First Build -Gaming/Casual

[mrloafy]

This is my first build and I am curious to hear what hints and changes you might have for my build.

The main things I am looking for is a computer that will run SWTOR or FFXIV very well and will also be a system that will last awhile and that I can update down the road. I gave a lot of consideration to using the I-5 2500K, but decided to upgrade a little bit. At this point I think I have a system that will be more than adequate for a couple of years and will allow me to put in more powerful parts and what not moving forward. Also, I would like to keep the total system cost under 1200.

PCU: I5-3370k, Ivy Bridge , lga 1155 - 189.99/MC
MOBO: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155,HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - 124.99/NEGG
GPU: XFX Double D FX-785A-CDFC Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 - 259.99/NEGG
CASE: Cooler Master HAF 922M Mid Tower ATX Computer Case 74.99/FRYS
PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply 109.00/NEGG
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) 84.99/NEGG
SSD: Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR120GB 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal 94.99/NEGG
HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive -89.99/NEGG
OPTICAL: ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD- 18.99/NEGG
Total: 1047.92

 

[marcus8h]

This looks like an awesome system . i am assuming then that the ssd is going to be your boot drive and have the hdd for storage? if your planning on installing programs onto the ssd as well you may want to invest into a larger ssd. i recently completed a new build with two 60gb ssd's in raid 0 to make 120gb and they are almost full (10gb left) luckily i also have a 3tb hard drive for storage which i am now installing programs to. if upgrading to a larger ssd is to pricy then may i suggest just picking up this hard drive http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148844 and use it for everything.

As well if you are planning on doing intensive gaming then maybe investing in a after market cpu cooler would be good. i really like the corsair hydro series for water cooling and maybe a cooler master for a fan and heat sink, your choice.

 

[marcus8h]

as well if you are maybe looking for a better cpu with nice prices try this one http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103960

 

[mrloafy]

as well if you are maybe looking for a better cpu with nice prices try this one http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103960

I actually but together a list for a build with the AMD 8150 and the Asus Sabertooth board, with all the same peripherals, but when i was comparing stuff on PC Part Finder, the 8150 benchmarked lower on everything, even lower than the I-5 2500k. I had wanted to do a build with it because I was thinking WIN 8 might come out and make it a top of the line chip, but everything I've read about it says that it is an epic fail.

 

[marcus8h]

hmm beacause i am running the 8150 right now and it preforms excellent. runs espessially nice on games with my radeon 7970

 

[mrloafy]

This looks like an awesome system . i am assuming then that the ssd is going to be your boot drive and have the hdd for storage? if your planning on installing programs onto the ssd as well you may want to invest into a larger ssd. i recently completed a new build with two 60gb ssd's in raid 0 to make 120gb and they are almost full (10gb left) luckily i also have a 3tb hard drive for storage which i am now installing programs to. if upgrading to a larger ssd is to pricy then may i suggest just picking up this hard drive http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148844 and use it for everything.

As well if you are planning on doing intensive gaming then maybe investing in a after market cpu cooler would be good. i really like the corsair hydro series for water cooling and maybe a cooler master for a fan and heat sink, your choice.

Yeah the SSD is simply for OS and whatever MMO I plan to be playing at that moment. I don't know if i'll need the extra space, I work at a computer all day a work, so I do very limited computing at home away from gaming, and I don't put a lot of media files on my pc away from about 30gbs worth of music and maybe 2-3 gbs of pictures.

I have been thinking of adding a cooler, but I didn't want to go too big from the start, I want to create a working machine that I won't be overclocking off the bat. However, down the road, after I'm sure everything is good, I may consider it if I want to try something new. How hard is it to install a cooler at a later date, if I choose to have the machine do some overclocking?

Thanks!

 

[marcus8h]

installing a cooler at a later date is no big deal. the case you chose has a back plate you can remove so that you can access the back of the motherboard to add a after market cooler. just make sure that the cooler you get has pre applied thermal paste. if not then youll have to buy thermal paste and if that happens i recommend Arctic Silver 5. i just recently replaced my stock heat sink for the corsair h100 and it took but 20 min.

 

[mrloafy]

installing a cooler at a later date is no big deal. the case you chose has a back plate you can remove so that you can access the back of the motherboard to add a after market cooler. just make sure that the cooler you get has pre applied thermal paste. if not then youll have to buy thermal paste and if that happens i recommend Arctic Silver 5. i just recently replaced my stock heat sink for the corsair h100 and it took but 20 min.

Cool, thanks for the info. I didn't think it would be a big deal, but then again, I haven't done one of these before and don't know for sure.

 

[marcus8h]

no problem. just make sure that when you remove the stock heatsink to be carful that you do not pull out the cpu with it. there are a few youtube videos that can help you with that.