Casual to Moderate_ Gaming, Minecraft, etc.. 

Here is the list I've been working off of from: *Want to Build a New Intel or AMD System / Revised 2012 and updated regularly - Tech Support Forum*. 
I have been out of the game of building for a LONG time. I had to research for days to see whats out there. I like this list but, If at all possible I would like to shave off $100 to $200 somewhere if at all possible. I just got laid off 2 weeks ago... 

*$1000.00 Intel Spec* 

-Motherboard: Motherboard- ASUS P8P67 Pro - LGA 1155 Intel [email protected] $169.99
-CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K SandyBridge 3.3GHz - [email protected] $229.99
-Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 6950 GV-R695OC-1GD PCI Express__ @ $239.99
-Ram: G.Skill RipJaws 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 [email protected] $29.99
-Case: COOLER MASTER ELITE 430______________________________ @ $49.99
-Power Supply: XFX 650W Core Edition PRO650W ([email protected] $89.99
-DVD-R Drive: LG Black 24X DVD & CD SATA Model [email protected] $18.99
-CPU Cooler: Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro [email protected] $34.98
-Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 500 GB [email protected] $129.99

*Subtotal: $993.89*​
I would really like to stay with an Intel Processor this build.
*QUESTION* How would these parts work instead?

-Intel Core i5-2400 SandyBridge [email protected]$189.99 SAVE $40
-ASUS P8Z68-V LE LGA 1155 Intel Z68_______________________________________________ @$129.99 SAVE $40
-SAPPHIRE 100314-3L Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 [email protected] $169.99 SAVE $70
all from Newegg.com

*NEW Subtotal:* $843.89 ?


*Any* _thoughts, suggestions, or recommendations,_ would be *VERY HELPFUL* Are these parts I picked OK?? I know I cant Over Clock with the intel Core i5 2400

Thank You, 
Jim [Mrwirez]


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

You would be just fine saving some cash by getting an AMD cpu/mobo. FX-4100 for only $110, and the 6-core version FX-6100 is only $150 if you want more multitasking.

Newegg.com - AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4100WMGUSBX
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
About $120 cheaper

Not that the i5-2400 is a big waste (it is a noticeably faster processor), but the difference between "fast" and "faster" is not always worth the money. Every normal user seems to agree that the FX-4100 feels like a very fast processor. It's up to your personal preference. It would still be worlds better than the old Athlon build haha I highly doubt your wife & kids would complain.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Your substitutions will be fine and kudos on taking the time to research.


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

If you do not intend to overclock your system by more than a few %, you may drop the A-C Freezer pro cooler and use the stock Intel cooler included with the processor.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Good catch gcavan!


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## Mrwirez (Nov 5, 2005)

*Thanks for helping. My head is swimming... haha*

_SAPPHIRE 100314-3L Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card_

Since I can't over clock the i5 2400 anyway. Is this Video card OK?
I just noticed this has AMD chipsets... Does that matter? Also, I won't be needing CrossFireX Support... So, would a different Video card be a smarter buy? ... I like all the connectors the better cards have.. 

Would a better CPU fan/cooler be better than stock though? a cheaper one than in the list??


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Intel Mobo chipsets have no compatibility issues with AMD/ATI GPU chipsets.
Wise choice on no SLI/Crossfire.
The OEM CPU heatsink/fan is quite sufficient if no OC'ing is involved.


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## Mrwirez (Nov 5, 2005)

I can get this combo for *$145.98 15%* off today...

-ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

*bundled* with:

-1x Kingston HyperX Grey Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin 

I guess it's ok


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

ASRock's extreme series are very good quality motherboards at competitive prices but the company has lackluster customer service. ASUS and Gigabyte are excellent at both quality and customer service but usually cost more.


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

Mrwirez said:


> I can get this combo for *$145.98 15%* off today...
> 
> -ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
> 
> ...


I would stay away from that board. It's build quality is less than stellar when compared to Asus or Gigabyte. See below for a review I read on it. It's the gen 4 but basicly the same build quality.

HARDOCP - Introduction - ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Motherboard Review


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

Amd_Man said:


> HARDOCP - Introduction - ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Motherboard Review


I would disregard that review's section on overclocking. Other user reviews reported that overclocking was very easy with this board, so it seems that the reviewer just got a defective board. And being a poor option for 3-way SLI/Crossfire is hardly a disadvantage.

