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Gaming PC build

I

iGamiak

n00b
Joined
Oct 29, 2012
Messages
50
CPU Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core $191.97
Motherboard ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 $64.99
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 $69.99
Storage Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $89.93
Video Card Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB $190.98
Case NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower $99.99
Power Supply PC Power & Cooling 500W ATX12V $71.74
Optical Drive Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer $15.99
Monitor Asus VH236H 23.0" $139.99
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) $91.99
Keyboard Microsoft ANB-00001 $10.98
Mouse Razer ABYSSUS Wired Optical $31.98
Total: $1070.52

This my first gaming pc build and I was wondering if this is a good build.
 
iGamiak said:
CPU Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core $191.97
Motherboard ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 $64.99
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 $69.99
Storage Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $89.93
Video Card Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB $190.98
Case NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower $99.99
Power Supply PC Power & Cooling 500W ATX12V $71.74
Optical Drive Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer $15.99
Monitor Asus VH236H 23.0" $139.99
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) $91.99
Keyboard Microsoft ANB-00001 $10.98
Mouse Razer ABYSSUS Wired Optical $31.98
Total: $1070.52

This my first gaming pc build and I was wondering if this is a good build.
Click to expand...

If you could answer the stickies so that people could get a better picture of what you need.
 
Looking at the list, there are some changes I would make, but I like to have options.
I dont know what limit you have set on spending which is why the sticky is good.

Windows 8 would be cheaper, then just use one of the 3rd party apps to make it like regular windows.(if thats why you chose win 7)
 
iGamiak said:
CPU Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core $191.97
Motherboard ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 $64.99
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 $69.99
Storage Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $89.93
Video Card Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB $190.98
Case NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower $99.99
Power Supply PC Power & Cooling 500W ATX12V $71.74
Optical Drive Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer $15.99
Monitor Asus VH236H 23.0" $139.99
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) $91.99
Keyboard Microsoft ANB-00001 $10.98
Mouse Razer ABYSSUS Wired Optical $31.98
Total: $1070.52

This my first gaming pc build and I was wondering if this is a good build.
Click to expand...

Not as good as it could be. First off, why choose 8GB modules when you're using only Home Premium? You see, that edition of Windows 7 is limited to a maximum of 16GB total, which means that any RAM< that you add will become totally wasted with that edition of that OS. Plus, most H77 motherboards have four DIMM slots to allow future RAM upgrades (but Home Premium will not make any use whatsoever of any additional RAM; in fact, it cannot even address that additional RAM). You will need the Pro or Ultimate editions of Windows 7 x64 to add even 1MB to that 16GB.

Which brings us to the choice of the ASRock motherboard. We have not been recommending any of its boards on account of the company's erratic quality control.

Third, you picked one of the slower hard drives (by current standards) in terms of overall sequential transfer speed. You see, that WD Black still uses two 500GB platters in a track layout that dates back almost three years; it can barely surpass even 130 MB/s (whereas newer hard drives can well exceed 150 MB/s) on the outer tracks.
 
E4g1e said:
Not as good as it could be. First off, why choose 8GB modules when you're using only Home Premium? You see, that edition of Windows 7 is limited to a maximum of 16GB total, which means that any RAM< that you add will become totally wasted with that edition of that OS. Plus, most H77 motherboards have four DIMM slots to allow future RAM upgrades (but Home Premium will not make any use whatsoever of any additional RAM; in fact, it cannot even address that additional RAM). You will need the Pro or Ultimate editions of Windows 7 x64 to add even 1MB to that 16GB.

Which brings us to the choice of the ASRock motherboard. We have not been recommending any of its boards on account of the company's erratic quality control.

Third, you picked one of the slower hard drives (by current standards) in terms of overall sequential transfer speed. You see, that WD Black still uses two 500GB platters in a track layout that dates back almost three years; it can barely surpass even 130 MB/s (whereas newer hard drives can well exceed 150 MB/s) on the outer tracks.
Click to expand...

