Tweaking Tom's $1000 August Build?

[kaliuga]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-a-pc-overclock-benchmark,3276.html

Motherboard - ASRock Fatal1ty P67 Performance LGA 1155, Intel P67 Express PCH $100
Processor - Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4 GHz (3.8 GHz Max Turbo Boost), Quad-Core, 6 MB Shared L3 Cache $230
Heat Sink - Xigmatek Loki SD963 92 mm CPU Cooler $25
Memory - Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1600 Dual-Channel Desktop Memory Kit $55
Graphics - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 GV-N670OC-2GD 2 GB GDDR5 $400
SSD - OCZ Agility 3 60 GB 60 GB, SATA 6Gb/s $60
Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 750 GB 750 GB, 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache, SATA 6Gb/s $60
Optical - Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE 22x OEM DVD Burner $17
Case - Rosewill Redbone $40
Power - Corsair CX600 V2 600 W ATX12V, EPS12V, 80 PLUS-Certified $70

Total Cost $1057

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My friend is helping me build my first PC for Gaming, Youtube and school work. He has followed past guides and said they have worked wonders for him. I am looking at this build and thinking that it would be easier to just follow this set up, except for a few things.

1. I do not want to overclock. I just want to keep things simple and easy and not strain the PC by OCing at all.
2. I am thinking of just taking out the SSD and waiting for a sale come Xmas or so.

Would I be able to save a couple of bucks if I get the non OC'd version of the GPU and CPU? Are there any alternatives I can look for? Thanks in advance!

PS: Maybe a better looking case as well.

 

[lordofdeath242]

$800, minus os, keyboard,monitor, etc (Canadian)
his ice-q 7870 $239
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6814161404
h77 mobo $74.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6813135306
I5 3570 $214
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6819115233
2x 4gb gskill ares $43.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6820231544
rosewill capstons 450W gold $69.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6817182066
90gb ocz ssd $69.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6820227757
seagate 750gb 7200rpm hdd $59.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6822148702
rosewill ranger case $69.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6811147061

 

[aerothorn]

Honestly, the main modification I'd make for this build is to replace the $400 card with a $300 one (like the GTX 660 Ti). I think it's simply overkill for a $1000 machine, and you can use the savings in a better case and bigger SSD, or for extra RAM.

Also, Lord of Death - that's very helpful for my build as well

 

[Proximon]

I think if you take in current deals you can do better.

■ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
■Seagate Barracuda ST3750525AS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
■HIS IceQ X² H797QM3G2M Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
■Rosewill RANGER Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case,two-toned interior coating,come with Three Fans,Support up to 7 Fans, ...
■G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
■Intel Core i5-3570 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 ...
■Rosewill CAPSTONE Series CAPSTONE-650-M 650W ATX12V v2.31 & EPS12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified ...
■ASRock Z77 Pro4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
■XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler bracket included LGA 2011 i7 i5 775 1155 AMD and dual fan push pull ...
TOTAL: $1,003.91

Note the promo code on the video card that will bring down the cost a bit more.
Better case, much much better PSU

 

[Proximon]

The 7970 is not a big upgrade of the GTX 670, but it should run quiet and the price after promo code is good.

 

[aerothorn]

Hey Proximon, two questions:

1. A lot of negative reviews on Newegg for that Seagate. You think those are just a disproportionate amount of people complaining about failures?

2. I notice there was no SSD in your build, and that's the component I'm least familiar with. Any recommendations on that end? I'm probably gonna go with a considerably cheaper card (7870) as I'm shooting for a good price-to-performance ratio, and it seems like the 7970 is 25% better for 50% more (even with sale), so I could put some savings into a SSD.

3. I take it by your link that you don't think it's worth overclocking the 3570?

4. Also, assuming I downgrade the card to a 7870 and don't make any future upgrades, I'm guessing the 650w is overkill, even if I do some CPU and possibly GPU (within air-cooling reason) overclocks? Maybe not. The price is right on it, just don't want to use more power than necessary (there's a promo that would make the Capstone 550-M the same price).

Edit: Actually, think I figured all of these out myself

 

[Proximon]

I was really just shooting for the best possible build for under 1K. The 7870 is fine. If you can spend a bit more on the HDD then by all means do. I don't think an ssd is essential at that budget.
On the PSU, There is no harm getting the larger one as efficiency is about the same, so why not keep it so that any future upgrades are covered?

 

[azeem40]

If you're not OCing, get an i5-3450 and an H77 motherboard.

 

[aerothorn]

Thanks for the response! Already ordered the 550-M, maybe hastilly - it was my understanding that these things tended to draw their equivalent wattage from the outlet and that the efficiency rating was more about how usable it was by the PC. Do you mean the 650 doesn't use more wattage than the 550? I did read your PSU guide but this was a detail I missed.

Other than that all is golden, got a great build at a little below $1000, use graphics card savings for a good 120GB SSD as well as the unlocked 3570 and a slightly better CPU cooler.

Good news: I tested out the syringe of TX-2 I used three years ago and while there was a bit of hardness near the surface (i.e. some bit that air had reached) everything past that seemed to have perfect consistency, so should be able to reuse that (if there are any issue, I can obviously buy a new one). Bad news: in a moment of post-work grogginess, I used my hand as a testing platform. Man, that stuff is hard to get off.

Oh, one last question: my order came with an extra 120mm fan, and I'm trying to figure out where it should be live in the Ranger case, which has (be default) a front 120mm, a rear 120mm, and a top 140mm (PSU is bottom mounted). Options include a side window alongside the graphics card, another top fan, or a bottom fan. I doubt it will make a huge difference either way, but I'm not a master of air flow. I'm guessing I'd want it side or bottom so I had an equal amount of fans drawing air in and pulling are out so as to avoid creating a vacuum.

 

[Proximon]

Power supplies only draw the power that they need. They have efficiency curves, so if you operate a 1250W PSU with a 100W load you might loose 10-15W compared to a similarly rated 300W PSU... those figures are just random, to make the point.

Glad you got the unlocked CPU, but you did say in the original post that you weren't interested in overclocking.

Did you get a CPU cooler then?

Or just save the fan. They wear out eventually.

Alcohol swabs should help with the TIM.

 

[aerothorn]

Good to know about PSUs for my next build. I suspect I'll be fine - my current gaming PC only uses an (apparently very efficient) 380W PSU, so 550 and a single 12V rail is a big boost.

And I didn't make the original post - only skimmed it, hence me not seeing the guy saying he wasn't interested in OCing. I very much am - not a hardcore OCer, but at the very least it sounds like one can kick up the 3570 to 4.2ghz on air cooling without even changing the voltage, so it sounds like one really might as well

Got this cooller: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

Nothing super fancy, but it was $32 in a combo deal and came with the fan, so the price was definitely right. I suspect the "blah blah military ceramic cooler" stuff is marketing junk, but what little reviews I could find indicated that it did the job. I suppose I could also attach the extra fan to the CPU cooler.