Is this a good $1300 Gaming PC? :D

[thecolombianjesus]

Hey guys. I am going to be building my very first gaming PC very soon, in like a week and a half or so, and I have spent the last 4 weeks researching everything you could possibly think of for every part. I am very excited! I want this PC to fulfill my exact needs while getting the best parts for the money. This will probably be my final rough draft for the parts that I am going to get, unless someone can convince me otherwise. My budget is $1300, but the more money I can save, the better I will be gaming at 1080p and be playing games on max settings such as Battlefield 3, Crysis 3, Arma II, Guild Wars 2, Planetside 2, etc. So what do you guys think? Is this a good $1300 gaming PC? Let me know what you guys think! Thanks

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: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($108.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($295.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Lian-Li PC-K62 ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Keyboard: Logitech G110 Wired Standard Keyboard ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Razer ABYSSUS Wired Optical Mouse ($31.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1268.50
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

 

[mousseng]

I think that's a stellar list you've got there. The only thing I can say for certain that I'd do differently would be the mouse - I'd definitely recommend the Logitech G400 over the Abyssus. Other than that, I'd look for cheaper RAM (low-profile, 1600MHz of course) if you want to save a few more dollars, and possibly change motherboards (I quite like the ASRock Z77 Extreme4). The SSD could be another point of contention - the Samsung 840 (vanilla) is about $8 cheaper.

Most of this is just nitpicking, though. You've got a solid build there.

 

[spentshells]

Really nice but seriously a 50 dollar keyboard?

I have no suggestions beyond do not buy a wired keyboard for 50 dollars

 

[babernet_1]

For a gaming machine your priorities are this:

Display
GPU
CPU
SSD
etc.

Here's a benchmark of 7950 vs 7970GHZ:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7970_GHz_Edition/13.html

As you can see, for Crysis you get quite a bit extra even at 1920X1200 (closest to your display) for a 7970GHz vs 7950. In the next few years this difference will become more and more valuable.

I'd recommend you ditch the luxury of the SSD and apply it toward a top level gaming card. You can get the SSD later.

A Sapphire 7970GHZ is $440
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202001

This puts you just over your budget. Here's a Gigabyte one for $430:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125439

Of course you can get a normal 7970 and see how far you can overclock. I'd think you could use the maximum graphics power now.

 

[thecolombianjesus]

I think that's a stellar list you've got there. The only thing I can say for certain that I'd do differently would be the mouse - I'd definitely recommend the Logitech G400 over the Abyssus. Other than that, I'd look for cheaper RAM (low-profile, 1600MHz of course) if you want to save a few more dollars, and possibly change motherboards (I quite like the ASRock Z77 Extreme4). The SSD could be another point of contention - the Samsung 840 (vanilla) is about $8 cheaper.

Most of this is just nitpicking, though. You've got a solid build there.

Ehh, the Logitech G400 doesn't really appeal to me. And I don't really like the look of the AsRock Extreme 4. My whole PC setup is going to be a black and blue scheme, plus Gigabyte makes some pretty solid boards, so I feel safe going with them. I still think the Extreme 4 is a great board though. And about the Samsung 840 SSD, the Kingston HyperX 3K has 300 mbps faster write speeds than the Samsung 840, plus the one I chose comes with the entire kit, which is the same price as just the stand alone drive. So the extra $8 is worth it in my opinion.

 

[thecolombianjesus]

Really nice but seriously a 50 dollar keyboard?

I have no suggestions beyond do not buy a wired keyboard for 50 dollars

I would go cheaper on the keyboard but I want one that has a nice blue LED glow to it, and this is the nicest/cheapest one I could find. I quite like the design too. A lot of good keyboards nowadays go for around $50 anyways.

 

[spentshells]

Gotcha

 

[thecolombianjesus]

For a gaming machine your priorities are this:

Display
GPU
CPU
SSD
etc.

Here's a benchmark of 7950 vs 7970GHZ:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7970_GHz_Edition/13.html

As you can see, for Crysis you get quite a bit extra even at 1920X1200 (closest to your display) for a 7970GHz vs 7950. In the next few years this difference will become more and more valuable.

I'd recommend you ditch the luxury of the SSD and apply it toward a top level gaming card. You can get the SSD later.

A Sapphire 7970GHZ is $440
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202001

This puts you just over your budget. Here's a Gigabyte one for $430:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125439

Of course you can get a normal 7970 and see how far you can overclock. I'd think you could use the maximum graphics power now.

I've read reviews and benchmarks of a 7950 Boost reaching overclocks of up to 7970 speeds however? It looks like a beast of a card.

 

[mousseng]

Ehh, the Logitech G400 doesn't really appeal to me. And I don't really like the look of the AsRock Extreme 4. My whole PC setup is going to be a black and blue scheme, plus Gigabyte makes some pretty solid boards, so I feel safe going with them. I still think the Extreme 4 is a great board though. And about the Samsung 840 SSD, the Kingston HyperX 3K has 300 mbps faster write speeds than the Samsung 840, plus the one I chose comes with the entire kit, which is the same price as just the stand alone drive. So the extra $8 is worth it in my opinion.

Fair enough - your build, your choices! I just recommend the G400 because I know it's a fantastic mouse, and I'm not a terribly huge fan of Razer's products (they've got some longevity issues). Like I said, other than that there's not really much I'd fiddle around with.

As for the 7950, it is capable of overclocking to 7970 speeds, but also keep in mind that a 7970 can overclock as well. That does present significant gains over the 7950, but if you'd prefer to stay under budget, the 7950 is still a great choice.

 

[syed shah]

For a gaming machine your priorities are this:

Display
GPU
CPU
SSD
etc.

Here's a benchmark of 7950 vs 7970GHZ:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7970_GHz_Edition/13.html

As you can see, for Crysis you get quite a bit extra even at 1920X1200 (closest to your display) for a 7970GHz vs 7950. In the next few years this difference will become more and more valuable.

I'd recommend you ditch the luxury of the SSD and apply it toward a top level gaming card. You can get the SSD later.

A Sapphire 7970GHZ is $440
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202001

This puts you just over your budget. Here's a Gigabyte one for $430:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125439

Of course you can get a normal 7970 and see how far you can overclock. I'd think you could use the maximum graphics power now.

Hi..
Is this good gamming pc..
Fx 8350
Cooler master hyper 212 evo
G skill 4x2gb ram (1600mhz)
Gigabyte 990fxa ud3
Msi gamming gtx 770 4gb oc
1tb hdd wd
Gs 800w corsair power supply
Raidmax augusta (case)

 

[RazerZ]

Wait till nov, Nvidia is cutting prices on its GPUs

 

[syed shah]

Wait till nov, Nvidia is cutting prices on its GPUs

Oh.. Thanks..
Should I change my gpu

 

[RazerZ]

Wait till nov, Nvidia is cutting prices on its GPUs

Oh.. Thanks..
Should I change my gpu

Depends. $gb is overkill so change it to a gigabyte windforce 770 2GB and upgrade to an i5-4670k

 

[syed shah]

Wait till nov, Nvidia is cutting prices on its GPUs

Oh.. Thanks..
Should I change my gpu

Depends. $gb is overkill so change it to a gigabyte windforce 770 2GB and upgrade to an i5-4670k

Is
I5 4670k gigabyte gtx 770 4gb winforce
Asus z87 k