I7 2700k questions

[Mandi329]

A friend is going to build my new computer but wants me to come prepared with a list of "what I want". I would love to do some gaming; I've heard good things about Skyrim and I watch movies but don't do any hardcore image/video editing. My major issue with my current computer is just chuggy slowness when I have numerous tabs open on Firefox and gaming is just impossible (I can run a game called Wurm on lowest settings and I have near constant lag).

Okay, so does this set-up look totally off? Suggestions are happily accepted. Also, what would be a good cooler and case to use? I'm sure I've forgotten several important parts so if you think of something, please let me know.
Be gentle with the techy terms ya'll, I'm a noob.
Thanks!

Things I think I might sorta like:

Intel Core i7-2700K
ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
ZOTAC ZT-60101-10P GeForce GTX 680 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Seagate Barracuda HDD 1 TB SATA-600
Crucial m4 CT128M4SSD2 128GB SATA 6.0Gb/s 2.5" Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) with Marvell Controller
Corsair Vengeance Series 32GB DDR3-1600 (PC3-12800) CL 10 Quad Channel Desktop Memory Kit (Four 8GB Memory Modules)

 

[jakewat97]

CPU is good but unnecessary if you see yourself as a tech noob, rather go for a 3570k or something.
Mobo is fine.
Graphics card, maybe choose another brand but nothing wrong with the one stated. only question. do you want to be playing on ultra on all games?
SSD, get a vertex4 or intel 520 instead. better performance.
32gb ram. way to much of an overkill.

last of all you need a psu around 650 - 750 watts.

I'm not 100% if this is a serious post as no one else has replied, but if it is, what is your budget?

 

[EzioAs]

@Jakewat97

Crucial M4s are also great SSDs. If they're price significantly cheaper than the Vertex 4 or Intel 520 (usually they are), no need to get the higher performing SSDs.



@Mandi329

CPU
-----
Get an Intel Core i5-3570K (if you're overclocking) or 3470 (if you're not overclocking)


Motherboard
--------------
If you get the 3470, get either one of these motherboards:

ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP
Gigabyte GA-H77-DS3H
MSI H77MA-G43

If you get the 3570K these would be my recommendation:

ASRock Z77 Extreme4
ASRock Z77 Extreme6
Asus P8Z77-V
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H
MSI Z77A-GD55


RAM
-----
You certainly don't need 32GB RAM. 8-16GB is more than enough. Get a 2x4GB 1600MHz kit.


Video Card
------------
I personally won't recommend a GTX680 because you can get a GTX670 at way lower price but performs just slightly 10% or less slower.


PSU
----
500-550W is enough if you're staying with a single 680/670. Going slightly higher wattage might not be too bad but just don't go too high.

My recommendation:

Corsair TX550M
SeaSonic S12II 520
SeaSonic G 550
XFX Pro Series 550W
Antec High Current Gamer 620M
Corsair TX650 V2
SeaSonic S12II 620
XFX Core Edition 650

 

[jakewat97]

@EzioAs
Yes the m4 is cheaper but what i forgot to mention is i personally take quality over cheaper price, as the vertex4 and intel ssd's have a 5 year warranty and many great reviews.
Just my opinion

but i do agree with the other stuff you said. 680 sound like an overkill for this guy as does the cpu and ram lol

 

[EzioAs]

@Jakewat97

I don't know if you know this but the M4 has so far been one of if not the best SSD known for reliability. Although seeing they're prices as of late, I believe the 128GB (and sometimes the 256GB) version of the M4 doesn't get many recommendations because other faster SSDs (840 PRO, 830, Vertex 4) cost quite similar or even lower. However, last I checked, they're 512GB drive offers great value (large capacity and low price).

 

[jakewat97]

@EzioAs

We better make sure we don't hijack this thread too much with clutter, but i had no idea they were any good. I had always just heard bad reviews about them and the prices always seems silly.

 

[Mandi329]

Wow! What a quick reply! Thanks for that.

I had to do some overclocking research and after reading a bit I think that I would NOT be doing overclocking. It seems like a lot of work and more importantly, knowledge would be needed and honestly...I graduated college just last year and I'm still feeling *incredibly* lazy!

Thanks for the recommendations, I love the items that will come in as cheaper. Sorry about the "overkill" items, I just am so damn tired of lagging and freezing whenever I try to game (I had to quit WoW because of the issues).

Also, should I only get an Intel core if I was planning on overclocking? Should I go AMD instead?

