building a pc for friend

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 PRO3 GEN3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 5K1000 1TB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 6870 2GB Video Card ($202.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black/Green) ATX Full Tower Case ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.96 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($85.00 @ Newegg)
Monitor: LG E2211PU-BN 22.0" Monitor ($169.99 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm QuickFire TK Wired Gaming Keyboard ($92.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1210.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-24 14:55 EDT-0400)

 

Still molding this build so its more cost effective, I don't like the power supply or hard drive.

 

Your CPU is a nice enough speed...
But why is it not integrated on the board?

As far as cost effective/price benefit you are much better off with a solid state drive. Samsung makes the best drives hands down.
I'd definitely avoid WD at all costs. Their drives are the poorest made drives. Period.

Same with RAM. Avoid crucial at all costs. I've seen more problems with crucial RAM than anything else.

 

explain

 

Nothing but truth. Solid state yes, smasung yes, wd sucks. All drives will eventually fail, it's just a mtter of when. But WD drives seem to fail terribly earlier that "usual," and in adnormal ways in my experience.

 

Yes please do...because SSDs are expensive and low capacity...

 

500g/1TB is like standard fare for storage

That capacity in a ssd config is going to be hella pricey

 

The cheapest 1tb is $600

 

Well, to sum it up easily..
Solid states have no moving parts..so mechanical failure is almost impossible.
They can be incompatible with certain types of other hw..
But as far as the one thing that makes most spin up drives die..SSD don't do that.
I've seen, cheap, off brand SSD ship with mechanical failure at shipment.. The technicians much beloved DOA parts..

The other factor is speed.

The macs that I've installed SSD drives in can do a bootstrap in less than 30 seconds..from POST to GUI.
And once it's in GUI..it's all right there at your finger tips..no bouncing. No waiting.

If storage is your biggest concern-use a fusion drive.
Not the same but it's a work around.

 

Are you kidding me, the cheapest you can find is 600, I just bought a wd drive, 1tb, from Tigerdirect on sale for 299.

 

An SSD??? Give me the URL, I'm building a gaming system for my son...for that price I'll put 2 SSDs in it.

 

NO, no, no. my bad, mouth superseeded my brain. I get so excited about comp component deals sometimes lol. I have a professional partnership with tigerdirect that allows me to buy parts at much cheaper rates. I buy every other day on thr behalf of people. It wasn't an ssd, it was SATA and the price wan't even that. With my discount though, and WD offered this porduct, I would ring in at a whopping 65% reduction, making an ssd a very viable option. You can't go wrong with an ssd, especially if you have ever dropped a sata or kicked one over lol

 

I was gonna say, lol

 

Sometimes I stumble over my deals, there are so many, I'm that guy that's always looking for the deal lol

 

LOL

i definitely want SSDs for their gaming boost (level loading), but the price to storage ratio is shit nasty

but I agree wholeheartedly that they're more durable since they contain no platter, spindle, etc

i bought a few external 1TB drives and already broke one by dropping it no more than 12 inches (onto carpet, mind you). I got that infamous clicking sound that would never stop, and that was it. I have one now that but I try my damnedest not to run anything into it. Even still, it hangs up sometime with some clicking and lets me know that if I really value the data, i'm going to need to get a new HD.

on the other hand, i've dropped my ipod countless of times and it's storage still works like a champ :rock:

i can throw a flashdrive against a brick wall or out the window and I bet it'll still work

 

Try the wireless WD My Cloud 6tb. No need to move it, hence no drop.

 

Put that HD in an EsD bag if you have one and then stick it in your fridge for a day or so..
That is, if you are needing data off it.
It's a last resort.. Sometimes doesn't work..sometimes does.

 

Exactly. SATA sucks, there's a reason it's so close to satan.

 

What I found to be better, is if you can move your setup to the kitchen so that you can put the drive in the freezer, run the cables out and extract the info. Gives you more time. Once the drive has been cooled, taken out of the fridge/freezer (use freezer method for an hour), the condensation ruins the drive, rendering it unusable.

 

I'm not sure if a SSD is going to be better, faster yes. I've changed the ram, also I went with Seagate.