(Gaming PC) Help me tweak please!

[sackcrete]

I'm trying to find a new computer for the new games coming out/already out (sc2 mainly comes to mind and D3). What would you guys change with this? I mean I wanted to spend 1500$ total to include monitor.. speakers..ect.. and this is just the bare bones build, so the price is a little steep unfortunately but if I need to pay it for it to last I guess I will. I'm new to PC's.. I'm used to laptops. What would you guys change (Upgrade & Downgrade..open to everything, thank you!)Also, I'm really tryign to get educated on this stuff so I don't need to bother people with these questions.. so if I could trouble you to give me a brief explanation as to why to change the things you sugges tthat would be amazing! Thank you very much for your time!



Case: * Azza Hurrican 2000 Full Tower Gaming Case with 4 Hot Swappable HDD Cage & (4) 230MM Fans [+36]

CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-2500K 3.30 GHz 6M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 (All Venom OC Certified) [-104]

Cooling Fan: * Thermaltake FRIO Overclocking Cooler Fan (CLP0564) [+20]

Motherboard: * [CrossFireX/SLI] GigaByte Z68X-UD3H-B3 Intel Z68 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ Lucid Virtu Intel Smart Response Technology & 7.1 Dolby Home Theater Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, 4x SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 3 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI (All Venom OC Certified) [+66]

Memory: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module [+10] (Corsair XMS Gaming Memory with Heatsink Spreader)

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+49] (EVGA Superclocked)

Power Supply Upgrade: * 875 Watts - Thermaltake Toughpower XT TPX-875M Modular 80 Plus Power Supply [+93]

Hard Drive: 120 GB ADATA S511 SATA III 6.0G/s Gaming MLC Solid State Disk [+164] (Single Hard Drive)

Data Hard Drive: 1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+59] (Single Hard Drive)

Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST 12X Blu-Ray Combo DVDRW Drive [+40] (BLACK COLOR)

Internal USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports (Do I NEED more USB 3 ports? Like, if I don't get them now.. will I be able to get them later without cutting on my case?)

Operating System: * Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)

 

[gorcorps]

875 Watts is a hell of a PSU, especially for a single GPU system. I'd only go with that if you're positive you'll have multiple GPUs in your future. Otherwise I'd save some money by going with something around 650 which is still more than you really need.

I'm also not sure how reliable ADATA is on the SSD market. I'll wait for somebody else to correct me though.

Also, you haven't mentioned which data drive specifically so I'd go with a Samsung J3.

USB 3.0 still isn't on many devices (there's some USB sticks that have it already) but it's not necessary. However your motherboard already has USB 3.0 so I'm not sure what you're getting at?

There's also no noticeable difference in 1600 and 1333 memory, so save some money and go with the 1333.

Everything else looks solid. I have a similar system and it's great.

 

[dpodblood]

You wont be able to use Corsair XMS ram with the 2500K. You will need 1.5v RAM like Corsair Vengance or G.Skill Ripjaws. I don't recommend the vengance ram though because the heatspreaders are tall and will probably cause an issue with your CPU heatsink.

You also don't need nearly that much of a power supply unless you plan on doing SLI. A good 650 watt unit will be more than enough. Get a good brand like Corsair, Seasonic, Antec, or XFX.

 

[Rvenger]

You wont be able to use Corsair XMS ram with the 2500K.

That is an incorrect statement. XMS3 ram works just fine on Sandybridge. I run 12gb 1600 at its rated timings at 1.50v 100% stable. Also, 1.65v ram can still be used with Sandybridge. If you can get it ultra cheap, then get it. If the 1.5v ram is $5-10 more expensive, go for the 1.5v stuff.

 

[dpodblood]

That is an incorrect statement. XMS3 ram works just fine on Sandybridge. I run 12gb 1600 at its rated timings at 1.50v 100% stable. Also, 1.65v ram can still be used with Sandybridge. If you can get it ultra cheap, then get it. If the 1.5v ram is $5-10 more expensive, go for the 1.5v stuff.

Appears you are correct. The OP will just have to be careful about which set of XMS3 he picks up because not all of it is rated for 1.5v.

 

[mnewsham]

1.65v ram can still be used with Sandybridge.

While technically true, it is best to be avoided if possible (and it is possible) It has the long term possibility of frying the IMC. While it isnt assured that it will happen why take a chance when 1.5v is just as available and usually cheaper.

 

[Rvenger]

While technically true, it is best to be avoided if possible (and it is possible) It has the long term possibility of frying the IMC. While it isnt assured that it will happen why take a chance when 1.5v is just as available and usually cheaper.

The RAM will still work at 1600mhz @1.5v and you can even run it at 1.60v with no chance of damaging the IMC because it would still adhere to Intel specification.

I was just saying in the case if the memory was significantly cheaper than the other stuff. If 1.5v RAM is cheaper, then its a no brainer. But yes, mnewsham, you do have a valid point if you are running the ram at 1.65v.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Ok, first grab your nipples and start twisting them, that is the first lesson in tweaking, lol jk

Looks good to me from what I can see; and Welcome to the Anandtech forums 🙂

 

[mfenn]

Looks like cut and paste from a Cyberpower build to me. OP, a lot of the advice in this thread won't apply unless you're building you own. Is that the case or are you buying?

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Yeah, it does look like a cut and paste.