First ever build - preferably 800$

[Matt1990]

Approximate purchase date: One week

Budget Range: I would like to keep it at or under $800 if possible

System Usage from most to least important: Gaming, watching videos

Parts not required: OS, keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor

Preferred websites for parts: newegg, amazon, tigerdirect

Country: US

Parts preference: Intel, nVidia

Overclocking: Most likely

SLI / Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional comments: I want this to last quite a while so I want reliability and future proofing to some extent if I can get away with it with this budget


I've bad my eye on a few parts to start off with. I was looking at the i5-3570k, GTX 480, NZXT Guardian black SECC Mid tower case. I would love your guys input on if you think these parts give good bang for my buck and would also greatly appreciate you filling in the rest of the parts with your own ideas and why you picked them. This being my first build I am open to suggestion and look forward to seeing what you guys come up with! Thanks in advance.

Sidenote: This will be replacing my broke laptop. I am currently posting on a phone which is fairly frustrating which is why I didn't include links to the items I had already picked. If you could provide links to your suggestions I would appreciate it.

 

[Ironslice]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8tDY
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8tDY/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8tDY/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($116.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($147.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 1.25GB Video Card ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Guardian 921 RB ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.40 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: OCZ 600W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.97 @ Newegg)
Total: $807.18
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-05-18 22:58 EDT-0400)

Since you are going to be using your computer mostly for gaming it is much better to stay with an i3-2120 which will do just fine and instead spend the money on a better graphics card. This motherboard is brand new and is part of the next generation, so you will be (currently) 100% future proof motherboard wise; if one day you need to upgrade your processor you will be able to, but for now it is more than fine.

8GB of ram is all you are going to need and I assumed that you will be alright with a 500GB Hard Drive. The 560 ti 448 is an amazing card and the EVGA Classified version has amazing reviews and has a great performance/price ratio. The power supply is modular and for a low price compared to others of a similar quality.

That is my recommendation, if you have any questions just ask

 

[Matt1990]

Hmm better graphics? I think the gtx 480 performs as well as the 570 (a 300+ card). Also I would rather get a quad core

 

[Matt1990]

Also does anyone know if the 480 will fit in that case? And since it is a power hungry card what would be the minimum safe PSU I could use

 

[Ironslice]

Oh, my bad, I truly misread it and thought you meant a GTX 460...

Never mind then, keep the 480

nVidia says that the requirement for a 480 is 600W, so I would probably just go with a 650W PSU just to be on the safe side (even though they usually overstate what you actually need).


Also, that case that you picked should fit the 480 fine since the reviews for it say that it fit 2 GTX 570's which are the same length (10.5 inches).

 

[Matt1990]

Hmm are you sure 650 that seems a bit high for non SLI

 

[Ironslice]

The GTX 480 is pretty power hungry, you will probably be able to get by with a 600W if you want though.

Now, the only thing is that a Radeon HD 7850 would be a much better choice than the GTX 480, only get the 480 if you really insist on nVidia. The 7850 runs cooler, consumes less power, has basically the same speed and overclocks just as well.

I'm usually an nVidia guy, but unfortunately nVidia is kind of late on release this generation GPU's and AMD is just offering better products.

This one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161406 is for the same price as the GTX 480 (after rebate).

 

[Matt1990]

Is it true that radeon don't perform as well with blizzard games?

 

[Ironslice]

It is kind of true. For some reason Blizzard games tend to work better with nVidia cards, so if you are going to be playing those a lot then yeah it's probably worth the GTX 480, as long as you have good cooling and airflow in your case the 480 is an amazing card.

EDIT: Although to be completely honest it probably won't make any difference since you will be able to max out any Blizzard game with either of them.

