Building a new gaming PC, looking for advice

[MustangRyan]

I'm wanting to keep the price under $1500, if at all possible. I already have a 27" HD monitor, keyboard/mouse/speakers, and Win7Pro64.

Here's the part list:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1PVN2

If you have any specific experience with any of these components, whether positive or negative, please let me know.

If you can recommend a component that is definitely better and not more expensive, please let me know.

I will be running everything out of the box, with no overclocking or water-cooling.

Also, please use Newegg.com for all comparison pricing.

 

[DQuaN]

Looks good to me. Can't go wrong with Samsung SSDs.

Does the CPU not come with a cooler? If you're not overclocking, that giant Zalman is a bit pointless.

The only thing I would change would be going with Intel for the CPU. That's probably more about preference though.

 

[MustangRyan]

For an extra $40-50 (I've seen it as low as $35 recently), the CPU can never be too cool.

 

[DQuaN]

In which case I would suggest

this: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/antec-cpu-cooler-kuhlerh2o620

or this: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-cpu-cooler-h55

 

[Bram Turismo]

Personally I'd maybe swap out the FX-8350 for an i5 4670k. You could even save some money on the case and get something as awesome as a Corsair 350D. Either way, you won't need watercooling in my opinion. Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO is awesome value for money and will cool your CPU plenty.

But with a $1500 budget I would definitely look into getting either a GTX770 or an HD7970. Both of them perform so much greater than a GTX760.

The best advice I could give you is to hold on until ATI releases their new 9x series cards. I can guarantee you prices on the nVidia side will drop. The HD7950 and the GTX760 are neck and neck, but the HD7950 is a better overclocker and comes with free games.

In summary with your budget I would change this:

1. Wait until the new ATI cards are released in a month
2. Change out the FX-8350 for an i5 4670k
3. Ditch the Zalman and get an Hyper 212 EVO
4. Look for a cheaper case unless you really want that one.
5. Go for 8gb of 1600 mhz memory that's half the price. 8gb is plenty depending on what this sytem will be used for, 1600 mhz is plenty unless the price difference between 1600mhz and 1866mhz is minimal.
6. If you decide to go for an i5, get a Z87-M45 gaming which looks awesome, and is a lot cheaper than the Sabertooth.
7. Change out the graphics card for a 7970 or a GTX770. Overclock both these cards and the 7970 is just so much more of beast. Radeon cards are overclocking monsters. Things to consider here is if you're going to overclock at all, and the 3-4 free games you get with Radeon cards. Since you are not overclocking at all, go for a GTX 770

What resolution is your screen? If it's anything greater than 1080p you REALLY want to get something more powerful than a GTX760. GTX760 is king of the hill for budget 1080p gaming, but go to 1440p and you really want either a GTX770 or an HD7970.

Whatever you decide, I beg of you to wait for ATI's new cards. The money you will save will be worth the wait. I'm expecting the biggest price drop from the GTX780.


*EDIT*

Here you go: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1F9Ca

Pretty baller system right there. Will handle everything you throw at it. You could even get some Corsair AF fans and go dual 120mm fans at the front, and a single 120mm fan at the back to increase airflow and keep your case cool at all times. If you're going for looks, an MSI GTX770 will match that motherboard just perfectly, better than the ASUS card since ASUS' cards are buttugly IMO, and you could get the Corsair AF120 in this colour. Well, you get three different colored rings in the package either way:

 

[MustangRyan]

1. Wait until the new ATI cards are released in a month

That's great to know. Since I am in no hurry to order and build, this sounds like a great idea.

4. Look for a cheaper case unless you really want that one.

I do really want that one, as it's basically perfect for what I want, with respect to being expansion friendly, should I decide to upgrade to multiple video cards and/or hard drives later.

5. Go for 8gb of 1600 mhz memory that's half the price. 8gb is plenty depending on what this sytem will be used for, 1600 mhz is plenty unless the price difference between 1600mhz and 1866mhz is minimal.

When I built my last PC 4+ years ago, I wanted to do 8gb of memory, but went 4gb to save a few bucks. Just a year or two later, I wished I had went with 8gb. This time, I'm sticking with 16gb, so I don't regret it two years from now.

7. Change out the graphics card for a 7970 or a GTX770. Overclock both these cards and the 7970 is just so much more of beast. Radeon cards are overclocking monsters. Things to consider here is if you're going to overclock at all, and the 3-4 free games you get with Radeon cards. Since you are not overclocking at all, go for a GTX 770

This is a possibility, depending on if and how much the nVidia cards drop in price in a month or so.

What resolution is your screen? If it's anything greater than 1080p you REALLY want to get something more powerful than a GTX760. GTX760 is king of the hill for budget 1080p gaming, but go to 1440p and you really want either a GTX770 or an HD7970.

It's 1080p. I'm not considering a monitor upgrade any time soon, so 1440p potential doesn't add much value to my consideration at this time.

Whatever you decide, I beg of you to wait for ATI's new cards. The money you will save will be worth the wait. I'm expecting the biggest price drop from the GTX780.

That's definitely going to happen. Thanks for the advice! 👍

 

[MustangRyan]

I updated the original parts list link, because I found a combo deal using 16gb Corsair memory (cheaper than the Kingston memory) that reduced the price of the case I want to use with a combo deal from Newegg. I also changed to a different version of the GTX760, because it is slightly better, and has a $10 mail-in rebate.

 

[djinline]

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO is awesome value for money and will cool your CPU plenty.

The Hyper 212 Plus version is just about as good and saves a bit of cash too. 👍