$900-$1000 Gaming PC Help

[KillaHoe360]

Hello everyone been lurking for awhile when I decided im in need of another PC, right now I have a budge of $900 to $1000...

looking thru other site I found this $945 Ivy Bridge Build by general trymutos

Video Card: EVGA GTX 570 1280MB
Newegg.com - EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

CPU and Motherboard combo: Intel i5-3570k CPU with ASRock Z77 Pro4
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

Memory and Powersupply combo: 8GB 1600MHz Vengeance with 650W Corsair PSU
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

Hard Drive: 1TB WD 7200RPM 32MB Cache HDD
NCIX US - Buy WD10EALX - Western Digital WD Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6GB/S 7200RPM 32MB Cache 3.5IN Hard Drive OEM - Western Digital WD - Great price and fast delivery

Case: Corsair Carbide 500R
Newegg.com - Corsair Carbide Series 500R Black Steel structure with molded ABS plastic accent pieces ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

am I missing parts that I should consider if so please comment and help me finish the build or maybe better parts I should consider instead of the one posted

thank you

[glc]

I can appreciate deals on bundles, but in this case it gets you suboptimal components. The basic build is great, but -

1. Replace the Asrock with an Asus Z77 board.

2. The Vengeance ram is fine unless you ever plan on installing an aftermarket CPU cooler - the tall heatsinks can get in the way. There is a low profile version of the ram which we recommend.

3. The WD Blue is "okay" but a Black will be faster and has a longer warranty.

4. You are missing an optical drive (and peripherals).

Note - the Radeon 7850 performs about the same as the GTX 570 and it's considerably cheaper. For the SAME price this will completely blow a 570 out of the water:

Newegg.com - HIS H787F2G2M Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

[KillaHoe360]

Originally Posted by glc I can appreciate deals on bundles, but in this case it gets you suboptimal components. The basic build is great, but - 1. Replace the Asrock with an Asus Z77 board. 2. The Vengeance ram is fine unless you ever plan on installing an aftermarket CPU cooler - the tall heatsinks can get in the way. There is a low profile version of the ram which we recommend. 3. The WD Blue is "okay" but a Black will be faster and has a longer warranty. 4. You are missing an optical drive (and peripherals). Note - the Radeon 7850 performs about the same as the GTX 570 and it's considerably cheaper. For the SAME price this will completely blow a 570 out of the water: Newegg.com - HIS H787F2G2M Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

optical drive I have sorry forgot to mention, have a link to that Asus Z77 board??

[glc]

There are several, but this is a good one near the lower end:

Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

[Nizmo]

If you plan on overclocking the CPU which I think you are by getting the unlocked one, you should get a decent aftermarket CPU cooler.

I would also get a better ASUS mobo than LK for overclocking, something like LE because it has fully-digital power VRM feature. I personally would go with Gigabyte's GA-Z77X-D3H, they are far more durable.

I would get at least a 750W PSU with the parts you are getting, 650W probably is ok if you don't overclock, but it's better to have the PSU run at 65~75% capacity instead of 90%+ for longevity.

GTX 570 is extremely good but also an overkill, GTX 560 Ti will run any game just fine and you'll save tons of money.

I recommend a SSD for a boot-drive to take advantage of your new build's powerful performance. A 64GB one should suffice, it'll be plenty for OS and some basic software. Not getting a SSD for your build is like buying a luxury car without power steering.

[birddog_61]

Originally Posted by Nizmo If you plan on overclocking the CPU which I think you are by getting the unlocked one, you should get a decent aftermarket CPU cooler. Depends on how far he wants to overclock, if he is going to stay under 4.0 then the stock one will usually work fine. I would also get a better ASUS mobo than LK for overclocking, something like LE because it has fully-digital power VRM feature. I personally would go with Gigabyte's GA-Z77X-D3H, they are far more durable. Asus all day every day over Gigabyte Motherboard Brand Rating I would get at least a 750W PSU with the parts you are getting, 650W probably is ok if you don't overclock, but it's better to have the PSU run at 65~75% capacity instead of 90%+ for longevity. The TX 650 will run any single card on the market just fine while overclocking. GTX 570 is extremely good but also an overkill, GTX 560 Ti will run any game just fine and you'll save tons of money. That depends entirely on the resolution he will be gaming at, but even at 1920x1080 the 570 gives a pretty significant performance boost over the 560 ti. Benchmark Results: Metro 2033 (DX11) : Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti Review: GF114 Rises, GF100 Rides Off I recommend a SSD for a boot-drive to take advantage of your new build's powerful performance. A 64GB one should suffice, it'll be plenty for OS and some basic software. Not getting a SSD for your build is like buying a luxury car without power steering. If your going to go with a SSD as a stand alone drive then you should get a 120GB 64GB is to small By the time you get all the updates and instal several games and basic applications on it you will be in the 50-60 GB range. If you go with a 64gb then use it as SRT for a rotational drive.

