Building a new computer

[iBlackSunday]

So I currently have between $1000 and $1500 to blow on a PC. I am not 100% set on 'NO MORE THAN $1500'. If I need to hit $1700 to make everything work together perfectly, no problem. I'm talking building everything from scratch. New case, new motherboard, possible liquid-cooling. I don't know much about hardware but I do know how to put everything together, since I have frankensteined quite a few in the past 4 years. I really want a quick PC that does everyday tasks with some 'World of Warcraft', 'RIFT' gaming involved. I work pretty much 12 hours a day and don't have much time to sit and play computer games for hours on end.

I want something that is going to play games at a decent speed, but nothing to crazy. I'm only running a 20 inch Asus Back Lit LED computer monitor. Possibly looking to upgrade the monitor.

With RAM, to my understanding, 4gb will do just fine for the new few years, which is why I don't really need any more than 4gb. Possibly 8gb max if you feel the need to throw it in there to make the PC run quicker.

When it comes to CPU's and GPU's, I have no idea what goes together and what any of the technical terminology means. This is really where computers and hardware get very blurry to me.

Sound can be the crappiest card you can find me, I really don't care. I have tiny speakers in each corner of my desk, and they're really there for nothing more than the occasional youtube video.

For a PSU, I understand it has to be able to run all the components without going under the allotted Watts, this I will need some help on also.

I already have mouse, keyboard and all the essentials, just need a system now...

Now remember, I am looking to have this computer for a good 5 years, with some additions to it through-out those years. But I want to make it run quick, fast and be able to handle a decent amount of graphic intensive gaming when I first build it.

[ShyguyXPC]

Um, $1000-1500 is more than enough for what your describing.

As to Graphic intensive gaming, WoW And Rift are hardly graphic intensive, their actually pretty low end compared to real Graphic intensive games.


Skyrim, Crysis 2, Metro 2033, Battlefield 3, etc.



CPU: 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

Mobo: Newegg.com - ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU Cooler: Newegg.com - CORSAIR H80 (CWCH80) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

RAM: Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9

GPU: Newegg.com - 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

SSD: Newegg.com - Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F90GBGT-BK 2.5" 90GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

HDD: Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

ODD: Newegg.com - LG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Drive Model UH12LS28 OEM LightScribe Support - Blu-Ray Drives

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

Case: Newegg.com - NZXT Crafted Series Tempest 410 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

LCD: Newegg.com - ASUS VS Series VS238H-P Black 23" 2ms HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 50,000,000:1

OS: Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems


Subtotal: $1,416.89

Grand Total: $1,522.62 after shipping,


and $45 worth of Mail In Rebates, drops it below the $1500 Budget.

May be a bit overkill, but we're talking 5 year expected lifespan here.

CPU is near top end Quad core, has Overclocking Options, with unlocked multipliers.

Watercooler kit for CPU, includes 2 fans for the radiator.

Case is a good cooling design, and includes USB 3.0 Header/ports to plug into USB 3.0 Header on motherboard.

Motherboard, has latest Intel Chipset, and supports PCI Express 3.0 bandwidth when using an Intel Ivy Bridge CPU (Sandy Bridge ones like the i5 2500 only support PCIe 2.0), Ivy Bridge should be coming out soon.

Also Mobo can use a SSD drive, up to 40GB in size as a caching drive for the regular Hard drives, Intel Smart Response Technology.

GPU should be more than what you need, but also with the motherboard, it supports Crossfire or SLI so you can add a 2nd GTX 560 Ti down the road if you want and run SLI mode.

Power Supply is powerful enough for the whole system even with 2 GPU's, though you'd need to use PCIe Power connector adapters since the PSU only has 2 (each card uses 2), but not a big issue.

RAM is rated for 1600Mhz Speed for Overclocking, and runs at that speed at stock DDR3 1.5 Voltage.

Corsair SSD has plenty of space for the OS, a couple games and frequent use Apps. or you could set up part of it for ISRT, and the rest of the OS.

Seagate HDD for installing software, games, saving data, etc.

Blu Ray DVD Combo Drive, Blu Ray reader, with DVD Burner.

Lacks Software to play BR discs/movies, but you can buy that separate if needed.

Cyberlink's software I think is one of the few reliable BR Reading programs out there.

1920x1080 23" LED Back Lit LCD Display for an upgraded Monitor.

Would of liked to have gone 24 inch or even 26 inch, but didn't want to go much over the budget.


Windows 7 Pro 64-bit. Went with Pro, since Windows 7 Home Premium, Ultimate and Basic all are planned to have no support after 2015, last I looked ( a couple days ago), Only Enterprise and Professional Versions will have support for a while longer after 2015 (2020). So with 5 years of use planned, figured better safe than sorry and pick Win 7 Pro instead.

Windows 7 editions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia





Overall, system is a bit overkill, but it should certainly last a good 5 years, the only things I can think of that may need replacing during that time span is maybe an upgraded CPU if needed. GPU upgrades, or Storage (SSD or HDD)

has good Upgrade potential with Ivy Bridge CPU Support, PCIe 3.0 capability, USB 3.0, SATA III 6Gbps ports, plenty of RAM Support (Windows 7 Pro also supports up to 192GB of RAM, Win 7 Home only goes up to 16GB max, even in 64-bit versions). Motherboard has overclocking abilities, and run the CPU faster than stock if needed.

