How is the Gaming build looking?

[NoProblem706]

I attempting to build my first gaming build. After some pretty extensive research of building I came to a website that helps me select my the correct parts (I think?). So here it is.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ihAQ

What do y'all think? Its roughly a $700 build. Just in my price range. I would love some opinions or suggestions, but I budgeting a build around $700 or less.

Edit: Built two--using comments

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ihSL

Still taking opinions and suggestion on either build 1 or build 2. Please refer to which one now. Thanks a bunch.

Edit Again: Builds w/ just different GPU cards making a final decision soon!

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ikzw

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ikoI

 

[FinneousPJ]

The HDD isn't great, you want a 7200 RPM one.

Go for Z68 with a 2500K, they're cheaper.

You don't need a sound card.

That PSU is a piece of junk.

 

[Ags1]

Are you planning on upgrading the GPU in the future? For a gaming build I would think it more reasonable to spend 30 less on the CPU and 30 more on a 7850 which is vastly superior for gaming.

Maybe your budget could stretch to a 7870 if you downgraded the CPU to a G860. Spending less on either the CPU or GPU makes it less painful to upgrade later, and at least you won't have to upgrade both. And for a gaming build you don't want to cut corners with the graphics card.

My daughter bought a 550Ti on my recommendation, and I was a bit surprised to hear she had some lags when playing LOTRO at 1080p on high detail - LOTRO is not the most demanding game after all.

 

[Ags1]

+1 FinneousPJ on the PSU. Definitely don't get that one!

 

[jtenorj]

It's a little after 7am here and I'm headed to church(sound check) but will be back after I get done singing second
service(after noon). Can you give me 6hrs to tweak your build for best price/perf. while staying under budget?

 

[Surgeking]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

25$ after rebate and a solid PSU. DO not skimp on the PSU, if it goes bad it will take the rest of your system with it!

The i5 is a solid buy BUT if you are at entry level GPU You are more balanced with a i3 3220 for 130$ and at least a 7770, pass on the 550 ti

I like Ags Suggestion on upgrades, if you are planning to upgrade in a few months then you can pick 1 really good item and the other a Standby. I did this and lived with Intel HD for 4 months ( was able to play swtor-very low settings but 60 fps, tested it with wow-can do medium settings there, and gw2 low settings)

If you do not plan on upgrading anytime soon then i would stick with i3 3220 and 7850 and call it a day, Close to what i have (i3 2120 for me) and can max gw2 and diablo3.

 

[NoProblem706]

The HDD isn't great, you want a 7200 RPM one.

Go for Z68 with a 2500K, they're cheaper.

You don't need a sound card.

That PSU is a piece of junk.

Taken advance on the mobo and HDD, edit out the sound card and change the psu suggested by Surgeking, and change the gpu card to a 7850 in the second build link.

 

[NoProblem706]

Are you planning on upgrading the GPU in the future? For a gaming build I would think it more reasonable to spend 30 less on the CPU and 30 more on a 7850 which is vastly superior for gaming.

Maybe your budget could stretch to a 7870 if you downgraded the CPU to a G860. Spending less on either the CPU or GPU makes it less painful to upgrade later, and at least you won't have to upgrade both. And for a gaming build you don't want to cut corners with the graphics card.

My daughter bought a 550Ti on my recommendation, and I was a bit surprised to hear she had some lags when playing LOTRO at 1080p on high detail - LOTRO is not the most demanding game after all.

Taken advice on the card. Thanks!

 

[NoProblem706]

It's a little after 7am here and I'm headed to church(sound check) but will be back after I get done singing second
service(after noon). Can you give me 6hrs to tweak your build for best price/perf. while staying under budget?

Sure no problem. Would love the input!

 

[NoProblem706]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

25$ after rebate and a solid PSU. DO not skimp on the PSU, if it goes bad it will take the rest of your system with it!

The i5 is a solid buy BUT if you are at entry level GPU You are more balanced with a i3 3220 for 130$ and at least a 7770, pass on the 550 ti

I like Ags Suggestion on upgrades, if you are planning to upgrade in a few months then you can pick 1 really good item and the other a Standby. I did this and lived with Intel HD for 4 months ( was able to play swtor-very low settings but 60 fps, tested it with wow-can do medium settings there, and gw2 low settings)

If you do not plan on upgrading anytime soon then i would stick with i3 3220 and 7850 and call it a day, Close to what i have (i3 2120 for me) and can max gw2 and diablo3.