And people still buy the Asrocks and the boards continue to perform great. :)
I think a round of testing needs to be done/redone.

Good catch on the OS type.

I also would of gone with an SSD, 3570K, CM 212 on the build, but thats just me wanting a bit of options.
 
My 2cents:

Aside from the already valid points made (different HDD, since you need a HDD for game storage; a small SSD at least for the OS [32-64GB] or a cache model to supplement your HDD; and a different OS or edition), two changes I'd make...

I have no problems with ASRock, I was extremely pleased with the 890FX Deluxe3, and they've only gotten better since then, but for $79 (after MIR) you could get an MSI board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130653

Also, and the others would have to chime in here, but wouldn't 2x4GB (8GB) of memory at a higher speed such as DDR3-2400 (your CPU's ability to run higher, withstanding) for the same price yield higher performance than 2x8GB (16GB) at DDR3-1600? You'd still be able to stick with G.Skill if you wanted:
(all have the same timings, speeds and voltages)
Ripjaw Z
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231585

Trident X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231587

Trident (taller heatsinks may cause HSF mounting issues)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231621

As for the cache drive suggestion, it sorta kills two birds (more or less): You get 32GB of SSD storage, and it will help increase your HDD reads on your most commonly played games or used apps. Given you are spending $1K, I would suspect your budget may be capable of offsetting another $60 *shrug*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227755

Hagrid makes a good point as well in that you left off a Heatsink, which you won't want to use the boxed one lol That 212 Plus is like $19 or so and a fairly stout HSF for what it is, can't go wrong!

Observations:
Why the $190 7850? You /may/ be able to find a used 7950 for that price, or if you can also afford a ~$75 then you can get a new one as well. Otherwise if not, then I'd say perhaps this one would be better given it comes with 3 free games instead of just Far Cry 3 :D If it's the "overclock" model that sold you, I'd ignore any of those since you can overclock a base model yourself to much higher than those comes, save ~$25 and put that towards something else.
This comes with Far Cry 3 still (says MOH as well, Metal of Honor?), Two Worlds and DiRT 3 (so 4 games technically) for the same price of $190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150619

Last observation, and it's probably fine, but is everyone A-OK with the 500W PSU? (just size, not PCP&C choice) I'm just looking at it from a future upgrade standpoint as it should last till then, and after. If he wants to go with a new setup that includes Crossfire/SLi option, I'm just not sure 500W will cut it if he gets the itch to go with an i7 and two big graphics cards lol

[/2cents] :)
 
Formula.350 said:
My 2cents:

Aside from the already valid points made (different HDD, since you need a HDD for game storage; a small SSD at least for the OS [32-64GB] or a cache model to supplement your HDD; and a different OS or edition), two changes I'd make...

I have no problems with ASRock, I was extremely pleased with the 890FX Deluxe3, and they've only gotten better since then, but for $79 (after MIR) you could get an MSI board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130653

Also, and the others would have to chime in here, but wouldn't 2x4GB (8GB) of memory at a higher speed such as DDR3-2400 (your CPU's ability to run higher, withstanding) for the same price yield higher performance than 2x8GB (16GB) at DDR3-1600? You'd still be able to stick with G.Skill if you wanted:
(all have the same timings, speeds and voltages)
Ripjaw Z
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231585

Trident X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231587

Trident (taller heatsinks may cause HSF mounting issues)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231621

As for the cache drive suggestion, it sorta kills two birds (more or less): You get 32GB of SSD storage, and it will help increase your HDD reads on your most commonly played games or used apps. Given you are spending $1K, I would suspect your budget may be capable of offsetting another $60 *shrug*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227755

Hagrid makes a good point as well in that you left off a Heatsink, which you won't want to use the boxed one lol That 212 Plus is like $19 or so and a fairly stout HSF for what it is, can't go wrong!

