Suitable motherboard and PSU for my rig.

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firstrig

firstrig

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Hello fellow Toms,

I've been lurking in the forums since a year but this is the first time I am posting a query. I wish to build a gaming rig and these are my specifications :

CPU : i5 3570 3.4 Ghz

Graphics : Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2Gb DDR5

RAM : G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 1600 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) 240 pin

Hard Disk : 1 SSD + 1 TB WD

Audio Preferences : I wish to use a dedicated sound card like

ASUS Xonar DGX 5.1 Channels PCI Express x1 Interface Gaming Audio Card

OR

Creative Sound Blaster Z 70SB150200000 5.1 Channels PCI Express (x1, x4 or x16)

Please recommend a motherboard where the sound card does not contribute very heavily to its price since it will be a redundant investment.

Other preferences :

I will not be overclocking the CPU or the GPU.
I will not be adding another block of RAM, so I do not need an additional RAM slot.
I will not be using SLI/Crossfire.
I might add an aftermarket cooler in the future.

Considering all these factors (number of PCI/ memory slots and power consumption), which motherboard and PSU suits my needs? Ideally I'd like the most basic motherboard which could accommodate my components and which does not have any fancy features of its own.

Please recommend one if you think I should add a cooler right away. I live in a tropical country where heat, humidity and dust are a big problem so I'd prefer if I could keep the system concealed yet cooled with a liquid cooler.

Thank you in advance.
 
Solution
H4X3R


Depends on which 550W PSU, if its a good one, it can handle overclocking both the GPU and CPU and additional cards such as raid cards or sound cards.
A good one would be a corsair rm 550W or a Seasonic 520W

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H4X3R

H4X3R

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[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2lEFi) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2lEFi/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2lEFi/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**Motherboard** | [ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z77extreme4) | $124.98 @ OutletPC
**Power Supply** | [EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-100b10600kr) | $44.99 @ Microcenter
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $169.97
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-17 03:22 EST-0500 |

All motherboards come with onboard audio...
 
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firstrig

firstrig

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Thank you for the swift reply. I realize that all motherboards come with an onboard audio, it's just that I saw some that came with fancy 5.1/7.1 channel Blueray compatible functions, which I won't be needing.
 
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H4X3R

H4X3R

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Here is something better if you are on a budget:
[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2lEQN) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2lEQN/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2lEQN/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**Motherboard** | [ASRock Z77 Pro4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z77pro4) | $99.99 @ Newegg
**Power Supply** | [EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-100b10500kr) | $34.99 @ Microcenter
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $134.98
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-17 03:39 EST-0500 |
 
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firstrig

firstrig

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Dec 17, 2013
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That is exactly the issue here. Is there a toned down, cheaper motherboard than the one you mentioned, maybe with lesser RAM slots or something like that?

I will not be adding any additional cards and I will not be overclocking. I believe the z77 is for overclockers?

What I am trying to accomplish is to get the most basic motherboard with just enough slots to accommodate my stuff (2XRAMs, 1 GPU, 1 Sound Card) so that I can invest that money into a dedicated sound card.
 
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firstrig

firstrig

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Dec 17, 2013
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Alright, H77 it is. Any thoughts on cooling? Shall I opt for liquid cooling for either the CPU or GPU or both of them? Air-cooling pretty much does nothing here since it is a tropical country and room temperatures aren't exactly flattering enough for the heat dissipation to take place from the heatsink of an air-cooled system, so liquid cooling is the only pragmatic choice.

Any suggestions on that?
 
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firstrig

firstrig

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I bought the i5 3570K, Zotac GTX 660 2gb, Gigabyte z77p-D3, Antec VP550W (pending), Segate Barracuda 1TB, Asus VX238H, all good?

The only thing that I have not bought is the PSU. Do you think 550W is going to be enough for this build? Does it have enough juice to power an additional component like a sound card or maybe an aftermarket cooler?

 
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H4X3R

H4X3R

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Depends on which 550W PSU, if its a good one, it can handle overclocking both the GPU and CPU and additional cards such as raid cards or sound cards.
A good one would be a corsair rm 550W or a Seasonic 520W

 
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Solution
firstrig

firstrig

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Dec 17, 2013
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Antec VP550P ( http://www.antec.com/pdf/flyers/VP550P_EN.pdf ). The Corsair is available too but Antec was a bit expensive and has 5 year warranty, as opposed to 3 years for Corsair.

The system looks almost perfect now. I'm willing to spend a few more bucks to keep it functioning well.

Coolers!

The general consensus on Tom's seems to favor Corsair Hyper 212 air cooler over any form of liquid cooling, however, I live in India and it makes no sense to blow hot ambient air over a hot processor to cool it, regardless of how efficient the fan might be, so I believe liquid is the way to go. Could you recommend a good closed loop liquid cooler that is as good as, or better than the Hyper 212? Are there any real cons to closed loop cooling (apart from being a little on the expensive side) which makes people avert them? Of all the threads I read here, everyone seems to jump on the 'why buy a liquid cooler when you can get the 212 instead' and never really explain what's wrong with liquid cooling in principle. Are there maintenance costs down the road? like, do I have to swap the coolant fluid after a few years or something like that?
 
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H4X3R

H4X3R

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PSU is a good choice.
Regarding the cooler, to cool the liquid a fan is used, so as you said, hot air would be cooling the already hot liquid. There are really no disadvantages to liquid cooling if you have enough money to spend. I suggest an antec H20 620, good liquid cooler if you are on a budget.
 
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H4X3R

H4X3R

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PSU is a good choice.
Regarding the cooler, to cool the liquid a fan is used, so as you said, hot air would be cooling the already hot liquid. There are really no disadvantages to liquid cooling if you have enough money to spend. I suggest an antec H20 620, good liquid cooler if you are on a budget.
 
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