First computer build

[thepatzer]

I want to try building my next computer (this would be my first build), and wanted to get some feedback on the components.

Case - Corsair 600T Special Edition - http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-CC600TWM-WHT-Special-Graphite-
Processor - Intel i7-3770 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116502&Tpk=3770
RAM - Corsair 16GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233288
Hard Drive - Western Digital 2TB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136891
Graphics Card - NVIDIA GTX 570 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593
Optical Drive - Samsung DVD Burner - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151256
Motherboard - ASRock H77M-ITX LGA - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157311
Power Supply - Antec 520W - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030

Do these make sense together? Are the stock fans that come with this case enough for this build? Are there any components I'm forgetting?

I want to stay under $1150 at most.

Thanks!

 

[idroid]

If this PC is going to be used for gaming then you shouldn't get it... buy this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($215.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.65 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($427.55 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Scout ATX Mid Tower Case ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq Plus 550W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1143.11
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-15 00:33 EDT-0400)

 

[jerreddredd]

idroid you need to pick a better PSU. the i5 OC'd (208W) and a the 7970 OC'd (300W) will exceed the max power on the 12v rails (444w) of the PSU (these are maxes, real world is about 70%). you need a psu that can handle +500W on the 12V rail to be on the safe side. even not OC'd running a game like Metro 2033 would keep the PSU pushing 80+% all the time.

not a bad build other than that.

thepatzer I would go with idroid's build. your build has several flaws in it
1. i7 3770K is built for overclocking and has Hyperthreading (HT). if this a gaming build the i5 3570K is a better buy as it performs similar to the i7, but without HT. most games don't use HT and some actually run slower with HT turned on.

2. the MB you selected uses the H77 chipset which doesn't support over clocking. if you are not over clocking then its ok, just select a non "K" series CPU and save some money. the MB is also ITX which is really small and very limited in features. you also may have trouble getting the PSU cables to reach the MB power jacks on such small MB in such a big case.

3. the PSU is fine if you are not over clocking, but if you are you will need one that can put 450-500 watts on the 12v rail to be on the safe side.

4. your ram has tall heatsinks. this may interfere with 3rd party cpu coolers. I suggest low profile ram. the ram you chose is also high latency CL10. I recommend CL 9 or lower ram.

5. you didn't list a 3rd party CPU cooler like a CM Hyper 212+/EVO. for a "K" series cpu I highly recommend this

6. the HD you selected is a Green one Green = Slow. Recommend a 7200rpm drive or add a 128GB or larger SSD as a boot/apps drives.

hope this helps

 

[idroid]

idroid you need to pick a better PSU. the i5 OC'd (208W) and a the 7970 OC'd (300W) will exceed the max power on the 12v rails (444w) of the PSU (these are maxes, real world is about 70%). you need a psu that can handle +500W on the 12V rail to be on the safe side. even not OC'd running a game like Metro 2033 would keep the PSU pushing 80+% all the time.

WHAT???

*the i5 3570k TDP is 77w and when overclocked to 4.2 with the same voltage its only ~100w

*the 7970 has a TDP of 220W and OC'ed its only about 250W

@OP if you wanna be on the safe side buy this: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cmpsu650txv2

 

[aznshinobi]

^ Actually the TDP of the 7970 is 230w. Stock. :333

Check out my $1100 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore#module147312351
It does reach the limit of your budget but gives you the best bang for the buck. If you don't want to spend so close to your budget limit, drop the 7970/GTX 670 for the 7950. Either way you can't go wrong. BUTTTT...

7970 OC vs GTX 670 OC:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/05/14/geforce_680_670_vs_radeon_7970_7950_gaming_perf/3
7970 vs GTX 680
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/toxic-hd-7970-eyefinity-6gb,3264-3.html
As you can see the 7970 is probably a better card and with the recent price drop it makes it even better! Clock for clock the 7970 is a better card!

