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Feedback and Advice Appreciated on my First Build Plans

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June 25, 2013 2:33:28 PM

Hi, I was hoping to get some feedback on the parts I've chosen so far for a gaming PC. I'd really appreciate any advice, since I don't have any knowledge other than what I've read so far on the internet, and don't want to make any mistakes.

I've already done a lot of research, including on this website, and narrowed it down to these parts based on value for money and availability at the local Fry's, since I figured if any parts were faulty, returning in person would be a lot quicker.

Fry's has a price matching guarantee, so as long as they carry the part, a cheaper (but condition-meeting) site would be useful.

This will be my first personal PC, so I don't have any parts or peripherals.

My goal is to be able to play most (ideally any) PC games coming out within the next four years, aiming especially for Star Citizen on decent graphical settings, at least 1080P.

Approximate Purchase Date: August

Budget Range: ~$1500

System Usage: Heavy Gaming

Are you buying a monitor: Yes

Do you need to buy OS: Yes (I'll get Windows 8 and MS Office from Amazon)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Fry's (Buying In-store), Amazon, Newegg

Location: Sunnyvale, CA

Parts Preferences: Intel

Overclocking: Maybe in the future

Crossfire: Maybe in the future

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Parts:

CPU: Intel i5 3570K Price Matched to Amazon @ $220
(The new Haswell series is more expensive, and apparently worse for OC. The stock cooler should be fine until I decide to OC.)

MoBo: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H Price Matched to Amazon @ $105
(PCI-E 3.0, USB 3.0, 2 Sata III, OC-capable)

Graphics Card: Gigabyte HD 7870 OC Price Matched to Amazon @ $235
(Right price point, not interested in many PhysX games, good cooling and factory OC, since I'm not quite ready to chance it myself)

RAM: 12GB Patriot Viper II 1600MHz @ $65
(Good quality, cheap. 12GB to allow heavy gaming without closing down other programs.) (Was unable to find out how silly it is to use 3 sticks on an i5 dual channel board)

PSU: Corsair 600 CXM (At Amazon) @ $77
(600W to accomodate possible future Crossfire or Overclocking)

SSD: Crucial M4 (At Amazon) @ $121
(Cheaper than the Samsung 840 Pro, but similarly regarded)

HDD: WD Caviar Blue @ $70
(Reliable, fast, and I don't see myself needing more than 1TB in the near future)

Monitor: Asus VS247H-P Price Matched to Amazon @ $135 (After Rebate)
(Good size, but crucially, runs at 75Hz - I find 60Hz irritating for prolonged use)

Case: Xion XON-570 (At Amazon) @ $36 (Post-Rebate)
(Good cooling, looks nice, cheap. I realize it has no USB 3.0 Ports. Would appreciate a similar suggestion)

Wireless Adapter: Asus N150 PCI-E @ $22


Fans:
200mm Cooler Master @ $15
120mm Bgears @ $8
(200mm intake at Side for extra GPU cooling, 120mm at Back)

Headphones/Mike: MS LifeChat 3000 (At Amazon) @ $23

Any critiques or suggestions appreciated, especially with regard to good value Keyboard/Mouse setups. Please let me know if you think I'm missing anything.

Thanks in advance for the help.

More about : feedback advice appreciated build plans

June 25, 2013 2:54:23 PM

RAM - dual channel. Either 2 or 4 sticks, so either 8 or 16GB. Not 3 sticks @ 12GB.
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June 25, 2013 3:23:46 PM

USAFRet said:
RAM - dual channel. Either 2 or 4 sticks, so either 8 or 16GB. Not 3 sticks @ 12GB.


I apologize, but I'm receiving conflicting information from various sources, so would you mind spelling it out a little more clearly, so I can see the logic behind it?

Are you saying 8GB is more effective in dual channel than 12GB? I understand having the odd-one-out causes problems, but that much?

Would you be able to confirm or guess about whether 8GB would be enough or too little for large numbers of browser windows and other programs while heavy duty gaming?
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June 25, 2013 3:33:37 PM

For mostly gaming, yes, 8GB is fine. 8GB is a very standard gaming build these days. 12 doesn't bring that much performance increase.

