Help reviewing my custom build, please!

whitehorn

Honorable
Apr 14, 2012
6
0
10,510
Hi all, this is my first time posting. Also, this is my first time to build my own PC. I feel liberated! :)

Here's what I came up with, and I hope that it's all good. Can anyone help me to identify problems? Do I need extra coolant for my processor or more fans? I plan on getting a Bose headset, does anyone recommend getting a sound card because of that or should onboard sound be good enough?

I plan to do some multi-tasking while I play some games, namely Skyrim and D3. I know this is just a bit overkill for Diablo 3, but I'm planning to have this specific PC for a long, long time. I am going to be living in Taiwan, quite near some sulfur springs. Because of that, I've chosen to go with a case and with a mobo that has a bit more armor protection. I don't want any rust forming on exposed metal, and the Corsair case is covered in paint.

I will appreciate any suggestions anyone may have. Thanks for looking!


Part list permalink: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6Qlx
Part price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6Qlx/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6Qlx/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z77 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2GB Video Card ($249.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.49 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($110.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-206DBKS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1335.39
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-04-14 08:52 EDT-0400)
 

whitehorn

Honorable
Apr 14, 2012
6
0
10,510
I was willing to pay like 3k to Falcon Northwest for one of their rigs, but since I'm building it myself and not paying me for customer service, I'd say around 2k. That said, I don't really plan on playing many FPS games, like Battlefield or Call of Duty and their ilk.
 

jerreddredd

Distinguished
Mar 22, 2010
1,477
0
19,660
the only thing I see is the HDD will be slow, long boot times and level load times in Games. I would consider a 7200 rpm drive or adding a 60-128GB SSD (Samsung 830, Crucial M4), as a boot drive.
 

whitehorn

Honorable
Apr 14, 2012
6
0
10,510
That's a great suggestion, and I was considering that option too. I just recently bought one of those Caviars and it's still pretty new. I thought I could sacrifice some load time and just go with the WD because of the space available, but it does make sense to go with SSD since I am building mostly a gaming rig here. Thanks for that!
 

revolution2718

Honorable
Apr 8, 2012
272
0
10,860
I would definitely go for an SSD for boot/game drive, with that budget you might even want to look at a 250GB model. Also for your storage hard drive, I wouldn't see any reason to opt for something that is not 7200 RPM, its just faster.
 

whitehorn

Honorable
Apr 14, 2012
6
0
10,510
When I bought that Caviar it was on sale for 80 bucks. I needed a quick replacement for a HD that just failed, and 80 bucks for 2 TB seemed like a good deal at the time. Actually, the box doesn't say how many RPMs it is, I tried looking before I posted here. Is there another way I can tell how many RPMs that thing is for sure?
 

whitehorn

Honorable
Apr 14, 2012
6
0
10,510
No need to be sorry! What kind of GPU would you suggest? This one: Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($507.55 @ Newegg)?

Any opinions on a sound card if I intend on using Bose headsets? Any opinions on keeping my CPU cool?
 

jerreddredd

Distinguished
Mar 22, 2010
1,477
0
19,660
if you can budget it a GTX 680 would be my choice for a GPU. a 240-256 GB SSD would be ideal for gaming Samsung 830 or a Crucial M4 are a good balance between speed, cost and stability. Sound wise, I think the HD on-board sound will be just fine, unless you are a total audiophile, then I would go with an HT | OMEGA CLARO II 7.1, it seems to be all the rage right now. X-fi has fallen out of favor.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271007

EDIT:
forgot to add my $0.02 on a CPU HSF. I like Noctua products, the Noctua NH-C12P SE14 is my favorite as it blows air down over the MB chipset, this should work with the Sabertooth TUF armor to cool the chipset also. the Cooler Master Gemini II S524 is also a good pick for the same reason and is about half the price. both are good quiet cooler and support OC'ing well.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608019
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103100
 

whitehorn

Honorable
Apr 14, 2012
6
0
10,510
Thank you so much. That SSD you speak of sounds like a fortune! I will definitely look into the products you mentioned. Thank you again for the good advice!