I don't plan on buying/upgrading anything else for awhile. Check out the second built. I think its pretty good and still with in budget with the rebates.

 

[egilbe]

I don't plan on buying/upgrading anything else for awhile. Check out the second built. I think its pretty good and still with in budget with the rebates.

Just personal preference, but I would get a slightly more powerful power supply.

 

[Ags1]

Build 2 looks more balanced. I would also look at a PSU with a bit more power (especially if you are going to overclock the CPU/GPU).

If you are not overclocking, then get a CPU without the K.

 

[jtenorj]

I guess you have a mouse you like, a monitor, and speakers and/or a headset as well. About your os though...
I made 2 builds. The first is your second with a few tweaks. The second is if you need windows. Check 'em out:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ijcF

This z68 mobo because after reading reviews, newegg customers like it better than other z68 mobos. OCs, too.

DDR3 1333 or 1600 w/LP heat spreaders that have zero chance of bumping heads with the fan on hyper 212.
You can stick with i5 2500k and 1333 or spend 5 bucks more for 1600 if you may throw in a ivy i7 at a later date.
Just knock off which ever one you don't want by hitting the edit button and remove.

Bumped the storage up to 1TB. Bump it back down if you don't need so much. Decent cost/GB, though.

Antec 300 TWO case: now this one is a big change. It's a higher quality case, though. 1 14cm top fan and 1 12cm
rear fan(switch to front intake?), removable/washable front intake air filter, removable/washable bottom psu
intake filter, cable management, cpu cutout for easy install and removal of large air coolers with back plates(like
the hyper 212), 9 inches wide to easily accept said coolers, room for 12.5 inch video cards, ssd mounts, under-
stated elegance you can mod if you want(dremel the side for a window, toss a led fan in front). USB 3.0 in front.

Other than that, no changes. Just get the optical at newegg for $1 more. Superbiz charges a lot for shipping.
The total is a little over 700 before rebates and a little under 700 after rebates. Now here's the build w/os:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ijir

Swapped out hd7850 for a hd7770 and a copy of windows. Smooth for BF3 multi. on ultra* @1920x1200(fxaa
instead of 4xaa, ssao instead of hbao, motion blur off for both better frame rates and to see enemies better).
Anything else(except Metro) should run as well or better. Some games need >1GB vram for some settings, tho.
That depends somewhat on what resolution you run the game at(based on you monitor). Take a look at this:

http://hardocp.com/article/2012/02/14/xfx_r7770_black_edition_super_overclocked_review/

Hardocp found that a mildly OCed hd7770 provided the same gameplay experience as hd6870 and gtx560ti.

If you read the BF3 page(the toughest game on a gpu among the ones tested), you can see hd7770's ability.
That was with launch drivers. Newer ones performance enhance all GCN based cards notably. OCs like crazy, too.

If you own a retail copy of windows 7 64bit, you're all good. If you have an oem copy from a previous computer
(which is tied to the mobo it was first installed on), then you need a new copy. Totals a bit over 700 after rebates.
Again, you can knock the storage down a peg or 2, and don't forget to drop one kit of ram . Hope this helps.

Oh, yeah. About the corsair cx430 psu... It's great. more than you need even if you overclock your cpu and gpu.

Edit: I modded the second of my suggested builds to use the 500GB HDD from your second build. The total(after
rebates) is a little over 700 before you ditch one of the 2x4GB sets of ram and a little under 700 after that:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ijIi

You should keep the i5 2500k and overclock it. Some games make use of a fast quad core now(BF3 mulit player,
Skyrim, RTSs, etc). If you get a pentium(like G860) or an i3, you may bottleneck(esp. on a hd7870). Off to lunch...

 

[NoProblem706]

I guess you have a mouse you like, a monitor, and speakers and/or a headset as well. About your os though...
I made 2 builds. The first is your second with a few tweaks. The second is if you need windows. Check 'em out:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ijcF

This z68 mobo because after reading reviews, newegg customers like it better than other z68 mobos. OCs, too.

DDR3 1333 or 1600 w/LP heat spreaders that have zero chance of bumping heads with the fan on hyper 212.
You can stick with i5 2500k and 1333 or spend 5 bucks more for 1600 if you may throw in a ivy i7 at a later date.
Just knock off which ever one you don't want by hitting the edit button and remove.

Bumped the storage up to 1TB. Bump it back down if you don't need so much. Decent cost/GB, though.

