First Build: $1200-1500 "future-proof" gaming PC

[RookieBuilder_83]

Approximate Purchase Date: Now/within the next few weeks

Budget Range: $1000-1500

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (Witcher 2, Skyrim, Mass Effect 3, etc), Movies, Internet, MS Excel, MS Word

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, speakers, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.ca, tigerdirect.ca

Country: Ontario, Canada

Parts Preferences: I don't have a preference for brands, so long as they work as advertised and are reliable

Overclocking: Maybe - not right now, but likely in the future

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I'd really like to know if there these components are compatible and if there are better options than the ones I've listed. Thanks!

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Motherboard: MSI Z77A-GD65 LGA 1155 Intel Z77
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50 GHz Quad Core
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2580690&csid=_22
(motherboard/CPU package - $540)

RAM: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2x4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Model PGD38G1333ELK
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220557
($41)

CPU Cooling: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
($35)

GPU: EVGA/nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2GB
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=982626&CatId=3669
($260)

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB Hard Drive
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=744346
($100)

Power Supply: LOGISYS Power Supply 575W
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817170017
($27)

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6531504&srkey=C283-2094
($60)

 

[azeem40]

Cut down to the i5-3570k and use the $100 on a Radeon 7950.

 

[RookieBuilder_83]

Cut down to the i5-3570k and use the $100 on a Radeon 7950.

There's a lot of variation in the Radeon 7950 cards. The Sapphire cards seem to get the best reviews, is there any real difference between brands?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102962

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX37638

Also, will that require a larger power supply?

 

[Tavo_Nova]

your bundle is a bit high price go with i5 3570k

same mobo = 189.99$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130643

249.99$
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2373004&Sku=I69-3570K

but if you want to save more cash and go for gtx680 or 7970

this good old combination is always good.

219.99$ intel i5 2500k
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

121.99$ asrockz68 e3 g3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

first mobo and cpu above i5 3570k + msi ivy= 439.98$

2nd set i5 2500k + z68 asrock = 341.98$

there is a 98$ difference with the two of them and you can go for a gtx680 or something but well it's your choice.

if you can grab a 7950 sapphire by dropping down 100 bucks from the i7 3770k to i5 3570k then better go drop it to the i5 2500k and go grab a 7970 or gtx680, imo between the ivy and sandy between gaming as both being 1155 socket, not much difference, both can be overclocked and right now games are more gpu suckers (sucks up vram alot) and well having a sapphire 7970 dual x or a gtx680 (reference or non reference) is awesome ^-^

 

[Tavo_Nova]

if you like here is another variation of a 1,500 bucks build


Build 1,500$ W/ OS

Processor: 219.99$
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Motherboard: 121.99$
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

Memory: 46.99$
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

Graphics Processing Unit: 499.99$
ASUS GTX680-2GD5 GeForce GTX 680 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121626

Solid Slate Drive: 119.99$
Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC 7mm Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148529

Hard Disk Drive: 109.99$
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Optical Disk Drive: 15.99$
SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151244

Power Supply: 174.99$>154.99$
CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 (CMPSU-850HX) 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

Chassis: 59.99$>49.99$
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

OS: 99.99$
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

CPU Cooler: 29.99$>19.99$ after rebate
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 PLUS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

Total = 1,499.89$$>1,459.89$ after rebate


this includes OS and ODD so since you have an OS already remove 99.99 = 1399.9$>1359.9$ after rebate and remove 15.99$ if you already have a optical disk drive.

but hey if you like Ivy go for it ^_^ but go for the i5 3570k it's much more better if you would only be gaming.

btw this list is still good imo you can change parts and other stuff but I do think the ssd is there to stay and the hdd, and other parts you can exchange here and there ^_^

 

[adgjlsfhk]

I would go with ivy, not for processing differences, but for graphics. Ivy bridge gives you pcie 3.0 which makes a big difference for high end graphics cards.

 

[azeem40]

I would go with ivy, not for processing differences, but for graphics. Ivy bridge gives you pcie 3.0 which will soon makes a big difference for high end graphics cards.

Fixed for you.

 

[kulladoctor]

Power Supply:

The one the OP picked (LOGISYS) is absolute ***. Get this one instead for 20 dollars more:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817182199

Tavo_Nova's suggestion (HX850) is a good power supply, but since you dont want SLI/CrossFire, it will be a big overkill.

 

[Tavo_Nova]

well if you go ivy go ahead, but I'm only giving advise which is not so bad actually.

at least compare it to the 560ti 2gb the gtx680 2gb would benefit him/her more eye candy and fps wise. but if it's the ivy i7 3770k I would opt for the i7 3820 with the lga 2011 (one reason it last still quite a while and 2nd a 3820 can still be clocked to 4.5 ghz stable but well we know people love new stuff, imo I'm getting ivy bridge system as well couldn't scratch my itch of getting new hardware ^_^

 

[adgjlsfhk]

Fixed for you.

It does now, but only with really good cards (680, 690)

 

[adgjlsfhk]

frozonic, your cooler has thermal paste included, but otherwise, good parts.

