Many questions concerning PC components

pc-components · Jul 2, 2013

I am looking into a pc of such components:
-ASrock B75M-DGS
-i5-3350P 3.1GHz
-GeForce GTX 660 MSI 2GB N660-2GD5/OC
-Kingston 8GB DDR3 (1600MHz)
-Seagate Barracuda 1TB, 7200, SATA 64MB
-Corsair CX600 ATX2.3 80+ 600W
-Codegen ATX-Q3354-CA (the cheapest pc case in my shop)

I chose them by my basic knowledge which I don't count on. So I'd be thankful to receive as much feedback as you willing to share on this. I want to stress out that price is pretty important to me.

My only requirement for a pc so far is to play and stream one specific game Company of Heroes 2 with a decent fps. I am not looking into upgrading or overclocking in the future. My aim is to get a good quality/price ratio.

So what do you think about these components, are they compatible to each other first of all?

Is any component going to slow down the others? Is there any component that is too good for others so I could cut the price on it? Particulary is processor and video card on the same level, not going to slow one another down?

A big question mark is on the motherboard. As much I read other pc builds, I noticed more expensive motherboards being offered. I don't quite understand for what reason. Do they have an impact on other components' performance?

The other important question is PSU - is CX600 600W enough for this system? Would a cheaper one Corsair VS 550W ATX be enough for it? Because I'd like to save on parts like this if it's possible.

The last concern is a processor and video card. Is 3350P a good choice for it's price? Is it worth to consider AMD product? I heard Intel is a choice for gaming which is my priority. Also, what is better performance/price wise - i5 3350P 3.1GHz or i5 2400S 2.5Ghz?
What about the GTX 660? Is MSI a trustworthy manufacturer or should I choose a more expensive product of Asus for example? (Again - I'm looking to save everywhere if possible). What does N660-2GD5/OC mean next to the name of the card? I believe it's overclocked, any pros/cons of it? Is it worth considering Radeon, can I get a better product for a same or lower price?

Eximo · Jul 2, 2013

It will all work together, and none of the selected parts are of low-quality. I would tend toward ASUS, but I also live next to one of their service centers.

660 is the series of card. 2G (2 Gigabytes)is the memory size, D5 is the memory type(GDDR5) OC stands for overclock, meaning this card is running faster then a standard, or reference, GTX660 from nVidia.

The i5-3550P will outperfrom the i5-2400S by a small but noticeable margin, it is also a newer model, so it is a decent choice.

A well branded 430W supply would be enough for this build, but 500-600W is fine and leaves room for adding drives, and takes aging components into account.

kewlguy239 · Jul 2, 2013

well your build options are pretty good, obviously a budget system, but good choices.

For the price of the I5 3350P you are almost at the price of the I5 3570K. The 3570K would allow you to overclock and is a faster chip. I would recommend this over what you have listed.

The motherboard is sufficient. It has all the tools you need for a good gaming system. I would try to find a cheap Z77 chipset motherboard instead, but I believe those start at $100 or so, depending on manufacturer.

the only thing I have anything to disagree with is the choice of video card. I would get the GTX 760. its better than the 660ti and is actually cheaper. I would go with EVGA as the video card brand. You can get an EVGA GTX 760 starting at $249.

The memory is sufficient, but would recommend going with a faster speed. You can get a kit of Gskill 8gb 2400mhz cas 10 DDR3 for $70 on newegg. the extra few bucks you will be spending will give significant performance increase.

I hope this has been helpful.

Eximo · Jul 2, 2013

Overclocking increases the costs on almost every component, need a better motherboard, an aftermarket heatsink/fan, and buying expensive overclocked memory (1600 is already overclocked for 3rd gen chips) doesn't add real performance value except in high workload conditions that use a lot of memory. For a true budget build, 4GB at 1333 would be plenty.

The OP selected a GTX660 at ~$200, 660Ti and 760 are closer to $250

photonboy · Jul 2, 2013

Points:
1) It's difficult to recommend parts without knowing your EXACT BUDGET (don't forget Windows 8). Company of Heroes 2 will likely scale nicely so you have to decide where to DRAW THE LINE in terms of budget. A link online seems to suggest a GTX660 can get 60FPS at 1920x1080, but I agree with the other guy and recommend the GTX760.

The i5-3570K costs a little bit more, but again as mentioned it's a "K" series which can easily be overclocked to 4.2GHz without changing many settings so I think it's worth the small premium.

2) GTX760 ($260):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127745

3) i5-3570K (CPU)

4) Z77 1155 motherboard (i.e. Asus P8Z77-V LK for $125 after MIR):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131837

5) 8GB (2x4GB) of 1600MHz DDR3 (or higher frequency)

6) Windows 8 64-bit

7) START8 from Stardock (if desired to bring back Start Menu etc. Don't be convinced to get Windows 7 as W8 is better).

8) Other components. (550W or 650W PSU; better CPU Cooler than stock; DVD drive; front case fan if not part of case)

*ALTERNATIVE CPU/Motherboard (example motherboard with better audio):
It's more money at $20 more for the CPU and $25 more for the motherboard but I also liked this HASWELL combo:
1) i5-4670K ($240), and
2) Z87 1150: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130693

SUMMARY:
There's a bit of FLEXIBILITY with some parts. In general, I recommend an Intel 4-core HD3000 or HD4000 CPU, the GTX760, 8GB DDR3, Windows 8, 650W Power Supply.

*I'm staring at Intel CPU prices and can't quite believe my eyes. An i5-3570K can easily overclock to a Turbo of 4.2GHz whereas the slightly cheaper ($220 vs $180) i5-3350p can go up to 3.3GHz. That's a 27% performance difference for $40. I just can't recommend anything beside an i5-3570K or i5-4670K for a good gaming build like this.

pc-components · Jul 3, 2013

Thanks for answers so far.
I live in Europe so I can't buy from newegg as I understand. I chose my local online shop, it doesn't have 7 series of GTX, besides it's not small difference in price compared to GTX660 and is over my aim which I think 660 fulfils more than enough. Same goes for 3570K which has price of 276.54$ in my shop, while 3350P goes for 206.92$.
I'd only like to know what do you think about Corsair VS 550W ATX. I read it's worse than CX models. But would it be enough for this system? It is cheaper than CX600 and even than CX500. I dont want to spend any extra $ on stuff which most likely will not be utilised.

Update:
Also I'm curious about that Z77 chipset you offered. As I said I just don't know why everybody advices to go for that. Does it add in performance? Or is it better for something like possible overclocking? Because motherboard with such chipset is more expensive and I'd like to know what value it adds so I could decide if I really need that.

Eximo · Jul 3, 2013

Z series is for overclocking. H series has all the features of Z without the overclocking, in general.

I tend to recommend Corsair CX models for non-overclocking systems, but usually have them larger then required to take into account aging and future peripherals. They are not made with the best components or circuit designs, but aren't fire hazards in a box like some off brand supplies.

There are more expensive 430W and 520W from brands like Seasonic or XFX that are made with better components that will easily fill your needs, but you do pay a premium (though these parts will come with some very long warranties 5 or 7 years)

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