Feedback on build for GF

[Gillette]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Building this PC for my girlfriend. Casual gaming (Source engine, WoW, Skyrim, Diablo 3, etc...) but no need to run things at max graphical settings. Also basic Photoshop and productivity work.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$750 CAD, tax/shipping included. Looking to buy everything locally @ www.canadacomputers.com

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

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
GPU
RAM
Motherboard
HDD
CPU Cooler

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Case (Coolermaster Tsunami, rather old, but decent airflow and ATX)
PSU (OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W)

6) Will you be overclocking?
Absolutely, but not to any extreme level.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1920x1080, 23"

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Tomorrow (May 9th 2013)

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.
USB 3 and SATA 6Gb/'s are a plus, but not really a requirement. I understand these are pretty standard these days anyway.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Here's what I'm looking at right now:
CPU - i5-3570K $240
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-Z77-HD3 $90
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB $60
GPU - Sapphire HD7850 2GB $190
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 1TB $70
CPU Cooler - Coolermaster Hyper 212 $35
PSU - Corsair CX500 $40
Case Fans: 2x 120mm fan $16

Total after tax: ~$840

 

[DooKey]

You're still a few weeks out from Feb so pricing will change between now and then. Why don't you ask this again in a couple of weeks?

Anyway, first of all you are going to have to change to a "K" processor if you want to overclock. You might want to grab a 2500K since it appears to be the cheapest quad core overclockable proc available from your source @199.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=4_65&item_id=035530

You could make up the difference in CPU cost by getting the Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H motherboard for $94.99 after MIR
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_722&item_id=047652

I would drop the SSD for now and buy a HDD to save money. You can always add a small SSD later for your OS. Your best bet here is probably the Seagate Barracuda 1tb (ST31000524AS) for $74.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=15_1086_210_212&item_id=037032

Your video card selection is very weak. At 1080p and above it's going to be pretty slow. If you are set on sticking with NV then purchase a 650Ti instead. Zotac GTX 650Ti 1gb $139.99 after MIR
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_557_559&item_id=054043

RAM low profile Corsair $44.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_311_312_612&item_id=053817

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO for cpu cooler $34.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=8_129&item_id=044952

Sub-Total: $589.94
Tax: $76.69
Total: $666.63

 

[J Macker]

I've been told an i3 system may be more than sufficient, but the lack of overclockabilty leaves me with some worries since it ends up being ~800mhz (after OC) slower and 2 fewer cores for a $70 difference.

the 3470 you picked can't overclock either. I guarantee she won't notice the difference between an i3 or the i5 3470 you have listed. You can find a regular i3 2100 on ebay for around $90 usd.

Also, since you're not going to be overclocking with the 3470 or the i3, cut down the motherboard. If you decide she can live without usb3/sata6, then a basic H61 motherboard is <$50. I'd probably pick this Gigabyte P75 board for $50 though, and it has both:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_722&item_id=048582

That board doesn't have any video outputs, but that's not a problem since you're choosing to use a discrete gpu.

I'd pick a non-ocz ssd as well. Crucial M4, samsung 840.

It would be difficult to decrease the cost more without ditching nVidia. This Radeon 7770 is $100 after a $20 rebate.
The 7770 is virtually the same performance as the 650 (non-Ti) and is a little cheaper.

 

[Gillette]

Updated original post with some changes. Thanks for pointing that out about the K series... I haven't actually done a build since the original run of i7s -_-

 

[DooKey]

Updated original post with some changes. Thanks for pointing that out about the K series... I haven't actually done a build since the original run of i7s -_-

The Ripjaws might not clear the HSF. You may want to consider low profile RAM like I suggested.

 

[Gillette]

Sorry skimmed right over that, updated. I opted for dual channel, but low profile is noted!

You're still a few weeks out from Feb so pricing will change between now and then. Why don't you ask this again in a couple of weeks?

I'll revisit some choices then, but need to start putting aside the funds and getting things shipped in if they're not in stock.

 

[J Macker]

I agree with Dookey.
There's really no reason to buy Ripjaws unless it's dirt cheap. The large heatsinks can easily interfere with cpu heatsinks.

 

[Gillette]

Purchase is happening tomorrow! Updated OP. Seems the motherboard I was looking at is no longer sold so a recommendation for a replacement would be appreciated at the $100 or lower price point.

Sitting at almost $70 over budget right now though, so anywhere I can shave off a few bucks would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[tiraides]

I have a different idea....

