First time custom build help?!

[CanSoKo]

I am attempting to get a custom build PC done, not looking for anything fancy, here is what i am ideal use and what parts i have researched. i could use every ones input on cost cutting or recommended parts.

* i am located in canada, as much as our canadian dollar is worth more then USA, and USA prices are cheaper, ideally i dont want to have to deal with shipping/duty charges with warranty exchanges.

* budget i was aiming for around $1000 in for labour and parts
* main goal is to play borderlands 2, and diablo 3
* approx use, maybe 1-2 hours a day
* mainly for gaming, as stated before only really into FPS and RPG like skyrim/diablo
* don't plan on over clocking or upgrading ex/ dual video cards my goal is to build a pc that will run at full settings from the get go. i will worry about investing in a high end gaming down the road.
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Parts (ive done some research and comparisons and i think i what i have chosen so fare is a fare priced item to quality ratio). stated before im canada, and really dont wish to deal with USA prices/custom even thow they are generally cheaper by about $10-$20. i think with the headache of wait time with shipping for warranty replacement is not worth the overall savings of maybe $100/$150.

CPU - i5 3570K $219

MOBO- ASUS P8Z77-V-LK $144.99 w/ $20 MIR (opted for this, over the P8Z77-V-PRO because i don't need the wifi/ am i correct that those are the only difference factor? and performance should be ideally the same?)

VIDEO - ASUS Radeon HD 7850 2gb GDDR5 $224.99 w/ $10 MIR

RAM - Corsair Vegeance 8gb - CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 $37.99

SSD - Crucial M4 128gb $ 108.23 (opted for SSD for performace i only need a couple games on there at a time, and my operating system) do you recommend a HDD? there is a WD blue 1tb for $99

POWER - Corsair HX 750 $129.88

DVD - ASUS 24B1ST 24X $18.99

TOWER MID - ANTEC 900 $49.99

OS - WIN 7 HOME PREM. $97.99


FAN/SOUND/ETHERNET $0 (STOCK)

*** I LOOKED AT PARTS HIGHER UP BUT WOULD HAVE COME AT A COST EX/ CORSAIR HX750 VS AX750 OR THE MOBO P8Z77 LK VS PRO ($50 DIFFERENCE)

love some input on what i have chosen, you know my criteria and budget. i think what i have picked will do the job without sacrificing quality and performance. if you can think of anything that is worth swapping for a reasonable price increase/decrease let me know thanks.

 

[malbluff]

Couple of thoughts.

You need low profile RAM to avoid clash, with CPU cooler.
Might be worth thinking of nVidia GTX 660 or 66oTi for graphics, for Borderlands 2. In fact, it's free with some of them.
Do you need 750w. Unless you are planning to add 2nd graphics card for SLi/crossfire, 550w would be more than enough. Still wants to be good one though.
All else looks fine, including motherboard (you can get cheaper mobo, but Asus very good quality, and user friendly)

 

[CanSoKo]

well im pretty new to lingo and parts, first thing i did was just google top/best & parts name then went by price. and those where the items i cam up with.

budget is about $1000 im willing to change parts if the price difference is significant and i don't lose out on quality and performance, i mean between $1000 vs $1100 isn't really a factur, but if i can go from $700 vs $1000 and still get the same performance im game for that.

i dont plan on going dual cards, i just went with the 750w because i wanted to be on the safe side. figured better to have more and not need it, then have less and need more.

 

[CanSoKo]

forgot to mention what about a cooling system, do i really need one for my build? i have a secondary comp that i leave on all night, my build will probably only get a couple hours use a day if that, maybe more on the weekends

 

[malbluff]

There's nothing that NEEDs changing (apart from RAM). There are savings to be made. If you want to stick with Asus, they are very good, but slightly overpriced, you could save, by using ASRock Extreme 4. Good features, cheaper, and only marginally lower quality.
The area you should save is in power supply. Unless you want 2nd graphics card, use around 550w. If you want highest quality, use Seasonic X series, but something like Antec Basiq Plus BP550, is perfectly adequate, and cheaper. XFX is another very good choice, though not modular.
The real question is what is best graphics card. It depends on monitor resolution, and any games that you want it to be particularly good at. Best way, to best honest, is to price EVERYTHING else, and then, based on money left, decide which is the best card you can get with it.

 

[CanSoKo]

what you mean by ram classing?

i priced match everything within canada from tiger direct / newegg / ncix / mega computers (local) and canada computers i couldnt think of any other places in canada

 

[malbluff]

forgot to mention what about a cooling system, do i really need one for my build? i have a secondary comp that i leave on all night, my build will probably only get a couple hours use a day if that, maybe more on the weekends

Glad you mentioned that, had missed there wasn't one in there. Processor comes with a basic cooler, but that's not adequate, if you want to overclock CPU. The CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo is a good low cost choice.

