So this is all a new process for me, and I figured it would be for the best to let some of the more experienced DLPers check my parts for any potential flaws. As far as usage goes, I'll be mostly gaming and surfing the web on it. I'm shooting to be able to run everything currently on the market on high settings, and I'm looking to spend right at 2000. Additionally, I'll probably overclock at some point, and maybe look into SLI/Crossfire at some point, and I'm gonna run it on 2 monitors. Anyways, with that having been said, here are the parts I've found:


Thermaltake Level 10 GT - 249.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133188

Probably a bit excessive, honestly, but it seems to be pretty much as "future proof" as you can find in a case, and I like how it looks, so I don't mind the price; assuming everything is compatible, I mean.


Antec 750W Modular Power Supply - 159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371052

I was trying to avoid particularly excessive amounts of power, but I didn't want to cut it too close either. Antec is apparently a solid PSU maker, and it's modular, so I just called it good.


Intel LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - 219.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121605

I'm pretty sure this is more than is strictly necessary, but I figured it would be best to be overkill on a motherboard. Apparently when you upgrade a motherboard you have to change a lot of the components, so I thought I'd delay that as long as possible.


XIGMATEK Dark Knight II - 49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

If I'm overclocking, I thought I'd probably need an extra CPU cooler. This was specifically designated as compatible with Ivy Bridge, so... yeah.


G.SKILL Ripjaws 8GB - 45.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

It's RAM. 8 GBs seems sufficient. I don't actually know anything about specific brands, or really anything at all besides amounts. Is this good?


i5-3570K Ivy Bridge - 229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

It's supposedly overclockable, it's the newest generation, it's reasonably priced. Any reasons against it?


Crucial M4 SSD 128 GB - 104.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

Just a small SSD to put system processes on, maybe a game or 2. Seems like plenty for that.


Seagate 1TB HDD - 94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148321

Hard drive for everything else. Nothing in particular special, so far as I know. If the brand checks out I guess that's good enough.


GeForce GTX 570 - 299.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130687

I'm pretty unsure about this too... It's a bit technical for me. Will it run everything on high? And is it SLI capable? It seems to be, but I'm a bit unsure...


SONY DVD-ROM drive - 18.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118031

Merely necessary for the installation of Windows 7. It's cheap, it seems capable enough... yeah, that's pretty much it.


ASUS 24" Monitors (2) - 398.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236049

They look pretty nice, and they have decent reviews. I'm open to suggestion, though, if there's anything openly better.


So yeah, that's what I've got. Help me DLP, you're my only hope!

 

Did you read my thread?

It's a good one to just get a general idea of what you want. The biggest thing i'd say, is get a bigger SSD. Either 180gb or 256gb. My thread linked above goes into detail on brands etc. In fax, it will probably answer a lot of your questions.

I also don't think that there's any point in using SLI/Crossfire if you're planning on gaming at 1080p, which sounds likely considering your monitor choice. Your best bet with vcards is to just google reviews, and take a look at the framerates in the high end games like BF3.

I've just built my own PC for gaming, but I'll let people more experienced discuss the rest. I am extremely happy with mine however. Yet to have any issues what so ever.

 

That case looks more than just a little excessive. You can get a good case for like, half that at least. It doesn't have to look like a race car, remember.

This is the PSU I've had for a couple years now. It's yet to give me any trouble whatsoever and it's $30 less.

I've heard of the video card brand you're getting exploding. Like, literally catching on fire as it's running. So uh, I personally wouldn't trust it, but maybe that's just me.

 

You only need to buy an expensive motherboard if you are going to be pushing the envelope overclocking or you require the advanced features the premium boards have. With regards to 'futureproofing' you are just wasting money. Look at how often Intel has changed their socket in the past few years. i7 and i5 are on different sockets. Need I say more. This being said, you don't want to skimp too much.

If you are doing an aftermarket cooler, pick up some decent thermal compound unless that cooler comes with good stuff. Will set you back $5 but you'll probably be 5 degrees cooler.

The video card you selected seems to be overpriced. I've seen it as low as $220. It is also last gen. The 670's are running $400. Probably worth the step up if you can swing it.

Crucial M4 is fine. Get the 2 or 3gb seagate drive though. I got my 2gb for $100 and I've seen 3gb for $120.

Drop the dvd drive. Get an 8gb usb drive and install windows off that.

 

eVGA graphic cards aren't known for catching on fire. Hell, no graphic cards are known to catch on fire unless there was a truly disastrous QA process going on. Overheat? Sure. Get so hot that you can scald your hand? Sure. Fire? No.

GTX570 is one of the current best bang for buck, no question about it.

Case... personal opinion: it's ridiculous. If you're serious about spending that kind of dough on a case, my recommendation is the Corsair 800D. Not only it's a massive beast of a case, it'll fit damn near everything and it's one of the best on the market.

And it doesn't look like some failed sci-fi project. To be honest, that Thermaltake case is a clone of BMW case and they didn't really pull it off.

