Please Critique Quiet PC For Programming, Gaming, General Use

[Jucius_Maximus]

Budget $1500-1800 before sales tax

Intended Purposes for Machine:
- Programming work with lots of compiling, virtual machines, simulations, etc
- Moderate gaming like Assassins Creed series, DOTA, etc
- Photoshop, video editing and other graphics usage
- General internet and office type usage
- Low noise is important to me. Doesn't have to be silent. Just low-noise.

Misc:
- I don't care about RAID or multiple video card support
- I don't upgrade too often. This is my first major build in 5 years, and I don't expect another major build until another 5 years.

Overclocking
- Not really planning on it. Maybe a mild OC.

Prices in $CDN. I am in Toronto.

Case: Antec P280 XL-ATX Tower Case Black ($95)

CPU: Intel Core i7 3770K ($330)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12P SE2 ($80) (*Why not the D14? It's because it weighs 1.2 kg, and I don't want my motherboard, mounted in a vertical tower case, to snap in half.)

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe ($280)

RAM: Corsair CML16GX3M2A1600C10 Vengeance Low Profile 16GB 2X8GB DDR3-1600 CL10 ($79)

Video: ASUS GeForce 660Ti ($300)

HDD: Intel 520 Series SSD 240 GB ($250)
(Also 2 x WD 2TB from old machine)

ODD: Pioneer BDR-207 12x Blu-Ray Writer, OEM - Black, Internal SATA ($80)

PSU: Corsair HX 750 ($115)

OS: Windows 7 64bit retail license from previous machine

Other:
- ASUS Xonar Essence STX from old box
- I have all peripherals
- Monitor is currently Dell 2007WFP (1680x1050) but I'm looking to upgrade that too

Questions:
Do you all think I am getting value for the money here?
Any low-value components to either downgrade or upgrade?
I'm thinking I might go cheaper on CPU / Mobo / Video to lower cost a little. Any comments?

Thank you for reading.

 

[Dangman]

Do you all think I am getting value for the money here?

Not at all. Several of those parts are poor values.

Any low-value components to either downgrade or upgrade?

Yes quite a few. But can't make recommendations till....

I'm thinking I might go cheaper on CPU / Mobo / Video to lower cost a little. Any comments?

Please answer the following questions:
1) Will you be overclocking?
2) When do you plan on upgrading that monitor?
3) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
4) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? UEFI? etc.
5) If any of those prices have the AR in them, please repost the prices with the actual price, not the AR price.

 

[Jucius_Maximus]

Please answer the following questions:
1) Will you be overclocking?
2) When do you plan on upgrading that monitor?
3) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
4) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? UEFI? etc.
5) If any of those prices have the AR in them, please repost the prices with the actual price, not the AR price.

1) Question answered in OP. (No serious OCs here.)

2) Within 3 months

3) Within 1 month

4)
RAID = don't care
Multi-video cards = don't care
Firewire = desirable but can live without it
USB 3 = essential
SATA III = essential
eSATA = desirable but can live without it
onboad video = don't care
UEFI = desirable but can live without it

 

[Dangman]

1) Question answered in OP. (No serious OCs here.)

Ahh that it is. Sorry it looked it was buried in that post. Anyway, since you're not planning on overclocking that high, you can drop the CPU down to the regular Core i5 3770. That CPU is still capable of a light OC.

2) Within 3 months

Then keep the 660 TI. More than likely you'll be upgrading to a monitor with 1920x1080 or 2560x1440 resolution. At those points, you're gonna need the horsepower of the GTX 660 TI. Now if you were planning on sticking with that 1680x1050 monitor for 6+ months, you would have been fine with something as low as the GTX 650 TI.

4)
RAID = don't care
Firewire = desirable but can live without it
USB 3 = essential
SATA III = essential
eSATA = desirable but can live without it
onboad video = don't care
UEFI = desirable but can live without it

Then I recommend the MSI Z77A-GD55, Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H, or Asus P8Z77-V LK motherboards. You don't need such a high-end motherboard unless you're going for overclock records.

SSD wise, I'd take a look at the cheaper and just as good Crucial M4 or Samsung 830 series SSDs. As for the PSU, if you're not planning on Crossfire or SLI at all, you'll be fine with the Corsair HX650.

 

[Jucius_Maximus]

Thanks for your comments...

Point well taken about the motherboard. I liked the lack of PCI, lots of USB ports and in-built WiFi adapter on the P8Z77-V Deluxe. I suppose those needs could also be met by external hubs and an external adapter if necessary. I'll have to think this one over. (WiFi is nice to have ... my PC is hardwired to the hub.)

As for the CPU, the 3770K is actually the same price as the regular 3770 around here due to sale prices. Surprising. I'm also considering dropping to Core i5 3570 as well. Seems to be better value IMO.

Also, Corsair HX750 ($115) is actually cheaper than HX650 ($130) due to sale prices! The HX650 is great; In fact I am running one right now in my current PC. But in this circumstance, I think 750 is the better choice!

Btw, all prices I posted do NOT include mail-in rebate, but do include sale discounts and instant rebates. I am looking at one of the main Canada-wide reseller stores around here.

 

[Dangman]

Point well taken about the motherboard. I liked the lack of PCI, lots of USB ports and in-built WiFi adapter on the P8Z77-V Deluxe. I suppose those needs could also be met by external hubs and an external adapter if necessary. I'll have to think this one over. (WiFi is nice to have ... my PC is hardwired to the hub.)

If you're doing online gaming, I'd stick with wired. Though if you still want built-in wifi, there's still the Asus P8Z77-V, Asus P8Z77-V Pro, and Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H. In any case, that Asus P8Z77-V Deleuxe simply isn't worth the extra cash.

As for the CPU, the 3770K is actually the same price as the regular 3770 around here due to sale prices. Surprising. I'm also considering dropping to Core i5 3570 as well. Seems to be better value IMO.

Also, Corsair HX750 ($115) is actually cheaper than HX650 ($130) due to sale prices! The HX650 is great; In fact I am running one right now in my current PC. But in this circumstance, I think 750 is the better choice!

Ahh alrighty then. If you're really doing a ton of virtual machine work and compiling, I'd stick with an i7 due to the extra threads.

 

[MrGuvernment]

i think if your doing what you say, and intensely, the i7 may better suit you..

 

[Jucius_Maximus]

I am going to have to disqualify the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H because it uses the Atheros AR8151 chip for Ethernet. Sometimes I do Linux work and it seems this chip has spotty support. Seems to be pretty good value otherwise though.

I might go with the MSI Z77A-GD55, though the low number of rear USB ports is concerning.

 

[Dangman]

I might go with the MSI Z77A-GD55, though the low number of rear USB ports is concerning.

Oddly enough, the lower-end version of that mobo, the MSI Z77A-G43 has two more USB ports but lacks the Intel NIC. In any case, you can always add additional USB ports later on.