PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Jojimbo]

There's no need to get the cooler with an i3 though, unless you want something quieter than stock (in which case you could probably do better than a hyper 212), http://pcpartpicker.com/p/j2bx comes to $425 or http://pcpartpicker.com/p/j2cc is $483 with an i5

[Druin]

Hmm would I need a cooler with that i5 then? And when it comes to radeon cards vs nvidia cards which is better? I've heard that nvidias tend to be more expensive but better and radeons tend to be cheaper but still good.

[Jojimbo]

You only really need a cooler once you buy an unlocked CPU, the stock coolers provided by Intel are designed to cope with stock clocks so are fine with any CPU if you don't plan to OC. Currently I'll say AMD are better for GPUs, they win at almost every price point if you are willing to overclock however at stock clocks nVidia cards are generally faster unless playing at a higher resolution (or on their lower end cards high MSAA in certain situations).

[asyla]

Hey all, I would like to build a computer that can run most current games at high/ultra settings. I have next to no knowledge of the inner makings of computers, unfortunately :/, and I have a budget around $1000. A friend of mine recommended this, so I figured I'd use it as a reference point:

- Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K - $230

- MSI Z77A-G43 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS - $110 ($100 after rebate)

- G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBR - $40

- Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $75

- EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - $230

- Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - $50

- COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN3-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0 and Black Interior - $100 ($90 after rebate)

- LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Internal 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Model IHAS324 - $25

- COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 - $30 ($20 after rebate)

- Acer S220HQLAbd Black 21.5" 5ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 ACM 100,000,000:1 (1000:1) - $130

Any input would be much appreciated :D

[xerodok]

Hey all, I would like to build a computer that can run most current games at high/ultra settings. I have next to no knowledge of the inner makings of computers, unfortunately :/, and I have a budget around $1000. A friend of mine recommended this, so I figured I'd use it as a reference point:

-   Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K - $230

-   MSI Z77A-G43 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS - $110 ($100 after rebate)

-   G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBR - $40

-   Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $75

-   EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - $230

-   Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - $50

-   COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN3-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0 and Black Interior - $100 ($90 after rebate)

-   LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Internal 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Model IHAS324 - $25

-   COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 - $30 ($20 after rebate)

-   Acer S220HQLAbd Black 21.5" 5ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 ACM 100,000,000:1 (1000:1) - $130

Any input would be much appreciated :D

Everything looks good, but the only thing I would recommend is spending a little bit more money and getting a good power supply. It'll last longer and give you the option of easily upgrading down the line.

I'd recommend this instead of what you mentioned: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31

[asyla]

Thanks for the quick response xerodok! Do you know if it would possible for me to put it together myself (never having done it before)? Also I went to that pcpartpicker.com after seeing it in the posts here and put in all the parts, but noticed that there wasn't a sound card listed. Is there any that you would recommend?

[Fairy-Killer]

You won't need a sound card.

[xerodok]

Thanks for the quick response xerodok! Do you know if it would possible for me to put it together myself (never having done it before)? Also I went to that pcpartpicker.com after seeing it in the posts here and put in all the parts, but noticed that there wasn't a sound card listed. Is there any that you would recommend?

Sound cards aren't necessary anymore, unless you are planning on using some nice stereo/speaker setup. Your motherboard has integrated sound.

As far as putting together your PC and never doing it before, it's nothing more than following directions to build a model or a piece of IKEA furniture. Go on Youtube, watch tutorials, read everything you can online, and ask us here if you need any additional help.

[asyla]

Awesome! Thanks a bunch guys! Yea I'll mostly just be using my headset, no fancy stuff. Should I order all the stuff from Newegg, or are the other places (NCIX US, Amazon, SuperBiiz) also good to buy from? Just going from the list of cheapest parts on pcpartpicker

[xerodok]

Awesome! Thanks a bunch guys! Yea I'll mostly just be using my headset, no fancy stuff. Should I order all the stuff from Newegg, or are the other places (NCIX US, Amazon, SuperBiiz) also good to buy from? Just going from the list of cheapest parts on pcpartpicker

Just use Newegg, it's the easiest to manage all your parts and RMA if anything goes wrong. Also, they have fantastic extended warranties for a reasonable price.

[Jojimbo]

If you plan to play on ultra settings and still get 60 fps you'll probably want to get a better GPU (660Ti or HD 7950 at least). I would also get a better MB, one with a second 3.0 x16 slot and better VRMs, G45 (I think) or ASRock Z77 Extreme4 would work.

EDIT:: Actually definitely change MB, according to this it not only has poor (4+1 I believe) VRMs and budget layout but is locked to about 4.4GHz OC due to vCore limitations

[Druin]

hey so ive been looking and im curious what u guys think of this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/j46o
Do u think ill need a cooler with this setup?

