First Time Building a CPU. Up to $1500 Budget, want best performance.

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Pudge714

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Jul 9, 2013
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I am an online poker player and looking to build my first desktop. I don't need an elite video card, but need lots of RAM and need to prevent overheating. I did some research on my own and here are the specs I have as of right now. I am wondering if there are any compatibility problems or spots where I could upgrade performance or get similar performance for cheaper.

Processor (CPU) Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

CPU Cooling CORSAIR Hydro Series H100 (CWCH100) Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181017

Motherboard ASUS P9X79
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131798

DDR3 Memory (RAM) Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104173

Video Cards AMD Radeon HD 7950
http://www.techspot.com/products/graphics-cards/amd-ati-radeon-hd-7950-3gb-gddr5-pcie.83320/

The sound cards and network cards I will be using are on the motherboard.
Does any one have recommendations for cases/power supplies?
Is quality of HDD relevant or is size the only relevant detail? Would I be better off getting an SSD?
 
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If you used a corsair 300r case you wont need that cooler unless your overclocking.

You have a k series CPU, if your not intending to overclock you can drop the k and downgrade from z77 to h77 or b75 motherboards to save money.

The 7950 is fairly elite for a video card 😛 you can downgrade that if you need to pinch the pennies.

For HDD's quality is relevant, no point in a storage unit that burns out in a year or two. Speed is also important, but as a general guide look for a sata3 7200rpm or better.

SSD will only improve boot times from 30 seconds to 19 and loading times, not important for you if your not playing games with huge load times.
 
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You have a k series CPU, if your not intending to overclock you can drop the k and downgrade from z77 to h77 or b75 motherboards to save money.
Click to expand...

On $1500 definitely be prepared to overclock. With a minimum air cooler and a modern motherboard, you can easily clock it to 4.2 - 4.4GHz with almost no effort.

You can't use that CPU with that motherboard and if you're looking for performance get the latest gen CPU and GPU.

Try something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Swiftech H220 55.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($150.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($435.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($134.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1554.80
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-09 19:57 EDT-0400)

Add a second GTX 770 later on and you'll get better than Titan performance.
 
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I put that down as they didnt mention overclocking, which wouldnt be in favour with his goal of keeping everythign cool.

These days I just assume people don't know how to overclock if they dont mention it. Makes it simpler 😛
 
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I don't plan on overclocking, is the consesus that getting that CORSAIR case will be sufficient for cooling?

I'm playing across multiple sites for long periods of time w/ other software running and many of the other sites have memory leaks. Crashes at the wrong time can be very expensive.

What Z77 chipset MOBO to people recommend?
 
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You didn't link a corsair case? But the corsair 300r is fairly sufficient, with space to mount extra fans. Or if you want something pretty the nzxt 410 phantom is nice.

If your not overclocking you dont need z77, or a 'k' just the i5-3570 is sufficient with a h77 or b75 mobo.

A build for your needs as you describe them can be done for under $1000.

The other sites have memory leaks? meaning?
 
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Are you just playing online poker?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A85X Extreme4 ATX FM2 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($65.70 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($96.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $502.65
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-10 07:52 EDT-0400)

Probably went a little overkill on some parts for an APU build though.
 
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