1500$ gaming pc

[quickwing]

Hi,

I'm planning on building a pc soon and would like some advice on my build

Approximate Purchase Date: In mid may

Budget Range: Around 1500$

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Video gaming, microsoft office, internet surfing

Are you buying a monitor: Yes

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: None

Location: Montreal Canada

Parts Preferences: AMD video card (since I plan on getting Bioshock infinite and Crysis 3 anyways)

Overclocking:Maybe

SLI or Crossfire:Maybe


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Amazon Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.63 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.50 @ Vuugo)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.00 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($93.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.79 @ DirectCanada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Monitor: Asus VS228H-P 21.5" Monitor ($129.67 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $1052.33
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-03 19:11 EDT-0400)

The video card I chose is the following (its not listed on pc partpicker for some reason):

SAPPHIRE 100352-2L Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006

 

[avjguy2362]

It looks great except for the fact that you "may" want to OC and get a second 7950, you should consider getting a 750 to 850 Watt PS.

 

[jnkweaver]

Very solid build I wouldn't change anything

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I wouldn't bother getting a SLI / CF capable MoBo if getting an AMD GFX card....not to mention a PSU that wont handle 2nd card.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card-benchmarking-frame-rate,3466.html

I'd skip the blue and get the Black HD

And consider a 144Hx monitor with the $150 ya have left in budget

As for the Mid May purchase, ya may wanna wait till nVidia drops the 760, 770, 780 .... shud kick prices down a bit on the 7xxx / 6xx series cards

 

[Jack Revenant]

Your build looks excellent. Should you want to, you could go up to the 7970 Vapor-X (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202001&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=) while still staying within budget, but the 7950 is a great card as well.

 

[quickwing]

I wouldn't bother getting a SLI / CF capable MoBo if getting an AMD GFX card....not to mention a PSU that wont handle 2nd card.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card-benchmarking-frame-rate,3466.html

I'd skip the blue and get the Black HD

And consider a 144Hx monitor with the $150 ya have left in budget

As for the Mid May purchase, ya may wanna wait till nVidia drops the 760, 770, 780 .... shud kick prices down a bit on the 7xxx / 6xx series cards

Excuse my ignorance but what is a 144Hx monitor? Also what advantages does the black hd have over the blue?

 

[Jack Revenant]

I wouldn't bother getting a SLI / CF capable MoBo if getting an AMD GFX card....not to mention a PSU that wont handle 2nd card.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card-benchmarking-frame-rate,3466.html

I'd skip the blue and get the Black HD

And consider a 144Hx monitor with the $150 ya have left in budget

As for the Mid May purchase, ya may wanna wait till nVidia drops the 760, 770, 780 .... shud kick prices down a bit on the 7xxx / 6xx series cards

Excuse my ignorance but what is a 144Hx monitor? Also what advantages does the black hd have over the blue?

I believe that he meant 144hz, which is the refresh rate.

 

[jnkweaver]

The black has a 5yr warranty while the blue has a 2 year warranty.

 

[quickwing]

If I drop the crossfire, would 620W be enough for overclocking?

 

[pellik]

If you're going to abandon xfire then look at the asrock pro 3 instead of extreme 4.

Corsair tx650 is on sale on newegg until 5/9 for 25% off. It's a good psu and there is a MIR on top of the discount bringing the price down to $70.

I'd also think about the crucial ballistix tactical 1600 memory. I like the low profile and 1.35v. Timings are good even though it's only ddr3 1600. Then you could also consider a gigantic cpu cooler if you want.

 

[jnkweaver]

If I drop the crossfire, would 620W be enough for overclocking?

Absolutely