[iBlackSunday]

I do like this setup and am planning on returning the Asus CM1730-01 computer on friday when I get paid to start building this new one. What are some small things I need to make sure to have before I start building. For instance, Thermal Paste? Screw drivers? Any special tools that would be good to have around in case I need them?

[ShyguyXPC]

Thermal Paste would be nice to have, but if you assemble the Heatsink on right the first time, should be no need for it (its already applied on the Heatsink/block for the Watercooler, I have the H60 model of that kit).

Otherwise, I'd look for a Tube of Shin Etsu x23 which is what the Heatsink/H80 kit uses on it.

Or you can opt for another Paste as well, Arctic Silver Ceramique 2, which might be good for a Newbie to building, its Non Conductive (electrically), so if in the case of you having to reapply the heatsink if you mess it up (clean off the old thermal paste and apply the new), the Ceramique would be good if you spilled a bit on the board, it won't short out any components like some of then Aluminum and Silver containing Pastes run a risk of.

With the Heatsink and the Paste, you'd only need a small BB sized bit in the center of the heatsink, and then apply heatsink and tighten down, as it will spread out evenly from pressure.

could also be handy to have some lint free cloths, and Rubbing/isopropyl Alcohol to clean off the thermal paste if needed. I usually just use coarse paper towels or gauze to clean it off, with the alcohol.

All screws for what you need should be included with the case, Motherboard, & H80 kit. Though you could buy a kit with extra screws in case you lose some down the road or run out of some.

I'd also recommend getting an anti-static wrist strap to prevent static discharge onto components (strap basically wraps on arm, and wire clamps to case to ground you).

You'll also want a Needle nose pliers or a bent nose needle nose pliers. And a Phillips head/cross head screw driver. Long and Short.

or like I have a Motorized one for most jobs, that can lock into place for manual use, but also have a long shaft bit, and a long shaft manual one as well.

sometimes using the needle nose to grab screws that fall into the case helps, it also helps sometimes to use it to sink screws into holes that you can get your hands into.


the screwdriver bit or shaft should also be magnetic to hold the screw, or pick them up as well.



Newegg.com - Rosewill RTK-002 Anti-Static Wrist Strap

Newegg.com - Rosewill RTK-045M 45-Piece Magnetic Computer Tool Kit

Newegg.com - Arctic Silver CMQ2-2.7G Céramique 2 Tri-Linear Ceramic Thermal Compound - Thermal Compound / Grease

This is the motorized Driver I have: Amazon.com: Black & Decker AS6NG Alkaline Cordless Screwdriver: Home Improvement

anything similar to it should be fine.

Its nice for speeding up things like screwing case side panels on and off, but most tasks inside the case, your going to want to use manual screw driver, so as to not shred or over tighten things too much too quickly.

[iBlackSunday]

Now seeing as how I am looking at working with this computer for the next 4 - 5 years, what would you suggest to put a warranty on? I was thinking of putting a 2 year warranty on anything that's 200$ or over, but again, I have no knowledge of what tends to burn out quicker than other things.

[ShyguyXPC]

Video card you don't have to, it has a 2 year warranty which should be plenty, in 2 years you may want to get a better one.

Originally I had a single GTX 570 which is a $330-340 range card, I selected the one with a Lifetime warranty.

that would stretch your budget even more. But just remember to register the card on EVGA's site.

as to Corsair Products, not sure on the SSD, but I know the coolers have a 5 year warranty, my H60 did anyways, the H80 should as well. From date of purchase.


The monitor has a 3 year warranty.

SSD has 3 year, HDD has 3 year also.

Motherboard has a 2 year, and CPU has a 3 year.

All the warranty Info for the parts is listed on the right hand side for each product in the Details tab on its page.

[iBlackSunday]

Ah, I didn't notice the warranty information. Well, give it 2 days and I'll start buying parts. I think by the end of February I will have all the parts to build it and run it all. If I have any other questions, I will make sure to either post or start a new topic.

Thanks again ShyGuy.

[ShyguyXPC]

no problem.


if I had the money I'd be building a similar system as well, though GTX 570 instead, as I already have that same 560 Ti.

and I'd be opting for the more expensive Socket 2011 platform, since I Currently have its Predecessor Socket 1366 Platform (High end Quad, Hex Cores, and Server based CPU's).

Maybe a different Case, but similar overall gaming and what not specs.


Just don't have the money this year.

3 years ago I bought my system, with a 24" LCD, and would love to update at least the monitor.

But I now have a slightly updated 2nd 1366 platform, than the older one, that I have to get working. And honestly its still plenty of power for my needs, aside from occasional 3D Rendering I play with.

Gaming wise, its still a fairly high end system/setup.

[iBlackSunday]

Alright, seeing as how I'm extremely impatient and I don't even have a computer at the moment, I am wanting to start buying parts and build a computer that runs on $1000, but I wanna keep the same setup as above. I will eventually be buying all the parts you (Shyguy) posted, but as said before I only have about $1000 to work with right now.

This is what I was thinking. If the motherboard has integrated graphics I could just use that until I get the extra cash to purchase the graphics card, but what else would I be able to run the pc without but also be able to purchase it at a later date and have it be the setup mentioned above?

[RicheemxX]

A lot of that "could be" stripped out, however do you have any parts now that could be re-used. Items like drives, cases ect?

Just looking at the list, you could remove the SSD drive, the water cooling kit, monitor and the operating system (use linux for now). Dropping just those will put you back into your budget even with the new GPU.