PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[hey]

If you're not overclocking ivy bridge is definitely the way to go.

[Isiolia]

Which i3 or i5 do I want to get if I don't want to overclock?

I would try to fit an i5 in (quad core, i3 is dual core), non-K designated.

For Sandy Bridge, probably i5 2400, Ivy Bridge probably the i5 3450 or 3470.

[Kenshiin]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y7/...eweggorder.png

You can't see it in the picture but I have a $30 rebate on the hard drive from the promo code.

Is everything compatible? Besides the video card and processor, is there any place to save a few bucks?

[Buffy]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y7/...eweggorder.png

You can't see it in the picture but I have a $30 rebate on the hard drive from the promo code.

Is everything compatible? Besides the video card and processor, is there any place to save a few bucks?

You could almost certainly get a cheaper Motherboard.

This one for example: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...967&CatId=7162

[Isiolia]

You could almost certainly get a cheaper Motherboard.

This one for example: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...967&CatId=7162

H61 motherboard versus a Z68 board though. Stripping out a fair bit of chipset features to save a few bucks. Could still drop the price a bit with something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157279 (offhand, it's a single PCIex16, so no multi-card setups, and a few fewer USB ports comparison chart here).

If you have a Microcenter near enough, they sell the CPU for $139.99 (in-store only, so there's gas/tax to consider).

Probably not the cheapest SATA cable possible, but that'd be quite marginal.

[Devolver]

Completely new to pc building, so I want to give it a shot.

This pc will be strictly for heavy gaming and light web browsing, and nothing more. This is what I seemed to come up with given my limited knowledge of things such as performance/price ratios.

Mainly my questions are as follows:
1) Will these pieces work together?
2) Is there some glaring problem I'm missing as far as other options for components?
3) Need a really good (up to date) guide on how to actually put the damn thing together that I can trust.

Spoiler: show

Also if there's a way to get this down to 800~850 bucks without sacrificing anything as far as gaming performance is concerned, I'm all for it.

[hey]

That mobo doesn't match the cpu. You need an lga1155 mobo.

[Devolver]

Well derp.

I suppose this MSI Z77A-GD65 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS will work?

[Jojimbo]

You don't need a MB that expensive for an i5 2400, I would consider a different PSU and GPU as well.

[Devolver]

Any suggestions? I wouldn't have the foggiest on what to look for to replace those. I was looking for something that was future proof at least for a couple of years, and that GPU seems to be pretty rock solid to run the games of today on high/ultra which is what I'm aiming for.

[Jojimbo]

480 is a bit outdated and powerhungry/hot, if you are willing to spend a similar amount then this would work, I think that PSU is a relabelled 600W but that's still enough for CF HD7850 and it has a good rebate on atm.

CPU is Ivy Bridge not Sandy Bridge (newer, doesn't OC as far but better clock for clock performance and some new features), RAM is very overclockable, 2TB HDD but those seagates are so-so, HD 7850 which is newer and overclocks very well (can get it to stock 7950 speeds)

EDIT:: And something a bit cheaper here, CPU isn't OCable and a more budget MB (doesn't have room for CF though)

[Devolver]

That build right there seems a bit more in my price range. I mean technically I can spend about a grand, but I feel like the performance upgrades that I can get from 850 to 1000 seems nominal for the time being so I would like to keep it around there. If that card is decently high end, which it seems to be, I shouldn't have to worry about crossfire for a good bit, right?

Now for a guide on how to throw all this together. I see tons through google obviously, but I would like the opinion of someone who's actually built a pc to suggest a guide that seems legit.

I do appreciate the guidance.

[hey]

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_To_...op_PC/Assembly

That looks decent to me. It's the first thing i found with google, so may not be the best, but i looked over it, and everything makes sense, though you'll probably want to get the cpu and fan in before putting the mobo into the case.

[Devolver]

Fantastic. Now as far as the necessary wiring goes, is this something that usually is purchased separately, or does all that junk comes included?

[hey]

Everything should be included.

[Devolver]

Glorious. I might wait till fathers day weekend to pull the trigger on this in case something gets a price cut that might change my build, but no later than that. I'm pretty excited about trying this for the first time. I'm leaning more towards jimbo's setup there for right now (mainly for that Sapphires oc potential, which I'm completely new to...but thats further down the road). Once again I do appreciate the help.

[Fairy-Killer]

I usually do all of this on my own... But it's always nice to get a second opinion on everything... As of right now, I'm slowly piecing together parts for a final build at the end of the summer. So far I snagged a 24" Samsung monitor for basically nothing and I figure next up should be mobo/RAM. Well, considering I just got an 10% coupon for RAM, I figured I'd go ahead and try to nail that sucker out. I already have a board/cpu picked out and figured pretty much everything is compatible with everything else. However, I'm stuck on which RAM I should get... These are my options.

G.SKILL Ripjaws X 16 GB 1866 MHz

or

G.SKILL Ripjaws Z 16 GB 1866 MHz

Is there really any difference between to two to justify the $10 more? It seems that the Z series is pushed away because it markets X79 but is still compatible with Z77. Here's my board that I plan on getting (if not this, then another ASUS similarly priced):

ASUS P8Z77-V LK

and of course a 3570k. I originally planned on a 3770k but couldn't justify the extra $100+ that could be spent elsewhere. I imagine both will work fine on any ASUS motherboard I choose, but might as well be safe. Thanks in advance.

[Orph]

It looks like the only difference is the heat sink, its probably the exact same other than that

[Jojimbo]

The Z series has probably just undergone more tests with X79 MBs, as Orph said it should still work.

I would consider a different MB though, ASRock Extreme4 Z77 is a good budget board imo as it has better VRMs plus it actually has a heatsink on them. They are both similar feature wise I think.

For memory, if you really need high speed memory (minimal difference for general use/gaming if it's anything like SB) then this samsung RAM is amazing, it is slightly cheaper and can easily OC to 2000+Mhz with similar timings to those g.skill sets. Only problem is it doesn't look as nice due to lack of heatsink but it doesn't reduce it's performance.

[Fairy-Killer]

The X's actually just dropped in price to $4 more than those Samsungs, so I pulled the trigger and got 16 GB of that and a Rosewill Hades v2 tower for $199.97 with no shipping costs and no tax. Also, I'm not on *that* much a budget build so if I have to spend $10-$30 more on a quality product that will last me longer or have a higher % of not being DOA, I'll get that. That being said, I'm all for getting a cheaper product that's better than the more expensive one. I'll link you to my build that's very subject to change (I think I change parts daily). The case, RAM, and monitor are all placeholders just for the price to give me a ballpark of what I'll be spending.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/a0iq

Looking to spend about $1500-$1600 overall, so might even jump up to a 680. You're welcome to play around with it.