Hello,
I'm currently looking to build a new pc, and will place my order in late April/early May. I built my first pc about 5 years ago and now I'm looking to upgrade this one and build my 2nd. I have a budget of $2500 Canadian, including taxes and shipping. I am upgrading my PC because it can't play any of the more recent games (like Arkham Asylum, for a reference point.) So, primarily it will be a gaming rig, but I would also like to be able to capture video as well. Finally, I plan on trying to overclock the CPU - I've never done that before, but I've got the budget and I think it's a relatively straight forward exercise.
The parts I have already:
Monitor - Sharp Aquos LC-32d56U
SATA 1TB Hard drive
DVD RW+ Lightscribe drive
PCI NIC card. (Maybe upgrade to PCI-e?)
Here's my rough budget:
Chip & Cooling:$500
Mobo:$400
Video Card:$500
Ram:$400
PSU:$400
Tower:$200
Extra:$100
I chose this budget just by averaging out the numbers. It might be better if I sink a bit more money into the video card.
Here's the build I'm considering:
CPU: Intel i7-3770k [
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item...] $330
I've chosen the i7-3770k over the i5-3570k because I'm looking for my build to last for 5 years, so I don't mind spending a little extra now, under the assumption that future games will be taking advantage of the extra resources.
MOBO: Asus Sabertooth Z77 [
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item...] $245
It's got great reviews and I like the dust shield.
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 32GB (4 x 8GB) [
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item...] $300
I don't really know what makes one stick of ram better than a different one. So these were the least expensive 32GB set running @ 1866. I've read that the Sabretooth Z77 only reads RAM @ 1600 native and needs some tooling with to run @ 1866. I figure 32GB will be sufficient for at least 5 years.
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB [
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item...] $480
I think it will be easier to handle heat and space by going for one big card rather than 2 smaller cards to SLI or crossfire. Also, this way I have the option to buy a second card to SLI down the line (as the SabertoothZ77 has both SLI and Crossfire capabilities.)
CPU Cooling: Corsair Hydro H100 [
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item...] $130 (Total for cooling + CPu: $460)
I looked at air cooling, but the best ones blocked the ram slots. So liquid cooling looks like the best idea - but I've never done a liquid cooling system before, so this is my weakest area.
I chose the H100 over the H100i [
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item...] because I've read there's more problems with the H100i, and I'm looking for the easiest possible cooling solution.
PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 1200W [
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item...] $295
It's got good reviews, and it's got lots of power. According to various tests at this site [
http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/] I'm recommended about 735 W. I don't know how much of a power buffer I need for everything to run, so I figure this will hold for a 5 year period.
Tower: ThermalTake Overseer RX1 Full Tower [
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item...] $130
I chose a full tower over a mid tower because I want to make sure there's a lot of air flow and room for everything. Also, this one has minimal lights (I'd prefer no lights at all.)
Total: $1910
Assuming %30 for taxes and shipping: $2483
So this would come in well under budget and I think would satisfy all my gaming needs for the next 5 years.
I plan on ordering this in early May and will put it together over a week. I'm assuming the prime95 stress test that I've read about refers to the GIMPS program - and so I'll use that for testing.
My questions are as follows:
1) Is this an efficient way to spend my money? Am I wasting too much money in one area and not another?
2) Am I missing any important pieces? Especially with this being my first water cooled build. Do I need any accessories? Should I buy a screw set or something?
3) Will this build last 5 years? Are the pieces I chose reliable? Especially cooling?
Thanks so much for reading and I apologize in advance if the links don't show up.