 

[bigcyco1]

Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm ...
Model #:CHALLENGER
Item #:N82E16811147153
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$59.99 -$10.00 Instant $49.99


Update

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:Z68 Extreme3 Gen3
Item #:N82E16813157271
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$129.99 -$8.00 Instant $121.99


Update

HIS H785F2G2M Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

HIS H785F2G2M Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Model #:H785F2G2M
Item #:N82E16814161406
Return Policy:VGA Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate Card

$259.99 -$20.00 Instant $239.99


Update

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandybridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandybridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom
Model # OCZ600MXSP
Item #:N82E16817341017
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate Card

$99.99 -$30.00 Instant $69.99


Update

Intel Core i3-2120 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I32120

Intel Core i3-2120 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I32120
Model #:BX80623I32120
Item #:N82E16819115077
Return Policy:CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock

$124.99 $124.99


Update

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

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
Model #:F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
Item #:N82E16820231314
Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$46.99 $46.99


Update

HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D HDS721050DLE630 (0F13178) 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D HDS721050DLE630 (0F13178) 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:0F13178
Item #:N82E16822145531
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$79.99 $79.99


Update

SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE

SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - OEM
Model #:SH-222BB/BEBE
Item #:N82E16827151244
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$16.99 $16.99
Subtotal: $750.92

 

[Matt1990]

Do you have any experience with the case I picked? If not can you suggest one in my price range with decent airflow/cable management

 

[bigcyco1]

check this bundle out $799 http://links.mkt221.com/ctt?kn=29&ms=NTMzODYyOAS2&r=MjE3MDU1NDA2MzkS1&b=0&j=MTk5MzgxMzgyS0&mt=1&rt=0

 

[Ironslice]

this one is good

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

so is this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147060

 

[bigcyco1]

Do you have any experience with the case I picked? If not can you suggest one in my price range with decent airflow/cable management

Actually the case you picked looks pretty nice to me i have never owned one so i couldn't say for sure it's good or bad i do know these are decent though COOLER MASTER HAF 922 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197 and Corsair Carbide Series 400R http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139008 i like the looks of the one you picked better though :lol:

 

[Matt1990]

Seems like a decent bundle. I wonder how much it would be separately. How necessary is 2Gb VRAM or what kind of performance difference would I see between a 1GB and 2GB model of say a 560ti

 

[dudewitbow]

the part prices for the build bigcyco has on the tiger direct build is probably best bang for the buck, other then the fact that it pushes a pretty bad psu on you, so if you ever need to upgrade, changing psu will be a priority(as the ultra lsp model isnt that great)

 

[bigcyco1]

Seems like a decent bundle. I wonder how much it would be separately. How necessary is 2Gb VRAM or what kind of performance difference would I see between a 1GB and 2GB model of say a 560ti

well the build would come up to 86.99 more separately for whatever reason :lol: as far as the difference between 560TI 1GB and 560TI 2GB look here http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18344284 i will find some better benchmarks and solid facts tomorrow bud I am not so sure that fella in the above link knows what hes talking about i highly have my doubts so i will look into it all very closely and let you know

 

[Matt1990]

Thanks bigcyco. I appreciate all of your guys' feedback keep it coming!

 

[Matt1990]

I'm surprised the 560ti 1GB got such low FPS in BF3

 

[azeem40]

Was it multiplayer or singleplayer?

 

[Matt1990]

Multiplayer. With a lot of people it's in that link that bigcyco just posted

 

[bigcyco1]

o.k. so pretty much the difference between the 560ti 1GB and 560ti 2GB is the 2GB is The video memory is a bit more important when you have very high resolution displays, or dual high def. displays, like 3 monitors at 1920x1080. Then the video card needs that extra memory (it helps somewhat). However, for single monitors, and many dual setups, 1Gb is enough for most games...I think that bundle is the best bang for your buck and if i was in your situation i buy it.

 

[Matt1990]

How is tigerdirects customer service / return policy? I've only bought a few things from there and never had any issues. But, I've never bought anything as expensive as this from them before

 

[bigcyco1]

How is tigerdirects customer service / return policy? I've only bought a few things from there and never had any issues. But, I've never bought anything as expensive as this from them before

I been buying from them for years and it's been a good experience i have never needed to return anything though so i honestly couldn't say as far as that goes bud.

 

[azeem40]

I would get the ZS series of OCZ and no other OCZ PSU.