$150 - Intel Core i3-3240
$71 - Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H
$55 - Kingston ValueRAM 8GB DDR3 1333
$190 - Sapphire HD 7850 2GB
$70 - Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD
$45 - Corsair CX430
======
$581 - Total before taxes

With your budget closer to $600 before taxes than $700, I decided to focus more on gaming performance. With that in mind, I swapped out the processor to the i3-3240 (a dual-core with Hyper Threading that outperforms most of AMD's quad-cores in gaming benchmarks), omitted the CPU cooler, and threw the GTX 650 Ti out for the better performing HD 7850. Granted, an Intel Core i5 quad-core will outperform the i3-3240 in most tasks (read: Photoshop), but do you really need heavy multi-threaded support?

Given your girlfriend's meager needs towards motherboard features, I went with the Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H, which has one SATA 6Gb/s port and USB 3.0 support. However, neither the board nor the processor supports overclocking. (Then again, unless you spend the extra money for a Z77-based board, you wouldn't be able to overclock anyways.)

The price on the Corsair Vengeance LP RAM is very good, but in the interest of saving money, I went with the slightly cheaper Kingston ValueRAM. There is no noticeable difference in performance between the Corsair dual-channel kit and the single stick of Kingston RAM.

I kept the same hard drive, but try to find one of the newer Seagate or Western Digital 1TB drives if they're available in-store for around the same price. I believe that the newer drives both use 1TB drive platters, making them considerably faster than previous versions.

How old is your OCZ power supply? I ask because I don't trust it: it's one of a series of older OCZ PSU designs that can't handle their rated loads. I added the Corsair CX430 power supply as it can handle a single-card system like yours well.

 

[Gillette]

Couldn't tell you about the power supply to be perfectly honest. I know it is at least several years old as I purchased it from a friend about 18 months ago, but I don't believe it's as old as the review you linked.

While I appreciate the GPU recommendation I prefer not to give AMD my money. The 7850 does blow the 650ti out of the water though.

I do plan on heavily overclocking, I'm really going for a best-bang-for-buck style setup as this is an investment for her similar to the PC I have now which has been running strong for 3+ years. Is there perhaps a lower end i5 K series that I can go with? I think if the difference is dual core vs quad core, and no oc vs oc I will pay the premium.

 

[tiraides]

With your recent build/edit, plus factoring in the before-rebate prices (since you won't receive the after-rebate prices at checkout), your total is around $650 before taxes. Is that still too high?

I didn't highlight the [H] review of the OCZ ModXStream for the PSU's age but rather its (poor) quality. I recommend that you replace that PSU sooner rather than later, if not right now.

 

[Dangman]

Couldn't tell you about the power supply to be perfectly honest. I know it is at least several years old as I purchased it from a friend about 18 months ago, but I don't believe it's as old as the review you linked.

As tirades showed, even brand new that PSU wasn't that good. So age + a not so good PSU = higher chance of a tickin' time-bomb. I concur with tiraides: Replace your PSU.

While I appreciate the GPU recommendation I prefer not to give AMD my money. The 7850 does blow the 650ti out of the water though.

Just to make sure you understand what it means for you by not going AMD: Do note that the HD 7850 2GB comes with a free copy of Tomb Raider and Bioshock:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/sapphire/neversettle.php

Those are easily $60 to $80 worth of games right there. Unfortunately all Nvidia has right now for their lower-end video cards is $75 worth of in-game cash for Hawken, WoT, and PS2. So from a bang for the buck value, AMD is hands down the best choice.

If you have to go Nvidia, then go for the Nvidia GTX 660. Don't bother with the GTX 650 Ti as it's just overpriced.

I do plan on heavily overclocking, I'm really going for a best-bang-for-buck style setup as this is an investment for her similar to the PC I have now which has been running strong for 3+ years. Is there perhaps a lower end i5 K series that I can go with? I think if the difference is dual core vs quad core, and no oc vs oc I will pay the premium.

The premium for an overclocking Intel setup is relatively high in your case. This is what you're looking at for the minimum recommended parts for overclocking an Intel setup:
$240 - Intel Core i5-3570K CPU
$140 - Asus P8Z77-V LK Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard
$35 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
---
Total: $415 plus tax

That's an extra ~$195 for two extra cores and the ability to overclock. Are you sure you want to pay that premium? Plus you would need a larger PSU as well like the CX500.

 

[Gillette]

With your recent build/edit, plus factoring in the before-rebate prices (since you won't receive the after-rebate prices at checkout), your total is around $650 before taxes. Is that still too high?

