I've built a few PCs in the past but not for some time.

I definitely need to boost performance to i7 levels.

I think I can still assemble such a PC myself without any problems.

Already have a new 500 watt PS waiting here.

Quality is high on my list re case, mobo and ram.

I can source a monitor (will use an existing touchscreen here) keyboard and mouse

Any advice appreciated for cpu, mobo and case.

Avoiding (mail in) rebates if possible.

which i7?

there is Socket 2011 and socket 1155
500W is barely enough for the 1155

I read that 2011 was more future proof than 1155?

I'm looking at the latest Ivy Bridge just not sure which one. 3380?

I thought the 2011 mobos used less power too. 500 watts enough for the 2011?

2011 is more powerful than 1155 (about 50%)
2011 requires far more power and can be very finicky about ram
if doing a 3820 and 4 sticks ram and a few hard drives and NO over clocking a very good quality 80% or better (NEW) 500W would be just enough. if your power supply is left over from your old system and older than 6 months i would NOT use it

ivy is 1155 or slower than Sandy-e (2011) will be replaced in June by Haswell
in 4th quarter Sandy E will become Ivy -E

3770k/3570k is ivy/1155
3820, 3930k, 3670X is 2011

I've got a 700 watt PS not just a 500 watt one.


Ordered the following parts. I'll use an older HDD till I see a better deal for an SSD @ 128GB as my main drive. I have Windows 8 already.




1 "Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2)"
Personal Computers; $32.98
In Stock
    1 "Intel Core i7-3820 Quad-Core Processor 3.6 GHz 10 MB Cache LGA 2011 - BX80619I73820"
Personal Computers; $279.99
In Stock
   Sold by: Amazon.com LLC 1 "ASUS P9X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard"
Personal Computers; $252.87
In Stock
   Sold by: Amazon.com LLC 1 "Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10)"
Personal Computers; $94.99
In Stock

If you plan to over-clock the 3820, that cooler will not be enough to keep the machine both cool and quiet.