$1000 Gaming Rig Advice?

[ianucthul]

I have never built a computer from scratch before.

Here is what I've pieced together from some Google searches and lazy browsing of Newegg:


CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115233 (Intel i5-3570) $215

Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127696 (GTX 660 Ti) $310 - I would strongly prefer an Nvidia card.

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131837 (ASUS P8Z77-V) $140

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314 (Two orders of these for 16GB total) 2 x $40 = $80

Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840 (Seagate 1TB) $70

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182200 (Rosewill 630W) $60

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153 (Rosewill Challenger) $50


The case and power supply are just wild guesses, and I am not factoring in the cost of the operating system or DVD drive.

I also do not intend to overclock anything (unless there's no reason not to and it would be a big help,) and I don't intend to add on to or upgrade this thing until I build a completely new rig in a few years.


Questions:

• Do these components all plug in to each other?

• if I am not going to overclock anything or use Crossfire/SLI, are there more effecient components I can get?

• Is it better to get two 8GB RAM chips vs four 4GB ones, or does it not matter?

• Windows 7 or 8? I don't care how many start buttons it has, just which one runs games better.

• Is there really $70 worth of difference between a 660, 660 Ti, and a 670?

• Do I need a surge protector? Or does the power supply act as one already?

• Is there anything I am missing?

• Would a pre-built computer actually be a better value?


Edit: The links work now.

 

[killerhurtalot]

Those components all plug into each other.

If you're not overclocking, no point in getting a z77 motherboard.

it's better to get 2x 8 gig sticks (leave room for expansion later on)

might as get windows 8. only windows 8 supports directx 11.1 (and i assume they'll do the same as only vista getting directx 10 support to direct migrations onto the platform)

There is a good difference between the three models. But if you put it on a price to performance ratio, it gets worse and worse the higher up you go.

you should still get a surge protector so the surge protector breaks instead of the power supply

you're missing a DVD drive (if you don't have one already)

And pre-builts really isn't a better value in any circumstance (unless it's a laptop lol)

 

[killerhurtalot]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.98 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($339.99 @ CompUSA)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHAS324-98 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $932.40
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-02 04:13 EST-0500)

well. i tried lol. the nvidia card restraint really adds a good bit of cost.... And god damn pcpartpicker for adding in microcenter..... it's $215 on newegg. brings the total before shipping/tax/rebate to $1002.

 

[ianucthul]

I fixed the links, sorry about that.

The only real reason I picked Nvidia is that I heard ATI had financial trouble or something, so I worry about future driver updates.

Also, I think PhysX looks neat.

 

[bigcyco1]

Your build is all compatible i suggest since your not planing on overclocking you get a different motherboard as that one is for overclocking.

 

[bigcyco1]

Here my suggestion http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qAQ2

 

[killerhurtalot]

Well, If he gets a Asus motherboard, they got software that automatically overclocks it (with pretty stable results too)

I did a test on my set-up and it got the processor speed up to 4.1 ghz (slightly below what I got) so it's not that bad...