Advice/opinions on new build much appreciated! :)

[Frusty]

Hello everyone!

My currect computer is very, very old and can't run any modern games, and when I say very old, I mean Nvidia FX5500 old. I have worked hard last summer to be able to buy myself a very new gaming computer (next to study-related things, like using Word and Excel).


Approximate Purchase Date: Within a week from now.

Budget Range: 900 euro (=1,194 USD)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (BF3, AC), watching movies, Word/Excel and other common stuff.

Parts Not Required: Monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, Windows 7 OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Country: The Netherlands

Overclocking: Initially not (maybe in the future)

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1280x1024 (still own a silly 17" monitor, will buy a 22" if I have money left)

Additional Comments: Unfortunately my hardware knowledge is very limited. I have tried asking for advice at Newegg but they weren't very helpful. So far I have picked a build with some help from friends. My biggest problem lies with the motherboard and PSU. I have honestly got no clue about the motherboard..

Build so far: http://puu.sh/mnf9 (it's a link to a screenshot from the dutch website I'll be ordering it from, if you don't trust link, I have links to the components on newegg below)

CPU:
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

CPU cooler:
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

GPU:
MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III PE/OC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127582

RAM:
Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104231

Motherboard:

1) ASUS P8Z68-V LX LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131781
This motherboard doesn't really have good reviews, so I'm not sure about it.

2) GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502&Tpk=GIGABYTE%20GA-Z68A-D3H-B3
This motherboard also doesn't have very good reviews.. that's why I'm really clues about what motherboard to get for the build. There are so many choices but I have no idea what to look out for.

PSU:
OCZ Fatal1ty 550W Modular Gaming Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022
I'm guessing 550W will be enough. PSU also seem to be an important component, this one seems reliable.

Computer case:
Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced

DVD Burner:
LG-GH-22NS30

HDD:
Will use an old one until the prices drop

With these components (mobo excluded) I'm at 720 euro (= 955 USD)
I don't really want to buy a super expensive mobo, I had about 120 USD in mind for it. So that I can afford a new monitor too.

So basically I have almost everything but I'm completely clueless about the motherboard and have no knowledge about them. Both motherboards I picked have bad reviews. Can someone please help me with this? Since I wont be using SLI or crossfire I wont need those fancy features.

 

[DelroyMonjo]

I am using this MB and am quite happy with it after 7 months. ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $122USD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
If you read the reviews on this, some people say it is 'flimsy'. Actually, it's a bit smaller than a regular ATX board and most cases don't have a place for a MB standoff on the front/center, so you have to support the MB with your fingers when plugging in the 20+4 pin power cable.
As for monitors, I am quite happy with this 23.6" 1080 monitor. $169USD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052

 

[Frusty]

Thank you so much DelroyMonjo! That board of yours seems alright, I think I'll be going for that one!
I have some questions about it tho, since you are using it (and my pc knowledge is nihil) :
1) Since a part of the mobo is unsupported, will it form a problem with heavy videocards (or am I misreading here..?)
2) Are you using the soundcard of the mobo, if yes; how is the sound?

So the mobo issue is solved! If I'll buy this mobo I'll have enough money for a monitor! Yay! The one you suggested looks quite nice, need to see if any Dutch stores offer that one.

One last question:

Will a PSU of 550W be enough? If I look at what the GPU and CPU consume, I think it'll be enough. Or should I go for a 600W just in case? Don't want any bottlenecks of course.


Thanks in advance! c:

 

[g-unit1111]

2) GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 68A-D3H-B3
This motherboard also doesn't have very good reviews.. that's why I'm really clues about what motherboard to get for the build. There are so many choices but I have no idea what to look out for.

Yeah I don't like the D3H - I use the UD3P and it's a far better board - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128506

GPU:
MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III PE/OC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127582

Before committing to the 570 you should really look at the Radeon 7870 as it's a much newer card and its' numbers have been matching and in some cases beating the GTX 580: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7870-review-benchmark,3148.html

1) Since a part of the mobo is unsupported, will it form a problem with heavy videocards (or am I misreading here..?)

No - that is misreading - that has more to do with your case than anything else. And as long as your case fits the card it will be fine.

2) Are you using the soundcard of the mobo, if yes; how is the sound?

Onboard audio is fine - sound cards haven't been required since 2002.

