Gaming build, $850 - this weekend. Help check my build.

[lnsykalski]

I'm planning to pick up the parts tonight or tomorrow morning. I'm trying to stay at about 850ish. Any last advice or changes I should make? I'm open to changing any part. Also should I pick up an additional CPU cooler and thermal paste?:

Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: Tonight or tomorrow

Budget Range: 800-900

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Games, school applications

Are you buying a monitor: Yes

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: (e.g.: newegg.com, ncix.com -- to show us selection & pricing)

Location: Dallas, TX

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq Plus 550W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $819.42
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

 

[g-unit1111]

I think I would get a different power supply, something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

Otherwise that looks good to me!

 

[excella1221]

^I understand the brand change, but why 650w on an estimated 351w system?

 

[g-unit1111]

^I understand the brand change, but why 650w on an estimated 351w system?

It's a stronger power supply. I've attempted to use low wattage PSUs like the Corsair CX430 on a Sandy Bridge build but they don't like those for some reason. Although one rule of thumb - trust me - any product that intentionally misspells words (like Basiq instead of Basic) I'm really hesitant to recommend, that's asking for trouble.

 

[lnsykalski]

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll pickup that power supply instead then.

 

[excella1221]

Ah, got it.

 

[Kamen_BG]

Hi.
The build you made was pretty good but there are some things i can improve in it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($197.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ECS P67H2-A ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($28.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus HF1 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: OCZ ZT 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VS229H-P 21.5" Monitor ($138.66 @ NCIX US)
Total: $810.59
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

This is my edited version of your build.
It features a very overclockable processor with a high-end motherboard with Lucid Hydra.A better case , better monitor and a more efficient and powerfull power supply with a modular cabling system.

 

[jtenorj]

You shouldn't ever need more than this:

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=59615&vpn=P1550SXXB9&manufacture=XFX

It is an excellent psu.

 

[g-unit1111]

Hi.
The build you made was pretty good but there are some things i can improve in it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($197.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ECS P67H2-A ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($28.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus HF1 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: OCZ ZT 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VS229H-P 21.5" Monitor ($138.66 @ NCIX US)
Total: $810.59
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

This is my edited version of your build.
It features a very overclockable processor with a high-end motherboard with Lucid Hydra.A better case , better monitor and a more efficient and powerfull power supply with a modular cabling system.

Ugh, what's with people recommending Zalman cases all the time now? I'd take a HAF 912 over any Zalman any day of the week. And how exactly will that motherboard and CPU combo be better than the i5-3450/3470?

 

[lnsykalski]

Hi.
The build you made was pretty good but there are some things i can improve in it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($197.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ECS P67H2-A ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($28.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus HF1 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: OCZ ZT 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VS229H-P 21.5" Monitor ($138.66 @ NCIX US)
Total: $810.59
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

This is my edited version of your build.
It features a very overclockable processor with a high-end motherboard with Lucid Hydra.A better case , better monitor and a more efficient and powerfull power supply with a modular cabling system.

Thanks! I may use your suggestions instead. Although I may get this monitor instead for 1.5 more inches: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-vs239hp . I guess the monitor you selected is better because it's an IPS monitor?

I was doing a comparison of the motherboards as well. Looks like the one you chose has slots for 2 graphic cards and has PCIE 2.0.. but the ASRock has PCIE 3.0. Since I'm only going with 1 video card wouldn't it be better to get the PCIE 3.0? I'm not really sure which is better from a performance standpoint.

 

[lnsykalski]

nevermind, just researching a bit looks like pcie 3.0 vs 2.0 is negligible.

 

[jtenorj]

For gaming, you might prefer the faster response of a tn panel vs an ips panel. If you have several people that will view the monitor at once or need
the color accuracy for photo editing or graphic design, go ips. Personally, I'd go tn to save coin myself. But that's me. Your app mix may be different.

