New computer build help?

[jadamsuw]

Hi all,

I'm trying to put together a new gaming computer in the $700-$1000 range, and wanted to make sure a) that everything I've picked out is compatible,
b) that I'm not missing out on opportunities to save money without sacrificing performance. And c) if there are places where a small price increase would bring significantly better performance, as there is some flexibility.

I'm not really that familiar with motherboards, coolers, or power supplies, so I mostly just picked what was recommended on a couple of different websites. I've also been kicking around the idea of a small SSD boot drive and using the seagate for storage only, although I'm not sure if the performance warrants the price.

Planning to purchase this week, don't require monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, or sound card, and am purchasing through newegg (link at bottom).
Prefer intel parts if only because it's all I'm used to.
Don't plan on overclocking or SLI/crossfire. My monitor is currently 1920x1080 native. I'd prefer something that's quiet and preferably without bright LED lights on the tower case, as the computer is in the guest room.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3550 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 Quad-Core Desktop Processor - $210

Graphics: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 01G-P3-1561-AR Video Card - $250

Motherboard: BIOSTAR TZ77XE3 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS - $130

RAM: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory - $50

Power supply: SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W Power Supply - $90

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" SATA 6.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive- bare drive - $100

CPU cooler: NZXT HAVIK-140 CPU Cooler w. Dual 140mm Fans - $60

Optical: LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support - $25

Sound: Sound blaster audigy, already own

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Steel Computer Case - $140

Operating system will be Windows 7

Total: $1,054

Thanks so much for your time and advice!

Edit: Link to newegg wish list: secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=19255225

 

[bononos]

Since you aren't overclocking/sli you can save some money by
- not getting a separate cpu cooler unless you think that the stock cooler will not be quiet/powerful enough for you. Get some good thermal compound like NT-H1 or MX4 or PK-1 instead for use on the stock heatsink
- get a 500W psu since its more than sufficient, there should be some good deals around

 

[bononos]

Check out some of the other build threads, the long timers have put together some really good builds with hot deals/rebate items that you probably shouldn't miss out.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

The HAF series isn't known to be very quiet fyi.

Also you don't need the after market cooler that big if you're not over clocking. Youll be fine with a hyper212+
Also, since you aren't over locking. You'll be fine with a h77 motherboard.

 

[lehtv]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

8. What resolution will you be using?

 

[jadamsuw]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121

1. Gaming, and 8. 1920x1080 is the native on my monitor atm.

Thanks for the tips on cooling and fans. I thought I might be overdoing it there since I'm not overclocking. I'll look over some of the other motherboard chipsets, too. Maybe with the extra money I can get an SSD boot drive.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the help

 

[lehtv]

"

CPU: Intel Core i5-3550 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 Quad-Core Desktop Processor - $210 Good if you pair it with a H77 motherboard, e.g. Asrock H77 Pro4/MVP $95

Graphics: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 01G-P3-1561-AR Video Card - $250 $250 gets you a 7850 2GB which is easily a better choice

Motherboard: BIOSTAR TZ77XE3 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS - $130 Pair Z77 with a K processor (unlocked) so you can OC, i.e. 3570K

RAM: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory - $50 That's 1.65V, you want 1.5V for sandy/ivy because that's what the memory controller is designed for. Mushkin blackline $45

Power supply: SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W Power Supply - $90 PCP&C 600W for $57 AR AP, built by Seasonic

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" SATA 6.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive- bare drive - $100 Good as long as it's the single platter drive

CPU cooler: NZXT HAVIK-140 CPU Cooler w. Dual 140mm Fans - $60 Not needed for i5-3550, good for i5-3570K

Optical: LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support - $25 a DVD writer can be had sub-$20 but if you know that's a particularly good model that's fine

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Steel Computer Case - $140 No need for a full tower. HAF 922 already has great cooling for a lot lower price

"
If you get H77 + i5-3550 with stock cooling, or increase budget to $1100, and also make the other changes above, then you'll be able to afford one of the following:

1. GTX 670 which is 60-80% faster than 7850 2GB.
2. Crucial M4 128GB SSD.

Can't go wrong with either.

 

[mikeymikec]

Personally I would steer clear of Biostar. ASUS or Gigabyte IMO.

From what I understand about memory speeds, I'd go for DDR3-1333 unless 1600 was an insignificant amount more expensive.

Disk: Check the warranty on it, Seagate are doing a lot of single-year warranty drives these days. WD Caviar Blue are 3-yr warranties IIRC, Caviar Black 5 year.

 

[lehtv]

Disk: Check the warranty on it, Seagate are doing a lot of single-year warranty drives these days. WD Caviar Blue are 3-yr warranties IIRC, Caviar Black 5 year.

Yes, it could be worth paying extra for longer warranty. As far as I know though Caviar's don't come in single 1TB platters.

Samsung/Seagate 1TB for $80 is a good choice, long time customer favorite. 1 year warranty but still, cheap for a HDD these days.

