First build, first real gaming PC, a few questions

ac3y

Honorable
Mar 12, 2013
2
0
10,510
I've finally decided to take the plunge and build my first PC. Up until now I've made do with multimedia laptops for my gaming needs, and have never run a game on more than medium settings. I've done a bit of research and ended up with the parts below.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($212.78 @ Memory Express)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($111.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.36 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($78.38 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($106.25 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($305.98 @ Memory Express)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N300X 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($33.58 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($95.18 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($100.78 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($20.14 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($100.18 @ DirectCanada)
Monitor: Asus VS229H-P 21.5" Monitor ($173.58 @ Newegg Canada)
Other: Ducky Zero DK2108 Mechanical Keyboard (Shipped) ($89.72)
Total: $1473.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-12 01:16 EDT-0400)

All prices include tax @ 12%.

Now, I have a few questions about this potential build:

  • ■ I'm not planning to build until late April, after exams are finished. Is it worth waiting for Haswell on June 2? I'm understandably excited, but I think I can stick it out if the performance boost is big.

    ■ I know that the common advice is to wait until near build time and then buy everything at once (for warranty purposes) unless a part goes on sale at an amazing price. What are the guidelines for "amazing price", so I know when to snag a deal if there happens to be one?

    ■ Is there anywhere I can save money on the build? I don't want to sacrifice power, but more just wondering if I'm out-and-out wasting money anywhere. It's a bit more than I wanted to pay, but if I exclude the monitor, OS, and keyboard, it doesn't seem much more than regular builds I see around. I don't have any of those things because I've never had a desktop PC before.

Thanks in advance!
 
Canadian eh?
be back in few

Haswell can be worth waiting for but performance is not that much more from Ivy judging from rumors

Okay
swapped the PSu for a cheaper one, branded xfx but still made by Seasonic
The 3570 can OC to 4.2ghz on the z77/75 but if not interested, opt for a B75 board
I would choose the CM Storm Enforcer, same price point but better looking IMO, but your choice
I swapped in an IPS LED screen with low response time, same price but much better visual quality
Total is $1453 after 12% tax

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Memory Express)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($40.50 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($94.87 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($269.99 @ Memory Express)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N300X 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($29.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($61.72 @ DirectCanada)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.45 @ DirectCanada)
Monitor: LG IPS224V-PN 21.5" Monitor ($159.50 @ Vuugo)
Other: Ducky Zero DK2108 Mechanical Keyboard (Shipped to Point Roberts) ($89.72)
Total: $1298.69
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-12 01:40 EDT-0400)

 
Ahh then here is an non OC capable build for cheaper *includes taxes*
Board is a smaller form factor and only 1 sata 6gb/s (so only 1 SSD is best for this build, also only 2 ram slots and less audio output/input

Found out how to include taxes :p

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($212.78 @ Memory Express)
Motherboard: Asus P8B75-M LE Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($83.23 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.36 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($78.38 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($106.25 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($305.98 @ Memory Express)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N300X 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($33.58 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($95.18 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.12 @ DirectCanada)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($20.14 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($100.18 @ DirectCanada)
Monitor: LG IPS224V-PN 21.5" Monitor ($178.64 @ Vuugo)
Other: Ducky Zero DK2108 Mechanical Keyboard (Shipped to Point Roberts) ($89.72)
Total: $1418.54
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-12 01:46 EDT-0400)

 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
If you're not going to overclock get this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($195.90 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($458.16 @ DirectCanada)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($85.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $1216.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-12 01:47 EDT-0400)

I don't include things like Wifi adapters, monitors, keybaords, and mice - that's all personal preference stuff. I personally wouldn't get ultra expensive keyboards and mice initially - you can always add good ones later.