Observations:
Why the $190 7850? You /may/ be able to find a used 7950 for that price, or if you can also afford a ~$75 then you can get a new one as well. Otherwise if not, then I'd say perhaps this one would be better given it comes with 3 free games instead of just Far Cry 3 :D If it's the "overclock" model that sold you, I'd ignore any of those since you can overclock a base model yourself to much higher than those comes, save ~$25 and put that towards something else.
This comes with Far Cry 3 still (says MOH as well, Metal of Honor?), Two Worlds and DiRT 3 (so 4 games technically) for the same price of $190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150619

Last observation, and it's probably fine, but is everyone A-OK with the 500W PSU? (just size, not PCP&C choice) I'm just looking at it from a future upgrade standpoint as it should last till then, and after. If he wants to go with a new setup that includes Crossfire/SLi option, I'm just not sure 500W will cut it if he gets the itch to go with an i7 and two big graphics cards lol

[/2cents] :)
Click to expand...

I would go with 4x4 of the samsung 1600 1.35 memory sticks. They will allow any cooler and OC very nicely. In benchmarks and long encoding, the 1600 to 2400 differ.
 
Hagrid said:
I would go with 4x4 of the samsung 1600 1.35 memory sticks. They will allow any cooler and OC very nicely. In benchmarks and long encoding, the 1600 to 2400 differ.
Click to expand...

True! I forgot about those Samy low-voltage sticks!

I just figure if he wants to game, it's seeming like now the bandwidth is making more of an impact then timings (like before, or, at least with AMD), but since it is a higher speed kit then he could still always drop it down with tighter timings for other tasks. These old Kingmax Nano Gamer DDR3-2200 1.5v @ 10-10-10-3? do over 2300 at 10-11-10, but I'm also able to drop them to 7-7-7 @ 1600, which makes for a rather nice range of choices depending on the system I have. But, you're right that the Samy sticks are probably a given 2000MHz (IIRC) and so they'd be my recommendation as well :D

Also something to keep in mind... Depending on the motherboard you get, some of them may come with a USB3 expansion slot adapter, so the case you get could still do what you need if it doesn't come equipped with USB3. Also, a lot of the cases (at least at first) are just an extension cable that runs out of the case and into one of the back USB3 slots :rolleyes: So realistically, if you are dead set on a case, but don't need USB3 right away, you can always pick up a normal extension cable and look into jimmying it in place of one of the USB2.0 front panel slots :cool: www.monoprice.com is probably the best place to get any sort of cables from (video, audio, USB, and a whole lot more stuff). You can get a 15ft USB2 cable (note: 2.0) for like $5 heh At the store that'd be like $18 :eek: But I digress, look at the bundled stuff that come with motherboards and you might find one you like that has that additional expansion slot bracket (for the record, the ASRock Fatal1ty board/s had a front 3.5" floppy USB3 panel). That original Extreme4 you wanted may just come with one of them.
 
Hagrid said:
And people still buy the Asrocks and the boards continue to perform great. :)
I think a round of testing needs to be done/redone.
Click to expand...
People also buy crappy Apevia PSUs, Thermaltake TR2 PSUs, and any other number of crappy hardware. Still doesn't prove that they're actually still good despite numerous evidence to the contrary. Similar thing applies here with AsRock. With that said, I do totally agree that HardOCP should test newer AsRock mobos.
Formula.350 said:
Also, and the others would have to chime in here, but wouldn't 2x4GB (8GB) of memory at a higher speed such as DDR3-2400 (your CPU's ability to run higher, withstanding) for the same price yield higher performance than 2x8GB (16GB) at DDR3-1600?
Click to expand...
Nope. There would be little to no noticeable real world performance difference between the two.
Formula.350 said:
Last observation, and it's probably fine, but is everyone A-OK with the 500W PSU? (just size, not PCP&C choice) I'm just looking at it from a future upgrade standpoint as it should last till then, and after. If he wants to go with a new setup that includes Crossfire/SLi option, I'm just not sure 500W will cut it if he gets the itch to go with an i7 and two big graphics cards lol
Click to expand...
He never said that he was planning on CFX/SLI so really no need for a larger PSU. With that said, I would not recommend that PC P&C PSU since you can get a slightly larger PSU for $2 less:
$70 - SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze 520W Modular PSU

