$1200-$1300 First Gaming Computer Build

[trhett123]

This is my first time building a computer, so ive done about 4 months of extensive research throughout forums and have always came back here for help. I'm juggling between pre-built and homebuilt and i do have a microcenter near my area. Heres my build before shipping and rebates! (prices may be outdated and im not too sure if its all compatible but im pretty sure it is)
Approximate Purchase Date: Black Friday-Christmas

Budget Range:$1200-$1300 before rebates, shipping, and sales

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Internet, Making, watching, and editing videos

Are you buying a monitor: Yes



Parts to Upgrade: Everything

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg

Location:Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A

Parts Preferences: Intel, High-end RAM

Overclocking: Maybe in the future

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in the future

Your Monitor Resolution: My planned monitor resolution is 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I would love if its quiet but not needed

Why Are You Upgrading: I want to play new games on max settings for a few years


CPU (Intel Core i5-3570 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637i53570)=$215
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115233

CPU Cooler (COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler)=$35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

Mobo (ASUS P8Z68-V LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard)=$180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131867

RAM (CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2B1600C9)=$38
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233202

Hard Drive (Seagate ST310005N1A1AS-RK 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive)=$90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148321&Tpk=seagate%20st310005n1a2as-rk%201tb%207200%20rpm

Video Card (im not sure which to get)
1) EVGA 02G-P4-2670-KR GeForce GTX 670 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
2)XFX Double D FX797GTDFC Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130782 =$380
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150632 =$450

Case (NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case[needs built in fans)=$120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067

Power Supply (OCZ Fatal1ty 750W Modular Gaming 80Plus Bronze Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom)=$110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341041

Monitor (ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ASCR 20000:1 (1000:1) W/Speakers)=$180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052

Total=$1418/$1348 (im a little over budget but im hoping to get these during black friday or christmas and with rebates so theyll be cheaper)

 

[FinneousPJ]

Go homebuilt especially with the nearby microcenter. Please, http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/353572-13-build-upgrade-advice

 

[trhett123]

Sorry about that! Still new to the forum Are these all compatible, and is there anywhere i should upgrade/change? Biggest question: AMD Radeon HD 7970 3gb ghz edition or Nvidia Geforce GTX 670 2gb

 

[FinneousPJ]

AMD is more powerful. The sticky asks you to not only post links. I don't want to have to open 10 links to check your build, mate.

 

[trhett123]

There we go. Hopefully that should help. Now, is all of this compatible and are there any places i should upgrade/downgrade?

 

[FinneousPJ]

I don't think you should be paying a premium in CPU, mobo and cooler for "maybe overclocking in the future." If you're not interested in OCing, just pass. You can save $50 easily - you can get a SSD for your OS with the savings for example, or a have nice dinner.

As I said earlier, the AMD card is undoubtly more powerful.

I'm not a fan of OCZ power supplies. Same things as with overclocking applies to XFire. Either do it now, or save money and don't try to "future proof". Since you're on a single screen you'll do great with a single card and in 2-3 you should buy a new generation card - you'll never need XFire. A quality 500W is more than enough for a single 7970.

 

[FinneousPJ]

Here, squeezed in a solid state drive:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3550 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($36.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($103.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($409.66 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Phantom (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($53.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Acer G245HQLbd 60Hz 23.6" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($91.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1307.55
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-18 17:59 EST-0500)

 

[trhett123]

Thanks for the new build! Cant wait to get my hands on it. What is the importance of having a good SSD? Every good builder recommends one.

 

[FinneousPJ]

It is just so much faster :lol: A $1000+ build in 2012 just needs to have a SSD.

 

[agro321]

This is great. I think I'll jump in on this one too.
Any recommended 3D gaming monitor to go with this system in the 24 to 27 inch size?
Thanks!

 

[trhett123]

Thanks a lot for your help! It also leaves a lot of room for upgrading, which i will do in the future. I'm planning later on having another monitor and i hear the gtx 670 just doesnt do so well in that department as the radeon 7970 GE.

 

[atomicdumpling]

Thanks for the new build! Cant wait to get my hands on it. What is the importance of having a good SSD? Every good builder recommends one.

If you put your Windows OS on the SSD your boot times will be much faster. Your computer will also be more quiet (which you mentioned in your original post was important to you) because the computer will rarely have to spin up the hard drive to access data unless you are opening or saving a file that is saved on the hard drive. If the hard drive is not spinning it is not making noise. It is a very noticeable difference on my machine. When gaming, if your game is installed on the SSD your game levels will load much faster than if the game was installed on the hard drive.

 

[trhett123]

If you put your Windows OS on the SSD your boot times will be much faster. Your computer will also be more quiet (which you mentioned in your original post was important to you) because the computer will rarely have to spin up the hard drive to access data unless you are opening or saving a file that is saved on the hard drive. If the hard drive is not spinning it is not making noise. It is a very noticeable difference on my machine. When gaming, if your game is installed on the SSD your game levels will load much faster than if the game was installed on the hard drive.

Gotcha! Thanks. Now what is the difference between an SSD and an HDD? Which is cheaper and which is better?

 

[camohanna]

Gotcha! Thanks. Now what is the difference between an SSD and an HDD? Which is cheaper and which is better?

SSD is more expensive but is way way faster. Its what atomic said, faster game loading time and less noise. A HDD is the standard old school method of storing your data. SSD is faster but much more expencive per gb, hence why you would have both HDD and SSD. SSD for your OS and Program files. This will make them load faster. HDD is your bulk storage, for movies, documents etc. Hope that clears it up for you??