Mid-high End gaming rig, less than $1800.

[ranger719]

I'm building this for a friend, who likes gaming. His budget is $1800, but he prefers around the 1600-1700 range. I tried to find any compatibility issues, but have so far found none. Can you guys see if this build is good? Thanks!


CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.93 @ Amazon)
Storage: Intel 520 Series Cherryville 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($427.55 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 600T White Graphite ATX Mid Tower Case ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($91.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1729.39

 

[completelyrandomname]

Seriously why so much? You can get away with less cash, but anyways to answer your question your build there is fine.

 

[mastrom101]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/lxW5

More basic:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/lxVF

 

[excella1221]

Everything should fit. Though I have a few comments.
- Drop the H100; closed water loops like that aren't well worth the money since high-end air coolers such as the NH-D14, Phanteks, and Silver Arrow pretty much match its performance.
- You will see little to no difference between 1600MHz and 2133MHz of RAM, save yourself the cash. And get the Ares series for easier CPU cooler installation. The Ripjaws' tall heat spreaders will give you a hard time. There is no point at all for 16gb of RAM either. Your usage will barely even use up 8gb.
- Intel SSDs aren't that great either, kinda bad actually imo. Not to mention, it's heavily overpriced compared to other SSDs that outperform it.
- You can change the HDD for a Caviar Blue or a faster Samsung Spinpoint if you don't need the Black's 5-year warranty.
- Casing is a preferential thing, so I won't comment on that. It's a good case though, I believe.

Here's a revision of your original build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Silver Arrow CPU Cooler ($69.70 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($413.78 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 600T White Graphite ATX Mid Tower Case ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 950W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($100.43 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($91.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1424.82
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

 

[bookwormsy]

I have the H100 and the reason I picked that over an air cooler is because its quieter and doesn't take up as much room. And I thought that Intel SSds were among the best?

 

[excella1221]

The NH-D14, 212 EVO, and Silver Arrow are all known to be the quietest air coolers as well. The reason I don't suggest them is because the temp differences between the H100 and the high-end air coolers are about the same, it's not worth the extra cost.

No, Intel isn't very good with SSDs.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-recommendation-benchmark,3269-6.html

 

[ranger719]

Updated/Upgraded? I asked my friend, and he insisted on liquid cooling and 16Gigs of RAM.

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($50.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.93 @ Amazon)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($427.55 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 600T White Graphite ATX Mid Tower Case ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($91.99 @ Amazon)
Other: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.60)
Other: Fan ($18.00)
Total: $1700.00

 

[bookwormsy]

@excella1221 that is new to me. Thanks for the link.

@OP, is your friend going to be doing any video editing, photoshop, or is he one of those people who have a lot of tabs open at once? If he is, I would recommend 16gb. If not, go for 8.

 

[ranger719]

@excella1221 that is new to me. Thanks for the link.

@OP, is your friend going to be doing any video editing, photoshop, or is he one of those people who have a lot of tabs open at once? If he is, I would recommend 16gb. If not, go for 8.

He browses Reddit, so yes, lots of tabs. He likes video editing, and he's an avid photographer. So, yes, the extra memory would be a great help.

 

[excella1221]

Your friend seems stubborn.
If he's not gonna take our advice anyway, I don't get why you bother asking. :lol:

- It's better to just get a 2x8gb RAM kit then if you're going 16gb.
- If you're not gonna SLI/Crossfire, 550w would be plenty for your setup.

 

[ranger719]

Your friend seems stubborn.
If he's not gonna take our advice anyway, I don't get why you bother asking. :lol:

- It's better to just get a 2x8gb RAM kit then if you're going 16gb.
- If you're not gonna SLI/Crossfire, 550w would be plenty for your setup.

I read online somewhere that you should always overshoot the required Wattage by more than a quarter, dues to capacitor aging over time, etc. Is that true?

 

[excella1221]

There is some truth to it, I guess.
Another reason is headroom for other things you may do/add.

Your system will more or less consume ~430w at max load, so 550w should be fine.
Though if you'll feel more comfortable with anything higher, then sure it won't hurt.

 

[ranger719]

There is some truth to it, I guess.
Another reason is headroom for other things you may do/add.

Your system will more or less consume ~430w at max load, so 550w should be fine.
Though if you'll feel more comfortable with anything higher, then sure it won't hurt.

Thanks for your advice, it really helped! I'll move it down to a HX650.

 

[ranger719]

Best answer selected by ranger719.