First Time Build - Advice?

[hohohobosanta]

Sorry if this is in the wrong category, but I'm not too sure where to put this topic
Hi, I recently learned the basics to building a computer and have chosen my components:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K Quad-Core Processor 3.4 GHz 4 Core LGA 1155

Graphics Card: MSI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0

Motherboard: AS Rock LGA1155 DDR3 SATA3 USB3.0 Quad CrossFireX and Quad SLI A GbE ATX Motherboard Z77 EXTREME4

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3 Memory Kit for Core i3, i5, i7 and Platforms SDRAM CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9

Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast Series 650-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply Compatible with Core i3, i5, i7 and platforms - TX650

Hard Drive: WD Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64 MB Cache - WD10EZEX

SSD: Samsung 840 Series 2.5 inch 120GB SATA III internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7TD120BW

Case: NZXT Phantom 410 Mid Tower USB 3.0 Gaming Case - White

It is a fairly good PC, so I want to make sure: Will these parts all work together? Also, does this build seem worth the money and time? (Altogether, the parts cost $1,000) Please tell me if you have any advice as well.
Any response is greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[xomm]

For a $1000 build, that's fairly solid. So long as it meets your needs, there's nothing much to change about it. What games will you be playing?

My only advice would be to make sure you're getting the best deal you can on your GPU - those prices can vary quite a bit between vendor and brand, so do a thorough search before buying.

Also, will you be overclocking? The CPU/Motherboard you chose are designed to allow for overclocking, but you'll need an aftermarket cooler if you overclock. For modest overclocks (up to ~4.3GHz, depending on the chip and your ambient temps) you'll want to look at a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO at around $25-$30.

 

[hohohobosanta]

For a $1000 build, that's fairly solid. So long as it meets your needs, there's nothing much to change about it. What games will you be playing?

My only advice would be to make sure you're getting the best deal you can on your GPU - those prices can vary quite a bit between vendor and brand, so do a thorough search before buying.

Also, will you be overclocking? The CPU/Motherboard you chose are designed to allow for overclocking, but you'll need an aftermarket cooler if you overclock. For modest overclocks (up to ~4.3GHz, depending on the chip and your ambient temps) you'll want to look at a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO at around $25-$30.

I will most likely be playing games like Minecraft, League of Legends, Borderlands, etc. About overclocking, I am not sure whether or not I will. The most intensive thing that I would be doing on the computer is either programming or playing games. Will I need it?
Thanks!

 

[markwp]

Nice job on the selection. I agree with Xomm - get an aftermarket cooler for the cpu, even if you don't plan to o/c. Cheap insurance, especially as Ivies tend to run toasty.

Mark

 

[xomm]

I will most likely be playing games like Minecraft, League of Legends, Borderlands, etc. About overclocking, I am not sure whether or not I will. The most intensive thing that I would be doing on the computer is either programming or playing games. Will I need it?
Thanks!

Overclocking is never really "necessary," it's more of a hobby and for benchmarking. (sounds superficial, and probably is, but fairly addicting.) Personally, I would get the 212 EVO anyways, since it's only $30 at most, just as protection against hot days and if I ever do decide to OC (which was exactly what happened with my build).

 

[markwp]

Trust me - you may not NEED it, but eventually you will WANT it!! It's part of the mystique of pc's- you will try it.

Mark

 

[GOM3RPLY3R]

Hi,

The only thing I'm wondering about, what are you going to put on that SSD? Honestly, in my whole opinion, SSDs are a complete waste unless you:

1. Have a lot of extra money
2. Are putting your OS on it
3. You can find a good one for really cheap

Other than that, they are a complete waste of money. Plus my friends PC has a Seagate Barracuda 3TB drive and it can start up about 4 seconds faster than your average SSD (12secs vs. 16-17 secs). It also loads things faster. We compared it to some stuff online and the only things that beat it were Samsung's High End SSDs and some small capacity SSDs (32GB and 64GB).

*Edit* P.S: It's a standard 7200RPM

 

[Jack Revenant]

In your shoes, I would drop the SSD, add a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo (even if you don't OC, it's a cheap, good cooler) and upgrade your graphics card to a Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT.

 

[GOM3RPLY3R]

In your shoes, I would drop the SSD, add a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo (even if you don't OC, it's a cheap, good cooler) and upgrade your graphics card to a Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT.

I have to agree, before I decided with the i7-3770k, I was going to get that fan. It has a great CFM and does require that much power. Plus, it's only $35.

Also, with those RPG, online, and strategy games, they really benefit on AMD cards. For example, on my old computer, my dad threw in an ATI HD 5570 which was $90 at the time. And not overclocked, it can run LoL at 60 frames constantly on max settings, and it dropped down to 40 every now and then during intense battle. So getting a 7870 is a definite plus.

 

[hohohobosanta]

Hi,

The only thing I'm wondering about, what are you going to put on that SSD? Honestly, in my whole opinion, SSDs are a complete waste unless you:

1. Have a lot of extra money
2. Are putting your OS on it
3. You can find a good one for really cheap

Other than that, they are a complete waste of money. Plus my friends PC has a Seagate Barracuda 3TB drive and it can start up about 4 seconds faster than your average SSD (12secs vs. 16-17 secs). It also loads things faster. We compared it to some stuff online and the only things that beat it were Samsung's High End SSDs and some small capacity SSDs (32GB and 64GB).

*Edit* P.S: It's a standard 7200RPM

In your shoes, I would drop the SSD, add a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo (even if you don't OC, it's a cheap, good cooler) and upgrade your graphics card to a Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT.

Thank you everybody for all the helpful responses!
For the SSD, I was thinking that I could put Windows 7/Windows 8 on it along with games, video editors, and other more intensive programs. Because I am probably only going to put on around 10 or so programs on the SSD, I am thinking about getting the 120gb which is not going to break the bank at $100. I will definitely look into the Seagate though.

For the video card, I'm looking just to be able to run any game at high settings at 60fps or more. My budget for graphics cards is around $250, so I'll check out the Radeon HD 7870. If anyone has recommendations for a good -not too expensive- graphics card, I will definitely take them into consideration!

 

[xomm]

For the video card, I'm looking just to be able to run any game at high settings at 60fps or more. My budget for graphics cards is around $250, so I'll check out the Radeon HD 7870. If anyone has recommendations for a good -not too expensive- graphics card, I will definitely take them into consideration!

Remember, at $250, it's the 7870 XT or LE you're looking for, like these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131484
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202024 (which happens to be out of stock at the moment)

These are essentially 7950s with a few components disabled, but still retain most of their performance, hence being great price/performance.

 

[hohohobosanta]

Ok, so my finalized build is all of the previous parts with 2 changes
Video Card: Sapphire radeon 7870
And I'm going to be adding the aftermarket cooler master Hyper 212 EVO as well.
Once again, thanks everybody, it's been a great first experience on the forums!

 

[Jack Revenant]

Ok, so my finalized build is all of the previous parts with 2 changes
Video Card: Sapphire radeon 7870
And I'm going to be adding the aftermarket cooler master Hyper 212 EVO as well.
Once again, thanks everybody, it's been a great first experience on the forums!

Our pleasure! Just make sure to get the XT version of the 7870, it is completely different from the others and much more powerful.