Is this a decent gaming build?

February 22, 2013 6:48:20 AM

First let me start by saying I don't want to purchase online so im going through tiger direct. I understand I may pay a little more but I don't have credit card so its just easier for me to go store and buy it with cash. I want to play guild wars 2, starcraft 2, maybe diablo 3, swtor, WOW, and maybe some first person shooters. My monitor is old and only 1400x900 and can't afford to upgrade anytime soon. Going to use my old dvd burner and I will hook up a plasma hdtv to watch movies or tv through hdmi.

This is the build i'm looking at and want to know if it works for what I want. I've peppered some questions through out and included tiger direct pricing.

Power supply(69.99): Corsair CX500 V2 CX--is this 500w power supply enough?

Case(59.99): Cooler Master HAF 912--Do I need more than the 2 stock fans for this current build as is?

Mother Board(149.99): GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H Intel 7 Series Motherboard-- is this mother board a decent one for future proofing a little if I want upgrade the cpu and ram down the line?

CPU(119.99): Intel BX80637I33220 Core i3-3220--Probably won't overclock so is stock fan good enough?

GPU(159.99): AMD Radeon Double D HD 7770 Video Card--is this good or is there an alternative priced around the same?

RAM(31.99): Kingston HyperX Blu HS Desktop Memory Kit - 4GB PC3-12800(2gbx2)

Harddrive(59.99): WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB sata III

Also buying Window 7 64-bit home premium OEM.

Total price with tax after exhaustive search on Tiger-Direct on what is available locally with tax is $816.68

I want to know if this build will do I want to do and isn't totally overpriced for the components im buying. I understand I may pay more for buying in store, just want to make sure this build is good for what I want with a little future proofing with the motherboard. Basicly want to able to upgrade a graphics card, cpu and memory as time goes on. Thanks for any input. I'm building my first cpu in like 10 years so any help would be awesome.

Thanks a bunch guys.

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Reply to patriot8813

smorizio

February 22, 2013 7:09:51 AM

the stock fan is fine for now..it may not under heavy gaming keep the cpu as cold as a evo 212. if your not going to sli your rig you can look into the msi micro atx mb or the asrock mb. use the saving to buy one 8g dimm.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
with games the ram and gpu going to be the hardest hit the more ram the rig has now the better it going to run. you wont need any more then 8g unless you get into photo shopping. if you have a local micro center near you they have combo deals on mb and i5. also if your going with a higher end gpu then pick up a 650w ps now so you dont toss the old one out.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

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Reply to smorizio

Someone Somewhere

February 22, 2013 7:12:05 AM

PSU: fine. 500W with a 3220 will run even a 7870 well.
Case: fine
Mobo: WAY overkill - I would be expecting a ~$60-70 H77/B75 board. You can't OC an i3 anyway, and you can get those with 4 RAM slots easily. You probably won't SLI/CF either - a better GPU now is worth (slightly) fewer upgrade options later. Newer GPUs will be more power efficient too.
CPU: Good choice, no need for an aftermarket cooler.
GPU: I'd probably wouldn't go for a XFX - Sapphire, ASUS, MSI, and Gigabyte have better reputations. See if you can get a 7850, they are much faster.
RAM: Kingston is 1.65V and so voids your warranty (get 1.5V), plus I'd recommend 8GB (i n 2x4GB sticks so you can use double channel support). PC3-12800 CL9 (AKA CAS9) is a good idea. $32 is a bit steep also.
HDD: fine

There is little point in future proofing the motherboard, as Haswell comes out in a few months on a different socket.

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Reply to Someone Somewhere

patriot8813

February 22, 2013 7:39:52 AM

Someone Somewhere said:

PSU: fine. 500W with a 3220 will run even a 7870 well.
Case: fine
Mobo: WAY overkill - I would be expecting a ~$60-70 H77/B75 board. You can't OC an i3 anyway, and you can get those with 4 RAM slots easily. You probably won't SLI/CF either - a better GPU now is worth (slightly) fewer upgrade options later. Newer GPUs will be more power efficient too.
CPU: Good choice, no need for an aftermarket cooler.
GPU: I'd probably wouldn't go for a XFX - Sapphire, ASUS, MSI, and Gigabyte have better reputations. See if you can get a 7850, they are much faster.
RAM: Kingston is 1.65V and so voids your warranty (get 1.5V), plus I'd recommend 8GB (i n 2x4GB sticks so you can use double channel support). PC3-12800 CL9 (AKA CAS9) is a good idea. $32 is a bit steep also.
HDD: fine

There is little point in future proofing the motherboard, as Haswell comes out in a few months on a different socket.

Thanks for the reply, both of you. This one caught my eye a little more...

Regarding the motherboard, will this one do the trick: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

As I said i'm stuck with limited option as I have to go with whats available locally.

Thanks for the tip on the ram, that is good to know. I guess I'll go with 8gb since im saving like a 100 on the mother board.

Is the processor good or would i better off pay the extra for an I-5? Got the the money to spend after saving on mother board..lol

Thanks for the tip on xfx, it was the only available brand where im at right now and no 7850 except an xfx. Is there a comparable nvidia that I could possibly get?

And do you or anyone else know of a cheap sound card that has an optical out that will sound ok. i wanna hook up the pc to my surround sound receiver with it.