I Just Wanted to Verify That This is an Efficient Gaming Build

[Evzor]

I've been wanting to build a gaming build for some time now, and I finally have the funds and have picked out some parts. What do you guys thing of this mid-high level gaming build?

http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/x78o

Thanks all!

 

[Taeran]

No, to be honest it is not.
You can:
Go with an intel processor, they're much better for gaming at the same price range as yours.

Also, your PSU and case are overkill. At that price range you should a able to get an overclockable i5-3570k with a cooling fan and a 275iish dollar GPU.

 

[i8myhippo]

It's funny that you use the word efficient with that processor, because, although it has great specs, caches, speeds, it's biggest downfall is that word: efficiency. If you're going for power efficiency in gaming, look no further than Intel's Ivy Bridge. I agree with Taeran about the 3570k.

 

[Evzor]

Do you have any replacement part recommendations? This is my first PC build so I'm a tad new with this stuff. Also, why is the AMD Processor worse for gaming? Just Wondering.
Thanks again!

 

[excella1221]

You can do better than that.
Here's my revision.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($204.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Rosewill BlackHawk ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.17 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $752.10
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-11 21:41 EST-0500)

If you plan OC'ing someday, swap the 3470 to an i5-3570K and the motherboard to a z77 chipset.

 

[manofchalk]

Will you be overclocking at all? Just that if you are swapping over to Intel will be a bit more expensive.

Most AMD processord have a 125W TDP, so under full load they draw 125W of power. The current gen Intel processors only draw 77W under load, with the i3's drawing 65W. While also offering generally better performance overall.

AMD chips right now are more geared toward Multi-Threaded tasks, while gaming is much more suited toward Single-Threaded performance.

 

[Evzor]

@excella1221 Thank you so much! I looked at the part changes and the seem pretty awesome

@manofchalk Ok, I see. Thanks for the reply!

 

[Taeran]

I'd go with excella's but you will probably want to upgrade to the i5-3570k, a z77 (z77 pro3 mebbe), and throw in an aftermarket fan like the cooler master hyper 212

 

[Evzor]

Those mobos are quite expensive... Would an MSI ZH77A-G43 LGA 1155 Intel H77 do fine? Or is there a huge advantage to a z77?

 

[Evzor]

This is what I think I'll go with:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz

Motherboard: MSI ZH77A-G43 LGA 1155 Intel H77

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Video Card: MSI R7850 PE 2GD5/OC Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5

Case: Rosewill BlackHawk ATX Mid Tower Case

Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91

Optical Drive: LG GH24NS70 OEM DVD/CD Writer

I'm on a really strict 1000$ budget and I can't really afford to change much else due to shipping and taxes. Please let me know about any obvious flaws!

 

[manofchalk]

You have a 'K" edition processor and a H77 board. Chip can overclock but the board cant. Need a Z77 board if you want to overclock (and aftermarket cooling).
So if you want to overclock, get this Z77 board.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157297&Tpk=Z77%20Pro3
If you dont, change the CPU to an i5-3470.


Other than that its all good.

 

[Evzor]

Fantastic! Thank you all so much for the help!

 

[Evzor]

Best answer selected by Evzor.