Get 2 x 4 GB sticks, and you can add 2 x 4GB sticks later if needed.
I use 16GB, but that is because I often run multiple VM's at a time. Each with their own dedicated chunk of RAM.

Also, consider low profile RAM instead of the finned ones. If you decide to add a large air cooler later, you may have clearance issues.
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June 25, 2013 3:42:06 PM

USAFRet said:
For mostly gaming, yes, 8GB is fine. 8GB is a very standard gaming build these days. 12 doesn't bring that much performance increase.

Get 2 x 4 GB sticks, and you can add 2 x 4GB sticks later if needed.
I use 16GB, but that is because I often run multiple VM's at a time. Each with their own dedicated chunk of RAM.

Also, consider low profile RAM instead of the finned ones. If you decide to add a large air cooler later, you may have clearance issues.


My concern is that Star Citizen (Which I'm more or less setting my specs around, since if I can play that, I can play almost anything) wants 12GB of RAM as it is, and I'll also need Skype open, plus ideally browser windows and background processes. With that in mind, do you still think 8GB will be sufficient? (Not a rhetorical question, btw. If you confidently say yes, that's less money I have to fork out.)

I'll keep an eye out about the fins, thanks. What about OCing, though? Won't fins be useful then to disperse heat?
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June 25, 2013 4:07:42 PM

No experience with that particular game, but if it is asking for 12GB all by itself, then 12 isn't enough.
However....this says 4GB will be enough.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Kickstarter-Star-Citiz...
Also at the Kickstarter page

Where are you seeing 12GB required?

Hang on...THIS game?
Looking at the game site - Star Citizen PC Release date Release Period: Nov 2014

This is for a game that won't be out for a year and a half? Get the 8 now, and another 8 if you need it later.
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June 25, 2013 4:24:42 PM

USAFRet said:
No experience with that particular game, but if it is asking for 12GB all by itself, then 12 isn't enough.
However....this says 4GB will be enough.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Kickstarter-Star-Citiz...
Also at the Kickstarter page

Where are you seeing 12GB required?

Hang on...THIS game?
Looking at the game site - Star Citizen PC Release date Release Period: Nov 2014

This is for a game that won't be out for a year and a half? Get the 8 now, and another 8 if you need it later.


I'm getting my requirements from Game Debate. It could be mistaken, I suppose, but I wouldn't be surprised - it looks likely to be the most advanced game available, requirements-wise, since it's specifically intended not to be held back by console restrictions.

My source shows 4GB as the minimum. If I'm spending big on a computer to play games for the next few years, I'd like to be epic for at least the first couple... :p 

And yes, it is coming out Nov 14. The alpha, however, starts ~Nov 13, and the beta some point in-between. As a pre-orderer, I get access to both, so it's a slightly more immediate issue. I also would hate to find out once I start playing that 8GB doesn't cut it.

I went looking, and found some nice Patriot Viper 3 RAM, 16GB for less than $10 more than the 12GB, so I think I'll probably get that. It looks like a good bargain, right?

To clarify, since the internet's somewhat divided, 1600MHz isn't much better than 1333MHz in practice, right?
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June 25, 2013 4:31:02 PM

Liam Gow said:


I went looking, and found some nice Patriot Viper 3 RAM, 16GB for less than $10 more than the 12GB, so I think I'll probably get that. It looks like a good bargain, right?

To clarify, since the internet's somewhat divided, 1600MHz isn't much better than 1333MHz in practice, right?


Yes and yes.
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June 25, 2013 4:32:23 PM

USAFRet said:
Liam Gow said:


I went looking, and found some nice Patriot Viper 3 RAM, 16GB for less than $10 more than the 12GB, so I think I'll probably get that. It looks like a good bargain, right?

To clarify, since the internet's somewhat divided, 1600MHz isn't much better than 1333MHz in practice, right?


Yes and yes.


Thanks ^_^
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