New Build Help

[rusty bob]

After searching around a bit i have chosen the components for a new gaming computer. I don't have much knowledge of building pc's though and i'm hoping that this community can check the compatibility of the different parts. I also think that i might be overspending, especially if i am going to upgrade in the future, so i'd appreciate input on this build.

Approximate Purchase Date: between 2 and 14 days from now

Budget Range: 1000-1400

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming mostly

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, NCIX, amazon

Location: B.C., Canada

Parts Preferences: Higher-end parts. Intel CPU.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Don't know

Your Monitor Resolution: Currently i'm looking at a 1920x1080 monitor

Additional Comments: What i am aiming for is a cheap, powerful gaming computer which will be cost-effective to upgrade. The games i hope to play include Skyrim, Starcraft 2, Battelfield 3, Diablo 3, and next gen games as well (GTA V and Fallout 4) if possible.

Why Are You Upgrading: My laptop is several years old and it's performance is declining. I am therefore looking to buy a half-decent machine which i can play the newer games on.

Parts I've Chosen:

CPU: i5 3570 - 199.99$
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0087EVHTE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK - 133.57$
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007RIFKTY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

GPU: Sapphire 7870 2gb ghz edition - 259.99$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102996

PSU: Seasonic 550W - 74.99$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151119

HDD: WD 1TB SATA 7200RPM 64MB cache - 97.87$
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036Q7MV0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8gb (2x4gb) - 40.99$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144

Monitor: Dell ST2321L 23-Inch Screen LED Monitor - 134.99$
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007Y0EQE0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT SP1 DVD OEM - 97.99$
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=45271&promoid=1209

Case: Antec One - 49.99$
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=67322&promoid=1209

Optical Drive: LG 14x Internal BDXL Blu-Ray Burner Rewriter - 71.99$
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007YWMCA8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&smid=A30YNTVQ04HG16

Subtotal: 1162.36

 

[excella1221]

Prices are slightly different on Newegg CA and Amazon CA.

Your CPU isn't the unlocked version, so both that and the z77 motherboard would be a waste.

Here's my little revision of your build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($225.90 @ Amazon Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($107.99 @ Computer Valley)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($244.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.79 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($59.99 @ NCIX)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($96.99 @ Computer Valley)
Total: $1109.60
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-19 23:13 EST-0500)

The 750w PSU is so you won't need to upgrade wattage if ever you decide to add a 2nd GPU in the future for Crossfire.

For your budget btw, I would at least get a 7950.

 

[rusty bob]

The SDD is a little close to my maximum price, and a 7970 is way past it. Both i'd like to get

But other than that, awsome advice, I added the 3450k and 7950 as well as a cooler.

 

[excella1221]

That's 3570k*, the 3450 is locked and it doesn't have a 'K' version.
I didn't put a 7970, I put a 7870.

I'm confused though since the total of my part list is below the total of yours in the original post; not to mention, you stated you have a maximum of $1400 CAD

 

[rusty bob]

Thanks for the correction, i did mean 3570k. As for video cards once i started looking at prices for the 7950 i started looking at prices for the 7970 as well. It's a solid card.

The maximum included a monitor, and i was hoping to lessen the cost a bit. I'm retaining the 520w PSU because i doubt ill have the money to expand for a while.

Edit:

Im buying from amazon/ncix/newegg so the price is closer to 1350$ but it's money i can pay right now so im happy.

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/oziY) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/oziY/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/oziY/benchmarks/)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($295.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.97 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VS229H-P 21.5" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: A4Tech 7300N Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($29.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1184.82
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-20 22:15 EST-0500)

 

[excella1221]

I see.
I don't understand why you're using US stores though.

 

[rusty bob]

i haven't really got the hang of partpicker but i'm ordering from newegg.ca, amazon.ca, and ncix.

 

[excella1221]

Here's a revision with your store preferences.
I switched RAM to low profile for easier CPU cooler installation.

Don't bother with the Antec One. The Three Hundred Two is a lot better and only $5 more.

I personally find Western Digital more reliable than Seagate.

Got you a PSU that's just as good, but cheaper.

Is there a reason why you chose an IPS monitor? I believe TN panels are better for gaming purposes.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($225.90 @ Amazon Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($289.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($18.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Monitor: Asus VE228H 21.5" Monitor ($129.99 @ NCIX)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Keyboard: A4Tech 7300N Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($34.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $1168.79
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-20 22:54 EST-0500)

I'm pretty sure the prices there already have taxes accounted for. You should be able to fit in an SSD if you want.

 

[rusty bob]

There was no specific reason to have that monitor, it was the cheapest i could find with HDMI input. The VE228H will work better. As for the PSU and case, the most important factors were durability and price, which you've addressed. Also, the HDD has been the most difficult to choose, it's basically been a trade off between quality and price. But that WD is comparable in price to the other 1tb drives so it will work. Anyway, thanks for the recommendations and advice, they've been really useful.