Antec 300 TWO case: now this one is a big change. It's a higher quality case, though. 1 14cm top fan and 1 12cm
rear fan(switch to front intake?), removable/washable front intake air filter, removable/washable bottom psu
intake filter, cable management, cpu cutout for easy install and removal of large air coolers with back plates(like
the hyper 212), 9 inches wide to easily accept said coolers, room for 12.5 inch video cards, ssd mounts, under-
stated elegance you can mod if you want(dremel the side for a window, toss a led fan in front). USB 3.0 in front.

Other than that, no changes. Just get the optical at newegg for $1 more. Superbiz charges a lot for shipping.
The total is a little over 700 before rebates and a little under 700 after rebates. Now here's the build w/os:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ijir

Swapped out hd7850 for a hd7770 and a copy of windows. Smooth for BF3 multi. on ultra* @1920x1200(fxaa
instead of 4xaa, ssao instead of hbao, motion blur off for both better frame rates and to see enemies better).
Anything else(except Metro) should run as well or better. Some games need >1GB vram for some settings, tho.
That depends somewhat on what resolution you run the game at(based on you monitor). Take a look at this:

http://hardocp.com/article/2012/02/14/xfx_r7770_black_edition_super_overclocked_review/

Hardocp found that a mildly OCed hd7770 provided the same gameplay experience as hd6870 and gtx560ti.

If you read the BF3 page(the toughest game on a gpu among the ones tested), you can see hd7770's ability.
That was with launch drivers. Newer ones performance enhance all GCN based cards notably. OCs like crazy, too.

If you own a retail copy of windows 7 64bit, you're all good. If you have an oem copy from a previous computer
(which is tied to the mobo it was first installed on), then you need a new copy. Totals a bit over 700 after rebates.
Again, you can knock the storage down a peg or 2, and don't forget to drop one kit of ram . Hope this helps.

Oh, yeah. About the corsair cx430 psu... It's great. more than you need even if you overclock your cpu and gpu.

Edit: I modded the second of my suggested builds to use the 500GB HDD from your second build. The total(after
rebates) is a little over 700 before you ditch one of the 2x4GB sets of ram and a little under 700 after that:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ijIi

You should keep the i5 2500k and overclock it. Some games make use of a fast quad core now(BF3 mulit player,
Skyrim, RTSs, etc). If you get a pentium(like G860) or an i3, you may bottleneck(esp. on a hd7870). Off to lunch...

I have everything else and I believe I still have 2 more licenses for Windows 7. I like your selection of the mobo seems very reliable and stable. Also I chose the corsair rams and kept the 1TB HD. It all comes down to the GPU card. Your choice of card since more than capable of doing what I need and I love the price difference. However, I like to plan ahead for a long run (few years at mostly), using the Asus Radeon HD 7850 just in case next year games would make use of the 2gig vram. What would be your input on it? Thank you for the long and informative information. Very helpful!

I plan to overclocking in the near future after more extensive research on it.

 

[NoProblem706]

Build 2 looks more balanced. I would also look at a PSU with a bit more power (especially if you are going to overclock the CPU/GPU).

If you are not overclocking, then get a CPU without the K.

I plan on overclocking in the near future.

 

[jtenorj]

The hd7850 is a great card. It can take advantage of that 2GB frame buffer(vs a card with only 1GB vram) in some
games now, and will likely benefit from it in more games in the near future. It's an excellent candidate for over-
clocking as well. Nothing can touch it in it's current price class. Hardocp tested the new gtx660(non ti) against some
similarly priced cards(like an OCed 7850). They didn't have that 7850 on hand, so they OCed their reference 7850
to the same speeds. It nearly matched the gtx660(a card that costs 50 bucks more),which nearly matched the
7870, which meets or beats gtx580 and comes close to gtx660ti/7950. The oc hardocp did on their 7850 many
consider quite weak, and a custom cooled card like that asus dc2 should oc like a monster. Here a link to the review:

http://hardocp.com/article/2012/09/13/asus_geforce_gtx_660_directcu_ii_video_card_review/

In a follow up article, they tested the oc potential of gtx660 and weren't surprised at the dismal results. Here's that:

http://hardocp.com/article/2012/09/19/asus_geforce_gtx_660_directcu_ii_overclocking_review/

Edit:btw, haven't gotten around to lunch, yet. Too busy posting on threads. (Must...pull...away...)LOL!

