coopthesnoop

Honorable
Aug 15, 2012
7
0
10,510
Hey I am thinking of getting a gaming pc because I am fed up with Sony. I customized a pc on Cybertron Canada's website and am wondering if these components would do well on most modern games i.e. skyrim, battlefield 3, ArmA III etc..

Processor: Intel Core i7 i7-3770K 3.50GHz Quad-Core 1155 RET
Motherboard: Foxconn H61MXV 1155 CVDO X16 2D3 M8 GL MATX
RAM: (2x) 4GB DDR3-1333 PC3-10600
Hard Drive: 1TB SATA3 7200RPM 64MB Cache
Optical Drive: DVD±RW DL 24x SATA Black
Card Reader: All in 1 3.5in Media Reader and USB
Video Card: GeForce GTX550Ti 1GD5 X16 DVI VGA HDMI
Case: Strike-X One MATX Tower No PSU Black Chassis
PSU: Ultra 600W
Network Card: 10/100/1000 Gigabit Network Onboard
Wireless NIC: Trendnet TEW-648UBM USB 802.11bgn Adapter
Speakers: Cyber Accoustics CA-2016WB USB Speakers Black
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 32/64bit COA
Monitor: Asus 19in 50000:1 5MS LCD WS Black

I am really new to the PC gaming scene so I would appreciate as much detail as possible. It would also help a lot if someone could explain if there is some kind of method to the numbers in the names of video cards so I can know what I am looking for. (If it isn't too complicated.)

Other info:
Must be able to play online
How much trouble can you get into for torrenting Windows 7
Comes out to: $1201.98 (CAD)
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ NCIX)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.88 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: MSI Z77MA-G45 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: GeIL Pristine 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: OCZ Agility 3 180GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($129.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($194.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($43.06 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: Antec 520W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.88 @ Canada Computers)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.69 @ DirectCanada)
Monitor: BenQ G2222HDL 21.5" Monitor ($109.88 @ Canada Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($98.99 @ Computer Valley)
Keyboard: Logitech MK120 Wired Slim Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($14.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $1105.31
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-29 16:52 EDT-0400)


assuming you can build your own, this is a much more powerful machine. It still has $95 left for speakers, card reader, and wireless network card.

if you arent up to building it yourself, consider NCIX, they pricematch and will build it for you for an extra $50
 

Smeg45

Honorable
Mar 9, 2012
892
0
11,010
Rubbish pre-build:

- Pointless CPU matched with an extremely poor quality $40 H61 mobo, so forget overclocking. If you are not overclocking, why bother with a $300 CPU?

- Rubbish cheapo PSU, barely worth $20

- Slow GPU, a 550 is old and creaky

- So so tiny monitor

That isn't worth $1200, you are getting an unbalanced rip off. How about you give a budget and we can give you a build you can build or have built?
 

Gallarian

Distinguished
Drop the i7-3770k - theres no need to spend that much on an i7 if youre using your PC for gaming, an i5-3570k is just as good (and sometimes performs better due to the i7's hyperthreading). Use the money you save on the processor to upgrade your graphics card - a 550ti is a pretty poor choice.

Graphics card branding:


Nvidia:

The first number is the generation, the second is the model within that generation.

600 is the current generation (2012), 500 is the previous generation (2011) and so on.

The higher the model number (second number) is, the more powerful and expensive the card is, with 50 being the lowest and 90 being the highest.

So a 550 is the lowest GTX (gaming) card of from last year, and the 590 is highest. The most powerful current Nvidia card is the 690.

(the 'ti' is short for 'titanium', which means its a more powerful version of the 550, but not as powerful as the 560)

As a rule of thumb, the generation above out performs the previous generation by one model number - so a 660 beats a 570, a 670 beats a 580 etc




AMD:

Again, the first number is the generation - 7 is the current one from 2012

The second number determines what subsection the card is, i.e. 'entry level' (6) - 'budget' (7) - 'Mid Range' (8) - 'High End' (9).

The 3rd number is double digit and determines the specific card model in that subsection. The higher the number, the more powerful the card, with 90 being the highest.

The most powerful AMD card at the minute is the 7970.





Change your PSU - you need one from one of the trusted reliable brands (OCZ, Corsair, Seasonic, Antec, Coolermaster, etc), or you could end up with a underpowered system (or even one that fries everything). You will need atleast a 500w from any of those brands.

Also, change your motherboard; stick with Asus, ASRock, Gigabyte, MSI and Intel. Chose a 68 or 77 model.






Piracy is a crime and is not supported by anyone here on Toms, please dont do it. Buy a legit version of Windows.



PS: Go with ScrewySqrl's build - much better system that your current one.
 

Chairman Ray

Honorable
Jun 13, 2012
563
0
11,060
Everything looks solid except for the processor and the monitor.

The i7-3770k is not ideal for gaming because games don't make good use of the Hyperthreading feature. Additionally, this processor is unlocked, meaning that you can overclock it, but the motherboard is overclock disabled. If you wish to overclock, you should get a z68 motherboard. Since you aren't getting an aftermarket cooler, I am assuming that you are not overclocking, so you should get a processor with the 'k'. I would recommend getting an i5-2500.

Since your monitor is 19 inch, I am guessing that it is 1600x900. I would recommend going for 1920x1080 since that is the standard resolution nowadays.

The graphics card you selected is good and will be able to max out most games at 1600x900 and you can set to high settings for the more demanding games. If you are going for a 1920x1080 monitor and you still want max settings, I would recommend upgrading to the gtx 570.

As for torrenting Windows 7, I would recommend that you buy a legitimate copy to support companies. As far as I know, Microsoft has not issued out any copyright infringement notices for people that have torrented it.
 

Gallarian

Distinguished




Sorry to call you out, but thats pretty poor advice - The processor, GPU, Monitor, Motherboard and PSU are all far from 'solid'.

No way will a 550ti max out the games he listed even in 1600x900 and have decent framerates (50+), and neither will a 570. For example, BF3 requires atleast a 660ti to do that comfortably.
 

coopthesnoop

Honorable
Aug 15, 2012
7
0
10,510






Is it necessary to have an HDD and an SSD? Can I go with one or the other to save money or is both way better?