My Personal Build

[nature1ders]

Review it here

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yIaN

Pretty much done over a period of months as I discovered new parts I wanted.

If I had done this build now I'd have chosen this ASRock Z77 Extreme6/TB4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard but I can't change it now =(

Supposedly I can daisy-chain 6 thunderbolt devices together but yea idk :X

 

[Sleepingforest]

You could've done a hell of a lot better for 2 grand.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Performance ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($40.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Intel 335 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($179.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (White/Red) ATX Full Tower Case ($132.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1783.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-21 00:40 EST-0500)

Less money, more power where it matters. You don't even need thermal compound remover--just use 90% or high isopropyl alcohol and some q-tips. There's money left for a 3770K if you want.

Mine also happens to be color themed because it's a windowed case.

 

[Torn Mind]

You could've done a hell of a lot better for 2 grand.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Performance ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($40.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Intel 335 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($179.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (White/Red) ATX Full Tower Case ($132.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1783.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-21 00:40 EST-0500)

Less money, more power where it matters. You don't even need thermal compound remover--just use 90% or high isopropyl alcohol and some q-tips. There's money left for a 3770K if you want.

Mine also happens to be color themed because it's a windowed case.

His custom parts command a significant portion of the budget.

There is no doubt his build is a very quiet build.

You also forgot the cooler.

 

[Sleepingforest]

His custom parts command a significant portion of the budget. There is no doubt his build is a very quiet build.

You also forgot the cooler.

There's still room for a Phanteks $85 cooler, which is as good as a Noctua but colored (red, in my case). Noctuas, according to Tomshardware, are better than any AIO cooling loop in terms of quietness and performance.

I suppose his build could be very quiet. I don't actually know. But his cooler (entry level, and not very quiet in comparison to the possibilities at $2100), memory (why DDR3-1866?) and motherboard (thunderbolt, which kinda confuses me) suggests he's invested money in other metrics.

 

[Torn Mind]

A lack of spinning hard drive is an issue if more space is needed. I suppose your usage does not involve require much hard drive space.

I believe that a better monitor would have done the build well. It is not even 1080p.

Current RAM prices might not be the same as at the time of purchase, but I would have went with 2x8 GB of RAM if it were the cheaper option. Probably could have saved 30-40 bucks with 16 GB 1600 Mhz RAM.

The i7 is not a bad choice if you play games like BF3 multiplayer or another rare game that scales with threads or if readying for future games might employ more threads. If not though, the 100 or so dollars saved by going with an i5 could have landed a GTX 680.

I am not sure about the necessity of Thunderbolt, but if you have devices that do use it or plan to get them...fair enough.

Since you spent 66 dollars in fans, your case choice makes sense since it does perform well in cooling.

Windows 8 Pro is fine if you use the extra features. If not, the regular will do.

 

[Termie]

Looks like a fine build to me. The RAM choice is an odd one. Samsung 30nm sticks can surpass those specs for about half the price. Nothing else stands out, so good job overall OP. Let us know how it works. And yes, the thermal paste and paste remover were both completely unnecessary, but just a few bucks down the drain.