First Gaming PC Build (900-1100)

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mikehawes

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Dec 19, 2013
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I mostly play WOW, Diablo 3 and Starcraft. I would like to be able to play on the highest settings ideally. My build is below, any feedback would be great. Ideally I don’t want to spend much more than 1000. My preferred sit to order from would be NCIX in Canada, cause I can pick it up from my local store. So any areas where I could do with a little less would be great. I am looking to build a single GPU system. I will likely be buying a monitor, not really sure yet but probally a 24inch.

I am not interested in overclocking.. I know the MOBO is a Z87 which is for overclocking and my CPU is not unlocked, but I wasn’t sure what a high quality MOBO for a non-overclocking build would be? Any suggestions?

I also wasn’t sure if there was much difference between the I5 4430, 4570 and 4670, other than the obvious small GHz increases and if I needed a better one for my build or if I could have done with just the 4430.

Lastly, Is the 550W PSU enough or do I need a 650W? The 650W XFX was out of stock when I was picking parts so I just went with the 550 for now.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2mBoh
CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($24.99 @ TigerDirect)
Total: $931.89

Is this system adequate, or overkill for what I want to do? If there are better options than I selected, please let me know.
Thanks
 
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Rammy
Sorry for being slow, holidays etc.

I was making a reference to the memory linked by AMD Radeon-
It was too cheap (good, but means it's probably listed in error so will get fixed - and it did, not for sale now)
H87 caps memory at 1600Mhz, so it will only run at that speed.
CAS11 is a bit slow, when you consider the speed will only really be 1600Mhz and you can easily source CAS 9.
It's also 1.65V. Standard voltage is 1.5, and you can run into compatibility issues.

Not all H87 or Z87 are equal, but if we compare it to the Extreme 3 you originally picked-
The first thing is its mATX. This basically just means less expansion slots.
The Extreme 3 has 3 legacy PCI slots, which are outdated but occasionally used still. The MSI has 0.
The...
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Rammy

Rammy

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Sep 3, 2012
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Overall it's a pretty nice build, not much to say really.

You can basically pick any i5, they are pretty much all the same. The 4570 has a slightly better turbo mode than the 4430/4440 so if you are happy with the price it's not a bad bet.

550W is more than sufficient for your build, you are absolutely fine and the XFX Core 550 is a fine choice.

As for the motherboard, you are correct that a Z87 doesn't bring much to the table. You are better off with a H87 or B85 (or H81) for a breakdown of chipset differences, see here but note that motherboard manufacturers will add to those specs (or remove features) as they see fit. If you want a full ATX sized board, then something like a ASRock H87 Pro4 will be among the best value H87s. If you want to save some more money, then you'll find the majority of B85 and H81 boards are mATX to save a bit on production costs. For a single graphics card setup, this shouldn't cause you any problems, so you can drop down to around $55 and still have plenty of modern features.
 
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AMD Radeon

AMD Radeon

Judicious
Dec 23, 2011
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you have a very good start

it is a revision of your build with the best bang for the buck parts

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H87M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Beast 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($56.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($62.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $857.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-19 00:51 EST-0500)
 
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Rammy

Rammy

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Sep 3, 2012
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Remember he isn't buying from the sites listed, so the precise cost probably isn't terribly relevant. The only thing he really needs to change is the motherboard, and there are a lot of options depending on what he wants to do.
I'd have reservations about that memory too, for at least three fairly obvious reasons.
 
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mikehawes

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Dec 19, 2013
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10,510


Thanks for Rammy, are you talking about the GSkill memory or the Kingston in the build mentioned by AMD Radeon?
I was thinking about switching to this motherboard, the one you mentioned is not available from where I want to pick it up.
MSI H87M-G43 ATX LGA1150 H87 DDR3 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI SATA3 HDMI 4K CrossFireX USB3.0 Motherboard
I read the link you sent and had a question. Would you be able to explain how this H87 board would limit me in terms of connections and ports, compared to a Z87?

Thanks

 
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Rammy

Rammy

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Sep 3, 2012
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Sorry for being slow, holidays etc.

I was making a reference to the memory linked by AMD Radeon-
It was too cheap (good, but means it's probably listed in error so will get fixed - and it did, not for sale now)
H87 caps memory at 1600Mhz, so it will only run at that speed.
CAS11 is a bit slow, when you consider the speed will only really be 1600Mhz and you can easily source CAS 9.
It's also 1.65V. Standard voltage is 1.5, and you can run into compatibility issues.

Not all H87 or Z87 are equal, but if we compare it to the Extreme 3 you originally picked-
The first thing is its mATX. This basically just means less expansion slots.
The Extreme 3 has 3 legacy PCI slots, which are outdated but occasionally used still. The MSI has 0.
The Extreme 3 can run two graphics cards in SLI or Crossfire. Despite appearing to have two PCIe x16, the MSI cannot.
The Extreme 3 has a single PCIe x1, the MSI has two. These are used for things that used to use the legacy PCI slot mainly, wireless cards, soundcards etc.
The Extreme 3 supports CPU overclocking, but as your CPU has a locked multiplier, you can't exploit this feature anyway.
The Extreme 3 has more fan headers for extra case fans.
Both have 6 SATA3 connectors (so the same number of HDD/SSD/Optical drives)

There will be quite a few other minor differences, but that's the main ones. As I mentioned in my first post if you prefer an ATX sized board, the ASRock H87 Pro4 is a pretty decent option.
If you just want to cut down the costs, there is no shame in going to a H81. You lose a few features along the way, but even something as cheap as an ASRock H81M-HDS still has front USB3.0, 2 SATA3 and 2 SATA2. You lost two DIMM slots for RAM, and you only get 1 PCIe x16 and 1 PCIe x1, but it won't run things any slower, just a bit less flexible.
 
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