 

[thepatzer]

I revised a bunch of the components according to the recommendations I got:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hyk3

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor - ($209.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard - ($114.65 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Mushkin Enhanced Radioactive 12GB (3 x 4GB) 999006 RAM - ($87.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($164.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 570 1.25GB Video Card ($229.99 @ Amazon )
Case: Corsair 600T White Graphite ATX Mid Tower Case ($148.15 @ Mac Connection)
Power Supply: Rosewill Stallion 400W ATX12V Power Supply ($38.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Thanks for all the suggestions! A couple things:

This isn't going to be a dedicated gaming machine - it'll get a lot of everyday use for multimedia (Photoshop, Fireworks) and web design, programming (I don't really think this needs much processing power), and some gaming (not super heavy). I don't really think I'm going to want much more than the GTX 570, unless there is a better deal for less than that price.

I really like the Corsair case, and was hoping to stick with it - my question remains still: does this have enough stock cooling?.

I probably won't overclock this build. The 3570's plain clock speed is pretty good for me, and I don't want to mess with it too much in a first build.

Why were all of your suggestions for 8GB of RAM? I did some research, and decided that there isn't much point in having 16GB of RAM. I've seen some recommendations for 12 though.

 

[jerreddredd]

WHAT???

*the i5 3570k TDP is 77w and when overclocked to 4.2 with the same voltage its only ~100w

*the 7970 has a TDP of 220W and OC'ed its only about 250W

@OP if you wanna be on the safe side buy this: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cmpsu650txv2

the i5 and i7 ivy's uses pretty much the same power when OC (208W @4.5ghz) (total system power, mostly on the 12v rail though)
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-overclocking-core-i7-3770k,3198-11.html
the HD 7970 Ghz edition (which you linked) has TDP of 275W, Overclocking would push it upto 300W+
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/toxic-hd-7970-eyefinity-6gb,3264.html

 

[jerreddredd]

I revised a bunch of the components according to the recommendations I got:

Memory: Mushkin Enhanced Radioactive 12GB (3 x 4GB) 999006 RAM - ($87.99 @ Newegg)
Why were all of your suggestions for 8GB of RAM? I did some research, and decided that there isn't much point in having 16GB of RAM. I've seen some recommendations for 12 though.

LGA 1155 MB's use dual and quad channel memory, not triple channel (like you selected) that is for the older LGA 1366 MB's.
your choices are 2x1,2x2,2x4,2x8 and 4x1,4x2,4x4,4x8GB.
8gb is generally enough for most users, but ram is fairly cheap, so 16gb is not a bad choice as long as it doesn't come from skimping quality elsewhere.

I really like the Corsair case, and was hoping to stick with it - my question remains still: does this have enough stock cooling?.

yes.

 

[aznshinobi]

^ Would have to argue that the TDP you linked was for i7's.

Can't find one with the same overclock and it was at 1.4v they did overclock to 5GHZ:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2012/05/01/intel-core-i5-3570k-cpu-review/7
Total system draw is 267 with the i5 3570K. Give or take I'd say the overclock puts it at just about 150w.

 

[jerreddredd]

^ Would have to argue that the TDP you linked was for i7's.

Can't find one with the same overclock and it was at 1.4v they did overclock to 5GHZ:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2012/05/01/intel-core-i5-3570k-cpu-review/7
Total system draw is 267 with the i5 3570K. Give or take I'd say the overclock puts it at just about 150w.

thanks for the link. so it looks like the i5 OC'd uses more power than the i7 OC'd. they are still very close, of course they are OC to 5Ghz aslo

my point is still them same. need a slightly bigger PSU, there is still room in the budget...

 

[aznshinobi]

Well you have to account the voltages used and the clocks.

The i7 3770K was @ 4.8ghz 1.34v. The i5 3570K was @ 5GHZ 1.4v, that makes a huge difference. I'm referring to the voltage.

But yes I would have to say perhaps a bigger PSU may or may not be needed but not everyone runs a 5GHZ for a daily system. I wouldn't personally.