Building a new PC

[snapzilla]

Disc Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125423

Power: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131820

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116502

Cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

This is what I'm getting, probably going to go ahead and order it all tomorrow. Is all of this stuff compatible? I'm pretty sure it is, my biggest worry is if the 550W PSU will provide enough power.

Also, is this a good set up for a gaming machine? This is what I'm primarily using it for, though I will also be recording most of my gameplay, hence the i7. I'm going to have a dual-monitor set up as well, and I'm not sure if that needs anything special...

 

[geofelt]

1) Few games use more than 2-3 cores, making the hyperthreads on the 3770K irrelevant. Save $100 and use a 3570K instead.

2) High heat spreaders can interfere with your cpu cooler. Ust the low profile version.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145325

3) 550w is sufficient for a GTX670

4) You will have no problem attaching two monitors to a GTX670. Gameplay will be directed to the primary monitor.
Performance will not suffer from the second monitor attachment.

5) I would take the $100 savings and use it on a 120gb SSD for the os and a handful of games. If you buy a 180gb or 240gb ssd, could you dispense with the hard drive altogether? You could always add a hard drive for storage later.
For reliability, pick a Intel or samsung SSD.

 

[smorizio]

spend the 15.00 by a better power supply.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139040

 

[snapzilla]

I was going to pick up an i5, but people have said that recording gameplay requires or would at least benefit from an i7.

Also, I realized that I'm not going to be overclocking, so I don't need the aftermarket heatsink, do I? Will the stock heatsink and stock case fans be enough to keep this thing cool?

I was planning on picking up an SSD later. I have a lot of media that I'm going to transfer over to this new computer, so I need a regular HDD at the moment.

 

[snapzilla]

Bah, another question I just stumbled upon: the two displays that I'm going to use are an HDTV and an old CRT monitor. Looking at the connections on the GTX 670, I see that it has an HDMI port, a DisplayPort, and two DVI ports. What is DisplayPort and DVI? Will either of these be compatible with a CRT monitor?

 

[geofelt]

I was going to pick up an i5, but people have said that recording gameplay requires or would at least benefit from an i7.

Also, I realized that I'm not going to be overclocking, so I don't need the aftermarket heatsink, do I? Will the stock heatsink and stock case fans be enough to keep this thing cool?

I was planning on picking up an SSD later. I have a lot of media that I'm going to transfer over to this new computer, so I need a regular HDD at the moment.

A hyperthread is worth about 1/4 of a full core. It is helpful only if you will be using more than 4 cores, and games will not be doing that. I think for your use, an3570K will perform equally.

The reason you buy a "K" so so you can overclock. It s simplicity itself to raise the multiplier from 34 up to 43 or so.
Keep that option open.

The stock cooler will do the job, but when under load, it will spin up and become noisy.
I would use a $30 cm hyper212 or similar up front. It will also be easier for the novice to mount. The stock Intel pushpin mount is notoriously difficult to do correctly.

With media, you definitely want cheaper hard drive storage. Still, I would use the $100 you save on a 3570K and use that to get a 120gb SSD up front. Everything you do will feel so much quicker. It is easier to load windows up front instead of having to do it later.

Your sapphire graphics card does not supply a dvi to vga adapter it is not expensive. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814998101

Looking at the parts, I think I would order a EVGA GTX670 FTW card instead.
It is less expensive, has a direct exhaust cooler and a higher boost clock(1084 vs 1058).
It also comes whth the dvi-vga adapter you need:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787

 

[snapzilla]

Alright, I substituted the RAM you suggested (pricey, but whatever), and replaced the i7 with an i5. I'll take the heatsink you suggested over the one I've got (I didn't even see that one).

I also added the adapter in there, thanks for the heads up on that. I really want to stick with the Gigabyte though, since I've heard so many good things about it.

 

[snapzilla]

Regarding the SSD, I just can't afford to put one in right now, unfortunately, and the overall total was only lowered by 30 dollars. I'll just pick it up in a couple of months, hopefully. No worries.