I didn't highlight the [H] review of the OCZ ModXStream for the PSU's age but rather its (poor) quality. I recommend that you replace that PSU sooner rather than later, if not right now.

Before tax we're looking at $700, which turns into $792 thanks to our ridiculous sales tax (13%) so still quite a bit over budget sadly... especially if I need to look at a new PSU as well.

That's an extra ~$195 for two extra cores and the ability to overclock. Are you sure you want to pay that premium? Plus you would need a larger PSU as well like the CX500.

It seems reviews for the motherboard I'm looking at (Gigabyte GA-Z77-HD3) are a bit lacking, but the ones I have found were very positive. Is there a specific reason that you would recommend the ASUS board over the Gigabyte one?

Regardless I'm starting to lean more toward the i3 setup at this point... really just trying to find some real world benchmarks and so far it seems to fall very short of the i5 3570 even at stock speeds :S Either way I'm sold on the 7850... I'll give AMD another chance for some free games

 

[Dangman]

It seems reviews for the motherboard I'm looking at (Gigabyte GA-Z77-HD3) are a bit lacking, but the ones I have found were very positive. Is there a specific reason that you would recommend the ASUS board over the Gigabyte one?

Didn't even notice that you updated your OP. Well I recommend that Asus over that Gigabyte because that Gigabyte is a budget mobo. As such, it's not that good of a overclocker nor would it be capable of sustaining high overclocks for long. The extra money for that Asus gets you extra heatsinks covering the mosfets/VRMs as well extra mosfets/VRMs/phases. All of which means a better chance of overclocking. Not to mention that the Asus P8Z77-V LK has a far far longer and arguably better track record than that particular Gigabyte mobo. Hell even the Gigabyte B75M-D3H has a better track record than the Gigabyte you linked.

So yeah, I don't see much reason to go with that Gigabyte if you're actually serious about overclocking.

Regardless I'm starting to lean more toward the i3 setup at this point... really just trying to find some real world benchmarks and so far it seems to fall very short of the i5 3570 even at stock speeds :S

Dude, you've only mentioned casual gaming and basic photoshop. A Core i3 will be fine for that. Unless your GF plans on doing more with Photoshop work or play more CPU heavy games like BF3 and the future BF4, the Core i3 should be fine.

Also, if you do go with the Core i3, then stick with the Gigabyte mobo that Tiraides recommended.

 

[Gillette]

Dude, you've only mentioned casual gaming and basic photoshop. A Core i3 will be fine for that. Unless your GF plans on doing more with Photoshop work or play more CPU heavy games like BF3 and the future BF4, the Core i3 should be fine.

Also, if you do go with the Core i3, then stick with the Gigabyte mobo that Tiraides recommended.

Thanks for the feedback around the Gigabyte board.

The price is spiraling out of control on the i5 setup so I may have no option but to go with the i3. I suspect she would be looking at games like that at some point and I do want this build to remain solid for a couple years since she doesn't make a ton of money so upgrades will be few and far between. I know for games like Diablo and anything on Source engine it won't make much difference, but I do worry that something like Skyrim will destroy it at any reasonable level of settings... though I do suspect that even at stock 3.4ghz it will outperform my current system.

Potentially looking at going with i3 and an SSD to make up some of the performance loss. Thoughts? And recommendations on 128GB (or larger) SSD using the build Tiraides outlined?

 

[Gillette]

Thoughts on this?

$150 - Intel Core i3-3240
$71 - Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H
$55 - Kingston ValueRAM 8GB DDR3 1333
$190 - Sapphire HD 7850 2GB
$100 - SanDisk Extreme 120GB
$45 - Corsair CX430
======
$611 - Total before taxes

 

[E4g1e]

Thoughts on this?

$150 - Intel Core i3-3240
$71 - Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H
$55 - Kingston ValueRAM 8GB DDR3 1333
$190 - Sapphire HD 7850 2GB
$100 - SanDisk Extreme 120GB
$45 - Corsair CX430
======
$611 - Total before taxes

Two not-so-good choices there:

1) The SSD. It is an older design based on a Sandforce SF2200-series controller - and many Sandforce-based drives still have not fixed the random BSOD bug that has been afflicting those drives. Also, it is a Sandforce-based drive that's not from Intel.

2) The choice of an i3-3240 CPU. It costs all of $11 extra just to get a 100MHz increase in the clock speed (versus the i3-3225). For an i3, such a small increase in performance is not worth anywhere near the additional cost.

