Too many choices -- Help with First Gaming Rig

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Solrac Otoc

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Oct 7, 2013
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I was given the i7-3770 SR0PK 3.4GHZ processor for free so I am in the process of building a rig around this. This is a entry to mid level gaming rig for my 11 year old son. I am not looking to break the bank but I want quality components that will last him a while. A good long warranty is a plus. Lastly...I am not interested in overclocking any of my components.

So far this is what I have in my possession for the build:

x1 i7-3770 SR0PK 3.4GHZ
x1 Cooler Master Hyper N520 - CPU Cooler with Copper Base and 5 Heat Pipes (RR-920-N520-G​P)
x1 SAMSUNG 840 Series 2.5" 120GB SATA III SSD
x1 Seagate Barracuda 3 TB HDD SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 7200 RPM 3.5-Inch Internal Drive
x1 Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 850 Watt ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS Bronze (TX850M)

Have not yet purchased but and leaning toward this ASUS MB:
Asus P8Z77-V LK Intel Z77 DDR3 LGA 1155 Motherboard

What I need is advice on the video card to be paired with all the components above and a 32" 1080P tv via HDMI. Here is what I have been looking at:

ASUS GTX650TIB-DC2OC-2GD5 GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
vs.
EVGA 02G-P4-3658-KR GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST SuperClocked 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Video Card
vs.
EVGA 02G-P4-2663-KR GeForce GTX 660 FTW Signature 2 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
or should I pony up for something like this:
ASUS GTX660 TI-DC2O-2GD5 GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Gosh the choices and combinations give me a headache? The other option is getting something like the GTX650 Ti now and and purchasing another one later, when money is available, for an SLI. What will the performance on something like that be compared to a single GTX660?

Spec wise the 660 outperforms...but will my 11-year old, who has only known the Xbox360 and PS3, even notice the difference? Will any of these cards match up, close enough to the new PS4 and Xbox One?

Please help guys. I really appreciate the time you spend on this question.

Kind regards.

Carlos.
 
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Africa_PC

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Sep 6, 2013
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Your best bet for VGA will be to go towards the Asus 650Ti. Cards that have Ti after the name means that it has more cuda cores which increases the GPU speed. That motherboard is also good. Asus and ASRock are probably the most stable boards around. When you are purchasing memory I would look to get 8GB of Kingston. Great value for money and its a good brand.

I am not too sure about the new consoles. I have not looked into them at all.
 
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Ajax539

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Sep 6, 2013
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I'd say go for the 650Ti boost and buy another one later on to SLI. I highly doubt your son will be able to tell the difference between Xbox 360 and PS3 graphics unless you point it out to him. 650TI Boosts running in SLI perform better than a 670 in most games so I think that would be the most cost effective solution. Unless you're willing to do the same for a 660 or a 660TI.
 
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coozie7

coozie7

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Jun 2, 2007
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A lot depends on the monitor resolution: for 720 res the GTX650Ti is more than enough but for 1080 something stronger would be useful.
Me, I'd drop the SSD, downgrade the powersupply and put the money towards a stronger graphics card, something like the GTX760/HD7950 but only if the monitor resolution demands it.
 
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markwp

markwp

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Jan 22, 2013
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If you are not planning to overclock the cpu, the stock intel cooler will be all you need. The N520 is only needed if you overclock.

The TX850 is also overkill for your system. The TX650M would be more than enough as would a Seasonic 620 or an XFX 650 - any of these will give you headroom to grow and overclock if you wish.

The 650ti boost uses the same chip as the 660, but is slightly crippled. You mentioned the possibility of going sli with the boost, and that would certainly be faster than a single 660, but I have always felt it is best to get the BEST single solution gpu you can afford. If you step up now to a 760 you will get better performance than the 660 and if you still want to sli later, it is a better solution in the long run. You also might want to look at the Radeon tahiti cards which are very price competitive and also come with a nice bundle of games for your son.

