Need some advice on a ~$1000 Gaming PC for my brother.

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MikeL1

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This is the system we are planning:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling ACFZ13 36.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.88 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.23 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($293.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec GX700 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Case Fan: Arctic Cooling Arctic F12 PWM CO 74.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($8.89 @ Outlet PC)
Case Fan: Arctic Cooling Arctic F12 PWM CO 74.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($8.89 @ Outlet PC)
Case Fan: Arctic Cooling Arctic F12 PWM CO 74.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($8.89 @ Outlet PC)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Smart SE 730W
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-12 21:20 EDT-0400)

Approximate Purchase Date: This week/month
Budget Range: About $1000.
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, watching movies.
Are you buying a monitor: No
Do you need to buy OS: No
Location: Israel, but you can recommend as if I'm buying in the US/EU. Ill try to find the part in an Israeli store.
Overclocking: Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: No
Your Monitor Resolution: 1080p

Several points regarding the build to explain why I chose some parts:

The PSU is not on PCPartPicker. The supplier I'm buying from is selling it for the price of much lower wattage PSUs for some reason. I also want to have the option of upgrading to SLI at some point in the future, since buying a second hand older generation GPU for SLI is usually much cheaper than buying a single new GPU for the same performance increase, which is why its a 730W PSU.

We chose this case because it appears to be a cheap case that happens to have a lot of features, such as a lot of fans, a fan controller, dust filters, USB 3.0. If you know of other good cases at around the same price point that have similar features (dust filters most importantly), we'll be happy to hear your suggestions.

The 3 additional case fans are PWM fans. The idea is to use them to create positive air pressure within the case, so they will be intake fans (the case has a built in air filter for the 2 front fans and Ill add a filter for the side fan). The reason I chose PWM fans, is because I hope to connect them to the motherboard and have them increase/decrease speed automatically. However, I have never built a system with PWM fans, so I have no experience with this tech. If you have any reasons to believe this will not work (such as an incompatible motherboard) it will be great if you share them.

What is your opinion about the motherboard?

We will be happy to hear any other suggestions you might have.

Thank you.
 
Solution
DSzymborski
Ah, helpful to have the site you're interested in. Easier to give a recommendation (you did say assume $1000 US originally!).

Optical Drive - LG DVD±RW GH24NS x24 Black SATA OEM - 115 ₪
Case - Antec GX700 Original Rugged Case (No PSU) - 280 ₪
Power Supply - SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Active PFC - 320 ₪
2 x Front Case Fan 120m (case has a rear and two tops already) - Arctic F12 120mm - 2 x 40 = 80 ₪
Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB - 330 ₪
RAM - G.Skill 2x4GB DDR3 1600Mhz Ares Dual Channel CL9-9-9 365 ₪
Motherboard - Gigabyte Z77M-D3H - 505 ₪
CPU - Intel Core i5 3570K 3.4Ghz s1155 6MB, GPU Core, Tray - 1090 ₪
GPU - Sapphire Radeon Vapor-X HD 7950 OC - 1670 ₪
Cooler Scythe Katana 4 CPU Cooler - 130 ₪...
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dannyboy2233

dannyboy2233

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IMO, PWM fans are not worth it. In my experience, it takes a very specific to run it well, and you're much better off just getting regular fans for slightly less performance and MUCH less hassle. As to the rest of it; great build! I recommend the Asrock Extreme4 Z77 to save a couple bucks, and then put that towards a better Corsair Carbide 300R case :)
 
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smorizio

smorizio

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Few small changes...swap the 3570k for 4670k that on sale at micro center. The ib 1155 mb is a dead slot now that haswells out. For the ram use a kit of two dimms. Mb run better with two matched dimms. For the four pin fans check the mb your buying some only have one or two four pin headers. The rest are three pins. With more then two fans I like to use a case with a fan controller or buy a 30 dollar unit that has 6 fan ports on it and goes into one of the front drive bays. As this is a gaming pc and going over seas pick up a seasonic power supply there one of the top rated units.
 
