First time building a gaming PC ($1500)

[Desu]

So I'm trying to build my first computer, and I wanted some thoughts on my build. I'll be using it mostly for gaming.

After a bit of research on newegg... I came up with these parts. I'm not sure if everything is compatible/ideal, but what do y'all think so far?

Processor i5-3570K | Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics ... ($240)
GPU GTX 680 | EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2682-KR GeForce GTX 680 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card ($520)
Motherboard z77 | GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard ($190)
RAM 8GB | CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B ($55)
PSU 750W | CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power ...($110)
SSD 128GB | Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) ($125)
HHD 2TB | SAMSUNG EcoGreen F4 HD204UI 2TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive ($120)
Burner 24X | ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM ($18)
Cooler 212 | COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel ... ($30)
Case Mid Tower | Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($55)
Total Cost $1,463

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8TIz
(I already have the keyboard/mouse/monitor/windows)

Thanks!

Desux

[TheProfosist]

Pm me about this build i should be able to help you out. I think i know waht your going for with this.

[speakeasy]

awww misleading title. I thought you were designing a keyboard for gaming

Good luck with your build though!

[WhiteFireDragon]

Looks like a solid build, I don't see any weak points of the system. You might want to add in a couple of extra fans though. The Antec 300 I bought didn't have any intake fans.

[Desu]

Here's an update on the build: (got tons of help from TheProfosist -- thanks!!)

@speakeasy: Woops! Sorry for the confusion X__X
@WhiteFireDragon: Thanks for the tip -- I actually went with another model instead!

Processor      
   i5-3570K   Intel
Graphics Card      
   GTX 670   EVGA
Motherboard      
   Z77   Intel
RAM      
   8GB   Corsair
Power Supply      
   750W   Antec
Heatsink      
   120mm   Zalman
SSD      
   120GB   Intel
HDD      
   2TB   Western Digital
Optical Drive      
   DVD   LG
Case      
   Mid   Antec Gaming Series one illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

[TheProfosist]

Here's an update on the build: (got tons of help from TheProfosist -- thanks!!)

@speakeasy: Woops! Sorry for the confusion X__X
@WhiteFireDragon: Thanks for the tip -- I actually went with another model instead!

Processor      
   i5-3570K   Intel
Graphics Card      
   GTX 670   EVGA
Motherboard      
   Z77   Intel
RAM      
   8GB   Corsair
Power Supply      
   750W   Antec
Heatsink      
   120mm   Zalman
SSD      
   120GB   Intel
HDD      
   2TB   Western Digital
Optical Drive      
   DVD   LG
Case      
   Mid   Antec Gaming Series one illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

You can post the actual link to the wishlist if you want. Also if anyone else want recommendations for a build let me know id be happy to sit down and lend you some help.

[Findecanor]

awww misleading title. I thought you were designing a keyboard for gaming

I think that he is aiming to build a computer that will be up to par with his gaming keyboard. ;-)

[Reptile]

Here's an update on the build: (got tons of help from TheProfosist -- thanks!!)

@speakeasy: Woops! Sorry for the confusion X__X
@WhiteFireDragon: Thanks for the tip -- I actually went with another model instead!

Processor      
   i5-3570K   Intel
Graphics Card      
   GTX 670   EVGA
Motherboard      
   Z77   Intel
RAM      
   8GB   Corsair
Power Supply      
   750W   Antec
Heatsink      
   120mm   Zalman
SSD      
   120GB   Intel
HDD      
   2TB   Western Digital
Optical Drive      
   DVD   LG
Case      
   Mid   Antec Gaming Series one illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Intel brand mobo?

Also check out the samsung low voltage ram.