The better gpu's will also give performance that closely matches the console games.

Mark
 
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ubercake

ubercake

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Oct 28, 2009
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The P8Z77-V LK is a great motherboard choice as it offers the flexibility of a future SLI upgrade. You can go with a less-expensive brand, but personally I wouldn't. There's a reason they can undercut the price of other brands. It's usually the quality of the components. Longevity usually suffers with the bargain brands.

I would go with the 660 or 660 ti if you want to ensure you'll be looking at graphics similar to or better than the new consoles.

I've found the GTX 650 Ti to be a good card for MMORPGs, but when it comes to online multi-player first-person shooters, they are a little lacking comparatively, but they're still decent. Just turn down the AA and a few details and it will be OK. Getting a 650 ti boost now and another one later would be a good option if you're going to go this route. That Asus motherboard and the Corsair PSU you've chosen will be ready for the upgrade any time. Ultimately though, I'd suggest you go with the 660 or 660ti now and get another one of those later. You always want to start with the single best video card you have within your budget and add another later if necessary.

Since you won't be OC'ing or overvolting RAM, you can pick up any value RAM. I agree with the 8GB suggestion above (a kit with 2x4GB modules to take advantage of the dual-channel bandwidth).

You could save money with the PSU and go with a 750W version. I recommend Corsair, XFX or Seasonic without hesitation. These will accommodate an SLI setup as well.
 
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Solrac Otoc

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Oct 7, 2013
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So...this being a rig basically only for him and his gaming, the SSD is overkill? That would put $100 back in my pocket which I could put into the GTX760. Hmmmm. All the other components are purchased. The 850 PSU was on sale cheaper than the 750 model so I jumped on it in the event I wanted to SLI whatever card I end up purchasing. The other thing that is digging into my pockets is this case that I really like for my son at $120. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139015

 
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markwp

markwp

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Jan 22, 2013
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The ssd will give him very fast boot times and will have enough room to put a few games on. The actual performance during gaming will not improve noticeably. If you install games on the ssd, but keep the data on hdd, you will get fast boots, fast game starts and great data storage all rolled up in one.

As far as cases go, it's hard to beat the Cooler Master Half series. The Half 922 (HERE) has great cooling (if he's gaming a lot, heat is going to be present), plenty of room for gpu(s) and is very solid in all respects.
 
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ubercake

ubercake

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Oct 28, 2009
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If you're comparing to consoles, none are using SSDs. So a good WD Black edition will give you a great warranty and great performance for an HDD.

Also, when I went looking for a new case for my gaming rig, I found NZXT has some great cases with compelling features. Take a look at the NZXT Phantom 530 or NZXT Phantom 630 if you have more in your budget for a case, or an NZXT Source 220 if you want to save some cash on the case and still get a quality case. Those three choices offer you a broad range of spending possibilities for great cases. It depends on what you want to spend.
 
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Solrac Otoc

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Oct 7, 2013
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Thanks so far for all the replies guys. Another card to consider...over the Asus GTX 760.

MSI Gaming N760 TF 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 760 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Video Card

This card seems to be better rated (as far as New Egg is concerned). Asus vs. MSI for the GTX 760?
 
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coozie7

coozie7

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Jun 2, 2007
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I'm a total philistine about cases, mine sits under the desk so it's just something that holds/cools all the bits but I can see the attraction of something special for a youngster, so if you can get the Corsair Vengeance, then go for it- although the HAF is still an brilliant enclosure.
One thing I'm VERY picky about is cooling and quiet parts so I suggest you read the feedback and see which one seems quietest. As a tiebreaker, get whichever has the longest warranty.
I'll stick my neck out here and say the SSD is not required. If your son is anything like me at that age, once he's in front of the screen you'll need Dynamite to shift him, so saving a few seconds on boot times is a poor use of $100, it's money that would be better spent on a faster (and by its very nature longer lived) graphics card.
 
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