Building a gaming PC

[izzmatt]

Hello,

The last computer I bought was an Alienware and... there was no way to open the case! I probably couldn't have cared less before but now for some odd reason it led to sleepless nights and sweaty mornings x.x

The only thing I can do with a PC like this is send it back for repairs, pay and hope they do their job... or get it back with the same exact problem and later on find out that the only thing they did was reinstall windows v.v

I decided to become self-reliable!

Now you may ask yourself: "Why the heck is this guy going through the trouble of telling me something I couldn't care less about?"

The answer is really simple: I couldn't bring myself to just post something like: YO! Here are the specs, advice please! lol

Honestly, I just feel uneasy demanding something without the chance to give anything back, so a big thanks in advance, really appriciate it.

To the specs:

btw what I plan to use this PC for is gaming, and by gaming I mean something with which I can play the lastest games at max settings.


Case: Corsair Obsidian Series 650D

Motherboard: Asus P9X79 Pro

CPU: Intel Core i7 3930K (I heard that an i5 is more than enough for gaming but I saw that the i7 has more cache, money thrown out the window?)

CPU Cooler: CORSAIR H100 (I'm not planning to overclock anything so maybe this is unnecessary, but when it comes to cooling I always instinctively think it's better to have more than less)

GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 680

SSD: SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC128B/WW 2.5" 128GB (I know its not a lot of space but I never used more than this in the other computers I had)

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB)

PSU: SILVERSTONE Strider Gold ST85F-G 850W (If in the future I would decide to run two GTX 680 instead of one, would this suffice? btw, the main reason I picked this one is that it's modular.)

Money-wise, I rather pay more for something good that is going to last than save a little on something that is gonna end up broken.

I almost forgot: I read that the CPUs that end up with the K in the end of their name (yes, this guy has no clue what hes talking about lol, sorry guys I hope I'm not too much of a pain) are the ones that can be overclocked. Is that the only difference? Should I go for another CPU since I don't want to overclock anything?

Really looking forward to hearing from you guys, again thanks!

 

[veladem]

Looks awesome, I was going to build this one for myself but cant choose between Intel and AMD.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.30 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($212.55 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $847.76
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-07 17:54 EDT-0400)

 

[g-unit1111]

If you're not going to overclock then there's absolutely no point in going X79 - especially the 3930K. And do not purchase a closed block like an H100. Compared to a real liquid radiator they're plastic toys. It's like going to Al's Drive Thru when you could be eating at a 5 star restaurant. It's like comparing some guy on a karaoke machine to Pavoratti. You could get by on a system that's $1K less and still max out everything. Try something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($62.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($41.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($407.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Eleven Hundred ATX Full Tower Case ($109.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1309.86
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-07 17:52 EDT-0400)

With this build the option for overclocking is there, but on a gaming rig there's no way you'll use the 3930K to its' full extent.

 

[idroid]

no no no... and NO! that builds is.... ushh, i don't know... i hate it. get this:

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($314.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: NZXT HAVIK 140 90.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($58.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($148.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($77.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($183.04 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($399.36 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Stryker (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1468.29

We're gonna need that you tell us your budget, the games you play and if you might get multiple monitors because i could easily build you something MUCH better for a hundred bucks more.

 

[g-unit1111]

no no no... and NO! that builds is.... ushh, i don't know... i hate it. get this:

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($314.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: NZXT HAVIK 140 90.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($58.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($148.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($77.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($183.04 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($399.36 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Stryker (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1468.29

We're gonna need that you tell us your budget, the games you play and if you might get multiple monitors because i could easily build you something MUCH better for a hundred bucks more.

Why would you get an i7 on a gaming rig? You won't use hyper threading.

 

[idroid]

Why would you get an i7 on a gaming rig? You won't use hyper threading.

i normally would agree with you BUT... the i7 comes in handy for video recording i took a wild guess and assumed the OP will want to do that

 

[izzmatt]

@ g-unit1111

I can't disagree, I really was unsure about the CPU I picked, it is overkill.

