New Rig for Crimson

[BFM_Crimson]

Hey guys, I've decided I'm going to get myself a new gaming rig (to save costs for me, I might say it's the family's gaming rig  )

For added fun, I'm going to build it myself (with help from people with experience )
I've been looking around, for some bits and pieces, to put in it, but for some parts I have no idea what is good and what is, well not good
Comments, suggestions and ... err well that's all really... would be greatly appreciated

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3R

CPU: Intel Core i7 2600K

Memory: Corsair Vengeance CML16GX3M4A1600C9 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3

Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 580 SuperClocked

Power Supply: Corsair AX650 Gold Power Supply

Case: Thermaltake Black Chaser MK-I Full Tower

DVD Burner: Samsung SH-222AB SATA DVDRW Drive

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB ST31000524AS

SDD: OCZ Vertex 3 60GB SSD

Fans: Nexus Real Silent Blue LED 120mm Case Fan

O/S:Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64bit with SP1 OEM

[incentive]If you post some helpful comments here I'll give each of you a free copy of TF2 on Steam![/incentive]

[BFM_Exodus]

Discussed a few things with Crimson. Making sure he gets Dual Slot RAM for that motherboard.

Power supply I recommend: Corsair AX650 http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_354&products_id=18318. Fully Modular. 7 Year Warranty.

DVD Burner: Brand name anything

[BFM_Crimson]

Thanks heaps for the advice Exodus 

[Lucky]

ooooOOOOOooo Superclocked.  So it MUST be good 

[freddd]

Might I suggest buying from Newegg instead of PC Case Gear? It will cost you a lot less than the links you posted.

$10 cheaper Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 (exact same model as yours)
$40 cheaper CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115224 (exact same model as yours)
$21 cheaper RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186 (exact same model as yours)
$100 cheaper GPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130590 (very similar model, 015-P3-1582-AR instead of the 015-P3-1582-KR, but still an EVGA superclocked GTX 580)
$30 cheaper PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139035 (exact same model as yours) (if you want a slightly cheaper PSU, here's one similar to yours, but in their "Enthusiast" series instead of in the "Professional" series)
$5 cheaper CD/DVD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135221 (exact same model as yours)

All together, should save you just over $200 for pretty much the exact same components. Not to mention shipping, since most shipping on Newegg is free. If that other site isn't, it'll probably cost another $50 or more for shipping.


Also, I just have to say, that case looks totally awesome. I want one.

[gamepanther]

Well seeing as I just built one, I might be able to help you a bit. Also, getting the all the parts into the case is the easy part, what I found the hardest was putting all the wires into the correct slots, because there are very few instructions on where to put them. That really messed with my head

[BFM_Exodus]

Freddd were are Aussies!!! So those prices are Australian prices

I know the exchange rate is good... but with shipping its just not worth it :(

[ËQINÖX]

Well for the SSD i personaly use a GSkill phoenix pro 120gig and its very fast and i have never had any problems with it. see link for details http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=284&c1=3&c2=6
Just be sure if you do get a SSD that all solid state drives suffer from dirty nand that drasticly  slows the drive down over time, see link for info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Write_amplification
However to regain performance its recomended to create a system image then use a 3rd party program to blank the drive useing an internal blanking comand this isnt the same as externaly writing zeros to the drive. I personaly use windows image tool to make the image  and i use parted magic to blank the drive.



As for windows for the home user / gamer there is no advantage or performance diforance  between them the only diforance  is that the ultimate / pro are more exspensive and consume more space. The home premium is perfectly fine for the home user and will save you alittle cash. The only thing that the home version dusnot have that can be usefull is the XP mode were it literaly runs a virtual windows XP within windows 7 (its there to make XP programs work better) but to be honest  i have  had windows 7 since it was released and i have never had a problem running XP programs useing the basic XP compatibility function in windows 7 home.

[freddd]

Freddd were are Aussies!!! So those prices are Australian prices

I know the exchange rate is good... but with shipping its just not worth it :(

Aww, I didn't know Newegg didn't ship internationally.
And there's no cheaper computer parts dealers in Australia? $70 for 8 Gb of RAM seems really expensive. D:

[BFM_Crimson]

Freddd were are Aussies!!! So those prices are Australian prices

I know the exchange rate is good... but with shipping its just not worth it :(

Aww, I didn't know Newegg didn't ship internationally.
And there's no cheaper computer parts dealers in Australia? $70 for 8 Gb of RAM seems really expensive. D:

Actually, shipping probably won't be an option. The family company has suppliers all over the U.S., most notably in West Virginia, who supply X-Ray tables. These tables have a lot of empty space.

My only concern for getting the stuff from NewEgg (I was considering it anyway) is warranty and support, how would that work?

Thanks for the advice guys

[BFM_Xtr3me]

crim, newegg have about a 30day return policy on their hardware
and 30 days for software (the package has to be unopened and factory sealed)
http://www.newegg.com/HelpInfo/FAQDetail.aspx?Module=5

in terms of an actual warranty on the products, that all has to do with the manufacturer

this could be wrong as im not an expert on the subject,


btw, i was wondering, does a LGA1155 motherboard support a LGA1366 CPU?

[BFM_Crimson]

Also, if I bought the gear from the U.S., would I have any problems with voltage?

[freddd]

Also, if I bought the gear from the U.S., would I have any problems with voltage?

Not sure what voltage you run over there. All of ours is ~110 volts. Most power supplies let you switch between 110V and 220V, but that's definitely something you should look into.
Also you may have trouble with the actual plugs, since US plugs are probably different than Australian plugs.

[BFM_Exodus]

Also, if I bought the gear from the U.S., would I have any problems with voltage?

Not sure what voltage you run over there. All of ours is ~110 volts. Most power supplies let you switch between 110V and 220V, but that's definitely something you should look into.
Also you may have trouble with the actual plugs, since US plugs are probably different than Australian plugs.

I would be worried about plugs for sure.

[BFM_Crimson]

Also, if I bought the gear from the U.S., would I have any problems with voltage?

Not sure what voltage you run over there. All of ours is ~110 volts. Most power supplies let you switch between 110V and 220V, but that's definitely something you should look into.
Also you may have trouble with the actual plugs, since US plugs are probably different than Australian plugs.

I would be worried about plugs for sure.

Really? Pretty sure you can just get a new power cable (got heaps at work), and the plugs that go into the power supply are the same