A note on the CPU:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/405?vs=40657,72 € - 2.6 GHz
g62065,42 € - 2.8 GHz
g84074,80 € - 2.9 GHz
g85093,98 € - 3.1 GHz
i3 2100It clearly does not pay to get the i3, since it's 20 € for 2 MHz and 256 kB L2 cache (this is actually really low. If you can afford it I would recommend the i3, it's $125 in US, whereas the g840 and g850 are 88 and 98). Likewise, it's 10 € for 100 MHz in the g850 vs g840. The only real decision is between paying 8 € for 200 MHz between the 620 and 840. I just wouldn't advise getting the 850, since it seems like a waste of money. Another good part about the CPU is that it is the most important part of the computer, period. If you can, get an i5 2500k. It is the pinnacle of awesome right now. Of course if you plan on upgrading to it later, get the g620 so you minimize your losses when you upgrade.
Cooler:
I haven't bothered to look for a CPU cooler, but the best price/performance here is the Hyper 212+ ($20) or the scythe mugen ($40). There's also boatloads of reviews here:
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm but their ranking systems don't exactly make sense to me. Make sure if you get a CPU cooler, you don't get the "BOX" version of the CPU you want to save a few dollars. However, as you can't overclock these CPUs, there's not really a point to any of this.
Case:
I am a Lian Li fanboy, period. I believe that more holes and more fans does not necessarily mean better cooling. At this point you should just choose what you like best, but I will pay extra to take the rice out of my cases. Interestingly, the HAF 912 is usually $50-$60 in the US, but it's 80 € at hardwareversand, whereas the 692 is typically $80.
64,33 € -
k5865,52 € -
CM692RAM:
I firmly believe that RAM does not matter in the long run. When you overclock/get faster RAM your overall performance increases in the 1-2% increase. There are good reasons for high performance RAM, but never on a budget. Though it is good to buy within your budget. Prices for RAM right now in the US range from $30-$40 for 4 GB of low quality, higher quality in same price ratio for 8 GB. You do not need 8 GB. Nobody needs more than 4 right now. Dual Channel is not necessary, but it does offer a minor performance boost. I couldn't find anything special to get. Newegg typically has email specials with promo codes and such for $10 off, so that's where I usually get ram.
HDD:
The spinpoint f3 is a beast and will remain the best value hard drive for a very long time. The seagate 7200.12 gives it a run for its money, though.
SSD:
I am not experienced with these. The technology is too new to me. I would be wary of kingston, however.
PSU:
First off: some Q&A on power supplies.
- Why do I need a good power supply?
To give power to your computer in a way that decreases the likelihood that you will damage the components
- What is the significance of having a "600W" vs "500W" power supply?
This is the theoretical maximum power that the manufacturer has labeled. If you have a good power supply, it is likely that the real maximum power is much greater, they just call it a lower maximum in order to keep it at an 80+ rating.
- Shouldn't a 600W PSU be better than a 500W PSU?
No. PSUs are most efficient at 50% capacity. Your computer will be idling most of the time. Power requirements are usually greatly over exaggerated. You could run 2 GTX 470s on a 400W PSU if you underclocked them a little and really pushed the PSU. The only reason to get a PSU above 500-550 W is for dual graphics. Power requirements are not going to increase that much in future generations due to PCI-e power limits, and manufacturers realize that efficiency is a good thing.
The Power Supply Archive lists a whole bunch of trusted reviews for a whole bunch of power supplies. Generally Corsair is excellent, but this happens to be their cheapo line. The CX v2 is actually very good. The V1 wasn't spectacular.
However when you compare it to the
high current gamer that ex posted there are very few reasons to get the corsair. The Antec is made by Seasonic (arguably one of the three best PSU manufacturers). It's also 80+ bronze. Cheaper in the short AND long run. The one thing that possibly worries me is the 85C capacitor, but I don't know what the corsair uses, and the Antec is just awesome.
Motherboard:
Much like RAM, I don't see the benefit of a high quality motherboard. However, there shouldn't be a problem with Ex's choice. He doesn't like MSI because of past experiences, so the next best thing is Asus. I also recall reading something about the z68 chipset being what the p67 should have been. Who knows (I don't see much of a benefit from motherboard chipset apart from pci-e lanes and peripheral support).
106.07 € -
ASUS P8Z68-V LX - Here's a decent Asus. Note that as long as you have graphics on your CPU, you should go ahead and have the ability to use them. The p67 does not have this option, and instead wastes the space on parallel and serial ports.
92,81 € -
ASRock Z68 Pro3 (B3) - Asrock is Asus' bargain brand. They are virtually identical, but the Asrock is 13 € less. You might also find a z68 somewhere else from another brand.
Graphics:
I don't think the brand of graphics matters very much, or the factory overclock. What is important is the cooler and the price. A bigger cooler will let you overclock more, and obviously being cheap is a good thing. IMO there aren't many good buys right now. The 560 Ti is about the most I could recommend anyone, and the 6870 is just slightly behind it. The reason that nothing is a good buy is that everything is just about equal right now:
Price/Performance is all about the same. Finally you really do get what you pay for in graphics.
Optical:
generally this is something you can reuse forever. If you have an old one, great, but it's probably not sata.
"Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Chairman - do we have to call the Gentleman a gentleman if he's not one?"