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First PC build, parts checklist and advice

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Hello,

I am in the process of building my first computer. My current computer is a little over 10 years old. I plan to order everything sometime this week and get started. I do not plan to overclock. This is what I have planned, please let me know what you think and any advice would be appreciated. Plans are for some mild gaming, streaming my movies and music, and some mild photo editing. Budget is around 1300-1500.

pc part picker: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/lM6y

CPU
Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor $214.99

Motherboard
Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard $129.99

Memory
Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $38.99

Storage
Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk $82.95
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $69.99

Video Card
EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card $299.99

Case
NZXT Phantom (Black/Orange) ATX Full Tower Case $119.99

Power Supply
Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply $109.99

Optical Drive
Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer $75.73

Monitor
Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor $149.99

Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) $91.99

Total (before mail-in rebates):

$1371.59
Lowest Possible Total:
$1246.59 (View prices by merchant)

thanks.





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You said you weren't overclocking right?
Get an I5 3450, if no overclocking, and your motherboard comes with free ram right now, which is what you actually have listed, (Newegg), but since your not overclocking, you don't need a Z77 motherboard, go with an ATI card, prices are dropping like rocks right now with their cards, 7950's right now can outrun a 680 if overclocked properly.

For your needs, your budget is way too high. What you need is an amd A10 processor. It is a 4 core processor and has a built in graphics processor for about $130. Once you factor in the rest of the parts, you should be under $550 for a great system.
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For your budget, that is a very reasonable build.

Because you indicate only mild gaming, the GTX660ti is fine. It might actually be a bit stronger than you need.
On the other hand, if you graduate to fast action games, you might want to replace it with something stronger.

The 3570K is as good as it gets for gaming and most other tasks.
You will pay a $15 price premium for the"K" over a 3570, but I still endorse the purchase even if you do not plan on overclocking.
If you ever want more compute power, all you need to do is enter the bios and change the multiplier from 34 to 40-43 and you have a nice 25% improvement.

The psu is very good, but probably stronger than you will ever need. A 550w unit will power a graphics card as good as a GTX680 or 7970.

I would suggest the addition of an aftermarket cpu cooler. A tower type cooler with a slow turning 120mm fan will keep your cpu cooler and quieter.
The backplate mount will be easier and more secure than the stock intel pushpin cooler.
A cm hyper 212 or similar will be $30.

I would suggest a low profile ram kit that will not interfere with any cpu cooler. It will be no more expensive. 1.5 v ram does not need any heat spreaders at all.

Yes, your needs can be met at a lesser cost, but if you tend to keep your pc a long time
you did a good job of selecting parts.

geofelt said:
For your budget, that is a very reasonable build.

Because you indicate only mild gaming, the GTX660ti is fine. It might actually be a bit stronger than you need.
On the other hand, if you graduate to fast action games, you might want to replace it with something stronger.

The 3570K is as good as it gets for gaming and most other tasks.
You will pay a $15 price premium for the"K" over a 3570, but I still endorse the purchase even if you do not plan on overclocking.
If you ever want more compute power, all you need to do is enter the bios and change the multiplier from 34 to 40-43 and you have a nice 25% improvement.

The psu is very good, but probably stronger than you will ever need. A 550w unit will power a graphics card as good as a GTX680 or 7970.

I would suggest the addition of an aftermarket cpu cooler. A tower type cooler with a slow turning 120mm fan will keep your cpu cooler and quieter.
The backplate mount will be easier and more secure than the stock intel pushpin cooler.
A cm hyper 212 or similar will be $30.

I would suggest a low profile ram kit that will not interfere with any cpu cooler. It will be no more expensive. 1.5 v ram does not need any heat spreaders at all.

Yes, your needs can be met at a lesser cost, but if you tend to keep your pc a long time
you did a good job of selecting parts.


thanks for all of the suggestions. Any example of the low profile ram kit you are talking about would be appreciated. thanks again

neverenoughtime said:
thanks for all of the suggestions. Any example of the low profile ram kit you are talking about would be appreciated. thanks again


If you like Patriot for ram(I have used them as well as corsair, kingston, and g.skil) here is an example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Take the time to veirfy that this kit is on patriot's list of supported ram for your motherboard.
Most likely it is, but I did not check.
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