New build & needing advice

[furiousalfred]

Hi folks, i'm new to the forum so greetings to all.

I'm putting a build together and was wondering if these parts will work well together.
What concerns me is that the motherboard might be to weak for the CPU and GPU, will it give me any bottlenecks?
If anyone has advice or recommendations on how i should proceed would be much appreciated!

OS - Windows 7 Home Premium
gpu - Sapphire RADEON HD 7950 3GB
cpu - i5 3450 3.1ghz - Socket 1155
MB - Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H - Socket 1155
RAM - Corsiar Vengeance 8gb 1600mhz
SSD - OCZ Vertex 3 240gb

Cheers

 

[bigcyco1]

If your not planing to overclock that motherboard is a waste of money get http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/asrock-motherboard-h77pro4mvp

 

[malbluff]

If you are using a locked processor, like i5-3450, there's no advantage to using a Z77 mobo. Would suggest something like Gigabyte GA-H77-D3H, even the microATX version, would give you the same, or better, real features.
Not a great fan of OCZ's Vertex3 (the 4 is OK). You may be better, depending on what your other uses are, to use, say, 128GB Crucial M4 SSD, plus small seperate hard drive, like 500GB WD Caviar Blue. The 128GB should be OK for OS, and stuff you want fast access to, and HDD for mundane stuff, and backups.

 

[g-unit1111]

So far I agree with everything that has been said but not knowing a budget will make it difficult to suggest a system.

 

[furiousalfred]

If your not planing to overclock that motherboard is a waste of money get http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/asrock-motherboard-h77pro4mvp

Thanks for the replies and great advice. The H77 boards the both of you suggested are perfect and 10euro cheaper. Theyre both identical but the ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP looks better so ill go for that. I dont plan on overclocking...maybe crossfire in the future. I want enough room on the SSD for the OS and applications (games) so 128gb wont be enough. The OCZ V3 is 240gb @ 190euro, its the cheapest/fastest with most space i could find. I have a sata 500gb and 300gb too for other stuff.
So my build so far looks like this..

OS - Windows 7 Home Premium
gpu - Sapphire RADEON HD 7950 3GB
cpu - i5 3450 3.1ghz - Socket 1155
MB - ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP - Motherboard - ATX - LGA1155
RAM - Corsiar Vengeance 8gb 1600mhz
SSD - OCZ Vertex 3 240gb
Fab - Noctua nh-c12p fan
Case = Cooler Master HAF 912
PSU Corsair 750w

Beyond Crossfire and more RAM what are the upgrade possibilities with this set up if any ?

You mentioned the i5-3450 is a " locked processor". Does that mean it cant be overclocked?
If i can OC it should i get the Z77?

Thanks again

 

[g-unit1111]

Thanks for the replies and great advice. The H77 boards the both of you suggested are perfect and 10euro cheaper. Theyre both identical but the ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP looks better so ill go for that. I dont plan on overclocking...maybe crossfire in the future. I want enough room on the SSD for the OS and applications (games) so 128gb wont be enough. The OCZ V3 is 240gb @ 190euro, its the cheapest/fastest with most space i could find. I have a sata 500gb and 300gb too for other stuff.
So my build so far looks like this..

OS - Windows 7 Home Premium
gpu - Sapphire RADEON HD 7950 3GB
cpu - i5 3450 3.1ghz - Socket 1155
MB - ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP - Motherboard - ATX - LGA1155
RAM - Corsiar Vengeance 8gb 1600mhz
SSD - OCZ Vertex 3 240gb
Fab - Noctua nh-c12p fan
Case = Cooler Master HAF 912
PSU Corsair 750w

Beyond Crossfire and more RAM what are the upgrade possibilities with this set up if any ?

You mentioned the i5-3450 is a " locked processor". Does that mean it cant be overclocked?
If i can OC it should i get the Z77?

Thanks again

Locked CPUs can't be overclocked. You can run turbo boost but that's about it.
If you want to OC you will need to get an unlocked CPU and Z77 motherboard but that means cutting corners in other areas.

What store are you buying from? If you post a link that will help to suggest parts. If you don't know one check the link in my signature.

 

[furiousalfred]

Locked CPUs can't be overclocked. You can run turbo boost but that's about it.
If you want to OC you will need to get an unlocked CPU and Z77 motherboard but that means cutting corners in other areas.

What store are you buying from? If you post a link that will help to suggest parts. If you don't know one check the link in my signature.

Im buying from www.komplett.ie.

I dont want to OC but id like to go Crossfire in the future or upgrade the CPU. Id rather get a good MB now than find out later on that its to weak for an i7 3770K and Crossfire. Im building it specifically for gaming cause my GTS250 and Phenom x3 are looking weak these days. I want to build something that will last a few years and run all the latest games (and future games) with close to high/max settings with a decent frame rate. My monitor is 60hz @ 1680 x 1050.
Would the ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP be good enough ?

If its not to much hassle could i ask you (or anyone) what would you buy? Ive got about 900 euro to spend and already own the case, fan and PSU.

Cheers.

 

[malbluff]

Problem is, H77s don't give best crossfire support; Z77s are much better for that. Of course, if you then have Z77, with OC support for CPU, it's almost a bit daft not to have an unlocked "K" processor, even if you're not looking to overclock that, in the short term. If you already have cooler, for what a i5-3570K costs, over i5-3450, it's worth having OC in reserve.
I don't know if there is a problem with your suggested website, but I keep getting warnings, from my security, that there are security issues, with it. I've done a suggested parts list, on British site, which should be around budget, on a "Euro" site.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£168.94 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£94.97 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£29.59 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£144.96 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card (£239.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer (£13.98 @ Novatech)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£71.28 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £763.71
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-01 16:13 GMT+0000)

I've included a 256GB SSD; although still think you may be better with 128 SSD and Hard drive. With respect, the Vertex 3 may be fairly cheap, it's also fairly c**p. Personally, I'd prefer to get Samsung 830 if budget would allow.