[The_Beast]

Processor
i5-3570K Intel
Graphics Card
GTX 670 EVGA
Motherboard
Z77 MSI
RAM
8GB G.Skill Sniper (1.25v)
Power Supply
750W Corsair HX or AX
Heatsink
120mm Zalman
SSD
120GB Samsung or Crucial M4
HDD
2TB Samsung
Optical Drive
DVD LG
Case
whatever works, I love my Fractal R3


I would go for something more like that. WD makes good HDD but I like Samsungs more (I have 4 WD blacks and 6 F4 Samsungs, only ever had a data port issue on the WD). I'm avoiding Corsair ram, I went through 4 sticks on my last motherboard, I've had good luck with G.Skill and Kingston. You have to watch Antec PSUs, the only "bad" Corsair PSU are there builders series, all the other ones are basically PC Power and Cooling, which is the best maker of PSUs. I would avoid Intel motherboards unless you get their best one, the lower end boards tend to be not so good

[IvanIvanovich]

I would go for the mushkin Chronos MX or Samsung 830 for the ssd, way more bang for the money there. Samsung 'value' ram is also highly recommended right now, oc's like a beast but I generally go with mushkin. For motherboards and gpu I've been partial to evga, though their motherboards aren't quite as competitive lately. CPU is a no brainer. Heatsink Zalman? Not sure as I'm a water guy, but last I looked their heatsinks were not that great compared to some others. PSU always seasonic or something oem'd by seasonic. Optical drive? You watch dvds or something? I haven't put one of those in primary build since 2004... no comment. Case, all about taste, but I prefer Lian Li smaller the better if buying off the shelf. No sound card? If you care about audio you should get one.

[TheProfosist]

Intel brand mobo?

Also check out the samsung low voltage ram.

yea no frills and gets the job done solid

the ram is corsair LP (low profile, low voltage)

here is the newegg wishlist link for those interested http://tinyurl.com/c4xew7h

Processor
i5-3570K Intel
Graphics Card
GTX 670 EVGA
Motherboard
Z77 MSI
RAM
8GB G.Skill Sniper (1.25v)
Power Supply
750W Corsair HX or AX
Heatsink
120mm Zalman
SSD
120GB Samsung or Crucial M4
HDD
2TB Samsung
Optical Drive
DVD LG
Case
whatever works, I love my Fractal R3


I would go for something more like that. WD makes good HDD but I like Samsungs more (I have 4 WD blacks and 6 F4 Samsungs, only ever had a data port issue on the WD). I'm avoiding Corsair ram, I went through 4 sticks on my last motherboard, I've had good luck with G.Skill and Kingston. You have to watch Antec PSUs, the only "bad" Corsair PSU are there builders series, all the other ones are basically PC Power and Cooling, which is the best maker of PSUs. I would avoid Intel motherboards unless you get their best one, the lower end boards tend to be not so good

I personally have not had good luck with either MSI or GSkill in the 10+ years I have been doing this. MSI has brought up their game a bit by copying ASUS but then id just go with ASUS but GSkill has actually gotten worse ive had more bad ram come from them and pulled bad ram out in recent time that I cant see why anyone would ever touch them, though i guess could just be me. Corsair makes solid supplies they are more costly usually than an antec and i believe share the same oems for some supplies. Samsung is a great choice for SSD as well but the 330 fit the bill due to price. The M4 uses a bit older tech and uses a marvell controller which I wont go near as ive had horrible luck with anything I have had from them. As for the samsung HDDs if you nice their design is aging and hasnt been updated and the models available are getting fewer and fewer due to the fact that samsung HDD is now owned by seagate (anther company I have had high failure rates with). So I will probably be sticking with hitachi and WD from now on (WD has also acquire hitachi recently).

I would go for the mushkin Chronos MX or Samsung 830 for the ssd, way more bang for the money there. Samsung 'value' ram is also highly recommended right now, oc's like a beast but I generally go with mushkin. For motherboards and gpu I've been partial to evga, though their motherboards aren't quite as competitive lately. CPU is a no brainer. Heatsink Zalman? Not sure as I'm a water guy, but last I looked their heatsinks were not that great compared to some others. PSU always seasonic or something oem'd by seasonic. Optical drive? You watch dvds or something? I haven't put one of those in primary build since 2004... no comment. Case, all about taste, but I prefer Lian Li smaller the better if buying off the shelf. No sound card? If you care about audio you should get one.

Lots of the brands you have listed are good brands it is just that I have used others with success more and that i built this to budget and use of Densu.

