1500$Desktop Please point me in the right direction

Ollie Cottam · May 13, 2013

Hey guys,
as you will obviously guess just from reading this thread I am new to this custom desktop building. Although I am new I would like to have a decent desktop, I have a 1500$ budget but I can add a few dollars here or there. I am abroad so all of my components are coming from amazon, so my budget includes shipping fees and such. I am aiming to have a heavy gaming desktop that can just survive anything I throw at it. Also I want this thing not to go out of date as soon as I get it.
Here is my build that I have selected.

So starting off with the case I have chosen a Cooler Master Haf-X full tower with side panel and usb 3.0 (I know people do disagree about the look of this case but I like it so the case for me probably won't change)

Next the CPU - I have chosen the Intel Core I5 3750k over the i7 3770k because I don't do a lot of editing or videos.

For the GPU I chose the 660ti Nvidia 3072MB

now the motherboard, for this I chose the Asus Sabertooth Z77 HDMI SATA 6GB/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel motherboard

For the RAM I chose Corsair Vengeance Blue 8 GB (2x4GB sticks) 1600 MHz with heat spreaders

For the CPU cooler I chose a Cooler Master 212 EVO, I didn't want to get in with liquid cooling because this is my first build and I would rather get my confidence up before I get a bit more fancy.

The PSU im using a Corsair 750w modular 80 plus Gold (AX750)

Im also buying 2 more 200mm fans from cooler master with red LEDs

For the storage Im using a 1tb Western Digital. I didn't go with a SSD because of the price but once I have everything up and running I will hopefully upgrade.

Im getting an Asus (PCE-N15) Wifi Adpater

And for the Optical Drive im getting a Desktop DVD writer for desktop SATA internal

Please give me some suggestions and advice, I need it and would appreciate it so much if you did, also could you tell me if everything was compatible with each other.

Thank you in advance, Ollie Cottam

J_E_D_70 · May 13, 2013

With that budget you should be able to get an SSD so you don't have to reload Windows later on (or does shipping push you over?).

I'd get Corsair low profile since the head spreaders don't do anything useful and *could* interfere with the Evo (not sure about the Sabertooth).

Sabertooth is overkill and the armor does nothing. If you want to stick with Asus the plan old P8Z77-V should be plenty.

If electricity is really expensive where you are then the Gold rated PSU is a good idea. If not, Bronze is the way to go (since you may never make up the added cost in savings). If you run your computer under load most all day, then Gold is a good thing too.

If you save some on the mobo and PSU I'd get a 7970 GPU.

At any rate it's a nice parts selection.

g-unit1111 · May 13, 2013

Get a far less expensive motherboard and then use the difference to upgrade your GPU to a GTX 670 or a Radeon 7970.

On gaming rigs the GPU is arguably the single most important component and you don't want to skimp or compromise if you can help it. The Sabertooth is an expensive gimmick and the thermal armor doesn't do the job it's advertised to do.

Here's what I would suggest for your budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($60.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($445.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 ATX Mid Tower Case ($106.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1362.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-13 15:34 EDT-0400)

Then add OS license, and whatever else you want.

chrisafp07 · May 13, 2013

g-unit1111 :

Get a far less expensive motherboard and then use the difference to upgrade your GPU to a GTX 670 or a Radeon 7970.

On gaming rigs the GPU is arguably the single most important component and you don't want to skimp or compromise if you can help it. The Sabertooth is an expensive gimmick and the thermal armor doesn't do the job it's advertised to do.

Here's what I would suggest for your budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($60.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($445.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 ATX Mid Tower Case ($106.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1362.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-13 15:34 EDT-0400)

Then add OS license, and whatever else you want.

+1 I like that build. For that price I don't think you can go wrong.

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1500$Desktop Please point me in the right direction

Ollie Cottam

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J_E_D_70

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g-unit1111

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chrisafp07

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