 

[g-unit1111]

Im buying from www.komplett.ie.

I dont want to OC but id like to go Crossfire in the future or upgrade the CPU. Id rather get a good MB now than find out later on that its to weak for an i7 3770K and Crossfire. Im building it specifically for gaming cause my GTS250 and Phenom x3 are looking weak these days. I want to build something that will last a few years and run all the latest games (and future games) with close to high/max settings with a decent frame rate. My monitor is 60hz @ 1680 x 1050.
Would the ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP be good enough ?

If its not to much hassle could i ask you (or anyone) what would you buy? Ive got about 900 euro to spend and already own the case, fan and PSU.

Cheers.

Yeah if you want to go Crossfire what malbluff said is good.

Here is what I would suggest for 900 euros:

Motherboard: Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 - € 134.95
CPU: 3.4GHz Intel Core i5-3570K - € 219.00
RAM: 8GB (2 x 4GB) Corsair Vengeance Low Profile DDR3 1600MHz 1.5V - € 44.95
SSD: 128GB OCZ Vertex 4 - € 114.95
HD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda ST 7200 RPM - € 76.95
Optical: Asus DVD Burner - € 28.75
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 - € 299.95

Total: € 919.50

 

[furiousalfred]

Thanks for all the help lads its much appreciated. I didnt know there was such a thing as a CPU that couldnt be OC'd so ill definitely go with the i5-3570K. Its always good to have the option to OC if need be.
Im gonna go with this setup...

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) @ €99.95
MB: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 - Socket 1155 - ATX @ €134.95
GPU: Sapphire RADEON HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 @ €309.00
CPU: 3.4GHz Intel Core i5-3570K @ €219.00
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 @ €44.95

Total: € 807.85

I can push the build to €1000 so that will leave me with €200 for an SSD but i dont know much about them. The reason i was interested in the OCZ Vertex3 240gb is because read/write is 550MB/s - 520 MB/s. The Crucial M4 writes at 175MB/s, does that matter?
Here are some others i can afford.

OCZ Vertex 3 SSD 240GB @ €189.95
OCZ Vertex 4 256GB 2.5" SATA600 @ €199.00
Crucial M4 SSD 256GB @ €184.95 (will most likely go with this one)
OCZ Agility 4 256GB 2.5" SATA600 @ €174.95
Samsung 840 Series MZ-7TD250 @ €177.95
Corsair Force GT 180GB @ €169.95
Intel 330 Series 180GB @ €119.95
Intel 330 Series 240GB @ €179.95
OCZ Vertex 4 256GB 2.5" SATA600 @ €199.00

Thanks again.

PS.
@malbluff. Im getting the same thing for the Komplett site when i use links from this page. The site is legit and trustworthy.

 

[g-unit1111]

Thanks for all the help lads its much appreciated. I didnt know there was such a thing as a CPU that couldnt be OC'd so ill definitely go with the i5-3570K. Its always good to have the option to OC if need be.
Im gonna go with this setup...

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) @ €99.95
MB: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 - Socket 1155 - ATX @ €134.95
GPU: Sapphire RADEON HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 @ €309.00
CPU: 3.4GHz Intel Core i5-3570K @ €219.00
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 @ €44.95

Total: € 807.85

I can push the build to €1000 so that will leave me with €200 for an SSD but i dont know much about them. The reason i was interested in the OCZ Vertex3 240gb is because read/write is 550MB/s - 520 MB/s. The Crucial M4 writes at 175MB/s, does that matter?
Here are some others i can afford.

OCZ Vertex 3 SSD 240GB @ €189.95
OCZ Vertex 4 256GB 2.5" SATA600 @ €199.00
Crucial M4 SSD 256GB @ €184.95 (will most likely go with this one)
OCZ Agility 4 256GB 2.5" SATA600 @ €174.95
Samsung 840 Series MZ-7TD250 @ €177.95
Corsair Force GT 180GB @ €169.95
Intel 330 Series 180GB @ €119.95
Intel 330 Series 240GB @ €179.95
OCZ Vertex 4 256GB 2.5" SATA600 @ €199.00

Thanks again.

PS.
@malbluff. Im getting the same thing for the Komplett site when i use links from this page. The site is legit and trustworthy.

Spend more on the GPU and less on the SSD. Of those choices the OCZ Vertex 4 and the Crucial M4 are the best. I really am not a fan of Intel drives (really - tread carefully buying anything Intel makes other than CPUs) and the Corsair Force uses an outdated Sandforce controller. The Samsung 840 gets mixed reviews - it performs well but the controller is either good or bad depending on what reviews you read. Alternately consider the Samsung 830 and the Plextor PX-M3S.

 

[malbluff]

^+1. Certainly, for reliability Samsung 830 and Crucial M4. OCZ's Vertex 4 performs well, and should be reliable, but not been around long enough to really judge. The M4's write speed isn't brilliant, but that's less important than read speed. Any of these three would be good choices. Personally, I'd say, if you can get it for same price, go with Samsung 830.

 

[furiousalfred]

Ok lads, Cheers for the advice, you have been a great help.
Ive placed the order on Komplett for...

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) @ €99.95
MB: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 - Socket 1155 - ATX @ €134.95
GPU: Sapphire RADEON HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 @ €299.95
CPU: 3.4GHz Intel Core i5-3570K @ €219.00
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 @ €44.95
SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 256GB 2.5" SATA600 @ €199.00

Total was about €1010 with free delivery, so not to bad.

Thanks again and laters!