 

[mikeymikec]

$80 USD? Cheeky bastards (suppliers, manufacturers, whoever... probably the manufacturer) - in the UK I'd expect to pay £80 for a 1TB HDD at the moment ($128 USD)!

 

[mfenn]

"

CPU: Intel Core i5-3550 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 Quad-Core Desktop Processor - $210 Good if you pair it with a H77 motherboard, e.g. Asrock H77 Pro4/MVP $95

Graphics: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 01G-P3-1561-AR Video Card - $250 $250 gets you a 7850 2GB which is easily a better choice

Motherboard: BIOSTAR TZ77XE3 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS - $130 Pair Z77 with a K processor (unlocked) so you can OC, i.e. 3570K

RAM: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory - $50 That's 1.65V, you want 1.5V for sandy/ivy because that's what the memory controller is designed for. Mushkin blackline $45

Power supply: SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W Power Supply - $90 PCP&C 600W for $57 AR AP, built by Seasonic

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" SATA 6.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive- bare drive - $100 Good as long as it's the single platter drive

CPU cooler: NZXT HAVIK-140 CPU Cooler w. Dual 140mm Fans - $60 Not needed for i5-3550, good for i5-3570K

Optical: LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support - $25 a DVD writer can be had sub-$20 but if you know that's a particularly good model that's fine

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Steel Computer Case - $140 No need for a full tower. HAF 922 already has great cooling for a lot lower price

"
If you get H77 + i5-3550 with stock cooling, or increase budget to $1100, and also make the other changes above, then you'll be able to afford one of the following:

1. GTX 670 which is 60-80% faster than 7850 2GB.
2. Crucial M4 128GB SSD.

Can't go wrong with either.

:thumbsup: Good suggestions.

 

[jadamsuw]

You guys are incredible. Thank you for the help! Since I'm sure I'm not interested in messing around with overclocking, I switched to the recommended H77 board. I also downgraded the after-market cooler, but I had read that the ivy bridge processors occasionally ran hotter than predicted, and I want to keep noise down, so I went with the cooler master recommended above. I downgraded the power supply to a 500W, but I don't know anything else about power supplies so please let me know if it's a good choice.

With the saved money, I'll buy the SSD, although the reviews for the HAF case say there's no SSD port. Any other particular case recommendations?

I'm considering increasing my budget and just getting the better video card, too.

As it stands, the build would then be:
Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 996776 - $45

ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - $95

COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $90

Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $100 (single platter drive)

OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W Modular High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandybridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom - $65 (this states it is compatible with SB, don't know if that applies to IB)

http://redirect.anandtech.com/r?url...duct.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442&user=u00000687Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - $110

EVGA 02G-P4-2670-KR GeForce GTX 670 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - $400

Intel Core i5-3550 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637I53550 - $210

LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support - $25
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel ... - $30

Subtotal: $1,169

secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=19255225

 

[lehtv]

Don't buy the ModXStream, just go with the PC Power & Cooling unit I suggested. It's far better - longer warranty, more powerful, Seasonic-built, better efficiency. Pretty much any modern ATX power supply will work with any modern motherboard/CPU, you don't need to worry about compatibility in that regard.

 

[jadamsuw]

Done. Wonderful.

Do you recommend any particular manufacturer of the 670?

 

[lehtv]

I prefer to have a well cooled card for optimal noise and temperatures. So I wouldn't buy EVGA because their cooler isn't very good compared to other manufacturers. Asus and MSI don't seem to have released their standard DirectCu and Twin Frozr cards yet, so I'd recommend Gigabyte.

 

[jadamsuw]

Thanks for the help - I really appreciate it. I think I'm ready to purchase... now if only a gigabyte gtx 670 becomes available somewhere.

The final build is as listed above, except I replaced the power supply as you suggested. I was also considering saving money by getting a 64 gb crucial instead of 128gb - is 64gb still large enough to use as a system drive? If not, I'll just get the larger one.

I also decided to get this case, as it was a bit cheaper and it seemed to have more room for an SSD according to the reviews of the previous HAF case we were talking about: Antec Three Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Upgraded 2 x USB 3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129180

Everything's purchased but the graphics card, which is out of stock. Thanks so much for all your help!

 

[lehtv]

I was also considering saving money by getting a 64 gb crucial instead of 128gb - is 64gb still large enough to use as a system drive? If not, I'll just get the larger one.

It is large enough to hold the OS and programs, and a couple of games too. The reason I suggested 128GB is that it's better $/GB and it's faster than the 64GB version.

I also decided to get this case, as it was a bit cheaper and it seemed to have more room for an SSD according to the reviews of the previous HAF case we were talking about: Antec Three Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Upgraded 2 x USB 3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129180

Antec 302 is a decent case. What I don't like about it though is that it doesn't ship with any intake fans, creating negative pressure inside, so dust enters the case easily because air intake isn't actively filtered. HAF 922 has a filter on the front intake fan, if I'm not mistaken.

edit: I see you purchased everything, GL with the build :thumbsup: Post back if you have more questions