Thoughts on my build, what I may still need and recommended changes.

[Kietz]

As the title says.
I am not very tech savvy at all and this is my first attempt at a pc build. The parts I have chosen were based purely on searches I have done myself online and I am not entirely confident in the build.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146074 - case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130769 - gpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293 - motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231488 - ram (comes free with the motherboard)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504 - cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236070 - hdd
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271007 - sound card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010 - psu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247 - drive

The build, after tax, is going to come out around $1500. Don't really want to go above $1600 for the build. Already have the operating system, monitor, mouse and keyboard. So those aren't any issue.
So, please, suggestions are very much welcome. Any changes in the build, especially if they can bring the cost down a bit, are welcome.

 

[bodeen2012]

i added another 8 gb ram so you will have 16 gb of ram for the price of 8 . i also added a ssd and removed the sound card. because the motherboard has onboard sound .

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/La6b
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/La6b/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/La6b/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ 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 ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.49 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($115.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($392.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (White/Red) ATX Full Tower Case ($131.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1246.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-21 02:37 EDT-0400)

 

[Kietz]

i added another 8 gb ram so you will have 16 gb of ram for the price of 8 . i also added a ssd and removed the sound card. because the motherboard has onboard sound .

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/La6b
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/La6b/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/La6b/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ 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 ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.49 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($115.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($392.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (White/Red) ATX Full Tower Case ($131.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1246.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-21 02:37 EDT-0400)

The ram on offer with the motherboard sold out, so they switched to this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233366
Seems to be more or less the same, though, like I said, I am not all that tech savvy, so there could be a difference between the two.
But yeah, learned that it is smart to go with two sticks because they just perform better when paired.
I do need the 750 watt though, being that I plan on throwing in a second card sometime down the road and figure that I should just go for the higher wattage psu now.
Sames goes with the disc drive. I don't own a blu-ray player, so I wanted something that would allow for that.
Not that I don't appreciate you trying to bring the price of the rig down a bit.
As for the sound card, I need something that supports 7.1 surround, being that I have a set of earphones that I plan on using with the pc. If you have any recommendations as far as that goes, I am happy to hear them.

 

[bodeen2012]

the board i recommended has hd 7.1 channel surround sound built in

 

[Kietz]

the board i recommended has hd 7.1 channel surround sound built in

Seems so.
Very good. Brings down the price a bit, which is certainly not something I am going to complain about.

 

[Superbucsfan]

+1 to Bodeen's build for you. Go with that, possibly a better PSU if you want since there is room in your budget (I'm looking to get a Gold Plus for my build just to keep the power consumption down overall) and you should be set.

Goodluck!

 

[bodeen2012]

Sames goes with the disc drive. I don't own a blu-ray player, so I wanted something that would allow for that.

the only problem with the bluray drives are you have to get software to play movies with them . and they still give you problems playing movies . when i built my htpc i bought a bluray drive not knowing you needed extra software to run movies . so i returned it after finding out the software is $100 or more and went out and bought a bluray player for my tv for 59.99, and ended up saving money in the long run . I know some of the drives come with software u just have to research it .

 

[Kietz]

Sames goes with the disc drive. I don't own a blu-ray player, so I wanted something that would allow for that.

the only problem with the bluray drives are you have to get software to play movies with them . and they still give you problems playing movies . when i built my htpc i bought a bluray drive not knowing you needed extra software to run movies . so i returned it after finding out the software is $100 or more and went out and bought a bluray player for my tv for 59.99, and ended up saving money in the long run . I know some of the drives come with software u just have to research it .

Ah. All right then.
Thanks for the tip. Will just go for the cheaper drive then.