[Lanx]

if you're gonna overclock i'd really urge you to get a corsair H100, i've bought the top end air coolers, once a year for 14 years in a row (i have 10's of cooler towers in my rubbermaid bin), and none of them has been as easy to install and work the best than the closed loop corsair water cooler. Plus it has both amd and intel sockets and initially if you want to "upgrade" the cooler, just stack more fans on for a push/pull.

[astr0s]

Regarding PSUs. I've got a TX750 "v1" and it is in idle my loudest component (even despite my reference design HD6950). I dont know have they improved the noise on the V2, but I'd rather get an AX or HX series, should be quieter. Quality PSUs anyhow.

[Desu]

Here's another update!

I still have about another 1-1.5 months before I actually purchase any of these parts....I've also decided to up my budget (found an internship!)

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9Giu

Processor
i5-3570K Intel - $240
Graphics Card
GTX 670 EVGA FTW -$420
Motherboard
Z77 Asus Sabertooth - $240
RAM
8GB Corsair Vengeance - $55
Power Supply
750W Corsair AX White - $160
Heatsink
H100 Corsair Liquid - $105
SSD
128GB Samsung 830 - $140
HDD
2TB WD Caviar Black - $200 -- might hold off on buying any HDD until prices drop further and stick with SSD temporarily
Optical Drive
DRW Asus - $24
Case
600T SE - $170
Others
Xonar 5.1 Sound Card - $24
Dual Asus 23" monitors -any recommendations? Not sure if smaller monitors would be better. - $160 ea ($320)

Anyways, I've upped my budget to ~2000 -- any thoughts? I've been trying to incorporate a lot of the recommendations

[itznfb]

I'm a PC overclocking/building enthusiast. Not a keyboard guy so I can actually help in this thread

Processor - fine.
Graphics Card - fine.
Motherboard - A lot of cost for a 5 year warranty. If you plan on overclocking the ASUS Maximus V Gene will provide much better and more stable performance and save you a few $$. I own both the Sabertooth Z77 and the Maximus V Gene and love both boards though. The GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H and UD3H are also great boards at a much lower price.
RAM - IvyBridge likes fast low latency RAM. Plus games are already being release with recommended settings of 16GB+. I'd recommend spending a bit more on this kit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231503
Power Supply - You could save some $$ and get the 650watt version: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139035
Heatsink - Awesome choice. Only thing better for a 24/7 rig is a custom water setup.
SSD - Another awesome choice. Best drives on the market IMO.
HDD - Another proven great product.
Optical drive - Who cares they all suck
Case - A nice case. The H100 will be a tight fit with push fans. Since there is no pass through and the H100 is a sealed unit you will have to at least mount the rad on the inside of the case. The fans will perform best in a push config but as I said they will fit much better up top in a pull config. I have a Corsair Carbide 500R and the top is completely open so I mount the rad on top and the fans in a push config underneath. You can add 2 more fans for a Push/Pull. I'd recommend getting Scythe Gentle Typhoons or Cougar fans to replace the stock Corsair Fans. They are extremely loud at full load.

Any of the top rated monitors on Newegg are going to be fine. The ASUS ones are great.

[Desu]

I'm a PC overclocking/building enthusiast. Not a keyboard guy so I can actually help in this thread

Processor - fine.
Graphics Card - fine.
Motherboard - A lot of cost for a 5 year warranty. If you plan on overclocking the ASUS Maximus V Gene will provide much better and more stable performance and save you a few $$. I own both the Sabertooth Z77 and the Maximus V Gene and love both boards though. The GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H and UD3H are also great boards at a much lower price.
RAM - IvyBridge likes fast low latency RAM. Plus games are already being release with recommended settings of 16GB+. I'd recommend spending a bit more on this kit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231503
Power Supply - You could save some $$ and get the 650watt version: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139035
Heatsink - Awesome choice. Only thing better for a 24/7 rig is a custom water setup.
SSD - Another awesome choice. Best drives on the market IMO.
HDD - Another proven great product.
Optical drive - Who cares they all suck
Case - A nice case. The H100 will be a tight fit with push fans. Since there is no pass through and the H100 is a sealed unit you will have to at least mount the rad on the inside of the case. The fans will perform best in a push config but as I said they will fit much better up top in a pull config. I have a Corsair Carbide 500R and the top is completely open so I mount the rad on top and the fans in a push config underneath. You can add 2 more fans for a Push/Pull. I'd recommend getting Scythe Gentle Typhoons or Cougar fans to replace the stock Corsair Fans. They are extremely loud at full load.

