Building my first PC - suggestions?

[onilink47]

Hi OC, I'm new to the forums, and also to the world of PC building. I'm looking to build a gaming PC, and have set a budget of around $1500+tax for myself. I've done a little research and I think, for the price, that these are some quality components to build around.

I would love to hear any suggestions or ideas for tweaks that you guys might have for this setup, because I am definitely a beginner. Am I on the cusp of something great, but would really benefit somewhere?

Motherboard:
ASUS Sabertooth Z77 Intel Series 7 $245

CPU:
Intel Core i7 - 3770K Quad Core ($310)

GPU:
XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB ($375)

Memory:
16GB (4x4GB) Corsair Vengeance DR3 1600MHz ($100)

HDD:
OCZ Agility 4 256GB ($170)


So that leaves ~$300 for cooler/power/disc drive/case. At the moment I have no means to take advantage of a good sound card, so I'll stick with the on-board. Looking ahead, I'll eventually add a second hard drive, but 256GB will definitely be enough for the time being, and should the need ever arise, I'll have room to add a second XFX 7970.

Any thoughts? And thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Culbrelai]

$1500 you can max every current game, so its a good budget point.

Everything looks fine but is there a reason you chose the Sabertooth?

People here usually reccomend this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157295

for much cheaper and then you can use that $100 for something else.

 

[Ajay57]

If you live anywhere near to a Micro center you can walk in and get a good Combo deal on a Z77 Mobo and CPU? Which would help you towards buying other parts, as for the Mobo like most of the members would say change that, as for the rest good choices. So i have just saved you a load of money on these two items alone over $150 Dollars? AJ.



1, http://microcenter.com/product/395374/Z77_Extreme6_LGA_1155_ATX_Intel_Motherboard

2, http://microcenter.com/product/388575/Core_i7_3770K_35GHz_LGA_1155_Processor

Same as above only this you can get the COMBO deal with this!

 

[wingman99]

I would purchase 2X8GB sticks of memory incase you want to upgrade later.

 

[Knufire]

Hey, welcome to OCF!

When trying to recommend a build to you, there's some information that's extremely helpful for us to know. If you could answer these few short questions, we'd be happy to help!

• What are you planning to do with this compuer? Please be as specfic as possible.

• What is your budget?
  
  1. Does this include a copy of Windows?
  2. Does this include peripheals (a keyboard, monitor, mouse, speakers, etc.)?
• Are you from the United States or a different country? Are you ordering from your own country or from across borders?
  
  1. Wherever you may be from, does the store that you are planning to order from have a website? It's okay if it isn't in English, we can manage.
  2. If you are from the United States, do you live nearby a Microcenter?

• Do you have any specific requests with the build?
  
  1. Do you plan on overclocking? If yes, do you have a specific goal in mind?
  2. Would you prefer the build to be particularly small?
  3. Would you prefer the build to be particularly quiet?
  4. In general, do you prefer this to be a computer that you can spend money on now and let it rest, or a box built for continuous upgrading?
  5. Do you ever plan on utilizing NVIDIA's SLI or AMD's CrossfireX technologies? These features, with a compatible motherboard, allow a user to link multiple identical graphic cards together for added performance. In real world terms, this lets you buy a second identical graphics card down the line as a relatively cheap and easy way to gain a fairly large boost in performance. However, this requires buying a SLI/CFX compatible motherboard and PSU now, which may result in slightly higher initial cost.

Once again, thank you in advance for taking the time to answer these, and I hope you enjoy your stay at OCF!

 

[onilink47]

Hey, welcome to OCF!

When trying to recommend a build to you, there's some information that's extremely helpful for us to know. If you could answer these few short questions, we'd be happy to help!

• What are you planning to do with this compuer? Please be as specfic as possible.

• What is your budget?
  
  1. Does this include a copy of Windows?
  2. Does this include peripheals (a keyboard, monitor, mouse, speakers, etc.)?
• Are you from the United States or a different country? Are you ordering from your own country or from across borders?
  