Will a PSU of 550W be enough? If I look at what the GPU and CPU consume, I think it'll be enough. Or should I go for a 600W just in case? Don't want any bottlenecks of course.

You might want to get a Corsair TX650 to be on the safe side - OCZ has a really iffy reputation when it comes to power supplies, the Corsairs are pretty solid for the most part - especially the TX, HX, and AX series.

 

[Frusty]

Thank you g-unit1111!

You are indeed right about the PSU, it will cost me 30 euro more but that shouldn't be a problem. I've heard from more people that Corsair is a good brand but I had no idea which one to pick. Thank you for that!

Yeah I don't like the D3H - I use the UD3P and it's a far better board - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128506

That one is unfortunately a little bit too expensive for me! For now I will stick to DelroyMonjo's suggestion.

Before committing to the 570 you should really look at the Radeon 7870 as it's a much newer card and its' numbers have been matching and in some cases beating the GTX 580: http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,3148.html

You are definitely right about Radeon 7870's performance but the price has big and scary numbers, haha. No way I could afford that anytime soon. So I guess the GTX570 is the best option for me price/performance-wise right now.

My case supports ATX so I guess the motherboard shouldn't be a problem, even though the size of the motherboard deviates from the standard ATX sizes.

So if I pick the ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 as motherboard and Corsair TX650 as PSU my build should be complete. One final question: will anything conflict? So far I think the build will work fine, but since my knowledge is nihil I'd like some second opinions (sorry for asking so many annoying questions :x)

 

[g-unit1111]

You are definitely right about Radeon 7870's performance but the price has big and scary numbers, haha. No way I could afford that anytime soon. So I guess the GTX570 is the best option for me price/performance-wise right now.

There's only a $60 price difference between the 570 and the 7870. If you can squeeze it in your budget - great, if not you should also consider the 7850 as that's been putting up numbers similar to the 570TI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102986

 

[azeem40]

There is no 570ti. It's just fermi.

 

[Frusty]

There's only a $60 price difference between the 570 and the 7870. If you can squeeze it in your budget - great, if not you should also consider the 7850 as that's been putting up numbers similar to the 570TI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102986

Oh indeed, you are right! I was looking at the wrong one that had a price so high it reached the sky. I could squeeze it into my budget but I think it would also be nice to get rid of this old 17" monitor! and I think a new monitor would do me good, I've been looking at this old thing for years now haha.

So this will be my build now (link to a screenshot of the website I'll be ordering from, I know the link looks creepy but it's actually a software I use, you can select a part of your desktop and it uploades the selected part as an image):
http://puu.sh/mvgk

I think everything is looking nice, any crucial things I need to know before I start ordering tomorrow?

And also thank you everyone for the input and effort taken to help me!

 

[g-unit1111]

There's only a $60 price difference between the 570 and the 7870. If you can squeeze it in your budget - great, if not you should also consider the 7850 as that's been putting up numbers similar to the 570TI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102986

Oh indeed, you are right! I was looking at the wrong one that had a price so high it reached the sky. I could squeeze it into my budget but I think it would also be nice to get rid of this old 17" monitor! and I think a new monitor would do me good, I've been looking at this old thing for years now haha.

So this will be my build now (link to a screenshot of the website I'll be ordering from, I know the link looks creepy but it's actually a software I use, you can select a part of your desktop and it uploades the selected part as an image):
http://puu.sh/mvgk

I think everything is looking nice, any crucial things I need to know before I start ordering tomorrow?

And also thank you everyone for the input and effort taken to help me!

Nope - that looks good to me!

 

[Frusty]

Alright thank you again! I shall be ordering my components tomorrow or the day after, will post here to let you know if everything works nicely. Unless it counts as useless topic resurrection, then I won't.

 

[Frusty]

Sorry to bump the thread, I have been reading about what ram goes with a motherboard. Apparently it's better (or at least you're sure it works) to pick a ram, from the Qualified Vendor List, that's been tested so you know for sure it's working. Is this crucial?

I picked Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820104231

with the mobo ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3. Can't find this ram in their list; should I go for on in the list to be on the safe side?

 

[Frusty]

Anyone? (sorry for bumping)

 

[g-unit1111]

Anyone? (sorry for bumping)

Your link doesn't work - Kingston should be fine as long as it's 1.5V.