~$1500 gaming PC advice

[mwashington6]

Hello, I'm getting back into PC gaming. I've been researching for awhile all the new tech and want to build my first pc. This will be used for nothing higher than gaming. The build doesn't need a monitor, at least for now, because I'm going to use HDMI to a 40 inch 1080p. Can anyone offer advice on what could improve the build in any way? One last thing, I'm not looking into overclocking, at least not right now. My goal is to build a PC that won't need an upgrade for at least a year or two.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=27340208

Thanks in advance!

 

[tdoughtony]

I would get the 3570K. If you do decide to overclock it can be done with that one. Decrease the ram to 8GB. Thats all you really need for gaming, and why the Sabertooth? I would get http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131819. With the money you save you can get the 3570K.

 

[Why_Me]

16 GB of RAM is pretty crazy for a gaming build. Anyways here's some options to have a look at.

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Tower-Gaming-CC-9011012-WW/dp/B005E983JW/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1338892210&sr=1-5 $118.98 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Carbide Series 500R Mid Tower Gaming Case CC-9011012-WW

http://www.corsair.com/carbide-series-500r-mid-tower-case.html <----- another look at that case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703027 $109.99 - $89.99 after mail-in rebate card FREE SHIPPING
PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W High Performance 80PLUS Silver SLI CrossFire ready Power Supply

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-Inch-Solid-State-CT256M4SSD2/dp/B004W2JL2A/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1338892107&sr=1-1 $212.08 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Crucial 256 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s CT256M4SSD2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.959055 $359.98 save: $25.00 | $20.00 Mail In Rebates 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://usa.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z77V_LK/ <---- another look at that board along with a link to the latest bios

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 $29.99 FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231544 $46.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAO

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-AD-7280S-0B-Internal-Drive-Black/dp/B0057FRTPW/ref=pd_cp_e_2 $17.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Sony AD-7280S-0B 24x SATA Internal DVD+/-RW Drive (Black)

 

[mwashington6]

actually the motherboard is my greatest problem. I picked the sabertooth because of the (seemingly) high quality. Why would another, cheaper motherboard be better? Also, I started at 8gb memory and went to 16gb because it was only about $40 more. also, with the ivy bridge 3570, does it need an aftermarket heatsink or is that only if I overclock?

 

[sscultima]

for the cpu, only if you plan on overclocking would i recommend buying an aftermarket heatsink. you can get some good yet inexpensive coolers for $29-$39

Personally I like the sabertooth board as well, and have always like them since they started back in the 1366 socket.

as for the ram, if you can justifiy 16GB for the price, then why not, you will just future proof anything you wish to do that may be memory intensive.

as for what you have i'd say you have a good quality build

 

[doct3rphil]

great looking build, but honestly, I think you'll be disappointed with a 64gb SSD. Cut back on the ram or mobo a bit and get a 128GB. You'll be glad you did.

 

[Why_Me]

actually the motherboard is my greatest problem. I picked the sabertooth because of the (seemingly) high quality. Why would another, cheaper motherboard be better? Also, I started at 8gb memory and went to 16gb because it was only about $40 more. also, with the ivy bridge 3570, does it need an aftermarket heatsink or is that only if I overclock?

It's simple. You have a $1,500 budget for a gaming build. So you say to yourself what can I do with $1500 to make the best possible build. Seeing how 4GB of RAM suffices just fine for a gaming build, and this build isn't for professional video editing then that $40 can go to something that will make a difference, like a larger SSD. Any game that loads up levels (maps) benefits from a SSD. The people using SSD's for gaming are running around in the map when it starts up while others with a mechanical hard drive are still waiting to load up and come into the map.

As far as motherboards go....it's a motherboard. It's a home for your SSD, vid card, etc... and that's all it is...a motherboard. Gamers are lucky to use even 10% of what these Z77 boards offer. With that case I posted, it's not only cheaper, it has better thermals than that CM case and more features. You want to put your $$$$ to where it's going to make a difference in performance, and that $240 Sabertooth and 16GB of RAM is only going to make you wish you had went with a larger SSD.

 

[mwashington6]

Alright a 128 SSD sounds good then. I've thought about even downgrading the 1TB hard drive. Thats so much space I don't know if I'd ever fill that up anytime in the lifetime of the case. As long as the motherboard supports SLI I'm willing to "downgrade". Also, I have a buddy who may have an extra copy of windows 7 in which case that would free up another $100.