Tax Return Upgrade

[Alcad]

So I'm due to get my tax return back any day now, and I figured I would put it to good use and finally upgrade some of the older parts of my computer. My limit is ~$500 but I can go higher if necessary.

The parts I NEED to upgrade are:

Motherboard Z77 Preferred
CPU - Intel preferred
CPU Cooler


The optional parts that I would LIKE to upgrade are:

Case

The reason I wan't to upgrade is because I recently upgraded my GPU to a GTX 670, but I'm being bottlenecked by my old PCIE 2.0 Mobo and Gen 1 i7 CPU.

EDIT: I should mention that I DO plan on overclocking my CPU. Nothing too extreme, but a pretty moderate-high overclock.

 

[cball1311]

Not sure what kind of case you are looking for but it is included and is less than your budget.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Rosewill THOR V2 ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $474.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-08 21:26 EST-0500)

 

[Alcad]

I'm looking for a case with good airflow, and preferable a removable back panel to help with cable management and such. My case is stuck under my computer desk inside a compartment, so the more airflow the better to help cool it down. Any case with a lot of fans would be great.

 

[cball1311]

I'm looking for a case with good airflow, and preferable a removable back panel to help with cable management and such. My case is stuck under my computer desk inside a compartment, so the more airflow the better to help cool it down. Any case with a lot of fans would be great.

Would you need to go with a mid tower for size reasons or will a full tower work. The THOR has great cable management with many ports that lead under the motherboard mounting plate. If you need a mid tower, look at the Corsair 400R, great cable management for mid tower.

 

[Alcad]

As long as the full tower is less then 14 inches wide and 27 inches high, I think it'll be fine. As long as it has really good airflow I'm not partial to either size.

 

[cball1311]

Yeah, then go with the 400R. You will need some extra fans for it though. Newegg has a 4-pack Cooler Master 120mm fan special for like ~$15.

 

[amurorx]

Hey alcad I too am doing same thing as you

If you live near a microcenter, they have the i5 3570k for $189.99 and a asrock z77 extreme4 for $79.99 (if you buy them together). Its in store pickup only though.

I just did my reserve and will be picking it up tomorrow morning


I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

 

[Alcad]

Unfortunately there are no Microcenters in my state, so I'm stuck buying online.

How good is that mobo? I've never really heard much about Asrock, I've always been partial to MSI.

 

[cball1311]

It is a good motherboard for the price. There are up and down reviews (pretty much with everything now a days). If you like MSI, this is a great ATX motherboard with SLI compatiblity.

Motherboard: MSI Z77A-GD55 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($132.86 @ Newegg)

 

[Alcad]

Any other opinions on the build? I've never been a fan of AMD, but it can be cheaper. I'd like to see a good AMD based build. I just want a good CPU that wont bottleneck my GTX 670 OC

 

[cball1311]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme3 ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $442.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-10 16:39 EST-0500)