First Build ~$1200

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
moiraine

moiraine

Honorable
Dec 23, 2013
2
0
10,510
I'm hoping to put together my first build in the middle of next month. It'll be primarily gaming/coding machine. Any opinions would be helpful. :)

I all ready have the case, and prefer Intel/Nvidia.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($208.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($115.91 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($101.91 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card  ($249.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N53 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($58.86 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($77.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($54.99 @ Microcenter)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1102.56
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-23 22:40 EST-0500)
 
Solution
someguynamedmatt
Everything looks good to me... things could be changed, but it wouldn't necessarily be better, just different. Some people tend to forget that around here.

The only thing I would swap out is that Corsair memory for a kit of G.Skill instead;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428
Five stars with one and a half thousand ratings - sort all the memory on NewEgg by rating and there's a reason G.Skill soaks up the top few pages. IMHO, Corsair has had a case of the trickle-downs in recent years; they seem to bin the crap out of their best 'extreme overclocking' modules, and work their way down the ladder, the memory becoming less and less reliable as the binning goes on. I had both sticks in a kit of...
Sort by date Sort by votes
someguynamedmatt

someguynamedmatt

Distinguished
Feb 7, 2010
1,551
0
20,160
Everything looks good to me... things could be changed, but it wouldn't necessarily be better, just different. Some people tend to forget that around here.

The only thing I would swap out is that Corsair memory for a kit of G.Skill instead;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428
Five stars with one and a half thousand ratings - sort all the memory on NewEgg by rating and there's a reason G.Skill soaks up the top few pages. IMHO, Corsair has had a case of the trickle-downs in recent years; they seem to bin the crap out of their best 'extreme overclocking' modules, and work their way down the ladder, the memory becoming less and less reliable as the binning goes on. I had both sticks in a kit of their less expensive memory go bad within a year. Like I said, that's just my opinion, but there are thousands of members here who swear by G.Skill, and I'm one of them. Plus, you can save $1. :) Everybody wins.

I'm trying to find a way to work a GTX 770 in there... it would be a very nice performance boost for sure, and would be well worth the extra money, especially in a $1200 build. Then again, I did just fine with a mid-range HD5770 when it was still bleeding-edge tech (and still do, sometimes), so it's really your call as to whether you'd like to put in the extra $100 for a bit faster graphics.

I'm maxing just about everything I like to play at 1080p on essentially the mobile version of that 760 (a 660M) - benchmarks with nothing but new releases don't always give a fair representation of performance.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
J

Jameson Clark

Honorable
Jul 15, 2013
1,531
0
12,460
Check this out. I got rid of your hyper 212 because you don't have an overclocking CPU so the stock cooler will be fine. I added better cheaper ram, a quality SSD, and upgraded you to a 770. It is slightly over budget but one way to save a little bit more money would be to get a H77 or B77 mobo again because you don't have an overclocking CPU so you don't need a Z77 mobo. I don't have a recommendation for those mobos though so I left your original one in.

Edit: I forgot to also change your HDD. You can get a 1TB WD black for less than the one you have or you could save more money by getting a WD blue since you will have an SSD the slightly lower performance HDD won't be a problem

Second edit: I've run out of space see my next post


 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

Jameson Clark

Honorable
Jul 15, 2013
1,531
0
12,460
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($208.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($115.91 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($68.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($88.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($334.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N53 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($58.86 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($77.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($54.99 @ Microcenter)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1187.65
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-24 00:13 EST-0500)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
someguynamedmatt

someguynamedmatt

Distinguished
Feb 7, 2010
1,551
0
20,160
I actually like a good enterprise-class drive in my own builds just as added reliability - it does cost more than a typical WD Black, though, so again, it's your call. I'd go for a Black over a Blue, though, both for an added speed boost and more importantly, a longer warranty. WD obviously puts more stock into their Black series lasting longer than a comparable Blue drive.

I didn't even notice the 3570 non-K model; if you do plan on overclocking, you'll want the i5-3570K for $20 more. If you don't plan on overclocking, you can probably drop the Hyper 212 entirely. If you really don't trust the stock cooler, I don't blame you... for $20, This right here would be more than enough to keep a stock-clocked i5 cool. It isn't necessary, true, but it might just keep your CPU running for a couple years longer from decreased thermal strain. Again, my own opinion... take it for what it's worth.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
moiraine

moiraine

Honorable
Dec 23, 2013
2
0
10,510
Wow, thanks for the opinions/suggestions! I keep waffling on 3570 vs 3570k; I might just go ahead with the k. I'll definitely check out the ram and HDD suggestions. Not 100% sold on whether I want an ssd yet but if it's in budget I might go for it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom