New i5 3570k gaming build for a friend - $1.2-1.3k budget

[m715]

Well I told my friend I’d help him build a gaming computer. He wants to play Guild Wars 2 @ 1080 with the setting maxed out, he also plays Starcraft 2, and WOW occasionally. I was planning on waiting until memorial day for the sales to start buying, BUT I jumped on the microcenter i5 3570k/motherboard deal today, still hope they honor my online order because there are no stores nearby. So we will be buying parts anytime from now to memorial day to get the best deal possible…(newegg, tigerdirect, etc.)

Graphics card, I’m not totally sure on, it’s been a long time since I bought a higher end graphics card. I was thinking a Radeon 7850 or 7870 or the Nvidia equivalent? I not partial either way I just don’t know that much about the graphics cards and put in $250-350 for the budget.

Also I’d like to get a power supply that is overkill so if he wants to down the road he can put in some upgrades: i.e. 16GB RAM, 2nd HD/DVD, extra fans, crossfire or SLI. I’m guessing a 750 or 850w will do?

The case is another area I’m not sure on…his taste in my opinion is bad (he tends to like gaudy, clear, white..)

BUDGET - $1,200-1,300, right now I’m at: ~$1275 high side and $1125 low side (lower the better…)
Parts to re-use: keyboard, mouse, speakers, webcam, 500GB 7.2k HD

CPU/MOBO - $309.36 (microcenter combo, ordered 4/29 as long as they honor it)
- Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz
- ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77
CPU cooler - $19.99 AR
- COOLER MASTER Hyper 212+
RAM - $49.99
- CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
PSU - $100-150
- CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850M 850W ($125 AR)
- XFX PRO850W XXX Edition Semi-Modular 80 Plus Silver Certified 850 Watt ($147 AR or maybe less depending on sale)
GPU - $250-350
- Radeon 7850 or 7870
HD - will re-use a 500GB 7.2k
SSD - ~$108 (after PM and 25 coupon)
- Crucial 128GB m4 2.5-inch SATA 6GB/s Internal SSD Drive
DVD - $17.98
- LITE-ON DVDRW
CASE - $55 AR
- RAIDMAX ATX-321WB Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($35 AR – his taste)
- RAIDMAX Blade ATX-298WY Black / Yellow Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($35 AR – his taste)
- MSI Nighthawk IN-9390 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($40 AR)
- COOLER MASTER HAF 912 ($55 AR)
- COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($55 AR)
- Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($135 AR - A bridge between our two views but way over budget…)
OS - $64.95 (student price)
- Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
WiFi - $13.99
- Rosewill RNX-N180PCe Wireless Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n PCI Express
LCD - $149.99-25 coupon +8%tax = $135
- Samsung S24B240BL 24" LED Monitor

Any thoughts or suggestions would be great!

 

[Twiggz]

Some of your links don't work for me, but looking down that list, I did not see anything that made me go " ew". I like the list, looks good to me.

Just remember about the PSU and what he "may" SLI or Crossfire in the future. The 7870 will use not that much power, but future cards like the GTX 690 will use much more. So if you are future proofing it, might want to get slightly bigger than an 850W PSU. Just a thought though.

 

[m715]

Thanks, fixed the links...

About the power supply I meant he may add in a 2nd 7850 or 7870, all with a few other small things, so I think the 850w will still be good.

 

[Twiggz]

Yes, it will be then.

 

[m715]

Hmm, was looking back and noticed the corsair PS wasn't crossfire ready...
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850M 850W

This one is @ $161 AR
CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 (CMPSU-850HX) 850W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011
I'm hoping to catch the XFX 850w for $100-125 on sale...

There seems to be slightly more SLI ready corsair power supplies than crossfire.
Is there an advantage of one over the other? ie. SLI vs. Crossfire?
Any good reviews or comparisons articles to read on the two?

