New Gaming System, helpful advice please =)

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dscarroll86

Honorable
Apr 30, 2013
3
0
10,510
I'm planning on building a new PC soon (next month or so), and this will be my first build so I'd like a little advice. I'll be using it mostly for gaming, but also for internet, movies, and maybe a little video editing. I'm coming from a laptop with a 1st-gen i5 and an ATI 5650. It's getting a little dated and can't always run new games well, so I decided to upgrade.

Here's what I've come up with: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/DSCarroll86/saved/1rQ9

I've actually already gotten the video card because it was on sale last week. I'm sort of going a little over budget, but I may go a higher if I think it's worth it. I will probably be doing some over-clocking on the CPU. I already have a copy of Win 7 ready to install.

Also, a question about memory. What are the advantages of getting a lower voltage memory? 1.5V vs 1.35V besides the obvious lower power consumption.

Thanks,
-DSCarroll86
 
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ksham

ksham

Splendid
Mar 29, 2013
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I'd get a more powerful PSU. Corsair CX series are built for basic systems. Also, the Intel Core i7-3770K is overly expensive for a gaming build.

No disadvantages to getting 1.35V RAM. They run cooler and are shorter (no need for heatsink).
 
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dscarroll86

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Apr 30, 2013
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I went with the i7 because I can get it cheap at a microcenter store. and also thinking about future-proofing. I'll definitely look into the PSU, I wasn't sure how the Corsair CX is compared to other brands.
 
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Intel recommends that the RAM is 1.5v for the Ivy Bridge CPU. You should get 1.5v or less to avoid any issues. Some people have fried their CPU using 1.65v RAM on an IB or SB CPU. The Vengeance RAM you picked is a good choice.

The CPU is one of the best and more than enough for what you plan on using it for. If you want to save $100 or so, the 3570k is almost the same minus hyper-threading. HT isn't used in games, so if you are mostly gaming, you won't miss it as much.

Optical drive: there is a sale right now on newegg for an LG blu ray burner for $59; only $10 more than the one you picked:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136250&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL042613&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL042613-_-EMC-042613-Latest-_-BluRayBurners-_-27136250-L0C

With the GTX 670, you will have a very nice, fast, quiet PC for gaming, home theater and editing.

One missing piece which will significantly improve your setup's overall performance is a solid state drive. A 120 GB or 240 GB Samsung 840 will be a perfect fit. It is highly recommended that on a PC of this caliber, a SSD is almost required. If you opt for the 3570k, the money you saved could get you a 120 GB SSD. You should consider one even if you are going to get the 3770k.
 
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Guest

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So true. For example, my IB i5 laptop came with a 5,400 RPM SATA 6.0 GB/s HDD. Windows 7 Home would take nearly 40-45 seconds to boot from a cold start. I got a new Samsung 840 SSD for my PC so I took the old Samsung 830 and installed it in my laptop as the system drive. Windows now takes under 10 seconds to boot. From pushing the power button to being online and surfing the web, it is under 20 seconds. The same processes (booting, load background processes, load firewall and AV, connect to net, open browser, load web page) took over a minute and a half with the 5,400 RPM HDD. Everything from loading programs to copying files is amazingly faster. If there is only one part you can upgrade, the SSD is it and will make the most difference. You can live without it, but you also can live without high speed internet (or can you?). The difference is that big. It really is like the difference between a 56k modem and a 5 mbps broadband connection.
 
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Guest

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Yes, that is true It is slightly faster than both the 830 128 GB and 840 120 GB on read speed. I ran the benchmark program that comes with the magician software with the drives. The 250 GB 840 is about 10% faster read but a bit slower with write speed. The 128 GB 830 is faster than the 120 GB 840 due to a faster chip. It has something to do with the 840 having to process 3 blocks at a time vs the 830's 2 at a time. The 830 uses an MCX controller and the 840 uses an MDX.

I use the bigger drive in my PC simply because it has more space. I can live with the slight decrease in write speed in favor of more space.
 
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