  1. Wherever you may be from, does the store that you are planning to order from have a website? It's okay if it isn't in English, we can manage.
  2. If you are from the United States, do you live nearby a Microcenter?

• Do you have any specific requests with the build?
  
  1. Do you plan on overclocking? If yes, do you have a specific goal in mind?
  2. Would you prefer the build to be particularly small?
  3. Would you prefer the build to be particularly quiet?
  4. In general, do you prefer this to be a computer that you can spend money on now and let it rest, or a box built for continuous upgrading?
  5. Do you ever plan on utilizing NVIDIA's SLI or AMD's CrossfireX technologies? These features, with a compatible motherboard, allow a user to link multiple identical graphic cards together for added performance. In real world terms, this lets you buy a second identical graphics card down the line as a relatively cheap and easy way to gain a fairly large boost in performance. However, this requires buying a SLI/CFX compatible motherboard and PSU now, which may result in slightly higher initial cost.

Once again, thank you in advance for taking the time to answer these, and I hope you enjoy your stay at OCF!

Thanks for the responses guys.

Right now I mostly play League of Legends, but that's just because I don't have a very good computer. I've mostly been a console guy, but I want to start getting into PC gaming, and I definitely want to be able to max out current top games. Other than games, I won't be using the PC for any taxing computing.

My budget is ~$1500+tax.

This does not include Windows or any peripherals. I will be using my HDTV as a monitor via HDMI.

I am in Canada and I will likely be ordering from tigerdirect.ca

My requests with the build are that I want to be able to (eventually) add a second video card, I will need to have wireless internet access as hardwire wont be an option initially, and I would like to have a quiet running machine. Size doesn't matter.

I would like to have the ability to upgrade as needed; I will likely add a second video card and hard drive down the line to keep up with gaming tech, but for the time being I want my machine to be ready to do all that I want.

I do want to overclock, but I have never done this before, so it's mostly because I want to learn and I want to get everything out of my system.

 

[oroooso]

for a case look into the cooler master half 922 and look into the h100i for cpu cooler i also agree with going with 8gb of ram and maybe look at 1866mhz instead of 1600mhz if all your doing is gaming you will not need more the 8gb of ram for any game out now

 

[Culbrelai]

Overclocking is really not that hard, nobody would tell me the step by step on how to do it because there are really only two.

1. Change multiplier or BLCK untill desired overclock has been reached, or go to #2

2. Change vcore for system stability if desired multiplier or BLCK overclock will not boot or isn't stable.

 

[Knufire]

CPU: i5-3570K
RAM: 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 CL9, Brand doesn't matter.
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H or ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Case: If you want quiet, look at Lian Li or Fractal Design
PSU: OCZ ZT 750, Corsair CX750, Corsair TX750, any other high quality 750W
SSD: I'd go for a Vertex 4 with the saved money
CPU Cooler: Hyper212 Evo, quiet and good enough for beginner overclocks

 

[onilink47]

CPU: i5-3570K
RAM: 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 CL9, Brand doesn't matter.
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H or ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Case: If you want quiet, look at Lian Li or Fractal Design
PSU: OCZ ZT 750, Corsair CX750, Corsair TX750, any other high quality 750W
SSD: I'd go for a Vertex 4 with the saved money
CPU Cooler: Hyper212 Evo, quiet and good enough for beginner overclocks

Thanks for the suggests, but why a weaker Motherboard and CPU (or at least what I perceive to be weaker) in order to get a better hard drive? In the configuration I posted above, with a Asrock extreme6, where is the bottleneck?

And you think the 7970 is a good choice, since you didn't mention GPU?

 

[Ajay57]

Sometimes OP too much information can be a negative thing instead of a help to you!! The Asrock EX 6 has better on board components than the EX 4? Since you have the money to spend then the only change is the Mobo, if your not quite sure try to read this OCF Review by a member. AJ.

1, http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=722124&highlight=asrock+extreme+review

Try to remember too much eye candy can be confusing?

