MicroATX build, need advice

[jaydoc]

Hi all

Approximate Purchase Date: Within next 2 weeks
Budget Range: $500 Before Rebates; After Shipping
System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies)
Are you buying a monitor: No, for now
Parts to Upgrade: CPU, mobo, RAM
Do you need to buy OS: No
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com, Amazon.com
Location: Birmingham, AL
Parts Preferences: Intel CPU
Overclocking: Yes / Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: No
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: No idea why my old build won't boot - troubleshooting done with great care including breadboarding, but no use. Also, I want to get a real quadcore this time...!


Additional Comments: I am going to build a new system, and this time I want to build a system with a small footprint - it needs to be capable of moderate gaming. The system I think I want is here -

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tA1z


I already have a few of these components from my old build - I need only the CPU, MoBO, Case, RAM and PSU. The rest will come from my old build. So my total cost as of today is $411.

I chose the case because it was the cheapest microATX one I could find with front USB3 ports.

I have a few questions and hope the PC gurus here can help me with them

1. Is the PSU I chose overkill for my system? I seem to need only 286W as per pcpartpicker's calculations. If so, I want to go with this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703034&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

as it seems to be a better quality PSU.

2. Is the case big enough for a standard size video card? I already have a XFX 6770 which is what I plan to use. I could not find it on pcpartpicker, so I chose the Asus 6770 just to give you guys an idea of the power consumption I need so I can get an accurate answer for #1

3. Also, is the case big enough for the CM hyper212 plus cooler?

4. Any other comments are most welcome.

Thanks.

 

[songoku619]

1. PSU is def overkill. Around 500W on a good quality PSU should do fine with room for upgrades. Think Antec/Corsair etc.
2&3 They'll fit

You might want to consider a GPU upgrade. The HD7770/HD6850's are very competitively priced and are worlds above the 6770 which would really help you at your resolution. Just a thought.

 

[Hazle]

it's better if you decide now on whether or not you want to OC. if you do, you may want to get a Z77/Z75 board instead. if you don't, consider an i5-3470.

if you decide to grab a non-K i5, feel free to ditch the hyper 212. stock coolers are good enough at stock clocks

you don't need 700w. 500-550w from a good brand will do you good, and is more than enough
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

plenty more cheaper ones that'll still do a good job. go for Antec, corsairs, seasonics, XFX, and PCP&P brands.

why'd you need a second ODD when your BR drive can read/write DVD/CDs as well?

you should have a fair bit saved up to be able to afford a 7850, maybe a 660/7870, for an improved gaming performance. otherwise, as nice as an SSD is, feel free to skip it to spend more on a GPU. i'd focus more on performance than load times, personally.

 

[jaydoc]

@ songoku619 and Hazle - thanks for the comments. Much appreciated.

I am looking for other PSU options currently. including this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

I want it to be modular since I am worried about space constraints with a micro-ATX build.

As for overclocking, while I don't want to do it just yet, it is surely something I want to do when the CPU is older before I want to upgrade again. So I will look at other motherboards.

W.r.t the 6770, the Hyper 212 plus, the SSD and the second OD - I already have them all from my current build, so I will not need to buy them. That is why I have included them in the build. Once I have enough saved up for a 7850 that is the route I intend to go.

Again, thanks for all the comments guys. Hope you can stick with me through this until I finish my build..! Just my second one, so I would really like some more experienced hands helping me out.

 

[songoku619]

The PSU should suffice.

If you want to OC then you'll have to get a Z77/Z75 motherboard as the H77's do not overclock (limited OC=crap)

 

[jaydoc]

So this is what I went with in the end, all from newegg

CPU - i5 3570k - $200
MoBo - ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M LGA 1155 Intel Z77 mATX mobo - $129
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1600 - free with mobo
(also have a couple of 4 GB Samsung DDR3 MV-3V4G3/US modules) - $33
PSU - OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular - $50 AR
Case - Rosewill LINE-M Micro-ATX Mini Tower - $40 (mainly for the 2 USB 3 front ports)
Overall cost - $452 AR with Shipping & no taxes.

Video card - XFX Radeon HD 6770 (my old card, will wait to get a better card)
Cooler - Stock for now. Anyone with inputs as to what cooler would fit this build is welcome to suggest ideas. Maybe it will fit my hyper 212 plus, in that case I don't need another cooler.

Hopefully this will be a good build.

Question is - what do I do with my old build? I have never done ebay or craigslist selling before, and I don't know anyone that will want these parts I now have.

 

[songoku619]

I still rate that your PSU is wayyy overkill. You could save a bit by going with a good 500W PSU. Unless you're going the dual GPU route you won't be using half of your PSU.

The hyper 212 Plus is a good cooler. Use it even when you decide to OC.

As for selling I usually put my stuff in all the classifieds I can find. Make sure payments are made before handing items over/shipping and do cash/EFT's only. That'll ensure safety.

 

[jaydoc]

@songoku.. I know....! I just got that PSU because it was a good price on a decent modular PSU (with the rebate factored in). Everything else seemed unreliable (Raidmax, Coolmax etc), had way too low power on the 12V rail(s), or seemed really inadequate at 300-400W leaving me no headroom should I ever want to OC/SLI/CF/ or upgrade.

And I am positive right now that except for minor upgrades (the GPU, more storage etc), and product failures (hope not..!) I will be keeping this one for the next 5 years. So all said and done I feel OK with having gone a bit over my budget.

Thanks for all the advice - I will look into those classifieds after troubleshooting what caused my old PC to fail - I suspect it was my PSU. With the new PSU I hopefully will be able to sort that out.