First Build (any input would be greatly appreciated :)

[Babamba]

First off, i just want to mention how FANTASTIC this site is... i've been out of computer building in a LONG time (over 10 years) and i've searched/read a LOT of other posts

Now that i'm kinda ready to plunge on my build, i seek many of your opinion/input/advise

My budget for this project: 600-1000 (absolutely don't want to go over 1k)

My purpose: want to use it by hooking it up to 40/50" tv for XBMC gaming and also dual monitor usages for work/surfing and gaming

Games that i play: mainly sc2(high), diablo 3 (high) and i wouldn't mind playing COD,hitman on medium

Since i'm located in Canada, i'll most likely will be buying my parts here instead of ooot in US
i dont mind purchasing products online-newegg, ncix, memoryexpress

I would much prefer to use Intel i5 (but bit costly) so i'm thinking of i3
that being said, i dont care too much about overclocking my device

i already have a copy of windows 8, keyboard, mouse, dual monitors but building the machine from scratch
(will be pulling the trigger to buy the items in the next few weeks)




Here's what i got so far...it's basically NCIX prebuilt that i really like with my own tweaks to fit my budget
http://pc.ncix.com/ncixpc/ncixpc.cfm?uuid=2B15DDDE-2F17-4CAB-8A0CA3049AA1AB0F-4665917

CPU - Intel Core i3 3220 Dual Core Hyperthreading LGA1155 3.3GHZ Ivy Bridge 3MB Retail Box $132 (using heatsink included)

MOBO - ASUS P8Z77-V Lk ATX LGA1155 Z77 DDR3 SATA3 SLI DVI HDMI DP USB3.0 Motherboard $125

RAM - Patriot Viper 3 8GB 2X4GB PC3-12800 DDR3-1600 9-9-9-24 1.5V Dual Black Mamba $33

GPU - Galaxy GeForce GTX 660 GC 1006MHZ 2GB 6.0GHZ GDDR5 2xDVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Video Card $230

Case - Fractal Design Define R4 ATX Mid Tower Window Case Black 2X5.25 1X3.5 8X3.5INT 2X2.5SSD $83

Fan - Bitfenix Spectre BFF-BLF-12025O-RP 120MM Orange LED Case Fan 1000RPM 43.5CFM 20DBA 3/4 Pin $5

PSU - Seasonic M12II 620W EPS12V 20/24PIN ATX PFC 80+ Bronze Modular 6PIN PCI-E 120MM Fan Power Supply PSU $68

HDD -Seagate Barracuda Green 1.5TB SATA 6GB/S 3.5in 12MS 5900RPM 64MB Hard Drive OEM $75

SSD - Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5in SATA3 MDX Solid State Disk Flash Drive SSD $92



Total - $820.55
Grand total (shipping, insurance) - $970

That's pretty much it.... on the link, it says it's for limited time until Cyber Monday so i would appreciate very much for all help.

http://source.ncix.com/eblast/eblast-Vesta-11162012/index-lp.html?BFE

 

[Ken g6]

"insurance"? You're not buying one of those extended warranties, are you? D:

First, let's get you that i5:
CPU - i5-3470, $180 until 11/28.
MOBO - Gigabyte B75 mobo, $70
Net savings: $7.

Next, I suggest a 7870 over a GTX 660:
GPU - MSI Radeon HD 7870 Hawk 1100MHZ 2GB $200 AR ($40)
Net savings: $30 if you mail in that rebate, $10 loss if you don't.

Although you never mentioned the resolution of your monitors.

 

[Kristijonas]

A very good, quality build.
Some will say you should cut some corners and get an i5, but personally I believe they are wrong and you should just get your build.
Others will say you don't need Z77 for i3, but don't listen to them either

Edit: I've seen the next post in which someone suggested getting i5+B75 for the same price as i3+Z77. so apparently I was wrong. I didn't know you could achieve this so simple.

 

[DSF]

A very good, quality build.
Some will say you should cut some corners and get an i5, but personally I believe they are wrong and you should just get your build.
Others will say you don't need Z77 for i3, but don't listen to them either

Do you have a particular reason for these suggestions?

 

[Babamba]

Thank you for your inputs, after much reviews and thoughts, i've made slight adjustments

CPU - Intel Core i5 3450 LGA1155 3.1GHZ Ivy (using heatsink included) $206

MOBO - Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI mITX LGA1155A3 $129
(i decided to go with this mobo cuz i'm planning to overclock and i can use widi/wifi)

RAM - Patriot Viper 3 8GB 2X4GB PC3-12800 DDR3-1600 9-9-9-24 $64
(mobo only supports 2 slots....might as well go all out :whiste

Case - Fractal Design Define R4 ATX Mid Tower Window Case Black $83

PSU - Seasonic M12II 620W EPS12V 20/24PIN ATX PFC 80+ Bronze Modular
$68

HDD - Seagate Barracuda Green 1.5TB SATA 6GB/S 3.5in 5900RPM $75

SSD - Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5in SATA3 MDX $92

GPU - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC 1033MHZ 2GB 6.0GHZ $220

i'll most likely be playing games at 1920X1080 and for the price, GTX 660 does a decent job.....i think... or should i get Gigabyte Radeon HD 7870 (other HD 7870 are more expensive)

total comes up to (shipping + insurance for shipping) 1100$
all my parts are shipped from one place - ncix.ca (not too keen about several different places with the shipping and all)


slightly over my budget but i think this is good pc in overall

Please let me know if you have any other suggestions

 

[Danno21]

If you're planning on overclocking, you should get a 3570k ($220) then. Should also get an aftermarket cooler like a 212+ ($30) or 212 Evo ($35) since Intel's cooler isn't good at all for overclocking.

