Help me choose component brands?

[FSX-JACK]

This will be my second build, although I am a little bit unsure what brands to buy.
I have came up with this, but would love to hear some suggestions.

CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K

Mobo: ASrock Z77 Extreme4 (Should I go for ASrock?)

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8 GB (Is there any better RAM out there - around the same price?)

GPU: GTX 670 (Need help with choosing brand)

CPU cooler: I don't know (I have H60 but I am not pleased with the temps I'm getting)

HDD: 1TB but d/k what brand. Was thinking Western Digital.

Case: They all look good, but if anyone has a specific I'd be happy to hear it

PSU: 750W Corsair TX750 V2 80PLUS Bronze Power Supply - good?

And I am unsure to buy an SSD or not, so any suggestions?
Thank you, I appreciate your help!

 

[DarkSable]

That board is one of the most popular out there - I personally like that or the Gigabyte z77x UD3h.

That ram is fine, though it has high heatsinks. I'd look for low-profile ram.

When it comes to the video card, it's... tricky. Do you want a reference design, or an aftermarket heatsink? How large can it be, ect, ect, ect. For a 670, I'd go with one of the non-reference EVGA boards, myself, unless you have a small case, in which case I'd go for one of the reference ones.


Yeah closed-loop watercoolers are NOT good in so many ways. Go with a good air cooler, like the Noctua d14.

Western Digital blue will be faster, black has a 5 year warranty.

Cases are largely dependent on the user's preference. I like NZXT's designs, myself. Just make sure it's mid-ATX or larger for that motherboard.

That's a good pick on the power supply, yeah, but I'd get the HX model. It's only slightly more expensive, and it's 80+ GOLD, so it'll last a lot longer. Unless you want to add a second 670 at some point, you only need 550w.

I'd tell you to get the SSD - it's worth it. They make windows feel miles more responsive, and any load times or loads between levels in games go away. Especially nice for MMORPGs. If you do go for it, I'd get a 128 OCZ Vertex 4 or Samsung 830.

 

[jaguarskx]

Western Digital Black are faster than Blue. Greens have the lowest performance, but also the lowest power consumption; great for mass storage. Blues have "balanced" performance, power consumption and are cheaper than Blacks. Western Digital Blacks or RE (RAID Editions; more expensive than Blacks) are my preferred hard drives.

Graphic card brands... well I like Asus or eVGA for nVidia cards. Exactly which GTX 670 to buy is not so easy because there are reference design (heatsink), non reference designs, and overclocked versions.

The case is something personal only you can decide. While brands do matter to a certain extent most people look at the overall design and any specific features they are looking for. This is probably the hardest one to ask an opinion for because everyone has their own preferences.

The power supply is find. I generally go for Seasonic PSUs, or PSUs designed by Seasonic for other brands such as the Corsair PSU you selected.

I'm not big on the SSD. If you want Windows to load in less than 30 seconds and other programs to load a little quicker, then sure go for it. Otherwise spend the money elsewhere or save it.