Any of the top rated monitors on Newegg are going to be fine. The ASUS ones are great.

Would the 650W version be powerful enough with this setup? I'm also thinking about SLI is the far future...when prices of the 670 drop. Also thinking about using the Seasonic X series over the AX series. Thoughts?

[Reptile]

It would be for a single 670; both corsair and seasonic make quality psu's. Can't go wrong with either.

[bavman]

You could actually run 2 670s on a quality 650w PSU since it only pulls 170w max.

[itznfb]

^What they said. The newer graphics cards consume less power. A lot less power than even 2 generations ago. Same with the CPUs. Those Corsair Gold rated power supplies are tough units and the 650 will handle that load quite well.

[zzAaron]

2tb is a bit much. im only pulling 200gb out of my 1tb so u can save money to upgrade the other parts

[mistakemistake]

awww misleading title. I thought you were designing a keyboard for gaming

Good luck with your build though!

haha, this was my EXACT thought. I felt a little let down. Good luck with your build!

[ra7c7er]

I have the Antec 300 and with that setup you are not only going to want to add intake fans but probably replace the two stock fans. Even on high those stock fans are mediocre at best. The case does have good airflow though and with the right setup runs very cool. My overclocked AMD 6100 runs at 3900 Mhz with the stock cooler and the ambient case temps are 32c at idle and only 44c at 100% load even after running Prime95 for over 24 hours.

Here is my setup.

2x Enermax T.B.SILENCE 120MM Blue LED Twister Fan - Front intake fans
2x Scythe SY1225SL12SH 120mm "Slipstream" Case Fan -  Side intake and rear exhaust
1x AeroCool Shark 140mm Black Edition 140mm Blue LED Case Fan - top exhaust

It's a bit loud at first but I have found that the stock cooling fan is the loudest of them all and after a little while I barely hear it anymore. You could also get a fan controller which while I don't use I recommend.

[s1dev]

Here's another update!

I still have about another 1-1.5 months before I actually purchase any of these parts....I've also decided to up my budget (found an internship!)

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9Giu

Processor
i5-3570K Intel - $240
Graphics Card
GTX 670 EVGA FTW -$420
Motherboard
Z77 Asus Sabertooth - $240
RAM
8GB Corsair Vengeance - $55
Power Supply
750W Corsair AX White - $160
Heatsink
H100 Corsair Liquid - $105
SSD
128GB Samsung 830 - $140
HDD
2TB WD Caviar Black - $200 -- might hold off on buying any HDD until prices drop further and stick with SSD temporarily
Optical Drive
DRW Asus - $24
Case
600T SE - $170
Others
Xonar 5.1 Sound Card - $24
Dual Asus 23" monitors -any recommendations? Not sure if smaller monitors would be better. - $160 ea ($320)

Anyways, I've upped my budget to ~2000 -- any thoughts? I've been trying to incorporate a lot of the recommendations

23" monitors are nice, I have the ASUS VH236H sitting to my right and left, although I bought mine second hand off another forum, as for memory, go with the Samsung 30nm RAM, the timings are terrible at stock, but those are at 1.35v so up the voltage and you should be hitting near 2000mhz (or so I've heard). With the PSU, unless you're specifically going Corsair, because they're known to replace rigs if their PSU frys it, I suggest a Rosewill HIVE, it's based off of Seasonic PSUs which are suppose to be the best. Corsair PSUs are rebranded Seasonic, same with the HIVE although stay away from any other Rosewill PSUs as they're known for lack of quality

[PointyFox]

Your GPU is going to cost as much as my entire computer that I get good FPS on for all modern games.   

[PointyFox]

The SSD, HDD, case, PSU, the GPU and motherboard are overpriced. You can get a good 256Gb SSD for about $165-185 . 2 Tb HDDs should be around $100-140.

[alaricljs]

Topic was started back in May so I'm locking this thread.  Either he bought it already or he can just start over again with a fresh perspective