Building my first gaming rig

[Bmor89]

Hi everyone,

Long time console gamer here, looking to make the switch back to PC gaming. It's been since Counter Strike 1.6 that I've really used the PC for anything other than work. I've been lurking here for a few weeks now as I've been researching building my first PC and so far I've come up with the following. I'm just looking to hear opinions, thoughts, suggestions, anything you'd change, etc. I'm hoping to keep below the $1200 mark. I'll be playing Far Cry 3, Battlefield 3, Crysis 3, Diablo 3, Skyrim...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.99 @ Canada Computers)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($23.50 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($95.87 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($288.75 @ DirectCanada)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional Gold 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($159.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $1135.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-16 12:17 EST-0500)

FYI, I won't need to purchase a monitor, peripherals, or an OS. Also I'm a Canuck, and hope to buy the hardware within a few weeks.

Looking forward to reading your responses! Thanks a lot.

 

[cball1311]

Just a few subtle changes that I would recommend.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.99 @ Canada Computers)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($23.50 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($161.85 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($104.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Memory Express)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($288.75 @ DirectCanada)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($120.81 @ DirectCanada)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $1142.65
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-16 12:41 EST-0500)

The PSU by XFX is made by SeaSonic which is one of the (if not) the best PSU manufacturers. The XFX is suggest is cheaper than the Corsair. I would go with a low profile RAM set just to be sure that your EVO has clearance. One more thing, the Samsung 840 series aren't worth it unless you go with the Pro Series. The Kingston will be a bit better.

 

[camohanna]

You can always drop to a 7870 XT for minimal performance loss.

 

[Bmor89]

Thanks for the responses. I should mention I'm not totally set on any particular GPU. The reason I included the Gigabyte 7950 was because it included game coupons for Crysis 3 and Far Cry 3 over at NCIX.

Is there much advantage to the 7950 over the 7870 XT? I've heard maybe overclocking performance is superior on the 7950. And I would imagine having that extra gig of VRAM wouldn't hurt for the future. I kind of figured in a couple years, if I needed to upgrade, I'd just get an additional 7950 in Crossfire and hope that would suffice for a while longer.

Any other opinions would be appreciated!

 

[camohanna]

Thanks for the responses. I should mention I'm not totally set on any particular GPU. The reason I included the Gigabyte 7950 was because it included game coupons for Crysis 3 and Far Cry 3 over at NCIX.

Is there much advantage to the 7950 over the 7870 XT? I've heard maybe overclocking performance is superior on the 7950. And I would imagine having that extra gig of VRAM wouldn't hurt for the future. I kind of figured in a couple years, if I needed to upgrade, I'd just get an additional 7950 in Crossfire and hope that would suffice for a while longer.

Any other opinions would be appreciated!

The XT is basically a stripped down 7950. Some dub it the 7930. Remember that single gpu setups are always preferable unless you have 2x 7970's etc.

 

[Bmor89]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.99 @ Canada Computers)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($23.50 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($104.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($359.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case ($88.16 @ NCIX)
Case Fan: Cooler Master Megaflow 110.0 CFM 200mm Fan ($11.50 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($139.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $1193.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-17 09:51 EST-0500)

Here's another option I've come up with. Great deal with the XFX 7970 and the power supply at NCIX.

How much of a performance increase do you all think I'd experience between this option and the previous builds mentioned here?