any computer nerds?

[-=AlexXx=-]

Hey guys im building a new computer.... im not great with the mechanics and tech stuff... but i can use the shizzle outa google... lol

Any advice on my set up? Im trying to keep it under $1500. let me know what u guys think, any advise will be very helpful! mostly reference graphics card and maybe motherboard...

The rig will be mainly used for watching torrents, i have two screens and will be eventually throwing up a larger 40-50 in LED screen. Ill be playing diablo 3 when it comes out too....

Configurator:
2012 Paladin Dr. I
Case 1 x Apex EL 660 Gaming Case-Black
Case Lighting None-
iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction 1 x Basic - iBUYPOWER Harmony SRS Sound Reduction System-Reduce System Noise
iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion None-
Processor 1 x Intel® Core™ i5-2550K Processor (4x 3.40GHz/6MB L3 Cache)-
iBUYPOWER PowerDrive None-
Processor Cooling 1 x Asetek 550LC Liquid CPU Cooling System (Intel)-ARC Silent High Performance Fan Upgrade
Memory 1 x 8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module-G.Skill Ripjaws
Video Card 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 - 2GB-Single Card
Video Card Brand 1 x Major Brand Powered by AMD or NVIDIA-
Motherboard 1 x ASUS P8Z68-V LX -- Lucid Virtu Technology-
Intel Smart Response Technology None-
Power Supply 1 x 1000 Watt - Extreme Gaming Series-
Primary Hard Drive 1 x 120 GB Kingston HyperX SSD-Single Drive
Data Hard Drive None-
Optical Drive 1 x 24X Sony Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive-Black
2nd Optical Drive None-
Flash Media Reader / Writer 1 x 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer-Black
Meter Display None-
USB Expansion None-
Sound Card 1 x 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard-
Network Card 1 x Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)-
Operating System 1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel)-64-Bit
Monitor None-
2nd Monitor None-
Speaker System None-
Video Camera None-
USB Cables / Accessories 1 x [Hub] USB 3.0 External Hub (4 X Ports)-
Advanced Build Options 1 x Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower-Basic Pro Wiring
Advanced Build Options 1 x Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower-Achieve exceptional airflow in your chassis
Advanced Build Options 1 x Tuniq TX-2 High Performance Thermal Compound-The best interface between your CPU and the heatsinks
Case Engraving Service None-
Warranty 1 x 3 Year Standard Warranty Service-
Rush Service 1 x Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee)-No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days
Subtotal* $1311.00 (plus tax & shipping)

[scott a]

Only 120GB of storage? I would add a TB of platter storage.

[scottyb]

^
ya alex you use your 128 ssd for your games and stuff and then you can get a cheap TB for all your pics, documents, music, videos, etc...

just fly your rocket ship up to jupiter and we'll have a little sit down.

[jcoffey]

just give in an buy a mac already lol <3

[scottyb]

I recently gave in and bought a macbook pro...just to see what all the hype was about. It ended up on ebay within 3 months.

p.s. apple summed up into one paragraph.

"A fad is any form of behavior that develops among a large population and is collectively followed with enthusiasm for some period, generally as a result of the behavior's being perceived as novel in some way.[1] A fad is said to "catch on" when the number of people adopting it begins to increase rapidly. The behavior will normally fade quickly once the perception of novelty is gone"

[jcoffey]

scottyb, understood.

If my desk was big enough I would rebuild my PC thats in the closet and have that out too!

[scott a]

[-=AlexXx=-]

scott a, scottyb, ya i know 120 wont be enough space, but thats why i have 3 external drives which hold my media. got 1TB 1.5TB and 500GB.

[urinal mint]

Apex EL 660 Gaming Case-Black
Intel® Core™ i5-2550K Processor (4x 3.40GHz/6MB L3 Cache)-
[4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module-G.Skill Ripjaws
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 - 2GB-Single Card
ASUS P8Z68-V LX -- Lucid Virtu Technology-
1000 Watt - Extreme Gaming Series-
120 GB Kingston HyperX SSD-Single Drive
4X Sony Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive-Black



You're wasting several hundred dollars if you go to that site and give them any money. I know you probably can't build one yourself(not to say it's hard but troubleshooting drivers/IRQs, etc) but I would really do a LOT more research. First I would see if someone you know personally can build you one. I just put together a rig for roughly 1k that's on par with that one above(except the one I built had a real brand-named PSU and better GPU- graphics card). Liquid cooling? Unless that's some aftermarket gimmick CPU cooler you DEFINITELY don't need liquid cooling. I've overclocked the cuss out of my systems in the last ten years and have always been fine with air cooling.

That system doesn't even come with secondary storage or BLU-ray. I'd GLADLY build you one and ship it to you if you were even remotely interested. All I charge is $100 for the labor. Of course, warranty you're on your own(ie. if a part went bad over time you would have to consult the manufacturer who made the individual part). With Cyberpower you would probably just send it to them but I wouldn't dream that their RMA/warranty department is fun to deal with.


In other words, you're wasting a lot of money.



