[New Build] Gaming Build ($1000 budget)

[jsnc]

Hello everyone,

I just signed up and new here. I'm planning on building a new PC and thought I'd come here to ask for a second opinion. I know you guys and gals know your stuff. I'm trying to get the budget as close to $1000 as possible. I'd like to be able to play games on max settings with fast load times. Anyway, here's the PC I was planning on building. If I'm missing something or if you think I should make adjustments, feel free to comment. Thank you in advance! Please see build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Isns

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer

I'm not sure of the OS yet, Windows 7 or 8. Which do you guys think? Again, thanks in advance for any help. It's greatly appreciated!

 

[redeemer]

Pick up Windows 8 and the build looks excellent

 

[Deleted member 362816]

Pick up Windows 8 and the build looks excellent

gaming is better on windows 7 then 8 trust me. Im not going to even waste my time backing this up.

 

[completelyrandomname]

You might want to go with dual channel ram. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

The SSD is a bit old but still good. I would try to get a Samsung 840 Pro or non Pro version.

 

[blazorthon]

gaming is better on windows 7 then 8 trust me. Im not going to even waste my time backing this up.

Tom's has proven time and time again that there is almost absolutely no difference between gaming on 7 and gaming on 8. There was only one situation with multi-GPU setups where 7 had a distinct advantage and it was a fluke that's since been fixed.

 

[blazorthon]

You might want to go with dual channel ram. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

The SSD is a bit old but still good. I would try to get a Samsung 840 Pro or non Pro version.

Vertex 4 is way better than Samsung 840 in performance and NAND endurance (Vertex 4 would only lose in power consumption and even then, it already consumes so little that it doesn't matter). Samsung 840 Pro is a little better than Vertex 4, but it's generally too expensive for that to matter and it's advantages are generally not important for a gaming system anyway.

I agree about the dual-channel RAM.

 

[Deleted member 362816]

Tom's has proven time and time again that there is almost absolutely no difference. There was only one situation with multi-GPU setups where 7 had a distinct advantage and it was a fluke that's since been fixed.

I wont arugue that. All im going to say is I dont like looking at a os that was wrote for phones and tablets on a pc. Its really meant for a touchscreen. I like my start bar I dont like how hard it is to do simple modding to the os along with no start bar.


I dont like any of the start bar mods there all crap windows shell so on

 

[blazorthon]

I wont arugue that. All im going to say is I dont like looking at a os that was wrote for phones and tablets on a pc. Its really meant for a touchscreen. I like my start bar I dont like how hard it is to do simple modding to the os along with no start bar.


I dont like any of the start bar mods there all crap windows shell so on

Hard? Classic Shell can be downloaded, installed, and used to ditch Metro completely in a few minutes at worst. Even without it, Windows 8 works very well without a touch screen once you get used to it, in many ways, better than the old start menu UI. I agree that MS could have done a much, much better job, but it isn't as bad as many people make it out to be.

I also don't see what you mean by the third party programs for editing the UI being crap. Classic Shell, for example, hasn't given me any issues and does it's job and then some with a huge variety of settings and options beyond just ditching Metro for a start menu.

None of this is to say that there's good reason to upgrade from 7 to 8, but coming from no OS at all, I don't see why anyone would get 7 over 8.

 

[Kamen_BG]

For the price of 1200 dolars, i built you this.

PCPartPicker part list

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Enermax ETD-T60-TB 86.7 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($117.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($47.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($172.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($234.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($129.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $1178.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

It is pretty much as good as it gets.
Compared to your build it features a better motherboard for overclocking, dual channel memory which will bring significant performance improvements, faster, higher capacity SSD, faster graphics card, better case and power supply.

Or if you want a PC that will perform the same in games and costs less, take a look at this one.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($47.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($172.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($234.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($129.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $960.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-10 18:27 EDT-0400)

 

[blazorthon]

Your first build's PSU is almost dangerously overkill. It doesn't need any more than an XFX 550W Bronze or similar power delivery model can handle and going over say an Antec 620W is not a god idea unless you use some components with higher power consumption. Having very low utilization of a PSU is almost as bad for degradation as overusing a PSU.

 

[jsnc]

Thanks for all the advice guys and gals. I still have a few days to decide on things. I will definitely weigh my options.

 

[Deleted member 362816]

I wont arugue that. All im going to say is I dont like looking at a os that was wrote for phones and tablets on a pc. Its really meant for a touchscreen. I like my start bar I dont like how hard it is to do simple modding to the os along with no start bar.


I dont like any of the start bar mods there all crap windows shell so on

Hard? Classic Shell can be downloaded, installed, and used to ditch Metro completely in a few minutes at worst. Even without it, Windows 8 works very well without a touch screen once you get used to it, in many ways, better than the old start menu UI. I agree that MS could have done a much, much better job, but it isn't as bad as many people make it out to be.

I also don't see what you mean by the third party programs for editing the UI being crap. Classic Shell, for example, hasn't given me any issues and does it's job and then some with a huge variety of settings and options beyond just ditching Metro for a start menu.

None of this is to say that there's good reason to upgrade from 7 to 8, but coming from no OS at all, I don't see why anyone would get 7 over 8.

Some people buy bigger power supplys to upgrade later.

Lol 95% of toms will go win 7 over 8 even buying new

 

[blazorthon]

Some people buy bigger power supplys to upgrade later.

Lol 95% of toms will go win 7 over 8 even buying new

Some people do that, but many people simply mistakenly get the wrong PSU for the job. If OP was interested in upgrading like that, then OP should say so to set the record strait in that and so that we could thus give better and more relevant recommendations.

I think that you're overestimating the numbers of 7 versus 8 for a new system, but regardless, it's also true that a majority of the 8 haters fail to give good, non needlessly biased reasons for what they'd choose and are thus not objective enough to matter in an objective discussion of the topic.

 

[masterman467]

It is pretty much as good as it gets.

>Both of these are horrible...
That GPU is not something you put in a 1200 dollar build... it will def. be the limiting factor in this PC. Forget the SSD, get a GTX 670. SSD's dont DO anything in games... maybe slightly faster load times in some games, and booting your pc faster, but how often do you restart your pc? once a day? What will help your settings and FPS is a faster GPU.


CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Scout ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($130.71 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1185.63
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-12 23:31 EDT-0400)

>Perfect for OCing
>expandable to SLI'd 670s
>Will run almost every game out there now on ultra 1080p

 

[jsnc]

I've taken into consideration some of the advice that was given by you guys/gals and a friend, I've upped the budget a little bit. I'm now looking to shave some money off this new build. I'm not quite sure about the PSU that I chose. I'm also not sure if I need a modular PSU or what a modular PSU even is. If I should go with a different PSU, please let me know. I'm also torn between the Gigabyte, Asus, and ASRock motherboard that was suggested to me so I decided to go with the ASRock. The new choice of case was just personal preference. I basically went with a build similar to what masterman467 posted but with some adjustments. Anyway, advice and suggestions are always welcome! Again, thanks in advance for any assistance and help. Here is the build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Kp45

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card
Case: Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
Keyboard: Logitech G510 Wired Gaming Keyboard