Opinions on my new build purchase.

[MegaTitaniumMan]

So after a few disasters with pre-built store brand PC's I got a fantastic deal off ebay for this brand new home built system. I priced it out with the best prices I can get in Canada and it would have cost me over twelve hundred bucks on my own, but I paid much less than that.
I have read a few reviews regarding the parts and some said my psu sometimes has problems and will be pushed to its max limit with the setup I have. The Mobo also has had a few complaints but it seems either you get a good one or a bad one. I still need a card reader, I will eventually add another 16GB RAM, 120 or 240GB SSD. I have a USB WiFi dongle I used for my old broken down laptop to connect to my wireless printer. Plus 1 TB USB Seagate storage as well. The only disappointing thing is my 50" plasma is only 768p.

I would really like an open discussion with thoughts and opinions on my new system, regarding what to replace and with what? And any other new parts you would personally install.
I will thank you in advance for taking the time to throw in your two cents.
BTW I am new to having a PC capable of playing the newer games but so far I like Assassins Creed Black Flag

So here is what I bought:
2 – Kingston KHX16C10B1R/8 Total (16GB Memory)
I7 3770 3.40 GHZ LGA 1155 Processor
ASROCK Z77 Extreme 3 Mainboard
Zotac Nvidia GTX650TI 2GB Video Card
2 - Seagate Barracuda 1TB Harddrives (2TB Total space)
LG Super Multi DVD Drive
Tagan Gamers 420W powersupply
Antec VSK-4000E Black Gamers Case
Large Quiet back case fan.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Model
ZT-61102-10M
GPU
GeForce GTX 650 Ti
Core Clock
941 MHz
Core Processors
768 Stream Processors
Memory Size
2GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
Memory Interface
128-bit
Memory Clock
5400 MHz
DVI
2
Dual-Link DVI Supported
Yes
HDMI
2
Max Resolution
2560 x 1600
Interface
PCI Express 3.0 (Compatible with 1.1)
Cooler Type
Fan (Dual Slot)
Recommended PSU Wattage
450-Watt
DirectX
Microsoft DirectX 11.1 API (feature level 11_0)
HDCP Ready
Yes
RAMDAC
400 MHz
Power Connector
PCIe 6-Pin
Extra Features
NVIDIA® Adaptive Vertical Sync
NVIDIA® Surround technology
NVIDIA® Unified Architecture
NVIDIA® PhysX®technology
NVIDIA® CUDA®technology
Blu-ray 3D ready
Package Contents
1 x ZOTAC GeForce®GTX 650 Ti Graphics Card
1 x DVI-to-VGA adapter
1 x Dual MOLEX-to-PCIe 6-pin power adapter
1 x User manual
1 x Driver Disk
Dimensions
4.37in x 6.03in - 111.15mm x 153.162mm
Weight
1.6600

This Computers Score:

Processor 7.7
Memory 7.7
Graphics 7.5
Gaming Graphics 7.5
Harddrive 5.9

 

[MegaTitaniumMan]

One thing I really want is a NZXT Phantom 410 Red Mid Tower GAMING CASE.
And I have Windows 7 installed. I want this as a Do-it-all PC.

 

[Vic 40]

Looks good to me.

If something should be changed other than the case would that imo be the gpu and psu,but if the gpu gives you out of games what you want or expect is there no need to upgrade that.

 

[MegaTitaniumMan]

Thanks for the reply Vic 40,
I was thinking of a 650w or 750W Bronze PSU, name brands are easily over a hundred bucks but from reading threads on Tom's it sounds like they're worth the extra cash.
I am not familiar with changing the gpu without changing out the whole video card so I will be reading up on that tonight. I wanted a 660ti but the 650ti is better than any of the other PC's I tried with 635's in them.
Like you pointed out I don't think I'll need to change it, until I have more games and experience. I'll prob have another monitor by then too.

 

[Vic 40]

With gpu do i mean the graphics card/video card,not just the pocessor on it.

