First Build Parts Suggestions and Recommendations

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notredameguy10

New Member
Hello,

I am going to undertake my first build and need some advice as to whether the components I selected will be adequate and if any part would need changing. I'm looking to make a gaming ready computer that is within a reasonable budget. These parts would come up to about $1100 from the places I can buy them.

CPU: Intel Core i7 3770k 3.5Ghz LGA 1155
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 115 ATX Intel
Hard Drive 1: Toshiba 1TB 7,200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s
Hard Drive 2:Samsung 840 Series MZ-7TD120BW 120GB SATA 6.0Gb/s
RAM: Corsair Vengence Series 16GM DDR3-1600 PC3-12800
GPU: EVGA 02G-P4-2662-KR NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Superclock
Power: Corsair CX Series CX750M 750 Watt ATX
Optical: Lite-ON 24X SATA DVD Burner
Fan: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Universal CPU Cooler
Sound: Creative Labs Audigy SE 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card
Internet: Intel EXPI9301CTBLK 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI-Express x1 Network Adapter
Wireless: Rosewill RNX-N180UBE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter
Case: Cooler Master CM Storm Enforcer Mid Tower ATX Gaming Tower


Anything jump out as bad? Impressions? Thanks!
 
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spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
Spend less on your CPU and get an i5 3570K, it's the gaming sweet spot at the moment.

Spend less on your RAM and get 8GB.

Don't bother with getting the sound card unless you have very good speakers or headphones to match. Just use the sound on the motherboard.

Then spend more on your board and get a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H and more on your graphics card and get a 660 Ti or a 670 - or a Radeon HD 7870 or 7950. The graphics card is arguably what most matters most in a gaming rig.

I'd get a Seagate or Western Digital hard drive instead of a Toshiba.

Otherwise looks good.
 
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notredameguy10

New Member
Thanks for the quick response!

I agree with the CPU, but the reason I'm thinking the i7 is because Microcenter has Intel Core i7 3770k 3.5Ghz for only $229.99 (In store only) which is about what I can get the i5 3570K for!

Same for the motherboard. ASRock Z77 Extreme4 is about the same price as Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H. Only went with the AsRock from online reviews. Personal experience with either?

So no performance difference between 8GB and 16GB RAM?

Finally, really worth spending $350+ on just the graphics card?
 
spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
If you can get a 3770K for the price of the 3570K, go for the 3770K.

The UD3H is a better board than the ASRock. I'd take it over the ASRock.

No performance difference in gaming whatsoever between 8GB and 16GB, so save the money and stick with 8.

If you can afford it, yes it is worth spending that much on the graphics card. The 7950 is about 300 bucks I believe. If you can afford it, get one of those. If not, the 7870 is cheaper and will be a nice card.
 
wolfeking

wolfeking

banned
spirit said:
Don't bother with getting the sound card unless you have very good speakers or headphones to match. Just use the sound on the motherboard.
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If he has the money to spend ($50 or so), then the sound card is a good update no matter the speakers. Even shitty $40 5.1 Logitechs can sound better than absolute crap with a decent sound card.

Same for the motherboard. ASRock Z77 Extreme4 is about the same price as Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H. Only went with the AsRock from online reviews. Personal experience with either?
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The extreme 4 is junk. simple fact of the matter is it promises more than its cheap construction can deliver (not to mention that support does not exist at all). If you are going to get a board, go Gigabyte, MSI, or Asus ONLY.
 
PCunicorn

PCunicorn

Active Member
Get a Gigabyte UD3H Z77. No ethernet card. Get a Sapphire 7870 that wolfeking listed. Get a i5 3570k. Get 2 x 4 GB RAM. Get a TX 650M. Other than that, it looks good.
 
