2 New builds to be purchased in ~a month (Beware: reading)

[how2pingu]

Okay so...let's get to it. In about a month (around black friday/cyber monday sales) I'm going to be building 2 computers, one for myself, and one for my brother. I figured I'd try and figure out proper builds beforehand, so I know (mostly) what to get once it's time to purchase. It's also worth noting I've never built a computer before, but I've done a loooot of reading on the subject of both buying parts, and building, so I think I'm set. I'm going to try and separate this post into sections for each of us, or something. Here goes. ...I'll start with my brothers, it's simpler. I think.

Build #1 (Brother's)

He plays on a pretty low res monitor, 1280 x 768 I believe. He plans on sticking with this monitor for now, as he's alright playing at this resolution. I know, a lot of you are probably going to suggest that he gets a new monitor, and believe me, I've already suggested that. He's fine with how it is. Given that, I have no idea what GPU will be suitable for his needs. Maybe a 7770? Or a 650 ti...? I dunno. Would like to know whatever will max out games at that resolution. To name a few games he'll be playing, Skyrim, GW2, Diablo 3, Fallout New Vegas. Stuff like that. Another thing to note, he's very concerned over the noise of the computer. So a quiet GPU/case is a priority for him.

Here's the current rough build I've got for him:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7770 2GB Video Card
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit)
Total: $966.34

So yeah, unsure about the GPU. I just put the asus 7770 in there for now since I know the asus cooler is among the quietest. Still not sure if a 7770 is the right thing to go with or not though. Put the Corsair 300R as I think that's a case I've seen people recommending a lot..? Considering maybe a Fractal R4, but I've seen some people say the cooling isn't so great. Clarification on whether or not that's a good choice would be nice.

Besides the GPU and case...I figured the PSU would be appropriate? I know SeaSonic is supposed to be very good, and it's modular, and I figure 520W is enough for this? Should I go lower, or is there no point to that and this is good?

...Other than that, might get Windows 8 rather than 7 since that'll be out soon. Bleh. Nothing to say.
Oh! The mobo. Is an asrock extreme4 necessary for this build, or would you think going down to the pro4 would be a good idea? I have no clue.

That's all the questions for this build. On to #2.

Build #2 (Mine)

I'll be playing at 1920x1200 resolution. Games like, WoW, GW2, Starcraft II, Diablo 3, Skyrim, Fallout 3 & New Vegas + other random things I've got in my steam. Maybe some random more demanding game like Crysis 2 or something, considering I should have a system capable of running it well.

Here's my rough build:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Blue ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit)
Total: $1444.34

Aaaand the questions. Let's start with GPU. So, the Gigabyte windforce 670 looks like an awesome GPU. Quiet, good cooling, overclocked out of the box, plus it's a...670. yeah. The only thing that's worried me is the supposed pcie 3.0 bug when pairing the GPU with a z77 mobo. As described in a thread like this: forums dot anandtech dot com/showthread.php?t=2258596 (Replace the dots with .'s obviously, I can't post links)

I'm not sure if that's worth worrying over or not. I suppose even if I encountered the bug, I could just switch the card to run on pcie 2.0 with little to no performance loss? But yeah, would like opinions on that as soon as possible. If you guys think it's still a card worth going for, I'd like to purchase that in the next day or two to get the 10% off deal for it. $360 for a 670 is an awesome price.

Originally I was gonna go for a 128 gb SSD, but I included a 256 gb since I've seen some pretty good deals going on for them. There was one a few days ago actually that I didn't have the chance to snag. :C Hopefully something comes around again. Otherwise I'll probably go down to 128gb. Oh, would I need to get a mounting bracket for the SSD, or would the cases I mention...below, be likely to already include one?

Not sure about the PSU on this either. Do I need the 620W or should I drop down to the 520W? I think I remember reading something about the 620W model of this PSU having some noise concerns at load. Not sure. Opinions, opinions! ...There's also a deal going on for the Corsair HX650 on Newegg. It'd come to $83 after rebate. Any reason to consider that over the others? Again, I'd prefer purchasing most everything at a later date, but I may be able to pick up a few things now if they're a particularly good deal. Like the GPU or perhaps this PSU.