 

[NoProblem706]

The hd7850 is a great card. It can take advantage of that 2GB frame buffer(vs a card with only 1GB vram) in some
games now, and will likely benefit from it in more games in the near future. It's an excellent candidate for over-
clocking as well. Nothing can touch it in it's current price class. Hardocp tested the new gtx660(non ti) against some
similarly priced cards(like an OCed 7850). They didn't have that 7850 on hand, so they OCed their reference 7850
to the same speeds. It nearly matched the gtx660(a card that costs 50 bucks more),which nearly matched the
7870, which meets or beats gtx580 and comes close to gtx660ti/7950. The oc hardocp did on their 7850 many
consider quite weak, and a custom cooled card like that asus dc2 should oc like a monster. Here a link to the review:

http://hardocp.com/article/2012/09/13/asus_geforce_gtx_660_directcu_ii_video_card_review/

In a follow up article, they tested the oc potential of gtx660 and weren't surprised at the dismal results. Here's that:

http://hardocp.com/article/2012/09/19/asus_geforce_gtx_660_directcu_ii_overclocking_review/

Edit:btw, haven't gotten around to lunch, yet. Too busy posting on threads. (Must...pull...away...)LOL!

Sorry to hear that ...but you have been very helpful thank you! You must enjoy viewing threads and helping people and its very appreciated not by just me, but everyone on here. I'll be making the decision on the card soon and hopefully build the pc ASAP. It's looks like a solid gaming build...so excited!...

 

[jtenorj]

Glad I could be of assistance. btw, I did finally get around to lunch AND dinner, but now I wonder when I'll get to bed. Maybe I'll reach addict status if I don't
die from malnutrition and/or sleep deprivation first..LOL. jk(kind of). Your build is certainly shaping up nicely. Will be interesting to see what card you pick.

 

[Ags1]

jtenorj, I suspect you know much more than me, but I suggested a more powerful PSU based on the recommendation of AMD: "500W (or greater) power supply with one 75W 6-pin PCI Express power connector recommended"

http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/7000/7850/Pages/radeon-7850.aspx#/2

AMD might be quoting the power rating for a low-quality PSU, but even so, if the GPU and CPU are overclocked, wouldn't a good 550W PSU be more prudent?

 

[egilbe]

jtenorj, I suspect you know much more than me, but I suggested a more powerful PSU based on the recommendation of AMD: "500W (or greater) power supply with one 75W 6-pin PCI Express power connector recommended"

http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/7000/7850/Pages/radeon-7850.aspx#/2

AMD might be quoting the power rating for a low-quality PSU, but even so, if the GPU and CPU are overclocked, wouldn't a good 550W PSU be more prudent?

A PSU with two PCI-e power connectors also gives room if the OP wants to upgrade to a more powerful card. I look at the amps on the volt rails, rather than the watts of the PSU. Some companies add the power of the 3.3v and 5v rails to the total power output and advertise "peak" power availability rather than sustained. Antec or Corsair are normally pretty good PSU's

 

[jtenorj]

I guess the build price has fluctuated some. OP, I know you said around 700, but what kind of wiggle room do you have? Are you thinking before and/or
after rebates? I know that sale prices, promo codes, rebates, and product stock can change very quickly. I modified the build once more to include an
excellent power supply that will allow for an upgrade to a more powerful gpu in the future. I knocked the cpu down to i5 2400, but the z68 mobo will let
you do a bit of overclocking within the limits of the turbo speed bins. That will allow you to run 4 cores at 3.5-3.6ghz, just like i7 2700k(with no HT and
6MB L3 cache instead of 8MB. Not a big con since even an i3 2300 is more than enough to not bottleneck games). The cheapest 2GB 7850s right now
are an XFX model and a HIS for a few dollars more. After reading newegg user reviews, people seem happier with the HIS which will stay relatively cool
and quiet with a fairly high overclock. I know you said you want to overclock, and you can do some on the cpu(less critical for gaming) and a lot on the
gpu(much more critical for gaming). Oh, I learned how to use the bb code markup on pcpartpicker.com to show an entire build in a forum post instead
of just a link to it. Not sure if that's a pro or con(avoids having to load a new page in the same or different tab/window, but adds to thread height).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2400 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI Z68A-G43 (G3) ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($82.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($36.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Logitech K100 Wired Slim Keyboard ($6.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $693.45
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-25 11:43 EDT-0400)

I'm not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure shipping at ncix is free as long as you order 50 dollars or more worth of parts. Click the first link for details.
This collection of parts costs somewhat more than 700 hundred before rebates, but a little under 700 after. I hope you find these parts to your liking.

