Opinions on 1500€ gaming system

[Burnty]

I'm soon building a pc and I would appreciate if some people could give their opinions about the chosen parts

Approximate Purchase Date:
most likely this week

Budget Range:
+- 1500€

System Usage from Most to Least Important:
gaming, surfing/watching movies, Maybe sometimes a little bit of video editing but not much at all

Parts Not Required:
HDD

Country:
Belgium

Overclocking:
Maybe

SLI or Crossfire:
Maybe

Monitor Resolution:
1680x1050

Parts I selected:
GPU: ASUS GTX670-DC2-2GD5 GeForce GTX 670 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121637

Processor: 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.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131819

PSU: CORSAIR Professional Series HX650 (CMPSU-650HX) 650W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

Sound card: ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132006&Tpk=asus%20xonar%20dx

RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2B1600C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233202

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225

CPU cooler: Scythe Mugen 2 rev.B SCMG-2100
http://www.scythe-eu.com/en/products/cpu-cooler/mugen-2-rev-b.html

SSD: OCZ Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-90G 2.5" 90GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227757

DVD: LG DVD Burner 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model GH24NS90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136247

Now I was wondering if a 650W power supply would be able to maybe give power to two 670's in the future and if not wheter a 750 one could.
I'm also maybe thinking of putting a led strip in there and I was wondering if a 1m kit of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812170026 would be enough to light up the HAF X, or if a 2m one would be better.
And lastly I would appreciate it if some of you gave your opinions about the build

 

[g-unit1111]

Now I was wondering if a 650W power supply would be able to maybe give power to two 670's in the future and if not wheter a 750 one could.

2 x 670 will require at minimum a 750W PSU.

I'm also maybe thinking of putting a led strip in there and I was wondering if a 1m kit of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6812170026 would be enough to light up the HAF X, or if a 2m one would be better.

I personally wouldn't spend the money - but that's just my opinion.

And lastly I would appreciate it if some of you gave your opinions about the build

It's an excellent start but my suggestions would be to cut down on the case - the HAF X is quite a monster and you only need it if you're running a monster motherboard like the Rampage IV Extreme. I'd also swap the SSD and cooler for a Noctua D14 and a Crucial M4. I don't like the Agility 3 due to the Sandforce controller being used - I'm not a fan of Sandforce drives in the slightest.

Also ditch the sound card - they're no longer necessary, and swap your RAM for something like the Crucial Ballistix or Mushkin Blackline.

Is there a store that you buy from? Knowing local availability will help to suggest a system.

 

[Burnty]

Hmm I did most of what you recommended, but I was wondering about the crucial ballistix there is a sport, tactical and elite. the only difference I can see between sport and tactial is CL9 vs CL8, is that right? And if I understand that right that doesn't really make a difference in performance in normal usage?
For the case what do you think of the CM storm scout? ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196 )
and for the question about the store, I buy form a store in the Netherlands: https://azerty.nl

 

[MANOFKRYPTONAK]

I like a big case better air flow, heat is one thing that kills electronics quite rapidly. That is why laptops die so quickly. Also I like the hyper series cpu coolers a lot. Or could go liquid cooling with a smaller case.

 

[sk]

Hey will start first with the HDD/SSD
90GB SSD only is way too small for games/video editing. Better get one 120-150GB SSD at least for primary system disk and get 1 or 2TB HDD for storage (lets say western digital blue or black series).
Unless you already have HDD ignore this but still get a bit bigger SSD.

Case - Haf X is way too big, if you want this design then go for the middle tower version - Cooler Master HAF XM

Soundcard - as g-unit1111 said ditch it, unless you are going to do some serious audio editing and need soundcard, but then you would buy a professional one. The sound chip in the motherboard is good enough for your needs.

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V PRO - very good one if you are want overclock and acceptable price, if you want a cheaper version of it check: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 or Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H
If you are not going to overclock, just go with the a cheaper motherboard

CPU is OK, you don't need more

GPU - ASUS GTX670 is a monster card, that will last at least 2-3 years, but then again for 1680x1050 resolution is overkill, it all depends what kind of games are you going to play, still if you get a 24" LCD it will max everything. If you intend to play on single monitor with 1680x1050 resolution don't ever think of getting gtx 670 in Sli, unless for the next 2 years.

