First gaming build, need opinions

[ianfilo]

hey guys, so I decided to build my own gaming pc instead of buying a pre built one. I don't know much about computers or any of the hardware but I've been doing a bit of research on it. I need opinions on what I've got so far, please let me know if i should change anything. I plan on playing WOW, Diablo 3 mainly MMORPG's and maybe a few FPS, my budget is around $1200 I can go a little higher. I also want the option to overclock if I decide to later on.

my build so far:
CPU: i5 3570k = $234
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=8967

Motherboard: asus p8z77-V pro = $209
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=8981

VGA: radeon 7870 sapphire oc = $220
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=8937

Memory: 8gb 2133 corsair vengeance = $82
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=10146

HHD: 2tb seagate SATA 3 = $91
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=8876

Case: cooler master storm enforcer = $86
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=8876

PSU: coolermaster 750w = $101
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=4985

Optical drive: Samsung DVD writer = $19
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=5580

Wifi adapter: PCI-E TP-link WDN 4800 = $47
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=8817

Case fan: thermaltake thunderblade 120mm = $13
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=7164

CPU cooler: thermaltake frio cooler fan = $75
(i was going for hyper evo 212 but not in stock)
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=7663

HDMI cable: 5m = $9

Assembly by MSY = $70

Total = $1257

I would like a rough estimate of the cost, then ill go look at computer shops to get a qoute.
Please let me know what you think, thanks!

 

[Nikolay Savov]

You build looks fine to me and that`s why Few tips if I may !

- you have Dual Memory Channel - use it and you have 10-20 % better memory performance - you can add 2x 4GB RAM or 2x 8GB RAM
- you plan to play "mainly MMORPG's" :
- for my experience playing MMORPG's main bottleneck is HDD performance !
- if you wish to have fast game load and fast loading times consider investing in SSD disk - even cheapest SSD will outperform 10x standard HDD !
- an SSD disk for OS will also improve a lot you game performance
- if you can afford it - add 1x 128 GB SSD for OS and second 1 x 128GB or 256GB SSD for GAMES install storage
- if you can`t afford it - add 1x 128 GB SSD for OS and for few MMORPG
For example :
I`v played Lineage II for the last 5-6 years over the standard PC config.
Game load takes for 1-2 min. and the level load about 40 - 60 sec. in the game if you get killed you town spown takes about 30-40 sec.
How that`s timing with my current system - 128Gb SSD cheap one TRANSCEND
Game load takes less than 30 sec. and the level load less than 10 sec. in the game if you get killed you town spown takes about 2-3 sec.
You can search the net for SSD advantage it`s real and particularly for MMORPG.

 

[dkjravn]

If the 7870 tahiti le is available to you I absolutely recommend it. There are three good versions that are widely available that I can easily recomment. The Sapphire 7870 XT tahiti le, the Powercolor 7870 ghz tahiti le and the powercolor 7870 Myst edition tahiti le. After the rebate, my 7870 ghz tahiti le only cost me 209. My rebate arrived about a month and a half after I got the card. Plus it came with bioshock infinite and tomb raider.

Here is the link to the one I bought, and I love it
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131487

This is a link for the MYST on newegg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131484&Tpk=tahiti%20le&IsVirtualParent=1

Here is the sapphire
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202024

I would also recommend not overclocking your cpu until you really need it. So many games are getting more gpu dependent and the 3570k is already pretty darn beefy when it comes to gaming. Of course it is also a great over clocking cpu but You could save a bit of cash by just leaving the cooler stock until you can prove to yourself that the cpu has become your performance bottleneck. By then you will find lots new coolers and the ones that are already a good deal now, like the hyper 212 evo, will have come down in price or been replaced by something even better. Or maybe you will have decided to watercool at that point. At any rate, I think you have a good looking build all together. But definitely consider those gpus I listed up there. They are awesome. Just google some reviews and you wil be amazed. Here is one review. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/tahiti-le-7870-7930-benchmark,3401.html

Oh, the powercolor ghz tahiti card is also super super quiet. The MYST Edition has a bit of a reputation of being medium loud, but the GHZ one, which is revision V2E, is quieter. I have also heard that the Sapphire XT is quiter that the MYST.

