Building a Gaming Computer - $1500 budget

[DrZudsi]

Purchase Date: Up until May. I plan to build it in may because my birthday is in May and that way I can get a monitor and keyboard for my birthday.

Budget: $1500 total - I would prefer to keep it as low as possible, though.

Usage: Gaming - as mentioned in the title, movies, internet surfing.

Buying Monitor?: Yes

Overclocking: No

Resolution: 1080p

Parts: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/Lnvh

Comments:

I'm sure someone is going to mention how I don't need as much wattage as I am getting. So why am I getting as much as I am? Simply because I assume I will be upgrading in the future and I don't want to have to worry about buying a new PSU. I'm sure I'll need one eventually, but I don't think it will be for a while.

Need some more advice on a Video Card... The two guys below seem to be divided on what one I should get...

Also, if anyone knows of any good tutorials for building a computer please link me! I haven't built a computer before so having a reference would be helpful.

 

[Greatatlantic]

I like this guy's advice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh455l3348s .

He's building a very budget oriented PC, but the basic advice and use of video is great.

A quick scan of your build does reveal some pricing inefficiencies.

The 3570K is designed for overclocking. If you have no interest in doing so, consider dropping down to the almost as good 3350P. If you do want to overclock, or at least want to keep the possibility open, then 3570K is great. However, you will need to purchase in aftermarket cooler.

Your motherboard is designed for SLI or Crossfire configurations. I wouldn't bother pursuing either, they tend to be the last resort of enthusiasts who absolutely have to have more performance. I can recommend the MSI Z77A G43 from personally owning it. It also makes overclocking a CPU much easier, and will save you some money from your current selection.

I also suspect you can find the Seagate barracuda 2 terrabyte HD for <$20 more. That would be a good upgrade.

I'd advise you to use the article posted today or yesterday on the "best GPU for the money." http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html .

The GTX 660 does not appear to be a good card for the money. Keep in my the Video RAM is like oxygen for a fire. You need it, but adding more oxygen to a fire that is already burning at maximum will do absolutely nothing to help it burn. Flaming metaphors aside, total VRAM is NOT a good indicator of actual performance. It is a bit of a dirty marketing trick both AMD and nVida pull to get people to buy their cards based off the available numbers, when in reality listed numbers on a video card correlate poorly with actual performance.

Consider the Radeon HD 7850 instead.

 

[realchaos]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Memory Express)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($109.99 @ Expansys US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($456.39 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($62.50 @ DirectCanada)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($49.49 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($80.99 @ Expansys US)
Monitor: Asus VE247H 23.6" Monitor ($149.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $1293.32
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-22 01:52 EDT-0400)

H77 motherboard since you're not overclocking
The Samsung 840 pro is a good SSD, but the OCZ Vertex 4 is also a good SSD. They are both top quality but the OCZ is cheaper, so I put that in instead.
1tb should be enough for a changing pc.
7970 ghz edition is one of the best single gpu out there.
XFX 550w psu is a good quality psu, but it's not modular. You can switch it out for a modular one.
Basic bluray reader
Basic OS
1080p 23.6" monitor with built in speakers and LED backlighting.
I left case open for your preferences.

 

[DrZudsi]

I like this guy's advice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh455l3348s .

He's building a very budget oriented PC, but the basic advice and use of video is great.

A quick scan of your build does reveal some pricing inefficiencies.

The 3570K is designed for overclocking. If you have no interest in doing so, consider dropping down to the almost as good 3350P. If you do want to overclock, or at least want to keep the possibility open, then 3570K is great. However, you will need to purchase in aftermarket cooler.

Your motherboard is designed for SLI or Crossfire configurations. I wouldn't bother pursuing either, they tend to be the last resort of enthusiasts who absolutely have to have more performance. I can recommend the MSI Z77A G43 from personally owning it. It also makes overclocking a CPU much easier, and will save you some money from your current selection.

I also suspect you can find the Seagate barracuda 2 terrabyte HD for <$20 more. That would be a good upgrade.

I'd advise you to use the article posted today or yesterday on the "best GPU for the money." http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html .

The GTX 660 does not appear to be a good card for the money. Keep in my the Video RAM is like oxygen for a fire. You need it, but adding more oxygen to a fire that is already burning at maximum will do absolutely nothing to help it burn. Flaming metaphors aside, total VRAM is NOT a good indicator of actual performance. It is a bit of a dirty marketing trick both AMD and nVida pull to get people to buy their cards based off the available numbers, when in reality listed numbers on a video card correlate poorly with actual performance.

Consider the Radeon HD 7850 instead.

I'm not getting the 3570k, I'm getting the 3570. Similar I assume but slightly different. I know it isn't built for Overclocking.

I may grab that MSI MOBO depending on how much cheaper it is.

I already did know that I don't need more than 1GB VRAM for a Video Card but there was no 1GB cards for the 660 so I just went with the 2GB. Also, any opinions on the 650 Ti? Or should I just go with an AMD Radeon?

I'll look some more into video cards.

 

[DrZudsi]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Memory Express)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($109.99 @ Expansys US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($456.39 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($62.50 @ DirectCanada)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($49.49 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($80.99 @ Expansys US)
Monitor: Asus VE247H 23.6" Monitor ($149.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $1293.32
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-22 01:52 EDT-0400)

H77 motherboard since you're not overclocking
The Samsung 840 pro is a good SSD, but the OCZ Vertex 4 is also a good SSD. They are both top quality but the OCZ is cheaper, so I put that in instead.
1tb should be enough for a changing pc.
7970 ghz edition is one of the best single gpu out there.
XFX 550w psu is a good quality psu, but it's not modular. You can switch it out for a modular one.
Basic bluray reader
Basic OS
1080p 23.6" monitor with built in speakers and LED backlighting.
I left case open for your preferences.

Everything looks good except for the Graphics Card... Why did you pick such a powerful one? I mean, it just seems like overkill I think I'll go with something a bit cheaper.

 

[realchaos]

If you don't think you'll need such a powerful one, go ahead with a 7950.
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-1003522l
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-fx795atdfc
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr795wf33gd
These are nice 7950 options.

 

[DrZudsi]

If you don't think you'll need such a powerful one, go ahead with a 7950.
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-1003522l
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-fx795atdfc
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr795wf33gd
These are nice 7950 options.

Those are still very expensive. I don't think I need one THAT high end. Why are you so persistent on such good graphics cards?

 

[realchaos]

Because you are building a GAMING computer and you don't list the games you play. In gaming rigs, the gpu is supposed to be the most expensive part in the build as games are more gpu heavy rather than processor heavy. Yes, the processor does effect gaming but the gpu affects gaming a lot more.
Just list the games you play currently and the games you would like to play/interested in.

 

[DrZudsi]

Because you are building a GAMING computer and you don't list the games you play. In gaming rigs, the gpu is supposed to be the most expensive part in the build as games are more gpu heavy rather than processor heavy. Yes, the processor does effect gaming but the gpu affects gaming a lot more.
Just list the games you play currently and the games you would like to play/interested in.

Bit of Minecraft
Terraria (Don't think you need anything special for this)
Garry's Mod
Legend of Grimrock

And I also record all of these games as well. I know they aren't all very graphics intense games, but they are the ones I play most frequently. I think I will be playing some more graphics intense games later, but I'm not sure which ones.