Opinion on My First $1000 Build

[chensteven]

Hi, this is my first time building a PC. I've been reading and researching. I was wondering if anyone can look over my build and provide feedback or suggestions? My budget is around $1000, and I've been price matching, so right now it's around $1000. The goal of this build is to allow me to play games such as SC2, D3, Dota 2, BF3 at a high setting while allowing me to multi-task or doing things on Adobe and other apps. I will also be dual screening as well, so multi-tasking is an important factor for me. I'm trying to spend as least as possible, so I'm fine with any other cheaper alternatives that can provide the same performances.

I do have some questions tho;

Should I get a different motherboard?
Different GTX 560 Ti?
Different HD? (or should I get a SDD and a HD? if so, what SDD?)
Different case? (or can someone suggest a an ideal case that can fit all these components?)
Different power supply?

Thanks guys.

Processor:

Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB

Motherboard:

ASUS P8P67 Pro REV3.0 ATX P67 LGA1155 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI Sandy Bridge B3 Motherboard

RAM:

G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory

Graphics Card:

MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II OC 880MHZ 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini-HDMI DX11 PCI-E Video Card

Hard Drive:

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA3 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5IN Dual Proc Hard Drive OEM

Case:

Coolermaster Haf 912 Black Mid Tower ATX Case 4X5.25 1X3.5 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB Sound

or

Coolermaster Haf 922 Mid Tower ATX Case Black 5X5.25 5X3.5INT Front Audio USB eSATA No PSU

Power Supply:

Antec High Current Gamer 750W 24PIN ATX12V V2.3 Active PFC 80 Plus Bronze SLI Power Supply 135mm Fan

Cooling:

Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA1155 LGA1156 120MM

DVD Burner:

ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer OEM Black

 

[wintermint]

Lots of people swear by the Samsung Spinpoint F3 for HDD otherwise this looks pretty solid.

 

[Zero_]

Looks good. You probably could use an Antec Earthwatts 650D going for under $55 on Amazon.

 

[boiler1990]

Processor:

Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB

Best CPU for the money, and should easily be able to tackle what you're trying to do with your system.

Motherboard:

ASUS P8P67 Pro REV3.0 ATX P67 LGA1155 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI Sandy Bridge B3 Motherboard

That motherboard will work well. Gigabyte's P67X-UD3-B3 is also a great board and has a better port layout IMHO.

RAM:

G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory

Have that same exact RAM and it's great.

Graphics Card:

MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II OC 880MHZ 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini-HDMI DX11 PCI-E Video Card

Keep in mind the Twin Frozr dumps the hot air in your case, so you'll need to set up the side fan on your case to exhaust appropriately. It shouldn't cause any issues, but exhausting with the side fan will keep your temps down. Airflow in the case is everything

Hard Drive:

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA3 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5IN Dual Proc Hard Drive OEM

Like Wintermint said, most of us here recommend the Samsung F3 1TB. It's got a higher platter density, so it is able to read data faster than the WD Blacks. The Blacks are kind of a gimmick - they advertise the SATA III connector but didn't revamp their platters to be faster.

Don't bother with a SSD on a $1000 budget.

Case:

Coolermaster Haf 912 Black Mid Tower ATX Case 4X5.25 1X3.5 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB Sound

or

Coolermaster Haf 922 Mid Tower ATX Case Black 5X5.25 5X3.5INT Front Audio USB eSATA No PSU

Both are regarded as great mid towers, and will both work fine. I'm not sure if the 922 is bigger than the 912, but if it is I would get it then. The 922 also looks better IMO, but the design preference is up to you

Power Supply:

Antec High Current Gamer 750W 24PIN ATX12V V2.3 Active PFC 80 Plus Bronze SLI Power Supply 135mm Fan

Good PSU for the money. The Antec EA750 is also a good choice; my old EA650 powered an i7-930 + 2x470s for a year before I upgraded.

Cooling:

Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA1155 LGA1156 120MM

Great cooler for the money, but they're getting more expensive (went from $30 -> $50 in the US). Snag it at that $30 price while you can

DVD Burner:

ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer OEM Black

Not much to say about this. It's an optical drive. Woohoo.

 

[chensteven]

@boiler1990 - Thanks for the evaluation. I will get the Samsung F3 1TB now since both you and wintermint recommended it. I will look into your suggested motherboard and PSU as well. In terms of side fans, would you suggest any?

@zero_ - Thanks, I will look at other Antec PSUs.

@wintermint - Thanks, I will get the Samsung F3 1TB

Does anyone else have any other suggestions or advises?

 

[boiler1990]

I'm not sure if the case comes with one (some do, some don't), but you have a lot of choices. Even a $10 Cooler Master fan will work well (got great temps in my confined Antec 300 with 5 of the cheap ones). Ideally, you'd get one with about 50-60 CFMs at ~20-30 dBA noise. Then price is the differentiating factor.

 

[nsol]

Processor:

Graphics Card:

MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II OC 880MHZ 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini-HDMI DX11 PCI-E Video Card

Keep in mind the Twin Frozr dumps the hot air in your case, so you'll need to set up the side fan on your case to exhaust appropriately. It shouldn't cause any issues, but exhausting with the side fan will keep your temps down. Airflow in the case is everything

My build is very similar to this so I thought I might as well reply to this post. Sorry OP!