About the motherboard tho, I went for it because I wanted to make sure I didn't encounter any kind hindrance if I'd decide in the future to upgrade some components.

About the cooler, the more I look at this H100 or the one you mentioned the more I think they're not necessary. Wouldn't something more simple suffice? I mean, as I said, I'm not going to do any overclocking.

 

[idroid]

@ g-unit1111

I can't disagree, I really was unsure about the CPU I picked, it is overkill.

About the motherboard tho, I went for it because I wanted to make sure I didn't encounter any kind hindrance if I'd decide in the future to upgrade some components.

About the cooler, the more I look at this H100 or the one you mentioned the more I think they're not necessary. Wouldn't something more simple suffice? I mean, as I said, I'm not going to do any overclocking.

Well... if you're not going to do any kind of video recording the i5 will be more than enough... btw, whats your budget and what games will you play the most?

 

[g-unit1111]

i normally would agree with you BUT... the i7 comes in handy for video recording i took a wild guess and assumed the OP will want to do that

I can't imagine on a strictly gaming rig that they would want to although that does explain X79 a little bit. :lol:

About the motherboard tho, I went for it because I wanted to make sure I didn't encounter any kind hindrance if I'd decide in the future to upgrade some components.

X79 has limited expansion opportunities and there's only one CPU above the 3930K - and that's the 3960X, which runs for $1,000. You'll have more expansion opportunities by going with a strong Z77 board.

About the cooler, the more I look at this H100 or the one you mentioned the more I think they're not necessary. Wouldn't something more simple suffice? I mean, as I said, I'm not going to do any overclocking.

They're necessary if you're going to overclock. The reason I say the H100 isn't necessary is because the fans included are crap, and most people who buy them wind up replacing the fans anyways. And that can get pricey. There's also better liquid radiators on the market - the H60/H100/Antec Kuhler / Thermaltake liquid coolers are the very low end of the spectrum. Strong air fans like the ones I listed will give you the same overclocking results. If you're not going to overclock then it also makes no sense to get the unlocked CPU or Z77 for that matter.

 

[izzmatt]

Well ok, budget... hm hm I guess not more than 3000 euros but, I don't want it to make breakfast for me XD
Lets put it like this: I'd like to have a PC that will allow me to play the latest games, and the games to come in the next year, at max settings. Yea ok, you don't know whats going to come out in a year, all I'm saying is that it has to be a little bit more than what I would need to play the latest game that is out now at max, lets say guild wars 2, just as an example.

Again, don't you people agree that the H100 and the Noctua g-unit1111 mentioned is a bit overkill? >.< A friend of mine said this would be more than enough: Scythe Mugen 3, it's half the price.

 

[veladem]

Thats a few US bucks . . . 0_o It could make toast for you, or kinda like a waffle bot . . .

 

[izzmatt]

@ g-unit1111

I see where you're going... meh it's getting complicated, so let's take into consideration that I might want to overclock in the future. So I will note that cooler you mentioned down ^^

"You'll have more expansion opportunities by going with a strong Z77 board."

Could you go more into detail even though that'd be asking too much, only if you don't mind. I would really appreciate it. There's so much stuff I'd like to learn XD If not just ignore this. Many thanks for the fast replys btw!

 

[veladem]

Heck, might as well water cool the system with your choice of color tubes/coolant and than put black lights also.

 

[izzmatt]

So by following what g-unit1111 said I got something like this now:


Case: Corsair Obsidian Series 650D

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler

GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 680

SSD: SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC128B/WW 2.5" 128GB

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB)

PSU: SILVERSTONE Strider Gold ST85F-G 850W


Is there something you guys would change? btw is that memory I picked before still compatible with that motherboard?
And finally, does that PSU suffice in case I add a second gtx 680?