First full build in a decade

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MackBolan42

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Hi everyone. I was hoping to get some input on a new system that I have decided to build. I have built a few rigs in the past, but it's been a while. So any advice, information, and comments anyone might have, please don't hesitate to mention.

1) I will be gaming almost exclusively. Browsing, watching movies, listening to music.
2) Right now I have a system priced out at about $1600 after tax and shipping. I am okay with spending a bit more, but I don't want to go crazy.
3) US. California.
4) I will need a CPU, mobo, ram, video card, psu, ssd, hdd, case, and cpu cooler. I also want to get a monitor, but I might wait on that.
5) My mouse (Razer Deathadder), my keyboard (a Microsoft keyboard), 5.1 Logitech speaker system, and a 32" Sony 720p LCD TV that I use as my monitor (max res is 1360x768). Also a Razer Barracuda AC-1 sound card.
6) Yes I will be overclocking.
7) 32" Sony 720p LCD TV that I use as my monitor (max res is 1360x768).
8) The sooner the better. I have done a lot of research and I am confident I know what components I want, but I just want to get some feedback before I go dropping $1600
9) Probably just SLi, for future upgrades. Having a regular PCI slot is good, because I want to use my Razer soundcard.
10) I have not decided on an OS yet. I have a family member that works for Microsoft and I can get Windows 7 or 8, any version, for free. OS is also another thing I would love to get some feedback on.

Here is what I have speced out for myself so far:
-i5 3570k
-Asus P8Z77-V
-Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB
-16GB GSkill Ripjaws X series DDR3 1600
-MSi Gaming GTX 770 2GB (clock times are higher than stock)
-Corsair CX600M 600W semi-modular Bronze rated
-Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo CPU cooler
-Coolermaster HAF 932 Advanced full tower
-Western Digital Blue 1TB for storage
-Asus 24X DVD burner

All that is just over $1600 with tax and free shipping. I am open to any and all arguments, for or against this building/specific components.

Also, for the record, my current rig is a Core2Duo E4500 (2.2ghz), on an Intel mobo (so no OCing), 2GB of RAM, an ATi 4650 512mb, and 7200rpm HDD. Nothing special. I haven't been able to play a new game at any kind of playable level for many years.

I am VERY excited to be building a new computer and I look forward to getting input from the brains here at the HardForums. Thank you everyone, in advance!
 
It looks to be a solid build, what are you paying for that PSU? It's not a bad PSU, depending on the price.

Pretty sure that RAM is the 1.5v version, so you're good their as long as you're not spending a lot on it.

The GPU probably isn't really worth the extra for the factory overclock, but I'm not gonna pick it apart. The 770 is a good GPU.

It's also not nice to bump the topic that soon, those of us who look over these builds usually have other things going on too.
 
Looks good, probably would spend the extra and go with the WD Black drive instead of the Blue. 5yr warranty instead of 2, and I believe it's a bit faster.
 
fershnickety said:
Looks good, probably would spend the extra and go with the WD Black drive instead of the Blue. 5yr warranty instead of 2, and I believe it's a bit faster.
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Not worth the costs. Speed doesn't matter when he is using an SSD as his primary drive. The HDD will most likely be used for storage, stick with the Blue.
 
The PSU is on sale right now for $80. It is usually $90. My main concern was 600W being sufficient power in the event that I go to an SLi config in the future. Is there another you would recommend? I feel like getting a modular PSU might not be as useful with the case I'm getting, which allows for excellent cable management. Maybe get something with a little more juice that isn't modular?

The GTX 770 that I have selected is actually one of the cheapest you can get (on sale for $399), and its clock times are roughly 10% greater than stock.

Yup, the RAM is 1.5v.

What about OS? Windows 7 or 8?

Sorry for the bump, but the thread was getting lost!
 
If you're really serious about SLI, you need to look at a 750 watt power supply. The Corsair HX750 is a good choice and it's on sale right now. (Remember that you're paying more for modular cables and 750 watts of max power.)

Don't worry about whether or not a video card is already overclocked. You can overclock the GPU yourself (if you're willing to learn how). Instead, ensure that the video card is using a non-reference cooling setup. That would allow for cooler temperatures and quieter operation (compared to the reference cooler on most video cards).

The G.Skill Ripjaws X is fine, especially since it's 1.5V, but you may want to consider low-profile RAM like the G.Skill Ares if you're using a tower-style CPU cooler. Depending on the cooler used, the fins on top of the Ripjaws X RAM may interfere with the placement of the cooler.