 

[Dangman]

Thoughts on this?
$100 - SanDisk Extreme 120GB

Not a good choice for a SSD. Our general recommendation for a budget SSD is the Samsung 840 series 120GB SSD due to its higher quality and higher performance than the Sandisk. That'll cost you an extra $10:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=179_1088&item_id=053765

Now to answer your earlier question with the Samsung SSD in mind:

Potentially looking at going with i3 and an SSD to make up some of the performance loss. Thoughts?

If your GF can control how much data she downloads or stores on the PC, yes, that 120GB will be enough space and offers system responsiveness unmatched by hard drives. For games, the only real improvement you'll see from a SSD is faster loading times. The Core i3 is still more than enough power for Skyrim. So it's not a bad substitute.

However, the Samsung SSD costs an extra $40 over the Seagate drive mentioned earlier. If you dropped your overclocking requirement, you can still get a quad-core Core i5 for that extra $40:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=4_65&item_id=052803

It's gonna be a lot cheaper and easier to upgrade/add a SSD than a CPU IMO. As shown above, a new SSD is only $110 and just requires you to hook up a SATA data and power cable to it. Placement doesn't matter that much since you can literally leave the SSD hanging where ever. An upgraded CPU in the future more than likely means you'll have to buy used and would practically require you to take apart the build to install. Plus cleaning and reapplying thermal paste. Not to mention that the 1TB of space from that Seagate drive means that your GF wouldn't have to be so diligent with what she can't or can store. In addition, the Source engine does have multi-threaded CPU capability. So some Source games already see an improvement with a quad over a dual-core.

 

[Gillette]

Two not-so-good choices there:

1) The SSD. It is an older design based on a Sandforce SF2200-series controller - and many Sandforce-based drives still have not fixed the random BSOD bug that has been afflicting those drives.

2) The choice of an i3-3240 CPU. It costs all of $11 extra just to get a 100MHz increase in the clock speed (versus the i3-3225). For an i3, such a small increase in performance is not worth anywhere near the additional cost.

Very good to know about the SSD! I will openly admit that I'm nowhere near up to the level of knowledge I used to be about this stuff Out of what Canada Computer carries, what would you recommend http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?cPath=179_1088? Ideally want at least 120GB and hopefully around the $100 mark.

Samsung 840 Series 120GB maybe? A friend is recommending it. Take that $11 savings from the CPU and throw it at this.

 

[E4g1e]

Very good to know about the SSD! I will openly admit that I'm nowhere near up to the level of knowledge I used to be about this stuff Out of what Canada Computer carries, what would you recommend http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?cPath=179_1088? Ideally want at least 120GB and hopefully around the $100 mark.

Samsung 840 Series 120GB maybe? A friend is recommending it. Take that $11 savings from the CPU and throw it at this.

That would be my recommendation, if you're stuck with that same budget. It is the only 120GB class SSD that costs within $10 of the $100 price point sold at Canada Computers that isn't Sandforce-based.

 

[Gillette]

Ok, here we go!

$139 - Intel Core i3-3225
$71 - Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H
$55 - Kingston ValueRAM 8GB DDR3 1333
$190 - Sapphire HD 7850 2GB
$110 - Samsung 840 Series 120GB SSD
$45 - Corsair CX430
======
$690 after tax

 

[Gillette]

Build is done, thanks for your help!

Ended up getting her a Fractal R4 case as well as a present and I've got to say it's one of the best cases I've ever done a build in :O

Doing cable management in this case is an absolute dream. Love it!

Ended up getting some killer discounts through a friend so we went with the Asus motherboard, CX600 power supply, and have an i7 3770K on the way with an i3 3220 until it arrives. Why you might ask? Because I hate money apparently -_- Came out to under $900 though, so probably worthwhile

 

[DooKey]

I like the looks of your system. Good job.

 

[tiraides]

Why do you hate money...?

Nice build.

 

[rumartinez89]

Great build, personally love that case would like a mini-itx version of it. I was wondering why you didn't look into an AMD A-10 build?

 

[Mccaula718]

If you hate money marry her haha. Nice build. Wish my wife liked gaming so I had a reason to build her one.

 

[tiraides]

Great build, personally love that case would like a mini-itx version of it. I was wondering why you didn't look into an AMD A-10 build?

I'm only speaking for myself, but I focused more on gaming performance than general tasks (or even Photoshop). Then again, the OP's final build made everything I said moot.

 

[gankernation]

looks great I hope your GF appreciates it and you have a good night together