# My Dream Computer I Would Like To Build



## pcdoctor2 (Dec 13, 2011)

Hello Everyone:

This is the computer that I would like to build down the road. However by the time I would have the money to build it, I'm sure the hardware would have changed, but if I were to build this today, this is what I would do.

Case: Enermax Ostrog GT ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Acrylic See-Thru Side Panel ECA3280A-BL Black/Blue

Motherboard: Gigabyte Z87 LGA 1150 CrossFireX HDMI DVI ATX Motherboard (GA-Z87-D3HP) - I was originally going to go with an ASUS motherboard, but lately finding out that gigabyte is the most used motherboard now a days compared to ASUS and not only that, the ASUS board I was thinking about at first is a socket 1155 board and socket 1155 is phasing out.

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K Quad-Core Desktop Processor 3.5 GHZ 8 MB Cache BX80646I74770K - I do not intend to overclock whatsoever.

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC 2GB GDDR5 PCI-Express 3.0 DVI-I/DVI-D/HDMI/Displayport SLI Ready Graphics Card GV-N660OC-2GD - I was originally thinking about going with the Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 WF 3X GHz Edition 3GB GDDR5 PCI-Express 3.0 DVI-I/HDMI/2x mini-DP Crossfire Ready Graphics Card GV-R797TO-3GD however, that card is very expensive, I don't plan to be an extreme gamer and it takes up lot of power which would mean that I would have to buy a larger power supply and searching for a power supply for this video card, it would cost quite a bit more money.

Power Supply: Seasonic S12 II Bronze 620W 80Plus Power Supply

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3 Memory Kit for Core i3, i5, i7 and Platforms SDRAM CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 - I thought about going with 16 GB of memory at first, but I think 8 will be enough to start out with.

Hard Drives:

1. Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 256 GB SATA 6GB/s Solid State Drive MZ-7PD256BW

2. Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HDD SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST1000DM003

The SSD would be used for my operating system and games and other stuff while the 1 TB would be my storage drive and may put my game and software setup files on this.

Eventually when the budget permits, I would purchase another solid state drive, add a few more case fans to the computer or change out the fans that do not have lights to have the blue lights since it is my favorite color. I will be installing Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit edition on this computer too. I would use this computer for games such as the sims 2, sims 3, sims 4 when it comes out, grand theft auto 4 and 5 when and if it comes out for the computer, second life and more. I also would do basic e-mail, internet and other office work on this machine too since it would replace my main computer too. I also plan to install video editing software on the computer to edit my videos with too.

I would like to know what you think of this build and if there are ways I could go a little cheaper too. I want to not spend as much money as possible.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Change the case to either Cooler Master, NZXT, Corsair or Antec for better quality.

Change the GPU to either EVGA or Asus branded.

The rest looks fine.

Adding two SSDs will be pointless as you won't need it and they can be expensive. One is more than enough.

You really shouldn't be coming to us until you are ready to buy as parts will change in months to come.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

"Down the road", depending on how far down, things might change so it would be better to post when you have the funds to build.
The components, as listed, are good quality.
8GB of RAM is more than plenty for normal use. If you plan on doing very serious video editing, 16GB might be warranted.


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## talon4x4 (Aug 31, 2004)

You could save yourself several hundred dollars by going with AMD. I know everyone has their favorites but if your on a tight budget AMD will easily handle the games you mentioned. My rig is a couple years old now but my AMD 1090T Black Edition, Asus M4A89GTD motherboard and XFX 6950 GPU can handle games like BF3 and Crysis 2 at the ultra settings on a 24" LCD and still give me great FPS. Not sure how well it will handle BF4 but I'll know in a month.


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## pcdoctor2 (Dec 13, 2011)

OK Then:

For the video card, what are your opinions on this one?

Amazon.com: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 SIGNATURE2 3072MB GDDR5 DVI mHDMI DP Graphics Card 03G-P4-2667-KR: Computers & Accessories

What is the difference between the EVGA card and this card?

Amazon.com: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 WF 3X GHz Edition 3GB GDDR5 PCI-Express 3.0 DVI-I/HDMI/2x mini-DP Crossfire Ready Graphics Card GV-R797TO-3GD: Computers & Accessories

Also, would you prefer I stay away from overclocked and super clocked cards?


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Well one is NVidia and the other is AMD.