I personally prefer Windows 7 over Windows 8. In my opinion, the Metro/Modern UI interface and the Start Screen are showstoppers (the latter more than the former). If you're willing to try new things, however, Windows 8 is fine. It's slightly better performance-wise (especially with an SSD as the primary drive) than Windows 7.
 
Well I wouldn't say I'm super duper serious about SLi...but I want the option to be available if I need it. So I guess 750W would be worth it.

As for the video card, I was just mentioning that I'm not paying a premium for the OCed MSi card...in fact it's as cheap of a GTX 770 as you can get. But how can I tell if it's a reference cooler? Here is the link http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127741
 
I wouldn't bother with going SLI unless you intend to within the next 6 months. Otherwise, it's more cost effective to just get a single faster card setup than to buy an older generation card.

I did the same thing back in 2010 when I first got my system. I'm still rocking the single 470 with no real need to upgrade. When I do get ready to, it will be faster to go with a current generation single card setup than to spend money on an old used 470.

I too went with a 750W PSU to account for that, I should have saved my money.
 
MackBolan42 said:
Well I wouldn't say I'm super duper serious about SLi...but I want the option to be available if I need it. So I guess 750W would be worth it.
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"Having the option available" and being "super duper serious about SLI" are two different things. I agree with Skillz that it's more practical to go from one high-end card to another instead of SLI, especially since you're gaming at essentially a 720p resolution.

Speaking of which, you don't need the GTX 770. That's overkill. Unless you're getting a new 1920x1080/1200 monitor within the next couple of months, you're better off with the GTX 760:

$260 - MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC GTX 760 2GB

MackBolan42 said:
As for the video card, I was just mentioning that I'm not paying a premium for the OCed MSi card...in fact it's as cheap of a GTX 770 as you can get. But how can I tell if it's a reference cooler? Here is the link http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127741
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You're fine. This EVGA card has (a variant of) the reference cooler.
 
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I'd get at least a "gold" rated efficient PSU. If you're planning on keeping it for a long time, the power savings will add up. It'll also run cooler.
 
tiraides said:
80 Plus is irrelevant. Don't use that as the sole factor in picking out a PSU.
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Because things haven't changed in the ~2 years since that article was written. Not to mention:

"Now with a 500 watt 80 PLUS® Platinum power supply, you are looking at saving a grand total of ~$0.12 a day over a base 80 PLUS® power supply if your power supply was running at full load 24 hours. Now that does mean it will save you about ~$44 a year under that scenario to run a 80 PLUS® Platinum power supply instead of an 80 PLUS® power supply (~$394 compared to ~$438), however this advantage dwindles significantly again the more you move up the 80 PLUS® scale with 80 PLUS® Bronze, Silver, and Gold units. And again, the gap between single levels (Bronze versus Silver for instance) is even smaller."

The OPs last machine lasted him 10 years.
 
Ruoh said:
Because things haven't changed in the ~2 years since that article was written. Not to mention:

"Now with a 500 watt 80 PLUS® Platinum power supply, you are looking at saving a grand total of ~$0.12 a day over a base 80 PLUS® power supply if your power supply was running at full load 24 hours. Now that does mean it will save you about ~$44 a year under that scenario to run a 80 PLUS® Platinum power supply instead of an 80 PLUS® power supply (~$394 compared to ~$438), however this advantage dwindles significantly again the more you move up the 80 PLUS® scale with 80 PLUS® Bronze, Silver, and Gold units. And again, the gap between single levels (Bronze versus Silver for instance) is even smaller."

The OPs last machine lasted him 10 years.
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What tiraides said is not to use those certifications as the SOLE purpose for buying a PSU. If you really want to know how a PSU performs, then look for someone reputable that's done a proper benchmark on the PSU to get the real efficiency values.
 
Skillz said:
What tiraides said is not to use those certifications as the SOLE purpose for buying a PSU. If you really want to know how a PSU performs, then look for someone reputable that's done a proper benchmark on the PSU to get the real efficiency values.
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Well, duh. Why would anyone use a single specification to buy ANY piece of computer hardware?
 
