Thoughts on this build?

mclonghorn

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May 10, 2013
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I'm considering building my first PC, and I wanted to get your thoughts. Here is a list of the parts I am considering.

Budget: $1100 for PC itself
Total Budget: $1500-$1600

I have a MacBook Pro right now so all I really have is a mouse and will be needing to buy a better keyboard, monitor, operating system, speakers, etc. so that is why I have two different budgets. Anyways here are the parts I am considering so far.

CPU: Intel i5-3570k
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Z77 ATX
Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 660 Ti
SSD: Plextor M5S 128GB
Hard Drive: WD Caviar Black 1TB
PSU: Antec High Current Gamer 750W (probably more than I need, but I figured better safe than sorry)
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Redline 8GB DDR3
Cooling: Not sure if I should go with air or liquid cooling here, so hopefully you guys can recommend something. I'm comfortable spending $50-70.
Optical Drive: Samsung DVD Burner 24X Model SH-224BB
Case: Antec Three Hundred or Three Hundred Two
Monitor: ASUS VX238H 23” LED
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Tournament Edition
Speakers: Logitech Z313
OS: Windows 7 or 8 (not sure which is better)

So what are your thoughts on this build? Any help is much appreciated. I don't have much experience with computers so please feel free to criticize any parts of my build and tell me if some things are not compatible with one another.
 

SuperGamerBoy

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Mar 9, 2013
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If you wont be Sli'ing, then drop the psu to something bewteen 450 and 500 watts and what speed is the ram and be sure to get a psu which is atleast 80 plus certified and any preferred sites and do you live near a microcenter and list the prices along with what you need so we could help better.
 
This would be my pitch for your price range:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($207.98 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.16 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.28 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($322.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.55 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($65.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.94 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1082.83
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-10 05:30 EDT-0400)

If getting an SSD is really important to you, you could cut the case down to an Antec Three Hundred or an NZXT Tempest 410 and use the difference to buy the SSD you were thinking of.
 

mclonghorn

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May 10, 2013
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To answer your questions, I am from Dallas and live within probably 10 minutes of the Microcenter here. That is where I am planning on getting my CPU and Motherboard as part of a bundle, which will save me around a $100 on them. Also I would prefer to have an SSD as my boot drive and probably put a couple games that I play more frequently on it too. I will be buying my parts from a multitude of locations, the bulk being from Microcenter though. I will probably use Tiger Direct, Newegg and Amazon for parts too.

I will definitely consider some of the parts you listed Jack, especially the Memory and Video Card. Not a huge fan of the case though, for $85 I'd probably want to go with something from Corsair. Also are SeaSonic PSUs good? I'd thought I heard something bad about them, but I probably am thinking of a different company.

Thanks so much for your help guys, I'll check back tomorrow.
 


Ah, That will free up quite a bit. You might be able to fit a 7970 Vapor-X, in that case. Or, as you said, get an SSD as a boot drive.

Glad I could help. For reference, SeaSonic is the best name in PSUs, hands down. It makes (either under its own brand or for others) all the best power supplies on the market, essentially.
Regarding the case, you sure about wanting Corsair? http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/solo-ii-400r-buc-ravager-seiran,3274-10.html
 

mclonghorn

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May 10, 2013
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No, I can go other directions with cases, but I'm just not a big fan of how the NZXT Phantom looks. However, I guess that doesn't really matter much since I'm probably going to put it under the desk anyways. Thanks for the link to that review, gave me some other options to consider, but based on that I actually will probably go with the case NZXT case. Also thank you for the information about the SeaSonic PSUs, I will probably get the one you listed, cause I realize now I don't need 750W.

Do you guy guys have a preference for Windows 7 vs. Windows 8? I haven't used either, I just know Windows 8 has all the windowed application style set up, whereas 7 is the more traditional OS. I would prefer the layout of Windows 7 I think, but if Windows 8 is just a much better OS then I will get that one.

Thanks again for your help guys, I appreciate it a ton.
 


I would say that's a good decision, unless the Phantom really offends with its appearance. While I consider 3C to be worth an aesthetics downgrade, it shouldn't leave you with a case you hate looking at.

Generally, Windows 7 is superior in terms of interface. That said, Windows 8 is less load on the system, so the same system with Windows 8 will perform ever so slightly better than it would with Windows 7.