 

[EzioAs]

Also, should I only get an Intel core if I was planning on overclocking? Should I go AMD instead?

Intel performs better most of the time in games than AMD (browsing, office work, watching videos doesn't really matter as they will perform similar). AMD CPUs are viable option but they can only get the same performance as current Intel CPUs by overclocking. If you're not into overclocking, it's better to get an Intel CPU.

If you're not overclocking, there's no need to buy an aftermarket cooler although I still would recommend the cheaper cooler like the Cooler Master Hyper TX3 because I personally think Intel/AMD stock coolers are terrible. However, like I said, it's fine if you stay with the stock cooler.

On the other hand, I forgot about the case. Case recommendation:

Antec Three Hundred
Antec Three Hundred Two
Antec Eleven Hundred
Antec P280
Bitfenix Merc Alpha
Bitfenix Shinobi
Bitfenix Raider
Bitfenix Ghost
Cooler Master Elite 430
Cooler Master HAF 912
Cooler Master HAF 922
Cooler Master HAF 932
Cooler Master HAF XM
Corsair 200R
Corsair 300R
Corsair 400R
Corsair 500R Black
Corsair 500R White
Fractal Design Define R4

 

[jakewat97]

Case is fully a personal preference. The ones EzioAs has linked are all great cases. If your like me, OCD, you want a side window with cables all neatly hidden and everything looking pretty lol
if you don't care go with a case that has no side window, but keep in mind good cable management = good airflow = better performance.

My opinion AMD: good cpu's, especially the new ones, but i find the top AMD cpu comes nowhere close to the top intel cpu lol. Also intel have slightly better temps.

 

[Mandi329]

Okay, so here’s what I’ve scrapped together taking in consideration the recommendations:
MSI H77MA-G43
Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
Intel 120 GB Internal SSD Serial ATA-600 2.5" SSD 520 Series
EVGA 02G-P4-2678-KR GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
SeaSonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Does the Seagate Barracuda HDD 1 TB SATA-600 sound okay or is it overkill?

I’m really happy with the price point so far; should I spring for the 240GB SSD or stick with the 120?
Also, thoughts on refurbished items? For example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227934
Smart idea or not so smart?

Also, in looking at cases, I’m unsure about how many USB ports I’ll need. Right now I’ve got a splitter thing on my current computer because I have so many USB devices and not enough ports. Should I go for a case with four 2.0 ports or two of each port (2.0 and 3.0)?

 

[EzioAs]

Okay, so here’s what I’ve scrapped together taking in consideration the recommendations:
MSI H77MA-G43
Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
Intel 120 GB Internal SSD Serial ATA-600 2.5" SSD 520 Series
EVGA 02G-P4-2678-KR GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
SeaSonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Seems good. What's the CPU?

Does the Seagate Barracuda HDD 1 TB SATA-600 sound okay or is it overkill?

1TB is hardly overkill. Depending on what you store, it'll sometime gets fulled up sooner than you think.

I’m really happy with the price point so far; should I spring for the 240GB SSD or stick with the 120?
Also, thoughts on refurbished items? For example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227934
Smart idea or not so smart?

No. That SSD is way slower than the intel 520.

Also, in looking at cases, I’m unsure about how many USB ports I’ll need. Right now I’ve got a splitter thing on my current computer because I have so many USB devices and not enough ports. Should I go for a case with four 2.0 ports or two of each port (2.0 and 3.0)?

The Bitfenix Raider chassis has 4 USB 3.0 but the internal header is compatible with USB 2.0 as well

Four SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Ports
The first chassis to offer four SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports, Raider Window Gun Metal is ready for the future. Use the two internal 19-pin connectors to enable up to four USB 3.0 ports, or use the included 9-pin connectors for USB 2.0 – plenty of connectivity for all your high-speed USB devices.

Anyway, I think 2 USB 2.0 and 2 USB 3.0 is enough for most people. So any case that has these ports should be fine.

 

[Mandi329]

CPU - I was leaning towards your recommendation of the Intel 3470, but it's an Ivy Bridge and I heard I should get a Sandy Bridge since I'm wanting to do gaming.
I found this when I looked up reviews for the 3470: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2405317,00.asp
Your thoughts?

 

[EzioAs]

You heard wrong. IB is faster than SB clock for clock. It uses less power and has a faster IGP as well (which won't be relevant if you're using a discrete video card). Just get the i5-3470.

