Computer Building Suggestions

[Ghan]

So with all these threads about computer components and building your own machine, I thought it would be a good idea to give you a few premade options that you can pick and be more confident that all of the components will work together and are of decent quality. I'll provide a few different price points. And hopefully I'll update this often. For now, I'll start with the "Bargain Bin" machine.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75 Pro4 ATX FM2 Motherboard ($86.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($80.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $596.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-04 15:26 EST-0500)


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3330 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($95.17 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1000.09
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-04 15:27 EST-0500)


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9500 AT Ball Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($429.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Nine Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($112.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($115.17 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1505.07
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-04 15:27 EST-0500)


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($80.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($249.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Nine Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($112.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($115.17 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2018.06
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-04 15:27 EST-0500)


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($569.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($217.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 512GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($519.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($429.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($429.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Twelve Hundred V3 ATX Full Tower Case ($174.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($125.17 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $3017.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-04 15:28 EST-0500)

*I cannot guarantee the exact price at the time YOU order the parts. I can only give you what I found at the time I compiled the build.


Glossary:

CPU: Central Processing Unit
ATX: A form-factor for cases - this indicates a particular standard that components will follow in order to be properly screwed into a given case. So if your motherboard and case are ATX, they will work together.
PSU: Power Supply Unit
RAM: Random Access Memory
AMD: Advanced Micro Devices - a leading manufacturer of CPUs
AM3: A CPU socket type for AMD
LGA 1156: A CPU socket type for Intel
HDD: Hard Disk Drive
SSD: Solid State Drive. Similar to a hard drive, however it is solid state (no moving parts) making it much faster than the fastest hard drives and also more durable.

 

[Slapshot136]

ghan, the motherboard only supports up to 1066 ram (your ram is 1333) without an OC, and I don't think many people are into OCing around here

also this is the exact same case but for cheaper and it includes 2 front fans which you will want anyways

 

[Ghan]

> 1066 ram

Oddly enough, the 1066 here is more expensive, but fair enough about overclocking.
As for the case, the one I have selected has free shipping, which actually does make it cheaper than the one you suggested. However, they are both great cases, so I have added both to the list.

 

[tooltiperror]

Is there a good place to go for an introduction to all these terms with hardware and everything? I want to start building computers.

 

[Samuraid]

ghan, the motherboard only supports up to 1066 ram (your ram is 1333) without an OC, and I don't think many people are into OCing around here

also this is the exact same case but for cheaper and it includes 2 front fans which you will want anyways

1333MHz is only the maximum stock speed reported by SPD. You can run the RAM at a slower clock. (In fact, if you check CPU-z, or another program that queries the SPD, you can see that 1066MHz is a listed operating mode for pretty most any desktop DDR3 RAM)

 

[Slapshot136]

As for the case, the one I have selected has free shipping, which actually does make it cheaper than the one you suggested.

it has a free shipping code on the newegg page

either way, if you wanted to go with the one you originally had you should still buy a fan for the front of the case

and the for the mobo, yes you can downclock the ram, but it's really just that specific mobo that has that minor issue, I don't see much reason for it above another mobo

also maybe you should list the price of each component and also mention rebates/bonuses (the graphics card comes with both), I really wish TH had a way to use tabs to align stuff, but only code seemed to allow me to control the spacing

 

[Ghan]

A few higher price points posted. Now up to 4 builds. More to come.

 

[kingkingyyk3]

For $800 build, I recommend you to switch to lower priced motherboard, like Asus M4N68T-M, lower priced power supply, Silverstone ST50F-ES, then change to Athlon II x3 435, because Athlon II x2 240 is bottlenecking HD5770 heavily.

 

[Slapshot136]

why do you recommend raid 10 over raid 5?

also wondering why you didn't include liquid cooling in any of them (I think the 3000+ ones should have it)

 

[Ghan]

> why do you recommend raid 10 over raid 5?

While RAID 5 provides more space for cheaper, it can be less reliable. If the RAID controller loses power without being properly shutdown for some reason, then the parity of the disks can get out of sync and cause problems down the road. This can happen without even knowing about it. RAID 10 also has better performance than all but RAID 0.

> why you didn't include liquid cooling in any of them

Keeping it simple. Plus, we don't want to void any warranties, do we?

 

[Slapshot136]

Keeping it simple. Plus, we don't want to void any warranties, do we?

what warranties get voided by liquid cooling? (assuming you buy the graphic cards that already have the proper heatsink for liquid cooling)

 

[Ghan]

> what warranties get voided by liquid cooling?

None, but liquid cooling isn't necessary unless you're going to overclock, which does void the warranty.

 

[Slapshot136]

> what warranties get voided by liquid cooling?

None, but liquid cooling isn't necessary unless you're going to overclock, which does void the warranty.

or you just want a silent computer.. I would be disappointed by a computer that's that expensive being loud, and the graphic cards tend to be louder then what the case can suppress

 

[sqrage]

or you just want a silent computer.. I would be disappointed by a computer that's that expensive being loud, and the graphic cards tend to be louder then what the case can suppress

Well water cooling systems still have fans, to cool the water. I actually never hear my video card fan over my case fan, though I do have monstrous case fans.

 

[Slapshot136]

Well water cooling systems still have fans, to cool the water.

you do still have fans, only you can have much bigger fans that run at a much slower speed which means less noise - and also, what video card you you have? generally it's the high-end cards that make most of the noise

 

[Exfiltrate]

All the computers are so expensive, yet no aftermarket cooling?

You should definitely add some aftermarket air coolers to the build lists.

Like the Prolimatech Megahalems or the Noctua NH-D14.

 

[Slapshot136]

All the computers are so expensive, yet no aftermarket cooling?

those aren't really needed unless your going to OC, which isn't most of the people here on TH, and besides that then you probably (hopefully) know what your doing

 

[Ghan]

The point here is to have easy builds set up so that people who are building their first machine and don't have a whole lot of experience can have the best chance of a good experience building their computer.
People who know enough to overclock their computers and install an aftermarket cooler probably already know enough to find their own parts for a build.

 

[beacher]

Thank you very much for your suggestions,it is useful.

 

[birdinabox]

I was thinking about getting a big pc, but then an epic deal came up

$800 HP
i7 2.4 ghz with turbo to 3.0ghz
4gb ram (spending $40 to upgrade it to 8gb ram)
2gb ATI radion 6700 with Eyefinity.
15" screen
then ive got that hooked up to my 24" monitor

runs super cool, fairly quiet.