Building a pc very soon

Ricoster1 · Oct 28, 2012

hey folks,

i'm going to build a new pc very soon... budget of $800-900. i'm thinking of building it as follows:

ASUS P8B75-V

INTEL I5-3570 (non-k version) with stock heatsink

3X4 KINGSTON VALUE RAM 1333MHz

GIGABYTE GTX 660 OC 2GB

WD Blue 1GB SATA 6GB/s

ASUS 24X DVD R/W DL

Thermaltake Commander MS-I + 450W PSU (INCLUDED)

SAMSUNG S22B300B LED Monitor

What do you think?

jmsellars1 · Oct 28, 2012

Included PSU's usually aren't recommended, I'd buy a good unit separately.

That triple channel RAM isn't great for socket 1155, I'd grab dual channel stuff.

Other than that it looks OK.

redeemer · Oct 28, 2012

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1068626

excella1221 · Oct 28, 2012

It's either the K version or not for the CPU.
If you're not gonna OC, you can just get the 3450 or 3470. A 0.2GHz difference won't even be noticed.

If you don't mind AMD, the 7850/7870 would be better cards too.

+1 to jmsellars1 about the RAM. I don't think you can even run triple channel on that. You might end up using just two of the sticks.
Also, try to get 1600MHz. Sometimes there isn't much difference in price.

geofelt · Oct 28, 2012

Your build will work, but I would do some things differently.

1) I have no real problem with a i5-3570. But, consider buying the 3570K instead.
For an extra $15, you can give yourself the option of improving your cpu performance from 3.4 to 4.3 or thereabouts.
The is not much of a price premium for a 25% boost in cpu capability.
You do not need to OC right out of the box, but it is a small price to pay for that option. The "K" is designed for user upping of the multiplier. All it needs is a decent air cooler which I recommend regardless. Lastly, whenever it comes time to sell the cpu, the 3570K will command a price differential > the $15 you spent on it. There are any number of Z77 based motherboards that do not cost any more, and will allow such multiplier overclocking.

2) 3 ram sticks is not a good idea. You can only find them at elevated voltages which are intended for X58 socket motherboards. Also, the odd 4gb stick will operate in single channel mode. If your usage is for gaming, 8gb (2 x 4gb)is fine. If you have 64 bit enabled apps, then get a 16gb kit of 2 x 8gb. 1333 speed is fine. There is little real app advantage to speeds over 1600. Considering the minimal difference, I suggest 1600 ram.
Read this on ram speed scaling: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3

3) The only case vendor whose psu's I would buy come from Antec.
Thermaltake psu's will be tier 3-5 on this list, depending on the model. You can do better.
http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx
Buy a quality psu of about 500W. That should be sufficient for a card as good as a GTX670, and should not cost any more.

4) Regardless of overclocking, or not, I recommend an aftermarket cpu cooler. A tower type cooler with a slow turning 120mm or larger fan will keep your cpu cooler, and run quieter. It will also be much easier to mount than the stock Intel pushpin mount.
Something like the $30 cm hyper212 would be good.

5) Do you really need a full ATX sized motherboard with 4 expansion slots?
A M-ATX size with 4 slots should do the job and be cheaper.

6) How much storage will you really need? If you will be storing large video files, then a 1tb drive will be needed.
If so, then I would use a WD black which will be faster.
But... consider building using a SSD instead of a hard drive. It will make everything you do feel so much quicker.
A 120gb ssd will hold the OS and a handful of games. You can always add a hard drive later. If your ssd is 180gb, you may never need a separate hard drive.
For reliability, I would look to Intel or Samsung.

damian86 · Oct 28, 2012

There are more powerful psu's and not expensive, make sure your system is reliable too. Try to have a look between 550W and 600W so it will help for future upgrades.

Ricoster1 · Oct 28, 2012

thank you folks for your cooperation, now i'm modifying my plan to be as follows:

ASUS P8B75-V

INTEL I5-3570k

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

Corsair Vengeance 2x4 1600MHz

GIGABYTE GTX 660 OC 2GB

WD Blue 1GB SATA 6GB/s

ASUS 24X DVD R/W DL

Thermaltake Commander MS-I

XFX PROSERIES 550W

SAMSUNG S22B300B LED Monitor

SSD to get upgraded few months after the build

if you think i should get a better mobo/2ms monitor and/or anything else just tell me what you folks think

also which do you think is better? a GIGABYTE mobo or an ASUS one?

thanks again

Ricoster1 · Oct 28, 2012

what you folks think?

