Advice on which system to choose

[byza]

I'm buying my first gaming pc and need advice on which system to choose.

The first has
i5 3570k
Gigabyte GA-77-D3H motherboard
EVGA GeForce GTX 650 ti 2GB
G. Skill Ripjaws 1600Mhz 8GB

or for about $200 more
i5 4670k
MSI Z87-G45 motherboard
EVGA GeForce GTX 760 Superclocked 2GB
G.Skill Sniper 1600Mhz 8GB

The rest of the components are fairly similar.
Kingston HyperX or Samsung 840 EVO 120 GB SSD
Seagate Barracuda 2TB
Seasonic G650 80Plus Gold 650W

I plan on overclocking and i'm wondering if i'll see much improvement for the extra money.

Thanks

 

[ps3hacker12]

Whats your budget for this system?
are you interested in an SLI/Crossfire upgrade path?

these questions would help us help you

 

[ifreestylin]

Buying an pre mad gaming PC is gonna be overprice, its cheaper and more fun to make your own. whats the price of each PC? between the CPU's there isn't really much different in gaming but the gtx760 is far better than the 650ti.

 

[byza]

I'm building myself, just been looking at pre-made pc's for guidance.

I'm in Australia, my budget is about AU$1400 which is roughly US$1200 using pcpartpicker.com, although i'm not opposed to going a little higher if i'll see considerable gains. The cheaper it is, the sooner i can buy it. Also I need to buy a screen, mouse, keyboard etc, so any money i can save on the tower will go towards peripherals. With peripherals I want to spend au$1600(US$1400). I just want to be able to play games on pretty good settings and won't need upgrades for a few years.

I'm not opposed to upgrading to SLI/Crossfire, especially if it'll get me gaming sooner, but i wasn't planning on it either.

The first setup was about AU$1400, the second AU$1600

Feel free to speak in USD for parts, I can do the conversion.

Thanks.

 

[ifreestylin]

I'm building myself, just been looking at pre-made pc's for guidance.

I'm in Australia, my budget is about AU$1400 which is roughly US$1200 using pcpartpicker.com, although i'm not opposed to going a little higher if i'll see considerable gains. The cheaper it is, the sooner i can buy it. Also I need to buy a screen, mouse, keyboard etc, so any money i can save on the tower will go towards peripherals. With peripherals I want to spend au$1600(US$1400). I just want to be able to play games on pretty good settings and won't need upgrades for a few years.

I'm not opposed to upgrading to SLI/Crossfire, especially if it'll get me gaming sooner, but i wasn't planning on it either.

The first setup was about AU$1400, the second AU$1600

Feel free to speak in USD for parts, I can do the conversion.

Thanks.

Here is a build i put together for you;

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1ByWZ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1ByWZ/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1ByWZ/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($154.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($85.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.88 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($409.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($82.79 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($21.80 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VS248H-P 24.0" Monitor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($53.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder 2013 Wired Optical Mouse ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1348.40
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-08 19:38 EDT-0400)

 

[byza]

Is there much of an advantage to the i5-4670k w/ MSI z87-G45 over an older i5-3570k w/ Asus P8Z77-V-LK? From what i understand, if i'm overclocking i'll get similar performance but can save nearly $100 going for the older chip and MOBO. Also from what i understand Asus is a more reliable brand?

Thanks

 

[ifreestylin]

Is there much of an advantage to the i5-4670k w/ MSI z87-G45 over an older i5-3570k w/ Asus P8Z77-V-LK? From what i understand, if i'm overclocking i'll get similar performance but can save nearly $100 going for the older chip and MOBO. Also from what i understand Asus is a more reliable brand?

Thanks

The reason why i chose the i5-4670k is the simply fact that is newer and you'll have an upgrade path with the mobo. on the other hand, the i5-3570k is still a beast and will last you for years to come so its all up to you. From my experience Asus is a very good company and customer support is excellent.

 

[byza]

Thanks for the help.

 

[cjkupers]

I would buy ifreestylin's build. Even if you're trying to save $100 on a CPU and mobo, that's a whole generation of CPU architecture you're willing to pass on. The new haswell chips are very energy efficient too, so technically they'd save you the cost in electricity that you're willing to throw away to downgrade.

I would go with ifreestylin's build.

 

[ps3hacker12]

I'm building myself, just been looking at pre-made pc's for guidance.

I'm in Australia, my budget is about AU$1400 which is roughly US$1200 using pcpartpicker.com, although i'm not opposed to going a little higher if i'll see considerable gains. The cheaper it is, the sooner i can buy it. Also I need to buy a screen, mouse, keyboard etc, so any money i can save on the tower will go towards peripherals. With peripherals I want to spend au$1600(US$1400). I just want to be able to play games on pretty good settings and won't need upgrades for a few years.

I'm not opposed to upgrading to SLI/Crossfire, especially if it'll get me gaming sooner, but i wasn't planning on it either.

The first setup was about AU$1400, the second AU$1600

Feel free to speak in USD for parts, I can do the conversion.

Thanks.

