Buying parts tomorrow.. swear this is the last time I'll ask b4 buying

[elohelz]

My end goal is an ulta-portable gaming rig. These are the parts I've picked out with the help of tom's hardware, as well as some friendly gentleman on here. I'll be ordering these parts tomorrow, so I just want to make sure that I'm getting the best parts for the prices I'm paying before I commit. If you see a part that you think I could upgrade for roughly the same cost, please let me know. Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated, thank you!

MOBO: ASUS P8Z77-I ($200)

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K ($215)

GPU: Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD 7950 - might buy a diff card since this seems to be OOS everywhere ($300)

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 1x8GB DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) CMZ8GX3M1A1600C10 ($42)

Storage HD: Western Digital 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM WD1002FAEX - $100

Boot/OS Drive: Crucial m4 64GB 2.5-Inch SSD CT064M4SSD2

Case: BitFenix Prodigy ($70)

CPU Cooler: Corsair Cooling Hydro-Series CWCH60 ($60)

PSU: CORSAIR HX Series HX750 750W ($130)

In the end, I just want something that boots up quickly, has minimal lag between applications, and runs games at solid settings. How does everything look?

Thanks

 

[bigcyco1]

Switch ram you want to buy it in sets RAM:G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546#top

 

[elohelz]

The reason I chose the 1x8 is because the Mobo only has two slots, and I might want to upgrade in the future. Is there a beneficial aspect to buying 2x4 rather than 1x8?

Thanks

 

[babernet_1]

The reason I chose the 1x8 is because the Mobo only has two slots, and I might want to upgrade in the future. Is there a beneficial aspect to buying 2x4 rather than 1x8?

Thanks

Yes, with two slots you can read the ram twice as fast, with just one ram channel, you will see some slowing.

 

[elohelz]

Awesome, had no idea, thanks. Will definitely change that

 

[bigcyco1]

You buy it in sets dual channel not a good idea to buy it 1x8 i have a build kinda like yours see

 

[babernet_1]

I just noticed the 64GB SSD. SSD has plummeted in price the last several months. With a 64GB drive you will be constantly babysitting it to make sure there is room for the OS and the updates and the games you are playing. You can get a 128GB for only $79 and a 256GB for only $154.

 

[JJ1217]

I don't know about you guys, but for small cases I would want to get a good reference based cooler so that the hot air from the GPU isn't blown into EVERYTHING else, so nothing else gets too hot either. A blowerstyle cooler just pushed air straight out of the case. Keep that in mind, although a good non reference cooler will still get the job done.

 

[bigcyco1]

I don't know about you guys, but for small cases I would want to get a good reference based cooler so that the hot air from the GPU isn't blown into EVERYTHING else, so nothing else gets too hot either. A blowerstyle cooler just pushed air straight out of the case. Keep that in mind, although a good non reference cooler will still get the job done.

Good point i already had my card or i would of went that route 😉

 

[elohelz]

Thanks for the info gents. 2 sticks of ram, bigger SSD. Final question - best alternative to the 7950 in the $300 range? Seems like any place I"d like to buy it is OOS, except for certain vendors who have jacked up the price to $370 🙁

 

[bigcyco1]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127699
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006

 

[elohelz]

Ah, completely forgot that the 7950 is made by many different manufacturers. Major facepalm on that one. Thanks