Building a new computer, advice needed.

[sganjam91]

[/COLOR]1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Gaming, web browsing, school work.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$800-$850 ($850's pushing it; I'd rather pay closer to $800), with tax/shipping.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.


US, California; halfway between SF and Sacramento. There's a Microcenter approx. 1.5 hours away, so I'd like to take full advantage of their CPU/Mobo combo deals.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

CPU: i5 3570k from Microcenter (2500k is out of stock in my area but if they ever restock by the time I buy then I will gladly do so) - $205.91 w/ tax.

SSD: Samsung 830 series 128 gb (already have this)

GPU: GTX 670 (don't really care about the brand; I don't plan on overclocking or anything, so I just want the cheapest one I can find. Is this the wrong move?) - $380-$400

RAM: 8gb, ddr3. I have no other preferences, besides being from reputable manufacturers. I'd like to get this at around $40.

CPU Cooler: Not sure if I need one, but if I do, it would have to be a really cheap one - around $10-$15.

PSU: I'm a little clueless as to what I should get. I'm not sure about what exactly I should be looking at besides the wattage. My friend suggested I get a rosewill capstone 450 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182066), which is fine for my price range, but I'm worried about the wattage requirements of my hardware. Also, I'm thinking I might not even need a gold rated PSU and could get away with a silver or bronze and pay less. I'd preferably like to go $75 max including taxes and shipping on this, but might devote a little more if it's worth it.

Mobo: Again, I'm a little lost here. I want to get a z77 mobo from Microcenter to take advantage of the $50 combo discount. Other than that, I'd like to have 2 PCI 3.0 x16 (x8, x8) for sli in the future. I also want sata 3 and usb 3 (although it seems like most mobos today have these). I currently am thinking about Biostar TZ77XE4 (http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0387325) but maybe I can get away with something cheaper? I'd like to pay at most $90-$95 after taxes and $50 discount.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

I'll be reusing my SSD (samsung 830 series 128 gb) as a boot drive, my Western digital green 1 tb hdd as my storage drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136317), my monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse, and case (it's an 8 year old case I bought for my first build).

6) Will you be overclocking?

I want to overclock my cpu only, but only lightly to around 4.2 ghz. I don't really plan on OC'ing any more for this build. In fact, the only upgrade I plan on making (if it's even necessary) is a second gtx 670 (which I would think about doing in 1-2 years) to keep up with graphical demands of the latest games (I would also upgrade my PSU if necessary to meet the demands of the second gpu - that is, if I even think it would be useful to add the second card). I plan on using this PC for at least 4 years, so I hope the gpu upgrade would be enough to meet my gaming needs.

my desire to overclock brings up a few issues. the mobo should be well equipped to handle the slight overclock, but not too equipped that it has features that I would never use anyway (like features that make it easy for massive overclocking while adding to the price - features that are just a waste to me). I would also need a PSU that can support the power demands brought on by said overclocking (are the extra demands even noticeable?). One of my biggest worries is cooling both my cpu and my system. On the one hand, a light overclock does not really need spectacular liquid cooling. Can I get away with stock cooling? At first thought, it seemed I could, but then I realized that my case is 8 years old, and may not have the most efficient heat dissipation design. I have around 5 case fans total, but still I'm worried that it won't be enough. If it isn't, then I'll have to get an aftermarket cpu cooler.

7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

1080p, 27 inch. I'm planning on getting a catleap 1440p soon and running a dual monitor setup (gaming on the 1440p), which is why I want a gtx 670 (that, and I want to be future proof)

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

September-October.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.

SLI, Sata 3, USB 3; see above.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Yes; I have windows 7 ultimate (courtesy of my school) and will have windows 8 (again, thanks to my school!) once it comes out.


Thanks for all the help, and I'll be glad to answer any further questions you may have!

 

[Dangman]

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

US, California; halfway between SF and Sacramento. There's a Microcenter approx. 1.5 hours away, so I'd like to take full advantage of their CPU/Mobo combo deals.

1.5 Hours? That's a 3 hour round trip. Plus an hour or so spent shopping. Considering the costs of gas here in CA, the great possibility of traffic, CA sales tax, and the time spent, not really worth going to MC for their CPU + mobo deals even with the discounted CPU and mobo. Your best bet would be to buy the parts from Amazon.com since they do not charge CA residents sales tax at the moment.

CPU Cooler: Not sure if I need one, but if I do, it would have to be a really cheap one - around $10-$15.

Right now, there really aren't that many cheap $10 to $15 HSf really worth buying over the stock HSF. A $25 to $30 is where you really see good bang for the buck value air-cooling HSF.

PSU: I'm a little clueless as to what I should get. I'm not sure about what exactly I should be looking at besides the wattage. My friend suggested I get a rosewill capstone 450 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182066), which is fine for my price range, but I'm worried about the wattage requirements of my hardware. Also, I'm thinking I might not even need a gold rated PSU and could get away with a silver or bronze and pay less. I'd preferably like to go $75 max including taxes and shipping on this, but might devote a little more if it's worth it.