Formula.350 said:
I just figure if he wants to game, it's seeming like now the bandwidth is making more of an impact then timings (like before, or, at least with AMD), but since it is a higher speed kit then he could still always drop it down with tighter timings for other tasks. These old Kingmax Nano Gamer DDR3-2200 1.5v @ 10-10-10-3? do over 2300 at 10-11-10, but I'm also able to drop them to 7-7-7 @ 1600, which makes for a rather nice range of choices depending on the system I have. But, you're right that the Samy sticks are probably a given 2000MHz (IIRC) and so they'd be my recommendation as well :D
Click to expand...
With current Intel platforms, they really don't show that much of a noticeable real world performance difference between CAS 7 and CAS 9, even CAS 10 RAM. In other words, RAM speeds and latency really doesn't affect Intel CPU performance these days.

That may be a different case with AMD but I've yet to see any site do a relatively updated comprehensive memory test with AMD CPUs that wasn't related to onboard video testing. I mean there's obvious reasons why that's the case but AFAIK, no real RAM tests have been with done with AMD platforms since before the release of the AMD Phenom CPUs.
 
Danny Bui said:
He never said that he was planning on CFX/SLI so really no need for a larger PSU. With that said, I would not recommend that PC P&C PSU since you can get a slightly larger PSU for $2 less:
$70 - SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze 520W Modular PSU
Click to expand...
Oh I know he never said he planned on it. I was speaking from the standpoint that many people, especially those who are building their first computer, may not plan on upgrading to a certain extreme... and yet how many of us did that end up being the case with? Sometimes not even a year later lol He doesn't want to overclock either but it's a pretty good chance he'll end up doing so :cool:

But I concur, that SeaSonic would be a good buy. Haven't heard too much on PCP&C recently, other than shortly after their acquisition by OCZ, their quality wasn't quite as good as before (though still better than most).


Danny Bui said:
With current Intel platforms, they really don't show that much of a noticeable real world performance difference between CAS 7 and CAS 9, even CAS 10 RAM. In other words, RAM speeds and latency really doesn't affect Intel CPU performance these days.

That may be a different case with AMD but I've yet to see any site do a relatively updated comprehensive memory test with AMD CPUs that wasn't related to onboard video testing. I mean there's obvious reasons why that's the case but AFAIK, no real RAM tests have been with done with AMD platforms since before the release of the AMD Phenom CPUs.
Click to expand...

Well that's good to know, with the Intel side! Most I've seen in reviews is a gain of 1-2FPS, but they're always using the top tier CPU and GPU, so the results aren't necessarily reflective of other systems...

Too bad I don't have but two lowly, long-in-the-tooth, HD5770s or I'd publish a little performance editorial writeup on the speed impact on the AMD chips (I work at a review site part time). I know on this A8-3850 system that games feel a bit more fluid at DDR3-2000 compared to DDR3-1600. Wasn't even testing for that sort of thing, either. Happened to be playing a game and noticed certain areas that didn't appear to have some stutter as before. But that's irrelevant given he's going Intel so I'll put a cork in it lol
 
Formula.350 said:
Oh I know he never said he planned on it. I was speaking from the standpoint that many people, especially those who are building their first computer, may not plan on upgrading to a certain extreme... and yet how many of us did that end up being the case with? Sometimes not even a year later lol
Click to expand...
From what I've seen here in this subforum over the past few years, not many people actually end up with dual-GPU setups even if they planned for it in the beginning due to a variety of different factors.