 

[jtenorj]

you might consider a 2500k with an msi z68 mobo for 80-85 bucks. It has pcie 3.0 should you upgrade to ivy later. The antec 300 two is like 50 cents
more than the HAF 912 but looks sleeker and has front usb 3.0 ports(otherwise they are largely the same feature wise). Easier to mod too, if you want.

 

[excella1221]

you might consider a 2500k with an msi z68 mobo for 80-85 bucks. It has pcie 3.0 should you upgrade to ivy later.

If that's the case then I think it would be wiser to just go straight z77 with the new features for Ivy but still compatible with Sandy, instead of the z68 which is like 2 generations behind.

Ugh, what's with people recommending Zalman cases all the time now? I'd take a HAF 912 over any Zalman any day of the week. And how exactly will that motherboard and CPU combo be better than the i5-3450/3470?

+1
Or the Rosewill Challenger-U3 for the exact same price.
+1 on the Antec Three Hundred Two as well.

nevermind, just researching a bit looks like pcie 3.0 vs 2.0 is negligible.

For now, yes. But won't it be better to have the PCI-E 3.0 now so when cards come out that can actually utilize the 3.0's bandwidth, you won't have to upgrade anymore.

 

[bryonhowley]

Ugh, what's with people recommending Zalman cases all the time now? I'd take a HAF 912 over any Zalman any day of the week. And how exactly will that motherboard and CPU combo be better than the i5-3450/3470?

I would agree 100% and from what I have read that ECS mainboard is not very good and not even close to high end. You would be better to stay with Asus Asrock or even MSI for your mainboard.

 

[jtenorj]

If that's the case then I think it would be wiser to just go straight z77 with the new features for Ivy but still compatible with Sandy, instead of the z68 which is like 2 generations behind.

Uh, 1st there was p67(recalled cuz of sata 3gbps bug, but otherwise had sata 6gbps on die & usb 3.0 on some mobos), then there was z68(was it smart
cache, using a small ssd to cache regularly accessed data? Also lucid logix software to switch between igpu for encoding and discrete for gaming), then z77
(added "official" pcie 3.0 support, and ddr3 1600 which can also be used by z68 and maybe p67). With 2500k and z68, you save on cpu and mobo.

Edit: Agree about ECS not being the best choice of mobo. MSI is fine. ASRock is pretty decent. Asus is usually overpriced, imo. Gigabyte should be ok. Maybe biostar.

 

[excella1221]

Uh.. okay, if you wanna get that technical, there's also Q67, Q65, and B65 in between.
I'm still against recommending a Sandy Bridge when there are affordable Ivy's for his budget that have better performance and features. Though granted, SB has better overclocking potentials.

 

[jtenorj]

Not to dis ivy(she's not the power pig sandy is. well, sandy isn't a pig either compared to some amd processors) but the difference in performance clock
for clock over sandy isn't that great. ivy has less overclocking potential because of the crappy tim they put inside versus the fluxless solder in other
processors(maybe fluxless solder and 22nm tri gates don't agree, and intel went with a crappy tim with longer life than a more thermally conductive tim.
who knows?). Again, money can be saved going 2500k/z68 while losing little to no performance versus ivy and z77(gaming wise, anyway).

 

[g-unit1111]

If that's the case then I think it would be wiser to just go straight z77 with the new features for Ivy but still compatible with Sandy, instead of the z68 which is like 2 generations behind.

+1
Or the Rosewill Challenger-U3 for the exact same price.
+1 on the Antec Three Hundred Two as well.


For now, yes. But won't it be better to have the PCI-E 3.0 now so when cards come out that can actually utilize the 3.0's bandwidth, you won't have to upgrade anymore.

I could literally name like 100 cases that are better than the Zalman Z9 and Z11. :lol:

Uh, 1st there was p67(recalled cuz of sata 3gbps bug, but otherwise had sata 6gbps on die & usb 3.0 on some mobos), then there was z68(was it smart

I will not say P67 is behind or old for that matter. It still accepts Sandy and Ivy Bridge. Could you get better motherboards? Sure. But there's far better on the market that support newer hardware. I just built an HTPC based around P67 and it's very nice.