First pc build ~1300 dollar build

basch99

Honorable
May 8, 2012
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10,810
This is what I have so far:
do I need thermal paste
PSU to 800W for a HD 7970 crossfire in future?
Do I need to wait for a Geforce GTX 680? (don't like the 2GB vRAM buffer though)
also will my HD 7970 fit into my NZXT case?
will my custom cooler fit into my case?

Approximate Purchase Date: in the next two months

Budget Range: (e.g.: 600-800) 1200 - 1330 max

System Usage from Most to Least Important: intensive gaming, homework and watching movies (not blu-ray)

Parts Not Required: windows 7 home premium

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: only newegg - may accept amazon on rare occasion

Country: doesn't matter.

Parts Preferences: doesn't matter, just don't give me some obscure brands

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: in the future

Monitor Resolution: 1080p

Additional Comments:
This is what I have so far and all components are off newegg.

NZXT Apollo Black SECC Steel Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $59.99

XFX FX-797A-TNFC Radeon HD 7970 Core Edition 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card $479.99

SONY Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1681S-0B - OEM $19.99

Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $99.99

Logitech Wireless Combo MK260 920-002950 Black USB RF Wireless Standard Keyboard and Mouse $27.99

Acer S230HLAbii Black 23" 5ms HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor $149.99

Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply $79.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL $46.99

MSI Z77MA-G45 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS $124.99

Intel Core i5-3450 Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.5GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637I53450 $199.99

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel processors $34.99

Total: 1,324.89 no rebates
 
Solution
it is not a $300 mobo it is a cpu+mobo combo which will save you money

and these mobos are great they are in the 100-200 range.

i suggest not even going for a SLI/Xfire if you do not plan on getting 2 or more monitors

and if you do plan on getting 2 or more Monitors i suggest getting a AMD GPU instead of Nvidia as they tend to have more performance at a higher resolution

an i5 with 670 will work tons better than a i5 3450 with 7970 if you plan on using 1 monitor

EDIT:Western Digital has gone down in prices once again!!
i suggest going with this HDD
Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache

the cache for MB is higher than the one you posted so it is faster another thing is that the price on it is...
First off the 3450 is a locked cpu and won't over clock, also that 650w psu is never going to push two of those cards if you ever decide to add another one. The reason I mention this is because you have "maybe" filled out next to dual cards and over clocking. I have no idea on that case. I would look for a case though that has front 3.0 USB ports seeing how all the Z77 boards have a front USB header.


http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Series-Mid-Tower-Gaming/dp/B006I2H0YS/ref=sr_1_8?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1336635806&sr=1-8 $75.84 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Carbide Series 300R Mid-Tower Gaming Case - CC-9011014-WW

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

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-Series-80PLUS-Performance-compatible/dp/B005A2RJOI/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1336604499&sr=1-5 $89.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
OCZ ZS Series 750W 80PLUS Bronze High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.910431 $379.98 save: $10.00
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z77%20Extreme4 <----- another look at that board

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/asrock_z77_extreme4_review,1.html <----- review of that board w/benchmarks

or...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.908895 $374.98 save: $20.00 FREE SHIPPING
ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-20PK-R2/dp/B005O65JXI/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1336617964&sr=1-7 $34.95 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler (RR-212E-20PK-R2)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570 $41.99 FREE SHIPPING
Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory with heatshield Model PSD38G1600KH

http://www.amazon.com/HD7870-DC2-2GD5-DisplayPort-Utilities-PCI-Express-Graphics/dp/B007JLFVNO $334.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASUS HD7870-DC2-2GD5 Radeon 2GB DDR5 VGA/DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort GPU Tweak Utilities PCI-Express 3.0 Graphics Card HD7870-DC2-2GD5

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

or...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125419 $259.99
GIGABYTE GV-R785OC-2GD Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
 

basch99

Honorable
May 8, 2012
323
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10,810
The problem here is that I'm not buying a 300 dollar motherboard - that is overkill and I might go for a core i5-3570K with GTX 670 and add in a 800w corsair PSU. I know about the core i5-3450 can't overclock - it's just that if I want to, I'll have to go for the i5-3570K - I was considering a cheaper sandy build - but I guess it's worth getting Ivy bridge for now. Now though I still don't have the money yet to buy my PC but I'll go for it once I do. I'm not really worried about Haswell and Tenerife (AMD Radeon HD 89xx series). But thanks for the tips.

so now: can I use a Z68 mobo with the need to flash or is my Z77 mobo good enough - also is it worth it to get the GTX 670 but in the risk that supplies will run out. Thanks to my time frame, even the GTX 680 might become in stock again but for now I'm contemplating a core i5-3570K with GTX 670 vs my i5-3450 and HD 7970 build. Which is better?
 

boulbox

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Apr 5, 2012
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11,960
it is not a $300 mobo it is a cpu+mobo combo which will save you money

and these mobos are great they are in the 100-200 range.

i suggest not even going for a SLI/Xfire if you do not plan on getting 2 or more monitors

and if you do plan on getting 2 or more Monitors i suggest getting a AMD GPU instead of Nvidia as they tend to have more performance at a higher resolution

an i5 with 670 will work tons better than a i5 3450 with 7970 if you plan on using 1 monitor

EDIT:Western Digital has gone down in prices once again!!
i suggest going with this HDD
Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache

the cache for MB is higher than the one you posted so it is faster another thing is that the price on it is cheaper so why buy something that's slower for more money
 
Solution

basch99

Honorable
May 8, 2012
323
0
10,810
alright is this a good final build?


NZXT Apollo Black SECC Steel Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $59.99

ZOTAC ZT-60301-10P GeForce GTX 670 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card $399.99

SONY Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1681S-0B - OEM $19.99

Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $99.99

Logitech Wireless Combo MK260 920-002950 Black USB RF Wireless Standard Keyboard and Mouse $27.99

Acer S230HLAbii Black 23" 5ms HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor $149.99

Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply $79.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL $46.99

MSI Z77MA-G45 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS $124.99

Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K $249.99

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel processors $34.99

Total: 1,294.89 no rebates - cheaper than previous build! Pray for GTX 670 avaliability two months down the road unless AMD slashes prices yet again - bringing the HD 7970 down to 399.99 which then I will go AMD.
 

boulbox

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Apr 5, 2012
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slash the price even more and go with http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

and go with hyper 212 + there is barley any difference in performance between hyper 212+ and evo

some more cut downs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.937035
this is 1TB and a nice discount on a dvd burner

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&cm_sp=Cat_Computer_Cases-_-Spotlight-_-11-129-021
this case has usb 3.0 and since you are doing a z77 it would be nice to have that on the case
it is $79.99 with the rebates and goes down to $69.99 with the $10 promo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095
nice PSU a little more(this is optional but i like modular supplies it keeps things organized)

if anything i would like to put a 64GB SSD on the build for fast booting OS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441
this is a 64GB one

for $20-30 more you can get a nice 120GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226236