 

[Mandi329]

Allllrighty then! Here's how it looks thus far:

Case: BitFenix Raider Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 Ivy Bridge
Motherboard: MSI H77MA-G43
RAM: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
Videocard: EVGA 02G-P4-2678-KR GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda HDD 1 TB SATA-600
SSD: Intel 120 GB Internal SSD Serial ATA-600 2.5” SSD 520 Series
Cooling: COOLER MASTER Hyper TX3 RR-910-HTX3-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" 92mm CPU Cooler


I’m guessing that a soundcard is unnecessary (I love music but I mostly end up putting it on my MP3 player)? What about a Networking Interface Card? Do I need one of those? If so, what’s something that would be compatible with my current buildlist?

How about Wi-Fi? Right now my wireless uses a USB port and I kinda hate that…if I got it built-in it wouldn’t need to use a USB port, right?

As for an optical drive, is there a brand that is more trustworthy? No need for Blu-Ray stuff, it’s what I have a TV for. I just want to be able to burn regular DVDs and CDs so it doesn’t have to be anything special.

Also, any recommendations on good economical speakers? I know it can great pretty expensive but I’ve been limping by on a pair of “ativa” speakers that I got at a Black Friday sale 4 years ago for $10 and I’m tired of having them at MAX volume whenever I watch a movie.

 

[EzioAs]

Allllrighty then! Here's how it looks thus far:

Case: BitFenix Raider Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 Ivy Bridge
Motherboard: MSI H77MA-G43
RAM: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
Videocard: EVGA 02G-P4-2678-KR GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda HDD 1 TB SATA-600
SSD: Intel 120 GB Internal SSD Serial ATA-600 2.5” SSD 520 Series
Cooling: COOLER MASTER Hyper TX3 RR-910-HTX3-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" 92mm CPU Cooler

Looks great

I’m guessing that a soundcard is unnecessary (I love music but I mostly end up putting it on my MP3 player)? What about a Networking Interface Card? Do I need one of those? If so, what’s something that would be compatible with my current buildlist?

Totally unnecessary unless you're an audiophile and/or you're doing serious audio editing. The motherboard already has a Gigabit ethernet port.

How about Wi-Fi? Right now my wireless uses a USB port and I kinda hate that…if I got it built-in it wouldn’t need to use a USB port, right?

There are motherboard that comes with wi-fi and there are also wireless adapter cards that goes into the PCI/PCIe slot. They're fairly cheap

As for an optical drive, is there a brand that is more trustworthy? No need for Blu-Ray stuff, it’s what I have a TV for. I just want to be able to burn regular DVDs and CDs so it doesn’t have to be anything special.

I personally think any brand would do for optical drive right now (since I rarely use them). Pick any cheap ones from LG, Samsung, LiteOn, ASUS, etc.

Also, any recommendations on good economical speakers? I know it can great pretty expensive but I’ve been limping by on a pair of “ativa” speakers that I got at a Black Friday sale 4 years ago for $10 and I’m tired of having them at MAX volume whenever I watch a movie.

I'm not so sure on this one. Perhaps you'd like to consult someone else on this matter.

 

[Mandi329]

Would it be alright to swap out my current choice of RAM for the 'G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory' you have listed under your $1000 build?

And the Samsung SSD would be a bit cheaper than my current choice...would that be alright also?

Thanks for all of the guidance EzioAs, much appreciated.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section CPU & Components to section Systems by Mousemonkey

 

[EzioAs]

Would it be alright to swap out my current choice of RAM for the 'G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory' you have listed under your $1000 build?

The one I picked is slightly faster than the normal because it's a CL8 kit. Yeah, it's a good choice if you want to swap them.

And the Samsung SSD would be a bit cheaper than my current choice...would that be alright also?

The Samsung 840 really isn't that much faster than the Intel 520. No need to change that. It's the 840 PRO that's faster and probably is the fastest SATA SSD in the market currently.

 

[Mandi329]

Quick question:

Better choice: Intel i5-3470 or Intel i5 3570K? What does the "K" signify?
Thanks!

 

[EzioAs]

Quick question:

Better choice: Intel i5-3470 or Intel i5 3570K? What does the "K" signify?
Thanks!

The "K" means the CPU has an unlocked multiplier which means it's easier to overclock. This however, only when the CPU is paired up with either a P67, Z68, Z75 or Z77 motherboards.

The 3470 does not have an unlock multiplier. If you're not overclocking, get this + a H77 motherboard. If you are/will, get the 3570K + a Z77 motherboard (only Z77 makes sense nowadays)