[ChickenInferno]

EDIT: Parts have been ordered.

Hey Guys,
A friend is asking for the absolute most for his money and wanted to see if anyone could find something better than I had.

CPU: i7 2600K Quad Core with Hyperthreading 3.4ghz $329
CPU Cooler: Intel Stock
Motherboard: Gigabyte P67a-UD3-B3 $135
Ram: G-Skill Ripjaws-X 8gb (2x4gb) 1600mhz cas9 DDR3 $100
GPU: Sapphire 5770 Vapor-X $130 ($110 after MIR)
PSU: Corsair CX600 Watt $70 ($60 after MIR)
HDD: Western Digital 1tb 7200rpm Sata III Caviar Black $95
HDD Option 2: Hitachi Deskstar 1tb 7200rpm Sata II $55
SSD: Crucial c300 64gb $135
Case: Coolermaster Haf 912 $60 ($50 after MIR)

Monitor: Acer 23" 1920x1080 $150
Wireless Card: Asus PCE-N13 N Draft 1.0 $27
Media Card Reader: nMediaPC 68-in-one media card reader $12
Keyboard: Microsoft YMC-00001 Wireless Keyboard $35
Mouse: Already Purchased
Speakers: Altec Lansing 2.1 $30
Optical: Sony Optiarc 24x DVD Burner $20
OS: Windows 7 x64 Pro $30

He is not really into gaming but I wanted to give him a card that would be able to still perform well. The rig may or may not be overclocked in the future, but as of now he just wants the stock cooler. Which harddrive option do you guys prefer?

Any other suggestions?

Edit: Links Updated

 

[iamtwan]

Does he do any heavy editing and such? Just curious as to why you're going with the 2600K instead of the 2500K.

5770 can still pretty much run everything at high settings, loved mine. Thatll definitely be sufficient.

Id say the WD is worth the price but obviously youll already have a performance drive with the SSD. Id say go with a cheaper option at HDD and use the extra $$ towards a more expensive MOBO if you can.

Regardless it looks good! Good luck to you/him with the build!

 

[ChickenInferno]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamtwan;12998909
Does he do any heavy editing and such? Just curious as to why you're going with the 2600K instead of the 2500K.

He does some pretty heavy calculations using Origin and SigmaPlot. The extra boost will be nice, and since he really wants it to last six years we both agreed it was probablly worth it.
Quote:

Originally Posted by iamtwan;12998909
5770 can still pretty much run everything at high settings, loved mine. Thatll definitely be sufficient.

That's what I thought as well. For $110 after MIR, I didn't think anyone could beat it, but wanted to see if there was something someone else knew of.
Quote:

Originally Posted by iamtwan;12998909
Id say the WD is worth the price but obviously youll already have a performance drive with the SSD. Id say go with a cheaper option at HDD and use the extra $$ towards a more expensive MOBO if you can.

I think he will end up with the Hitachi, but realistically he may not overclock this ever and will never use more than 1 GPU. The P67a-UD3-B3 will allow him to overclock it well in the future but doesn't have the extra frills of SLI/crossfire with the extra cost.
Quote:

Originally Posted by iamtwan;12998909
Regardless it looks good! Good luck to you/him with the build!

Thanks and +rep

 

[Invisible]

If he does ever want to OC, the stock CPU cooler can definitely atleast get him to 4.0GHz.

For the motherboard, personally, I wouldnt go GB. P8P67 is what I would recommend. Again, this is just me, and out of bad experiences with the past with GB.

I can't comment on Hitachi drives, I've always been a WD fanboy. For 40 less bucks though (and since he wants to save as much money as possible anyways), I would go with the Hitachi. If worse comes to worse, RMA is your friend.

If he isn't gaming that much, 5770 should be ideal.

 

[stren]

As you have an ssd I'd save the money, in fact I'd even suggest a slower wd green because the drives are so quiet and who likes a loud HD. I can hear my wd blacks clicking away when the side of the case is off.

For 30 bucks getting a resonable cpu cooler is totally worth it to me. But hey, if he doesn't want to that's his choice.

 

[$ilent]

id recommend an aftermarket cooler regardless of wether or not he plans to overclock.

Keeping temps as low as possible will help prolong the CPUs life and could make it possible to achiegve a more stable overclock in the future

 

[ChickenInferno]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Invisible If he does ever want to OC, the stock CPU cooler can definitely atleast get him to 4.0GHz. For the motherboard, personally, I wouldnt go GB. P8P67 is what I would recommend. Again, this is just me, and out of bad experiences with the past with GB. I can't comment on Hitachi drives, I've always been a WD fanboy. For 40 less bucks though (and since he wants to save as much money as possible anyways), I would go with the Hitachi. If worse comes to worse, RMA is your friend. If he isn't gaming that much, 5770 should be ideal.

I've had good experiences with both gigabyte and Asus. I have the same motherboard in my gf's computer and it does exactly what it needs to: run well and not give any problems. The extra $40 on a motherboard that may overclock slightly better doesn't sounds like something I can sell to him especially seeing how he may never overclock it and will want to stay conservative if he does (I'll tell him 5.0ghz is conservative).

Quote:

Originally Posted by stren As you have an ssd I'd save the money, in fact I'd even suggest a slower wd green because the drives are so quiet and who likes a loud HD. I can hear my wd blacks clicking away when the side of the case is off. For 30 bucks getting a resonable cpu cooler is totally worth it to me. But hey, if he doesn't want to that's his choice.

I know that some blacks click, but my two don't and I'm hoping that his wouldn't either. The hitachi just does seem to be a better deal bc of the lower price and equivalent performance. I spoke with him again about the cooler and his words were "three weeks after building I will decide." I guess I can't fault him on that, but I have a feeling there will be one eventually.

Quote:

Originally Posted by $ilent id recommend an aftermarket cooler regardless of wether or not he plans to overclock. Keeping temps as low as possible will help prolong the CPUs life and could make it possible to achiegve a more stable overclock in the future

Comment above satifies this. +rep to everyone.

EDIT: Parts are now being ordered. Hitachi drive wins.