$1000 Gaming PC - First Build

[Ryder_]

Summer break is coming up in a few days, and I'm going to have lots of time on my hands, including hours of nothingness (ie gaming). Right now I have a Macbook Pro from five years ago, and another custom computer my mom's coworker built. But I [strike]need[/strike] want my own, and it seems that building one will be the cheapest option.

My biggest concerns are compatibility for all the parts and whether I'll be able to run both Mac and Windows on it. I've read up about making a hackintosh and it seems doable. It'd be great if you guys could help me with all this stuff.

Purchase time - the next few weeks
Budget - around $1000 for the desktop
Use - gaming and regular computing
Preferred website - doesn't matter, as long as it's reputable (newegg, amazon, j&r, b&h)

I'm almost certain I'll be getting these things.

Case
NZXT Phantom 410 CA-PH410-G1 Gunmetal Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Black Trim Computer Case

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

HDD
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

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

Aside from actual power and number of cables, are there any other difference between PSUs?

Cooler
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+

I'm not too sure about the rest, so it's open to all your suggestions.

Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

ASRock P67 EXTREME4 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Video Card
EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

RAM
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 X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL10D-16GBXL

Will 8gb be enough, or is it safer to get 16?

SSD
Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC128N/AM 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Notebook Upgrade Kit

OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Kingston HyperX 3K SH103S3B/120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (Upgrade Bundle Kit)

There are way too many keyboards and mice on the market, so input on this would be appreciated as well.

Thanks!

 

[g-unit1111]

Aside from actual power and number of cables, are there any other difference between PSUs?

The PSU is the most important part of any system - you don't want to get the wrong one or it could be disastrous.

Will 8gb be enough, or is it safer to get 16?

For what you need it to do, you'll never use 16GB of RAM - if you're using multimedia intensive applications like CS5/6 that's where the extra RAM comes in handy.

I'm not too sure about the rest, so it's open to all your suggestions.

I'd actually throw out all of those. Don't get an SSD when it cuts into your GPU budget - on a gaming build you want the best GPU you can afford - and the 550TI certainly is one of the worst on the market. You don't need 16GB of RAM for what you need your system to do - you'll most likely never use it all. The case and secondary HD are overkill - the shortages are being lifted on HDs but it will still be a while before they return to pre-flood prices and you're paying ridiculous premiums on the Caviar Black HDs when you should put that into the GPU. Also go with the newer Ivy Bridge and Z77 motherboards as opposed to Sandy Bridge and Z68/P67.

Here's a sample build I recommend for $1K:

Case: Corsair Carbide 300R - $79.99
PSU: Seasonic S12 II 620W - $86.99
Motherboard: Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 - $139.99
CPU: 3.4GHz Intel Core i5-3570K - $229.99
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo - $34.99
RAM: 8GB G.Skill Ripjaw X 1600Mhz 1.5V - $46.99
HD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda ST - $99.99
Optical: Lite On DVD Burner - $17.99
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 - $249.99

Total: $990.89

This build gets you a far better PSU, the newer Ivy Bridge and Z77, and a way way better GPU.

 

[willze7]

You will need a Z77 motherboard for a 3rd gen i5, Here is a good one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131837 8gb is plenty of RAM. The crucial SSD is the best of the four. For the keyboard and mouse you can get whatever you want. Personally I don't like wireless components, but its all personal preference. Your video card sort of doesn't live up to the rest of the build, you may want to get a radeon 6850 or 6870 or a gtx 560ti. This is only if you can afford it though. What you have is fine. As far as the hackintosh goes this is the wrong forum for that.

 

[Niklas_13]

First off With your budget i would hold off on a SSD and you could hold off on a CPU Cooler

You did say if you want the option to sli/ or crossfire ( so i made a build that will )

If you need it cheaper you can get a GOOD QL 550W PSU and a single PCI E 3.0 MoBo

946.92 - 15 MIR + tax and shipping


MOBO CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.975453

GPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150608

CASE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

HDD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697

DVD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

 

[Klaud45]

Since you're buying the 3570K I'd recommend going with the AsRock z77 Extreme4. Or any good, budget z77 board. Get the 8Gb RAM's. What kind of games will you be playing? You might be able to get a better video card.

 

[Klaud45]

Actually, you know what? Just look at my signature.

 

[Ryder_]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm flexible as far as price goes. Another $200 won't break the bank.

I won't be needing another optical drive. I can remove the one i have on an old dell.

As for the case I mentioned, I really like it, since it looks nice, a bit different from a standard case.

 

[g-unit1111]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm flexible as far as price goes. Another $200 won't break the bank.

I won't be needing another optical drive. I can remove the one i have on an old dell.

As for the case I mentioned, I really like it, since it looks nice, a bit different from a standard case.

Yeah the Phantom is a nice case for sure - if you don't need the optical drive you can put that difference toward it, but don't cut into your GPU for something like that.

 

[Ryder_]

Ok, thanks to everyone's help, I have an idea of what I'll be getting now.

Motherboard
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

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

PSU
SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

SSD
Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

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

HDD
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Cooler
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+

But I still don't know what video card to get. My total for newegg comes out to be around $830 before adding a video card, so I'll be able to spend around $200, maybe more, for one.

I picked out a few based on what everyone else has recommended so far.

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card (100314-3L )

GIGABYTE GV-N560OC-1GI GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card (11200-00-20G)

EVGA SuperClocked 012-P3-1573-KR GeForce GTX 570 HD w/Display-Port (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

 

[g-unit1111]

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card (100314-3L )

GIGABYTE GV-N560OC-1GI GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card (11200-00-20G)

EVGA SuperClocked 012-P3-1573-KR GeForce GTX 570 HD w/Display-Port (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

The Radeon 7850 will be the best choice out of all of those - in most tests it matches and beats the 570 and uses 1/2 the power.

 

[azeem40]

The Radeon 7850 will be the best choice out of all of those - in most tests it matches and beats the 570 and uses 1/2 the power.

And once OCed to 1kHz, it matches the GTX 580s performance.

 

[Niklas_13]

The Radeon 7850 will be the best choice out of all of those - in most tests it matches and beats the 570 and uses 1/2 the power.

+ 1

 

[danielmcgrath]

+ 1

+2