UPDATED: PC build for GW2

[schizandra]

Ok well, I changed the graphics card, CPU and PS, and drastically added to my total price (I ended up paying just under $1000, the original setup was going to be just under $500). But I figured if I'm going to be spending money, I might as well spend enough to be able to play my game the way I want. Here's the new build, please let me know if I made some newbie mistake, like if a certain part is incompatible, or this won't fit into that, etc. because like I said before, I don't really know what I'm doing. And I purchased quickly because I was afraid the sales would expire or sell out.

Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Power Supply: COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS500-PCARD3-US 500W ATX12V v2.3 Power Supply

Processor: Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770K

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-H61N-USB3 LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

Memory: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Hard Drive: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBXL

Video Card: EVGA 02G-P4-2678-KR GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Thanks!

 

[Nkolodziej]

Are you willing to use sites other then Newegg? If you are you can get a lot better prices and in many cases better parts at the same price.

 

[schizandra]

I'm not opposed to using other sites, though I'd prefer to purchase all my parts from one site. What sites would you suggest?

 

[schizandra]

No one wants to put in their 2 cents? I don't mean to press, I know I should have asked earlier. But while I wait, my parts might sell out. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[mightymaxio]

GW2 Won't play at max settings with that build but you will be able to play it on high or medium-high since I am having trouble running the game at max settings with a i7-2600k 4.0ghz and 2 660 gtx ti's in SLI

 

[cutebeans]

Hi, what is your budget and don't worry. A cheap 7850 will probably max that on a 768 TV.

We will be using newegg and amazon for this.

 

[tyson2295]

GW2 Won't play at max settings with that build but you will be able to play it on high or medium-high since I am having trouble running the game at max settings with a i7-2600k 4.0ghz and 2 660 gtx ti's in SLI

how are you having trouble playing at max with that GW2 with that?

 

[mightymaxio]

Shader quality on Ultra and Shadows on Ultra cause lag because of the lack of 256 bit bus. A single GTX 660 ti is almost as powerful as two 560 gtx tis in SLI.

 

[tyson2295]

ahhh okay yeah sucks that its only 192 bit bus

 

[schizandra]

Ok well, I changed the graphics card, CPU and PS, and drastically added to my total price (I ended up paying just under $1000, the original setup was going to be just under $500). But I figured if I'm going to be spending money, I might as well spend enough to be able to play my game the way I want. Here's the new build, please let me know if I made some newbie mistake, like if a certain part is incompatible, or this won't fit into that, etc.

Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Power Supply: COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS500-PCARD3-US 500W ATX12V v2.3 Power Supply

Processor: Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770K

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-H61N-USB3 LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

Memory: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Hard Drive: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBXL

Video Card: EVGA 02G-P4-2678-KR GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Thanks!

 

[Nkolodziej]

Instead of going with a 3770K, I would've went 3570K and added an SSD in there. The difference of an SSD will be marginally greater in day to day usage than the difference in those CPUs. With a $1K build I would've went with a more reliable brand for the motherboard, but overall you did fine.

 

[mightymaxio]

The 3770k isn't a bad processor either. I use a 2600k and I love it glad I spent some more money on it because VM's are smoother and Hyper-V is awesome

 

[schizandra]

Thanks for your feedback.

Some other questions occurred to me. My Gigabyte MoBo is Mini ITX, while my Rosewill case is ATX. Will the Mini ITX fit into an ATX case?

Also, MoBo is PCIEx2.0, while my Geforce GTX 670 is PCIEx3.0 x16. I read somewhere that 3.0 is backwards compatible, just making sure that's right?

And lastly, do you think I would need a cooling unit for this system?

Thanks!

 

[macgreen]

You'll want to double check the case specifications to make sure it will work with a Mini-ITX. Most of that size are fine with Micro-ATX or ATX motherboards... according to the link you provided, it won't work quite right with the mobo you have in mind.

Also, I could be wrong, but aren't the H61 mobos designed primarily for Sandy Bridge rather than Ivy Bridge? It's not a big deal, so long as you have a Sandy Bridge CPU to install first so you can update the firmware on the BIOS, but if you don't and you get an Ivy Bridge CPU first, it may not be compatible. With an overclockable CPU (the ones with the -k), you'll probably want to look up a z77 motherboard. If you're not going to overclock, you won't need a -k CPU (an i5-3450 or 3470 would be fine instead, but you won't get the overclocking available with the CPU you've chosen) and you could just as easily look up a B75 or H77 motherboard instead. If you were going to overclock, then it looks like the H61 will only let you OC the GPU, not the CPU. For full overclocking, you'd want a z77 motherboard.

No worries on the GPU. It's 3.0 compatible, not required. It'll still work fine on a PCI-E 2.0 or 2.1.

 

[schizandra]

Thanks for your reply. This is a list of components that I've bought already (a little hastily, since Cyber Monday discounts were at stake) so it seems a return of the MoBo is in order, rather than returning both the CPU and the case.

Is this a system that would need a cooling unit, in your opinion? If I need one, I might as well order it at the same time as a z77 motherboard.

 

[macgreen]

A CPU cooler would be good if you plan to do much overclocking. Even a cheap Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO or Plus would let you do some Overclocking (moderate OC'ing at best, I'd imagine), but you'd definitely want to get a z77 to take advantage. Most people swear by the ASRock Extreme4 z77 mobo, so you may want to give that a shot. You'll probably have to pay an additional $30 or something like that to get one, but it'll be worth it to overclock, according to other people (I run an i5-3470 myself. No overclocking, but I slapped a Hyper 212 Plus on it anyway. It gets hot here sometimes and I don't want to worry about temps). An H77 mobo can net you some basic overclocking, just not past a certain extent. The z77 takes full advantage of the unlocked nature of your CPU though, so I'd definitely recommend that.

Hopefully, the PSU works well for you. I've heard that most of the Cooler Master PSUs aren't that great, but I can't remember if that applies to the eXtreme variety they have. I know I've heard there was an exception, maybe that type is one of 'em.