My $1200 - 1440P Gaming Rig - 1st Time Builder

[mjd24]

Well I made the switch from console gaming to pc, did lots of research on this forum without asking a bunch of redundant questions.
Thanks to all the recent pc build replies and input.
Hope I did okay, feel free to critique.
Tried to find good online sales, no mircrocenter nearby.
This build is for gaming only - no media, and yes I plan to overclock.
Games I plan to play are mostly open world MMORPG and fantasy/sci-fi genre.
All parts are on order but can still change out 1 or 2 if needed.
Parts list and price I paid:

- i5 3570K $200
- Phanteks PH-TC14CS_RD w/Dual 140mm Fans $ 56
- ASRock Z77 Extreme4 $123
- SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7970 OC 3GB $388 AR
- Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD $165 AR
- Rosewill CAPSTONE SeriesM 550W GOLD $ 70
- Mushkin Blackline 2x 4GB 2133 1.5V $ 53
- Fractal Design R4 Black Pearl w/ Window $110
- ASUS optical drive DRW-24B1ST $ 17
Total: $1182

- OS Windows 7 64 bit $100
- 2x 140mm LED fans $ 32
- AS Thermal paste/remover $ 11
(I have wireless KB & mouse but will probably upgrade later)

Did I leave anything out? Planning to get a monitor next week. I picked up a few overtime shifts this week just to get the ASUS 27" over the Korean WQHDs.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236294

 

[T_Yamamoto]

You already ordered it....

Cancel order and wait for our advice. First off, that PSU is way over kill. You're getting a sand force SSD (go for an Intel or Samsung ssd). Change ram to 1600mhz ram.

 

[lehtv]

Looks good. While there are a few things here and there I'd have done differently, there are no real problems with the build... perhaps apart from the SSD which is subpar. Crucial M4, Samsung 830 and Intel 330 would be better choices.

 

[mjd24]

Thanks for the replies. lehtv, I will admit I jumped at the sale price of the SSD without doing my homework. Was looking at pure speed since I was doing a gaming only rig, not to mention all the great customer reviews from newegg.com. I'll check out the ones you referred if it's possible to mix and match them.

 

[Vinwiesel]

I would stay away from Rosewill PSU's. 550 Watt sounds about right, even though you won't be using that much power. It is better to have overkill on the power supply so it runs cool and quiet, or buy a brand that will be cool and quiet at its rated output.

I'm curious, have you researched the card you intend to buy, and whether it will run your games at 1440p? Also, my sandforce drives have been flawless, just my 2c.

 

[kilroyst]

I don't know what MMORPG's the OP is playing but I recently bought the same Sapphire 7970. I'm running a SB 2500k at 4.5mHz and getting a solid 60 fps with all settings maxed in GW2, on a 1440p monitor. I havent even tried OCing the card yet, waiting on a custom bracket to mount my Antec 620 watercooler on it.

Anyways, happy with the purchase.

 

[lehtv]

I would stay away from Rosewill PSU's. 550 Watt sounds about right, even though you won't be using that much power. It is better to have overkill on the power supply so it runs cool and quiet, or buy a brand that will be cool and quiet at its rated output.

Rosewill Capstones are manufactured by Superflower who are pretty much on par with the likes of Seasonic and Delta in build quality. They're good. Here are some reviews:

Capstone 550-M @hardwaresecrets - Silver Award
"The Rosewill CAPSTONE 550-M is an outstanding power supply that passed all our tests with flying colors."

Capstone 450W and 650W @anandtech - Silver Editor's Choice
"Overall, we like the solutions Rosewill presented. The Capstone series is recommendable for all enthusiasts who want to get the highest efficiency."

Capstone 750W @techpowerup - 8.9
"To sum up, although I find its MSRP to be on the high side, this PSU is a great performer. It proved this throughout my tests, where it withstood extreme abuse but also performed flawlessly and efficiently in all cases."