Case-wise for this, I'm not totally sure what to do. I've had my eyes on a HAF case for a long time now, either 932 or X. I really like the look of the case, and have heard that it cools very well. CM's website also has refurbished versions of the cases, at a pretty significant discount (99.99 for 932 and 109.99 for X, before shipping) which is another consideration. I don't think I'd go for a refurbished 932 as it'd only save me like, 30 bucks vs getting it new. But if they get the Blue Haf X in stock again, I would save quite a bit going for that. I've also considered a Fractal R4 case, but like I said previously, I'm not sure if it'll cool adequately or not. So, the main question here is between going for a HAF 932/X or a Fractal R4. And then, if I do go for a HAF, do you think getting one refurbished would be a good idea or not?

Again blahblah maybe Windows 8. ...If anyone has an opinion on if they think I should go with Win8 or not, throw it in here. No arguing over which is best, just your honest opinion.

I assume I should get some zipties for the building process.

Besides that, there's peripherals. I do need a monitor and keyboard. I already have a Dell U2412m in mind for the monitor, don't see any reason to go with anything else. For a keyboard, I'm thinking something mechanical. Right now I'm stuck between A Filco with...probably red switches, or a Ducky Shine. Leaning more towards the Filco, but backlighting still does seem appealing. ...But the Filco does seem far superior in terms of stabilizers/feel/build quality of the keyboard. And, I said "probably red switches". For awhile I was thinking I wanted browns. Still not entirely sure on that, but I keep my computer in my bedroom, and we've got another bedroom next to it, and while I know the browns are supposed to be quieter, I think reds would be moreso. I also seem to really like the feel of soft keyboards. ...The slight tactile-ness of the browns sounded nice too though. I really have no clue. I'm just leaning towards reds right now. Give me your opinion.

Also if I do go with the Filco does anyone have an opinion on Ninja vs non-ninja? I'm finding it difficult to decide between the two, I occasionally glance down at my keyboard (usually not for typing, but for other less used keys) and I'm not sure if the ninja will be as easy to read or not. Otherwise, it looks fantastic.

I've already got a Razer Naga, I have had some minor problems with the left click, not double clicking, just it feeling weird. Not sure if I'm gonna replace that right now or not, but if I've got the spare money I'd probably pick up a Logitech G600.

Okay!
and...

That's it.

[Lemmiwink]

Your brother:

If he wants to upgrade his screen, and he should, you ought to get him a 7850 or 7870 instead. These cards are much better suited for gaming in general and will be good for the next 2-3 years what games are concerned. Can't say that for a 7770.

Otherwise, build looks good you have done your reading and seem set to go with your first two builds. It should be fine.

On a second note, I would recommend him to swap the case if he wants silent. Go for the fractal design r4, it's silent, good build quality, roomy and it's very silent. Can barely hear it.

Your computer:

If you have concerns about the gigabyte card, go for the ASUS instead. Other than that, I would recommend you take a look at the 7970 as well. If you can find a good deal on that you will get a wee-bit more performance out of that one. Unless you plan on playing the secret world or some nvidia tweaked game.

For the PSU, if you can find a good deal on the HX650 I would go for that. But that is mainly because I am a corsair fanboi. The 520 will do fine for that build unless you plan on putting another video card in there in the near future.

Last: Don't even consider buying Win8 over Windows 7. You will regret it so hard. Also, tell your brother to get a new screen. Damn that's low res....

[how2pingu]

'Kay, so far I'm thinking:

Change brother's build to have a 7850, although I'm unsure if he'll upgrade the screen anytime soon or not. What 7850 would you recommend as a quiet card?
Also change his case case to the fractal design r4. Definitely sounds good.

Aaaand for my build:

I still dunno about the GPU. I'm not really sure if my concerns are...valid or not. I mean so many people seem to say the Gigabyte 670 is great. I really should experience no performance loss if I have to switch the GPU to run in pcie 2.0, correct? As long as that remains true then I don't think I could have any problems with it, even in the worst case scenario. Plus, I'd save $40 getting the Gigabyte now. I'd be fine with a 7970 if I found a good deal on it. But I haven't seen much in the ways of deals with 7970s.

