First build, 600~700$

[pherean]

Hi guys,

This will be my first time trying to build a costum game pc. It will be around the 600~700 and after some intensive reading on the matter I came up with the following build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($116.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($32.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($239.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($31.64 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $637.57
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-01 05:55 EST-0500)

You might notice two things:
1. I didn't include an harddrive. This is because I already have one of an half year old.
2. It enables over-clocking.

However, I have no experience whatsoever in either building or overclocking my system apart from switching out harddrives and GPU's. In light of this I have a few questions for you:

Are the few dollars spend in an intel i5 3570k worth the money as I will probably be somewhat modest in overclocking it?
Do I need an extra cooler?

Cheers!

 

[bigcyco1]

If your going to overclock yes you need aftermarket cpu cooler if your not going to overclock then there is no reason to buy that motherboard or cpu get this instead

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($32.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($239.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($53.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $610.48
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-01 06:47 EST-0500)

 

[FinneousPJ]

"Are the few dollars spend in an intel i5 3570k worth the money as I will probably be somewhat modest in overclocking it?"

No, not really.

"Do I need an extra cooler?"

Yes, for overclocking you do.

Build looks fine though. I might spend a bit more on the PSU but it'll work as is.

EDIT: what he said^

 

[pherean]

Thanks, much appreciated

I made two separate builds bases on wether or not I will try overclocking. The potential overclock build being ~70$ more expensive. I will probably go for the non-overclock. I might even use the saved 70$ to buy a small SSD for booting purposes, but I'm not sure.

 

[bigcyco1]

No problem your welcome!

 

[jaasif]

I seem to recall hearing that you can do a modest bit of OCing on the stock CPU cooler. I'd verify it before just taking it from us anons though. Also, it looks like you live close enough to shop at a Microcentre? Jealous! They're so much cheaper than other retail outlets.

 

[pherean]

That would be great.

And no: I live in the Netherlands and I found that the prices on pcpartpicker in dollars are approximately the same as the price in euros (including taxes) on the cheapest internetretailer I could find... So it seemed easier to me to just ask in dollars.