Edit:When I say first link, I mean the pcpartpicker part list. You will see free shipping on more expensive items, but no value for shipping on parts even a penny
under 50 bucks. I set up an account to test things a bit. If you click @ncix for the keyboard, ram, or case(all under 50 bucks); add the item to your cart; then
go to checkout; you will see that minimal shipping is pretty expensive. If you put all the ncix parts(cpu, ram, hdd, case, and keyboard)in the cart and go to check
out, you can get it all shipped free. I also went with the samsung dvd burner. It was the second cheapest. Since the cheapest one will have a steep shipping charge
at superbiiz and costs more elsewhere, that's a no go. The next 2 slightly faster and more expensive dvd burners have somewhat less favorable user reviews on
newegg than the samsung. Since people are most likely to get relatively cheap 8x or 16x dvd+r/dvd-r single layer media, I figure the drop in max burn speed from
24x to 22x wont be that big of a deal. I also went with a 2x4GB set of Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1333 1.5V CL9 ram with decent low profile heat spreaders versus ram
with no heat spreaders or less capable heat spreaders(people complained about the crucial ballstix sport getting hot). It will go great with a i5 2400 and z68 mobo.

Edit: I dropped hyper 212 from the build. Since a 95w i7 2700k with HT and 8MB L3 cache can stay at reasonable temps on the stock intel cooler, a 95w i5 2400
w/o HT and only 6MB L3 cache overclocked to the same speed should have its thermals also kept in check by the same cooler. If that thinking is wrong, tell me.

 

[Ags1]

A PSU with two PCI-e power connectors also gives room if the OP wants to upgrade to a more powerful card. I look at the amps on the volt rails, rather than the watts of the PSU. Some companies add the power of the 3.3v and 5v rails to the total power output and advertise "peak" power availability rather than sustained. Antec or Corsair are normally pretty good PSU's

But don't forget that the efficiency of a PSU is at its best when it is 80% utilized (approximately). So buying a massive PSU and underutilizing it wastes electricity.

 

[jtenorj]

Isn't highest efficiency usually reached at about 60% load? It won't waste that much. Going from an 80+ psu to an 80+ bronze will help, and it also
leaves open the option of getting a more power hungry gpu in the future(without having to use adapters, which is less than ideal, and maybe even
impossible if the small psu doesn't have enough molex connectors left to use proper adapters once some case fans are hooked up).

 

[Ags1]

Thanks for the correction jtenorj.

 

[jtenorj]

You are right about under utilization being bad for the psu(if it's by a massive amount). The xfx 550w in my suggested build has a 44A +12v rail(528w).
It also has 1 pcie 6pin and 1 8pin/6+2pin ( plenty for the hungriest of single gpu cards). I don't advise sli/crossfire to anyone since some games don't
support them and you risk seeing micro stuttering which would negate any measured increase in frame rate. Other good reasons for going with one gpu/
card versus 2 include: needing less power, cooling and physical space; option of a less expensive mobo w/o sli/crossfire support; and they create less
e-waste when disposed of than two cards . You pay more for a fast single gpu card than for 2 slower ones, but you pay less for part like fans, the case,
mobo, psu, and you have a smaller power bill to pay each month(that's a bigger deal for some and less for others).

Sandy i5 quad is 95w and hd7850 is 130w(150w max when overclocked if you don't mod the card and use liquid cooling ie another thing I don't advise
anyone use for several reasons). Most parts pull from the +12v rail, but cpu and gpu are by far the worst. They won't pull at all close to max tdp even
when running prime 95 and Furmark simultaneously(much less when gaming). Something like hd7970(250w max/190w average) would require 1 6pin &
1 8pin. If you overclocked a 7970 with decent custom air cooling from 925mhz core to 1200+ you would use more power(linear increase with clock speed,
more voltage is an exponential increase on top of that). The limit is 300w(again, w/o modding the card and using liquid cooling) and won't get near that
w/normal use(games). 100w for cpu(stock sandy. OCed ivy) and 300w for gpu(OCed 7970) is 400w(well within 528w). Running near max is bad, too btw.

@OP : I was informed in another thread that Corsair's xms line of ram is less than stellar, so I've modded my suggested build to instead include a 2x4
GB kit of Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 1.5V CL9 LP(low profile). If you run it at 1333 it will stay nice and cool. Also handy if you throw in an ivy i5k later.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2400 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI Z68A-G43 (G3) ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($82.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Logitech K100 Wired Slim Keyboard ($6.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $695.46
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

Edit: you may want to spring for the extra insurance on shipping at ncix(or not, up to you). I didn't check for anything similar at the other sites.