PSU, I think the SeaSonic M12II 520W sounds good. Maybe the HX650, though after further reading, I do see a fair amount of reviews complaining about weird fan noises with that model. Either way, one of those.

Win 8. Well that's a pretty strong opinion you have on it, is your reasoning based solely on the interface? Or are there any other reasons to avoid it?

[inux94]

Optimized your build for the money:
Brother's
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Silver Arrow CPU Cooler ($69.70 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card ($137.55 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 400W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($93.20 @ Amazon)
Total: $942.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

I'd suggest the Define R4, it will cool your components just fine. Nothing to worry about there.

520w is more than enough for your build, the estimated wattage for i5-3570k + 670 is ~360w

Got nothing on the mechanical keyboard part, since the only mechanical keyboards I've used is my Tt. Meka G1 & Razer Blackwidow (Returned this one within a week, it was garbage)

There's no reason to worry about pci 3.0, I've never encountered any bugs with it. As a triple monitor user I'm staying away from Windows 8, due to the way Metro & desktop thing works.

[how2pingu]

I know there's no bugs with pcie 3.0 itself, but apparently a small amount of owners of the gigabyte 670 experienced issues with it in combination with pcie 3.0 on a z77 mobo (as described in that thread I included up there). I just wasn't sure if it's something worth worrying about. Might just go for it, but if any owners of a Gigabyte 670 want to include their opinion that would be helpful.

I'd suggest the Define R4, it will cool your components just fine. Nothing to worry about there.

Did you mean that referring to my build, as in you'd suggest the Fractal R4 over the Haf? Or did you mean it in reference to my brother's? Or...both? Wonderin'.

Thanks for the info otherwise though. Do you think as long as my brother sticks with his current monitor the 7770 will last a decent while? And if we go with a 7770 for that build, would the 1 GB or 2 GB variant be preferable for that resolution?

[inux94]

The Z77 boards use PCIe 3.0, you can't change them to 2.0 IIRC, it doesn't matter since it's only a 670 anyways, the 670 won't hit the bandwidth cap on 2.0.

The 300R is a fine case, I ment yours The 7770 is good enough for such a low resolution, so yes. 1GB is plentyful.

[how2pingu]

The Z77 boards use PCIe 3.0, you can't change them to 2.0 IIRC

I believe you can toggle the card to run on 2.0 in the bios, even if it's still in a 3.0 slot. But yeah, if a 670 doesn't reach the bandwidth cap on 2.0, then it shouldn't be an issue even then.

[Lemmiwink]

Z77 boards are native PCIe3.0 so that does sound like a weird bug with that particular card. Is that Z77 MB's in general or a specific one? I heard about the Sapphire black p67 MB had huge issues with certain GTX560's but that was down to the MB itself and not the P67 in general. Sounds weird but I wouldn't be afraid of getting the Gigabyte one although I would rather get the ASUS instead. But that is personal preferance as I find the triple fan Gigabyte cards too long and heavy, making them "bend" inside the case. At least this was the case with the 6870 from Gigabyte, solved it with creative cable management.

[how2pingu]

It seems to be all Z77 mobos, not any specific one. It certainly is an odd bug, but I don't think it'll do any harm considering I can just toggle it to 2.0 if I encounter the bug. Regarding the bending you mentioned, does it harm the card if it ends up bending like that? As long as it doesn't, I think the Gigabyte seems to be the way to go.

---------- Post added 2012-10-18 at 10:29 PM ----------

What I'm thinking for the builds as of now:

Build #1

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card (Possibly a 7850/7870 if I find a good deal)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit)
Total: $944.40

Build #2

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (Considering the Asus 670)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Blue ATX Full Tower Case (Considering a Fractal Design R4)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit)
Total: $1426.83

Does anyone know if it's important for the memory to be on the supported memory list for the mobo? The low profile corsair vengeance I picked out is not on the list, but I've heard it's very good memory and would prefer to stick with it unless you think I should change it.

I also picked up the 256 Gb Samsung 830 SSD on amazon today, for $155. So that made me happy. Going to wait to purchase the GPU, as to be entirely sure if I want to go with the Gigabyte model or the Asus.