~$1600 Gaming PC, First Build, Need Advice

[nolanb13]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.00 @ PCCaseGear)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($84.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($135.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.00 @ Scorptec)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.00 @ Scorptec)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($199.00 @ Scorptec)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($419.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Case: Antec Eleven Hundred ATX Full Tower Case ($125.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($141.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Optical Drive: LG BH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($79.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Total: $1559.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-27 03:59 EST+1100)

If anyone could offer any suggestions to anything, it would be greatly appreciated.
Looking for value and performance, but willing to spend a little more cash if its really worth it
Thanks a heap for any advice from you guys

 

[twp]

From all the research I've done recently (and I've done a lot since I'm in the exact same boat and almost the exact same budget) your choices look very solid. The only one I would change, probably, is the MoBo. The Extreme4 is a solid card that a lot of people use but it's a bit old and has been known to have a few problems. I swapped mine out for a the Giga UD3H instead at the suggestion of someone on here. Otherwise our builds are very similar.

 

[nolanb13]

From all the research I've done recently (and I've done a lot since I'm in the exact same boat and almost the exact same budget) your choices look very solid. The only one I would change, probably, is the MoBo. The Extreme4 is a solid card that a lot of people use but it's a bit old and has been known to have a few problems. I swapped mine out for a the Giga UD3H instead at the suggestion of someone on here. Otherwise our builds are very similar.

I don't know about that suggestion. I've looked up a few reviews and the Extreme4 seems to have better ratings with the Giga UD3H having 3.5/4 star ratings mainly.
Could you specifically state why you think(or why you've been told) it is an improvement on the Extreme4?

 

[JMer806]

Your build looks great. I would personally switch the MOBO to an Asus P8Z77-V (the LK is about that same price), but that's purely preference.

 

[djangoringo]

Change the ssd for samsung 830(it's better) : http://pcpartpicker.com/au/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7pc256bww

You could get a cheaper psu with same amount of watts and quality :
http://pcpartpicker.com/au/part/ocz-power-supply-ocz750fty
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/OCZ-Fatal1ty-750-W-Power-Supply-Review/1019/10

Also do you really need the bluray drive ? you can get a simple dvd drive for less than 20$.

 

[twp]

I don't know about that suggestion. I've looked up a few reviews and the Extreme4 seems to have better ratings with the Giga UD3H having 3.5/4 star ratings mainly.
Could you specifically state why you think(or why you've been told) it is an improvement on the Extreme4?

Extreme4 seems to have some potential fan "issues" like this: http://www.overclock.net/t/1265093/asrock-z77-extreme4-how-do-deal-with-fans-running-at-100-all-the-time (not sure if it's really an issue or not but saw a few threads on it that seem specific to that board -- I'm a complete novice, so I could be wrong).

And in a few reviews (like this one: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5793/intel-z77-motherboard-review-with-ivy-bridge-asrock-asus-gigabyte-and-msi/20) the Giga seemed to perform slightly better.

I'm sure bottom line they are both good boards and would be fine, probably.

 

[DarkSable]

Boards aside, go with djangorino's suggestion and change the SSD. The 840 non-pro is made with cheap-o nand, and is unreliable and not particularly fast.

 

[aebome]

I would keep your currently selected PSU, and not swap for djangorino's suggestion. The Corsair is a newer and better design (can put more power to the 12v rails) and has better user reviews. Just my 2 cents, but that Corsair is a solid option and worth the few extra dollars it costs.

 

[nolanb13]

Thanks a lot for the replys guys

 

[camohanna]

Get the CM Hyper 212 Evo cooler ;D