Suggestions on proposed build

[IgnisFatuus01]

1. PC will be used for gaming mostly (MMOs, Skyrim, Borderlands 2, etc)

2. Budget around 1100.00USD

3. United States

4. Intel-Fanboy for CPU, am up in the air over Nvidia/ATI. Have owned both, and currently use ATI

5. Will not be using any currents parts, all will be purchased new

*

7. Never OC'ed before but am willing to give it a try this go around

8. Using an ASUS 27" monitor at 1920X1200

9. Building within the next 3 months or maybe a bit earlier

10. Will be running Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64 bit


Here is what I'm looking at:

CPU: i5 3570k
GPU: HD 7850 or EVGA GTX 660TI
MOBO: ASRock OC Formula or ASUS P8X77-V
HD : Any HD approx. 1TB, SATA 6, no SSD
RAM: 8GB G.skill 1600 (2x4GB sticks)
CD/DVD : No preference, does not need to be a burner and Blu-ray not necessary.
Case: Must be Mini-tower (Space is kind of limiting, cannot be greater than 9" wide or more than about 20" tall
Power Supply: Looking for 600-700W or so
CPU Cooler: Coolermaster Hyper 212 plus

Any suggestions as to how this proposed build might be improved? Are the extra $$ for the GTX660TI worth it? Same question for the different Mobos listed.
Are there different parts you would recommend?

Thanks all for reading and hopefully providing some valuable insights and suggestions.

 

[lehtv]

That doesn't look much like a $1100 PC, honestly. No SSD, and only a 660 Ti? I'm just going to copy most parts out of mfenn's midrange build, changing up some out of stock items and other minor changes.

Asrock Z77 Extreme3 $100
i5-3570K $220
Hyper 212 Evo $30
Samsung DDR3-1600 $35
Gigabyte 7970 GHz Ed. $400 (compare to 660 ti)
Intel 330 180GB $100
Seagate 2TB 7200RPM $70
Lite-ON DVD Burner $16
Seasonic SSR-550RM $55 AR
NZXT Source 210 Elite $40 AP

Total: $1047 AR AP

Your budget is definitely big enough that you will want to get that SSD. The NZXT case is 19.51" tall, 7.68" wide but still an ATX mid tower.

The mobo here isn't high end but it does the job and has all the features you'll need, most likely. It's also a decent overclocker with 8-phase power delivery. Using the 212 Evo cooler, you shouldn't have much trouble achieving a 4.2-4.4GHz 24/7 OC. It also has PCIe x8/x8 support in case you ever want to crossfire the 7970 for a higher resolution monitor (won't be needed for 1920x1200).

Additional note: if you have a Microcenter nearby, you should grab the CPU and the motherboard from there. 3570K is $170 and any Z77 motherboard (?) gets $50 off in combo with the 3570K.

EDIT: Wow, I just wasted a lot of board space.

9. Building within the next 3 months or maybe a bit earlier

There's no guarantee any of the recommendations above apply 3 months from now. Ask about a week or two before you plan to have it sitting on your desk and you will get more relevant advice then

 

[IgnisFatuus01]

Thank you Lehtv for the honest appraisal and advice. I have never had a computer with a SSD and just "assumed" it wasn't a necessarily significant item to include in a gaming build. I am thinking now if I included a SSD I could use my current HDD (640GB) instead of purchasing a new one. Am I correct in my belief that to gain the speed advantage the SSD offers then the SSD would contain the Operating System and the game(s) currently being played?

I have never had a Computer in the past that had more than 1 HDD. Is it a fairly simple process to move a game from a HDD to a SSD and vice versa?

I will definately ditch the 660TI in the build and go with your suggestion or perhaps the 3Gb HD-7970.

The 3 month time frame initially specified was worst case scenario, I believe 3-4 weeks to be much closer to actuality.

 

[DSF]

Even 3-4 weeks out the specific parts are likely to change. For example, some other brand of RAM or PSU will likely be on a better sale, especially since this is the holiday season. In terms of the general idea of the build though, it should stay pretty consistent.

Yes, you would want the OS and any games that would benefit from faster loading times on the SSD. Games that aren't particularly HDD-dependent won't see as much improvement from an SSD.

 

[Termie]

Even 3-4 weeks out the specific parts are likely to change. For example, some other brand of RAM or PSU will likely be on a better sale, especially since this is the holiday season. In terms of the general idea of the build though, it should stay pretty consistent.

Yes, you would want the OS and any games that would benefit from faster loading times on the SSD. Games that aren't particularly HDD-dependent won't see as much improvement from an SSD.

Another option for the OP, if he's nervous about setting up a dual drive system, is to use the SSD caching built into the z77 chipset. It depends how "hands-on" he wants to be with managing his files. As a reminder, he'd probably have to set up his "My Documents" folder to be on the hard drive, rather than the SSD, which requires a little bit of remapping in Windows.

But, yes, an SSD is a must in a system at this price level.

On the other hand, a 7970 GHz Edition seems overkill for his gaming needs - Skyrim and MMOs don't need the fastest GPU on the market to play well. The 660Ti at $280 or below, or alternatively the 7950 at $300 or below, are probably more than sufficient for him.

 

[mfenn]

The 660Ti at $280 or below, or alternatively the 7950 at $300 or below, are probably more than sufficient for him.

I think the 7950 is overall a better deal than the GTX 660 Ti, but the main point is very good.

OP, we should be clear that we built a $1100 machine in order to maximize the amount of performance that you can get for your budget. You don't need to spend $1100 if you don't want to given the types of games that you enjoy.

 

[IgnisFatuus01]

Thanks all who provided comments and suggestions for my build. Also Mfenn has done a great job with the mid-range build that is stickied in this forum.

This is what I have decided to get:

CPU: i5-3570K
Mobo: ASRock Z77 Extreme4
RAM: 16GB total Samsung 240 pin DDR3 1600
PSU: Rosewill CAPSTONE 650W 80+ Gold
Vid: Sapphire Radeon HD-7950 3GB 384 bit GDDR5
SDD : Intel 520 Series Cherryville 180GB Sata III
HDD : Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB SataIII
ODD : Lite-on IHAS124-04 DVD Burner
OS: Windows7 Home Premium 64 bit
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212+
Case: Corsair 300R
Ships with 4 free games...
Probably a bit of overkill but I was willing to pay up for quality and for parts that play well together.
All purchased from Newegg with exception of Mobo and case. All items should arrive in time to put together over the next weekend...wish me luck!

 

[Termie]

Awesome build. Lots of high quality parts. Wow, going from no SSD to an Intel 520. Big jump! You'll be glad you went with an SSD.

 

[mfenn]

A little more than what I would have spent on the mobo, PSU, and SSD, but a solid build all around.