Ruoh said:
Because things haven't changed in the ~2 years since that article was written. .
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What exactly has changed in the past two years that would make that article no longer applicable? Do you have any additional and up-to-date articles, resources, or research that shows otherwise?
Ruoh said:
Not to mention:

"Now with a 500 watt 80 PLUS® Platinum power supply, you are looking at saving a grand total of ~$0.12 a day over a base 80 PLUS® power supply if your power supply was running at full load 24 hours. Now that does mean it will save you about ~$44 a year under that scenario to run a 80 PLUS® Platinum power supply instead of an 80 PLUS® power supply (~$394 compared to ~$438), however this advantage dwindles significantly again the more you move up the 80 PLUS® scale with 80 PLUS® Bronze, Silver, and Gold units. And again, the gap between single levels (Bronze versus Silver for instance) is even smaller."
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And? They were talking about the difference between a regular 80Plus and a Platinum PSU. Nowadays we're talking about the difference between a Bronze and Gold PSU. As noted in that article, the difference gets smaller between those gaps.

In any case, a Gold PSU was already recommended. However, it was not recommended soley on its Gold certification as others have pointed out.

Ruoh said:
The OPs last machine lasted him 10 years.
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No it didn't. The OP specifically said "First Full Build in a Decade". Which means his first build with all new parts and no upgrades. He lists the E4500 as his current CPU. That CPU was released back in 2007. So at most, his current system is five years old. In addition, the OP does not mention whether or not he changed PSU at all during those ten years.

Ruoh said:
Well, duh. Why would anyone use a single specification to buy ANY piece of computer hardware?
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Because your post made it sound like you were recommending getting a PSU solely on its certification.
 
Awesome information guys. Thank you so much.

Skillz, I totally get what you're saying. I never even considered that before. So, I'm guessing, running SLi does not give twice as much graphics processing power, but less than that? What if a 470 costs $50...would the performance of two 470s not be on par of one more recent card? Just wondering. Also, are you saying it would probably be better to just get the 600W and save the money (since I almost certainly won't be getting a second 770 within 6 months)?

tiraides, I pieced out this entire rig mainly by going onto Newegg, going into the Top Sellers section of each category, and finding the most popular/best selling items that were within my price range. I had never heard of this 80 Plus ratings until recently and I didn't even really pay them much attention. I figured, if the PUS has got 1500 (mostly) good reviews, it's probably a good component. Last time I put a computer together, Antec historically made the best PSUs. Now a RAM company is making some of the most popular PSUs, as well as watercooling, cases, and all kinds of other stuff. Crazy world.

Oh, an I plan on upgrading my monitor soon. I'm not gonna drop $1600 on a computer only to have a bottleneck at the monitor! I've been looking at that Asus 144mhz 24", seems to be best bang for the buck. Any other recommendations?

So, is there another PSU you guys would recommend?
 
MackBolan42 said:
So, I'm guessing, running SLi does not give twice as much graphics processing power, but less than that?
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SLI can in fact give twice as much performance if there are good drivers available. But yes there are occasions where SLI does give less than twice the power of a single GPU.
MackBolan42 said:
What if a 470 costs $50...would the performance of two 470s not be on par of one more recent card?
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Depends on what game, what that recent card is, and what resolution we're talking about here. The problem is that the GTX 470 generally only had 1.2GB of VRAM. With SLI, the VRAM is not doubled at all. So you would still get 1.2GB of VRAM with GTX 470 SLI. Some games at high resolutions can actually exceed that amount of VRAM very easily. So if this recent card has 2GB of VRAM, you might get lower but smoother performance compared to the possibly higher but choppy performance of the GTX 470 SLI setup depending on the game. In addition, depending on the game, there might not be solid SLI drivers for it. In other words, there's a lot of other factors involved here.
MackBolan42 said:
Also, are you saying it would probably be better to just get the 600W and save the money (since I almost certainly won't be getting a second 770 within 6 months)?
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That's what he is saying, yes.

MackBolan42 said:
Oh, an I plan on upgrading my monitor soon. I'm not gonna drop $1600 on a computer only to have a bottleneck at the monitor! I've been looking at that Asus 144mhz 24", seems to be best bang for the buck. Any other recommendations?
Click to expand...
Yeah, hit up the Displays forum and ask for advice there on monitors.

MackBolan42 said:
So, is there another PSU you guys would recommend?
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If there are no plans whatsoever for SLI, then I recommend this PSU:
$80 - Seasonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W Modular PSU

Far better quality the Corsair CX600M and has more modular cables.
 
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Hmmm I see. Thanks for the answers Danny. I just read through the reviews on Newegg about that Seasonic, and it all seems perfect, except that quite a few have mentioned that the cables are a bit too short and the mobo cables are very stiff. I am planning on getting a full tower, and with cable routing, the cable lengths may prove to be a problem. Also, from what I have read, the Asus mobo I'm getting is supposed to be thin and somewhat flimsy, which may cause problems with whatever torque or tension is coming from the power cables.
 