Regarding the Graphics card, and the exhaust, how do you recommend adjusting the case fan (on the side) so that airflow is optimal?

Thanks.

 

[boiler1990]

Usually the fans in the front intake, and the top/rear fans exhaust. The CPU cooler should be set up to exhaust through one of those two fans.

The side fan is really dependent on the GPU. If it is an external exhaust model (usually reference designs), the air will be pulled from the case out the expansion slot in the rear, so you'd get better cooling with an intake side fan.
(These cards are especially useful in cases like Silverstone's Raven and Fortress series, where the expansion ports are on top and the airflow is going upward).

Most custom cooler models (Frozr, Sapphire FLEX, etc etc) are internal exhaust, so they pull air from outside the expansion port and exhaust into the case, about where the side fan is located. That's why an exhaust side fan will work better; you'll get the hot air out of the case.


EDIT: To determine the direction of the fan, look on the side/frame. One one side there should be two arrows showing you the direction of the blades and direction of the air.

 

[nsol]

Usually the fans in the front intake, and the top/rear fans exhaust. The CPU cooler should be set up to exhaust through one of those two fans.

The side fan is really dependent on the GPU. If it is an external exhaust model (usually reference designs), the air will be pulled from the case out the expansion slot in the rear, so you'd get better cooling with an intake side fan.
(These cards are especially useful in cases like Silverstone's Raven and Fortress series, where the expansion ports are on top and the airflow is going upward).

Most custom cooler models (Frozr, Sapphire FLEX, etc etc) are internal exhaust, so they pull air from outside the expansion port and exhaust into the case, about where the side fan is located. That's why an exhaust side fan will work better; you'll get the hot air out of the case.


EDIT: To determine the direction of the fan, look on the side/frame. One one side there should be two arrows showing you the direction of the blades and direction of the air.

Thanks a lot for this. So, what you're saying is that the CPU fan should be an exhaust. Can this be changed with any fan that you buy? I'm looking to get http://overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-029-CM

Also, regarding the GPU I'll be getting exactly the same one as the OP and Coolermaster Haf 922 Mid Tower ATX Case Black 5X5.25 5X3.5INT Front Audio USB eSATA No PSU.
So, will these two things work. I can't seem to find images that show whether these case has an exhaust side fan.

Thanks.

 

[boiler1990]

When I say exhaust or intake, it just means which way the fan directs the air; it's not a specific kind of fan. In the link below, there are a few pics with a CPU cooler in the tower - it is pointing one way you could mount the cooler in the case.

Also in the link, it says that the side fan(s) is/are optional, meaning they are not included. You can put either a 200mm fan or 2x120mm fans. The 200mm fans are usually quieter since they don't spin as fast, but the 120mm fans should cool better if you get the right ones.
http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6606

 

[nsol]

When I say exhaust or intake, it just means which way the fan directs the air; it's not a specific kind of fan. In the link below, there are a few pics with a CPU cooler in the tower - it is pointing one way you could mount the cooler in the case.

Also in the link, it says that the side fan(s) is/are optional, meaning they are not included. You can put either a 200mm fan or 2x120mm fans. The 200mm fans are usually quieter since they don't spin as fast, but the 120mm fans should cool better if you get the right ones.
http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6606

Thanks Boiler. So, the CPU fan is part of the case? You also say that 'it is pointing one way you could mount the cooler in the case'. how exactly can I mount the CPU fan in a different way?

Also, is there a specfic brand or something special I should look out for when buying a 200mm fan for the side?

 

[boiler1990]

The CPU fan is attached to the CPU cooler, but is ultimately connected to the motherboard.

Some coolers allow you to point it vertically as opposed to horizontally (i.e. exhaust out the top vs. the rear).

When comparing fans, the 4 important factors are: Noise (dBA - lower is better), airflow (CFM - higher is better), size/depth (there are 120x25mm and 120x38mm fans, unsure about 200mm), and cost (obviously lower is better). I just go onto Newegg and sort based on these variables.

Generally, 60CFM is a good airflow rating; my Scythe Slipstreams operate at about 100CFM, but I need the air to cool my radiators and it's a bit louder (~37dBA is the official rating).

 

[nsol]

The CPU fan is attached to the CPU cooler, but is ultimately connected to the motherboard.

Some coolers allow you to point it vertically as opposed to horizontally (i.e. exhaust out the top vs. the rear).

When comparing fans, the 4 important factors are: Noise (dBA - lower is better), airflow (CFM - higher is better), size/depth (there are 120x25mm and 120x38mm fans, unsure about 200mm), and cost (obviously lower is better). I just go onto Newegg and sort based on these variables.

Generally, 60CFM is a good airflow rating; my Scythe Slipstreams operate at about 100CFM, but I need the air to cool my radiators and it's a bit louder (~37dBA is the official rating).

Thanks a lot. But regarding the side fan, how will I know if it is an exhaust or intake? I'm looking at this for my setup: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-002-BX

Thanks.

 

[boiler1990]

That's a pretty good fan. On the side there will be an arrow pointing perpendicular to the fan body - that is the direction of the air flow. Just make sure that it is pointing toward the outside of the case for it to be an exhaust.

 

[chensteven]

Best answer selected by chensteven.