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DSzymborski

DSzymborski

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A few problems here. Not worth getting the replacement fans on the budget, you're using 1 stick of RAM instead of 2x4 (you want to take advantage of dual channel) and you can get a better PSU for less money and be able to upgrade elsewhere. I'll put together another $1000 proposal.
 
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MikeL1

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Can you provide more info about why you think the PWM is not worth it? One of the reasons I chose PWM, is that with 6 fans I want to be able to power them on a very low speed, so that there won't be much noise. The built in fans have a controller, and the PWM fans should be controllable from MB software.



I have seen benchmarks for the 4570k, and it doesnt look much better than the 3570k. We will probably not swap the PCU, so the fact that the slot is outdated isn't as important.

You misunderstood. The PC isn't going overseas. We are in Israel and we are buying the parts here.

Ill look into changing the RAM and the 4-pin slots for the fans, thanks.



The fans are not replacement. They are additional fans to create positive pressure.

Ill look into the RAM issue. I chose this PSU because its relatively cheap and I want to have the option to upgrade into SLI in the future.
 
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dannyboy2233

dannyboy2233

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I recommend just getting a front-panel fan controller and regular fans. PWM is one of those things that is made to seem absolutely amazing, but with a relatively mediocre fan controller, it can be done quite easily with regular fans. Just turn them up a bit if you think you need to (like for gaming), or down when you think you won't.
 
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DSzymborski

DSzymborski

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek GAIA SD1283 56.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.23 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($405.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec GX700 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1001.06
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-12 21:42 EDT-0400)

Getting a dependable PSU at 550W, a less expensive but solid performing cooler, and going with the stock case fans allows you a significant GPU bump for the same price.

However, I cannot guarantee that any of this is available in Israel, either my build or yours. I've never done an Israel-sourced build, but I've done enough EU countries to warn you that prices can be very different from the US. Once you have a framework of a build, it would be smart to see what your options *are* and talk them over with the forums.
 
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MikeL1

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Your build would be way too expensive in Israel. Here is the shop I'm buying from if you are interested. My budget is about 4500₪-5000₪.

 
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MikeL1

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Thank you for your suggestion, but I really want to try PWM. It does sound amazing. Did you try it and had a bad experience?
 
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DSzymborski

DSzymborski

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Ah, helpful to have the site you're interested in. Easier to give a recommendation (you did say assume $1000 US originally!).

Optical Drive - LG DVD±RW GH24NS x24 Black SATA OEM - 115 ₪
Case - Antec GX700 Original Rugged Case (No PSU) - 280 ₪
Power Supply - SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Active PFC - 320 ₪
2 x Front Case Fan 120m (case has a rear and two tops already) - Arctic F12 120mm - 2 x 40 = 80 ₪
Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB - 330 ₪
RAM - G.Skill 2x4GB DDR3 1600Mhz Ares Dual Channel CL9-9-9 365 ₪
Motherboard - Gigabyte Z77M-D3H - 505 ₪
CPU - Intel Core i5 3570K 3.4Ghz s1155 6MB, GPU Core, Tray - 1090 ₪
GPU - Sapphire Radeon Vapor-X HD 7950 OC - 1670 ₪
Cooler Scythe Katana 4 CPU Cooler - 130 ₪
---------------------------------------------------------
4885 ₪

 
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MikeL1

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Thanks for the taking the time to provide a build! I have a few questions:

1) Why did you choose the SeaSonic 520W as opposed to PSU in my original build? It is only 70₪ more expensive, but its a 730W PSU - 200W more, so it could be used for 2 GPUs later.

2) Why the HD 7950 as opposed to the 660 TI in my build? Its almost 200₪ more expensive.

3) The motherboard you chose supports X-fire but not SLI, so if I use Nvidia its not ideal.

Edit: Another question. A poster suggested buying the new Haswell i5. I looked at the benchmarks and wasn't too impressed. What do you think?
 
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DSzymborski

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- I gave you the SeaSonic 520W because in your proposal, you said you weren't interested in SLI or Crossfire. So I went with a rock-solid 520 over a so-so 730. That particular Thermaltake has problems with voltage regulation, unsleeved cables, and has trouble taking on a full load at high temperatures - it's much safer to treat it as you would a 650. It's not without reason that the Thermaltake TR2 700W is going for 130 ₪ more than the Thermaltake SE 730W. If you are still interested in SLI/Crossfire, there are SeaSonics to go up to that aren't prohibitively expensive.

- You get a factory overclock, better cooling solution and in the long-term, the extra RAM will likely help the GPU as it ages (it's not a big deal at all right now, but stuff like heavily modded Skyrim can start to show the benefit here)

- In this case, because I recommended an AMD! You can move up motherboards, but you want to go a tier higher so that you can get motherboards that can run in x8 and x8 (now that I know you're interested in crossfire/SLI) rather than x16 and x4. Like Gigabyte Z77MX-D3H at 690 ₪ others in that price range.

- Haswell's better, but it's marginal and on at your budget, you have to make compromises somewhere. The 3570k is a super CPU, so when given the choice, a gaming rig will get more out of a beefier GPU than an upgrade to Haswell.
 
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MikeL1

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Yeah, I wasn't really clear about the SLI/xfire. Sorry about that. I meant that I want to buy one card initially but to have an option to upgrade to 2 cards in the future.

Here is a new build I came up with:

Kingston 2x4GB DDR3 1600Mhz HyperX Blue Dual Channel CL9-9-9-27 380 ₪
Seagate 1TB Barracuda 7200RPM 64MB Sata III ST1000DM003 330 ₪
Intel Core i5 3570K 3.4Ghz s1155 6MB, GPU Core, Tray 1090 ₪
Scythe Katana 4 CPU Cooler 130 ₪
MSI Z77A-G45 LGA1155 Core i3/i5/i7, Intel Z77, DDR3 1600, 3xPCI-E, VGA, DVI, HDMI 635 ₪
Arctic Cooling Arctic F12 PWM CO 120mm Case Fan 44 * 2 = 88₪
Antec GX700 Original Rugged Case (No PSU) 280 ₪
Thermaltake Smart SE 730W Active PFC 14cm Fan PSU 390 ₪
EVGA GTX660 Ti FTW 2GB GDDR5 DX11 2xDVI HDMI DP PCI-E 1490 ₪
LG DVD±RW GH24NS x24 Black SATA OEM 115 ₪

Total: 4928 ₪

I think I'll take the 730W PSU. I now understand its cheap for a reason, but I get a 2 year warranty from the shop, so if something goes wrong I can just go there and they'll replace it on the spot.

I have a few more questions:

I took the CPU cooler that you suggested, but I noticed it's only slightly cheaper than the one I used originally. Do you think its better?

I have a choice between the "EVGA GTX660 Ti FTW 2GB" for 1490 ₪ and the "Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 BOOST 3GB" for the exact same price. They are both OC, but the Radeon does offer 1GB more memory. I've had a bad experience with Radeon a few years ago, so I'm a little hesitant.

The fans I took are PWM, and are only slightly more expensive than yours. I'm hoping to connect them to the motherboard and have them adjust speed dynamically.

I chose this RAM because its 1600Mhz and CL9-9-9-27, even though its a bit more expensive. Do you think I should go for a cheap 1333Mhz RAM instead?

I chose a different motherboard in that price range like you suggested. What do you think?

Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to help.
 
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DSzymborski

DSzymborski

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Getting the manufacturer to replace the power supply is not the main concern (though it is one). The question is, if the power supply fails, what does it take out with it and even if it doesn't, what cumulative damage will it cause to your other components over time? Thermaltake's not going to replace your motherboard or CPU. It's not Logisys/Diablotek bad, but a PC is a costly purchase and safety is a bad place to cut corners.

Motherboard works. Nothing wrong with a 660TI. There's nothing wrong with Radeons though, I've used both AMD and Radeon over the years and both are recommendable. I'm running a 7970 of my own in my gaming rig, so I definitely have my own skin in the game when recommending a Radeon!
 
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