CustomPc · Oct 28, 2012

Try this build for a change + it's really good would give you a solid 55+ FPS in Wow on MAXIMUM (expect for shadows on high)
DX 11 MODE
MultiSampling x1, Antrispotic filtering: trilinear 1920x1080 on a crowded raid 25+ PPL In one tiny place
BUILD
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: (Intel) i5-3330 / i5-3450 / i5-3470 (Get cheapest one) / (AMD) AMD FX-8320
CPU Cooler: (AMD) CoolerMaster Hyper 212+, or EVO, or above if wanted
Motherboard: (Intel) Any B75 motherboard / (AMD) Any 990FX motherboard
RAM: Any 2 x 4GB RAM while keeping my notes (DDR3-1600, 1.5v)
Graphics: Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Power Supply: PC Power and Cooling Silencer MK III 500W or other similar power supplies
SSD: Any of the 120/128GB performance-based SSDs
Hard Drive: 1TB or above if wanted
DVD Drive: Cheap DVD burner
Case: CoolerMaster Storm Enforcer or similar mid-tower case with at least 2 fans
(Intel) Example Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ikTQ
(AMD) Example Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/lfZO

Estimated cost: (Intel) ~$875 ~ +++ / (AMD) ~$965 ~ +++
Estimated FPS in WoW: ~55+

geofelt · Oct 28, 2012

Better. But...

1) If you will use a B75 based motherboard, you will not get any OC value from the"K", and you might as well stick with the 3570.
Here is a link which describes the various capabilities of the ivy bridge chipsets.
BCLK overclocking is not easy and very limited. With a Z75 or Z77 based motherboard you can do multiplier overclocking, which is what you want. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1155
I still like the 3570K as a long term cpu. It will still be very good for gaming, even when haswell appears next year.
If you like ASUS as a brand, I suggest the ASUS P8Z77-M . I have used the predecessor P8P67-M pro with no problems.
If you want less expensive, look to Asrock which is a spin off from ASUS. They were intended to be a source for budget motherboards, but they progressed into competeing with asus.
I have used Gigabyte, ASUS,ASrock, and ECS. ECS is less known, but they have usa support, and seem to have a good product.
Take your pick.
Regardless, any Z77 based motherboard will give you good results. No need for an expensive enthusiast motherboard. They are intended for high overclockers and multiple graphics cards.

2) There is no standard on how to measure lcd response times. I would ignore that as a selection criteria. Most monitors will refresh at 60 hz(times per second) That is once every 16 ms. I like Samsung as a display vendor. They make the panels for many other display vendors, and I think they keep the best samples for themselves. I have never had a single dead pixel from them.

3) Make certain that your ram is low profile. Tall heat spreaders are mostly marketing, and can interfere with some cpu coolers.

4) A Intel 330 120gb ssd now costs $99, about $15 more than the hard drive you picked.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167121
It will be easier to load your os and games initially on a SSD and add a hard drive later in a couple of months if you need it.

Ricoster1 · Oct 29, 2012

custompc, i'm actually an intel-nvidia person

i really find them low power, working stably great, and perform faster
folks consider my budget open-ended a little bit... i just want a great performance (maxed out games with the highest shades ever) for each dollar i pay
i'm considering thermaltake level 10 gts... it has a good cable management and a big 2000mm front fan
i guess xfx pro series is agreed on here... unless you think there's a better choice
i found a deal on kingston (not hyperX) 120gb ssd... are they good to buy instead of intel?
also i heard that gigabyte mobos have a bios issue and get too hot... some said it doesn't work at all. i heard asus is the best... what you folks think?
about the monitor... it has a D-Sub cable.... does it affect the image quality or anything?
geofelt... i've been considering the low profile rams until some folks here told me not to... i wasn't planning on a triple channel i just wanted to fill the sockets with dimms for faster performance nothing more. i can rotate the cooler so it faces the gpu but idk i'm a little confused about the whole build

excella1221 · Oct 29, 2012

Uh... who exactly told you not to use low profile RAM?
Honestly, I believe it's a good investment for futureproofing. There is absolutely no disadvantage on using low profile sticks compared to the normal ones with tall heat spreaders.

XFX is a great PSU manufacturer.

