Preface: Hey guy first post here but I've lurked a bit, I wanted to get some discussion and opinions to give me an idea if how I arrived at this build was smart. First I should point out that the budget I aimed for was under $1700 and I had to include a monitor and W7. So right off the bat I was really looking at a 1400-1500ish build. Secondly it should be known that the aim of the build was gaming but I needed to get a rig together for D3 but also future proof it as D3 isn't uber intense and I don't really play high end FPS. Finally this is all bought and being shipped from newegg as I type.
CPU: i5 3570k Ivy Bridge http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504
Standard Gaming CPU, Currently I'm on a 4 year old laptop running Vista so this was an easy choice.
MoBo: ASUS Sabretooth Z77 TUF http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131821
Ok I know this one may be a controversial pick, and maybe the heat shield is a total gimmick but I felt this came with alot of great features including the 5 year warranty, PCIE3 x 2 slots, USB 3, etc. I understand that there are similar boards for cheaper but I feel a Mobo isnt the place to cheap out. Time will tell.
RAM: Corsair Vengance 16GB Low Profile http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233198
One of the features I wanted was 16GB of ram and I know alot of gamers like G.Skill but I feel you cant go wrong with Corsair. Low Profile cause I'm not sure about the clearance with the heat shield and my CPU cooler.
PSU: Seasonic 620W Semi Modular http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095
I know some people don't feel safe OC'ing with this low of wattage but this is Seasonic. Semi- Modular, Best budget PSU I could find plus i got this at $70 on sale so this was a homerun in my book.
SSD: Crucial M4 256gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148449
Another feature I really wanted was a SSD as the primary HD. A friend ranted and raved about SSDs in games so I really wanted to try this. Best part about this SSD was i got it for $220 on a $35 promo. at .85c a GB this was an easy choice and a great steal IMO. $220 for a HD set me back a bit on the budget and ended up influencing my choice of GPU significantly. I plan on adding another magnetic HD when prices go down. This laptop hasn't died so I'll use this for saving most of my data until i get another HD.
GPU: ASUS HD Raedon 7870 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121624
I know alot of people will scoff that I didn't get a 680, and believe me I debated it for hours, but I ended up going with this card because its realistic for what I want from this PC within the budget. First, the vast majority of my upcoming game time will be spent in D3 which this card will have no problems with in 1920x1080. I followed the train of thought that says if I cant afford the best- go with the best value and I think this is the best PCIE 3.0 card for the money at the $350 range. I also went back and forth on Crossfire and SLI setups but in the interest of future proofing I didn't want to get anything older than this. This card has pretty good Crossfire numbers so I may wait for the price to drop and pick up a second and upgrade my PSU in the future.
Case: HAF 912
$60 cant be beat.
CPU Cooler: Hyper 212
Best value cooler that has been used in a ton of builds already, easy pick.
Extras: 2 200MM case fans
, Artic Silver thermal paste, Cd/ DVD burner, Acer 21.5" LED backlit monitor.
So I talked a little before about this- the goal of this was to get a rig togeather fairly quickly for D3. I made most of my choices based on the idea that I needed to get something together under a budget but not skimp out on stuff I wanted like 16gb of ram and a big ssd. I think doing this build in 2 stages makes alot of sense in terms of value. So tell me what you guys think!
CPU: i5 3570k Ivy Bridge http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504
Standard Gaming CPU, Currently I'm on a 4 year old laptop running Vista so this was an easy choice.
MoBo: ASUS Sabretooth Z77 TUF http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131821
Ok I know this one may be a controversial pick, and maybe the heat shield is a total gimmick but I felt this came with alot of great features including the 5 year warranty, PCIE3 x 2 slots, USB 3, etc. I understand that there are similar boards for cheaper but I feel a Mobo isnt the place to cheap out. Time will tell.
RAM: Corsair Vengance 16GB Low Profile http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233198
One of the features I wanted was 16GB of ram and I know alot of gamers like G.Skill but I feel you cant go wrong with Corsair. Low Profile cause I'm not sure about the clearance with the heat shield and my CPU cooler.
PSU: Seasonic 620W Semi Modular http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095
I know some people don't feel safe OC'ing with this low of wattage but this is Seasonic. Semi- Modular, Best budget PSU I could find plus i got this at $70 on sale so this was a homerun in my book.
SSD: Crucial M4 256gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148449
Another feature I really wanted was a SSD as the primary HD. A friend ranted and raved about SSDs in games so I really wanted to try this. Best part about this SSD was i got it for $220 on a $35 promo. at .85c a GB this was an easy choice and a great steal IMO. $220 for a HD set me back a bit on the budget and ended up influencing my choice of GPU significantly. I plan on adding another magnetic HD when prices go down. This laptop hasn't died so I'll use this for saving most of my data until i get another HD.
GPU: ASUS HD Raedon 7870 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121624
I know alot of people will scoff that I didn't get a 680, and believe me I debated it for hours, but I ended up going with this card because its realistic for what I want from this PC within the budget. First, the vast majority of my upcoming game time will be spent in D3 which this card will have no problems with in 1920x1080. I followed the train of thought that says if I cant afford the best- go with the best value and I think this is the best PCIE 3.0 card for the money at the $350 range. I also went back and forth on Crossfire and SLI setups but in the interest of future proofing I didn't want to get anything older than this. This card has pretty good Crossfire numbers so I may wait for the price to drop and pick up a second and upgrade my PSU in the future.
Case: HAF 912
$60 cant be beat.
CPU Cooler: Hyper 212
Best value cooler that has been used in a ton of builds already, easy pick.
Extras: 2 200MM case fans
, Artic Silver thermal paste, Cd/ DVD burner, Acer 21.5" LED backlit monitor.So I talked a little before about this- the goal of this was to get a rig togeather fairly quickly for D3. I made most of my choices based on the idea that I needed to get something together under a budget but not skimp out on stuff I wanted like 16gb of ram and a big ssd. I think doing this build in 2 stages makes alot of sense in terms of value. So tell me what you guys think!
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