Help With A First Time Build

[McSaucy4418]

So I know there are countless posts about whether or not this pc or that pc can run Battlefield 3 and I have read many of them as well as various reviews prior to putting together this build and I would appreciate some feedback. Just to clarify before we get started I do intend to overclock the cpu and probably the ram if there is a significant gain in doing so. Also I would like to run Battlefield 3, Shogun Total War 2, Civilization V, and the like at max settings on a thirty seven inch lcd tv. My budget isn't super tight but I don't want to waste money on overkill if its not needed (see footnote). So without further ado here is the build entirely from Newegg.

i5-2500k processor
ASRock P67 Extreme4 motherboard
G.Skill Ripjaws series 2X4GB memory
EVGA SuperClocked GeForce 560 Ti video card
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB hard drive
Samsung Black 12X BD-ROM optical drive
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm cpu cooler
Antec High Current Gamer Series 750w 80 Plus bronze certified power supply
Corsair Special Edition White Graphite 600T mid tower case
Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound

If you need or want more information just ask. By the way I am open to alternatives on the case in particular. That one got great reviews but I wish it came in black like the tv, ps3, and new xbox. Also I've read that side fans are fairly ineffective. Sorry if there is any weird formatting with line breaks I'm posting from my Evo. Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[AdrianPerry]

You can get the 600T in black, however its not the "Piano Black" you seem to be referencing to.

Now, will the build run BF3....in short, yes it most certainly will. It should easily be able to cope with high detail settings. Where the 560Ti will more than likely fall short is maxing out the AA and Tessellation.

From what i've seen and read so far, i think the best in-game settings for the 560Ti are going to be something like High Details, Medium Tessellation and x4 AA.

If you want to guarantee running the game totalled maxed out at enthusiast settings i think you need to be looking more into the region of a GTX 580 or SLI 560Ti's.

The 560Ti is by no means a bad card, i use one personally and it runs all currently released games on enthusiast settings with a very good fps (aside Crysis and metro where it dips to around the 30fps level, which isnt low and is very very playable, but its not quite "optimal")

 

[McSaucy4418]

Thanks for the super quick reply. I'll have to look at that case again to see what the black one looks like. As far as the GTX 580 is there a particular brand you recommend or are they all about the same? Also is it worth it to get side fans and I just saw in another post that the z68 chip is better for overclocking, is there any truth to that and if so does it justify the price difference?

 

[AdrianPerry]

Z68 is a combination of the features of a P67 and H67.

Z68 should overclock exactly the same as a P67. It comes down to manufacturer and power phases then as to which motherboard allows it to be pushed higher, and of course the CPU chip aswell since not every single one will OC exactly the same.

The Black 600T is quite nice, its called the Graphite or something like that (I dont think it comes with a side window as standard though, although you can buy one separately if you really wish to).

Personally I like having side fans on my case because it provides direct cool air onto the Graphics card. Although its not really "necessary". However im fairly sure the 600T doesn't have any mounting points for side fans at all?

GTX 580 - Personally id look at one with more than 1 cooling fan, something like the MSI Frozr III, Gainward Phantom or ASUS Direct II. EVGA is also a popular choice.

 

[Outlander_04]

do we have any idea of the resolution of your monitor?

This is critical to know before making a judgement about graphics hardware

 

[McSaucy4418]

Ok I'll check those out and the case I have selected right now says the window can be replaced with mesh and like for 120mm fans but with two 200mm fans on the front I don't know how much of an issue cooling will be.

 

[008Rohit]

The build seems good.

You just could get a better Case, CoolerMaster HAF 922 is a great case.

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 MoBo. That features PCIe 3.0 Slots. Has more features over P67.

Hyper 212+ is a popular HSF for i5 2500K.

 

[AdrianPerry]

The build seems good.

You just could get a better Case, CoolerMaster HAF 922 is a great case.

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 MoBo. That features PCIe 3.0 Slots. Has more features over P67.

Hyper 212+ is a popular HSF for i5 2500K.

All good build advice Support +1

 

[McSaucy4418]

Outlander I plan on using an hdmi cable with my tv. I'm not sure of the resolution, how would I find out? Also I know everyone raves about the 580 but how much of a difference will I see for my $200? Rohit thanks for the mobo suggestion.

 

[AdrianPerry]

if your TV is FULL HD 1080p, your resolution will likely be 1920x1080

GTX 570 vs 580: http://www.hwcompare.com/9132/geforce-gtx-570-vs-geforce-gtx-580/
Somewhere in the region of a 15% overall performance increase.

 

[McSaucy4418]

Wow that mobo is like thirty dollars cheaper.I'm glad you mentioned it.

 

[McSaucy4418]

Can that cooler master case be used with usb 3.0? It doesn't specify.

 

[008Rohit]

Wow that mobo is like thirty dollars cheaper.I'm glad you mentioned it.

Plus, it will support 3rd Gen. Core Processors (Ivy Bridge) too... The Asus P67 may support, too, but it doesn't have a PCIe 3.0 slot. Ivy Bridge supports that. So the ASRock board will support future High-end graphic cards.

 

[McSaucy4418]

Thanks for the link adrian. Is there any way to tell our estimate to what extent the 560 can use AA and will overclocking improve that?

 

[008Rohit]

Thanks for the link adrian. Is there any way to tell our estimate to what extent the 560 can use AA and will overclocking improve that?

560 Ti is a great overclockable card. It can match the performance of a GTX 570 by overclocking. Get one with 2 Fans.

 

[McSaucy4418]

Yeah the one I picked has two fans. I just checked the recommended specs for battlefield which is the most graphically demanding game of anything I'll play and the say the GTX 460 with 1GB is recommended so I should be way over that.

 

[AdrianPerry]

Thanks for the link adrian. Is there any way to tell our estimate to what extent the 560 can use AA and will overclocking improve that?

Overclocking will boost performance. However even with an overclocked card, i think the same sort of limitations will apply (maybe able to squeeze a little more from the AA/AF)

I might be totally wrong but im basing my assumptions around benchmark tests such as Unigine and how upping the tessellation and AA hinders performance more than anything else.

 

[Outlander_04]

if your TV is FULL HD 1080p, your resolution will likely be 1920x1080

GTX 570 vs 580: http://www.hwcompare.com/9132/geforce-gtx-570-vs-geforce-gtx-580/
Somewhere in the region of a 15% overall performance increase.

If your tv is 720p you could probably max out any game with a graphics card costing $100 less

If its an older crt screen then you can max out any game with a graphics card costing $200 less

 

[McSaucy4418]

Yeah it supports 1080p.