Kingston and Intel aren't all that great on SSDs either. The general consensus here is either the Vertex 4 or Samsung 830.

geofelt · Oct 29, 2012

Ricoster1 :

Let me see if I can help with some issues.

Everybody has a budget. Just that some are bigger than others.

For gaming, the graphics card is the most important component.
The GTX660 is a nice card on a budget, but you will have a more balanced build with a stronger card.
My rule of thumb is to spend twice your cpu budget on the graphics card. That means a GTX670 or gtx680 if you are a nvidia fan.
A strong video card will give you higher fps, more eye candy, and better minimum frame rates. I suggest the EVGA GTX670 FTW for $370. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787
For $450, you can get a GTX680 superclocked. That is as good as it gets for a single gpu card, but I don't think it is $70 better than the GTX670. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130769
There are two things I like about these cards. #1 is EVGA support, and #2, the direct exhaust coolers. 28nm cards do not run that hot anyway, and the direct exhaust gets the heat directly out of the case.

The thermaltake level 10 gts case looks great, and if you really love it, buy it.
But from a value point of view, it is not so good.
You can buy any number of quality cases from Antec, Corsair, Silverstone, lian li, coolermaster, NZXT that will do the job at half to 1/4 the price. Really, how much does the case need to hold? A motherboard, ssd, hard drive and a dvd. If a case has at least two 120mm intake fans and an equal amount of exot area, ot will have sufficient airflow for a ivy bridge cpu and a single graphics card.
I suggest you use most of that budget elsewhere.

XFX is a good psu brand, but there are other good ones too.
Post links so we can see what you are thinking of exactly, and what the price is.
Here is a psu list tiered by quality.
http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx
You are safe with anything in tier 1 or 2.

1.5v ram does not get very hot. Heat spreaders may help those high overclockers pushing high voltages int0 the ram, but not for stock operation. And... the difference in performance from overclocking ram might be 1fps or 1% app performance. Not much.
Ivy bridge motherboards will have 2 or 4 ram slots. You want to fill them in pairs of equal size so you get dual channel operation.
ou want documented ram compatibility. If you should ever have a problem, you want supported ram.
Otherwise, you risk a finger pointing battle between the ram and motherboard support sites, claiming "not my problem".
One place to check is your motherboards web site.
Look for the ram QVL list. It lists all of the ram kits that have been tested with that particular motherboard.
Sometimes the QVL list is not updated after the motherboard is released.
For more current info, go to a ram vendor's web site and access their ram selection configurator.
Enter your motherboard, and you will get a list of compatible ram kits.
While today's motherboards are more tolerant of different ram, it makes sense to buy ram that is known to work and is supported.

Intel and samsung make their own nand chips and can do a better job of validation.
Check the newegg reviews for 0-1 eggs, and you will see them show up with numbers like 6-7%.
Most others look like twice that. But, kingston seems to be doing very well, it is just not as popular. I would be OK with their ssd's.

I would not worry about motherboard heat. I suspect that issue only arises from those doing high voltage overclocking.

I think I would pass on a monitor with only DSUB connectivity. With modern graphics cards, I think you want DVI or HDMU digital connections for best quality.

Post a list of your parts, along with a link to where you might buy from.

Did you know that if you live near a microcenter, they will sell you a 3570K for $190?

Ricoster1 · Oct 29, 2012

i guess thermaltake commander ms-i is a good choice... i'm looking for a case with at least one front usb 3.0 header... any suggestions? i was only thinking about the thermaltake level 10 gts (a $110 case) because it has a great cable management plus a front 2000mm fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133188
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133190

i'm thinking about gigabyte but idk if it's a good choice comparing to asus
some people reviewed the kingston ssd as it's very bad and it dies early...

should i buy it now or should i wait until intel/samsung ssd prices get lower and get an HDD now?

the gtx 670 is great but it'll make me pay more for it. lower priced 670's available are zotac and gainward... idk if they're good comparing to evga and gigabyte

i develop graphics a lot and that's why i'm upgrading for a better build
i don't know if gtx 660 is good enough for graphic designs and video editing

i'm thinking about getting 4x4 kingston value ram 1333 is that a good choice? or should i get the 2x4 corsair vengeance 1600?

i heard that samsung recommends d-sub for s22b300b better quality idk and idk which monitor to buy for like $150 max

geofelt · Oct 29, 2012

Ricoster1 :

It is good you posted links.
I thought you were talking about the $270 thermaltake level 10 GTS now edition:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133192
I think this is the one you were thinking about:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133198
It looks OK to me.

