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Building a desktop

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mrdkreka:
So since I have used laptops mostly for the past 4 years, and it is pretty expensive every time I needed to upgrade, I thought it was about time to build my own desktop, but I would like some advise for what I should get.

I will be using it for medium gaming, playing games like Diablo 3 and GW2, so I doesn't really need the top of the iceberg graphic Card. then I will also be using it as a media-center, so it shouldn't make to much noise. I have done a few thoughts of what to get, but some components I'm pretty blank on.

Budget: thinking around 2000$

Motherboard: one that support ivy bridge?
CPU: I planned on buying an ivy bridge, but if sandy bridge soon will fall in price I will buy that instead.
GPU: ?
Ram: probably Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz 8GB CL9
Power supply: one that will allow me to upgrade my desktop in the future.
HDD: planned on buying 60GB SSD for OS and a HDD for the rest
CPU Cooling: probably  a fan that doesn't make to much noise.
Optical Drive: Maybe BD reader unless they are still very expensive?
Sound card: I was thinking something like ASUS Xonar DX/XD/A
Cabinet: ?

Screen:
I have a bit of a dilemma if I should buy one above 1080p, since it will means a lot of content like movies will be upscaled, which can makes it look worse than pixels being more visible. So if anyone using something higher than 1080p can give some advise, it would help a lot.

Mouse and keyboard:
Mouse need minimum 3 extra keys I can change to what I need it too be.

kitamesume:
again?

monitor - well try looking up dell's IPS 27", it has a screen resolution of 2560x1440 tho quite pricy.

motherboard... well i cant really suggest a specific model but try looking for ones with two PCI-E16 running at at least (8x 8x) and not (16x 4x), but since you're opting for a sound card you might want to go full atx for extra slots. the two PCI-E16's purpose is for simple reasons of adding another card later on instead of replacing the card itself.

processor - target the i7 ivy-bridge so you wouln't be having any second thoughts of it's performance.

ram - the ram seems fine.

GPU - one HD7850 or GTX680(GTX660 doesn't exist yet) should do the trick, buy another one if you feel like its not enough anymore.

HDD - bump the SSD to 128GB, well simply because it's the sweet spot of SSDs now a days in both price and capacity, a 500gb blue WD drive for a main drive(games, etc, that is if you can't fit them in the ssd) and a 2TB green WD drive for storage should also cover your other needs.

cpu cooling - most of the time the stocks is a-ok, but if you're targeting lower temps or quieter performance, try looking up coolmaster Hyper 212 EVO.

power supply - 750watts corsair-AX should do the trick, or the 850watts if you want more room to play with but really 750watts is enough >,>.

ODD - meh BD drives are still expensive.

sound card - try omega-HT, but for now, try to hold purchasing a card since the onboard ALC889/ALC892 is pretty decent for casual listening, buy one if you're not satisfied with the onboard.

cabinet/case - lian-li cases looks pretty neat.


i'll edit this later to fill in the details.

EDIT:
(click to show/hide)[CPU][$319.99]Intel Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core
[MOBO][$139.99]ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
[RAM][$89.99]GeIL Enhance CORSA 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
[GPU][$249.99]PowerColor AX7850 2GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0
[PSU][$149.99]CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 (CMPSU-750HX) 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91
[SSD][$124.99]Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
[CASE][$79.99]LIAN LI Lancool PC-K7B Black Aluminum/ SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[sub total] - 1,154.93
[MONITOR][$899.99]Dell UltraSharp U2711 IPS-Panel Black 27"(2560x1440) 6ms with PremierColor 350 cd/m2 80000:1 (1000:1) (DIS monitor is just plain OP... well cant complain since anything >1080P is >$500)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[grand total] - 2,054.92

(click to show/hide)[CPU][$319.99]Intel Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core
[MOBO][$139.99]ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
[RAM][$89.99]GeIL Enhance CORSA 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
[GPU][$249.99]PowerColor AX7850 2GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0
[PSU][$149.99]CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 (CMPSU-750HX) 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91
[SSD][$124.99]Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
[HDD][$134.99]Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
[ODD][$79.99]LG - combo dvd/bd odd that has a really long name..
[SOUND][$184.99]HT | OMEGA eClaro 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card
[CASE][$79.99]LIAN LI Lancool PC-K7B Black Aluminum/ SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[sub total] - $1,554.90
[MONITOR][$339.99]Dell UltraSharp U2412M Black IPS Panel 24"(1920x1200) 8ms LED Backlight 300 cd/m2 DC 2,000,000:1 (1000:1)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[grand total] - $1,894.89
note: $105 left for those mouse/keyboard =D

Tatsujin:
Motherboard: ASUS Maximus V Gene LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Best motherboard for Ivy Bridge including high-end features. Period. $210 -- On another note, this board features an excellent sound chip. Look over the video.