The Rosewill is a good PSU and is capable of powering your planned setup. But with overclocking, if you want a bit of extra headroom for upgrades, the fact that there are still larger amperage (you're not looking at total wattage but the total amperage/wattage on the +12V rail of the PSU) and still good quality PSUs for around that price range, and Rosewill's somewhat unknown customer support, I wouldn't bother with that Rosewill.

and case (it's an 8 year old case I bought for my first build).

What case is that? Just because it has 5 fans does not mean it'll be good enough for a current PC. Especially if those fans aren't at least 120mm and if that case can't fit a decent HSF (good HSF these days are somewhat large).

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
September-October.

You're planning on building the PC way too early. If you want up-to-date hardware recomendations, ask for advice when you're 2-3 weeks away from buying the parts. No point in planning this early.

 

[tiraides]

It's way too early to start planning your build. Revisit this thread about two to three weeks before you plan on ordering everything.

With the parts you're considering, I suggest that you conduct some more research -- and determine what compromises you're willing to make. Spending $15 on a third-party CPU cooler (when one of the best that we recommend normally costs twice that amount) and going with a sub-$50 power supply for a high-end video card are the wrong types of compromises to make. If overclocking is a priority for you, you need a decent CPU cooler at the level of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus (which normally starts at around $30) and a power supply from a good vendor like Antec, Seasonic, Corsair, or Silverstone. And the good, overclocking-friendly motherboards usually start at around $150 (before any discounts or rebates).

But I'm starting to ramble a bit... what's the #1 priority to you: Keeping things under $800? Gaming? Overclocking?

 

[sganjam91]

Hey, thanks for the quick replies!

Let me address some things first.

Danny Bui,
It's true that it's almost 150 miles round trip, and that CA gas prices are pretty high, but we go down there about once a month anyway for other business, so it's not too much out of the way for me. But as I'm typing this, I read on the Micro Center website that the Santa Clara store is closing (sad face), so that point is moot.

Thanks for the heads up on the CPU cooler; I'll be on the lookout for some good deals to get a cooler for as cheap as possible. That is, even if I need a cooler.

As for the PSU, I'm thinking I would need around 500W. If I do decide to upgrade later on my getting another GTX 670, I would also upgrade my PSU at that time, so currently I don't really need overhead for the purpose of upgrades. Thanks for the heads up on Rosewill though.

I don't know the exact make/model of the case, but the fans are 80mm, and the case has vents on the front and back as well as the side. The case is around 19 cm wide, so I think there's enough room for a tall heatsink + fan that's around 150 mm high.

Tiraides,
The cooler you mentioned was actually the one I was leaning towards, and it seems to be going for around $20 on eBay, which is fine. And I know how important a PSU is to the system, and I want to find a cost effective PSU that's also good and provides just what I need.
I guess my priorities are gaming = $800 > Overclocking. I really only want to overclock because I play a lot of Starcraft 2, which is is very cpu intensive when playing 4v4's. I don't want fps drops in these situations. However, I don't need anything more than that, so I just want to lightly overclock to 4-4.2 ghz.


I realize it's still early to be planning my build, but what I'm doing here is looking at what parts I need and what price ranges I should be looking at. It will also allow me to know what deals to keep an eye out for. I'll also be leaving the country for about a month and will buy when I get back, so I'd like to do my preliminary research now.

Since Micro Center is closing in my area, I'll need to rethink this. So let me see what I absolutely want in this build, and worry about the price next.

CPU: has to be at least i5, and quad core. I wanted to OC atleast to 4 ghz, to be prepared for the next 4 years and for Starcraft 2, which is CPU intensive when playing 4v4's. Do I need a K processor to do this?

Mobo: Just one with 2 PCIE (x8, x8), so I can get a 2nd GPU in the future. what should I be looking for in terms for power phases and stuff? I'm pretty puzzled about this.

PSU: One that can handle a GTX 670 and a CPU clocked to 4 ghz. I'm thinking about 500 W? If I do end up getting a second 670 then I'll get a new PSU when the time comes, so I'm not worried about overhead at the moment. I have a friend with whom I consult when I'm looking at PSU's and Mobos, but he keeps shutting me down by saying that PSU is bad, but doesnt tell me why besides saying it's made of poor quality parts. The thing is, I have no idea how to discern PSU's with good parts vs those with bad parts. What should I be looking for in a PSU besides adequate amperage on the 12 v rail?

GPU: GTX 670, so I can comfortably play games such as BF3 maxed out, and to allow my computer to handle gaming on a 1440p screen when I get it.

RAM & cooler I think will cost me total between $60 and $70. CPU maybe around $200 (2500k on ebay is going for around 200 buyout). GPU will cost around $400, maybe less if I can find a good deal on eBay (have seen 670's go for $380 brand new, free shipping). So far that's around $670. I hope I can find a mobo and psu for around $160 combined.

