My First Gaming PC!

[TheBestGuy]

Hey guys, this is my first post on LinusTechTIps blog. I have been an avid fan of Linus and Slick and all their videos, and always enjoy catching the live stream on Friday's. Thanks to Linus' expertise and great explanations of PC gaming grade and workstation components and hardware, I decided to join the master race and ditch my aging PS3. This PC was made on a budget of 1500$ and the components were chosen for mainly gaming. I do have experience working with computers and computer hardware as I am currently taking courses to receive my CompTIA A+ certification and become a hardware technician so none of this was new to me. I just looked at mainly his reviews on these products to take note of some of their features and of course, aesthetics. The following components were included in the build.

CPU- Intel i5 3570k

Motherboard- MSI G-45 Z77A

RAM- Corsair Vengeance 8 GB

CPU Cooler- Corsair H100

GPU- MSI GTX 660

PSU- Corsair Builders Series 500 watt

HDD- Seagate Barracuda 1TB

CD Drive- MSI DVD RW

Case- Corsair 400r

With this budget I was also able to squeeze in the needed budget peripherals

Mouse- Razer Deathadder 2012

Mouse Mat- Razer Goliathus Extended Edition

Keyboard- Corsair K70 ( Blue back-light with aluminum back-plate)

Monitor- BenQ 24" Monitor (To lazy to write SKU#)

Pictures are coming soon as I waited for a price drop for Nvidia graphics cards of the last gen. With the release of the 770, I was able to get the 660 for a bargain. *Ordered this morning and just cancled* *opting for 660ti*

Please leave comments as for my build and the components chosen, as this will not be my last build as I had a lot of fun making my computer. Any comments on the components chosen, the pricing, or future upgrades and general comments are very welcome.

Thanks in advance.

[Kayn]

The only thing that I would change would be to get at 660 ti instead of a regular 660 but other than that it's a solid build.

[MJOLNITR VIPER]

The only thing that I would change would be to get at 660 ti instead of a regular 660 but other than that it's a solid build.

agreed.  

 

@TheBestGuy Have you tried mechanical keyboards before?  if not I recommend you do, because you will be kicking yourself if you get that keyboard and dont like the feel of the switches.  

[joelthezombie15]

The only thing that I would change would be to get at 660 ti instead of a regular 660 but other than that it's a solid build.

I agree but still pretty cool build

[tp95112]

Id get a 7870 instead of the 660. MSI has a red twin frozr cooler that fits your motherboard scheme if your looking for asethetics

[solosdk]

Thats a big budget but with a *kinda* mid-range graphics card. If I were you, I'd get the 660 Ti or the 670

[jbcrazy]

agreed.  

 

@TheBestGuy Have you tried mechanical keyboards before?  if not I recommend you do, because you will be kicking yourself if you get that keyboard and dont like the feel of the switches.  

 

Yes... try it out!  :)  

 

Also, yes 660ti would be better... if you can swing it though... 670 for sure!!

[TheBestGuy]

Thanks guys for the feedback. I am probably going to opt for the 660 ti instead as this probably, as you guys mentioned, a better performance choice. This also leaves room down the road for a triple sli configuration with a PSU upgrade later. I'm not really too sure on a 7870 as I have heard there are issues with the driver support for some games, but supposedly the never settle drivers should have fixed this.

[TheBestGuy]

 

 

agreed.  

 

@TheBestGuy Have you tried mechanical keyboards before?  if not I recommend you do, because you will be kicking yourself if you get that keyboard and dont like the feel of the switches.  

Yes I have. I have a Filco Majestouch with brown switches. I enjoy this keyboard a lot, but a while ago a friend lent me his Corsair K90 and the red switches just felt perfect with gaming. I type heavily and even though it's a bad habit, I always bottom out the keys. I prefer browns for typing, but the actuation point before the bottoming out just doesn't feel right with gaming. If not I would have opted for the Logitech g710+. Thanks for the concern though.