PC Build ~ $1k

[kenjay]

Hi everyone. Been browsing through the forums trying to soak in as much information as I can, and I've put together a list of components that hopefully is a good fit. This will be my first PC build. It will be used mainly for: web surfing, 3D CAD modeling, Photoshop, Office, Itunes, movies. I don't see any major gaming in its future, but would like the possibility of a graphics card install in the future. Also need a nice monitor w/speakers to go along with it. Here's what I have:

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER GX Series RS650-ACAAE3-US 650W ATX12V v2.31 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9B

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD7502AAEX 750GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CT040G310 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - Internal SSD

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems

Newegg.com - ASUS VH236H Black 23" 2ms Full HD Widescreen LCD Monitor w/ Speakers 300 cd/m2 20000 :1 (ASCR)

This totals out to $1k after rebates on Newegg. I am OK with this amount. But if there's any blunders I've made that will allow me to cut costs, I'm all ears. And if I've missed anything, that'd be good to know too! The SSD would be used to run with the WD Caviar Black to cache.

Thoughts/advice/suggestions? Thanks everyone!
Ken

[Bronxbomber90]

I would recommend a bigger SSD, as far as with the CPU I think you could do fine with it or jump to I7 2600K.

I have this monitor and I love it I run it on DVI.
Newegg.com - Asus VE248H Black 24" 1920X1080 2ms Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers 250 cd/m2 10,000,000:1

The speakers are not so great but is pretty loud if you were in a solo office. I don't know what quality of speakers you looking for, or what are you going to use them for?

[glc]

For caching, that SSD is fine, the chipset can only cache up to 64gb.

I would get a better brand PSU.

Newegg.com - Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-620 620W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

You can save some bucks on the motherboard:

Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z68-V LE LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

[kenjay]

Thanks for the suggestion on power supply upgrade. Any issues with spending the extra $10 and going with the 750W version of the Antec HCG PSU? As far as the MOBO goes, are there any features on the V Pro that I'll end up wishing I had if I switch to the lower model?

[glc]

No issues with the 750, but even the 620 is more power than you need for anything except a high end dual GPU gaming card. Without a video card, we usually recommend about a 400 watt unit. Seasonic, Corsair (not CX or GS), and Antec (Earthwatts, HCG) are generally our recommended brands.

What you can do is use the Newegg comparison feature to compare motherboard features side-by-side. You could also add the P8Z68-V to the comparison.

[Bronxbomber90]

Originally Posted by glc For caching, that SSD is fine, the chipset can only cache up to 64gb. I would get a better brand PSU. Newegg.com - Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-620 620W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply You can save some bucks on the motherboard: Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z68-V LE LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

So if I was to add an upgrade to my system a 120GB SSD it wouldn't make sense?

[glc]

Originally Posted by Bronxbomber90 So if I was to add an upgrade to my system a 120GB SSD it wouldn't make sense?

If you have a Z68 board and all you want the SSD for is to cache your main hard drive, correct. If you want to use the SSD as a standalone drive for your OS and apps, then you probably should get a larger one.

[Bronxbomber90]

Yea basically my SSD would be my main master drive OS and apps.

[kenjay]

What is a good graphics card $100 or less that will go well with this setup?

I looked up these three, which all seemed rather decent.

Newegg.com - HIS H467QR1GH Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100326DDR3L Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

Newegg.com - HIS H667FS1G Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

Any advice or other suggestions?

Thanks!
Ken

[glc]

Tom's Hardware rates the 6670 as the best $100 card, but it's not really much of an upgrade over a 5670.

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100289-2L Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

If your software can take advantage of Nvidia's CUDA processing:

Newegg.com - ASUS ENGT440/DI/1GD5 GeForce GT 440 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

[kenjay]

Thanks glc. Went with the Sapphire that you suggested above. Should have all my parts in by Friday to build this machine up.