$2000 - $2500 Gaming PC ~ Need review + Questions

[HaydesZ]

Hi guys,

I am planning to build a new PC for gaming because I've had my current one for about 6 years now and its getting old.

Below listed are the current parts I am planning to buy:

Motherboard - Unsure
Trying to decide between these 3:

MSI Z77 MPOWER Motherboard - $229
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=21537

ASUS Sabertooth Z77 Motherboard - $249
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=19883

ASUS P8Z77 V-PRO Thunderbolt Motherboard - $295
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=20967


Processor - Intel Core i7 3770K - $335
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=187_346_1184&products_id=20140

GPU - MSI GeForce GTX 680 Lightning 2GB - $619
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1377&products_id=20774

Cooling - Corsair Hydro Series H100 CPU Cooler - $145
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_23_845&products_id=17961

SSD - SanDisk Extreme SSD 240GB - $185
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_902_1376&products_id=20077

HDD - Western Digital WD Black 1TB WD1002FAEX - $99
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_344&products_id=13660

RAM - Corsair Vengeance CMZ16GX3M2A1600C9 16GB DDR3 - $95
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=186_218_1125&products_id=21770

PSU - Corsair HX-750 V2 80+ Gold - $199
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_354&products_id=21284

Case - CoolerMaster HAF 932 Advanced - $165
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_31&products_id=17853

All this comes to around $2000 and I will be OCing and going SLI in the future.
I live in Australia, so I can only buy off sites that are local / ship to Aus.
I do not mind going over-budget a little if it is necessary.

Please review my current set-up and recommend any changes.
Also, can anyone help me decide on which motherboard to buy or recommend any others I should consider?

Thanks in advance !

 

[zared619]

Your build looks pretty good, I can't find any faults with it.

1. Go with the Asus Sabertooth. They are fantastic boards.

2. Get the Sapphire 7970 Vapor X.

3. The H100 is not that great of a cooler. Unless you really want liquid cooling, a high-end air cooler will perform about the same.
http://pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_23_312&products_id=13232

4. Since you want to overclock and SLI in the future, you will probably want to get the same PSU, just in the 850 watt version.

Just as a side note, for gaming, you will not see any difference between the 3770K and the 3570K. They will perform exactly the same in games. If you go with the i5, you can save about $100.

 

[boulbox]

Your build looks pretty good, I can't find any faults with it.

1. Go with the Asus Sabertooth. They are fantastic boards.

2. Get the Sapphire 7970 Vapor X.

3. The H100 is not that great of a cooler. Unless you really want liquid cooling, a high-end air cooler will perform about the same.
http://pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_23_312&products_id=13232

4. Since you want to overclock and SLI in the future, you will probably want to get the same PSU, just in the 850 watt version.

Just as a side note, for gaming, you will not see any difference between the 3770K and the 3570K. They will perform exactly the same in games. If you go with the i5, you can save about $100.

Sabertooth is not fantastic, it is no different from boards at the $180 price range(except it has a 5 year warrenty) and the thermal armor that is suppose to cool it traps the heat inside

the 680 is to pricey, get a 670 that is pretty much the same performance as 680, better yet go for a 7970 which just beats the 680

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.00 @ PCCaseGear)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($84.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($165.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($174.99 @ Mwave Australia)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($469.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Stryker (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($195.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Plus 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($158.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($22.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Total: $1620.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-23 03:25 EST+1100)

H100 is to pricey for the performance it gives, getting a noctua D-14 just as good for cheaper

For mobo, choose something that is good but not overkill, if you still want to get one of those overpriced mobos then get ASrock V-pro(no thunderbolt because i do not think you will need it)

unless you are doing video editing or photoshop, i7 is pretty much useless, i5 is just as good for gaming

choose a different SSD, this SSD is a bit faster for cheaper

WD black is not needed, you can go a bit cheap on HDD because you have an SSD for the speed

16GB of ram is a lot, 8GB of ram is still a lot but it is at a good price so it is recommended. you can always upgrade the ram later if needed

 

[HaydesZ]

Best answer selected by HaydesZ.