 

[Why_Me]

FREE SHIPPING !!!

http://www.directcanada.com <----- any order over $50 qualifies for FREE GROUND SHIPPING

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11180AC6193&vpn=CC-9011011-WW&manufacture=CORSAIR $86.52
Corsair Carbide Series 400R Mid-Tower Case ATX 4X5.25 6X3.5INT USB 1394 No PS

http://www.corsair.com/pc-cases/carbide-series-pc-case/carbide-series-400r-mid-tower-case.html <----- another look at that case

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=13440AC5884&vpn=PPCMK3S600&manufacture=PC%20POWER%20&%20COOLING $76.07 MIR $56.07
PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 600W ATX Modular Power Supply 80PLUS Bronze 120MM Fan

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=13440AC5884&vpn=PPCMK3S600&manufacture=PC%20POWER%20&%20COOLING $127.44
ASRock Z77 Pro 3 ATX LGA1155 DDR3 CrossFireX 2PCI-E16 1PCI-E1 2PCI SATA3 HDMI USB3.0 Motherboard

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z77%20Pro3 <----- another look at that board

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12200BD0768&vpn=BX80637I53570K&manufacture=INTEL $244.40
Intel Core i5 3570K Unlocked Quad Core Processor LGA1155 3.4GHZ Ivy Bridge 6MB Retail

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC0554&vpn=RR-212E-20PK-R2&manufacture=COOLERMASTER $30.48
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366/1155/1156/2011 120MM

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=16950BD7145&vpn=F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR&manufacture=Others $47.79
G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR Sniper SE 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 1.5V Memory Kit

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=14120DR5445&vpn=ST1000DM003&manufacture=SEAGATE $89.79
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM 64MB SATA 6Gbps 3.5IN Internal Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=30170DR2160&vpn=MKNSSDCR120GB&manufacture=Mushkin%20Enhanced $130.25
Mushkin Chronos 120GB 2.5IN SATA3 Sandforce SF-2281 SSD Solid State Disk Flash Drive

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530DR5213&vpn=DRW-24B1ST%20Bulk&manufacture=ASUS $17.69
ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer OEM Black

Total: $850.03 *not including tax and rebates


http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530BD5693&vpn=HD7870-DC2-2GD5&manufacture=ASUS $353.98
ASUS Radeon HD 7870 1000MHZ 2GB 4.8GHZ GDDR5 DVI HDMI 2XMINIDP PCI-E Video Card

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_7870_Direct_Cu_II/ <----- review w/benchmarks for that Asus card

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530MN6442&vpn=ML228H&manufacture=ASUS $153.81 MIR $143.81
ASUS ML228H 21.5IN Widescreen LED Backlit LCD Monitor Black 1920X1080 2MS 10M:1 HDMI DVI-D VGA

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11180AC3384&vpn=CC-9011014-WW&manufacture=CORSAIR $73.50
Corsair Carbide Series 300R Black Gaming Case ATX 3X5.25 4X3.5 Front USB Audio No PSU

http://www.corsair.com/carbide-series-300r-compact-pc-gaming-case.html <----- another look at that case

http://videocardz.com/32728/geforce-gtx-670-review-tweaktown <----- gtx 670 This card is due to be released by the end of this week and will retail for $350 - $400 CAD.

http://videocardz.com/ <---- more reviews on that card

http://news.softpedia.com/news/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-660-and-670-Ti-Coming-267291.shtml?utm_source=ForumSoftpedia&utm_medium=ForumSoftpedia&utm_campaign=ForumSoftpedia <----- gtx 660 ti

http://videocardz.com/nvidia/geforce-600/geforce-gtx-660ti <----- gtx 660 ti $249

 

[bigcyco1]

Subtotal: $1,241.90 CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115072

MOBO: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157271

RAM: G.Skill RipjawsX 8GB @1600mhz CL9
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231428

GPU:MSI R7950 OC Radeon HD 7950 3GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127651

HDD: 500GB Hitachi Deskstar
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822145531

ODD: Samsung DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827151244

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119233

PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139022#top

CPU Cooler:COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065 SSD Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) with Transfer Kit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148448#top

 

[RookieBuilder_83]

THIS GTX 680 (NO OTHER) http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125422

Total cost 798.83$(build itself) + 524.99$ (gtx 680)

Why is it that the 2GB GTX 680 is preferred to the less expensive 3GB Radeon 7950?

 

[akash123able]

Why is it that the 2GB GTX 680 is preferred to the less expensive 3GB Radeon 7950?

Because of it's Kepler build and drivers and also many games are highly optimized for nvidia and yes you get the best physx boost in nvidia series

 

[RookieBuilder_83]

FREE SHIPPING !!!

http://www.directcanada.com <----- any order over $50 qualifies for FREE GROUND SHIPPING

Thanks for the reminder on directcanada.com, I had totally forgot about them! Great prices!

Also think I'll wait for the GTX 670 to drop as most seem to agree nvidia is the way to go.