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[Nizmo]

Originally Posted by birddog_61 Depends on how far he wants to overclock, if he is going to stay under 4.0 then the stock one will usually work fine.

Stock cooler is never meant for overclocking, and Ivy Bridge CPU is already proven to run hotter when overclocked than Sandy Bridge.

Originally Posted by birddog_61 Asus all day every day over Gigabyte

ASUS has narrower and thinner PCB, I prefer Gigabyte's durable quality, and Gigabyte makes very good mobo as well, they are pretty much even.

Originally Posted by birddog_61 The TX 650 will run any single card on the market just fine while overclocking.

Not really when you are overclocking to the max with GTX 680 as GPU

Originally Posted by birddog_61 That depends entirely on the resolution he will be gaming at, but even at 1920x1080 the 570 gives a pretty significant performance boost over the 560 ti.

Anything above 40 FPS is very hard to tell the difference to the naked eye. From most reviews I've seen, a mere +4~+8 FPS gain is not worth the price difference to me.

Originally Posted by birddog_61 If your going to go with a SSD as a stand alone drive then you should get a 120GB 64GB is to small By the time you get all the updates and instal several games and basic applications on it you will be in the 50-60 GB range. If you go with a 64gb then use it as SRT for a rotational drive.

For Windows7 64bit OS 64gb is more than plenty, My boot drive is 50gb and I also have 10 or so applications on it as well and has 22 GB left over. 64GB is not enough for games though but I never mentioned anything about games.

[birddog_61]

Originally Posted by Nizmo Stock cooler is never meant for overclocking, and Ivy Bridge CPU is already proven to run hotter when overclocked than Sandy Bridge. When you overclock you keep an eye on temps and make sure you don't go over the safe levels or what you feel comfortable with. The stock cooler is usually ok for up to 4.0 on sandy/ivy, on some it wont get that high, it just depends on how efficient the chip you got runs. ASUS has narrower and thinner PCB, I prefer Gigabyte's durable quality, and Gigabyte makes very good mobo as well, they are pretty much even. Gigabyte doesn't make a bad board, however I prefer Asus and so do most of the builders on this site. I am not saying anything bad about Gigabyte. Not really when you are overclocking to the max with GTX 680 as GPU The GTX 680 draws almost 50 less watts at full load than the GTX 580, since the TX 650 was fine for the 580 it will be under even less load with a 680. The 570 draws a max of 219W and is easily handled by a TX 650 even with overclocking. Anything above 40 FPS is very hard to tell the difference to the naked eye. From most reviews I've seen, a mere +4~+8 FPS gain is not worth the price difference to me. Again it all depends on which resolution he will be gaming at, the 560 is pretty dang good up to 1920x1080 on most games, however if he wants to game at a higher resolution than that then the 560 is not enough power and a bigger card will be required. http://www.guru3d.com/article/asus-g...-top-review/21 If you look at that review that is done on ultra at 1920x1200 the 570 gives decent FPS while the 560TI is what most consider underpowered. Also note that GLC's recommendation of the 7870 is just above the 570 and is the same price. For Windows7 64bit OS 64gb is more than plenty, My boot drive is 50gb and I also have 10 or so applications on it as well and has 22 GB left over. 64GB is not enough for games though but I never mentioned anything about games. I have a 40GB SSD as my main drive, however I have absolutely nothing on it besides windows. I even had to disable the page file, disable hibernate, limit system restore points, and remove unwanted features from windows 7 like the games that come with it and internet explorer in order to make it fit correctly. I have about 9gb of space left at the moment even with all of that done. If you want to go SSD either buy a small drive and use SRT or buy a large drive and use it dedicated. If you don't want to do either of those then just use a standard disk drive.

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[Nizmo]

Originally Posted by birddog_61 When you overclock you keep an eye on temps and make sure you don't go over the safe levels or what you feel comfortable with. The stock cooler is usually ok for up to 4.0 on sandy/ivy, on some it wont get that high, it just depends on how efficient the chip you got runs.

I wouldn't recommend anyone to push a stock cooler to such extreme limits, that's like playing with fire with no safety-net.

