Question about this possible computer

[jwflint]

Hey all, first time posting. I'm going to buy a computer this weekend, and this is what a friend suggested to me from a website - if you have any comments, please do make them. I've always just bought from major manufacturers before, so assembling a list of parts is a bit daunting. The company my friend recommended is having a sale so some of this stuff is free upgrades.

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 Mid-Tower Gaming Case

CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-3570 3.40 GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1155

Cooling Fan: Asetek 510LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Enhanced Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA) (Single Standard 120MM Fan)

Motherboard: [CrossFireX] ASUS P8Z77-V LX Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ IRST, Lucid Virtu MVP, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, 2x PCIe x16 (1 Gen3, 1 Gen2), 2x PCIe x1 & 3 PCI

Memory: 16GB (4GBx4) DDR3/1866MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair XMS)

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card

Power Supply Upgrade: 600 Watts - Standard 80 Plus Certified Power Supply - SLI/CrossFireX Ready

Hard Drive: 256 GB OCZ Agility 4 SATA-III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 420MB/s Read & 410MB/s Write (Single Drive)

Data Hard Drive: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Blue SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 7200 RPM HDD (Single Drive)

Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

Keyboard: AZZA Multimedia USB Gaming Keyboard
Mouse: AZZA Optical 1600dpi Gaming Mouse with Weight Adjustable Cartridge

Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: 802.11b/g/n 300Mbps PCI Wireless Adapter Network Card

Flash Media Reader/Writer: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)

Next post will have the question template.

 

[jwflint]

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

Gaming (Skyrim, Age of Conan, Civ 5, Crusader Kings II, The Secret World, etc). I realize this may be overpowered for these games, but I want it to be good for several years. I also will be using it for writing papers and internet browsing, nothing intensive there.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

~$1500. The price this has come to is $1380, without a monitor.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA. The company recommended to me is Cyberpower. I am not putting it together myself, I wish I had the time to do so. When I am done with grad school that is on my list of things to do.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

No preference.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

*None.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Default.

8. What resolution will you be using?

Whatever runs best.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

I plan to order it this weekend.

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?

No. Going to go with Windows 7 since I get it free from my university.

 

[jwflint]

Also, feel free to recommend a monitor in the $200-$250 price range. It would be appreciated. I've spent the past two weeks looking up hardware reviews and such, and given the fact that I understood little of it beforehand, I'm feeling a little frazzled by the entire process.

 

[DSF]

If you have time to play games like Skyrim you have time to build it yourself. Even for a newbie it takes an afternoon at the most. (Granted, it can be a more drawn out process if you run into a bum part, but for most builds you'll be done in an hour or two.)

The resolution question might need to be rephrased as, "What is the native resolution of your monitor?" My guess is that it's 1920x1080 or less, in which case the GTX680 is unnecessary. Looks like it's a free upgrade from the 670 for their Halloween sale though, so I guess it doesn't matter.

You don't need 16GB of RAM though. You'd be fine with 8GB and save yourself $66. If you decide you need it later you can always pop more in, and it will cost you less money.

Also, their selection of cases is pretty lame. The HAF is fine, but there are better options in your price range. They're just not offered by Cyberpower.

 

[jwflint]

OK, the more accurate phrasing would be "I don't want to build it myself because I play games at 2am when I'm too tired to study, write, or do research, and I don't have to humor my wife and kid in the dead of night." If I felt like holding out until Winter break I could probably do it, but I need to get a new computer ASAP, not later, since my current desktop is on its last legs.

The card is a free upgrade. As far as monitors go, I plan on replacing that too, so if you have one to suggest that'd go well with the card in the $200-$250 range, that'd be great. Good to know about the RAM, though - I can throw that in later, when needed.

Honestly, I have no idea what the difference in cases is, or what makes one good or not. What's the problem with this one?

 

[Eureka]

That's actually a fair price for the parts. Going off of MSRP and sale, deal value or equivalent cheaper version:

Haf 912: $60
Intel i5: $220, $190
Cooling fan (H60 equivalent): $65, $40
Motherboard: $120, $80
Memory: $80, $60
GTX680: $450
PSU: $50
SSD: $180, $150
HDD: $90
Optical drive:$20
Network Card: $10

If you paid normal retail value, that's already $1345, which means it cost an extra $40 for them to build it for you. If you deal hunted, you would save maybe another $100-200, max. I'd say that's a pretty good deal you have if you don't want to hunt/build.

If you had the money, this is a pretty good deal: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236287

If you don't really care for 16:10 and have a costco, try this

Actually, you might want to do this one: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/CyberPower_Black_Pearl/

You can get an i7 for 1381, with the same options.

 

[Eureka]

double post

 

[jwflint]

Hey Eureka -

Thanks for the input. Yeah, my friend who recommended this computer said it was a good deal (he works for Microsoft so I just tend to take his word on these things, but I've been reading this forum for equipment evaluations, and figured getting some more advice would be wise) - honestly, the small amount of money I could save by searching and building it myself is worth less than the time I'd save.

I live in Seattle, so there's a Costco nearby. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Eureka]

Well, you should never just take one person's advice, but now that I'm looking over the cyberpower PC offerings, it's actually rather competitive! I would actually look at the Black Pearl and tweak that, since you can get an i7 for the same price as what you're paying now, albeit a locked version (which means no overclocking), and you lose the 1tb drive (which you can buy for $50-80 later). You may also consider a 7970 to save $100, with very close performance to the 680 (if not better at some games). Some of these options are stronger than others, the one you have is pretty good.