MackBolan42 said:
Hmmm I see. Thanks for the answers Danny. I just read through the reviews on Newegg about that Seasonic, and it all seems perfect, except that quite a few have mentioned that the cables are a bit too short and the mobo cables are very stiff. I am planning on getting a full tower, and with cable routing, the cable lengths may prove to be a problem.
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Well, do the reviews that mention the cables being too "short" actually list what case they're using?

Also, that now begs the question: Do you actually need a full-tower? You're not planning on SLI anymore so that kinda defeats the main purpose of having so much room from a full-tower.
MackBolan42 said:
Also, from what I have read, the Asus mobo I'm getting is supposed to be thin and somewhat flimsy, which may cause problems with whatever torque or tension is coming from the power cables.
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Yeah, that particular Asus mobo is not thin or somewhat flimsy. We've recommended that same mobo hundreds of times in the past and not once has anyone noted that it's "flimsy"
 
Easy there tiger. I'm not making these things up. They are from reviews that I've read on newegg, in numbers significant enough that I've noticed and remembered those specific points. Don't get so defensive because I'm questioning your recommendations, based on my very simple research.

Some of the reviews about the PSU mention case size, but not specific model. Both mid and full towers were mentioned. I have considered a mid tower, and I still may get one, but I like having a big case with good airflow. Also, I might want to get an H50 or H100 in the future and I'd like to have plenty of space. Additionally, I used to buy full towers back in the day, before SLi existed and watercooling was rare..so your implication that one should only get a full tower only if they plan on SLi is nonsense.

Nonetheless, whatever size tower I get, I will be routing the power cables behind the motherboard tray. Considering that, in conjunction with the mention of short cables on a number of reviews, I was hoping you could make an alternative suggestion.

The flimsiness of the motherboard is not something I can attest to personally. However, based on the GREAT number of reviews (that Asus mobo has something like 1,500 total reviews) that specifically mention how thin the board is, and how flimsy it feels while mounted; in addition to the reviews about the POWERSUPPLY having very stiff/rigid power connectors, I thought that might be ANOTHER reason to consider an alternative PSU.

So maybe you could just recommend an alternative instead of picking the corn out of my feces?
 
I apologize if I sound defensive: that was not my intention at All. However I try not to make counter recommendations based on limited, unsubstianted, Or poor research and data. So Yes I am questioning your info as I WanT to make absolute sure that you are not getting the wrong parts. I Have been a member of this forum long enough to develop a healthy skepticism of anything an OP might say in regards to parts. Especially When Newegg.sources are used.

So please define exactly how many reviews represent a great Or significant amount. And how many of those reviews can be said to be.reputable. Sadly there are quite a lot of Newegg reviewers who do not know what they are talking about.

As for the full tower bit, back in the day, full tower was the guaranteed route to get a solid case with good cooling and room. That is not the case today as medium sized cases provide fantastic cooling these days. Not to mention that Full ATX cases of the past are actually equal in size to some medium ATX cases of today.
 
Stupid smartphone posted that before I was finished. But I will continué Later on When I am on a PC and not a stupid smartphone that random capitalize random letters.
 
Back on a PC:

How'd you get 1500 reviews for that Asus P8Z77-V? You've only mentioned using Newegg so far and there's only 207 specific reviews for the Asus P8Z77-V. In addition, none of those 207 reviews actually mention the word "flimsy". So where exactly did you read that mobo was flimsy.

Again, I'm trying to make sure that you're actually getting the correct information.

As for the PSU, since none of the reviews about the PSU actually mentioned the specific case, the legitimacy of those reviews are in doubt. There is no set standard for mid or full tower cases. Hence the need for the mention of the exact case. An example of this: Look at the size difference between the $50 NZXT Source 210 Elite and the $180 Corsair 650D. Both are technically considered "Mid-Tower cases" but they differ greatly in dimensions.
 
Yea, I made a mistake. The i5 3570k has 1300 reviews (I rounded up to 1500), and I thought that was the number of reviews of the Asus mobo, which in fact is 515, not 207.

Regardless, I urge you to search for the keyword "flimsy", and then do another search for "thin". You will see what I'm talking about.

But I don't know why it matters...I'm not getting a different motherboard, and I've already found a great PSU alternative that has more total reviews, fewer reviews of shorts and PSU death after 3-6 months, and no mention of short cables. Thank you for your time, and enjoy defending the Internet.
 
Why ask for help if you already know so much.... I could not imagine if we all built are pc's by the use of Newegg reviews...lol
 
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