You'll get a better card from the EVGA model.


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## pcdoctor2 (Dec 13, 2011)

so the evga one would probably good for the games I play as well as some video editing I would need to do as well? The prices between the EVGA card and the Gigabyte HD 7970 card are rather substantial and I'm thinking that the EVGA has something the Gigabyte doesn't have and I can't figure it out.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

AMD GPUs are typically always more expensive as they don't have as much market share.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

The 7970 is the better performer but that comes with added cost.
Sapphire or Asus would be a better brand choice for an AMD GPU. 

http://www.hwcompare.com/13146/geforce-gtx-660-ti-vs-radeon-hd-7970/


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## pcdoctor2 (Dec 13, 2011)

OK Thank you:

Here are some updates to the build:

I changed the case to this:
Corsair Enthusiast Series CP-9020039-NA650W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular High Performance Power Supply

I removed the solid state drive and went with this hard drive instead:
Western Digital WD1002FAEX Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Internal Desktop 3.5" Hard Drive

Video Card:
EVGA GeForce GTX 660 SIGNATURE2 3072MB GDDR5 DVI mHDMI DP Graphics Card 03G-P4-2667-KR 

Power Supply:
[URL="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005E98FVS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER"]Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 750 Watt ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS Bronze (TX750M)[/URL]

All in this case:
Corsair Carbide Series 200R Compact ATX Case CC-9011023-WW
The other case while I really like it, I've read that it has a couple major flaws with it and I can't really find a good windowed case I want to use with Neon Blue lighting for the fans.

Otherwise, everything else is the same with the build.

Total cost so far is $1141.76 if everything is ordered from amazon.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

If you want a window case with blue LEDs then this will be the case for you:

Amazon.com: NZXT Guardian 921 RB ATX Mid Tower Case, Black 921RB-001-BL: Electronics

Your also going to want this power supply:

Amazon.com: XFX ATX 550 Power Supply - P1550SXXB9: Electronics

I own that case and love it.


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## pcdoctor2 (Dec 13, 2011)

While that case does look nice, it however does not have any USB 3.0 ports on it which is something I am looking for.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

The motherboard will have some USB 3.0 ports on it.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Cases are a personal choice and the Carbide, while lacking flash/bling, is well built and a good value.
Definitely go with SeaSonic-XFX-Antec (HCG Series only)for a PSU to insure quality and reliability.


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## pcdoctor2 (Dec 13, 2011)

I also do not want case doors either. As for the case, I may go with either the Corsair 200r or the 500r, but leaning more towards the 200r if I find something better since I've been reading some bad stuff about the 500r.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Good decision on a case without doors. There are no doors on the Carbide case you linked to in Post #10.
The 500r has a big fan on the side and that can be more of a problem than helpful.


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## pcdoctor2 (Dec 13, 2011)

As of right now, this is what I want to do:

Case: Corsair Carbide 200R if it ever goes back in stock

Motherboard: Still deciding, but want an ASUS board. I was thinking of going with the following motherboard, but I'm hearing that there's a lot of problems with installing drivers on it.
ASUS Z87-PLUS 

CPU: Intel Core I7-4770

Hard Drive: Western Digital 1TB Black Edition but might change that since it's now supposedly discontinued.

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB

The power supply I intend to move to the new machine which is in my current machine. It's an XFX Core Edition 650 Watt and the video card I may move over, but if I don't, I may go with the evga 3 GB video card.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Tyree said:


> 8GB of RAM is more than plenty for normal use. If you plan on doing very serious video editing, 16GB might be warranted.


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## pcdoctor2 (Dec 13, 2011)

I do want to do a bit of video editing in the future once I can afford to get good video editing software. I want to make tutorial videos related to computers in the future.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

If your going heavy video editing then 16GB will make sense but if its only a few videos here or there then 8GB is enough.


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## pcdoctor2 (Dec 13, 2011)

One problem I'm having on my current computer as of lately is that I play a virtual world called second life and I Have 8 GB of DDR2 RAM in the computer and I've been getting some low or out of memory errors which are occuring. I'm on Win 7 Home Premium, Intel Core 2 DUO e8400 at 3 GHZ, 2 GB Video Card from Gigabyte and I'm not sure why this is happening.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Well upgrading from DDR2 to DDR3 will make a difference.

