First Build - Gaming\Programming

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hoosierchessgeek

Honorable
Apr 1, 2013
5
0
10,510
I think I have a solid build, but want to be very sure about compatibility and features before pulling the trigger and purchasing the parts. Here's what I have planned:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($98.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Sandisk 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($98.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($107.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.97 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Professional (OEM) (64-bit) ($129.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1234.82
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-01 07:24 EDT-0400)

My current PC is a Dell Inspiron 546 - 4GB Ram, AMD Phenom 9750 Quad core 2.4 GHz - Vista Home Premium.

Primary computer usage\goals for this build:
- Software development in .Net, Java - so I think that Windows 8 is pretty much a must-have.
- Gaming I would like to be able to run Guild Wars 2, Second Life, Starcraft 2, Eve Online, Civ 5 at max settings.
- Streaming video\music - my current computer handles this just fine, so I don't anticipate any problems in this regard.
- Chessbase 11 - Utilizes all/some of available cores to analyze chess positions - pretty important to me.
- I am interested in exploring overclocking, which is why I have this CPU\Motherboard\GPU combination.

Concerns:
- I only have a VGA monitor (LG W40 LED at 1920x1080) - will this monitor be able to handle the improved graphics from the GPU selected?
- The room the computer will be in can reach up to 87-90F during the summer, due to poor insulation and positioning (south facing windows, below uninsulated attic, above uninsulated garage). Should this be a concern, and if so - what are some remedies? I suspect that the insulation problem will be fixed in the next year or so.
- I'd like to get the price down to under $1200 US (I'm in Indiana) but I'm not sure where I can trim and still maintain the kind of performance I would like - any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Also, if there's a solid reason for spending more, I'd be willing to entertain that idea as well.
 
Solution
R
Looks good to me. The 670s a good card no question.
Couple of further suggestions/questions:
- If you're stepping up to a $100 PSU (which is probably a good move) - get this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151107&Tpk=seasonic%20750&IsVirtualParent=1 - waaaay better and identical price. Seasonic is best in the PSU business. (huilun02 in another thread just recommended it - so credit to him for finding that deal).
- Also with a 64GB SSD, you just need to be aware it's pretty tight. I had one for like 2 years and it was fine, it just needed pretty regular maintenance with clean ups, etc. Windows seems to just accumulate data with updates etc, it's pretty annoying. I got frustrated and ditched it for a...
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rhysiam

Splendid
Mar 24, 2013
4,366
29
26,990
Looks like a pretty solid build to me.
A couple of questions:
- do you really need Win8 Pro? Professional mostly just gives you the ability to join a domain. If this is a build for home then just get the standard Windows 8.
- You might want to look at a 7950 over a 670. Newegg have this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006 - it's a full $100 less than the card you linked. Plus it comes with Crysis 3 & Bioshock Inf. I haven't seen recent benchmarks but I think a 7950 with the latest drivers comes pretty close to a 670, and when they're both OC'd, the 7950 pulls a little ahead. As I say, haven't looked at the benchmarks for a while, but it'd be worth looking at. Just make sure you look at recent benchmarks because the last few driver updates have pushed AMD forward significantly.
Also worth noting is that of the games you listed, the only one that might really stretch the legs of your GPU is Civ5 which consistently benches higher on AMD (unlike BF3 for example, which seems to like Nvidia more).

Nice build either way. Good luck.
 
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H

hoosierchessgeek

Honorable
Apr 1, 2013
5
0
10,510


I'm 99% sure that it has a VGA connector - I'll dig into more details when I get home from work. This is the resolution I'm running at, though.

 
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H

hoosierchessgeek

Honorable
Apr 1, 2013
5
0
10,510
Turns out that my monitor has a DVI connector as well as the VGA that I'm using now. Good to know.

I'm taking the suggestion of getting Win8 OEM, as I don't have need of a domain login for this PC.

I researched the card differences more heavily, and I think I'm going to stick with the EVRO GeForce GTX 670 FTW. It seems that the 7950 is more comparable to the 660 Ti than the 670. While the driver updates and an overclock may bring the cards on par with each other, I'm willing to pay a bit more for the GPU and have something with more horsepower right out of the box.

I'm also upgrading to the Corsair 650AD Mid Tower case - which I really like.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial M4 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($72.51 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($98.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 650D ATX Mid Tower Case ($179.99 @ Best Buy)
Power Supply: Cooler Master Silent Pro M 700W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1360.35
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-02 07:02 EDT-0400)
 
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R

rhysiam

Splendid
Mar 24, 2013
4,366
29
26,990
Looks good to me. The 670s a good card no question.
Couple of further suggestions/questions:
- If you're stepping up to a $100 PSU (which is probably a good move) - get this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151107&Tpk=seasonic%20750&IsVirtualParent=1 - waaaay better and identical price. Seasonic is best in the PSU business. (huilun02 in another thread just recommended it - so credit to him for finding that deal).
- Also with a 64GB SSD, you just need to be aware it's pretty tight. I had one for like 2 years and it was fine, it just needed pretty regular maintenance with clean ups, etc. Windows seems to just accumulate data with updates etc, it's pretty annoying. I got frustrated and ditched it for a 120GB. That's a better brand than your first build though. 64GB is not a bad choice, just be aware you're signing up for disk clean-ups from time to time.
Great build, have fun!
 
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Solution
H

hoosierchessgeek

Honorable
Apr 1, 2013
5
0
10,510
I think that is a great suggestion about getting a bigger SSD, which I have done. I balanced this by getting a smaller hard drive - I don't really need 2TB, and I do have my current drive which I can still use if need be. Hopefully this will give me enough room to install a few programs that will benefit from increased disk io.

The ASRock motherboard went up in price, so I started looking around and changed to an ASUS, which my research suggests that I'll have more control over (fan controls, better BIOS interface, etc).

So, here it is - tweaked yet again! I think I may be done!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LE PLUS ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Crucial V4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($94.68 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($377.28 @ TigerDirect)
Case: Corsair 650D ATX Mid Tower Case ($179.99 @ Best Buy)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1342.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-02 19:53 EDT-0400)
 
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H

hoosierchessgeek

Honorable
Apr 1, 2013
5
0
10,510
Took the advice listed and switched to the Samsung SSD. I can't believe that I missed all the poor reviews here.

I also switched out to different RAM, because the combo wasn't available any longer - it got good reviews and seems like it works well for intel machines, which this is through-and-through. I think it will also look nice on my motherboard, which will be visible with the case I have selected.

Here's the final build, and I say final, because the parts are ordered!!!! Yay!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LE PLUS ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($62.78 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($92.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($377.28 @ TigerDirect)
Case: Corsair 650D ATX Mid Tower Case ($172.78 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1343.72
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-05 13:19 EDT-0400)

Base price: 1446.64
Final price (after discounts and rebates): 1349.67

Thanks to everyone who game me invaluable advice on this build. If I could mark every response as "the answer", I would. I'll come back and link to my build thread once I get all the parts in.
 
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