Formula.350 said:
He doesn't want to overclock either but it's a pretty good chance he'll end up doing so :cool:
Click to expand...
Really no chance at all here: The mobo he has is a H77 mobo. You need a motherboard with Z77 chipset in order to OC Intel CPUs. In addition, the Intel CPU that he chose is only capable of a limited OC of 3.6Ghz. In order for him to OC higher, he would have to spring the extra cash for the Intel K series CPUs plus a more expensive Z77 mobo and an actual 3rd party HSF. Since none of that is actually in his proposed build, overclocking is definitely out of the question here.
 
That case is fine. I do not recommend that RAM since it limits your future HSF upgrade options due to the tall heatsinks it has.
 
What RAM would you recommend? I was thinking a GeForce GTX 660 graphics card but I don't know if i should get the ASUS or EVGA version.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
iGamiak said:
What would be a good wattage for a power supply?
Click to expand...
Note that you should not choose a PSU based on wattage alone. You have to factor in amperage layout, quality, actual real world performance, etc. The PSU that I recommended earlier will be enough for your needs however.
 
I know Danny you said that RAM I picked in the first place was fine but I was told that I don't need 16gb so do you have any suggestions for 2x8gb Ram?
 
iGamiak said:
I know Danny you said that RAM I picked in the first place was fine but I was told that I don't need 16gb so do you have any suggestions for 2x8gb Ram?
Click to expand...
2 x 8GB IS 16GB of RAM. Did you mean 2 x 4GB which is 8GB of RAM?
 
$34 - G.Skill Value Series F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
 
iGamiak said:
Maybe I was thinking partriot viper.
Click to expand...
Note that 4 of the Patriot Viper RAM are rated at 1.65V. That's well above the recommended 1.5V RAM voltage recommended for Intel CPUs.

Now disregarding that, I'm not a fan of the Viper series since they have tall heatsinks which will interfere with 3rd party HSF.
 
iGamiak said:
Well I want high quality RAM.
Click to expand...
You honestly would not be able to tell the difference between high and good quality RAM outside of synthetic benchmarks. So again, the RAM you chose earlier is good RAM and will fit your needs just fine. The RAM I recommended earlier is also good RAM and will fit your needs just fine. No real need to splurge on costlier RAM when it makes no real difference.

If you're gonna splurge on something, splurge on the motherboard. Right now your current AsRock mobo choice isn't all that great due to reasons already mentioned in this thread. I'd go with this mobo:
$75 - Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H Intel B75 mATX Motherboard
 
iGamiak said:
Whats that suppose to mean?
Click to expand...

There were a FEW, tests done on some(?) Asrock motherboards and they didnt work so well. That was a while ago and alot of people, including [H] kinda said to steer clear of them. Since [H]ardocp did the testing.

So far most people using Asrocks just love them and they work great. I own 5 Asrock MB's, 1 is my main and OC's great and is stable.

Hopefully [H] goes back and tests more MB's because so far with so many people getting them, they just work great and not really any complaints.
 
Hagrid said:
There were a FEW, tests done on some(?) Asrock motherboards and they didnt work so well. That was a while ago and alot of people, including [H] kinda said to steer clear of them. Since [H]ardocp did the testing.

So far most people using Asrocks just love them and they work great. I own 5 Asrock MB's, 1 is my main and OC's great and is stable.

Hopefully [H] goes back and tests more MB's because so far with so many people getting them, they just work great and not really any complaints.
Click to expand...

My friend is giving me the Z77 Extreme 4 so I know it works. He got a new one he won in a giveaway. Should I get the Z77 Extreme 4 or a diffrent MB?
 
iGamiak said:
My friend is giving me the Z77 Extreme 4 so I know it works. He got a new one he won in a giveaway. Should I get the Z77 Extreme 4 or a diffrent MB?
Click to expand...

Its up to you. You can do some research and see that Asrock MB's actually do quite well.
I would use it.
 
iGamiak said:
Whats that suppose to mean?
Click to expand...

For future reference, you really should read your own thread considering that we talked about Asrock in post #5, #6, and #11.

If it was me, I wouldn't use it unless it was free.
 
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