 

[Twiggz]

I read something awhile back on this, I believe that while one PSU has the connectors you need for SLI or Crossfire but doesnt say ready, but the other PSU does say it's ready, means that the "ready" one was actually tested under those conditions and was able to hold a certain load under that stress. There are also "certified" ones aswell, these were tested and held even higher standards than the "ready". It doesn't mean that the one that doesn't say either can't run SLI or Crossfire, it just means they can't advertise it.

That is coming from memory, I can't give you a link.

***Edit Rewording: A PSU can either be a nothing, a "ready", or a "certified". All three of these may have connectors for SLI or Crossfire, but they are listed differently because of the testing they went through. This doesn't mean that one is better than the other, it just means that because it was not tested and held to a certain standard, it can't be advertised accordingly. This is still off the top of my head, but I felt like the above typing was bad and hard to read.

 

[jumpbackjdj]

Well I told my friend I’d help him build a gaming computer. He wants to play Guild Wars 2 @ 1080 with the setting maxed out, he also plays Starcraft 2, and WOW occasionally. I was planning on waiting until memorial day for the sales to start buying, BUT I jumped on the microcenter i5 3570k/motherboard deal today, still hope they honor my online order because there are no stores nearby. So we will be buying parts anytime from now to memorial day to get the best deal possible…(newegg, tigerdirect, etc.)

Graphics card, I’m not totally sure on, it’s been a long time since I bought a higher end graphics card. I was thinking a Radeon 7850 or 7870 or the Nvidia equivalent? I not partial either way I just don’t know that much about the graphics cards and put in $250-350 for the budget.

Also I’d like to get a power supply that is overkill so if he wants to down the road he can put in some upgrades: i.e. 16GB RAM, 2nd HD/DVD, extra fans, crossfire or SLI. I’m guessing a 750 or 850w will do?

The case is another area I’m not sure on…his taste in my opinion is bad (he tends to like gaudy, clear, white..)

BUDGET - $1,200-1,300, right now I’m at: ~$1275 high side and $1125 low side (lower the better…)
Parts to re-use: keyboard, mouse, speakers, webcam, 500GB 7.2k HD

CPU/MOBO - $309.36 (microcenter combo, ordered 4/29 as long as they honor it)
- Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz
- ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77
CPU cooler - $19.99 AR
- COOLER MASTER Hyper 212+
RAM - $49.99
- CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
PSU - $100-150
- CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850M 850W ($125 AR)
- XFX PRO850W XXX Edition Semi-Modular 80 Plus Silver Certified 850 Watt ($147 AR or maybe less depending on sale)
GPU - $250-350
- Radeon 7850 or 7870
HD - will re-use a 500GB 7.2k
SSD - ~$108 (after PM and 25 coupon)
- Crucial 128GB m4 2.5-inch SATA 6GB/s Internal SSD Drive
DVD - $17.98
- LITE-ON DVDRW
CASE - $55 AR
- RAIDMAX ATX-321WB Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($35 AR – his taste)
- RAIDMAX Blade ATX-298WY Black / Yellow Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($35 AR – his taste)
- MSI Nighthawk IN-9390 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($40 AR)
- COOLER MASTER HAF 912 ($55 AR)
- COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($55 AR)
- Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($135 AR - A bridge between our two views but way over budget…)
OS - $64.95 (student price)
- Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
WiFi - $13.99
- Rosewill RNX-N180PCe Wireless Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n PCI Express
LCD - $149.99-25 coupon +8%tax = $135
- Samsung S24B240BL 24" LED Monitor

Any thoughts or suggestions would be great!

hi there, just curious about how you chose your RAM.. Im also building a system with the same MB and Processor... Trying to figure out what ram to use with it!

 

[m715]

hi there, just curious about how you chose your RAM.. Im also building a system with the same MB and Processor... Trying to figure out what ram to use with it!

I actually need to read more about RAM, I just picked out one that was well reviewed, other people were using in their builds and was around $50.

BUT, I have to find out with a 212+ heat sink I may need a low profile RAM with the mother board (ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77), I have read that the heat sink will block one slot.

So I heard good reviews about this samsung ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147096
or also at http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0380720