A new PC will be much faster then what you have now.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

pcdoctor2 said:


> I do want to do a bit of video editing in the future once I can afford to get good video editing software. I want to make tutorial videos related to computers in the future.


8GB should be fine for that use. If/when you get software to "in the future" for video editing you can add RAM if needed.


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## pcdoctor2 (Dec 13, 2011)

I'm back to looking around for a different computer case since one of them I want has been out of stock and at first I thought the one I wanted was nice looking and it still is, it is very heavy, the fan filter is on top rather than the front of the case and it has a couple of other issues that would prevent me from buying it. If anyone is curious, it's this case.

Newegg.com - RAIDMAX Vampire ATX-001WBTi Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case

I would like to try and not spend anymore than $120 on a case, but if I can spend much less on one, that would be great.

A windowed case is a plus, but not a requirement. I do however want blue LED lit fans in it. It would be nice if the lights could be turned off and on with a switch as well as be able to adjust the speed, but not a requirement.

I would prefer that the case has front USB 3.0 ports too, but if it doesn't, I will purchase a USB Hub/Card Reader and I have one in mind to purchase should this be needed.

Amazon.com: Rosewill 5.25-Inch 2 Port USB 3.0/4 Port USB 2.0 Hub/eSATA Multi-In-1 Internal Card Reader (RDCR-11004): Computers & Accessories

I don't want a real funky looking case or something that has a door either please.

Thanks


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

corsair cases are good so are antec and coolermaster.

I have a corsair 600T


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

In the over $100 price range, I would would seriously consider another brand.
Any mentioned by greenbrucelee are good quality.

Note: case windows get scratched and become unsightly very easily.


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## pcdoctor2 (Dec 13, 2011)

When it comes to RAM, what is the difference between dual channel RAM and single channel?

Which is better and why?


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Dual channel is when the system runs two identical pairs of RAM at the same side.

Single channel is when you run RAM with one stick of memory.

Typically dual channel is the best since most motherboards like dual channel memory.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Dual Channel Mode improves performance. RAM should always install RAM in matched pairs to avoid problems.


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

There is no such thing as 'dual channel RAM'. 'Dual Channel' is a mode of operation.
When two (or more) DIMMs are installed with a CPU and motherboard which supports it the memory controller is able to read and/or write to both DIMMs at the same time.

Though having identical pairs of DIMMs is recommended, and will usually yield best results, it is not required to be so. Mismatched modules (in brand, capacity, and speed) will usually run perfectly well in dual channel mode.


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## pcdoctor2 (Dec 13, 2011)

I know it's been a while since posts have been made here. I still haven't built my new computer yet, but I have a question in regards to the Corsair 500r. Why do you say that the big side fan can be more of a problem them beneficial? I definitely would need a case that offers plenty of cooling.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

because air coming in from the front and the side can sort of create a vortex which keeps the air trapped inside the case therefor making it warmer.

air should come in the front and go out the back and/or top.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

The problem with the side fan I see is that it is working counter to the hsf because it should blow the opposite way whereas the hsf is blowing air on the cpu to cool it so they fight each other.
I realize this is an old post when it started but I never saw it and I love your Enermax case you started with. It is classy looking, great quality and I have yet to see 4 usb ports available in the front on any other case which is awesome. Enermax is a great brand that used to command a lot more respect and even their psus are very well made also as they make their own and utilize Seasonic for some of them. Don't get me wrong I like Cooler Master cases but Raid Max, no not nearly the quality of Enermax in my book.


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## pcdoctor2 (Dec 13, 2011)

I may consider this for my computer case:

Thermaltake Commander G41/Black/Win/SECC Black SPCC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (CA-1B4-00M1WN-00) - Newegg.com


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

Thermaltake are great cases and that and Cooler Master I use more than any other brand.
That looks nice too but the Enermax you started with I much prefer and in fact I am going to try one of those for my next build. With the 4 external usb ports I can take a usb hub off my desk which is always in the way when I am doing something on this desk!


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## pcdoctor2 (Dec 13, 2011)

In regards to the enermax case, where do you mount a solid state drive? I don't appear to see a place for that.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

best cases in my opinion are corsair, Antec and coolermaster


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

Most cases you have to add a mounting bracket which just slides right in. This one holds 2 ssd drives.
ICY DOCK EZ-Fit Lite MB290SP-B 2 x 2.5” to 3.5” Drive Bay SATA/IDE SSD/HDD Mounting Kit / Bracket / Adapter - Newegg.com


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## pcdoctor2 (Dec 13, 2011)

OK everyone. Here are the tenative build plans as of right now.

