$950 gaming rig, need review

[james810]

This will be my first time building a PC, my last one was from 2006 and it Kicked the bucket finally last year. I'm finally able to put some money towards a new system. I originally wanted to go for $800 for a system that will last hopefully 4 years and be able to max out games, but I'm willing to spend the extra money for some nicer parts.

I feel fairly confident about this build but I want as many opinions as possible because honestly I want this build to be as good as possible. One part I'm iffy about is making the decision between the solidstate 128gb/ 500gb hard drive or just a 1tb hard drive. So any review and helpful information/tips/etc is appreciated.

I will be using this computer for reasonably heavy gaming, music storage, movies, school work, and some programs such as guitar pro.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Cooler Master 750W ATX12V Power Supply
Total: $955.89

 

[azeem40]

Looks good, except the PSU. Change to a TX750 V2 if CF/SLI is in mind or XFX 550W if it isn't. If it is, keep the mobo. If it is not, get a Z77 Pro3.

 

[jmsellars1]

All looks good, I'd switch the PSU for something like that XFX. Alternatively, this one is a bargain at $59.99:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151093

 

[jasont78]

pretty good i wont buy samsung drives anymore they get really noisy after a while i have 3 in seperate compu's 2 of which are 1tb f3's, mine is louder than the 3x120mm fans,2x140mm fans and the 3x80mm fans on my 6950 all together at the same time in the same case!! go else for hdds
p.s. i have had one completely fail too under warranty a couple of years ago

 

[jmsellars1]

Yeah the 7200RPM Samsung drives are build for performance, they are fast and cheap but can get quite loud. I find Seagate drives to be extremely quiet, still pretty fast as well.

 

[quilciri]

You might check out Coolermaster's online store - they sell refurbished cases (which are about the only refurbished things I would buy in a PC)

You can get a refurbished 690 II or Enforcer CM case for the same price as the new HAF 912. You can also get a refurb'd HAF 912 for $35. Or if you wanted to go the other way, they also have a refurb'd HAF 932 for $80.

Have fun!

 

[bigcyco1]

looks good to me switch the PSU though if you plan to CF/SLI in future tigerdirect has a very decent limited time sale going on right now for $94.99 $74.99 After Rebate
PC Power & Cooling PPCMK2S750 Silencer Mk II Power Supply - 750W, 80 Plus Silver, 135mm Fan, SLI Ready, CrossFire Ready, Active PFC
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=927377&CatId=2533
Legendary Silencer Series with 7 Year Warranty

 

[manofchalk]

Kingston RAM (all of the ones I'v seen anyway) runs at 1.65v. That will damage the internal memory controller of your Intel CPU, while also voiding its warranty.

This kit is equivalent to the RAM specified except runs at 1.5v.
G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB) 1600Mhz CL9 1.5v. $46
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

 

[bigcyco1]

Kingston RAM (all of the ones I'v seen anyway) runs at 1.65v. That will damage the internal memory controller of your Intel CPU, while also voiding its warranty.

This kit is equivalent to the RAM specified except runs at 1.5v.
G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB) 1600Mhz CL9 1.5v. $46
Yeah]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

Yeah but wouldn't that ram conflict with his CPU Cooler if he wanted to run his ram in dual channel mode i know it would conflict for sure on the z68 extreme 3 gen 3 but not sure if it would on that mobo

 

[manofchalk]

I have that RAM, board and heatsink. I can vouch personally it will fit if he uses the 2nd and 4th slot from the left (which still is dual channel according to the manual). You may have issues if you try to use the far left slot, but then you can just turn the EVO around and there wont be a problem (or buy an equivalent low profile kit).

 

[bigcyco1]

I have that RAM, board and heatsink. I can vouch personally it will fit if he uses the 2nd and 4th slot from the left (which still is dual channel according to the manual). You may have issues if you try to use the far left slot, but then you can just turn the EVO around and there wont be a problem (or buy an equivalent low profile kit).

Nods! Thanks for info

 

[mindless728]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231544
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546

either of those are comparable and are low profile

 

[james810]

Kingston RAM (all of the ones I'v seen anyway) runs at 1.65v. That will damage the internal memory controller of your Intel CPU, while also voiding its warranty.

This kit is equivalent to the RAM specified except runs at 1.5v.
G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB) 1600Mhz CL9 1.5v. $46
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

Wow thanks so much, this is the kind of stuff I wanted to know. That would have sucked to spend that much money and then have parts fail because the memory was too high of v.

 

[james810]

pretty good i wont buy samsung drives anymore they get really noisy after a while i have 3 in seperate compu's 2 of which are 1tb f3's, mine is louder than the 3x120mm fans,2x140mm fans and the 3x80mm fans on my 6950 all together at the same time in the same case!! go else for hdds
p.s. i have had one completely fail too under warranty a couple of years ago

What do you personally recommend?

 

[jasont78]

What do you personally recommend?

i havent had any dramas with wd, i dunno alot of places including toms used to recommend the f3's but i'll never get them again. i guess they probably all have probs and it will depend on what ones burns you first

 

[jmsellars1]

Ive always used Seagate and havent had a drive fail yet. They are very quiet drives as well, under light use at least.

 

[james810]

Looks good, except the PSU. Change to a TX750 V2 if CF/SLI is in mind or XFX 550W if it isn't. If it is, keep the mobo. If it is not, get a Z77 Pro3.

CF/SLI isn't in mind for me because by the time it would be, there will be much better video cards in general that would be an option. But with saying that, are you recommending the XFX 550 W/ Z77 Pro3 combo just for lower price value? Because i feel like my current psu/mobo combo will be fine

 

[azeem40]

It won't. CM is a very unreliable PSU brand. My PSU and MOBO will be far more reliable.

 

[jmsellars1]

I wouldn't call Coolermaster very unreliable, you can just generally get better quality at the same price point. Anyway, it's mostly their cheaper PSU's that gave them a bad reputation.

 

[bigcyco1]

Cooler Master PSUs tend to be pretty crappy and the ones that are decent aren't extraordinary for the price. The Enhance models are especially good. All of the Silent Pro series are decent.The rest are straight junk IMO and i wouldn't recommend any one put one in their rig.

 

[Shockattackr]

It won't. CM is a very unreliable PSU brand. My PSU and MOBO will be far more reliable.

Ive had my CM Silent Pro M700 PSU for almost a year now and it hasent blown up on me, I am satisfied with it, until i have to upgrade it

 

[bigcyco1]

Ive had my CM Silent Pro M700 PSU for almost a year now and it hasent blown up on me, I am satisfied with it, until i have to upgrade it

Yeah that's because you are using a Enhance made model Silent Pro M 500/600/700 = Enhance those are all quite good but allot of CM PSU are junk.

 

[Shockattackr]

Cool so i did choose a decent PSU a year ago

 

[james810]

It won't. CM is a very unreliable PSU brand. My PSU and MOBO will be far more reliable.

what about if i get the xfx 550w psu but keep the same mobo i had in mind? Because i compared it to the z77 pro 3 and i mean theyre both ASrock so i dont see why it would be unreliable?

 

[Why_Me]

Change your vid card.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4869/nvidia_geforce_gtx_660_ti_2gb_reference_video_card_review/index.html <----- GTX 660 ti 2GB review w/benchmarks $300 due for release August 16th.