$1000-$1200 Gaming PC. Good or bad?

[wantfryswiddat]

Hi guys, i've been going around with a few people about a build i want to do in a few months, I know i'm not using the guidelines but we went through this already. Here's the list http://pastebin.com/HnUiy1KW i want to do SLI in the future but i'll have to upgrade the PSU which i'm aware of. If you could suggest anything to make it better without going over $1200 please do so, newegg please. Thanks

 

[g-unit1111]

You had some good choices up until the GPU (480 is three generations old and a massive power hog at that), and the CPU cooler - I wouldn't get a H100 on any sort of sub-$1300 build.

Try this setup:

Case: Fractal Design Arc MIDI - $109.99
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750 - $104.99
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-UD5H - $189.99
CPU: 3.30GHz Intel Core i5-2500K - $219.99
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo - $34.99
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB 1333MHz - $42.99
HD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda ST - $99.99
Optical: Lite On Bulk DVD Burner - $17.99
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 - $399.99
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium - $99.99

Total: $1,277.91

A little bit more but if you don't get Windows it comes out to under $1200 and you get a far better GPU.

 

[wantfryswiddat]

You had some good choices up until the GPU (480 is three generations old and a massive power hog at that), and the CPU cooler - I wouldn't get a H100 on any sort of sub-$1300 build.

Try this setup:

Case: Fractal Design Arc MIDI - $109.99
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750 - $104.99
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-UD5H - $189.99
CPU: 3.30GHz Intel Core i5-2500K - $219.99
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo - $34.99
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB 1333MHz - $42.99
HD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda ST - $99.99
Optical: Lite On Bulk DVD Burner - $17.99
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 - $399.99
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium - $99.99

Total: $1,277.91

A little bit more but if you don't get Windows it comes out to under $1200 and you get a far better GPU.

I understand that the 480 is a power hog but it still is the best card card price per performance, and the H100 imo doesn't matter for the whole price of the build, i plan on overclocking to 4.6 and i like how it's very aesthetically pleasing, especially i Do go with a case like the NZXT tempest 410 elite.

 

[g-unit1111]

I understand that the 480 is a power hog but it still is the best card card price per performance, and the H100 imo doesn't matter for the whole price of the build, i plan on overclocking to 4.6 and i like how it's very aesthetically pleasing, especially i Do go with a case like the NZXT tempest 410 elite.

The NZXT case is a good choice but I gave a better case in its' class - the Arc MIDI has a streamlined, polished look to it, and some unbelievable interior features that aren't found in its' price range - when compared to the Tempest 410 - plus it has front USB 3.0 ports, something the tempest 410 lacks.

I also included a current Z77 motherboard as opposed to the Z68 - which is still a good motherboard, but the Z77 will be far more future-proof as it will include support for new CPUs, RAM modules, and video cards with PCI Gen 3. As far as the GPU goes - the 480 was a good choice 3 - 4 years ago but it is nowhere *NEAR* the same class as the 7950 or 680 is, not even close, research the benchmarks - they pretty much say everything. I still have my GTX 470 and it puts up good numbers but my 7870 runs circles around it.

 

[wantfryswiddat]

The NZXT case is a good choice but I gave a better case in its' class - the Arc MIDI has a streamlined, polished look to it, and some unbelievable interior features that aren't found in its' price range - when compared to the Tempest 410 - plus it has front USB 3.0 ports, something the tempest 410 lacks.

I also included a current Z77 motherboard as opposed to the Z68 - which is still a good motherboard, but the Z77 will be far more future-proof as it will include support for new CPUs, RAM modules, and video cards with PCI Gen 3. As far as the GPU goes - the 480 was a good choice 3 - 4 years ago but it is nowhere *NEAR* the same class as the 7950 or 680 is, not even close, research the benchmarks - they pretty much say everything. I still have my GTX 470 and it puts up good numbers but my 7870 runs circles around it.

The 410 Elite which is the case I plan on buying has USB 3.0.
As far as the rest of the computer, I'll update it, then list it again.

 

[wantfryswiddat]

I need a Z77 board under 150, does anyone know what the best one is?

 

[g-unit1111]

I need a Z77 board under 150, does anyone know what the best one is?

I've been looking into that myself - I'm debating whether to go with Asrock's Z77 Extreme 4 or Gigabyte's GA-Z77-UD3H. I'm leaning more toward the Asrock over the Gigabyte.

 

[azeem40]

The ASRock is $50 cheaper than a comparable Z68 Extreme4!

 

[g-unit1111]

The ASRock is $50 cheaper than a comparable Z68 Extreme4!

I was actually looking at the Extreme 6 but that's a bit more: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157295