help with gaming build

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pezpez

Junior Member
Dec 19, 2012
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Hello, i could use some help building a PC

main use would be gaming
my resolution is 1920x1200
i'll be buying from US
i plan buying asap
i have no brand preferences
i dont need any software
i already have this:

Antec Performance One P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-550HT ATX12V / EPS12V 550W Power Supply - Retail
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
M-Audio Audiophile 192 64-Bit PCI Audio Interface
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit - OEM

so i would just need the mobo, gpu, ram, cooler?
i'll try overclocking even though i've never done it


i had something like this in mind:

($ 40) Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 996995
($ 98) ASRock Z77 Pro3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
($300) SAPPHIRE 100352-2L Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
or ($387) SAPPHIRE 100351SR Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card OC with Boost

the only thing i think id be missing from the mobo is eSATA/eSATAp
my budget is around 500, it is flexible if theres good value

so what do you guys think in regards to compatibility/performance?
 
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Sleepingforest

Platinum Member
Nov 18, 2012
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($ 40) Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 996995
($ 98) ASRock Z77 Pro3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
($300) SAPPHIRE 100352-2L Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
or ($387) SAPPHIRE 100351SR Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card OC with Boost
Click to expand...

This is okay, but you can do better on the memory with some Samsung RAM. It's really cheap right now--around $4 per GB--and overclocks extremely well. Buy 2 sticks. Your motherboard choice looks solid, since you probably won't use eSATA. At 1920x1200, the 7950 gets good enough results if you tone down the graphical extras, so you can save some money there. If you want all the effects and eye candy, go with the 7970.

The only nitpick I have is you have 2 older HDDs--you might want to try and sell one of those and get a SSD instead. The difference will be huge. If you don't need all the features of Windows 7 Ultimate, you may be able to resell it and grab a copy of Win7 Pro or Home Premium, freeing up more of your budget for the SSD.
 
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pezpez

Junior Member
Dec 19, 2012
12
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thanks, i just ordered the RAM and got to the surprise of taxes on amazon

i was just reading on forums in regards to the pro3:

"I would rather have the Extreme4. What matters this generation us the quality of the power delivery section of the motherboard. The Extreme has 8+4 phases, double that of the 4+2 section on the Product series."

is that really worth the 45dlls?
 
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mfenn

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
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www.mfenn.com
pezpez said:
i was just reading on forums in regards to the pro3:

"I would rather have the Extreme4. What matters this generation us the quality of the power delivery section of the motherboard. The Extreme has 8+4 phases, double that of the 4+2 section on the Product series."

is that really worth the 45dlls?
Click to expand...

Nope. An Ivy Bridge CPU uses so little power, even with a moderate overclock, that you just don't need the monstrous power delivery systems of yesteryear for a normal build.

As for the GPU, the 7970 is just slightly over your $500 budget. It's a solid choice if you're fine with that. If not, the 7950 3GB is still a very good card and you're not likely to be disappointed.
 
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pezpez

Junior Member
Dec 19, 2012
12
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thanks, so now ive bought the samsung ram and the pro3
i havent bought the SAPPHIRE 100351SR 7970 because i cant buy from newegg (since my credit card is not from the US even though im shipping to the US) and other sites have it at like a hundred dollars more

any ideas?
 
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Sleepingforest

Platinum Member
Nov 18, 2012
2,375
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76
pezpez said:
thanks, so now ive bought the samsung ram and the pro3
i havent bought the SAPPHIRE 100351SR 7970 because i cant buy from newegg (since my credit card is not from the US even though im shipping to the US) and other sites have it at like a hundred dollars more

any ideas?
Click to expand...

Well, Amazon is always an option. Other than that, NCIX seems to accept Paypal. Both tend to stick pretty close to Newegg prices. I've linked to 7970s in both sites around $400.
 
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Sleepingforest

Platinum Member
Nov 18, 2012
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I did link you to two cards under $400... Anyway. Of those 3 options, go with the Gigabyte. It has the highest (and only, I think) factory overclock and the HIS IceQ has only 2GB of memory for some reason.
 