ASUS P8Z77-M LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard. $146 -- this board goes good with one of the sound cards below.

ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard. $240 -- excellent board all-around. Don't let it scare you or listen to people who shoot it down. It is an excellent board and will last for a very, very long time.

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770. $320

CPU Cooler: ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-B 135mm Long life bearing CPU Cooler Blue LED. $64 -- Can't go wrong with this. Beast at cooling your CPU to the core. I want it ...

GPU: This one will be very tough depending on your choices. In my personal opinion, I would hold off on this (save whatever money you have) and wait for the nVidia GTX 700 series or wait for the GTX 660/670 series to release. The GTX 680 is not worth it. Don't go to any of the GTX 500 series or below.

As for ATI/AMD graphic cards, I don't have experience on them. I don't recommend them either - heating issues/dispenses more heat in your case. Sucks more power. Driver issues. Features not on competitive pair with nVidia's. It does play games like it should be - which people will only care about. These are based on research.

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M1A1600C10. This is what you're probably looking for. This is a single RAM. But, I wouldn't go with this one. $62

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL10S-8GBXL. Memory I would go for. $60

Power Supply: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply. $105 - Non-modular.

CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 (CMPSU-750HX) 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply. $150 - Modular. I'd go with this one.

SSD: Corsair Force Series 3 CSSD-F60GB3A-BK 2.5" 60GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD). $80.

HDD: HITACHI Deskstar 0S03228 3TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.5" Internal Hard Drive. $200 -- storage for media like videos, music, pictures and other stand-by files. Not for gaming or torrenting!

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive. $140 -- Excellent for gaming and torrenting or if your going to do something consistent/non-stop. Con? 1TB ...

HITACHI Deskstar 7K3000 HDS723020BLA642 (0f12115) 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive. $140 - 2TB, good for gaming and torrenting. Nice price.

Optical Drive: LG Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 10X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA 12X Super Multi Blue with 3D Playback & M-DISC Support WH12LS39 LightScribe Support - OEM. $80 -- simple and easy to install.

Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card. $72 - PCI Express x1.

ASUS Xonar D1 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card. $82 - PCI Interface.

Monitor: ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" 2ms HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 ASCR 50,000,000:1. $180 / $220 - depends on the deal. LED, 2ms, excellent for movies, graphics and gaming. (this is what I have, there are other good ones).

Mouse: I personally like G-series. If your going to go with a game with tons of buttons, get the Razer Naga.

Keyboard: I am not very experienced with keyboards ... they don't last long, ... except the last two they've lasted long. I'm using Razer Lycosa which is pretty cool and slick. Nice music features and backlights behind it. I don't recommend it thou'. It's long-lasting, but the buttons wear off if you use them too much after 6 months (owner of this keyboard for 2 years, it's still kick ass).

Case: Finally at this, depends on your preference. I personally bought Antec DF-85 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case. Most people didn't recommend it to me saying either it's too big, too much airflow, don't need that many fans, not worth the money, lights are ugly (lol what?!) - blah blah blah. Others recommended it with the only con as the price <- which was true. Excellent case, tons of room, lots of air flow and keeps your machine running cool if you clean the front dusters every week or two weeks (keeps your drivers at a very cool level) and they're super easy to clean. If you go with another case just make sure you got a fan in the front and easy to clean, not a nightmare to take down and clean (shut the computer off to clean it, DF-85 = no need to do that). Fan from above and fan from behind (duh!). The fan from the side is just extra if you want it.

Well, most of this is based on what you wanted or my preference. Wait and see if others can come up with something that would suit your needs.

vuzedome:
You have plenty of options with that budget.
But if you're going for a i7, you'll have to plan more than just pick and pay.
CPU, i7 3820 will be a good start, since you're asking for options here I doubt you'll be overclocking, hell the 2011s all pack a huge punch on stock.
Motherboard, the ASUS P9X79 Pro and above will have enough PCI-E slots for you to do crazy things.
If you like orange, Gigabyte X79-UD7 is perfect for you, LOL.
Not everyone has easy access to a HT Omega retailer, I sure as hell won't order online for something that I'm going to drop a wad of cash on. ASUS Xonar D2X or Creative XFI Titanium PRO Audio, both around the same price.
A 800W beasty from Corsair, your 8GB choice, and BD drive, well you won't have much left for your monitor and mouse+keyboard after buying just your "machine" parts.

Saras:
To be honest, I'd give more consideration to the look.

After all, the monitor, the case, the keyboard, the mouse are not your CPU, GPU and the like, that are tucked deep in the dark. It's not the specs that matter there, it's the look and feel. I'd suggest going about the shops and looking at stuff you'd like to be in your room and choosing from that.

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