If you're wanting a PC build for, let's say D3, I would definitely grab a 570gtx or even a 560ti(with 448-cores) over the 2gb 560. If anything buy a 570gtx and make sure you get a motherboard with SLI so later on if D3 need more GPU power you can add another 570 for cheap(used on ebay for super cheap).

2500k is one of the best bang for your buck CPUs out there, PERIOD. chickity china the chinese chicken AMD(please someone start the intel/amd debate). ATI are good cards but when I am building a computer for a specific game I look around and see what GPU brand(ati/nvidia) the game is biased towards(yes, every game is like this).

You don't need 1000w of power. A good name brand PSU around the 600-800w range will suffice.

120GB won't last you long. Windows 7 is around 15-20GB. D3 will probably be 15-25GB(BF3 is 15GB for reference). 120GB is fine for your primary drive to hold your OS(operating system) and a few games/progs but you will DEFINITELY want a nice sized SATA harddrive for your secondary(2TB sell for $100 and around). I'm sure Mom and Son videos are pretty big in size so definitely make sure you have that kind of space.

8GB of memory is plenty.

[urinal mint]

[quote="scott a"]

[scott a]

Apple has sheep. Lots of them. Android has a few of its own. And it's like talking to a bunch of crazy ass uber Republican or Democrat in that your reasoning will never, ever sink in with them.

I don't see anything overpriced about the iPhone or iPad.

For the computers, yeah, they are more expensive than a similarly spec'd PC, but maybe it's possible that the resale of the computer would make up the difference? I dunno, I haven't actually sold an Apple product. If so, that would just make the initial buy in a bit more painful.

I'll give you that they're trendy because they look good and people want to be seen with them. I don't, however, think that they're trendy or a fad in the same way that bleached hair, bellbottom pants or Pogs were. Apple isn't going to just fade away, which is what scottyb seems to think. I would still be interested in what he has to say on the topic because he obviously disliked the computer enough to ditch it.

[senorbueno]

I bought my 2011 Macbook Air when they went through their refresh.... You can just now get a better ultrabook (the new dell xps13 is intriguing) for the same price as what I paid last summer.

At the time the only competitor for power/portability/battery life was a Sony that cost several hunder more dollars than my MBA.

My question is how is a product over priced if it costs less than the competition and gives more?

I'm not a gamer though, if I were I'd definitely build my own system for bang for the buck.

[urinal mint]

[TTUFAN24]

I have a MacBook Pro. I love it. Using a mouse on my work computer kills me.

[scottyb]

scott a, I didn't dislike it...the OS has its pros and cons just like anything else does, but it just was not for me. I'm a windows kind of guy basically because what i do most is game...so when you say that you can do anything on your mac that you can with windows...maybe to your extent you can. Partitioning a driver and running windows on it does not use the full potential of the computer because of apples lack of updated drivers. I do agree with urinal mint, sheep and overpriced. People like apple because...its an apple.

Again, I liked the OS and it has its pros and cons. I respect your choice in apple mr scotty..because you know why you like apple, not just because its an apple. I have to say though...there are not too many of you out there. That is why I think its a fad. It is only a matter of time before the hype is gone and there is something better out that people flock to. but hey, i could be wrong...as of right now windows 8 has potential but judging by the beta...they took a wrong turn somewhere. It is a beta though so hopefully they get back on the right path.

[scott a]

Google allows many employees to choose either Apple or PC, and this shows the popularity of each among a very elite group of individuals.

If Apple's products are so overpriced and are fads then why are someone of the smartest people in the tech industry wasting their time with them?

And scottyb, I do like what MS is doing with Win8. Putting a full OS on a tablet is awesome, and is much more interesting to me than just iOS or Android. In 5-10 years from now, I can certainly see a lot of casual computer users moving to a Win8 tablet with a dock and bluetooth keyboard/mouse setup both for ease-of-use and also for portability. Basically, unless you're a gamer (you) or are into photography/video editing (me) or need a real, full tower for some other reason, I think things are about to get much more mobile, and this is where Win8 will shine.

[urinal mint]

[-=AlexXx=-]

urinal mint, Thank you for the EXTREMELY helpful response. And im not saying that with sarcasm.

I will switch out the GPU and go for a better Motherboard. Also downsize the power.....should save me a few bucks on that atleast. ill Pm u in a bit with some options.

I have def looked into having some1 build me a comp, but to be honest ill just do it with this company, 3 yr warr. seems nice..... and obviously no company is fun to deal with.... whether it dell, apple, liquid force, or integrity. Hell, i just called my insurance company and had to talk to India.... In regards to that ive come to the realization that outsourcing is a new part of American business, sadly, gotta cope with it now.

As for having yourself or anyone else build it for me I wouldnt mind saving the extra bones but like i mentioned a warranty is whats keeping me locked.

As for storage, i mentioned above I have 3 external drives.... I save everything mostly on those. So I wont be utilizing the 120 SSD for anything but OS and the Game, and like VLC... I run all my media through that while they stay on my ext HD. I only have like 90gb on my current rig and its 7 years old and im only half full if that. As for blu ray.... not necessary because I just download blu ray torrents. But thanks for the ideas. Much appreciated.

As I mentioned above thank you so much for a helpful post.

[urinal mint]

[scott a]