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MrGamingdwarf

MrGamingdwarf

Honorable
Apr 5, 2013
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10,540
Hey guys, I'm about to buy these parts and I was want a second opinion, and I'm willing to pay a little more for looks. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z77 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($244.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($163.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($177.85 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 4GB Video Card ($596.13 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Gunmetal/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional Gold 850W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2052.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-04 19:33 EDT-0400)
 
That build contains a ridiculous amount of overkill - especially the motherboard and RAM. Never pay the 3X premium for the Dominator Platinum - you're overpaying for nothing more than a fancy heat sink.

Get this instead:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($220.98 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($60.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP4 TH ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($445.91 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($445.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($134.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic Platinum 860W 80 PLUS Platinum Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($204.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2075.69
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-04 20:46 EDT-0400)

- $70 cheaper
- Less expensive motherboard without the crappy plastic armor
- Added Noctua fan
- Swapped i7-3770K for i5-3570K
- Way cheaper RAM (you're throwing money away buying Dominator Platinum)
- Dual 7970 will destroy a single GTX 680
- Fractal Design Define R4 for case
- Super Flower quality PSU
 


Well according to PC Part Picker the proposed build puts out 731W but yeah it's probably better to use more than less. I fixed it.
 
Anything wrong with G Skill Sniper at a lesser price?

That's what I put in my recent build so maybe I'm rationalizing 😉

Honestly though, I'm sure it's DEFINITELY adequate. RAM is a major diminishing return product when you get into the quality tier.

However, I installed the same SSD (same 128 GB) although if you're willing to spend over 2k then you might as well go bigger as the other poster suggested. You'll get better write times and, of course, the more storage. I would have went for the 256 GB except this is a budget build. I won't be be exceeding the storage capacity and the slightly slower write time will hardly be noticed. If you're primarily a gamer then maybe the 128 will be just fine.
 


great build advice exactly what i had in mind
 


Believe me you'll get no argument from me here. There's no reason to pay ridiculous premiums for RAM, especially when RAM prices are rapidly fluctuating the way they are. There's nothing wrong with G.Skill Sniper as long as you don't get low voltage, but the tall heat sinks could be a problem.

However, I installed the same SSD (same 128 GB) although if you're willing to spend over 2k then you might as well go bigger as the other poster suggested. You'll get better write times and, of course, the more storage. I would have went for the 256 GB except this is a budget build. I won't be be exceeding the storage capacity and the slightly slower write time will hardly be noticed. If you're primarily a gamer then maybe the 128 will be just fine.
Click to expand...

The original had a 128GB Samsung 840 Pro, the one I picked was the OCZ Vector. The Vector is a few bucks more but it's based on a new controller that beats the Samsung 840 Pro in most read - write tests.
 


Big budget, better CPU. Why not go with the i7? Hyper-threading will become dominant in future games, Crysis 3 already takes advantage of hyper-threading. It will also help with multi-core programs. Better to have it.
 


Yeah but very few, if any games require the resources that Crysis 3 does. That's a rare exception for an otherwise just rule that the software is always going to be two or three generations behind the hardware. It's part of Moore's Law.
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($79.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($135.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($309.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($309.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XM (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($167.58 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($167.58 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($167.58 @ Newegg)
Total: $2108.62
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-05 08:52 EDT-0400)
 


I wanted to go with the OCZ but I was afraid of their track record for reliability. I just feel Samsung is producing more stable SSD's right now and that's important when you consider the technology is still maturing. That's just my personal preference. I need that peace of mind :)
 


They *USED* to have a bad track record because they used the junk Sandforce 2.0 controller which is known to have issues and BSOD errors associated with it no matter whose name is on the label. Since they bought Indilinx and are having all of their controllers designed in house, that's all gone away. I have a Vertex 4 and it's a solid drive, haven't had a single issue with it.
 
You have to be comfortable with your hardware and Samsung 840 is highly rated.
I have the OCZ Vertex 4 256 and have had No issues in 6 months using it as my only drive.
At the start of this thread you said you would pay more for looks and I highly recomend the Corsair 600T with the window. They are great to build in and easy cable management.

 


Hey I also own a 600T. The dark blue lighting is pretty sweet.
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD4H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: GeIL EVO Veloce Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($363.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($363.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($93.98 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Cooler Master Megaflow 110.0 CFM 200mm Fan ($11.93 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: OCZ ZT 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.95 @ Amazon)
Total: $1684.72
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-06 03:10 EDT-0400)

Use this combo to get free ram, actually their paying you to take it. Several times I tossed it in a build because it was free and than usually added another stick to go dual channel as going from cas9 to cas11 won't any real world difference in gameplay but people usually end up disregarding the thing entirely. So my advice, use the combo as it's a good mobo and if you have no interest in the ram sell it. But if you plan to use it go dual channel and pick up another stick.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1291164
 
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