The "Me and My Wife" build: Twin CM 932A

[Zelphrin]

Thank you to all who helped me build my wife's computer. I had thought about it a lot, and decided that two twin CoolerMaster's was just the right "coming back from cruise" gift to my wife. She likes fast computers, I like WoW, MW3, and Skyrim on a computer. So, here are my two builds. The latter is the build I'm going for, and the parts on it haven't been ordered. The first build has already been built and tested, and I am LOVING IT ALREADY!!!

The Wife - Total $1100
Case - Cooler Master HAF 932A
Motherboard - MSI P67A-GD55 (P67 Intel)
CPU - Intel Core i5 2400
RAM - Corsair XMS 1333MHz 16GB (DDR3)
Video Card - PNY GTX 560 1GB
Sound Card - Soundblaster Recon3D Professional
SSD - Patriot Torqx 64GB SATA II
HDD - Western Digital 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA III
PSU - 680W Apevia Iceberg
5.25 Ext Bay - 1x CD-RW 24x and 1x DVD-R 24x
3.5 Ext Bay - SD Card Reader

The Husband - Total $1280
Case - Cooler Master HAF 932A
Motherboard - ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z RoG (Z68 Intel)
CPU - Intel Core i5 2500K
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz 8GB (DDR3)
Video Card - Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti 1GB (Used)
Sound Card - Soundblaster Recon3D Champion
SSD - Corsair Force 120GB SATA III
HDD - Western Digital 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA III
PSU - 650W Corsair Enthusiast Gold
5.25 Bay - Samsung Blu-Ray player (CD/DVD-RW)

I'm thinking of changing up a couple things. First off, both builds feature Microsoft Wireless Desktop 5000 as keyboard and mouse peripherals. The first build I've salvaged the DVD and CD Players from an old Dell I used to have. Eh, it works. I've also heard that Apevia isn't a great PSU maker, so I also have a spare RaidMax 650W just in case (also salvaged from the Dell... had the RaidMax for 13 months, going strong).

On the second build, since the wife isn't as gamer as the husband, I'm thinking of purchasing the cheaper, yet, better reviewed SB XF-i Titanium HD. I'm very much fond of Sound Blaster products, so I'll stick to that chain. She'll get the Titanium, and I'll just take her Recon3D. As for the OS, I went ahead and called Microsoft for another key since I'm upgrading hard drives. That worked, but I still had to buy a second OS for the second machine. -_-' I hate how OS purchasing works these days.

Last thing I am looking at are speakers. I saw some CyberAcoustics 5.1 speakers that are under $100, but are there any other sets that are better bang for buck? Also, is there anything I should probably change?

**Update** Took Sean's advice on RAM and the CPU. BOLD UPDATES on The Husband build mean they've been purchased. Italian are updates that I've taken into consideration.

 

[Sean W.]

dont get a Z68 board or a 2600K or a 2400, get a p67 board and a 2500k processor for both builds... you wont be using the features a Z68 board has to offer...

you dont need 16 gigs of ram, 8 is plenty, use the money saved and put it towards a better graphics card...

 

[Zelphrin]

Oy, I knew I should've stuck with P67. I had my sets on ASUS Maximus IV Extreme. I could've probably stuck with the mATX, but I'm thinking of SLI later in the future. The motherboard has already been ordered, so I'm stuck with a Z68. Luckily, it was only $15 more than the P67 Maximus IV, so I guess I lucked out. I'll go with the i5 2500k. I suppose I was overdoing it with an overclocked i7 newayz.

Remember, first build has already been built and is working fine. Hell, I might even sell that CPU to get an i5 2500k for her. I'll also take your advice and start with 2x 4GB corsair vengeance for now and upgrade later if necessary.

I'm liking the NVidia GPU's, how much of an upgrade are we talking about?

**Update** Wow, dude, thanks. You just cut my price by a good $130 just by those suggestions. Looking at better GPU's now or to just save money. Updating the list right now.

 

[Sean W.]

you can find used GTX 570 for $240...

thats what i would do.

i just bought two 6970s for $420 shipped... course they were used, but they work perfectly...

you pay a steep premium for brand new parts...

for example, i just bought my entire sig rig for UNDER $1000 everything is used... if i were to have bought everything brand new id be at about $1700

 

[Zelphrin]

Currently, at Newegg, Tigerdirect, and Amazon, GTX 570's are all new (Newegg and Amazon's refurbished and used cards are out of stock ATM). I DID, however, find a used Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti used for $60 less, so that was the best I could do at the moment.

 

[Sean W.]

$560 Ti
[FS] PNY Reference gtx 560ti $170 shipped


570
MSI GTX 570 Power Edition, Asus GTX 560 DC II OC

another 570:
$250 shipped ($490 for both) MSI GTX 570 1280MB Reference Cards (2 Available)

6950
Sapphire 6950 2Gb

 

[Zelphrin]

Updated the Vid Card... and I found a same model, yet, cheaper price. I was also thinking of just getting another GTX 460 since the Dell already has one. That way, I can just SLI 2 of those cards. Could that be a better option?

Also, to revamp on the price issue... i'm actually (at the current moment) limited to the amount of "used" I'm able to get simply because internet connection on a US Aircraft Carrier is slow as a McDonald's line during breakfast. A lot of the forum sites that sell things won't load here, and my buying options have become limited to Amazon and Frys Electronics. Newegg won't accept my payments on a boat because they've been immediately trying to call me after a purchase... and my phone is shut off therefore automatically cancelling the order. This is why the builds seem a little expensive as most of the parts will be new. In any case, I have a long time before I get home, so I've been purchasing the components paycheck by paycheck.

 

[Yami]

dont get a Z68 board or a 2600K or a 2400, get a p67 board and a 2500k processor for both builds... you wont be using the features a Z68 board has to offer...

Should point out, I've done a couple builds for people recently, P67 boards are hard to get hold of now, at least over here. Z68 has supplanted it.

 

[Nukem]

Updated the Vid Card... and I found a same model, yet, cheaper price. I was also thinking of just getting another GTX 460 since the Dell already has one. That way, I can just SLI 2 of those cards. Could that be a better option?

Also, to revamp on the price issue... i'm actually (at the current moment) limited to the amount of "used" I'm able to get simply because internet connection on a US Aircraft Carrier is slow as a McDonald's line during breakfast. A lot of the forum sites that sell things won't load here, and my buying options have become limited to Amazon and Frys Electronics. Newegg won't accept my payments on a boat because they've been immediately trying to call me after a purchase... and my phone is shut off therefore automatically cancelling the order. This is why the builds seem a little expensive as most of the parts will be new. In any case, I have a long time before I get home, so I've been purchasing the components paycheck by paycheck.

If you use paypal to buy your parts, you won't have the bank or Newegg try to call you. (unless you have it set up that way) I've done 3 carriers myself and never had a problem. (but then I have access to an outside line 24/7) Consider yourself lucky, since you are on one. I'm better off with dial up than my current boats LAN speed.

 

[croSSeduP]

I think you mean "My Wife and I"...