So it's been a few year since I've built a rig. The last rig I built was a P4 2.8Ghz with a ATI 9700 Pro, so ya it's been a bit. Budget: Right around $1500 Main uses of intended build: Gaming, Internet, some photo editing. Parts required: CPU-Intel Core i5-2500K Cooler-COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Mobo-ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Ram-G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB 1600 HDD-Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s SSD-Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III Graphics-SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 3GB Case-COOLER MASTER Storm Scout PSU-SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W Monitor resolution: 1920x1080 will you be overclocking: yes, looking to overclock to around 4.6Ghz Extra information about desired system: I'm looking to build a gaming machine primary, but I also watch a lot of movies and TV shows on my computer and a little photo editing also. I'm not looking to have massive amounts of HDD space as I'm intending to build a NAS system when HDD prices come back down the rest of the way. I'm just trying to make sure what i've put together here is good, maybe some things I should change.
Nice build I'd say swap the SATAIII HDD to a SATAII to save some money as you won't see a performance benefit. And I'm not too fond of ASRock boards, I prefer ASUS or Gigabyte but obviously it depends on budget and your own personal experiences really.
Not too sure if the Hyper 212+ will be happy at 4.6~ Ghz. Might have to grab something beefier. I highly reccomend anything from BeQuiet! or the monolithic Thermalright Archon if you've got the space. Both of them make nary a whisper if they have to spin up, and can cool very well in most scenarios.
+1 to .//TuNdRa's point about the cooler. Any particular reason why you are choosing to use a two and a half year old model? Not that there is anything intrinsically wrong with it, but you will get much better cooling performance from a more modern model such as the Dark Rock Advanced or the Thermaltake Frio. I personally use the Frio in an Antec P182 and I am rock solid at 4.8 on my 2500k, never exceed 55 degrees ASRock boards are generally pretty decent for the mid-range user, and I have seen reports of overclocks around the 4.6 to 4.7 mark for your chosen board. Pretty good for a budget offering. I haven't used one since I was using an Athlon 2400+, but it did what I wanted it to back in those days.
Thanks for the suggestions, i'll look into that. Maybe if I save a little on the HDD it will be enough to cover a better CPU Cooler that the other poster recommended.
Trying to be cheap really, I'm going to look into saving some cash on the HDD as the other poster suggested and put that into a better cooler.
