Best build for under $2000.00 out the door

[moresnowdays]

Newbie here, looking for a great group to help give me some insight and direction on my new project.

I've decided that I need a new rig. I have been working and playing off my Toshiba Satellite laptop for about 8 years now. I mainly use it for Photoshop, Lightroom, Vinyl Graphics software (Flexi-Pro 10), Corel Draw X5. I'm not a big gamer, but maybe this build might change that some. I also use it for Netflix streaming some. Here's what I have in mind...

-i5 2500k or i7 2600k
-ASUS P8Z68-V Pro or deluxe -or- wait for Gen 3 Version
-EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti Superclocked 1024MB
-Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III
-Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
-Corsair Professional Series Gold 850-Watt
-Cooler Master HAF 932
-LG Electronics WH12LS30 12X Blu-ray SATA
-BenQ EW2420 24-Inch Monitor with LED Backlight
-Corsair Vengeance Blue 16 GB PC3-12800 1600mHz DDR3 240-Pin SDRAM Dual Channel Memory Kit

These items, plus a wireless keyboard and windows 7 have my Amazon cart up to $1822.00. I figured some shopping around could get the over all cost down some.

My main concerns are the CPU and Asus board. I wanted an i7 and Asus P8Z68-V pro, but wasn't sure it would be better to go up to the deluxe. Then I thought if I waited another week, maybe I could get the Gen 3 version of the Asus Mobo.

If I wait for the Gen 3 version, then I would possibly keep any added cost in check by getting the i5 2500k. This with the thought that when the time came I could step up to what ever the new processor is at the time.

It will be my first build, and I want to happy with it for a long time, maybe even as long as I've been happy with my laptop (which still plugs along nicely With this in mind, any thoughts on any aspects of my build I would be happy to hear.

 

[Knufire]

This is what I would go. Completely overkill for one screen, meaning it should last a while.

That's x2 on the GPU. Didn't skimp on the periphals either, great quality headphones, nice monitor (I think, don't know much about them xD), the gorgeous keyboard I'm typing on right now, and a tired and proven mouse.

 

[Theocnoob]

If you want quality headphone sound on the cheap get the Xense bundle. Otherwise get a headphone amp card and at least the AD700 audio technicas. Good headphones are more than $100, in any case.

 

[Knufire]

Edit: "great quality for the price". +1 to what OCNoob said though, quality sound isn't cheap. You could drop the second GPU and get the Xense bundle if you prefer, not everyone needs high end sound.

 

[Theocnoob]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132018&Tpk=xense

Xense

 

[moresnowdays]

This is what I would go. Completely overkill for one screen, meaning it should last a while.

That's x2 on the GPU. Didn't skimp on the periphals either, great quality headphones, nice monitor (I think, don't know much about them xD), the gorgeous keyboard I'm typing on right now, and a tired and proven mouse.

View attachment 100523
View attachment 100524

I had been sticking with the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro for a couple of reasons. It seems to be regarded as a better board than other manufactures (some talk about brand reputation, some about a better bios and a better software interface?). I don't have the experience to know beyond what I read in reviews, but it's what I've had to go on.

The second reason I've narrowed my choice, and probably the biggest, is that the ASUS board has Bluetooth built into it. That seems great to me, as I wanted a wireless keyboard and mouse. I had been looking at the Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard K400 with Built-In Multi-Touch Touchpad (920-003070). I love the idea of not being stuck in one seat. Can bluetooth be added to other boards? (I'm sure it can, just don't know how it's done, or if it's better to have it built into the mobo like ASUS.)

Is it that silly to be going toward ASUS for the built in Bluetooth?

 

[Knufire]

USB Bluetooth adapters work great and cost about $10.

That being said, the ASUS P8Z68-V is the exact same price and comes with the same combo deal. The only reason I didn't go for it is is that was $8 shipping vs free for the Gigabyte, and that the Gigabyte had a black theme, and I don't particularly like blue.

The ASUS has better quality VRMs, while the Gigabyte has more, so it's about balanced there.

What you've been reading about with the BIOS and software is UEFI. It's the successor to BIOS, you can use your keyboard and mouse and there's graphics and stuff, not just text and colors and stuff. ASUS has a full implementation, while Gigabyte has a standard BIOS, but comes with software that you can change BIOS settings from in the OS.

Again, the difference is shopping costs, and it has the same combo, so it's no biggie. . I would agree that ASUS is a slightly more reputable brand then Gigabyte, but they're both top tier.

EDIT: Looks like that keyboard/mouse combo comes with the adapter.

 

[moresnowdays]

Sound hasn't been that important to me. I'm not heavy into the gaming, more into the graphic design software and photo editing. Movie editing as well, but sound is usually such low quality to begin with on that, sometimes less enhancement their is more.

That's basically why I thought go a little higher end on the mobo and cpu, decent but affordable on the gpu. I thought maybe down the road I would SLI the evga 560 ti.

Anyone familiar with the Ben Q monitor I listed above? Is it not as good as the other one suggested above? I thought maybe LED was better these days than LCD?

Some monitors also have the built in speakers and other features. I would rather spend the money on a quality image, and not speakers. Perhaps that doesn't factor in though. I'm not sure how they price these. Deciding on mobo and cpu's is hard enough, it seems like monitors is worse yet.

 

[Knufire]

1. Wait, so you'd prefer not to spend the total $2000? The build I posted is overkill in more ways then one. Is there a specific target price you would like to hit, or get the most for your money above all?

2. The graphic design over gaming for sure changes things. You're right in the fact that you don't need a high end GPU, and you probably want to stick with NVIDIA for CUDA acceleration.

