New Gaming Computer (Buying Parts - Need Feedback)

Kade McGarraghy · Oct 9, 2013

Hey everyone! I'm an Australian who's decided to build a gaming computer and I am quite a big noob when it comes to this as it's my first time doing it. I've looked for good parts on the internet and tried to include it in the build that I've got at the moment. Please provide feedback on how I can improve on quality or price. My budget is $2000 AUD

My build:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler

Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card

Sound Card: Creative Labs Z PCIe 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card

Case: Thermaltake Chaser A31 ATX Mid Tower Case

Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply

Optical Drive: Lite-On IHES312-98 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)

Made with PCPartPicker: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/user/sazaking/saved/2xl8

Just one last question.. With USB slots, where do those fit in to the build? I'll need at least 6 USB slots for my computer.

Thanks guys

rolli59 · Oct 9, 2013

There are several USB on the motherboard + the ones you have on your case, connect internally to the board, so you should have enough. Nice build by the way.

thepinkanator95 · Oct 9, 2013

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($389.00 @ PCCaseGear)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($49.00 @ Scorptec)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($135.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($95.00 @ CPL Online)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($149.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($95.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($429.00 @ CPL Online)
Sound Card: Creative Labs Z PCIe 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card ($129.00 @ PLE Computers)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($149.00 @ Scorptec)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($115.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Optical Drive: LG BH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($89.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($115.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $1938.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-10 13:32 EST+1100)

This build is better.

The CPU is faster and has more threads.

The CPU cooler works well enough to allow overclocking without the premium price.

The motherboard is comparable to the one you had with the newest chipset for cheaper.

The memory has a higher clock speed.

The graphics card is at the same level as the GeForce 680 and takes advantage of the motherboard's CrossFire (should you choose to do that).

The full tower case will allow for maximum airflow throughout your system to keep the components as cool as possible.

Corsair is better than XFX and it is a bit cheaper.

I gave you a Blu-Ray writer rather than just a reader.

Slightly under budget.

Kade McGarraghy · Oct 9, 2013

rolli59 :

Okay thanks for that!

rolli59 · Oct 9, 2013

But in gaming the I5 4670K keeps up with the I7 and is generally suggested for gaming machines therefore!

Kade McGarraghy · Oct 9, 2013

thepinkanator95 :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($389.00 @ PCCaseGear)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($49.00 @ Scorptec)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($135.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($95.00 @ CPL Online)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($149.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($95.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($429.00 @ CPL Online)
Sound Card: Creative Labs Z PCIe 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card ($129.00 @ PLE Computers)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($149.00 @ Scorptec)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($115.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Optical Drive: LG BH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($89.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($115.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $1938.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-10 13:32 EST+1100)

This build is better.

The CPU is faster and has more threads.

The CPU cooler works well enough to allow overclocking without the premium price.

The motherboard is comparable to the one you had with the newest chipset for cheaper.

The memory has a higher clock speed.

The graphics card is at the same level as the GeForce 680 and takes advantage of the motherboard's CrossFire (should you choose to do that).

The full tower case will allow for maximum airflow throughout your system to keep the components as cool as possible.

Corsair is better than XFX and it is a bit cheaper.

I gave you a Blu-Ray writer rather than just a reader.

Slightly under budget.

Thanks for that build! Does the AMD graphics card have the exact same performance as the 680?

thepinkanator95 · Oct 9, 2013

rolli59 :

But the i7 has 8 threads and will therefore last longer than the i5. Games are moving towards threading (Crysis 3 uses 6 threads and Battlefield 4 will be using 8).

thepinkanator95 · Oct 9, 2013

Kade McGarraghy :

thepinkanator95 :

Thanks for that build! Is the AMD graphics card have the exact same performance as the 680?

Yes and no. See gaming companies often make their games towards a specific card type. Some games will work better on a Radeon, and others will work better on GeForce. It's a good enough balance to say that yes that card is as good as the 680.

Kade McGarraghy · Oct 9, 2013

thepinkanator95 :

Kade McGarraghy :

thepinkanator95 :

Thanks for that build! Is the AMD graphics card have the exact same performance as the 680?

Yes and no. See gaming companies often make their games towards a specific card type. Some games will work better on a Radeon, and others will work better on GeForce. It's a good enough balance to say that yes that card is as good as the 680.