I have no problem with gigabyte or asus motherboards. You will always see more negative posts because there is always some chance of product failures, and they tend to get reported more than successes.
If you wish, add up the percent 0 or 1 eggs on a product for some sort of satisfaction rating. That is really only valid with a fair number of reviews.

Both SSD and hard drive prices are still dropping. SSD because of competition and lower nand costs, and hard drives because of recovery from the Thailand floods. If you can't do both, install using a SSD first, so you will not have to do a reinstall of everything later. Cloning from a large drive to a smaller SSD may not work. But, video files will tend to be large, suggesting a hard drive. If ou can do your initial work on a ssd first, I think that is easier.

For graphics design, and editing a GTX660 is good. You probably can do with less. For gaming, I would go stronger.

For editing, consider 16gb. The larger amount of ram can be used by 64 bit enabled apps to reduce the need for workfiles, and improves performance.
Ram is cheap. Whatever you do, buy a two stick kit. Either a 8gb kit of 2 x 4gb, or a 16gb kit of 2 x 8gb. It is easier for a motherboard to manage two sticks vs. 4, and the cost difference is minimal. Kingston value ram is fine. If there is little cost difference, get 1600 ram.

Can you point me to where samsung favors D-sub over dvi for quality? That surprises me.
Regardless, that monitor has both types of inputs.
And... I don't think any cards in the GTX660 series or stronger come with any D-sub outputs.

Ricoster1 · Oct 29, 2012

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySco9uztvxQ
in this video the guy said samsung recommends d-sub for better quality
strong gpus come with a d-sub dongle for d-sub-based monitors. idk if it makes any difference... if i go for a samsung monitor that's 1902x1080 with 2ms refresh rate i'll have to pay like $40 more

still no words about the kingston? the one i saw a good deal on is the kingston ssdnow v200... it has a bad review on newegg though as it goes slowly when installing windows... bare in mind that "my whole build is going for windows 8"... a value gaming rig

i guess corsair and g-skill are on the top is that right?

ps please recommend me good monitors for like $150

and tell me if there's a better case for money than "thermaltake level 10 gts"

feel free to modify my build with suggestions

geofelt · Oct 29, 2012

I don't buy the D-sub is better quality assertion.
If in doubt, contact samsung and send them the youtub link for comments.

I really doubt that using a dvi to d-sub adapter and connect int to a d-sub input will be any better than a dvi to dvi connection without an adapter.
Since you get both, you can try it yourself and see if there is any difference.

I know kingston is a good manufacturer, but for reliability, I would stick with Samsung or Intel if the price is anywhere near close.
Perhaps a bit of patience is in order. Both Intel and samsung have had ssd sales.

On ram, most ram vendors seem equally good. I have used both G.skil, Corsair, and kingston without issue.
Just make certain the kit you buy is supported.

If the TT level 10 case appeals to you, that is a good reason to buy it.
Otherwise, from a value point of view, the Antec 100/200/300 series cases are half the price and will do the job well.

Ricoster1 · Oct 29, 2012

on the samsung website they say that the monitor has a DVI port (didn't specify which type of DVI it supports) also on nvidia website they say that the card has DVI ports without specifying what type. now what type should i get?
if it's about patience on ssd's i think i should get a wd blue 500 gb until i get an amazing intel/samsung ssd... u think that's the best choice for now?
the gtx 670 would be a little burn in my pocket. i believe 2 years from now the gtx 670 would be as fast as gt850

so i think i should stay with the gtx 660 unless you think it affects the games when max them out
i see you've overclocked your i5-3570k to 4.3... do you feel a better performance with that? and how much voltage did you oc at?
also i'd like to get a list of the best router manufacturers

geofelt · Oct 29, 2012

Ricoster1 :

If a SSD will have enough storage for you initially, I would do that first, and add the hard drive later.
That way, you get the benefit which is greatest for the os first. Windows installation and service updates take hardly any time at all.
And, you will have no conversion/migration issues if you did the reverse. But, if you will need all the storage right away, then get the hard drive first. Set aside a partition for windows so that you can delete it later after another clean install on the ssd.

