Rate my new build please :)

[Strategy]

Looking to buy an i5 build. Will be used for light gaming. What do you think of this build? Look at the RAM, could I get better for the price??

Everything PM'd at NCIX :D


$228 - Intel Core i5 750 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.66GHZ 8MB Cache Retail Box

$90 - Gigabyte P55M-UD2 mATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E 2PCI SATA2 RAID Video Sound GLAN Motherboard

$52.77 - Antec Three Hundred Mini Tower Gaming Case 300 ATX 3X5.25 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB & Audio

$60 - ASUS GeForce 9600GSO V2 550MHZ 512MB 1.4GHZ DDR3 PCI-E VGA DVI HDMI HDCP Video Card

$73.76 - OCZ Platinum OCZ3P16004GK 4GB DDR3 2X2GB DDR3-1600 PC3-12800 CL 7-7-7-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit

$68.69 - Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200RPM 32MB Dual Proc SATA 3.5IN Hard Drive OEM 5YR MFR Warranty

$32.40 - LG GH22LS50 22X/22X DVD+-RW SATA DVD Writer Lightscribe Black OEM

$41.80 - Coolermaster Extreme Power Plus 500W ATX 12V V2.3 Silent Power Supply 20/24PIN 120MM Fan

$18.93 - Nmedia C98 5.25IN Internal Media Bay with Flash Card Reader 2USB Firewire eSATA Sound Silver Black

$16.69 - Gigabyte GN-WP01GS(1.0) Wireless 802.11B/G PCI Adapter 54MBPS Software Access Point Smart SETUP3

$41 - PC Assembly and Testing with 1 Year Limited NCIX System Warranty (PRE-CONFIG WIN. OS If Purchased)

$5.99 NCIX Heavy duty box

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Total: $767 w/tax (-$20 in MIR) = $747 FINAL + free shipping

[Oversized Rooster]

The heavy duty box is useless. NCIX always packs things properly and this is not necessary.

I would not buy a Coolermaster PSU. Instead, try to get a Corsair TX-series PSU or an HX520 if budget permits.

Ditch the OCZ Gold RAM - that's their low end line. Get a Platinum or Reaper set from them instead. Or you can use a Mushkin HP or XP series kit.

Also, get rid of that horrid, ancient Geforce 9600 card. Pick up a Radeon 4850 or 4770 instead.

Most importantly, I recommend assembling the PC yourself instead of handing over $50 for a such a simple 30 minute service.

[Strategy]

The heavy duty box is useless. NCIX always packs things properly and this is not necessary.

I would not buy a Coolermaster PSU. Instead, try to get a Corsair TX-series PSU or an HX520 if budget permits.

Ditch the OCZ Gold RAM - that's their low end line. Get a Platinum or Reaper set from them instead. Or you can use a Mushkin HP or XP series kit.

Also, get rid of that horrid, ancient Geforce 9600 card. Pick up a Radeon 4850 or 4770 instead.

Most importantly, I recommend assembling the PC yourself instead of handing over $50 for a such a simple 30 minute service.

Would you recommend this RAM instead? (PM'd for $73.76)

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?affiliateid=4352418&sku=30371

Why is it significantly cheaper though?

Also, I haven't build a PC in ages, the graphics card is unimportant to me since I barely play any games (age of empires maybe, starcraft, lol). I guess I can ditch the box.

edit: this was the OLD ram, now gone:

OCZ Gold OCZ3G1600LV4GK 4GB DDR3 2X2GB DDR3-1600 PC3-12800 CL 8-8-8-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit

[tdotcbc84]

The heavy duty box is useless. NCIX always packs things properly and this is not necessary.

I would not buy a Coolermaster PSU. Instead, try to get a Corsair TX-series PSU or an HX520 if budget permits.

Ditch the OCZ Gold RAM - that's their low end line. Get a Platinum or Reaper set from them instead. Or you can use a Mushkin HP or XP series kit.

Also, get rid of that horrid, ancient Geforce 9600 card. Pick up a Radeon 4850 or 4770 instead.

Most importantly, I recommend assembling the PC yourself instead of handing over $50 for a such a simple 30 minute service.
+1

However I did hear an argument that if NCIX puts it together for you... lower chances of defective items!

[Oversized Rooster]

I don't know why the Platinum costs less than this particular kit. Probably because there is more supply of this RAM since it's what more people will buy. The Gold kits are probably not in stock in great numbers and therefore due to scarcity they remain priced higher.

Anyway, the Platinum RAM is good. Anything at the DDR3-1600 speed with CL7 is good stuff. I had bought a Patriot DDR3-1600 CL7 last month and it clocks to 1800 speeds still at CL7.

I think it was this one:
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=30957&vpn=PVS34G1600LLKN&manufacture=Patriot

[Strategy]

Any other advice, anyone?

[Strategy]

So when NCIX builds it for you, they check for defective parts, correct? (they aren't installing an OS or anything tho)

[Blackmajik]

So when NCIX builds it for you, they check for defective parts, correct? (they aren't installing an OS or anything tho)

Well anything defective will definitely show up and I'm not saying after shipping it to you that you will not have a chance of it being DOA. Putting the parts together and booting it up will somewhat eliminate the chances of having a failed part shipped to you. Of course you can't do a 100% check for defective parts until you really test run the machine for a few weeks.