900$ Gaming Build

[daaseelg]

Sooo i spend the whole dat figuring this build out..

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($399.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 430W ATX12V Power Supply ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $892.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-24 19:16 EDT-0400)

Its mostly for gaming but also for a bit of editing and streaming.
What do you think?

 

[aznshinobi]

You could do better IMO. Your build is really good though overall!

Check out my $850 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore#module147086871
Pay $50 more for the 7950:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006
Total: $906

You'll be getting an Ivy Bridge chip which allows you to multi-thread a bit better (Editing related), your 7950 will give you solid performance, after overclocking the 7950 can reach the GTX 670 in performance for $100 less.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/08/23/galaxy_gtx_660_ti_gc_oc_vs_670_hd_7950/3

Keep in mind your PSU can't support a 670 and an overclocked i5 2500K. The PSU in my build would allow for Crossfire/SLI of the 7950 and you'd get a motherboard supporting 8x/8x with an easier to work with for factor.

Your editing, you'll need 8GB as well so my build has that going for you as well.

 

[daaseelg]

But is it safe to overclock the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814202006 ? And then again.. You can overclock the 670 as well Thanks for the PSU tip. deffinetly want to upgrade that.

 

[aznshinobi]

Your link is dead.

All overclocking is safe. A common misconception is that it degrades the life of your CPU/GPU/hardware. That is TRUE but not to the degree its been made out to be. At most the degradation would still give your hardware a 5-7 year life AT LEAST. You would probably upgrade before then.

The 670 can overclock but what I meant was that the GTX 670 OC and 7950 OC, the 7950 OC is equivalent.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/08/23/galaxy_gtx_660_ti_gc_oc_vs_670_hd_7950/3

Read the benchmarks closely. The 7950 OC is close if not BETTER than the GTX 670 OC. The 7950 is the best bet IMO.

 

[daaseelg]

Oh i see.
but will the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Video+Cards-_-Sapphire+Tech-_-14202006 overclock as high as the one on the test?

 

[aznshinobi]

Will be just fine. All of them overclock the same, just push voltages and you'll be set! Check out some guides a quick google will help. Youtube will as well.

 

[daaseelg]

Great! Thank you!

This is what i ended up with

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($308.14 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $827.06
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-24 20:04 EDT-0400)

 

[Why_Me]

Sooo i spend the whole dat figuring this build out..

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($399.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 430W ATX12V Power Supply ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $892.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-24 19:16 EDT-0400)

Its mostly for gaming but also for a bit of editing and streaming.
What do you think?

That RAM is meant to run in dual channel. You have 1x4GB stick there which means it will run in single channel. You want to purchase your RAM in a SET. Either 2x2GB or 2x4GB but NOT 1x4GB.

 

[aznshinobi]

^ OP did change his build slightly.

With ram so cheap though, I recommend just getting 1600, a slight boost in speed.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186

Also, seeing as you're going with microatx check this board out
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157325

Also try and get the i5 3570K for the sake of Ivy Bridge and its slight lower TDP and more/higher performance: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-i5-3570K-Quad-Core-Processor/dp/B007SZ0E1K%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquid1240995-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB007SZ0E1K

 

[daaseelg]

Is it possible to overclock later on with http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157325 ?
Can you recommend a good gaming micro ATX case that can handle some overclocking? know the Silverstone can http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DDCDH2/?tag=pcpapi-20 but its 99 dollar and doesn't really fit into my budget .

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005O65JXI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A2EUTVCJXLAJ4K $32.08 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1057647 $257.98 save: $11.00 FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model PV38G160C9K

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157304 $84.99 FREE SHIPPING
ASRock Z75 Pro3 LGA 1155 Intel Z75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

 

[aznshinobi]

^ I believe OP wants mATX Why_Me that is why his case choice was as such.

And yes, the board I suggested is perfect for you. The Fractal is nice, the Silverstone is pretty good too. Fractal has some solid mATX cases though. I think one of the best.

This NZXT is pretty solid too
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146065

 

[daaseelg]

Would this case have a descent airflow/ opportunity for overclocking later on?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352009

 

[aznshinobi]

Great affordable case!

 

[daaseelg]

So here what it looks like right now:
(Buying a monitor too)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($97.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($308.14 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Acer G235HAbd 23.0" Monitor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $926.62
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-24 22:04 EDT-0400)

 

[aznshinobi]

Keep in mind the i5 3570K is only $190 if you pick it up locally. The build looks solid though!

Not super quiet but would use this as your exhaust fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185060
High CFM and pretty high RPMs, would get 2 and stick 1 as intake 1 as exhaust.

If there is room on the top stick the fractal stock fan on top to exhaust or on the side for the GPU.

 

[daaseelg]

the nearest Microcenter is 154mi away so ill stick with the online price. Thanks!
i'll go buy the stuff tomorrow and will post pictures later on. Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate that.

 

[aznshinobi]

No problem, good luck.

 

[daaseelg]

Quick question. Can you get 20$ off if you get the preferred account on newegg without "Consequences" ?

 

[aznshinobi]

I'm not quite sure, don't use any Newegg programs specially since I'm deemed as a "student" so I wouldn't want to mess with anything credit related just yet.