New Build for Friend <$1500 CAN

[locomoco321]

Approximate Purchase Date: February, 2013

Budget Range: No more than $1500.00 CAN

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (Diablo 3 - Battlefield 3)

Are you buying a monitor: Yes, 24" 1920x1080

Do you need to buy OS: Yes, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.ca, ncix.ca, tigerdirect.ca

Location: Nova Scotia, Canada

Parts Preferences: Intel, nVidia

Overclocking: Yes, mild overclock 4.2GHz

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, in the future

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Playing a range of games, from Diablo 3 to Battlefield 3, all at highest graphical settings

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Currently using an iMac, and wishes to upgrade

Parts:

Intel Core i5 3570K
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

MSI GTX 660Ti Power Edition
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127696

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

 

[cutebeans]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.99 @ Amazon Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($40.50 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($113.40 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($349.99 @ NCIX)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N150PCe 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($16.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($50.65 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS72 DVD/CD Writer ($17.06 @ DirectCanada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $1208.53
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-13 20:01 EST-0500)

This would be the best.

 

[locomoco321]

Thanks, these specs look great, but I haven't heard much about Plextor, so I might swap that out, and I still need to grab a monitor, any suggestions on one?

I've been looking at this:
ASUS VE248Q Black 24"
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236154CVF

*EDIT: And any chance there is a PSU with a higher 80+ rating for around that price?
Again, looked into this:
CORSAIR Builder Series CX600
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028

 

[cutebeans]

Hi, monitor is nice.

Get the Samsung 840 Pro. It's the best SSD right now.

Higher 80+ ratings aren't really that important. It's only more efficient by 2%-5%?

 

[locomoco321]

Hi, monitor is nice.

Get the Samsung 840 Pro. It's the best SSD right now.

Higher 80+ ratings aren't really that important. It's only more efficient by 2%-5%?

Alright, I was going to ask if a Samsung 840 (non-pro) was a good choice, as it is more consumer oriented, but I'm not too familiar with MLC and TLC flash. Is there really a difference, because a Samsung 840 (TLC) is cheaper than a Samsung 840 Pro (MLC) on newegg.ca, but I noticed the write speed is fairly low, however the read speed is the same, which is pretty much what the SSD will be used for in his case, writing a game once, then playing it over and over.

And yeah, I saw that the efficiency is not that much greater, especially because the system fits nicely into a 500W package. But because of that, would a more efficient PSU be more noticeable, especially because the PSU wattage is matched by the system wattage demand?

I know these are small things, but you have helped me save $300 so far, so I thought maybe I could fit a few goodies in there!

 

[cutebeans]

Hi,

Any SSD you buy will be of course a noticeable difference. I'm not sure as whether you will notce the difference between 840 and the Pro because I only see benchmarks .

Don't understand your question about the PsU.

 

[locomoco321]

Hi,

Any SSD you buy will be of course a noticeable difference. I'm not sure as whether you will notce the difference between 840 and the Pro because I only see benchmarks .

Don't understand your question about the PsU.

Doesn't matter man, thanks a lot! These specs are great, and the GTX 670 is a great addition, and all this for a lower price than I though. I'm sure my friend will be happy, and I really appreciate the help.

All I was getting at about the PSU, is that the system at load consumes around 500W, meaning that the 80+ efficiency rating becomes more significant, because you are within that 10% margin for what the PSU can deliver. But because it is 80+ and you are fully utilizing the PSU, I realized that it really doesn't matter if the PSU is more efficient, especially since it will only be running for 2-5 hours a day, and not always at peak load.

Once again thank you very much for the help!

 

[locomoco321]

Best answer selected by locomoco321.

 

[burritobob]

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.99 @ Amazon Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.05 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.78 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Memory Express)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($452.68 @ DirectCanada)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: Corsair Gaming 800W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($110.14 @ DirectCanada)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Canada Computers)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Canada Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $1376.57
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

The 7970 will max ANYTHING at the resolution great computer has a sweet SSD you really cannot go wrong with this build.

 

[cutebeans]

Hi, I forgot you might want to get a bigger PSU. 750w if you plan to SLI.