Building new gaming/editing PC.

[TheMarktime]

I'm going to build a new PC designed for both gaming and photo/video editing/etc.

This is what I have in mind so far: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xgJT

CPU: i7-3770k
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
Board: Asrock extreme4 z77
GPU: Galaxy 4gb 670
SSD: Samsung 840 pro 128gb
HDD: WD black 2tb
RAM: G-Skill Ares 16gb
PSU: Corsair HX850w
Optical: Lite-on
Case: Corsair 400r

I've been trying to find the right set-up balancing quality and price (I'm looking in the $1500-1800), so I've been tweaking this over the last week or so.

I have Windows 7 (64bit) already and will bring that over. Also have suitable mouse/keyboard/etc.

I'm currently running at 1920x1200 resolution, but may be upping that in the near future. I'll also add another gpu down the road. I figure that since I like playing around with heavily modded games (ex: Skyrim), and plan on jumping to a higher resolution (possibly three screen) that 4gb vram might be useful.

I will be overclocking.

 

[iceclock]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xiqF
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xiqF/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xiqF/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Antec Kuhler H2O 620 Liquid CPU Cooler ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($144.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.15 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Corsair Neutron Series GTX 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($129.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 680 4GB Video Card ($514.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec DF-10 ATX Mid Tower Case ($82.98 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: XFX 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive ($24.06 @ Compuvest)
Total: $1478.10
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-12 21:00 EST-0500)

all u need and more

 

[smorizio]

check the mb for the speed the pci video slots run at. some low end mb have one slot running at 16x the other at 4x. make sure both slots run at 8x if used. also check that the board is sli/crossfire cirt. some low end mb dont have sli cirt.

 

[TheMarktime]

@ Icelock, thanks for the suggestions. Sadly I don't have a microcenter near me, and I'm frankly terrified of water cooling. How is Seagate, quality-wise? HDDs, if judging by the feedback posts on newegg (maybe not the best source all the time), seem to have relatively high failure rates.

@smorizio Thanks for the heads up, this is the kind of stuff I tend to miss. Fortunately that board has two 16x ports and supports sli, according to newegg.

See any other possible conflict spots?

 

[iceclock]

very good, ive had many seagates and they are of high quality,

also for non water-cooling here.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xiFF
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xiFF/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xiFF/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight II SD1283 Night Hawk Edition 89.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($144.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.15 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Corsair Neutron Series GTX 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($129.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 680 4GB Video Card ($514.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($83.17 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive ($24.06 @ Compuvest)
Total: $1470.29
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-12 21:24 EST-0500)

just buy the 3770k from newegg. its +100$ but thats normal price and still within ur budget

 

[ikes9711]

I would go with a 7970 instead of the 680 the 7970 will outperform the nvidia card in gaming and it likes the resolution you are at right now

 

[iceclock]

not really depends of the game, and nvidia at the moment has better vsync features, and less loss of frames,

 

[smorizio]

seagate did have a firmware bug on some of there older drives where the drives would brick after a set amount of up time. also I think when the flood happend where most of these hard drives are made..there was a new learning curve to retain people to build the drives at other plants. seagate and wd qa may have slipped with them trying to keep up with demand. as a tech i do see both brands die...most times in new builds it how well the drive traveled and was packed. i gotten a whole case of drives that were drop is shipping and were killed. (they made good wood sanders) some of the litter buggers were buzzing loudly.
if new egg or micro center has the drives shipped fine to you or there local store..you should get years out of your hard drive.

 

[TheMarktime]

In that case I'll get Seagate to shave a little cost off and hope for the best.

With that now in, any other suggestions/comments?

Might be a stupid question, but do side windows on cases do anything beyond... being a window? I don't really care all that much for case/component aesthetics.

 

[smorizio]

side panels can be clear..waffled to let air pass (beter).. and soild with a fan.(best with a large 200mm or larger fan).
if the side panel is open to let air in and out it help gaming pc pull in cold air and push out warm. a large fan is going to blow cold air onto the video cards.

 

[iceclock]

basically just a bling factor doesnt do anything else than look cool and being able to see the components from the outside of the case .

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xBSN
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xBSN/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xBSN/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: NZXT HAVIK 120 75.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($144.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.15 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Corsair Neutron Series GTX 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($379.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($83.17 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive ($24.06 @ Compuvest)
Total: $1310.30
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-14 16:59 EST-0500)