Case: One of four possibilities:
1. Corsair Carbide Series 200R. Would be a good case, but one thing I don't like about it is that where the front fans are, it seems like there's no ventilation holes on the front of the case. But otherwise, I really like the fact that SSD's slide in very easy without having to take out drive cages and has an excellent toolless design for the 5.25 drives.
Corsair Carbide Series 200R Compact ATX Case CC-9011023-WW: Computers & Accessories
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...X Case CC-9011023-WW: Computers & Accessories


2. Corsair Carbide Series 500R. I was really thinking about going with this case until I found out and I don't know if it's really true or not that having both front air intake fans and the side air intake fan can actually cause problems. But what I really like about that case is that there's a lot of room to work inside it, and the right side panel would be easier to close if I do a decent cable management job. (I am not good at tieing ties.) But it is the most expensive case at roughly $130. Also, I've read that in some reviews, the fan color is white, and others it's blue.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...er Computer Case (CC-9011012-WW): Electronics


3. Enermax Ostrog GT ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Acrylic See-Thru Side Panel ECA3280A-BL Black/Blue. What I really like about this case is the two brightly lid Blue LED fans. However, in some of the reviews I have read, it can be very difficult to plug in the CPU connector from the power supply since the motherboard covers quite a bit of the hole. Also, I would have to buy a special adapter to mount an SSD since there does not appear to be a place to mount an SSD. I don't know if the lights could be turned off either.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00BKX760S//ref=nosim/viglink21670-20]Amazon.com:

4. Thermaltake Commander G41/Black/Win/SECC Black SPCC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (CA-1B4-00M1WN-00). Looks like a really good case and has a lot of room for working inside the computer, but from the reviews I'm reading, there's only one front fan and one rear fan and the lighting isn't that bright in it. I don't know if the lights could be turned off either. Not only that, there seems to be problems with the front USB 3.0 ports on this case as they sometimes do not work according to reviews.
]Thermaltake Commander G41/Black/Win/SECC Black SPCC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (CA-1B4-00M1WN-00) - Newegg.com

Motherboard: ASUS Z97-A ATX DDR3 2600 LGA 1150 Motherboards Z97-A or the ASUS ATX DDR3 2600 LGA 1150 Motherboards Z97-PRO (Wi-Fi AC). I'm not sure what the -A means and I'm not exactly sure of which board is good for gaming and eventual video editing.

CPU: Intel Core i7 4790

RAM: Ultimately, I want 16 GB of RAM, and I was going to go with the Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB 2x8GB DDR3 2400MHz PC3 19200 Desktop, Red CMY16GX3M2A2400C11R but I'm also being told that with what I plan to do which is play on the 2nd life virtual world, Play sims and sim city games, xbox games and others until I do serious video editing, I could get away with just 8 GB of RAM. So I would go with the same kind of RAM only 8 GB in 2 4 GB sticks.

Hard drive: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E500B/AM) - This would be the drive I install my operating systems on and for storage, I eventually plan to put in a mechanical 2 TB hard drive.

Video Card and Power Supply would come from my current computer. Power Supply is an XFX Core 650watt PS which was a recommended part from this site. and the video card is a 2 GB Gigabyte Geforce 660.

Optical drive will be a standard DVD RW drive I pulled out of another computer.

Let me know of your thoughts or what I could do to put in good quality parts at cheaper prices.


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## pcdoctor2 (Dec 13, 2011)

OK for some reason, the links aren't posting right, and I tried editing them, but passed the 15 minute time limit.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

I'll fix the links for you... here is how I see it. I don't like the 200 Corsair case at all it's dull and cheap looking. All 3 others have a lot to offer. The Thermaltake is very sleek and elegant as is the Corsair 500 but I still like the Enermax the best. I wish more cases had 4 Usb front ports, it makes so much sense.

My only problem with all of them, and I am not trying to get you off on a tangent is for myself now I only use white cases. I have had two of them in 3 years and never once dusted either of them. But that is me! Black cases I found I had to dust 3 times a week.It might be because of my fur bearing best friend who sits in my avatar but so be it!


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