 

[riversend]

If you are going to want to get the best out of an overclock (even a modest one), then you should get a "k" processor, in this case the 3570k. For Intel, the non-k processors are not fully overclockable, although you should be able to bump them up by at least 400Mhz and maybe more than that depending on the chip. However, IIRC they are more susceptible to being damaged in the process :hmm: Anyone else jump in here on this.

 

[Flacco]

You also happen to get a $20 giftcard for newegg when you purchase there. So it is around $206 with that. Just a bit more then what you have for your current processor and it does give you the option of overclocking in the future.

 

[riversend]

OP, are you still going the prebuilt by ncix route on your build?

 

[Denithor]

I will second the suggestion of switching to a 7870 from the GTX 660. Somewhat better price/performance ratio.

For the cpu/motherboard/overclocking - you're doing it right. That i5 3450 has a max turbo speed of 3.5GHz. On a Z77 motherboard you can just go into the BIOS, set cpu cores to all and then turn up the multiplier to 4 notches above max turbo (from stock 31x100 = 3.1GHz to 35+4 = 39x100 = 3.9GHz). And -viola!- instant faster cpu. For a mild overclock like this, with no voltage adjustment, the stock Intel HSF should be adequate.

Now, other stuff I would change.

If you can, get the 840 PRO instead of the vanilla 840, big different in performance. Or if not that, grab an 830, which is still likely to be better (and definitely more durable) than the vanilla 840.

Personally dislike those Green drives, even just for storage. I've heard way too many problems of untimely death, I think they seriously cut corners on those models. Nab a WD Blue or Black instead, much more solid models.

And, see if you can spend a touch more cash and grab 2x8GB sticks insteaad of 2x4GB. Or even just 1x8GB so you can add a second stick later easily.

 

[Babamba]

Hey guys, first off i just want to thank everyone for your time and your inputs... i haven't been in touch with PC world in ages due to having laptop and ps3

i purchased ALL my parts today because of walk in discounts ended today for several parts (my cpu, mobo etc).

riversend: i was going with ncix prebuild but modified since i liked some of the stuff in it and it offered some discounts...with more research and inputs, i changed my mind

Denithor: i will definitely look into overclocking my i5 3450 a little but to tell you the truth, i'm still quite fresh in this whole building and moddding scene....slowly but surely


This is what i got...all from one store (which was a major factor as i dont have enough time to go other stores....purchased everything from Canadacomputers...very friendly staff)


CPU -Intel i5 3450 149.99$ (in store 50$ off :twisted

RAM - Kingston HyperX Genesis 2X4gb CL9 1600MHz 30.00$
(quite honestly, i'm not too sure about this but i think a RAM is a RAM with 1600 and CL9.....i originally wanted Patriot Vipor for 20$ but they were all sold out
this 8gb is only for temp... ill eventually upgrade to 32 in the future when price drops even more

HDD - Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB SATA3 70$

SDD - Intel 330 series 120GB 110$
(i wanted intel 330 180 GB for 100$ but sold out )

GPU - Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 220$

PSU - OCZ ZT 750W Fully Modular 80+ Bronze 90$
(3 yrs in store warranty for 13$)

MOBO - AsRock Z77 Extreme 4 150$

Case - Fractal Design Window 120$
(i was going to buy 50$ on special cases but they were all sold out.... it was a sign! :whiste::whiste

Wireless - TP Link TL WN81ND 300 Mbps 30$

Keyboard - Cooler Master QuickFire Rapid 60$
(i had several options atm... my first mech. keyboard for sc2 mainly and some work related typing.

Corsair Vengence K60 @65$ - it felt SUPER smooth and responsive... in fact a little too much... i dont think i would have like it for long term typing as there was no feedback.
Steelseries 6G V2 @ 60$ - felt good but not great... no feedback and had to press a bit harder i find

i wasnt looking into CM QFR but when i tried it, i absolutely love the feeling of the keyboard... slightly loud clicking noise (which i dont mind but i cant say the same for my gf)

Total 1200$ (160$ tax ---.---) but i have to work on few mail in rebates as well


i know i bought all the parts but if you guys have any other inputs for better deals, please let me know as i wont be opening any of my boxes (expect keyboard) until next week.... huge exam soon

ill have enough time to go and refund or exchange products.

once again, major thank you for the help!!!

 

[mfenn]

What is the exact model of your RAM? Some HyperX is 1.65V which is too high for Ivy Bridge.

 

[Babamba]

What is the exact model of your RAM? Some HyperX is 1.65V which is too high for Ivy Bridge.

Thanks for letting me know... it is HyperX (KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX) 1.65V

I have to get 1600@1.5v right?

 

[mfenn]

You don't have to get DDR3 1600, but it should be 1.5V. Now you know why CC were blowing it out so cheaply. Return it and get this Patriot 1.5V kit (it's even cheaper if you do the MIR).

 

[Babamba]

so i was reviewing ocz zt750 and there are a lot of mix reviews....

do i really need 750w or would 600w suffice?

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_442&item_id=039398

or

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_442&item_id=052847

 

[mfenn]

Even 600W is about double what you need. Your system fully loaded by a demanding game (Metro 2033) will draw around 300W from the wall. That means about ~260W DC.

The ZT that you have is decent, but not great. It's perfectly fine since you'll be using something like 1/3rd of its rated capacity. However, if you want to exchange it (thus saving some money), I would recommend the Earthwatts 500W. Keep in mind that the Earthwatts don't come with a power cord, but if you're like most people you have oodles of those.