Pulling the trigger on my PC upgrades at last - how's it look?

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runo

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So for my birthday I got $500 from all my folks to play around with. I decided to upgrade my rig and this is the setup I came up with:

Upgraded:
FROM Gigabyte 890GX TO ASRock Z68 Extreme3/Gen3 [ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 ]
FROM Corsair XMS 4GB DDR3 1600 [9-9-9-27 1.65v] TO Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600 [8-8-8-24 1.5v] [ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233147 ]
FROM Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition TO i5-2500K
FROM a single EVGA GTX 460 768MB TO Dual EVGA GTX 460 768MBs
FROM Cooler Master Storm Scout TO NZXT Apollo (still debating my choice in cases and if I'm actually ordering this one or not. I could keep my current case and spend that $90 elsewhere, like an i7-2600k or a heftier GPU, or pick up a better(?) case for the price) [ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146025&Tpk=nzxt apollo ]

Total: $499.98 w/ S&H

Components I own/use that I'm putting in the new setup:
Crucial M4 64GB [Boot Drive]
Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB [Storage/Games Drive]
Both of the two (2) EVGA GTX 460 768MBs I own (to SLI when I get my new components)
SeaSonic X650 Power Supply



Unfortunately, my parents left to do some work a couple hours ago after I made the order and Newegg claims my payment failed (it was their credit card)... so I have some time to look over the order and make some adjustments. If you feel I should make some changes to the order before pulling the trigger, i.e. better components for better pricing, let me know -- otherwise I'm ordering it tonight so it gets here by Friday.

I'm still mulling over cancelling the order and waiting for Ivy Bridge and the rest of the 600/7K series to launch to lower prices on the components on my list (or even order those components if they're not redonkulously priced), but I'm antsy to upgrade as I'm starting to see slowdown in newer, shinier games. And I just can't have that. ;P
 
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Hey runo, here are my suggestions:

Motherboard, no suggestions (never worked w/ ASRock even tho ive heard a few good things bout em)
Memory, are you planning on overclocking? If not, id say its a close shootout between Corsair & GSkill (ive been using GSkill for 3-4 years without an issue).
CPU, id stay with the i5-2500k. Even tho the Ivy Bridge cpus are gonna come out @ the end of the month, theyre still gonna be mighty expensive (reason why the i5 & i7 are coming down real quickly in price).
GPU, no suggestion (never tried SLI before & ive never had a reason to start)
Case, I would suggest the Cooler Master HAF 922. Its in stock & within that $90 price u talked bout.

Also runo, in the future, please be sure to include links for the items that you're going to inquire bout. Big reason I say this is because you put the wrong bus speed times for the memory that you inquired about, not to mention that theres more than 1 corsair vengeance memory set available in the Newegg store (although this isnt a big issue, its still better to post the link as not to confuse people). I hope this helps you sir & congrats on the b-day $$. Just curious, what are you going to do with the old parts (just curious)?
 
My bad about not linking. I'll get on that in a sec.

I'm not a huge fan of the HAF series myself; I feel there's better cases available at their price points, but if there's a solid reason to pick up the 922 over the NZXT Apollo then I'm all ears.

I probably won't mess much with the RAM in terms of tuning it, so that's why I wanted to pick up a kit that starts with solid timing and voltage. It was a debate between Corsair and Gskill for me, too. I'd probably go with either-or in the end, pretty much just choosing the Corsair since it matches the motherboard I ordered color scheme-wise (probably a silly reason to pick it, but they matched in terms of price and performance).

As for the old parts, I'm probably going to keep the old mobo, CPU and RAM plugged into my current case before I put the new parts in the new case and swap over the components I'm keeping into the new case, too.

Thanks for the congrats and well-wishes!

EDIT: Links provided for the harder to find components. The Vengeance kit I mentioned was probably a tough one to find, but I meant the 8GB (4x2) DDR3 1600 kit above (8-8-8-24 timing, 1.5v)
 
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I'm your huckleberry said:
Expensive ram is expensive. I would get these bad boys instead:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147096

Not sure I would not just wait for ivy bridge to come out since it is so close to happening. It can only benefit you in the end given the influence on prices it should have on sandy.
Click to expand...

Both good calls. I think what I'll do is probably save more money over the next month or so and then place the order when Sandy's prices are reduced (assuming Ivy Bridge is out of my price range). Thanks!
 
Agree on the ram in the OP, it is not worth it.

Either: A) get something similar but CL9, most CL9 sticks will do CL8 anyways, and CL8 is just rediculously priced most of the time.

B) bad ass samsung sticks.
 
