Help With First Gaming Build

[michaeltt]

Hey guys, i'm new here and was seeking some advice. I live in Canada and am looking to build an affordable gaming PC. My budget is roughly ~1300 and I found what I think might be a good deal on NCIX. I changed some of the options to what I think might work well. Would you guys be able to tell me if this setup is decent?

1 x Intel Core i5 3570K Unlocked Quad Core Processor LGA1155 3.4GHZ Ivy Bridge 6MB Retail
1 x Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H60 High Performance CPU Cooler System LGA1155 LGA1366 LGA1156 AM2 AM3
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 ATX LGA1155 Z77 DDR3 2PCI-E16 1PCI-E1 3PCI SATA3 DVI HDMI VGA DX11 USB3.0 Motherboard
1 x Kingston KHX1600C9D3B1K2/8GX 8GB Kit 2X4GB 1600MHz DDR3 240PIN DIMM Unbuff Hmp HyperX CL9
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 670 OC PE 1079MHZ 2GB 6.0GHZ GDDR5 2xDVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Video Card
1 x MSI Interceptor Series Barricade ATX Mid Tower Case 3X5.25 4X3.5INT 2X120MM Blue LED USB3.0 *No PS*
1 x Seasonic S12II 520W EPS12V 20/24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 80+ Bronze 6+8PIN PCI-E W/ 120MM Fan
1 x Bitfenix Spectre BFF-BLF-12025B-RP 120MM Blue LED Case Fan 1000RPM 43.5CFM 20DBA 3/4 Pin
1 x Logisys ML12BL 12IN 18 Blue LED in Acrylic Tube 4PINS Molex Connector 12V DC No Inverter Needed
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64Bit SP1 DVD OEM *for NCIX PC Only* *IR-$20.00*
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5in Hard Drive OEM
1 x Kingston SVP200S3/60G 60GB SSDNow V+200 SATA 3 2.5
1 x LG GH24NS90 24X SATA Internal DVD Writer Burner DVDRW M-DISC Compatible Optical Drive Black OEM
1 x ASUS Xonar DS 7.1 Channel PCI Sound Card 24BIT DTS SPDIF W/ Low Profile Bracket
1 x Please Use The Onboard Network Ethernet Card Integrated On My Motherboard
1 x Premium PC Assembly and Testing With 1 Year Limited NCIX Warranty (PRE-CONFIG WIN. OS If Purchased)

Thanks!
-Edit: this setup will cost me $1369 and that includes assembly of the unit - I also have a mouse/keyboard/monitor etc.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
I will be using it for gaming, BF3,D3,Farcry 3 etc.
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
~1300
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Canada
4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from.
We can't be expected to scour the internet on your behalf, chasing down deals in your specific country... Again, help us, help YOU.
http://ncix.com
5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
I like Intel, nVidia
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Yes, I plan on overclocking
9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
As soon as I can

 

[Joe_K]

I'm new here but I just built my first PC based on this sticky.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2192841

It was surprisingly easy despite how nervous I was about doing it. I watched the 3 part series on youtube from Newegg on how to do it. It turned out cheaper than ordering one from a PC builder.

 

[michaeltt]

Thanks for the reply but it doesn't quite answer my question..

 

[Puppies04]

Yes that is a decent build but you could probably build one yourself which would either enable you to spend less or upgrade some of the components for the same price.

I presume you googled the CPU and GPU to check their gaming performance though so I don't really know why you are here looking for us to justify your purchase though.

 

[Termie]

michaeltt - welcome to the forums!

You'll probably get more helpful responses if you post answers to these questions in your original post: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121

While we can respond very generally to the parts you've picked, we don't know what your uses are or what your ultimate budget is, so it's hard to come to any conclusions. Make to mention whether you're building it yourself or having NCIX build it.

Right off the bat, though, I can say you should drop that sound card unless you have a particular use requiring high-end audio, and you'll want a larger and faster SSD. Also, the CPU cooler you have is an expensive and ineffective option.

 

[michaeltt]

michaeltt - welcome to the forums!

You'll probably get more helpful responses if you post answers to these questions in your original post: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121

While we can respond very generally to the parts you've picked, we don't know what your uses are or what your ultimate budget is, so it's hard to come to any conclusions. Make to mention whether you're building it yourself or having NCIX build it.

Right off the bat, though, I can say you should drop that sound card unless you have a particular use requiring high-end audio, and you'll want a larger and faster SSD. Also, the CPU cooler you have is an expensive and ineffective option.

Thanks, I think i'll drop that sound card and put the $ towards a better SSD. I've always wanted to say I have a water cooled PC so that's why I chose the H60, but if the Hyper 212 Evo is that much better and allows me to overclock higher then I may go with that. NCIX charges $50 flat to assemble the unit with " extra attention to cabling and burn-in period".

I also updated my original post.

 

[Termie]

Thanks, I think i'll drop that sound card and put the $ towards a better SSD. I've always wanted to say I have a water cooled PC so that's why I chose the H60, but if the Hyper 212 Evo is that much better and allows me to overclock higher then I may go with that. NCIX charges $50 flat to assemble the unit with " extra attention to cabling and burn-in period".

I also updated my original post.

As to the cooler, the h60 does outperform the evo 212, but it ought to. It's twice the price and also much louder. See this thread for coolers that are actually worthy of your system:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2297442

The evo is great unless you're looking for serious overclocking.On the SSD, just get a 120GB or 128GB model.

 

[mfenn]

I would drop the SSD altogether if you can only afford a 60GB SSDNow. That being said, I think you can do better:

i5 3570K + GA-Z77X-UD3H combo $340 AR - NCIX price on the 3570K is $250, so you're getting the mobo for $90
Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3 1600 8GB $40
PNY GTX 670 2GB $280 AR - yeah has a blower cooler, but it's $70 less than the rest of the GTX 670's
Crucial M4 256GB $200
WD Blue 1TB $68
Samsung DVD Burner $17
Corsair TX550M $50 AR - partially modular
MSI case that you like $50 AR
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit $90
Assembly $50
Total: $1185 AR

That's less than your original build (probably about the same if you don't count rebates), but it includes an SSD that's 4 times bigger.