Originally Posted by birddog_61 The GTX 680 draws almost 50 less watts at full load than the GTX 580, since the TX 650 was fine for the 580 it will be under even less load with a 680. The 570 draws a max of 219W and is easily handled by a TX 650 even with overclocking.

For this particular PSU, yeah it's fine but for any other 650W, I'd have to check the output because that's what really matters (single rail over two-rails ). I like to have extra room for PSU instead of just having enough. PSU performs best right around 75% capacity. I would pay $20 more for a PSU that can handle 2 GPUs instead, it'll last longer too.

Originally Posted by birddog_61 I have a 40GB SSD as my main drive, however I have absolutely nothing on it besides windows. I even had to disable the page file, disable hibernate, limit system restore points, and remove unwanted features from windows 7 like the games that come with it and internet explorer in order to make it fit correctly. I have about 9gb of space left at the moment even with all of that done. If you want to go SSD either buy a small drive and use SRT or buy a large drive and use it dedicated. If you don't want to do either of those then just use a standard disk drive.

I'm pretty much running my Windows 7 at stock settings without any space saving tweaks other than limiting the restore data to the most recent one, you might want to check that out, minimizing restore points does not remove old restore data, I think I saved about 4 GB.

[birddog_61]

Originally Posted by Nizmo I wouldn't recommend anyone to push a stock cooler to such extreme limits, that's like playing with fire with no safety-net. If your smart enough to overclock then your smart enough to watch your temps during a stress test and make sure they are acceptable before you increase speed. Also there is a safety-net, all intel chips currently in production will shut themselves down before reaching a temperature high enough to damage them. For this particular PSU, yeah it's fine but for any other 650W, I'd have to check the output because that's what really matters (single rail over two-rails ). I like to have extra room for PSU instead of just having enough. PSU performs best right around 75% capacity. I would pay $20 more for a PSU that can handle 2 GPUs instead, it'll last longer too. That is the particular PSU that was recommended and we have been discussing. Also its not just enough room, that psu is capable of 52A and 624W on the 12v rail alone. It is also considered one of the best built PSU's on the market, it is built by Seasonic and is very reliable. I have no idea how you come to the conclusion that a $20 more expensive unit will last longer, or one that produces enough power to run dual GPU's? I'm pretty much running my Windows 7 at stock settings without any space saving tweaks other than limiting the restore data to the most recent one, you might want to check that out, minimizing restore points does not remove old restore data, I think I saved about 4 GB. I have it set that way, but thanks for the tip.

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[Nizmo]

Originally Posted by birddog_61 If your smart enough to overclock then your smart enough to watch your temps during a stress test and make sure they are acceptable before you increase speed. Also there is a safety-net, all intel chips currently in production will shut themselves down before reaching a temperature high enough to damage them.

Trying to overclock with a stock cooler is not smart in my book.
Intel CPU does has fail-safe, but you are drastically reducing its lifespan by keep doing that as well.

Originally Posted by birddog_61 That is the particular PSU that was recommended and we have been discussing. Also its not just enough room, that psu is capable of 52A and 624W on the 12v rail alone. It is also considered one of the best built PSU's on the market, it is built by Seasonic and is very reliable. I have no idea how you come to the conclusion that a $20 more expensive unit will last longer, or one that produces enough power to run dual GPU's?

Yeah so I said this particular PSU is enough, so I agree with you. I was talking more in general for other stuff. For $20 more your PSU will be less taxing which should last longer, it has been my experience that a PSU with just enough wattage often isn't because not all of them are well made and don't deliver the necessary output. I think $20 is well worth the money to avoid a lot of headaches.

[birddog_61]

Originally Posted by Nizmo Trying to overclock with a stock cooler is not smart in my book. Intel CPU does has fail-safe, but you are drastically reducing its lifespan by keep doing that as well. Yeah so I said this particular PSU is enough, so I agree with you. I was talking more in general for other stuff. For $20 more your PSU will be less taxing which should last longer, it has been my experience that a PSU with just enough wattage often isn't because not all of them are well made and don't deliver the necessary output. I think $20 is well worth the money to avoid a lot of headaches.

Correct you should never hit the failsafe on the cpu, but if something ever happened it is there.

Correct not all PSU's are created equal, that is why you should stick to trusted brands like Corsair TX, HX series, antec, and seasonic. If you have a question about a certain PSU then read the reviews on it from independent websites, especially johnnyguru.com

Take the CUG-950b from coolmax, it is about a $100 psu rated by the manufacturer for 950w. However it turns out that it makes a pretty good 600W psu and if you push it past that then your probably going to see some smoke. http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php...tory4&reid=106