Asking for a second opinion

[electricidad]

Greetings, my name is Rocky, I'm an electrician who travels all over the east coast remodeling 4-5 star hotels, I like to have fun when I'm off work. The system I have my eyes on is a custom-built PC from a manufacturer that sells only online, I won't type names because I don't want this thread to be deleted. I have limited options. Also, at most I can put $1500 out.

Current build plans:

CPU: i5-3570 is my only option or bump up to an i7-3770. I don't overclock because I don't know how to.

GPU: ATI's 7950 or Nvidia's 660. I understand that ATI is a slimmer buy.
I like Nvidia. I read that ATI(AMD) cards have a micro-stutter issue and I have a sharp eye for that. But if I can get more performance for less of a price, then I shrug at this thought.

Case: NZXT Source 210 Gaming Case Blue

PSU: 850 Watt - XFX Core Edition PRO

HDD: 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s

RAM: 8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - G.Skill Ripjaws X

MOBO: Gigabyte GA-Z77-HD3 -- 4x USB 3.0

If someone could tell me what comes to mind, I'd appreciate everyone's help.

 

[tiny voices]

Get a PSU from Antec, XFX, Corsair, Seasonic.

Get normal speed RAM (1600mhz)

Get an SSD for the OS. (120gb)

 

[burritobob]

Also AMD cards A. only had micro stuttering when in CrossfireX and B. That was gotten rid of in the new drivers.

Overkill PSU unless you plan on getting another 2 besides your normal one, you can easily downgrade to save a couple dollars. Also stay away from AZZA go with corsiar or Antec for your PSU.

You don't have a motherboard present if you would like to give a little information abut that.

Your ram speed may not be supported by X or Y mobo and it being that fast voids the intel warranty. Downgrade to 1600mhz

Add an SSD that will boost performance to the next level.

Also knowing what case you plan on using helps.

 

[electricidad]

Get a PSU from Antec, XFX, Corsair, Seasonic.

Get normal speed RAM (1600mhz)

Get an SSD for the OS. (120gb)

I don't mean to be annoying, but I like to learn and not everyone thinks alike.

Why normal speed RAM?

There is an SSD I just didn't mention it.

 

[electricidad]

Updated

 

[4745454b]

Wouldn't you rather have a laptop to take on the road with you?

Normal speed ram because the faster stuff is used when OCing which you said you wouldn't do. So why spend the extra money? At stock it will run at 1333 or 1600 anyways so just buy that ram. PSU is WAY overkill for a GTX660/670. You could run two GTX680s on that. Drop down to a good 500W or so.

 

[electricidad]

Wouldn't you rather have a laptop to take on the road with you?

Normal speed ram because the faster stuff is used when OCing which you said you wouldn't do. So why spend the extra money? At stock it will run at 1333 or 1600 anyways so just buy that ram. PSU is WAY overkill for a GTX660/670. You could run two GTX680s on that. Drop down to a good 500W or so.

We usually stay in one place for a few months.

Ah okay thank you for explaining, but I would rather keep the PSU just incase I plan to add another card, or if I want to upgrade to a more powerful card that needs more, essentially.

 

[4745454b]

Even if you added another card you still wouldn't max out the 850W PSU. Most people that run dual GPUs use a 750. You would need to be using the big dual GPU cards in SLI to need 850W.

Its mostly a money thing. Buying a lower wattage PSU will normally save you money unless the bigger one is on sale. There is also the matter of efficiency as well. If you are just surfing the net or watching a movie your system will be in a reduced power state. You might not even use 250W. In that case your PSU will be using only 25% of its ability, and its efficiency will be worse then if you had bought a 500W. (which would be at 50%.) Up to you, thought I'd point out the things I saw.