RAM: 8GB was overkill for windows 7 32bit. for 64bit is enough but Windows 8 is coming in a few months, who knows you may want to try it, so get 16GB of RAM for future proof.

PSU: if you are going to overclock and want SLI get 750W-800W from: OCZ, Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, if not 650W is enough

 

[Burnty]

hmm yeah the haf xm might be a good choice, the ability to go SLI is more for being future proof and about the RAM, couldn't I just buy 8gb now and buy more later if I need it? the 8gb will only take up 2 slots

 

[g-unit1111]

RAM: 8GB was overkill for windows 7 32bit. for 64bit is enough but Windows 8 is coming in a few months, who knows you may want to try it, so get 16GB of RAM for future proof.

Windows 8 still won't use more than 8GB of RAM even on the 64-bit version - 8GB is plenty.

PSU: if you are going to overclock and want SLI get 750W-800W from: OCZ, Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, if not 650W is enough

Yes all of those brands are good. Stay away from Diablotek, Ultra, Apevia, Raidmax, and there's a few others I would not recommend.

hmm yeah the haf xm might be a good choice, the ability to go SLI is more for being future proof and about the RAM, couldn't I just buy 8gb now and buy more later if I need it? the 8gb will only take up 2 slots

That's definitely the way to go on RAM - buy 8GB to start with, add more if you need it.

Try this build:

Case: NZXT Phantom 410 - € 102,80
PSU: Corsair TX 750 V2 - € 91,23
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H - € 176,14
CPU: 3.4GHz Intel Core i5-3570K - € 212,75
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 - € 70,00
RAM: 8GB G.Skill Ares 1600MHz 1.5V - € 55,18
SSD: 128GB Crucial M4 - € 114,99
HD: 2TB Western Digital Caviar Green - € 107,02
Video Card: EVGA Geforce GTX 670 - € 379,92
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium - € 103,18

Total: € 1.487,69

 

[MANOFKRYPTONAK]

I would just buy 16gb it is on average about $20 per 4gb stick it's cheap future proofing. Plus you will not have to open your system upgrade later to add it.

On the 670 I would consider getting the 4gb cards from EVGA, again not much more for more future proof.

+1 on the bigger SSD and buy Crucial, I have one and it is really great. I would say 120-250 on the SSD.

 

[g-unit1111]

I would just buy 16gb it is on average about $20 per 4gb stick it's cheap future proofing. Plus you will not have to open your system upgrade later to add it.

On the 670 I would consider getting the 4gb cards from EVGA, again not much more for more future proof.

+1 on the bigger SSD and buy Crucial, I have one and it is really great. I would say 120-250 on the SSD.

On a gaming system - you'll never use all 16GB and in some cases can actually hinder system performance - 8GB is the sweet spot.

And yeah the 128GB is the best bet for SSD - I have a Crucial M4 and it's been great so far.

 

[MANOFKRYPTONAK]

@ g-unit, do you think he needs to SLI his GPU, I think with 1 he will be good for 2-3 years.

EDIT: Granted 2-3 years will not have everything maxed out on games.

 

[Burnty]

Try this build:

Case: NZXT Phantom 410 - € 102,80
PSU: Corsair TX 750 V2 - € 91,23
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H - € 176,14
CPU: 3.4GHz Intel Core i5-3570K - € 212,75
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 - € 70,00
RAM: 8GB G.Skill Ares 1600MHz 1.5V - € 55,18
SSD: 128GB Crucial M4 - € 114,99
HD: 2TB Western Digital Caviar Green - € 107,02
Video Card: EVGA Geforce GTX 670 - € 379,92
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium - € 103,18

Total: € 1.487,69

That looks like a very good build, I can get windows 7 very cheap so I'll probably change some things around

 

[g-unit1111]

@ g-unit, do you think he needs to SLI his GPU, I think with 1 he will be good for 2-3 years.

EDIT: Granted 2-3 years will not have everything maxed out on games.

A single 670 will max out everything on greater than 1080p for several years.

 

[azeem40]

He is right. At 2560x1600, it still maxes most games with everything turned up. At 5760x1200, it still can, but you need to turn AA and AF off.

 

[Burnty]

Gonna order the PC Tonight or tomorrow, thanks everyone for the great help