With a system like that is a good 550watt psu good enough,like the xfx pro/core 550watt or the seasonic S12II 520watt,something like that,or you must want to go for sli/crossfire in the future.With this i mean even with a gtx 770 for instance.

 

[MegaTitaniumMan]

For a PSU I was looking at a SeaSonic SSR-650RM 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151118

Or A
CORSAIR CSM Series CS650M 650W ATX12V v2.4 and EPS 2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139060

And I like this card reader,
NZXT APERTURE M 5.25 Bay Multi-Media Mesh Style Card Reader w. Dual USB 3.0
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811992010

If I step up to a 750W and run two video cards, I like this, its only 15 bucks more than the SeaSonic.
CORSAIR CSM Series CS750M 750W ATX12V v2.4 and EPS 2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139061

I wont be able to afford the case I want after those two upgrades so i am thinking this case fan set and just transfer it all over to the case in a month or two.
Cougar Turbine CFT12SB4 120mm Case Fan x4,
120mm
1200 RPM 60.4 CFM
Hyper-spin
17.7 dBA
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835553009

I thought my Video Card would be good enough for now with my TV having Native resolution of 1366 x 768 all I am going to get is 720p anyway.
Plus its a two hundred dollar card here in Canada and its only a week old and the GeForce GTX 780 is eight hundred bucks. I wont be affording that any time soon!
I might be better off just getting a 2nd Nvidia GTX650TI 2GB Video Card, any one of those PSU can sli.
Though I haven't checked into what the benchmark would be?
I know the 650ti isnt great but I thought it would work ok for a while. So am I wrong in thinking this?
The gtx 770 is still five hundred bucks in my neck of the woods.

 

[Vic 40]

If this gpu gives you want you want out of games just keep it,About sli of this card,that won't happen,this card doesn't support sli.

If you want to upgrade the gpu could you also look at the gtx 760/r9 270X.The next would be a nice card imo,
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp42763kr
or cheaper,
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-112170120g
or the next,
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-ax78702gbd52dhv5eoc
a litlle older type but still a good choice.
Read some reviews for the differences in performance.

For something like a gtx 760/gtx 660/r9 270(X)/hd 7870 woukl a 650watt with four power connectors like you chose be enough,for heavier cards like the gtx 770/r9 280X and up would i go for the 750watt.

Any of the psu's you chose will do fine,they are good choices.For another 750watt could you look at the next,
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182264
just a little cheaper.

 

[MegaTitaniumMan]

Those video cards are a lot cheaper, Thanks Vic 40! I'll check the benchmarks later tonight.
For my PSU I got this one on sale with a mail in rebate that brought it down to less than 50 bucks but its not modular, its reliable though at least from the reviews I read. 620W so its 200W more than the cheap psu I have now.
Antec NeoECO C NeoECO 620C 620W ATX12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371031
It doesn't support sli so I'll have to go with the better video card. (I was sure I read somewhere that the 650ti could sli?)
When you said my system, as is, could get by with a 550W I thought this 620W should work well with only a better video card and RAM for my upgrades.
If I ever have to change the mobo I'll upgrade everything else at that time and put together a new build.

And I got the card reader I wanted too. I prob spent too much on the card reader but after reading posts of how other people had issues with their cheap CR frying other parts of their PC I didn't want to take the chance just to save 20 bucks.

Have you used a RAM Disk? I have 16GB and could use 8gb for a RD, or get 16 more GB to top it out at 32GB and use 24GB for RAM Disk then copy the "C" drive on to a DVD, then load it on to the RD to surf the net, play games, edit pics/video, without ever getting a virus. When the PC shuts down it wipes the RAM, as you know, so only what I choose gets saved to storage and nothing goes to hard drive. I have read a bit about that and it seems like a good way to go. Its also a lot quicker than even an SSD. That wont be happening for a few more months though, its not a priority.

Thanks for all your help with this. I have to wait until next month to get either a new case or the video card, moneys a little hard to come by these days so its one step at a time for now. So if one of those video cards you mentioned or a case I want goes on sale in the meantime thats what I'll be getting next.