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notredameguy10

New Member
Thanks for the replies guys. So my modified list is:

CPU: Intel Core i5 3570k 3.4Ghz LGA 1155
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H
HD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 7200RPM 16MB Cache
SSD: Samsung 840 Series MZ-7TD120BW 120GB SATA 6.0Gb/s
RAM: Corsair Vengence Series 8GB DDR3-1600 PC3-12800
GPU: EVGA 02G-P4-2662-KR NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Superclock
Power: Corsair Enthusiast Series 650 Watt 80 Plus Bronze
Optical: Lite-ON 24X SATA DVD Burner
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Case: Cooler Master CM Storm Enforcer Mid Tower ATX Gaming
and 2 extra fans (200mm and 120mm).

all comes to under $1000. (less if i try to wait for deals) :)
 
wolfeking

wolfeking

banned
If you can afford it, add the sound card back in there. It does make quite a difference. Though the onboard is fine if you can't afford it.

Try for a HD7870 if you don;t NEED an Nvidia card also, as you will get better performance in game.
 
Darren

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
Sound cards are totally moot unless you have some high quality headphones or speakers. As in like 100+ in cost generally for headphones.
 
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notredameguy10

New Member
I do have a nice pair of Turtle Beach Headphones... So I guess even a cheap sound card would help.

What general performance should I expect from the system that I posted? Will I be able to play any current game on decent settings?
 
spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
The system you posted will game very nicely, but I'd probably suggest changing the card from a 660 to a 7870 or 7950.
 
wolfeking

wolfeking

banned
notredameguy10 said:
I do have a nice pair of Turtle Beach Headphones... So I guess even a cheap sound card would help.

What general performance should I expect from the system that I posted? Will I be able to play any current game on decent settings?
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The Xonar DG is a decent low end, but the D1 is quite a bit better.
If yu have a PCIe port free, the then DSx or Recon3D would be decent. Creative seems to do gaming well, but lags on drivers (don't worry, there are 3rd party drivers to fix any issues you have).

As already said, the 660 is decent, but the 7870GHz is faster and lower price (iirc). With a 7870 you should be high to max on most games at 1080p resolution.
 
Darren

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
wolfeking said:
Sure they are. Use one before you spout that incorrect info please.
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Get off your high horse. Please. It's getting REALLY old, and it has been for the past 6 months or so. Just because somebody disagrees with you does not make them automatically wrong. Get over your ego and realize that just because somebody has a differing opinion does not mean their wrong.

As to the OP: I personally think a sound card would be a waste unless you have high end headphones. Turtle Beaches aren't bad but you probably wouldn't notice much of anything. If you've got extra money left over then invest in a part that will increase performance such as the CPU or video card.
 
wolfeking

wolfeking

banned
Denther said:
Get off your high horse. Please. It's getting REALLY old, and it has been for the past 6 months or so. Just because somebody disagrees with you does not make them automatically wrong. Get over your ego and realize that just because somebody has a differing opinion does not mean their wrong.

As to the OP: I personally think a sound card would be a waste unless you have high end headphones. Turtle Beaches aren't bad but you probably wouldn't notice much of anything. If you've got extra money left over then invest in a part that will increase performance such as the CPU or video card.
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I don't have a problem with you disagreeing that a sound card is needed. Where you are wrong is saying that you will not notice the difference unless you have upper end hardware. I hear the difference with simple $40 logitech 5.1 speakers and a $30 set of JVC headphones. GET of your high horse. you are WRONG!
 
spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
Whilst it may make a difference, I still feel that the lower-end cards are not worth the cost really. These days there is not a problem with onboard sound on boards, so I personally feel the money could be better spent on a faster GPU or perhaps towards better aftermarket cooling for the CPU to allow for a higher overclock.

If it were me, I'd be saying put it towards the graphics card and get yourself a 670 or a 7950 if you can.
 
wolfeking

wolfeking

banned
Okay, I see that viewpoint. Even a low end sound card, especially one with the X-Fi chipset is far better than onboard (ALC 898 and ALC 889 tested against) in games.
I would rather have a better overall system, as in decent CPU, Decent GPU, and Good sound than a very good system (high OC, high end GPU) with piss poor gaming audio. It makes a lot of difference in your overall experience.
 
spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
I think we should let the OP decide here.

He can either have a sound card and a 7870 or 660.

Or he can have no sound card but a 7950 or 670 - or get better cooling.

Going to leave it up to him. It's his system at the end of the day. Whichever he chooses he's going to get a well-performing rig which will game very nicely indeed.
 
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