First Gaming PC Build! Is this a good build?

glenhw

Honorable
Mar 29, 2013
4
0
10,510
Approximate Purchase Date: In a few months approximatley, maybe more

Budget Range: $1400-$1700, maybe higher

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (mostly),watching movies, browsing

Are you buying a monitor: No

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Preference on Amazon and Newegg, but it doesn't really matter

Location: Palmer, Alaska, USA

Parts Preferences: No preferences

Overclocking: Maybe, down the road a ways if i do.

SLI or Crossfire: Not sure. If so, also down the road a ways

Your Monitor Resolution: 1080p 26" vizio

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Need a better pc to play new games on!


Additional comments: A few things im not sure on (well thats basically everything) but the processor and the gpu especially not sure on. Also, i will be playing bf3, and arma mostly. How will this pc handle those, on the highest settings? 60fps at least?Could use some input and any help/advice is greatly appreciated!

Heres what i have picked:

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

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper N520 43.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($37.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Cooling MX-2 4g Thermal Paste ($4.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($108.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.49 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($425.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($95.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Battlefield 3 Edition Wired Gaming Keyboard ($117.00 @ Mechanical Keyboards)
Mouse: Logitech G500 Wired Laser Mouse ($55.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1670.23
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-02 01:08 EDT-0400)
 
Greetings from a former resident of Alaska!!!!

Your build is okay, but I'd consider a few options:

* The i7 3770k Micro Center price is for "In Store Pickup Only", so unless your in the lower 48, you won't get it for that price.
* Mobo is a good option.
* 16 gb's of RAM is a bit much for a gaming system. 8 gb's is plenty for now.
* The SSD is a bit on the small size, IMHO, so I'd opt for a 240-256 gb one to house your OS, some games, and room for some apps.
* 7970 GPU is a good option for performance/$.
* Case is good, but I've listed an bit more affordable one below.
* PSU is way overkill for this build, so I've listed another option.
* Your RAM selection might have issues with some aftermarket CPU HSF's. The heat spreaders protrude vertically and can get in the way of some/most aftermarket CPU HSF's. I have listed a set that has LOW PROFILE heat spreaders, so you won't have to worry about that.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.37 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($168.55 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($392.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($63.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($61.24 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($84.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($91.17 @ Amazon)
Total: $1375.23
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-02 04:18 EDT-0400)

I didn't include the Keyboard, Mouse into the build above.

Also you might want to limit the amount of places you order from. You have 5 different places your ordering from and that can complicate things when you need some help. I have limited my build above to 2 places that I would buy from myself, because they have good customer service and someone I don't mind working with.