Suggestions/Improvements to Gaming Build

[Iosef Minkov]

So this is basically what I have in mind, prices are in New Zealand dollars (1NZD = 0.81USD) and no I can't get them cheaper in this country Cpu and Motherboard come as a bundle:

CPU and Motherboard: All come with i5-4670 and a choice of either: Asus Sabertooth Z87 ($749), GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD3H ($629) or Asus Z87-C ($539)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i ($180)

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) ($109)

Storage: Eh... Seagate Barracuda 2TB hardrive with Samsung pro 120gb SSD...($280)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Vapor-X Video Card ($499) OR Sapphire HD 7970 3gb Vapor-X ($669.00)

Case: NZXT Phantom 410 ($199)

Power Supply: Not sure... need suggestions...

What do you think?? I want to overclock the cpu if it helps with frame rates in games at all, I kinda want a watercooler cause they look cooler (pun?) and also leave more room in the case but maybe too expensive for my needs?
Nvidia cards are extra expensive in New Zealand for some reason... something like $860 for a GTX 670 so I don't know if they are a good idea but any improvements or suggestions I'd be extremely happy to have cause I don't want to spend this kind of money and have it go to waste!
Rather not spend any more than $2000 NZD or around $1600 USD

 

[Iosef Minkov]

Actually... instead of that extremely expensive cooler... may go with a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler at $60... unless suggested otherwise?

 

[X79]

Firstly... Holy shit those prices!

Second...


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.00 @ PC Force)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($209.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($329.00 @ PC Force)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($110.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($95.00 @ PC Force)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($562.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Case: Antec Eleven Hundred ATX Full Tower Case ($186.30 @ Aquila Technology)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($159.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($40.00 @ PC Force)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($139.00 @ PC Force)
Total: $2158.30
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-10 05:40 NZST+1200)

In NZ $.

That'll be pretty beastly. Has one of the absolute top tier AMD GPUs. You'll get a handful of games with it too.


Here's another with a more modest case, that won't put you past 2k as much:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.00 @ PC Force)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($209.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($329.00 @ PC Force)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($110.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($95.00 @ PC Force)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($562.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case ($103.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($159.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($40.00 @ PC Force)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($139.00 @ PC Force)
Total: $2075.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-10 05:43 NZST+1200)


And finally here's the last one, which sports an SSD drive. The CPU (and therefor also the motherboard)

had to suffer and be put to 3rd generation stuff, instead of the newly released 4th gen stuff.

But it's still really good and if anything, quite a bit cheaper as well as more tried and tested:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($309.00 @ PC Force)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($209.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($159.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($110.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($148.34 @ PB Technologies)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($95.00 @ PC Force)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($562.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case ($103.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($159.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($40.00 @ PC Force)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($139.00 @ PC Force)
Total: $2033.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-10 05:46 NZST+1200)

 

[X79]

As you correctly say, if you drop that cooler, you can get a better case:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($309.00 @ PC Force)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($56.35 @ PB Technologies)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($159.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($110.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($148.34 @ PB Technologies)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($95.00 @ PC Force)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($562.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Case: NZXT Phantom (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($230.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($159.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($40.00 @ PC Force)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($139.00 @ PC Force)
Total: $2007.69
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-10 05:51 NZST+1200)


Sexy as hell that case. Goes in black too if you want that instead.

The deal with a great case is upgradeability, room and more future-resistant.

You won't be able to OC the CPU as much though I think, but still a good bit.

A good case helps with OC'ing too.