Need constructive criticism

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7e11

Honorable
Nov 4, 2013
11
0
10,520
Hello, I am building a PC. I have included a list of my parts and I would like suggestions on certain pats of my build. (BTW. This PC will be used for gaming)
First off. The parts list:
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PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/22pxL
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/22pxL/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/22pxL/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($8.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Cooler Master R4-L2R-20AC-GP 69.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($6.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Cooler Master R4-L2R-20AC-GP 69.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($6.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $923.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-14 18:46 EST-0500)
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Now for some general specs about my needs and other things:
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Approximate Purchase Date: Black Friday/Cyber Monday

I am not buying nor do I need a monitor

I am not buying nor do I need an OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Location: Southern Connecticut USA

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: No
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Now for some of my questions to you:
(these may seem silly to an expert, but the feedback really helps!)
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Are there any hardware bottlenecks?

What is a prediction as to how this PC will perform in games?

If you have build a system similar to this one, how does it perform in day to day tasks?

How well optimized for price is this build? (and how would you improve it)

Is my GPU powerfull enough for the CPU?

I've heard that Asrock MOBOs are bad quality. How does mine shape up?

Are there any obvious (or obscure) part incompatabilities?

Hyper 212 Plus vs Hyper 212 EVO?
I've heard that the plus is worse (but only by a few degrees).

If I do stick with the plus, I've heard that it can be very difficult to apply thermal paste to it. What is the basic suggested method? (I've heard credit cards, blobs, grains of rice and all sorts of other stuff)

Corsair Vengence vs G.Skill? The two I am talking about are
G.Skill:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
Vengence: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

Last one, Do I have too many fans?
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Thanks to anyone who replies, BTW reply if you can answer any of my questions. All the feedback really helps!

:D
Regards,
7e11
 
Solution
serge44
Lots of questions.

You shouldn't have any bottlenecks with it. It's a solid build that will game very well, as long as you'll game at 1080p - if planning on using a higher resolution I suggest getting a more powerful card, if not the 760 is perfect. I've worked with some Asrocks and never had a problem with them, you'll be fine. Regarding the 212, EVO is supposed to be better, but can't say for sure, haven't had any of them. I prefer closed-loop liquid cooling solutions (which you might as well explore, much less bulk, quieter and at least equally efficient). Both RAM brands will perform similarly considering they're the same specs, pick your best price of brand preference. 2 chassis fans isn't too much, as long as you don't mind the...
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serge44

serge44

Distinguished
Mar 16, 2011
217
1
18,860
Lots of questions.

You shouldn't have any bottlenecks with it. It's a solid build that will game very well, as long as you'll game at 1080p - if planning on using a higher resolution I suggest getting a more powerful card, if not the 760 is perfect. I've worked with some Asrocks and never had a problem with them, you'll be fine. Regarding the 212, EVO is supposed to be better, but can't say for sure, haven't had any of them. I prefer closed-loop liquid cooling solutions (which you might as well explore, much less bulk, quieter and at least equally efficient). Both RAM brands will perform similarly considering they're the same specs, pick your best price of brand preference. 2 chassis fans isn't too much, as long as you don't mind the noise, otherwise lose one, it will barely make a difference.

In general it's a solid and good build, EXCEPT there's one thing missing: A SSD. Your Caviar Blue is reliable but isn't the fastest kid in the block. It's good, cheap and large storage, which you DO want, but you also want a smaller SSD where you can load Windows and your main programs/games, and the WD for music, videos and other large stuff that doesn't require speed-critical disk access. Check out the Samsung's 840, or 840 Pro.

Cheers!
 
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Solution
geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,345
4,167
174,240
A very reasonable build.

My rule of thumb for a balanced gamer is to budget twice the cpu cost for the graphics card. It is that important.
I think a GTX770 class card would be appropriate.

Asrock is fine. You might find a Z87 based M-ATX size for even less.

The cooler will come with decent paste; no need for as5.
Put me in the camp of preferring air coolers.

The case will have adequate ventilation with stock fans. Try that first.

Consider 1a 120gb ssd. It will hold the os and a handful of games. a 240gb will hold quite a good number.
Defer on the hard drive until you need storage space.
 
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bigshootr8

bigshootr8

Splendid
Mar 28, 2011
6,708
0
26,460
Are there any hardware bottlenecks? There will always be a bottleneck to your system nothing rids anyone of that. Although you don't have anything to worry about your system is good.

What is a prediction as to how this PC will perform in games? You will be able to max out most games and the high end games probably a mix of high and medium in some areas.

If you have build a system similar to this one, how does it perform in day to day tasks? I have a system similar to yours performs just fine its fast it works its good to go.

How well optimized for price is this build? (and how would you improve it) Well, I would see if currently you can find a Haswell combo that would be cheaper. Especially with black Friday looming I would bet that something would go on sale to make it more attractive. I would ditch the Artic Silver thermal. The thermal that comes with your cooler is more then sufficient. If you insist on having a high quality thermal compound take a look at toms thread on the benchmarks of the different high end types. I use ICDiamond 24qt but its not cheap.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/thermal-compound-charts/-4-CPU-Air-Cooling-High-Pressure,3364.html

Is my GPU powerfull enough for the CPU? Powerful enough for what? What do you intend on playing what games in the future are you looking to play.

I've heard that Asrock MOBOs are bad quality. How does mine shape up? They aren't bad with any mass market item their will be boards that are DoA but I would bet some money on user error with a lot of build setups.

Are there any obvious (or obscure) part incompatabilities? No

Hyper 212 Plus vs Hyper 212 EVO? I don't have experience with the Cooler Master Coolers I have a h100i which I love.
I've heard that the plus is worse (but only by a few degrees)

Corsair Vengence vs G.Skill? The two I am talking about are
G.Skill: Both good kits. I would say though in the future I would stick towards low profile kits mainly because if you ever go for a larger air cooler you'll want clearance.

For example: This kit is so low profile that it passes the 1st notch locks in and you are good where as others are a bit higher and barely enable you to install a cooler like the Noctua NH-D14.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148663
 
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