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Sleepingforest

Platinum Member
Nov 18, 2012
2,375
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Eh? Amazon is labelling things wrong again. Anyway, its still running at stock clocks, unlike the Gigabyte, so my point about that still stands.
 
lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,900
74
91
It will be easy to OC the HIS card to Gigabyte speeds and past. But I agree the Gigabyte card is a bit better.

To answer the OP more directly - I would rather buy Sapphire 7970 for $360 AR from Newegg than any of the 7970's from Amazon. Mainly because it's just as good as Gigabyte but less expensive
 
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pezpez

Junior Member
Dec 19, 2012
12
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sorry i thought those where links to the websites only, i didnt buy the gigabyte 7970 card because with amazon taxes its $440 which i think its a lot considering i could have bought the sapphire 7970 for $380 on newegg, and ncix doesnt take international credit cards either

should i wait to see if theres any price drops or should i just buy it at 440??

do you think i might need a cooler for the cpu?
 
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pezpez

Junior Member
Dec 19, 2012
12
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i wish i could buy the sapphire from newegg but they dont take international cards
 
lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,900
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If taxes from amazon are a concern, just settle for a 7950. Most of them will easily overclock past stock 7970 speeds, I'm running my "el cheapo" Sapphire 7950 Dual-X at 1100mhz, it's almost as fast as a 7970 GHz edition.

Gigabyte 7950 $300. If you check the most helpful review on that, the reviewer's running three of them at 1113MHz.
 
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Sleepingforest

Platinum Member
Nov 18, 2012
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That should be fine. The next generation shouldn't show that much improvement over this one in raw power anyway.
 
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pezpez

Junior Member
Dec 19, 2012
12
0
0
ok i just bought the GPU so my build is as follows:

Case: Antec Performance One P180 ATX Mid Tower
PS: SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-550HT ATX12V / EPS12V 550W
MOBO: ASRock Z77 Pro3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 ATX
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge LGA 1155 77W
GPU: SAPPHIRE 100351SR Radeon HD 7970 3GB OC with Boost
RAM: (2X) Samsung 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) 240-Pin
STORAGE: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM
OS HDD : Seagate Barracuda ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit
Display: 1920X1200

yes i should buy an SSD but thats on hold for now
other than that what do you guys think? will it run games fine?
will it need a cooler?
 
lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,900
74
91
Hmm I definitely would've gone for the 7950. ~$330 versus ~$475, but the performance increase with 7970 is only around 10%, less with both cards overclocked. That's a $145 you could've spent on an SSD which you seem to be lacking in your build. Maybe cancel the order, buy Gigabyte 7950 and Samsung 840 120GB?

other than that what do you guys think? will it run games fine?
will it need a cooler?
Click to expand...
More than fine. I've got 3770K @ 4.2GHz (in planetside 2, 4.7GHz HT off) and 7950 @ 1100MHz. Everything runs like a dream on my 27" 1080p monitor.

In CPU heavy games the 7950 will be bottlenecked unless you OC the CPU, and for that you will need a cooler. I'd get a Hyper 212 Evo, Amazon has it for $30. That will take you to 4.2-4.4 (which I would say is Z77 Pro3's maximum long term OC, given only four power phases)

BTW I recommend you download Radeon Pro beta/preview for your 7950 once you've got everything set up. It's an awesome tool, check it out - basically what the Catalyst Control Center should be.
 
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pezpez

Junior Member
Dec 19, 2012
12
0
0
i requested a cancellation but failed:

"We weren't able to cancel the following item(s) from your order:

Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 OC with Boost 3GB DDR5 DL-DVI-I/SL-DVI-D/HDMI/DP PCI-Express Graphics Card 11197-03-40G


When you receive your order, you're welcome to refuse the package. You can also return any unwanted item(s) by visiting www.amazon.com/returns.


In most cases, you pay for items when we ship them to you, so you won't be charged for items that you cancel. In some cases (e.g., you use a gift card or your debit card is processed as a PIN-less transaction), you may see a charge for a cancelled item. If you are charged for a cancelled item, we will refund you within 1-2 business days."
 
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Sleepingforest

Platinum Member
Nov 18, 2012
2,375
0
76
The Samsung 840 suffers severe problems under heavy loads (Termie linked to somewhere in another thread). Better to snag a Samsung 830 or a Crucial M4.
 
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