Feedback needed on first gaming pc build in years

[Blackwell]

Doing my first build in years.

This will be a secondary PC EXCLUSIVELY for gaming.
X-Rebirth, Star Citizen, Black Flag, X-Com, are some examples of games I will play on this rig.

Budget is $1500 for components listed.

Please let me know if you see any obvious concerns (bottle necking, incompatibility, etc) about the components I have chosen. Keep in mind that I am using mini form factor as my preference.

Going somewhat minimalist and choosing not to install an optical drive.


1. ASUS GTX770-DC2OC-2GD5 GeForce GTX 770 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $340

2. COOLER MASTER Elite 130 RC-130-KKN1 Midnight Black Steel Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case, Support 120mm Water Cooling $39.99

3. SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold ((SS-650KM Active PFC F3)) 650W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD. $129

4. Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics $339.99

5. COOLER MASTER Seidon 120XL RL-S12X-24PK-R1 38mm Radiator High Performance All in One Liquid/Water CPU Cooler w/ Double Fan $95.99

6. Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive - OEM $70

7. ASUS MAXIMUS VI IMPACT LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard $219.99

8. G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL $78

9. SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD128BW 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $128


All items will be purchased in US within the next 3 weeks. Prices are from new egg.

What do you think? (made some changes based on feedback)

 

[RayTheKing]

Welcome to the forums!

I think you should answer the questions from the sticky

Before that, however, I'd like to point out a few things:

1- That PSU is far too expensive. Even if you plan to CFX/SLI in the future, you'd be good with a 60-70 dollar 650w PSU made by a reliable manufacturer like Seasonic.

2- Don't you think that you should get a fancier case for your build? And is there a reason why you pick a mITX case and mobo? ATX and mATX are less troublesome.

3- The CPU cooler you picked is very good, but a bit overpriced. There's a sick deal on a refurb. Corsair H100 liquid cooler for $49. The only prob is that it's 240mm (dual fan), and the case you picked only supports 120mm coolers (Yet another reason to change the case! )

4- Ermagerd, is that HDD made of gold?! A 1 TB WD Blue drive for 60-70 bucks is more than enough for a gaming rig. It's also a bit faster than a WD Black due to the fact that it uses only one platter.

5- The RAM is also really overpriced. You won't see much increase in gaming performance using 2133 MHz RAM vs. standard 1600 MHz RAM (Unless it's BF4 :3). Just get a 2x4GB 1600 kit for around 60 bucks.

6-The motherboard is also overpriced. An Asrock Extreme4 motherboard for 145 dollars is a good choice. It's ATX, however..

7- For a 1500 dollar build, I think you should get a SSD. Even though you don't care too much about loading times, I can guarantee that a 840 EVO will change (and blow) your mind.

8- If you're gonna game at 1080p resolution or higher, a 760 might not be able to max out everything nowadays. Plus, your budget can easily allow for a 7970GE/280x/770 to fit in your build, so why not? Even if you don't care about maxing out AA, a MSI 670 with Twin Frozr IV cooling is a downright steal at $220. It's a bit faster than a 760 for 20 dollars less. link

 

[Blackwell]

Thanks so much for feedback

1. Exclusively gaming (secondary computer)
2. 1100 to 1500
3. USA
4. USA
5. Sticking with the asus impact board ( I really like it). No other brand preference as long as solid.
6. Building core system from scratch except peripherals which I already have
7. What option to over clock but new to it.
8. 1900x1200 is the resolution I am used to
9. Would like to build within the next 3 weeks
10. Will need to buy windows 8

Will def consider going to 1tb hdd
Will def consider video card suggestion
The Evo does look sweet too

Will change psu to 650

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Since your edit I think your Motherboard choice is still too expensive. You can get the MSI G45 for 150$ or even go cheaper.

Also go for the Samsung 120g EVO. You can find it for 99$ somewhere. I bought one at a Micro Center for that price (instore)

EDIT: Ah! Same store Samsung 120 EVO

 

[lehtv]

CPU + board - 4770K + Gigabyte Z87N-WiFi $415 after gift card
CPU cooler - Corsair H90 $90 (see here)
RAM - 2x4GB Crucial 1600 $64
Graphics - EVGA GTX 780 ACX $485 AR AP
HDD - WD10EZEX $70 -promo EMCWXVL25 (probably $60 after)
SSD - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB $175
PSU - Seasonic G650 $90
Case - Fractal Node 304 $55

= $1433 AR AP

Optional case/cpu cooling upgrade: dual 140mm Arctic F14 PWM fans $24 + PWM splitter cable $4

I would also consider going microATX instead. With a desktop PC, microATX is the cheapest, while mini-ITX incurs a greater cost than all ATX.

 

[mfenn]

CPU + board - 4770K + Gigabyte Z87N-WiFi $415 after gift card
CPU cooler - Corsair H90 $90 (see here)
RAM - 2x4GB Crucial 1600 $64
Graphics - EVGA GTX 780 ACX $485 AR AP
HDD - WD10EZEX $70 -promo EMCWXVL25 (probably $60 after)
SSD - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB $175
PSU - Seasonic G650 $90
Case - Fractal Node 304 $55

= $1433 AR AP

Optional case/cpu cooling upgrade: dual 140mm Arctic F14 PWM fans $24 + PWM splitter cable $4

I would also consider going microATX instead. With a desktop PC, microATX is the cheapest, while mini-ITX incurs a greater cost than all ATX.

Very nice, as always. I can confirm that the HDD is $60 AP.

 

[Blackwell]

Made some modifications based on feedback and almost ready to pull the trigger on this.

Notably went from mini ITX to ATX but Mid (minimalist) tower.
Went to i5 rather that i7
Went to gtx 770 rather than something lower

Need feedback on overall but specifically cooling choice and RAM

Also what are the chances based on precedence that these components are going to be way cheaper on black Friday or cyber Monday.... not sure I want to wait that long but is it worth it?


1. ASUS GTX770-DC2OC-2GD5 GeForce GTX 770 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $340

2. Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl w/ USB 3.0 ATX Mid Tower Silent PC Computer Case $99

3. SeaSonic SSR-650RM 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply $90

4. Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I54670K $240

5. CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i Extreme Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler. 240mm $115

6. Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive - OEM $70

7. ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $194

8. G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL $78

9. SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE120BW 2.5" 120GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $100

Thanks for the great feedback.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I'm beginning to think some e-tailers like New Egg use Black Friday contrary to what it use to stand for, to offer minimal deals. What I'm saying is personally I've never seen good deals from them on Black Friday.

 

[lehtv]

2. Windowed $80 AP
3. Get a 750W unit to properly support SLI: XFX 750W Gold $100 AR
1., 4. and 7. MSI GTX 770 Gaming + MSI Z87-GD65 + 4670K $715 ($59 savings compared to what you picked, GPU is better and MB is equally good)
5. H90 $90 performs the same, makes less noise, costs less and takes up only one fan slot
6. Good
8. the Crucial kit costs much less and it's the same stuff
9. with the above savings, upgrade this to 250GB... it will not fill up so fast with games installed on it. Current best deal: ADATA SP900 256GB $140 AR, but Samsung 840 250GB $175 is better

 

[mfenn]

I'm beginning to think some e-tailers like New Egg use Black Friday contrary to what it use to stand for, to offer minimal deals. What I'm saying is personally I've never seen good deals from them on Black Friday.

Pretty much this. Some newspaper (WSJ?) did an analysis and found that BF and CM sales were no better than the rest of the year.