Build Advice

[Arsen]

Hi guys. I am making a first time moderate gaming build and iv'e already watched 1000 videos on how to pick the best components and how to put computers together and stuff as well as all the errors and bottlenecks possible in building PC's. Here's my build. If there is anything wrong with it or if you would recommend any better components to this build i would be very grateful to take in your advice.

 

CPU Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core $219.96

CPU Cooler Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid $89.99

Motherboard Asus Maximus V Gene Micro ATX LGA1155 $199.99

Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $90.64

Storage Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM $88.53

Video Card Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB $412.60  

Case Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower $89.99

Power Supply SeaSonic 550W ATX12V / EPS12V $85.99

Optical Drive Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer $16.99

Monitor Asus VX238H 23.0" $159.99

Keyboard Cooler Master CM Storm Quick Fire TK $93.44

 

Also, I have chosen the H100i as my CPU cooler but I am afraid I wont be able to install it properly into my tower as I have also seen others on youtube having problems installing it properly into the storm enforcer. Should I purchase the H100i or the H80i to stay safe?

 

Permalink: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Arsen2111/saved/2I41

[Vader]

the 660ti is not worth $412... go with a 760/770 and try and squeeze a SSD in there. 

[CoolBeans]

Budget?

[WoodenMarker]

Why not just post a permalink from pcpartpicker?

What's your budget?

[Arsen]

the 660ti is not worth $412... go with a 760/770 and try and squeeze a SSD in there. 

All the SSD's ive looked up are expensive and yeah they are much faster but I could not find one that has decent amount of memory for a reasonable price

[Arsen]

Why not just post a permalink from pcpartpicker?

What's your budget?

This is from pcpartpicker ^^ and my budget is $1500 max $1600.

[WoodenMarker]

This is from pcpartpicker ^^ and my budget is $1500 max $1600.

I know--my question is: Why didn't you just post a permalink?

 

All the SSD's ive looked up are expensive and yeah they are much faster but I could not find one that has decent amount of memory for a reasonable price

The SSDnow v300 120GB is $70 at newegg atm.

[Arsen]

I know--my question is: Why didn't you just post a permalink?

 

The SSDnow v300 120GB is $70 at newegg atm.

Would 120GB be enough for a good gaming build though? If I was to buy an SSD I was thinking around at least 200GB or 250GB. Oh sorry my bad, I guess I was being an idiot and forgot to use permalink..... I will do so in the future

[WoodenMarker]

Would 120GB be enough for a good gaming build though? If I was to buy an SSD I was thinking around at least 200GB or 250GB. Oh sorry my bad, I guess I was being an idiot and forgot to use permalink..... I will do so in the future

120GB is generally plenty for your os and all your programs. You should probably edit in the permalink in the OP.

[lilc]

How does this look? http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2u0KP

[Arsen]

How does this look? http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2u0KP

Seems good except I would swap out the AMD fx 8320 for the AMD fx 8350 purely out of personal opinion and the reviews that I have watched on it. 0.5GHz more than the choice you currently have for a little extra.

[WoodenMarker]

Seems good except I would swap out the AMD fx 8320 for the AMD fx 8350 purely out of personal opinion and the reviews that I have watched on it. 0.5GHz more than the choice you currently have for a little extra.

You can generally oc a 8320 to 4.4+ ghz. The 8350 is only worth it for the higher binning and easier oc'ing for hitting higher clocks 4.8+ ghz.

[lilc]

Seems good except I would swap out the AMD fx 8320 for the AMD fx 8350 purely out of personal opinion and the reviews that I have watched on it. 0.5GHz more than the choice you currently have for a little extra.

It's your choice if you want to add in the 8350, it will still be within budget. The 8320 can be overclock to perform the same and better than stock 8350 for cheaper, but you can get a good overclock on the 8350 if adequate cooling and motherboard. Both are good options for cpus.

[Arsen]

Can anyone answer my question on the corsair H100i problem? I would like to use the H100i in the CM Storm Enforcer but I am afraid it will not fit into the case even though it has the Dual fan space at the top of the tower. Will it fit or must I order the H80i instead?

[brob]

A few adjustments.

• The Storm Enforcer is an ATX case so you can use the Hero instead of the Gene and the case won't look so empty.
• The G.Skill memory is a little less expensive and will look good.
• The case is designed to take a 120mm radiator, so go with the H80i.
• A GTX 770 gpu will provide better performance.
• Changed the psu to come in on budget. It's a decent psu.
• Is a CD/DVD writer really necessary? Most new builds don't bother with one.
• An SSD will make a big difference is the responsiveness of the system. 120GB is sufficient for o/s and often used programs. Use the HDD for stuff that is needed less often.
• Oh, and went with the latest cpu generation, Haswell

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($233.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler:  Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($94.99 @ J&R)
Motherboard:  Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($80.06 @ NCIX US)
Storage:  Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($88.53 @ Amazon)
Video Card:  Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card  ($334.99 @ NCIX US)
Case:  Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply:  Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Microcenter)
Monitor:  Asus VX238H 23.0" Monitor  ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Keyboard:  Cooler Master CM Storm Quick Fire TK Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($93.44 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1500.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-01 20:38 EST-0500)

[Arsen]

A few adjustments.