 

[EarthDog]

CPU: i5-3570K
RAM: 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 CL9, Brand doesn't matter.
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H or ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Case: If you want quiet, look at Lian Li or Fractal Design
PSU: OCZ ZT 750, Corsair CX750, Corsair TX750, any other high quality 750W
SSD: I'd go for a Vertex 4 with the saved money
CPU Cooler: Hyper212 Evo, quiet and good enough for beginner overclocks

Agree with this build. MUCH rather have a 3570k and SSD

 

[onilink47]

Agree with this build. MUCH rather have a 3570k and SSD

But the drive in my OP is SSD, though I did mislabel it as HDD. Is the 3570k better? I assume not, so what is the benefit of going for the i5-3570k over the i7-3770k? I don't have the knowledge to compare CPUs, so any info would be great.

 

[EarthDog]

Oops, missed that. Id go Ex4 or 6 (really, unless you are pushing extreme clocks the 4 will be fine. Yes, the 6 has upgraded components and is only $10 more, but... your choice, the 4 will not let you down). The Vertex4 is a much better drive than the agility. You dont NEED a 3770k for gaming really, but you can afford it, so why not. I say ex4, 3770k, and vertex4.

 

[onilink47]

Oops, missed that. Id go Ex4 or 6 (really, unless you are pushing extreme clocks the 4 will be fine. Yes, the 6 has upgraded components and is only $10 more, but... your choice, the 4 will not let you down). The Vertex4 is a much better drive than the agility. You dont NEED a 3770k for gaming really, but you can afford it, so why not. I say ex4, 3770k, and vertex4.

Let me ask you this: if I went Ex6, 3770K, agility... a couple years down the line, if I want to add a second GPU, more Ram, and a second SDD, have I made a better long term decision than if I go Ex4, 3570k, vertex4, even if that means that right now I have more power than I need?

If I go with more power now, and add those components down the line, how long do you think I'll be able to run new games at max settings? I don't think I've ever been able to max settings in a computer game before, so I really have no idea how long my tech can stay current. I'd rather spend a bit more now in an effort to future-proof a little more.

 

[EarthDog]

I doubt you will need more ram than 16GB. 8GB is fine for 99% of gamers.

In a couple years, it may not be prudent to add another 7970 as a single midrange card in 2+ years will come close to its performance at less than half the power consumption. SLI/Crossfire, to me are only fire highres (2560x1600) or multi monitor setups.

 

[Ajay57]

Why take a backwards step when you clearly have the money to buy what you want? A Asrock EX 6 and a I7-3770K is a superb choice in my book and a lot of members would only wish to be in your shoes! With that kind of money, but on the future proof who really knows, but one thing for certain your going to be on the right side of things. AJ.

 

[Knufire]

Why take a backwards step when you clearly have the money to buy what you want? A Asrock EX 6 and a I7-3770K is a superb choice in my book and a lot of members would only wish to be in your shoes! With that kind of money, but on the future proof who really knows, but one thing for certain your going to be on the right side of things. AJ.

Just because he has the money doesn't mean he should spend it. It's not about buying what you "want", it's about buying what you need to meet your performance goals.

 

[oroooso]

it all comes down to what you wanna build when i first was looking at parts like your doing i had a list like you did and it was all "high end" stuff... i read over all these post that ppl were posting for builds and my list was z77vgenne/i73770k/16gb 1600mhz/ssd boot drive/1tb HDD/gtx680 or 670.......would i ever use the potential of the i7 probably not but if i did need it, its there for me the only thing i did was went with 8gb of ram instead of the 16gb and im still waiting on video car because i went a little over budget... if i would have bought cheaper parts like the extreme 4/3570k i could have bought a video card right off the bat but i wanted an all out build that would last me a while... the parts you picked are fine every one is trying to help get your price down do i regret spending 200 on my mobo and getting the 3770k deff not

 

[Knufire]

Do whatever you want, it's your wallet, not mine. I'm just saying, I'd rather be on the side of practicality. It's a computer for entertainment purposes and it's importance should be treated as such.