3. YOU WANT AN IPS DISPLAY. Perioid. 98% accurate color reproduction, that's exactly what you want, it's slightly expensive, and it's what professionals use.

 

[moresnowdays]

1. Wait, so you'd prefer not to spend the total $2000? The build I posted is overkill in more ways then one. Is there a specific target price you would like to hit, or get the most for your money above all?

I have up $2k to spend, and want to get the most out of it. I know technology is constantly on the move, but I would like to not feel that I need to step up again for as long as possible. If don't have to spend $2k, there's nothing wrong with that, but I don't want to wish I didn't skimp on something later on (if that's possible?).

2. The graphic design over gaming for sure changes things. You're right in the fact that you don't need a high end GPU, and you probably want to stick with NVIDIA for CUDA acceleration.

I suppose that's why I'm here, to learn. I'm not really familiar with the details on these. It seems like everywhere I look, online or magazines, for insight on building higher end home computer, it's all about gaming.

3. YOU WANT AN IPS DISPLAY. Perioid. 98% accurate color reproduction, that's exactly what you want, it's slightly expensive, and it's what professionals use.

Good to know, but I'll have to do a little research to find out what IPS Display is, haven't noticed that term before. Is the Samsung you listed IPS?

 

[Knufire]

I don't believe the Samsung is. When I was putting the list together, I first threw in an IPS display, as it does look better, but figured that with such a high end build a gamer would prefer a bigger screen over a better quality one, so I went with the Samsung.

The majority of LCD panels are TN's. IPS has better viewing angles and much more accurate color reproduction. The easiest real world example is Apple. The iPhone and the Apple Cinema displays are IPS panels, that's why they have really vibrant colors and tend to look better then the average PC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Plane_Switching#Inverted_Plane_Searching_.28IPS.29

In terms of stepping up, you don't need to unless you want to stay on the bleeding edge of performance. Other then that, the part that outdates the fastest is the video card. New stuff is coming out early next year that should be much faster, but you can always wait for the next greatest thing. You'll probably be changing GPUs every year, maybe closer to two. SLI can usually replace getting a new video card.

What we suggest is getting a LGA1155 board that has future support for Ivy Bridge. That way, you can milk Sandy Bridge for all it has now, then upgrade to Ivy Bridge in a couple years to keep it going.

IMO, spending a ton of money now and and not upgrading for a while isn't the smartest thing to do. Agreed, it's a LOT less hassle, but the best bang/buck comes from building at the best price/performance, and upgrading parts individually every couple of years, always milking the best price/performance parts out for as long as they can go.

What games are you the most interested in?

 

[Knufire]

+1 to wuat, Dell makes some frigging good monitors.

 

[Theocnoob]

NEC IPS monitors are also excellent IME. <Beat that for acronyms per sentence.

 

[moresnowdays]

I don't believe the Samsung is. When I was putting the list together, I first threw in an IPS display, as it does look better, but figured that with such a high end build a gamer would prefer a bigger screen over a better quality one, so I went with the Samsung.

The majority of LCD panels are TN's. IPS has better viewing angles and much more accurate color reproduction. The easiest real world example is Apple. The iPhone and the Apple Cinema displays are IPS panels, that's why they have really vibrant colors and tend to look better then the average PC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Plane_Switching#Inverted_Plane_Searching_.28IPS.29

In terms of stepping up, you don't need to unless you want to stay on the bleeding edge of performance. Other then that, the part that outdates the fastest is the video card. New stuff is coming out early next year that should be much faster, but you can always wait for the next greatest thing. You'll probably be changing GPUs every year, maybe closer to two. SLI can usually replace getting a new video card.

What we suggest is getting a LGA1155 board that has future support for Ivy Bridge. That way, you can milk Sandy Bridge for all it has now, then upgrade to Ivy Bridge in a couple years to keep it going.

That was pretty much what I was thinking. Get i5 2500k instead of i7 with Ivy Bridge mobo now, and upgrade cpu at some point latter. Only problem I had was that I was stuck on the Asus mobo and I can't find one for sale yet. Anyone have an idea how long to wait, or maybe I should just goto another brand?

IMO, spending a ton of money now and and not upgrading for a while isn't the smartest thing to do. Agreed, it's a LOT less hassle, but the best bang/buck comes from building at the best price/performance, and upgrading parts individually every couple of years, always milking the best price/performance parts out for as long as they can go.

I understand, and maybe this would be a fun way to continue to learn and tinker down the road. For now the objective will be to then get the best foundation to build on.

What games are you the most interested in?

I have to say that I haven't played a video game in years. When I was in college in the latter 90's everyone was really into a Bond 007 game on play-station. I loved it for a few hours a couple days. After that, I couldn't be in the same room with it on. Something about the tunnel vision perspective would make me nauseous. Haven't played a game since, except for the original Nintendo duck hunt. It will be interesting to try some new games, and I'm looking forward to it. Prior to my issues with 007 though, I used to love Rainbow 6 on my old PC.

 

[killerkid]

Personally I would stay away from gigabyte boards until the boot loop issue and the bios corruption issues have been fixed.

 

[moresnowdays]

NEC IPS monitors are also excellent IME. <Beat that for acronyms per sentence.

How about this one;

NEC Display Solutions P221W-BK 22-Inch 8ms(GTG) 300 cd/m2 1000:1 Widescreen LCD Monitor (Black)

One review wrote;
"While there are a couple of IPS monitors available now near this price point, they currently get very mixed reviews on reliability, consistency, and ease of use which was the final deciding factor. "

Not an IPS from what I understand, but maybe a nice mix of IPS like quality, and the $300 cost is easier to swallow (unless I make cuts to other areas of the build).

Is 8ms(GTG) the refresh rate? Is that to slow for gaming?