 

[malbluff]

what you mean by ram classing?

i priced match everything within canada from tiger direct / newegg / ncix / mega computers (local) and canada computers i couldnt think of any other places in canada

The high heat sinks on that type of RAM, make it difficult to fit an aftermarket cooler (they get in the way). You can often find a way round it, but it's easier to just use low profile RAM, in the first place. Same price, or even cheaper.

 

[CanSoKo]

oh, never thought about that, i dont plan on doing any over clocking, or dual video cards, nothing like that yet, i figure with what ive chosen it should be able to run any game out today.

should i still get some kind of a cooling system?

 

[malbluff]

The cooler supplied, with the processor, is fine unless you overclock, assuming you're not in a very hot environment. Obviously, you do have to fit one, when you overclock. If you are going to want to overclock, soon, there's something to be said for fitting one, from the start, to save the "hassle" of changing. One slight advantage, with an aftermarket cooler, anyway, is that they tend to be marginally quieter, than the cheap one, supplied with the CPU.

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.directcanada.com <---- Free Shipping on orders over $50


http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11180AC5838&vpn=CP-9020015-NA&manufacture=CORSAIR $78.67
Corsair CX Series CX750 750W ATX 12V 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply Active PFC Fan 140mm Fan

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11830BD5203&vpn=GA-Z77X-D3H&manufacture=GIGABYTE $134.26
Gigabyte Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Z77 DDR3 3PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 HDMI CrossFireX/SLI SATA3 USB3.0 Motherboard

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=16950BD5850&vpn=BX80637I53570K&manufacture=Others $219.79
Intel Core i5 3570K Unlocked Quad Core Processor LGA1155 3.4GHZ Ivy Bridge 6MB Retail

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC0554&vpn=RR-212E-20PK-R2&manufacture=COOLERMASTER $31.05
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366/1155/1156/2011 120mm.0

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15380BD5211&vpn=F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL&manufacture=G.SKILL $36.04
G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=16950DR6190&vpn=SDSSDP-128G-G25&manufacture=Others $96.12
SanDisk SDSSDP-128G-G25 128GB 2.5IN SATA3 6GB/S Solid Stat Disk Flash Drive SSD

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=16950DR5259&vpn=GH24NS90&manufacture=LG $16.79
LG GH24NS90 24X SATA Internal DVD Writer Burner DVDRW M-DISC Compatible Optical Drive Black OEM

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11830BD6980&vpn=GV-N660OC-2GD&manufacture=GIGABYTE $217.19
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC 1033MHZ 2GB 6.0GHZ GDDR5 2xDVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Video Card

 

[CanSoKo]

damn thanks for all the links had another questions.

i was debating between SDD vs HDD will i notice any significant performace difference, looking on ncix.ca theres a seagate barracude 2tb drive for 89.99, WD blue for 1tb for 99.99. i already have a secondary comp that stores all my stuff and then i just burn it to dvd

i was told mainly between SSD vs HDD is the in game load time, does anyone know the average difference are we talking like for example 5secs load SSD vs say 30secs HDD?

 

[CanSoKo]

how is the gigabyte vs asus, i noticed you suggested the gigabyte for the motherboard and video card, vs the asus which is only like 10bucks more on each. is it really worth saving 20bucks?

 

[proton007]

In my experience, both are about the same quality. Asus has better brand recognition, and they probably charge for that, but otherwise its the same. Why not save a few bucks if you can?

 

[malbluff]

Personally, I think Asus motherboards have that "feeling" of quality, and they're "user friendly". I think that's worth a small premium, but certainly wouldn't pay a lot more, for Asus, all other thinks being equal. Some of their boards are, frankly, overpriced. When it comes to graphics, there are a lot more quality players, and would always tend towards the best "value", or straight performance, ALMOST irespective of manufacturer.

 

[CanSoKo]

heatsink ill probably get just to be on the safe side, im leaning towards the hyper 212 plus over the evo, about $10 cheaper and from doing research there virtually the same. unless you guys have another opinion on the two.

1/ why over clock? any bonus to it, i assumed that the parts i got where more than adequate to run todays game mainly D3 and borderlands 2?

1a/ wouldnt it just be easier to get an I7 and better graphics and 16gb of ram and spend the extra couple hundred bucks over the next year or two then to overclock and run my cpu at a higher temp?

 

[malbluff]

Having the ability to overclock is a handy thing to have, to squeeze a bit more performance out of processor, especially when it starts to struggle to keep up with latest software, but nothing like important. Certainly, if it comes to a choice between that, and a better graphics card, take the better graphics card, almost every time.
i7, and more than 8GB of RAM gains you nothing, for gaming. It does help with things like photo/video editing, or some design stuff, particularly in 3D. Other than that, no point.