I'm curious, have you researched the card you intend to buy, and whether it will run your games at 1440p?

7970 is pretty much the best single GPU for 1440p. It seems the OP is not interested in dual GPU solutions, judging by the 550W unit and the quiet case.

 

[mjd24]

I would stay away from Rosewill PSU's. 550 Watt sounds about right, even though you won't be using that much power. It is better to have overkill on the power supply so it runs cool and quiet, or buy a brand that will be cool and quiet at its rated output.

I was eyeballing the Seasonic G Series but when I when I checked out the reviews on the Rosewill Gold Series(coincindentally posted by lehtv above) I felt I couldn't pass it up for $70 w/promo code.

I'm curious, have you researched the card you intend to buy, and whether it will run your games at 1440p? Also, my sandforce drives have been flawless, just my 2c.

Good question, yes I researched and found many of the 1440p gamers are using this card.

Thanks for the vote of confidence on my Kingston HyperX, @68 cents/GB I am rather happy with my SSD purchase.

 

[mjd24]

I don't know what MMORPG's the OP is playing but I recently bought the same Sapphire 7970. I'm running a SB 2500k at 4.5mHz and getting a solid 60 fps with all settings maxed in GW2, on a 1440p monitor. I havent even tried OCing the card yet, waiting on a custom bracket to mount my Antec 620 watercooler on it.

Anyways, happy with the purchase.

That's excellent kilroyst! GW2 will more than likely be the first game I purchase.
Which monitor are you using and would you recommend it?
Is your 7970 running at optimal temps and/or fairly quiet? I'm asking because of your intentions of adding a watercooling unit to it.
Thanks for the input.

 

[riversend]

Here's the Samsung 830 256GB at Amazon for $170. I would swap out that Kingston for this.

Edit: I assume you are going to build and test on your tv or other display while you await the 1440 monitor.

 

[kilroyst]

This is a fairly new build for me. I used an Arc Mini case, not noted for its silence 😉 I have an H100 cooler on the cpu in just push configuration and used Enermax TB Silence fans throughout. It sits under my desk but on an unenclosed shelf and I can barely hear it.

I have yet to see the card get over 65C in gaming sessions with the stock cooler. Unigine will push it up into the upper 70's with stock fan profile. In GW2 I'm seeing a solid 60fps with all setttings maxed with v-sync on and low 70fps with a few brief dips into the 40's with v-sync off. This is during normal questing/running around, I have not tried any WvW yet. Don't forget to flip the switch for 1k mHz 😛

The monitor is a vanilla Crossover, no speakers, no extra inputs. I've had it since June so used it on my old build and now this one. I have been very happy with it. It's beautiful and colors pop! I have yet to find any dead pixels, virtually no backlight bleed, IPS glow is fairly significant but this is my first IPS monitor and I'm just getting used to it. I've rectified it by just not keeping it totally dark in the room when I game anymore. Bad for you anyway I hear :whiste: It 'might' have a bit of a white tint issue toward the bottom, but I really can't tell/doesnt bother me.

Overall, I have been most happy with the new build. I'm not 'quite' done with it yet. If that darn bracket would get here....

 

[mjd24]

Here's the Samsung 830 256GB at Amazon for $170. I would swap out that Kingston for this.

Edit: I assume you are going to build and test on your tv or other display while you await the 1440 monitor.

Your SSD recommendation is noted.
And yes, I have a 19 inch monitor in my closet I plan to utilize.

 

[mfenn]

2nd rule of ATGH: Ask before you buy.

Anyway, the build looks pretty good, but there are a couple of optimizations that you could have made:
- Mobo: Since you're not going dual GPU, the ASRock Z77 Pro3 would do what you need for ~$30 less
- RAM: Anything over DDR3 1600 is pretty much wasted on an Intel build. You could have gotten this Samsung, which is widely regarded as the best DDR3 available on the market for less.
- SSD : As has been noted, it is Sandforce based, which is not ideal. The price good though.