Help a newbie - new build ~1100 dollars

Hey there everyone, I hope your day's been pleasant so far,

I've decided to build a new computer due to my old one being incredibly outdated, and since I'm a total noob, I registered on this forum to get some advice and suggestions for 2 of my possible builds. I'd like to get some suggestions on which one is better and such.

I'm still a student, so I'm on a rather loose budget of around 1100, I'm hoping to keep the price as low as possible though.

Another note is that, I'd rather not perform overclocking on my computer, since I heard that

So without further ado, here are my builds:
(Sorry for the inconsistent formats )

#1:
CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.00 @ PCCaseGear)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H77M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($85.00 @ PCCaseGear)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.00 @ PCCaseGear)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.00 @ PCCaseGear)

And

Samsung 830 Series 128GB ($95.00 @ PCCaseGear)

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($250.00 @ PCCaseGear)

Case: Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced NVIDIA Edition ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.00 @ PCCaseGear)
I realize this case might be too expensive, but I'd like to stick to it.

Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($83.00 @ PCCaseGear)

Monitor: Samsung S23B300B 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($149.00 @ PCCaseGear)


#2:
Case:
CoolerMaster CM 690 II Advanced - 109.00 AUD
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.ph [...] s_id=18722
Heard A LOT of good things about this baby.

Motherboard:
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Motherboard - 139.00 AUD
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.ph [...] s_id=19867

CPU:
Intel Core i5 3570K - 233.00 AUD
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.ph [...] s_id=20138
Decided to pay an extra 30 bucks or so for the overclockable version.

GPU:
Gigabyte Radeon HD7850 2GB OC - 219.00 AUD
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.ph [...] s_id=19849

PSU:
Antec High Current Gamer 520W Modular HCG-520M - 99.00 AUD
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.ph [...] s_id=19762

HDD:
Seagate Barracuda 1TB ST1000DM003 - 75.00 AUD
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.ph [...] s_id=19747

SSD:
Samsung 830 Series 64GB SSD - 65.00 AUD

Optical disc drive:
Samsung SH-222BB SATA DVDRW Drive OEM - 19.00 AUD
I'm not too concerned about the disc drive, I won't be using it much

Thanks for reading, I await your replies!

Certainly look out for sales. I nabbed an antec earthwatts 650w for 40 bucks. You can go with non modular its not the end of the world just takes some sleeving/ electrical tape to tame all the cords.

I wouldnt recommend the 7870, just get a 7850 and it will OC to the 7870 specs without even trying (prob dont even need voltage increase) OC'ing gpu is very easy to do.

Go with the barracuda drive, twice the space. I have one and no problems at all with it.

Looks like you have a pretty solid rig happening though!

Black friday too, perfect to get some components together.

I just built a medium high range rig for about 380$ total involvement xD

Nephilim said:

I wouldnt recommend the 7870, just get a 7850 and it will OC to the 7870 specs without even trying (prob dont even need voltage increase) OC'ing gpu is very easy to do.

Click to expand...

Like I said, I'm going try to stay away from OCing, thanks though.

Zailiner said:

Like I said, I'm going try to stay away from OCing, thanks though.

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May I ask why?

I understand not wanting to mess with cpu thats a little more work. The money saving benefits are just a lot more obvious with gpus. Especially with the 7800's series (I have both)
At stock volts my 7870 and 7850 cap out at the same clocks. So Im not very convinced they just arent the same thing xD

Nephilim said:

May I ask why?
I understand not wanting to mess with cpu thats a little more work. The money saving benefits are just a lot more obvious with gpus. Especially with the 7800's series (I have both)
At stock volts my 7870 and 7850 cap out at the same clocks. So Im not very convinced they just arent the same thing xD

Click to expand...

Well the thing is, I've heard that Overclocking will reduce the hardware's lifetime. I want my my parts to last as long as possible before replacing, money doesn't grow on trees.

Zailiner said:

Well the thing is, I've heard that Overclocking will reduce the hardware's lifetime. I want my my parts to last as long as possible before replacing, money doesn't grow on trees.

Click to expand...

Well that's what the internet does. Informs folks with magic stuff.

You can overclock with brains and a bit of work. These chips handle it fine. It can be hard work to learn (HOURS of learning and hours more to get it right).

Once you have a decent OC your PC will run faster and be faster than a PC that can cost more. It also means the PC will run hotter, you might need a better CPU cooler, better fans for the PC case, and overall (if you go cheap on fans) more noise.

Overclocking a marginal rig is an option to reach your goals. You want a quiet long lasting rig to start with? You don't scrimp on cost. Later, as you learn you overclock and add cooling (small cost over long term) to make the rig last longer.

Done, bored with posting, hope it helps. Lastly, having knowledge and forsite on long trm ideas helps. NEVER ever rush a big expense.

More of a commentary than help.

Welcome Zailiner, you do realize you came to the "Overclockers" forum correct? I just joking with ya, anyhow do you happen to live near a Microcenter? They have a really good walk in deal on an I5-3570k and ASRock Extreme 4 motherboard about $290.00. That is a really good start if you do live by one. Also if you have the gumption to put together a PC yourself, I will bet you, that you will get the bug to start tweaking it. You may regret not getting a Intel K chip. Just my humble opinion.

Mandrake4565 said:

Welcome Zailiner, you do realize you came to the "Overclockers" forum correct? I just joking with ya, anyhow do you happen to live near a Microcenter?

Click to expand...

He's in Australia. Microcenter is a little bit far away for him.

If you don't want to overclock:


If you do:

He's in Australia. Microcenter is a little bit far away for him.

Click to expand...

Yeah I guess that would be a little in-convenient

I'd go with build no. 1. If you don't want to OC. I am building a PC as well and it will be my first rig ever. I am picking up the i5 3570k to have some fun and tinker around with my system to see what I can do. Overclocking seemed fun and figured I'd give it a go.

You just have to get into the spirit of it