I hope I can get some advice about the PSU and Mobo; I'd really appreciate it. Let's disregard price at this moment; once I get closer to actually buying I can think about the price.

 

[Dangman]

I don't know the exact make/model of the case, but the fans are 80mm, and the case has vents on the front and back as well as the side. The case is around 19 cm wide, so I think there's enough room for a tall heatsink + fan that's around 150 mm high.

Best get a new case then. Even a cheap $50 case these days will outcool, have significantly better cable management, and probably more room than most cases that had 80mm fans. It would be an extremely poor idea to pair your current case with current hardware. So budget in a new case or don't bother doing the build at all. It's that important for you to get a new case.

CPU: has to be at least i5, and quad core. I wanted to OC atleast to 4 ghz, to be prepared for the next 4 years and for Starcraft 2, which is CPU intensive when playing 4v4's. Do I need a K processor to do this?

Yes. Basically if you want to OC past 3.6Ghz or so, you're gonna need a K series CPU. Which means another $30 for the CPU itself and another $30 or so for the motherboard.

Mobo: Just one with 2 PCIE (x8, x8), so I can get a 2nd GPU in the future. what should I be looking for in terms for power phases and stuff? I'm pretty puzzled about this.

The gist of it is the more there is, the better it is for overclocking. Since you want to OC, you're gonna need the Z77 chipset no matter what. Basically the cheap/sub $140 mobos aren't too good for overclocking due to missing overclocking options/adjustments or inability to handle the heat and power. For great overclocking (i.e past 3.6Ghz IMO), you're looking at mobos above the $140 mark give or take. I'd stick with Asus, MSI, and Gigabyte for the motherboards. I'm not recommending AsRock Z77 mobos until I see a HardOCP review of it.

PSU: One that can handle a GTX 670 and a CPU clocked to 4 ghz. I'm thinking about 500 W? If I do end up getting a second 670 then I'll get a new PSU when the time comes, so I'm not worried about overhead at the moment. I have a friend with whom I consult when I'm looking at PSU's and Mobos, but he keeps shutting me down by saying that PSU is bad, but doesnt tell me why besides saying it's made of poor quality parts. The thing is, I have no idea how to discern PSU's with good parts vs those with bad parts. What should I be looking for in a PSU besides adequate amperage on the 12 v rail?

PSU prices and availability are unfortunately somewhat volatile. So be aware of that: A good PSU today may not be the best deal tomorrow.

Well make sure to read proper PSU reviews. You can see a list of known proper PSU review sites and a bit outdated PSU review list here:
http://www.overclock.net/t/738097/psu-review-database

Frankly put, if you don't see a review of a certain PSU by any of those sites and/or can't find info about what platform that PSU is based on (which allows you to see if that platform has been reviewed before and therefore help you extrapolate the possible performance of that unknown PSU), probably not worth taking a chance on.

For example: Let's take General Hardware's current (meaning that it may not be the same PSU we recommend in Sept-Oct) recommended budget ~500W PSU, the Antec 520C 520W. Even though there's a proper review of that specific PSU already, you could still have found out that PSU is still a good PSU. If you google around for who makes and what platform the Antec 520C 520W PSU is based on, you'll find that it's based on the Seasonic S12II platform. If you check out those PSU review sites, you'll eventually run into a review of the Seasonic S12II which shows that it's a good PSU. So from there, you can say that the Antec 520C 520W is a good PSU or at least has a high chance of being a good PSU.

It's not 100% accurate as PSU manufacturers have to tweak a PSU design to whatever specifications the PSU company sends but accurate enough to give you a broad idea of the capability of the PSU.

Also read this PSU FAQ. A tad old but still chock full of info:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1036

Also, don't worry too much about the Bronze, Silver, Gold, etc efficiency rating. It's not all that important:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/10/04/80_plus_irrelevant_to_you_when_buying_psu/

After reading the PSU reviews, find out how good the customer support is from that PSU company. An excellent PSU but from a shady/poor customer support having company isn't preferable at all to a good PSU from a company with excellent customer support IMO.

RAM & cooler I think will cost me total between $60 and $70.

RAM prices have been going up, not down. As such, it may cost more than $70 for the RAM and HSF. However, based on current pricing, do not pay more than $22 for a 4GB RAM and and $45 to $50 for a 8GB RAM set. Any higher than those pricing, you're basically getting ripped off or being inefficient with your money. In addition, Intel CPUs require RAM to be rated at 1.5V or lower. Any higher and you risk damage to the CPU.

I hope I can find a mobo and psu for around $160 combined.

No you won't unless you're not overclocking or like to have shitty PSUs or aren't going with the GTX 670 at all.

In addition, unless you can find a guarantee that the PC part still has its original warranty, I wouldn't bother buying from eBay.

 

[sganjam91]

Thanks a lot for the advice. I'll definitely think about all this when I reconsider my build/budget. Fortunately, I still have time before I buy things. Thanks again!