• The Storm Enforcer is an ATX case so you can use the Hero instead of the Gene and the case won't look so empty.
• The G.Skill memory is a little less expensive and will look good.
• The case is designed to take a 120mm radiator, so go with the H80i.
• A GTX 770 gpu will provide better performance.
• Changed the psu to come in on budget. It's a decent psu.
• Is a CD/DVD writer really necessary? Most new builds don't bother with one.
• An SSD will make a big difference is the responsiveness of the system. 120GB is sufficient for o/s and often used programs. Use the HDD for stuff that is needed less often.
• Oh, and went with the latest cpu generation, Haswell

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($233.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler:  Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($94.99 @ J&R)

Motherboard:  Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($80.06 @ NCIX US)

Storage:  Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($69.99 @ Newegg)

Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($88.53 @ Amazon)

Video Card:  Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card  ($334.99 @ NCIX US)

Case:  Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Amazon)

Power Supply:  Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Microcenter)

Monitor:  Asus VX238H 23.0" Monitor  ($159.99 @ Microcenter)

Keyboard:  Cooler Master CM Storm Quick Fire TK Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($93.44 @ NCIX US)

Total: $1500.95

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-01 20:38 EST-0500)

Thank you for the great advice! Your pretty much answered all of my questions and I have already made changes to my build. One more question, if i was to get a 3GB video card instead of a 2GB video card (and pay up to $550 for the video card) what card would you recommend. Or is the 2GB GTX 770 card you advise more than enough for most games?

[lilc]

Permalink: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Arsen2111/saved/2I41

You can go for a cheaper motherboard

That wifi card is expensive, here's what I would go for http://pcpartpicker.com/part/tp-link-wireless-network-card-tlwdn4800

Go for an ips monitor http://pcpartpicker.com/part/aoc-monitor-i2367fh

[brob]

Thank you for the great advice! Your pretty much answered all of my questions and I have already made changes to my build. One more question, if i was to get a 3GB video card instead of a 2GB video card (and pay up to $550 for the video card) what card would you recommend. Or is the 2GB GTX 770 card you advise more than enough for most games?

 

Go for a GTX 780 or a Radeon R9 290 if the budget permits.

[Arsen]

You can go for a cheaper motherboard

That wifi card is expensive, here's what I would go for http://pcpartpicker.com/part/tp-link-wireless-network-card-tlwdn4800

Go for an ips monitor http://pcpartpicker.com/part/aoc-monitor-i2367fh

I have chosen the Asus VX238H because it has a higher contrast ratio and mainly because it has a faster response time (1ms) as I am making a gaming PC build

[WoodenMarker]

Can anyone answer my question on the corsair H100i problem? I would like to use the H100i in the CM Storm Enforcer but I am afraid it will not fit into the case even though it has the Dual fan space at the top of the tower. Will it fit or must I order the H80i instead?

I wouldn't recommend getting such an expensive cooler to oc your cpu when what you're doing is gaming.

Thank you for the great advice! Your pretty much answered all of my questions and I have already made changes to my build. One more question, if i was to get a 3GB video card instead of a 2GB video card (and pay up to $550 for the video card) what card would you recommend. Or is the 2GB GTX 770 card you advise more than enough for most games?

I wouldn't recommend allocating specific budgets for separate parts unless you're asking for an unbalanced system.

A 770 is plenty to max out most games at 1080p.

I have chosen the Asus VX238H because it has a higher contrast ratio and mainly because it has a faster response time (1ms) as I am making a gaming PC build

Contrast ratio and response time specs are bull. Ignore them. 

[WoodenMarker]

Recommended edits: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2u3Jj

[Arsen]

I wouldn't recommend getting such an expensive cooler to oc your cpu when what you're doing is gaming.

I wouldn't recommend allocating specific budgets for separate parts unless you're asking for an unbalanced system.

A 770 is plenty to max out most games at 1080p.

Contrast ratio and response time specs are bull. Ignore them. 

I am planning to overclock my CPU to around 4GHz. What cooler would you recommend for my build if not the H80i?

[WoodenMarker]

I am planning to overclock my CPU to around 4GHz. What cooler would you recommend for my build if not the H80i?

The 212 Evo is plenty for an easy 4.2+ ghz oc.