I went with B. I've mulled over a couple things and this is my plan so far:
1. I'm going to pick up those Samsung sticks, which is awesome news for me because it brings my purchase down to under $400 shipped. I am going to overclock them after all to achieve better timing (10-10-10-28 1866 @ 1.5v seems to be popular?). I like the specs, the size, the fact that they're low-profile rather than big and gimmicky and weirdly-colored and most of all, the performance levels for that price.
2. Ivy Bridge is going to be launching by the time I get the case I had ordered returned and refunded (since I had no components to put in it), meaning I'll have MORE money saved up and can either pick up a nice full tower -- feel free to recommend a good case if you so please -- or pick up even better components like an Ivy Bridge CPU or a better GPU than SLI 460s if Ivy does well and is decently priced.
 
Sorry to bump a really old thread, but like I mentioned a while back, I had to cancel my order and now I'm kinda glad I did. Prices seem to have dropped a bit and now I think better, newer tech is within my grasp for only a little more moolah. I'm saving up until July and making the order of (what is currently) just under $425, shipped.

I've picked a couple of different parts, but the list is mostly the same.
*I want to keep those eight gigs of the Samsung sticks listed above
*I want to change the ASRock Z68 Extreme3/Gen 3 to this Z77
*I want to upgrade from an i5-2500K to an i5-3570K

As for the rest of my components, I'll be keeping my Storm Scout case, my SeaSonic X650 for a power supply, my Crucial M4 64GB for my boot drive, my Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB storage drive, and FINALLY (now that I'll have an SLI-capable motherboard and since my 460s are certified) I can run dual GTX 460s until I can afford to upgrade my GPU.

On that note, come Christmas and the release of the GTX 660, I'll either be picking up a 660 or 670 2GB depending on prices and that should set my rig for at least 2-3 years, yes? Is there anything else that could stand to be upgraded over time? Maybe a beefier quality PSU to duble up on my 660/670s later on, a bigger/another SSD, or does it look good to go once I add in a new GPU? Maybe a sound card to pair with my analog headset?

Finally, I'm adding a second 24" widescreen monitor either for Christmas or sometime in 2013, so I'll probably need a beefy GPU with lots of VRAM... if there's any new tech coming out by Christmas that I should be aware of/save up for, let me know?

Any oversights to the build or additional information/critique would be appreciated!
 
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Hate to rain on your parade, but that pair of Samsung memory is currently out of stock. Unfortunately we have no way of knowing if &/or when they will restock that set of memory that you're looking to get. However, I may have found 2 sets that may peak your interest (based on the recent feedback you gave):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148476
^mind you its not that real good looking and the bus speed isnt the same that you posted, but the voltage is low nuff that you may be able to overclock em to that 1.5v area that you wanted
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231479
^again not terribly flashy design wise, but a lil more expensive, but still keeping within that low voltage area.

Anyways, who knows, Newegg may just end up restocking em. I put this motherboard in my private wish list, but it stayed out of stock for over a month, so I was like "the heck w/ that", so I decided to get rid of it & see what else was more available & still would do what I wanted. I may also consider going the i5-3570 route as well since its only $20 difference.
 
I was actually looking at these sticks. As far as I can tell, they're the exact same Samsung sticks, just in-stock and sold as separate 4GB sticks instead of a pack of two 4GB sticks. I just have to buy two now, but it amounts to the same price (actually, a penny less!)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147094

And yeah, for $20 (a total of ~$422 shipped) more, I'd be getting a Z77 motherboard and an i5-3570K. Not a bad steal over $403 for a Z68 and an i5-2500K, I feel.
 
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Looks good. I think you would be fine with your high quality x650 going sli with 660s, possibly even 670s.

And yeah, I always wonder why the single sticks don't go out of stock as well. I assume buying 2 of those is no different than buying a single pack of 2???
 
I'm your huckleberry said:
Looks good. I think you would be fine with your high quality x650 going sli with 660s, possibly even 670s.
Click to expand...

Thanks, boss! And yeah, I think I should be fine with the X650 since 660s/670s use less power consumption and are more efficiently-designed overall, but I wanted to check. I honestly shouldn't need more than a single 670 (or probably a 660, depending) for a while out and I'm not even upgrading from my SLI 460s until Christmas, but if I ever do need to double up on a 600-series card, I think I'll be okay in terms of power and amperage etc.

And yeah, I always wonder why the single sticks don't go out of stock as well. I assume buying 2 of those is no different than buying a single pack of 2???
Click to expand...
It looks like not--as far as I can see, literally the only difference between the sticks is that it'll come in two packs of one stick each versus one pack of two sticks. Other than that, I am positive it's the same product. I don't know why they aren't sold out too... maybe people think it's more expensive or something. I'm not sure. lol
 
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