Cheers,
Mega.

 

[Vic 40]

I haven't used ramdisc so can't comment on it.

A good power supply you chose,it should be good enough to power two r 9270X's or the 7870,but it doesn't have the power connectors for it and i'm not a fan of molex->pcie connectors.
With this psu would a crossfire of a r9 270 (without the x) be possible imo.Again read reviews for the performance difference.
A few examples,
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/club-3d-video-card-cgaxr927614 (probably the loudest.but also cheapest)
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-r9270gaming2g (a little slower,but you should be able to overclock it further)
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9270acdfc
With that cpu and motherboard should you be fine for quite a while and would upgrading not be necessary,it also supports sli and crossfire so no worries there too.

 

[MegaTitaniumMan]

That PSU was the best for the price, glad you agree its worth while. I have so much to learn about overclocking, its one of the things I have neglected to study-mostly because it can cause damage that costs money to repair/replace parts. With my income I can afford very little it seems so I need to study and review everything before I do it.

 

[CTurbo]

Sorry but I don't like this at all. Whoever built this doesn't know what they are doing.

They spent way too much on the cpu, and not near enough on the video card. 16GB of RAM is a waste. They paid extra for a motherboard that supports overclocking and SLI but bought a cpu that doesn't support overclocking and a video card that doesn't support SLI. Two 1TB hard drives cost way more than one 2TB hard drive. That psu is trash. There is so much wasted money here it's not even funny. Can you send it back? You could build a PC twice as good as this for half the money.

 

[CTurbo]

I don't know how much you paid for that but I'm assuming at was around $1000


PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/3qS89
Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/3qS89/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/3qS89/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($216.80 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: MSI B85M-E33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($68.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($369.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Antec GX700 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.98 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.79 @ DirectCanada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $996.32
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-13 03:39 EDT-0400)

 

[Vic 40]

Overclocking is all about small steps and checking for instability,if you get something instable you just turn down the settings a bit.You will get to that point before anything get's damaged,just look carefull.
To test a gpu could you use occt,furmark (although very hard,maybe to hard on the card) and benchmarks like the unigine haven benchmark or the unigine valley benchmark.

I just see the reaction of cturbo and i was assuming that you already have the system.I see him saying this,

You could build a PC twice as good as this for half the money.

but you haven't even told what the system costed.He assumes a lot too.And there is the "can you send it back" thingy also.

 

[CTurbo]

but you haven't even told what the system costed.He assumes a lot too.And there is the "can you send it back" thingy also.

Yep. So?

 

[MegaTitaniumMan]

Cturbo:
I priced out all the parts and it would cost $1224 in Canada to build this at the best prices I could find online. $1462. with taxes plus shipping.
I got it for less than $700, all in, delivered to my door. Thats why I bought it. (And No I cant send it back, I own it). For the price No One could find a better deal. I have been shopping for a decent PC on a shoe string budget since Nov of last year and bought and returned two prebuilt PC's that cost more than this with less inside.

So I bought this baby after reading up on reviews of each individual part. I know it needs a few upgrades and thats what this thread is all about.
I spent 160 bucks on a PSU, Card Reader and 4 Case Fans so far. Will get $25 back with mail in rebate.
I have to wait a month or two to buy a Video card and Vic 40 has been helping me a great deal with that as you can see (If you read the whole thread).
I thank you for pointing out what I could have bought but once the taxes and shipping are added it would be closer to two hundred more than the $996.32 price you quoted. I spent some time on PartPicker using their Build App with calculator in hand and I just cant afford to get what I want all at once.

The PSU I bought can't sli either but its a pretty good one for the price and a far sight better than the one my system came with; as you pointed out. And I am glad you did because it confirms what I read about it and also that I didn't waste my money. I can still power a good quality video card with the Antec NeoECO C NeoECO 620C 620W ATX12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1681...