Here is a build i put together for you;

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1ByWZ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1ByWZ/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1ByWZ/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($154.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($85.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.88 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($409.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($82.79 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($21.80 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VS248H-P 24.0" Monitor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($53.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder 2013 Wired Optical Mouse ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1348.40
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-08 19:38 EDT-0400)

Similar build in AUD:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($275.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($165.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($459.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Power Supply: XFX 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($169.00 @ PLE Computers)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($25.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($195.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Keyboard: Gigabyte Force K3 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($25.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Black Edition Wired Optical Mouse ($49.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Total: $1622.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-09 21:22 EST+1000)

It does cost quite a bit more than just conversion, parts genuinely cost more down there.

 

[byza]

Thanks PS3Hacker,

By conversion I meant find the parts in AUD. I've been using pccasegear and umart, however i didn't realise pcpartspicker had an australian site which will make it a lot easier/faster to compare prices. Everything costs more in AU but as a basic rule you can add $200 to the US price in the $1200-1400 range and end up pretty close to AU$.

 

[byza]

As far as the speed of the system goes, would I benefit from getting a lower end graphics card eg EVGA GTX 760 and spending the money on a 250gb SSD? I could always add another card in SLI down the road, but changing the boot drive seems like it would be annoying.

 

[ps3hacker12]

An SSD won't give any noticable performance boost in terms of PC performance or gaming performance, it will simply reduce windows boot times and reduce game loading times.

 

[ifreestylin]

I'm building myself, just been looking at pre-made pc's for guidance.

I'm in Australia, my budget is about AU$1400 which is roughly US$1200 using pcpartpicker.com, although i'm not opposed to going a little higher if i'll see considerable gains. The cheaper it is, the sooner i can buy it. Also I need to buy a screen, mouse, keyboard etc, so any money i can save on the tower will go towards peripherals. With peripherals I want to spend au$1600(US$1400). I just want to be able to play games on pretty good settings and won't need upgrades for a few years.

I'm not opposed to upgrading to SLI/Crossfire, especially if it'll get me gaming sooner, but i wasn't planning on it either.

The first setup was about AU$1400, the second AU$1600

Feel free to speak in USD for parts, I can do the conversion.

Thanks.

Here is a build i put together for you;

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1ByWZ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1ByWZ/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1ByWZ/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($154.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($85.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.88 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($409.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($82.79 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($21.80 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VS248H-P 24.0" Monitor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($53.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder 2013 Wired Optical Mouse ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1348.40
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-08 19:38 EDT-0400)

Similar build in AUD:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($275.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($165.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($459.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Power Supply: XFX 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($169.00 @ PLE Computers)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($25.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($195.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Keyboard: Gigabyte Force K3 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($25.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Black Edition Wired Optical Mouse ($49.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Total: $1622.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-09 21:22 EST+1000)

It does cost quite a bit more than just conversion, parts genuinely cost more down there.

OP states he has a budget of $1600 so it's still not too bad being $1622

 

[ifreestylin]

As far as the speed of the system goes, would I benefit from getting a lower end graphics card eg EVGA GTX 760 and spending the money on a 250gb SSD? I could always add another card in SLI down the road, but changing the boot drive seems like it would be annoying.

SSD will make windows boot time and loading time much faster but going from gtx770 to the 760 is a bad idea. I take it you only want a Nvidia GPU? on AMD side, you can pick up the 7970 for $100 less than the 770 which has similar performance or wait and see what the new AMD cards has to offer.

 

[cjkupers]

I would go for a less spendy 770, you can grab a really good one for sub $400

Yours is listed for nearly $460.. Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($459.00 @ Mwave Australia)

Get a 2GB windforce by gigabyte or an MSI triple fan model... heck, even an EVGA.

 

[ps3hacker12]

I would go for a less spendy 770, you can grab a really good one for sub $400

Yours is listed for nearly $460.. Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($459.00 @ Mwave Australia)

Get a 2GB windforce by gigabyte or an MSI triple fan model... heck, even an EVGA.

460 AUD NOT 460USD

 

[byza]

As far as the speed of the system goes, would I benefit from getting a lower end graphics card eg EVGA GTX 760 and spending the money on a 250gb SSD? I could always add another card in SLI down the road, but changing the boot drive seems like it would be annoying.

SSD will make windows boot time and loading time much faster but going from gtx770 to the 760 is a bad idea. I take it you only want a Nvidia GPU? on AMD side, you can pick up the 7970 for $100 less than the 770 which has similar performance or wait and see what the new AMD cards has to offer.

I might wait and see when the new AMD cards come out. I read somewhere it should be in the 2nd half of 2013 and i'm still saving anyway.

 

[ifreestylin]

As far as the speed of the system goes, would I benefit from getting a lower end graphics card eg EVGA GTX 760 and spending the money on a 250gb SSD? I could always add another card in SLI down the road, but changing the boot drive seems like it would be annoying.

SSD will make windows boot time and loading time much faster but going from gtx770 to the 760 is a bad idea. I take it you only want a Nvidia GPU? on AMD side, you can pick up the 7970 for $100 less than the 770 which has similar performance or wait and see what the new AMD cards has to offer.

I might wait and see when the new AMD cards come out. I read somewhere it should be in the 2nd half of 2013 and i'm still saving anyway.

They are said to be coming out next month since there is a possibility its gonna be bundle with BF4. Am also waiting for AMD next gen GPU's