Critique potential new gaming build

[mrbowler]

Hello everyone. I am building a new gaming PC, and I was hoping to get feedback/recommendations for this build.

Case: Corsair C70
Mobo: Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe
CPU: i7-3770K 3.5GHz 1155
GPU: Evga 2gb gtx 680
PSU: Corsair HX850 80 plus gold cert
RAM: Corsair Dominator 16gb DDR3-1600
SSD: Corsair Force Series 240gb
HDD: Western Digital Black 500gb
CPU Cooling: Corsair H100i
Fans: Corsair SP 120 Quiet Edition (x3: 1 for drive cage fan, and 2 to replace stock H100i fans), Corsair AF 120 Quiet Edition (x2 for case fans)
OS: Windows 7 Home 64-bit

I have not built a gaming pc in a long time, so I welcome any advice you might have. Thanks!

 

[bignastyid]

16Gb is overkill for gaming, 8gb is plenty. You could save a bit more money by getting a 3570k, its just as good as the 3770k for gaming as games dont use hyperthreading and in some instances it can hurt performance.

 

[g-unit1111]

You're wasting money in quite a few areas. You definitely don't need the i7 or 16GB of RAM, and the Corsair Dominator is a massive waste of money as you're paying a 3X premium for nothing more than a fancy heat sink. Also Corsair Force SSDs are not good, and you're better off getting getting a Noctua D14 over an H100i. Just because it has the Corsair name on it doesn't mean everything they make is good. You could get this and it would be a far better system:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($220.98 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($60.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($66.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($425.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1394.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-15 16:40 EDT-0400)

- Radeon 7970 is better than GTX 680
- OCZ Vector is better SSD than Corsair Force (actually best on the market)
- Carbide 500R is better case than C70
- Far less expensive RAM
- Less expensive motherboard
- Power supply is better than Corsair HX
- You are wasting money on all those extra fans. The 500R has better fans included and you don't need the H100.

 

[mrbowler]

16Gb is overkill for gaming, 8gb is plenty. You could save a bit more money by getting a 3570k, its just as good as the 3770k for gaming as games dont use hyperthreading and in some instances it can hurt performance.

I had a feeling that 16gb was overkill. I can also easily throw more in if I really fee like it. Thanks!

Also, I'm curious, how does having the i7-3770k hurt performance?

 

[g-unit1111]

16Gb is overkill for gaming, 8gb is plenty. You could save a bit more money by getting a 3570k, its just as good as the 3770k for gaming as games dont use hyperthreading and in some instances it can hurt performance.

I had a feeling that 16gb was overkill. I can also easily throw more in if I really fee like it. Thanks!

Also, I'm curious, how does having the i7-3770k hurt performance?

It doesn't hurt performance. You just don't need the extra threads it has. The i5-3570K and i7-3770K are both almost exactly the same CPU where the i5 is geared toward gaming, the i7 is geared toward multimedia authoring and video editing.