Some monitors like 2560 x 1600 monitors need dual link dvi cables and ports. 1080P does not.
Any gaming graphics card will support dual link graphics output.
Here is a link that tells you all you might want to know about dvi(and probably more)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface

On storage, I would use a WD black for the os vs. the blue because the black is a bit faster.
Regardless, both hard drives and ssd's will keep coming down in price.

The resolution you play at will affect how much eye candy and fps you can get. The higher the resolution, the harder a graphics card has to work. Take your best guess, or check benchmarks for your intended games. Anything you can buy, you can also sell if your needs/wants change. The GTX660 is a very good card so go with it if it fits your budget.

I oc'ed my 3570K to 4.3 right out of the box. I left the voltage and ram settings on auto, changing only the multiplier.
To tell the truth, I don't think I would have noticed any difference from stock. I keep the task monitor active on my second monitor, and I never see all the threads used, and none ever go past 50% utilized.

Some time ago, I had a linksys router that gave me all sorts of problems.
I replaced it with a DLINK DIR-655 which has been flawless. It never needs rebooting. It was easy to install, even for a networking noob like me.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127215

Ricoster1 · Oct 29, 2012

i need a computer that can run stably with games for like 2 years... well again... budget-value basis

i really love ssd's and i think they can load photoshop in less than a second (which is great) but i guess i should wait until i get the intel 180gb for less (maybe this xmas) do you recommend samsung over intel?

i'm considering buying a cheap wd 500 blue for now then upgrade in 3 months max

i guess the d-sub and dvi give the same output but the difference is the type of the signal (digital - analog) maybe i should start it with the integrated d-sub and see how good the picture (for gaming) is.

i've read about the gpu benchmarks and i don't see much difference between 660ti and 660 plus they say that the gtx 660 has a better value... do you think it can run the upcoming crysis 3 very well?

the i5-3570k is good but i think any quad-core i5 can run stably fine though i'm thinking about the i5-3570 cause as you said the k version won't give any noticeable performance gain plus it'll cut the motherboard budget by $50

also the 1333 vs 1600... the difference is like $10-15 but i like corsair

i'm thinking about keeping the whole build for like 2 years at least... do you think that i5-3570 (non-k)/gtx 660 build can still run games maxed out with enough fps? please tell me what you think...

geofelt · Oct 29, 2012

The 3570K is more like a 4 year cpu. Upcoming haswell will be 15% more cost effective, and will not obsolete a 3570K.
If you are looking at a 2 year horizon, then a i3-3220 combined with a stronger graphics card would serve you better.

I don't much like interim solutions, they do not satisfy current needs, and are thrown away when the upgrade comes.
If you want a ssd, buy one up front. If you don't then buy a better wd black up front.

Graphics cards with similar price points will perform similarly. There is not that much difference getween adjacent performance tiers. Who knows about crysis3? In the past, crysis was the game that brought a graphics card to it's needs. If you plan on running well, buy the best graphics card you feel comfortable paying for.
Without a top end card, I doubt that you will be able to run at high fps with full eye candy. Compromises will need to be made, but you will still have a good gaming experience.

Corsair makes good ram. You will notice no difference between 1333 ram and 1600(2%?). Buy 1600 only if the price difference is small.

Ricoster1 · Nov 3, 2012

hey latest update for my build:

CPU: INTEL I5-3570K
CPU COOLER: COOLER MASTER HYPER 212 EVO
MB: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H
RAM: CORSAIR VENGEANCE (G-SKILL RIPJAWS-X) 2X4 1600
GPU: GIGABYTE GTX 670 OC 2GB
HDD: WD BLUE 500GB SATA 3 6GB/S
SSD: INTEL 330 180GB
DVD: ASUS 24X DUAL LAYER
CASE: THERMALTAKE LEVEL 10 GTS (BLACK)
PSU: SEASONIC M12II 620W
MONITOR: SAMSUNG S23A350H - S23B370H

what you folks think? any suggestions?

geofelt · Nov 3, 2012

Ricoster1 :

Perfect, don't change a thing.

Well... the ream IS the low profile version is it not? That's so it will not interfere with your cpu cooler.

Ricoster1 · Nov 3, 2012

high profile but i'll install them into the farther dual channel slots

PANZER4 · Nov 3, 2012

Dual channel doesn't always work like that, most of the time the slots go (in slot layout and channel layout)
1-2-3-4
1-2-1-2

I.E to get dual channel they need to go in slots 1 and 3 or 2 and 4
Just a warning

Building a pc very soon

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