I'm buying a Gaming PC, & I have questions about the configuration

[CarolineP]

Hi, I'm buying a gaming PC from CyberPower, and I was wondering whether I am getting a good deal, whether all of the parts are compatible with one another, whether there are any bottlenecks or potential bottlenecks, and if anyone has any recommendations to improve the system. Thanks for your help!!

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System:

Case: Corsair Carbide 300r Mid-Tower

Extra Case Fans: Maximum 120mm Case Cooling Fans

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570k @ 3.4 Ghz

Cooling Fan: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LK Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard

RAM: 8 gb (4 gb x 2) of DDR3 G'Skill Ripjaws X @ 1600 Mhz

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB 16X PCIe Video Card

Video Card Variety: MSI Twin Frozr II OC 750 Mhz Powered by NVIDIA

Power Supply: 1,000 Watts - Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 80 Plus Power Supply ( 80 Plus Gold)

Hard Disk 1: 120 GB SanDisk Ultra SATA-II 3.0Gb/s SSD - 280MB/s Read & 270MB/s Write

Data Hard Disk: 500GB Western Digital Caviar Black SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 7200 RPM HDD

Optical Drive: LG UH12LS28K 12X Blu-Ray Player & DVDRW Combo Drive

Network Card: Intel Pro Gigabite 10/100/1000 Network Card

Wireless Card: 802.11b/g/n 300Mbps PCI Wireless Adapter Network Card

Flash Media RW: Internal 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer

Windows 7 Home Premium

Cost: $1230 before rebates and shipping

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I just remembered, I have one more question, sorry! Is this system better or worse, overall, than the Alienware x51 $1149 version?

Thanks for taking the time to respond! I really appreciate it

-Caroline

 

[DeusAres]

It's better than Alienware by a long shot. I don't even have to look at the Alienware computer. Anything is better than alienware. They're overpriced and overrated.

Now on to your build...

First off, I'm gonna recommend you build your own. It's not that difficult. I'm more than willing to post links to some helpful tutorials.

I can already tell you the PSU is overkill. You'd be fine with a 750w 80+ bronze or silver power supply. That extra cash could go towards the GPU. This is the beauty of building your own. You have the option to pick and choose the exact parts that go into your system.

Try this...
PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703027&Tpk=pc%20power%20and%20cooling%20750w

Or...
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750M
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139030&Tpk=corsair%20tx750m

I'd go with this HDD...
Seagate barracuda 1tb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

SSD looks fine, but I'd go with this...
OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706

Now you can put that extra cash that you saved towards a better GPU, case, or whatever you desire...

GPU...
GIGABYTE GV-R787OC-2GD Radeon HD 7870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418

Or...
GIGABYTE GV-R795WF3-3GD Radeon HD 7950 3GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125414&Tpk=gigabyte%20hd%207950

Or...
GIGABYTE GV-N670OC-2GD GeForce GTX 670 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125423&Tpk=gigabyte%20gtx%20670

Cases...

Corsair Vengeance Series C70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139014

COOLER MASTER HAF 922
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

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

Antec Eleven Hundred Black Super Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129178&Tpk=antec%201100

Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139016

Everything else looks fine. I figured I'd give you a few better options.

Good luck!

 

[C12Friedman]

I'm just going to ditto what DeusAres says above and give you these links to boot for food for thought
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lPIXAtNGGCw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls&feature=watch_response
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxaVBsXEiok&feature=relmfu
Judging by your choices above , I'd say you can skip part one. Part two is the good part where you'll see just what is involved in the assembly - good stuff.

 

[DeusAres]

I'm just going to ditto what DeusAres says above and give you these links to boot for food for thought
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lPIXAtNGGCw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls&feature=watch_response
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxaVBsXEiok&feature=relmfu
Judging by your choices above , I'd say you can skip part one. Part two is the good part where you'll see just what is involved in the assembly - good stuff.

+1^

Excellent tutorial. That's actually what I was going to recommend, lol.

 

[CarolineP]

Thanks for your advice!! I downgraded the PSU to an 850 watt Thermaltake TR2 RX Modular 80 Plus Bronze, which is definitely enough I upgraded the SSD to a Vertex 4 128GB SATA III (they didn't have Vertex 3,) and the HDD to a WDC 1TB Black SATA III 6 gb/s drive. The only thing which I'm still undecided on is whether to get the Nvidia GTX 570 card, or the AMD 7850 (which is $15 more expensive)... Which one of those do you think is better? Anything above that is quite a bit more money :\

It would definitely be more customizable (and less expensive) to build one myself, but I'm going to college and my parents want me to get a computer that's already built (I guess so I don't build it incorrectly?)

PS Do you know whether Windows comes pre-installed on the SSD if it's bought from Cyberpower, or if they send it to you still in the box?

 

[CarolineP]

Best answer selected by CarolineP.

 

[DeusAres]

It truly all depends on what games you'll be playing. You'll need to take a look at the following benchmarks and decide for yourself...
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/518?vs=549

If they are prebuilding the pc for you, it should come pre installed. You'll still need to check the website and make sure. Or at least call 'em before you make the purchase. They'll be able to clarify that for you.