 

[dkjravn]

Oh! Don't pay for assembly. It is seriously easy to do it yourself. Everything only plugs into where it belongs and it will only take you an hour and a half or so for your first build. Right now, if I had all the items on your list. I think I could put it all together in about 15 minutes if I took it easy. That is of course after unpacking everything. Maybe add a couple of minutes if you are sticking on that CPU heatsink. The stock one is super easy to put on. I would also suggest, unless you are totally set, consider all the features of the motherboard you chose and make sure you need it all or plan on using it later. It is easy to get tempted by motherboards marketed towards gamers but you can find some great motherboards for less than 200 bucks that still have more than enough features for almost all gamers. Dual channel pci-e 3.0, plenty of fan headers, usb 3.0, sata 3, so on and so forth. And don't forget that pci expansion cards are relatively cheap to buy if a new technology comes along later and you want to add it to your motherboard. I am thinking, for example, if a 150 motherboard has everything you want except for, I don't know, like a thunderbolt connection, you can buy an add-on/expansion card instead of locking yourself into the motherboards that have it built in. Often this can keep you out of a much more expensive price range. Any way, hope this helps.

 

[dkjravn]

Oh yeah, one more thing, getting 2133 memory does not have a great deal of benefit over 1800 or even 1600. Certainly you can benchmark them and see a difference but you will be hard pressed to ever see a difference in a game. Save some cash and buy 1600 memory and overclock it down the road if you can prove that it is your bottleneck. Chances are you will never need to overclock and you will be able to put the money towards an ssd or a good mouse or speakers or something.

 

[ianfilo]

You build looks fine to me and that`s why Few tips if I may !

- you have Dual Memory Channel - use it and you have 10-20 % better memory performance - you can add 2x 4GB RAM or 2x 8GB RAM
- you plan to play "mainly MMORPG's" :
- for my experience playing MMORPG's main bottleneck is HDD performance !
- if you wish to have fast game load and fast loading times consider investing in SSD disk - even cheapest SSD will outperform 10x standard HDD !
- an SSD disk for OS will also improve a lot you game performance
- if you can afford it - add 1x 128 GB SSD for OS and second 1 x 128GB or 256GB SSD for GAMES install storage
- if you can`t afford it - add 1x 128 GB SSD for OS and for few MMORPG
For example :
I`v played Lineage II for the last 5-6 years over the standard PC config.
Game load takes for 1-2 min. and the level load about 40 - 60 sec. in the game if you get killed you town spown takes about 30-40 sec.
How that`s timing with my current system - 128Gb SSD cheap one TRANSCEND
Game load takes less than 30 sec. and the level load less than 10 sec. in the game if you get killed you town spown takes about 2-3 sec.
You can search the net for SSD advantage it`s real and particularly for MMORPG.

i will definately include a ssd with my build, now you pointed out the big difference. thanks

 

[ianfilo]

Oh! Don't pay for assembly. It is seriously easy to do it yourself. Everything only plugs into where it belongs and it will only take you an hour and a half or so for your first build. Right now, if I had all the items on your list. I think I could put it all together in about 15 minutes if I took it easy. That is of course after unpacking everything. Maybe add a couple of minutes if you are sticking on that CPU heatsink. The stock one is super easy to put on. I would also suggest, unless you are totally set, consider all the features of the motherboard you chose and make sure you need it all or plan on using it later. It is easy to get tempted by motherboards marketed towards gamers but you can find some great motherboards for less than 200 bucks that still have more than enough features for almost all gamers. Dual channel pci-e 3.0, plenty of fan headers, usb 3.0, sata 3, so on and so forth. And don't forget that pci expansion cards are relatively cheap to buy if a new technology comes along later and you want to add it to your motherboard. I am thinking, for example, if a 150 motherboard has everything you want except for, I don't know, like a thunderbolt connection, you can buy an add-on/expansion card instead of locking yourself into the motherboards that have it built in. Often this can keep you out of a much more expensive price range. Any way, hope this helps.

yea i thought that motherboard was unneccesary, i been looking at other treads ASRock Extreme4 gets suggested alot. do you have a particular mobo that you would recommend? and ill be on the look out for those GPU, thanks alot

 

[dkjravn]

Well, before we hunt down a specific board we need to know what features you must have and what features you just want. Hopefully we can find something that has everything you need and want without going overboard.