ASUS and Gigabyte would definitely be better boards, still. I'd go with the ASRock only if it was significantly cheaper for the features you need.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Saving a few dollars now is fine but using top quality components with reliable support pays off in long term.
Personally, I would stay with your original use of the $1000 Intel build using your substitutions.


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## Mrwirez (Nov 5, 2005)

First of all I want TO THANK ALL OF YOU GUYS for taking time out and helping a guy out. I think I'm gonna go and order some parts in the AM. I have couple more things to check out. I'll post accordingly. _Also... _

-*I also can't believe how much a 500Gb HDD went up!! :facepalm: *

-Instead of the WD Caviar Black 500 GB 6Gb/s, I was thinking about buying this until I can afford a SSD. *-OR-* Until prices fall back to earth Any Recommendations?? I can't tell any difference..

[email protected] $99 Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

[email protected] $119 Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

[email protected] $89 Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive ... Yoi


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

toothman said:


> I would disregard that review's section on overclocking. Other user reviews reported that overclocking was very easy with this board, so it seems that the reviewer just got a defective board. And being a poor option for 3-way SLI/Crossfire is hardly a disadvantage.
> 
> ASUS and Gigabyte would definitely be better boards, still. I'd go with the ASRock only if it was significantly cheaper for the features you need.


I didn't put the review there for overclocking purposes. I would never advise anyone to overclock without guiding them. If you had read it you would have seen that the over all construction is poor. The PCB is very thin which means fragile and the board warps easily because of that. Please read the review fully before you dismiss my posts.


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## Mrwirez (Nov 5, 2005)

I'm 99% sure I'm buying the Asus MB. Still pokin' around some. I think I'll order in the AM..
My retinas are burned out from my monitor.. :Wow1:


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

You can't go wrong with Asus boards. It's good though that you're doing your research before you make purchases.


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

Amd_Man said:


> I didn't put the review there for overclocking purposes. I would never advise anyone to overclock without guiding them. If you had read it you would have seen that the over all construction is poor. The PCB is very thin which means fragile and the board warps easily because of that. Please read the review fully before you dismiss my posts.


I didn't mean to dismiss your post. I meant only exactly what I stated, including the conclusion. Sorry it came across that way.

@Mwirez: Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive <-- a little cheaper and should be fine


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

It's no big deal. My point of the article was to show that Asrock are not the greatest in quality. A near top of the line board should be of higher quality is the point of that article. I myself don't want a 150 dollar board that feels like it's going to break in half when installing a graphics card.


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

If my board fries, I'm going to subject it to stress tests to get a feel for just how much pressure I can put on a mobo before it's damaged. My bet would be that these flimsy-feeling boards can actually bend at least far enough to touch the backplate, meaning generally you can't snap your board with your video card. I'm totally not sure on that one, and it still scares me half to death just to put RAM in its socket lol.


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

I was exaggerating the point!


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

Amd_Man said:


> I was exaggerating the point!


yea I'm just BSing at this point


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

toothman said:


> yea I'm just BSing at this point


I hear yeah! Anyways we should get back on topic. lol


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## Mrwirez (Nov 5, 2005)

Can any of you guys tell me if you think this SuperCombo from Newegg is better, worse, or about the same as my initial post?? It is a couple bucks less than my expected price of around $818.99

Storm Enforcer Core i5-2500K/GTX 560Ti Gaming SuperCombo.

HERE: Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Replace the PSU with a good quality 750W and it's a good build.
Cases are a personal choice but that one has a door and window. Doors break easily and are usually not repairable. Windows scratch easily and become very unattractive quickly.


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

But then it's a combo no more lol unfortunately it's not worth saving a little to get a weaker PSU.

Until the end of today, though, Corsair PSUs are 15% off. $89.24 for this 750w unit with free shipping:
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
If you need a 750w it should be worth just picking that up right now and buying the rest of computer separately when you've made a final decision.


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## Mrwirez (Nov 5, 2005)

toothman said:


> But then it's a combo no more lol unfortunately it's not worth saving a little to get a weaker PSU.
> 
> Until the end of today, though, Corsair PSUs are 15% off. $89.24 for this 750w unit with free shipping:
> Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
> If you need a 750w it should be worth just picking that up right now and buying the rest of computer separately when you've made a final decision.


*@toothman @Tyree @Amd_Man...* You guys are the best. NO BS! I really appreciate all the help you have given me.. I had a 3 day crash course in all the new Technology.. :beerchug:

Yeah I don't want a combo.. today is A GOOD DAY for sales!! I slept on it and he is what I have so far.. Hard drive sale too!

Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-N560UD-1G GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more! -PSU & RAM combo.. so far @ $422.86 shipping included


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

Your welcome and that looks good to me.


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

Very nice deals. And I'm glad we could help.


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## Mrwirez (Nov 5, 2005)

Well... after looking for days, and going around in circles,trying to pinch a few pennies, my wife said get one that we can upgrade and keep for a long time. I did learn a a lot of new hardware products and designs. 

I said ***... and decided to just go for the $1000 kit. $150 less might be screwing down the line. I actually made some upgrades _[imo]_... to the power supply, motherboard, case and RAM.. I also _added_ a wireless Logitech mouse and keyboard.. So I feel good about my choices.. _The Combos really allowed me to make up some difference_ _Newegg rules too!_

*Grand Total: $995.03* With Shipping Included.. Slightly LESS *$* than the guide.. Not bad for under a Grand.. 


*HOWEVER... ARE THERE ANY SUGGESTIONS YOU GUYS WOULD MAKE TO MY PARTS LIST? How about WARRANTY solutions BEFORE I hit purchase? *


-*Intel Core i5-2550K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz* (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623i52550K
Item #: N82E16819115230
-*ASUS SABERTOOTH P67 (REV 3.0)* LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813131702
-$20.00 Instant
-$20.00 Combo
$459.98
*$419.98* 


*-LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner Black SATA* Model GH22NS90B - OEM
Item #: N82E16827136240
*$15.99*


-*COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1* Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811119233
-$10.00 Instant
-$10.00 Mail-in Rebate
$69.99
*$59.99*


-*Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM *SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822148767
*$84.99*


-*GIGABYTE GV-N560UD-1G GeForce GTX 560 Ti *(Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814125401
-$10.00 Instant
$219.99
*$209.99*


-*Logitech Wireless Combo MK260* 920-002950 Black USB RF Wireless Standard Keyboard and Mouse
Item #: N82E16823126197
-$3.00 Instant
$29.99
*$26.99*


-*ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2* 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler
Item #: N82E16835186134
-$5.00 Instant
$39.98
*$34.98*


-*CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W* ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power ...
Item #: N82E16817139021
-*CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) *240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B
Item #: N82E16820145345
-$40.00 Instant
-$15.00 Combo
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$189.98
*$134.98*


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

looks solid, one small change you could make is to pick the Hyper 212+ for your HSF over the Freezer 7.
Newegg.com - 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

Better and $5 cheaper. A little louder if that bothers you (not me).


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

For that motherboard to support that Cpu you will have to make sure the latest BIOS version (2103) is installed or the cpu may not be recognized.

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/SABERTOOTH_P67/#CPUS


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

Good catch. I would recommend simply getting the 2500k instead of the 2550k. They're literally the exact same processors except the 2550k has its integrated GPU removed/disabled, _supposedly_ increasing its overclock potential (which is why it ships out with .1ghz higher clock). Though your p67 motherboard is unable to use the integrated graphics, suppose sometime down the road you choose to upgrade to Ivy Bridge. The 2500k will be more resellable for its greater name recognition and additional functionality on boards that can support its integrated graphics.

Plus it's $10 cheaper and you won't need a BIOS update.
Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K


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## Mrwirez (Nov 5, 2005)

toothman said:


> Good catch. I would recommend simply getting the 2500k instead of the 2550k. They're literally the exact same processors except the 2550k has its integrated GPU removed, _supposedly_ increasing its overclock potential (which is why it ships out with .1ghz higher clock). Though your p67 motherboard is unable to use the integrated graphics, suppose sometime down the road you choose to upgrade to Ivy Bridge. The 2500k will be more resellable for its greater name recognition and additional functionality on boards that can support its integrated graphics.
> 
> Plus it's $10 cheaper and you won't need a BIOS update.
> Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K



-Yeah, I did catch it.. Whew! I was going over it and spotted it... Still looking for a good Mo-board.. What would you recommend as a good match for around $130? My head hurtz... Lol 

-What do you do as a warranty on all these separate parts??


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
10% off at the moment. Has everything you need and then some. Plus, with the 2500k's integrated GPU, you'll have a backup GPU in case you have video card problems.


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## Mrwirez (Nov 5, 2005)

What do these tech sites like to put on the top of these threads?? *[Solved]... !*

I ordered my parts... NOW the waiting game. I ended up getting the i5 2500k and the recommended Motherboard. Awesome site!

Thanks a lot for helping..


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