Monitor... if you're going to spend that much oomplah for monitors, might as well go for IPS panels.

EDIT: Oh, that was the price for two monitors. My bad. My recommendation still stands though. I'd look through Hardforum in the FS section, see if anyone is selling 22"-24" Dell UltraSharp.

PSU: too much for that price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194086
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151107
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256059

Great brands, same wattage, cheaper. They're even modular.

HDD:

I like Hitachi. Western Digital and Hitachi have done right by me, and there's a Hitachi 1TB for a good price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145304

 

My comments in red

 

I'd go for an AMD 7850/7870 instead of the Nvidia 570. The 570 seems to be only a tiny bit better than a 7850. And you can run more monitors off of one amd card than you could the 570.

 

I am incredibly happy with my 7870, which is in the thread i linked above, if you want to take a look.

 

Wow, I wasn't expecting so many responses so soon, thanks guys! Having read Ellisande's thread a bit more thoroughly and taken everything that you guys have said under consideration, I'm now looking at:

Case - Dragon Rider Black - 129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108376

Far cheaper, and perhaps with less features, but it seems a more realistic option. Not nearly so much a ripoff, I think. Better?


PSU - Enermax 750W - 129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194086

Cheaper, solid reviews, linked above. I looked at the Corsair that Kai linked, but this is an extra 100W, as solidly if not better reviewed, and 5 dollars more, so it makes sense to me.


Motherboard - ASRock Z77 - 134.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

Kai linked it, and I had actually looked at it earlier when trying to figure out my best options, so it was an easy sell.


SSD - Crucial M4 256 GB - 199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148443

As per several people's rec, I upgraded SSD size. Same brand, just more.


Graphics Card - GB Radeon HD 7870 - 299.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418

I was unsure about this anyways, Ellisande is clearly satisfied, the reviews seem solid. Good enough for me.


Aftermarket Cooler - Cooler Master 212 Hyper Evo - 34.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

Cheaper than the Xigmatek, 5 star reviews, called a "clear upgrade" to the Cooler Master that Kai linked by a handful of the reviewers for a minimal price bump. Seems solid.


Monitors - Asus 23" IPS - (2) 379.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236288

Linked by Kai. Slightly cheaper, IPS panels. Loss of an inch. Is the IPS worth it?

 

Can someone actually explain why IPS is better? Im quite happy with my Samsung 24' monitor. Other than that, it all looks good to me.

Again ,your PSU is a little bit overkill, but you may as well for an extra $5, as you said, but only really if you plan on doing crossfire, and adding another monitor, probably at a the 1440p resolution. My PSU is pretty much fine.

However, I would definitely recommend you go to hardforum and post your whole build just as one last check. I did, and it was great. Like DLP, make sure you read the stickies before posting, and follow the format and you'll be fine.

Good luck.

 

The thing about PSUs is that more wattage doesn't always mean better. You could have more wattage but 'dirtier' power. Check out jonnyguru.com for what he recommends at whatever price point you want. You'll be able to get by with 650W easily unless you start adding multiple gfx chips.

IPS panels are better because they have better colour reproduction, better black levels, and better viewing angles. The only downside is the perceived notion that they have ghosting in fps and other games due to their higher response time. Considering I switched from a 2ms 75hz monitor to an IPS panel and don't notice a difference. I call bullshit. It may have been true in the past but no longer.

As to cases. They add almost nothing to a build. A $50 case can beat a $400 case in cooling but lose in looks and noise. Basically you need to decide what you want. Do you want something flashy with lights and giant fans? Do you want max cooling potential? Do you want silence? Give and take really. Nice cases cost more money. Cooling comes at the expense of noise. Do you really want a full tower? Take measurements and ensure that it will fit under your desk.

 

Won't happen with Enermax - they're top quality, and if the 750W is only $5 more, I don't see why he shouldn't buy it especially since he wants to do Crossfire/SLI in the future.

 

Any suggestions as to ways to look into the quality of a PSU? I got a 1000W Rosewill PSU from a friend of mine who accidentally bought two and I don't really know anything else about it...

 

Ask on this forum.

 

What's the UL registration number on the rosewill? Rosewill is Newegg's personal brand PSU and they rebrand any number PSUs.

See the arrow? That's the number I need.

 

E307777
Where are you looking this up?

 

I use this to look it up. It lists the true manufacturer of the PSUs... supposedly.

It was true in the past, but now PSU manufacturers and rebranders are becoming wise to this, because if you run your UL number through that database, you get:

--which if you do a search about that, gives the same address as Newegg's address... so this is one of Newegg's division. And this doesn't show the real manufacturer of the PSU.

Looking at this link:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1413416&page=3
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1751/rosewill_rp650_2_650_watt_power_supply/index7.html

Most of the common consensus is that the real manufacturer is ATNG, and if you look at the PSU review, it'll even say that the PSU was underrated on the power.

Conclusion? Sell it on Craigslist or ebay. Don't use it for your system.