Is this a good gaming pc under $1300?

Soldiercolur

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Oct 20, 2012
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Approximate Purchase Date: Black Friday / Cyber Monday (11/23 or 11/26 2012) I am waiting to see if any big deals will come up for my parts.

Budget Range: $1300 (maybe a tiny bit over, as is my build)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Internet, School

Are you buying a monitor: No

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: As long as they are trustworthy

Location: Apex, North Carolina, United States

Parts Preferences: I would prefer Intel CPU

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1200

Additional Comments: I would like to play BF3 and Skyrim at high - max settings. I would also like to be using this PC for a couple more years to come for next gen games at reasonable settings.

Here is my list of parts. The list with individual prices is http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kPHd
Please review this build and tell me if anything should be changed, as is this is my first
real custom build I consider buying. This is also my first time posting on Toms Hardware :hello:

CPU : Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor

CPU Cooler : Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler

Mobo : Asus P8Z77-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard

Memory : Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

HDD : Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

SSD : Mushkin Callisto Deluxe 40GB 2.5" Solid State Disk

Graphics Card : MSI GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card

Sound Card : Creative Labs Audigy SE 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card ( I have Turtle Beach Earforce Z6A headphones already. I am a dummy when it comes to these kind of things though, so I don't know if there will be some kind of compatibility issue :heink: )

Case : Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case

PSU : OCZ ZT 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply

Optical Drive : Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer

OS : Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit)

Keyboard : Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard (I don't NEED a new keyboard, but it would be nice)

Mouse : Razer DeathAdder Wired Optical Mouse (I don't NEED a new mouse, but it would be nice)

P.S on costs this is not including the rebates that expire because those would not apply to when I am getting the parts.
Total (before mail-in rebates): $1369.14
Mail-in Rebates: $-50.00
Total: $1319.14

Sorry for the crapload of information, but I thought the more info the better :D

 

zared619

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Sep 9, 2012
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CPU- Good
Cooler- Good
Motherboard- You can get better. Get this instead. It also comes with very good RAM, so you can save $40 there.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293&name=Intel-Motherboards

Memory- Good
HDD-Good
SSD- It will work. You could get bigger, but it will suffice for a boot drive.
Graphics card- I like MSI, but they screwed up the 670. They messed with the board and lots of cards end up going DOA. Go with an ASUS instead.
Sound Card- Save yourself some money and don't buy it. You really won't need it. If you decide onboard isn't enough. Get it at a later date.
Case-Great case
PSU- It's overkill for one card. If you want the ability to crossfire 670's, you need atleast 700 watts. Look at this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371049&name=Power-Supplies

Optical drive- any will do.
Peripherals- Personal preference though I have heard good things about both.
Hope this helps!
 

evilqueens

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Sep 17, 2012
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+1 to this.

Along with these recommendations, go with either of these SSD's instead:

Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk - $105

or

OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk - $100

Yes, they are a tad more expensive than the one you have at the moment, but believe me, it will fill up really quickly and you always want to have some free space for the SSD to work optimally.

Similarly, spending another $25 over your current HDD will net you another 1TB:
Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive

Optional change, again - but I'd recommend it. Apart from that, great build!

 

egilbe

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Nov 17, 2011
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I agree with the SSD's and disagree with the HDD choice. Those 5400rpm green drives are slow as hell. Kinda negates the SSD imo
 

phenom90

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Jul 27, 2010
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as you don't change your psu very often... it is better to buy something bigger to leave more headroom to fit a more powerful gpu later.. gets at least 600watts for single card and at least 750watts for 2 cards
 

Booneford

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Oct 2, 2012
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Use my specs. @1270, not including input devices.

EDIT: FOR SOME FREAKING REASON they aren't showing up as my signature or anything of the sort. so here: Intel i5 3570k @ 3.4Ghz (stock) | Radeon 7970 Sapphire | ASROCK Z77 Extrem4 Mobo | Samsung 820 128GB SSD | 8gb RAM 1333 | 500GB Caviar Blue HDD | HAF 912 Case
 

Soldiercolur

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Oct 20, 2012
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Okay so based on the suggestions I'll change the graphics card to the sapphire radeon 7970 and the mobo to the AsRock Extreme 4, and then I'll get rid of the memory for the included memory on the AsRock. I also got rid of the sound card. I'm keeping the keyboard and mouse as is. I don't think I'll change the storage because I'll only use the SSD as a boot drive and on the PC i have currently, I haven't used half of the storage yet. Although now I'm curious if i can reuse the storage on my old pc. I'll check it on Monday because I don't have access to it now. Currently the price point is at $1342.60. Does everything sound good?


EDIT : The hdd on my old PC is a TB by the way. Also, the memory included with the mobo is gone, but I think I can reuse the memory in my old pc (8 GB DDR3 but I don't remember the speed)
 

zared619

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Sep 9, 2012
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There is no such thing as an overkill GPU. Future games will utilize the GPU more and more. 60 FPS is considered ideal, and there are some games that the 670 cannot play at ultra settings at FPS.
 

evilqueens

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Sep 17, 2012
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Seeing as the SSD is the primary boot device, and the HDD will be for secondary storage - you will not really see a noticeable difference in performance for day-to-day use.

I suppose if you frequently copy large files back-and-forth from the HDD, it would be a little more apparent, but even then, it's not a huge difference anyway. Why not go for something quieter, cooler, and larger in terms of capacity for a slight (but not really appreciable) difference in speed?

Anyway, someone posted a Seagate Barracuda 2TB above which does the trick. I have one of these and only bought it because it was cheaper than the Caviar Greens for the same price.
 

evilqueens

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Sep 17, 2012
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Agreed. A 670, while very good, will struggle to consistently produce good framerates when all settings are turned to high (FXAA, AF x16, etc.) for some games (Metro 2033, The Witcher 2, Batman AC, etc.).

Although, I do believe you can sometimes have a video card that is quite excessive for the needs of the user (overkill). Here though, it's not the case because the OP wants to be able to max-out the settings and still be able to play games for another 2-3 years under these conditions.
 

blackhawk1928

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Maybe true, but it would be much more effective to save a good bit and get a 660TI, and then upgrade to new GPU sooner in maybe a year or a year and a half. Money spent on more frequenct upgrades is much more effective and efficient then spending a GDP's worth all at one time. The Law of Diminishing returns does apply here, but it becomes eliminated over time. That's why, if money is an issue (and with a $1300 budget I suspect it is) then the OP should get a 660 or 660TI now and then upgrade to SLI or perhaps a 700's card a year from now if such a thing comes out.

Also, ideal FPS or minimum playable fps is different for different *types* games. In addition, according to Anandtech a 660TI averaged 82FPS on 1920x1200 on Ultra High settings with FXAA.



Alright, let me rephrase what I said. 32x AA or some of those settings that take a like billion fps toll but provide no or very little viewable effect after a certain point, but make the GPU price go up exponentially. 2-3 years from now a 670 will be the equivalent of a low end future GPU and have a lot less features than its replacement.

What I mean by overkill is by being reasonable. If the OP wants to spend the money then I retract.
 

Soldiercolur

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Oct 20, 2012
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Well, if I do decide that this is the setup I want to build, it is not going to be now. I am waiting for the days around Black Friday/Cyber Monday for any deals that will be the deciding factor in what I am going to buy, if I even buy a computer. Right now I am just making sure that this is a reasonable setup as is.