If you agree Cturbo on a few of the video cards Vic 40 has listed which ones do you think will go best with my system? Are their any others at a better price that perform as well, or any at the same price that perform better?

All the storage is pretty useful as I am an amateur photographer and am getting into video editing. Plus I Airbrush and save thousands of reference photos.
I also plan to do a RAM disk in a few months and with the price of the Kingston HyperX Red 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Desktop Memory installed I am glad it has two already in it because at a hundred bucks a piece I wouldn't have bought them for myself.

I have Diablo 2 and the Starcraft expansion set plus a bunch of other junky games but will be getting Assassins Creed Black Flag after I get my rebate from the PSU. Titanfall looks like fun too but I want to try it before I buy it.

I should have posted up earlier what I do with my PC, sorry about that Vic 40 and Cturbo.
So yea thats about it for tonight, I'll keep checking into those vid cards you listed Vic 40 and do some more comparisons. Thanks again for your help.
Mega.

 

[Vic 40]

With another gpu is it also about what you want to spend and if crossfire/sli still has to be an option.With 620watts should this be possible with for instance a r9 270 or a gtx 660.The first is overall the better one in that case.

 

[MegaTitaniumMan]

The r9 270 would be $258.58 all in, but my PSU wont support sli so I have to get One good card and leave it at that, until I buy a 850W PSU thats modular and all the rest.
With 1366 x 768 on my 50" plasma TV I am going to be able to run at Max or Ultra with any online game with just one video card so I don't see the importance of running sli just yet. I am not Mining or anything so it seems like a bad spend of money right now. Am I wrong?

And while my i7-3770 cpu doesn't support overclocking its Fast and I have no plans to change it out. So really the only things to spend money on right now are the video card, a nice case and the other 16GB of RAM to run the RAM Disk. and believe me thats going to take me at least a year to pay for all that.

To get another CPU and PSU plus a couple high grade video cards plus a couple 4K TV's thats going to run me 20 grand. Unless I win the millions in the Lottery that wont be happening in my lifetime.

So I found this:
In a nutshell, the GeForce GTX 650 Ti is the best $100 - $150 solution, while the Radeon HD 7850 is the best $150-$200 option. Then the GeForce GTX 660 is the best $200 - $250 graphics card, making the GTX 660 Ti the best $250 - $300 option. From $300 - $400 we pick the Radeon HD 7950 Boost and when spending $400 or more the Radeon HD 7970 is our pick.
http://www.techspot.com/review/603-best-graphics-cards/page12.html

 

[MegaTitaniumMan]

It seems I can overclock up to 4.5
With turbo it goes up to 3.9 on its own anyway.
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1633705/overclock-intel-core-3770.html

 

[CTurbo]

Well you've got a really fast PC overall, just not for gaming. Luckily your tv is 720p. That techspot article is outdated and none of those cards are the best in their price range now.

 

[MegaTitaniumMan]

Yea its two years old. Glad you pointed that out.
I was looking at some stats on this Game Debate site and it said I can run Tomb raider 2014, Titanfall 2, and quite a few others I plugged in their "can it run it" program with the 650ti.
http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/index.php?gid=1864&gid2=1712&compare=radeon-r9-270-vs-geforce-gtx-650-ti-msi-tf-oc-boost-edition
I just got this PC last week and haven't played online yet so I cant say what its like even. I've owned less than a week actually. I really don't want to push it at all until I change out the PSU, what I read about it wasn't good. When I read your comments I laughed out loud, seriously...
Mega.

 

[CTurbo]

My comments? Sorry if I came off too harsh. Builds like that aggravate me because whoever put that together obviously didn't know what the **** they were doing lol. I'm glad you didn't way over pay for it. $700 isn't bad.

 

[MegaTitaniumMan]

No, I know that PSU is not something I would buy, I read your first comments like a rant, the thing with a rant is most people tell their true feelings without realizing until after. So what you did in actuality is show that you know what your talking about without sugarcoating the quality of the psu. Some people get bent out of shape when faced with cold hard facts or when spoken to bluntly-but this is the internet... faceless communication.
I admit years ago I would have gotten defensive but yours was not a troll comment. I didn't think so anyway.