Alright awesome, could you explain CrossFire? Thanks

rolli59 · Oct 9, 2013

thepinkanator95 :

And spending $100 for those 2 games is worth it against spending them on a stronger GPU?

thepinkanator95 · Oct 9, 2013

Kade McGarraghy :

thepinkanator95 :

Alright awesome, could you explain CrossFire? Thanks

Yes, CrossFire is AMD's version of having more than one GPU work on the same thing. It sounds good in theory, but usually by the time you need to use CrossFire, there is a single card that can outperform your card with CrossFire. The general rule for CrossFire/SLI is to take the resources of your GPU and add one half of the resources of the other GPU. I haven't found it being worth it, but some may like it.

To find benefit take the card I gave you and multiply it by 1.5. That will be the benefit you gain.

Also, you will need to get a stronger PSU if you want to CrossFire (at least 750w).

thepinkanator95 · Oct 9, 2013

rolli59 :

thepinkanator95 :

And spending $100 for those 2 games is worth it against spending them on a stronger GPU?

In this case yes. The GPU benefits from here are minimal at best.

Kade McGarraghy · Oct 9, 2013

thepinkanator95 :

Kade McGarraghy :

Yes, CrossFire is AMD's version of having more than one GPU work on the same thing. It sounds good in theory, but usually by the time you need to use CrossFire, there is a single card that can outperform your card with CrossFire. The general rule for CrossFire/SLI is to take the resources of your GPU and add one half of the resources of the other GPU. I haven't found it being worth it, but some may like it.

To find benefit take the card I gave you and multiply it by 1.5. That will be the benefit you gain.

Also, you will need to get a stronger PSU if you want to CrossFire (at least 750w).

One more thing, do you know if a computer is fairly easy to put together?

I've heard from people that it's easy with a YouTube tutorial. Do you know a good one?

thepinkanator95 · Oct 9, 2013

Kade McGarraghy :

thepinkanator95 :

Kade McGarraghy :

Yes, CrossFire is AMD's version of having more than one GPU work on the same thing. It sounds good in theory, but usually by the time you need to use CrossFire, there is a single card that can outperform your card with CrossFire. The general rule for CrossFire/SLI is to take the resources of your GPU and add one half of the resources of the other GPU. I haven't found it being worth it, but some may like it.

To find benefit take the card I gave you and multiply it by 1.5. That will be the benefit you gain.

Also, you will need to get a stronger PSU if you want to CrossFire (at least 750w).

One more thing, do you know if a computer is fairly easy to put together?

I've heard from people that it's easy with a YouTube tutorial. Do you know a good one?

This is what you're looking for. It's pretty straight forward, just put the piece into the only slot it can fit. These guys dumb it down and make sure you don't make silly mistakes. Biggest thing I can tell you is be VERY careful with your CPU. That will be the most fragile piece of your build.

Kade McGarraghy · Oct 9, 2013

thepinkanator95 :

Kade McGarraghy :

thepinkanator95 :

Kade McGarraghy :

Yes, CrossFire is AMD's version of having more than one GPU work on the same thing. It sounds good in theory, but usually by the time you need to use CrossFire, there is a single card that can outperform your card with CrossFire. The general rule for CrossFire/SLI is to take the resources of your GPU and add one half of the resources of the other GPU. I haven't found it being worth it, but some may like it.

To find benefit take the card I gave you and multiply it by 1.5. That will be the benefit you gain.

Also, you will need to get a stronger PSU if you want to CrossFire (at least 750w).

One more thing, do you know if a computer is fairly easy to put together?

I've heard from people that it's easy with a YouTube tutorial. Do you know a good one?

This is what you're looking for. It's pretty straight forward, just put the piece into the only slot it can fit. These guys dumb it down and make sure you don't make silly mistakes. Biggest thing I can tell you is be VERY careful with your CPU. That will be the most fragile piece of your build.

Sorry is there supposed to be a link?

thepinkanator95 · Oct 9, 2013

Kade McGarraghy :

thepinkanator95 :

Kade McGarraghy :

thepinkanator95 :

One more thing, do you know if a computer is fairly easy to put together?

I've heard from people that it's easy with a YouTube tutorial. Do you know a good one?

This is what you're looking for. It's pretty straight forward, just put the piece into the only slot it can fit. These guys dumb it down and make sure you don't make silly mistakes. Biggest thing I can tell you is be VERY careful with your CPU. That will be the most fragile piece of your build.

Sorry is there supposed to be a link?

The link is on "This". Here is the link straight up: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfUl3Bk2S8gtpyDBTeY3gKrJBlnJ5AJrW

rolli59 · Oct 9, 2013

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274745-31-step-step-guide-building

Kade McGarraghy · Oct 9, 2013

Thanks for everything guys

thepinkanator95 · Oct 9, 2013

Make sure to pick solution to close the thread.

New Gaming Computer (Buying Parts - Need Feedback)

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