Also, there's nothing really wrong with your case. The HAF 912 is a good case for the money. It's just a bit ugly and it isn't the best case (materials, design, cooling), but it comes in with the cost ($60), as opposed to the $150+ cases.

 

[jwflint]

Alright, I will check into the Black Pearl. If there's any options you'd recommend, feel free to do so. I'm fine with it not being overclocked, that'll have to wait for when I'm feeling a lot more adventurous.

 

[Eureka]

Well, now that I think about it again, I would go with what you have. The 3570K overclocks extremely well and you can get it up to 4.5ghz with minimal work (bump voltage up by maybe 100-200mV, and run multiplier to 45). I recant my words and say stick with what you have now, since the i7 won't be able to be overclocked, and there's minimal benefits to having the i7 unless you specifically need the hyperthreading.

I still stick by the 7970, since you save $100, unless you really want nVidia.

You may or may not want to reconsider the watercooling option. I have never used the asetek watercooler, but from reviews you gain a minimal amount of cooling from an air cooler with the small radiator type. You will run much quieter but there are larger risks involved (possibility of leakages). Now, I have no experience in watercooling so I do not know how common it is, but I know it does happen and you will have to research it.

 

[jwflint]

I don't need the hyperthreading, I'll stick with the i5 then. Yeah, I wasn't sure if watercooling would be necessary - it seems to be the default option - and I certainly do not like the idea of something leaking in there. I think I'll go with this instead- Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo Gaming Cooling Fan. It's pretty much the same price.

I'm not an nVidia fanboy, but I looked on the benchmark tests and it seems that most of the games I play run better on the 680. Still, the $100 savings for the 7970 is definitely worth thinking about.

As far as the case goes, I don't really care if it is ugly since it will just be lurking under a desk anyways. If it does the job, it'll work for me.

 

[Eureka]

Well, I looked over the MEGA SPECIAL III, and here are my final thoughts:

If you ever plan on taking out the 680 and upgrading, the 680 will hold more resale value. You'll be happy with a 680, it has Phys-X (required for a small number of games), and does run better in certain games. On the other hand, 7970 did finally close the gap in BF3 with 12.11 drivers.

8GB of ram is more than enough, and not worth $66 to double it.

You must do this. 600 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-600CXV2 Builder Series CX600 V2 80 Plus Certified Power Supply [Halloween Mega Sale - FREE Upgrade from Antec 350 Watt PSU] If this is $0, then it is a name brand powersupply for the same money.

I would actually not pay more for the 212 Evo, since it's normally $35 (versus $65 for the H60, a comparable watercooler to what you have). I don't want to get you paranoid about the watercooling, they are very well known. It's just something to keep an eye out for. The Seidon is also the same price but I think it's a newer watercooling design.

Not sure what's going on with the HDD thing.. FREE Upgrade To 2TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Drive Only). You should be able to get 2TB as well.

Cases... I just checked and I would get the Corsair 300R if it's the same price. Newer case, and I think looks better (it's more conservative). Then again I'm subjective to Corsair's cases.

Otherwise, sounds like you're more or less set. I understand why you'd rather let someone else do the building, I just finished up my master's and that was a living nightmare. But building is relaxing to me, and I do it for the fun of it (just spent close to 6 hours building, wiring, and rewiring my new computer). Hang in there!

BTW, what program you doing?

 

[jwflint]

Excellent - the Corsair power supply and the Corsair case you mentioned are both the same cost as what I had already listed, so I'll swap those.

I'll look up reviews on the Seidon since it is the same price, make sure there's not been any complaints about that.

Yeah, the HDD thing is odd - the free upgrade to the 2TB drive is only if you select it as the main hard drive. If I put in the opposite selection, with the SSD as the secondary drive and take the 2TB as the primary, it bumps the price up. Perhaps I'll call them and see if they'd apply the discounts as listed - if not, it's not a huge difference.

I'm working on my Master's in International Studies - My thesis is due in June, so I've been spending a lot of time working on it. It just takes awhile since I have to translate documents for my thesis from Czech and German (not to mention translations for my actual Czech and German language classes). I'll be glad when I'm done!

Again, thanks for the input, I didn't catch these when I looked at it!

 

[mfenn]

Since it sounds like you're going to be installing the OS yourself, what CyberPower labels as a primary and secondary drive is pretty much only an academic difference. Either way you do it, you will want to unplug the HDD while you're installing Windows in order to insure that the bootloader gets put in the proper place.

I'd definitely take the 7970 over the GTX 680 if it saves you $100. Performance is very very close between the two with the 12.11 drivers.

 

[jwflint]

Thanks for those tips! Yeah, I will be loading the OS myself since my university offers Windows to us for no cost. I hadn't considered that it might load to the storage drive as opposed to the SSD.

The only reason that I went with the GTX 680 over the 7970 is that it seems that the games I play the most run better on nVidia. Of course, when the next series of games comes out that may no longer be true, but I figured I may as well go for what will work best for me at the moment, especially since I had up to $1500 to work with. In the end, the system came out to $1424, so I'm happy with that.

Again, thanks to everyone who provided advice, I really appreciate it!