[RKenshin]

hey so ive been looking and im curious what u guys think of this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/j46o
Do u think ill need a cooler with this setup?

If you don't plan to ever do any kind of overclocking, you should be OK. Though, you can get a damn good cooler for like $30, and if it helps keep the CPU temps low (and thereby, increase performance/reliability/life) you might as well. But on the other hand, while the stock Intel cooler isn't that great, I don't know exactly how 'not great' it is compared to a $30 fan with no overclocking.

Also, unless you plan to SLI in the future, you could very easily get by with a 600w power supply (850w is way overkill for that configuration).

[asyla]

So I decided to go with the 660Ti and the Z77MA-G45, and it turns out the new MB is cheaper! Thanks again, everyone. Is it OK for me to order the parts now, or is there something else I should know about from the parts?

[Jojimbo]

Bit more expensive, but if willing to OC some of these parts are better: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/j4e7

PSU is currently a good price, buy you could save $20 by getting this Seasonic 620W if you are only going to use a single GPU.
GPU is about as good as a GTX 670 if OCed, at stocks a 660Ti is a bit better provided you don't play at high res.
RAM is among best you can get if OC'ed, although that g.skill RAM is on offer atm and as performance difference won't really be that huge you could just keep what you listed.
MB is full size ATX and has better VRMs, case is ATX anyway so size doesn't matter. Can't seem to find any reviews but MSI can be very hit or miss in terms of quality.
Antec cases are mostly outdated, that 300 is pretty old and lacks a lot of features includes cable routing (more important than you might think imo). Could do much better here if you spend $80-100 though (Corsair 300r is a very nice budget-ish case)
That's an expensive 500GB HDD, you can get 1TB blues for that price and blacks (faster/better warranty) for $10 more

[Druin]

Hey sorry I should have been clearer my fault. I already have the power supply and case. What I'm looking to upgrade is the motherboard gpu and CPU with a budget of $600ish. That link is what my computer would look like with everything important in it. I know the case is old but I'm tryin to hit the important parts with the money I have. Im gonna upgrade the case when I get a chance but it's not high on the priority list if it doesn't need to be. Same goes with the cooler. I'll get one eventually but if I don't need one now I'm not gonna wory about it and get it later.

Edit: oh and I own the hard drive as well.

[Caiyuo]

So I'd mentioned in the past having about $160 in rewards to use at Staples and recently I noticed they actually sell CPUs. Unfortunately they only have i7 Ivy Bridge processors but I noticed they have both a sandy bridge i3 and a 2500k that can be price-matched and bring them down to either free or all of $60 for the i5. I thought I'd go for the i5 since buying a 3570k outright would really eat into what I could budget for a video card; does it sound worth it?

Also, if getting a sandy bridge processor, is Z77 compatible and should I bother? I'd thought I might be able to get a more full-featured Z68 board considering for the price I'm looking at mATX Z77 boards right now.

[Adajer]

Now microcenter is offering $50 off select motherboards purchased with an i7 3770k, i5 3570k, or an i3 3225

Their i3 3225 is $129 but you will have to pay tax, it is clocked at the same speed as the 3220 I mention earlier. It only comes with the Intel HD 4000 integrated GPU.
But if you buy one form microcenter you can get an ASRock z77 pro4 for $59 before tax. Which is better than the previous 2 mobos I mentioned. So it will be the same price or maybe a few bucks cheaper.
All of this is assuming you live near a microcenter.

[xerodok]

So I'd mentioned in the past having about $160 in rewards to use at Staples .

Buy a tablet, resell it on eBay/Craigslist, then put it towards an i7 on another website.

[Caiyuo]

So I'd mentioned in the past having about $160 in rewards to use at Staples and recently I noticed they actually sell CPUs. Unfortunately they only have i7 Ivy Bridge processors but I noticed they have both a sandy bridge i3 and a 2500k that can be price-matched and bring them down to either free or all of $60 for the i5. I thought I'd go for the i5 since buying a 3570k outright would really eat into what I could budget for a video card; does it sound worth it?

Also, if getting a sandy bridge processor, is Z77 compatible and should I bother? I'd thought I might be able to get a more full-featured Z68 board considering for the price I'm looking at mATX Z77 boards right now.

Buy a tablet, resell it on eBay/Craigslist, then put it towards an i7 on another website.

Actually decided to just ask them if they plan on carrying the 3570k anytime soon and it turns out they offer a lot of stuff that isn't listed on the site. Snatching up one for about $60 feels like fucking success.