Plus I didn't know that cpu cant overclock so I learned something. (The links to the poster that overclocked on YT have been removed so I don't know if they succeeded or not).

I actually got this pc off ebay from a guy that lives less than 100 Km away from me. I am surprised it didn't go for thousands. These days things sell on ebay for two and three times what they are worth.
Look up the GTX 770 2GB Video Card, its going for over 500 bucks on ebaydotca-used.
I see that and the voice in my head goes off just like your first comment, and I have to laugh.
Mega.

 

[Vic 40]

but my PSU wont support sli l

If you're talking about the antec neo eco should it be able to handle two gtx 660's or r9 270's (these only need one power connector,except the gigabyte r9 270) with that cpu you've got.With two cards shouldn't you be overclocking them,but that shouldn't be necessary considering the jump in performance.
Sli=nvidia/crossfire=amd isn't necessary right away,it's just an upgrade path you give yourself.
If you just want one faster card is that a good choice too,it's up to you,i just want to show all options available.

If the gtx 650 ti still works for your needs use it for now and look for the other cards to their performance differences and also the price/performance ratio.Just take the time to read reviews and make a choice that satisfies your needs.
In my opinion is the r9 270(X) already a very nice card and the gtx 760 for nvidia,with the latter being the most expensive for a lot of times just a few fps more.
For something really good do you look at the gtx 770/r9 280X or if if to be found for a nice price the hd 7970Ghz/gtx 670 or gtx 680 if you can find it.Maybe people already sell the last options second hand for a nice price.

I don't think you can overclock your cpu to 4.5,i think you can go to the max turbo on all cores though (i could be wrong),which normally will only happen on two cores.You could play with the bclk,but that has an impact on other speeds too and imo could give to many issues for the extra speed you could get out of it.
Another cooler would be a good choice if you went for the max. turbo speed on all cores since it will add more heat.

 

[MegaTitaniumMan]

Yes I was thinking to go for one really good card. I don't know how this 650ti will be until I install my new psu and go online gaming and see what its like.
For an extra cooler I will be installing three of the 4 fans I bought so I will have a total of four in the case. I am thinking of cutting a hole and mounting the last (5th) fan on the top of the case. I have been looking at it and I might be able to drill out the pop rivets and mount the top on the bottom and turn the case upside down, then I will have room to mount the top fan inside the case. Then the video card will have the heat sink fan on the top and that should help cool it better, plus my psu will then be mounted on the bottom of the case. The side fan I will be mounting will force air directly onto the video card and psu.
I wont know if this will work until my parts get here and i start to take my case apart. I am going to airbrush it at the same time so it will take me 4 or 5 days, with luck. If not then I'll be getting a new case before anything else.

The cpu turbos up all by itself so I don't really need to be playing with the bclk, I was reading about this and it said what you just said about it affecting other things, so yea I'll just be leaving that alone for now.

On PcPartbicker I built my system on their App and put two GTX 770 cards, I got a warning that my psu cant power them. Then I changed to two r9 270 and it had no conflicts.
From what I read the r9 270 isn't that much better than the 650ti I already have IMO. If I could get two used for a hundred each then it might be worth it but at full price I would choose something else. The GTX 770 is $360 to nearly $500 bucks depending on manufacturer and 2GB or 4GB. The 1150mhz Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 Zotac AMP! Edition is the way to go with that card from what I read.
The 7970 was no slouch either if I remember correctly.

I enjoy things like this, learning about all kinds of stuff I didn't know before and trying to make the best decision from what I have learned. With other people to help me that make suggestions and point out my mistakes I learn a bit faster. I like reading and with Google I can find anything I can dream up. This is how I spend my time most days.
Thanks again for your help Vic 40.
Mega.

 

[Vic 40]

Do you have the gtx 650 ti or the 650 ti boost? There's a big difference there.