$850-900 budget gaming build, critique always welcome.

[BruceG87]

Been away from the forum for a while, was very busy irl until recently.
Have another friend who has asked me to help them build a desktop. This time I will be assisting in the build rather assembling it by myself.

Budget $850-900(United States). The closer to $850 the better, but I do have wiggle room.
I do not require an optical drive or OS.

Requirements:
-Gaming desktop capable of of the majority of new titles at max settings @ 1920x1080 resolution. Possibility of moving to 2560x1440 res in future.(Not expecting max game settings at that point)
-Light CPU overclock capability.
-SSD

Microcenter
CPU i5 3570k - $189.99
Case Diablotek Evo CPA-6170 - $39.99
Total - 229.98

+

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler: Xigmatek GAIA SD1283 56.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($20.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Value 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial M4 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($72.51 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($273.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($64.58 @ NCIX US)
Total: $621.59

OVERALL TOTAL 851.57

Criticism is welcome as always on builds. Anyone have any suggestions on changes?
Or possibly a suggestion on a different case that won't break my budget? Specifically one that can fit more then 1 fan and can breath properly?

[Asurakai]

Requirements:
-Gaming desktop capable of of the majority of new titles at max settings @ 1920x1080 resolution. Possibility of moving to 2560x1440 res in future.(Not expecting max game settings at that point)

I'd stay away from the 660 and 660Ti then due to its low bus memory which can get in the way of higher resolutions although the supposedly massive FPS drops may be avoided if you don't turn anti-aliasing on. Basically, I know a problem exists but I am not sure how common it is.

then again, based on what I quoted, I'd get at least a Radeon 7950, Radeon 7970, or Geforce 670 anyways.

Ah yes, 660 Ti is currently overpriced as well. add $20 or something like that at newegg and you can get a 7950 which usually performs much better.

[Idrinkwhiterussians]

Getting the MB/CPU at the same time at Microcenter still nets you a $40 discount. With that being said (let me pull out my trusty Microcenter paper flyer...)

You could go with an Asus P8Z77-V LK for 79.99 (there is a MIR there, $15), or an ASRock Extreme 4 for $94.99.

Also, from what I have been seeing recently, You should be able to pick up some Mushkin Blackline RAM for ~$37. (8GB)

As for case, you can get a NZXT Source 210 (after $20 MIR) for $17.99.


Just a few suggestions

[llDemonll]

why even bother with a 64gb ssd? you will fit windows and maybe 2 games on it. unless you only play 2 games at once, you'll be uninstalling / moving / reinstalling games constantly

[Deleted]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler: Xigmatek GAIA SD1283 56.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($20.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.57 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($98.97 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($64.58 @ NCIX US)
Total: $635.64
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-16 16:18 EST-0500)

Changed RAM, GPU (just slightly cheaper) and for the SSD I really suggest he gets a 128GB, 64GB is too much micromanaging. I5-3570k+MB should be $40 off.

[Idrinkwhiterussians]

Woops! Yeah, forgot to mention something about the SSD.

120GB Samsung 840 is $99.99 right now. With the savings I posted above, you can surely get this.

[dinouille]

buy a better SSD, 64 gb is very low storage capabilty

trust me, SSD change life

and if u wanna play that's kind of res (2560*1440) in new games, you'r going to need moar money on ur build i think, gtx 670 - 680

not sur about the graphic card, don't have one, i got 580 sli, but, in my experience, the difference between *60 and *80 is big.

[Idrinkwhiterussians]

WELL! One more addition that I forgot about after looking at Microcenter's paper flyer again...

You can get another $20 off any Samsung SSD when you get the MB and CPU there. That makes the Samsung 840 (120GB) $90 there.


Edit: IMPORTANT! The Samsung drives are ONLY the 840 series. Sorry if that made something odd.

[BruceG87]

Being an SSD owner(256GB Crucial m4), I am completely aware of how fast SSD space can go. If I had known of these microcenter deals to begin with, I would have posted a completely different build. It definitely allows for a larger SSD.

As for the GPU, I will not be going for anything above a 660 ti. It's not worth sacrificing from other parts with the given budget.
I'm more then confident in a 660 ti performing moderately well given 1440p resolution(If my friend ever gets around to buying a 1440p screen that is..)

Thanks again guys, this is exactly why it never hurts to get a second opinion on a build. :P

---------- Post added 2013-01-16 at 03:33 PM ----------

Not showing any samsung SSD below 250GB being available at my store location. Need to figure out the details as far as reserving the cpu/mobo/case for pickup while still getting my discount on a samsung SSD that would have to be shipped. (Anyone have any experience with this?)

Assuming that is possible, I end up with this build as well as an i5 3570k, ASRock Z77 Pro3, Diablotek Evo case and a 120GB Samsung 840 SSD for an additional $395.76.

The grand total being $848.87

Even if I can't manage the special on the SSD, I'll end up paying the difference of just under $10.
Thank you kindly once again folks.

[llDemonll]

crucial m4 and samsung 830 or samsung 840 pro (not the normal 840) are what you'd want to get

i'd wait on the ssd, save up some cash, and buy it later

[Tahapenes]

why even bother with a 64gb ssd? you will fit windows and maybe 2 games on it. unless you only play 2 games at once, you'll be uninstalling / moving / reinstalling games constantly

Unless a program is reading a lot, there is no reason to install it on an SSD. For most games, they read infrequently, so placing them on a normal spindle drive is more than adequate.

[BruceG87]

crucial m4 and samsung 830 or samsung 840 pro (not the normal 840) are what you'd want to get

i'd wait on the ssd, save up some cash, and buy it later

I haven't been keeping up on my hardware as of late. Although I understand there is a large debate regarding the samsung 830 vs 840 model, with the 840 pro's performance being undisputed as amazing.

Correct me if I am wrong, but unless the standard 840 suffers from a large rate of failure(Now I feel the need to read into this..), it will still be a huge performance gain over say a 7200 RPM HDD.

EDIT - I question how much of a speed difference the end user will notice between say a samsung 830 and an 840 standard SSD. This isn't a die hard technophile or hardware enthusiast. Just someone who wants a rig to game, as well as learn.

I suppose the cost difference between the 840 and 830(Or crucial m4) could be justified. Though I won't be obtaining a 120GB SSD for a bit less then $90 as I anticipated through Microcenter. Microcenter appears to no longer carry the 830 model therefore I would lose the discount. The difference would be a minimum of an additional $30 to my overall total.

Unless a program is reading a lot, there is no reason to install it on an SSD. For most games, they read infrequently, so placing them on a normal spindle drive is more than adequate.

I agree that not every game needs to be placed on an SSD, but it's definitely a "quality of life" improvement when utilized for the appropriate games/programs. With Windows easily taking upwards 16-20GB(or more) of space after being updates, it won't be long before you would have to micromanage space on a 64GB SSD. I knew the associated pain with a small SSD when I posted the initial build. I'm rather happy to have been informed regarding the microcenter cpu/mobo package for the sake of a larger SSD.

[llDemonll]

That's why I'm saying wait on the SSD. SSD's are frequently on sale, I got my 128GB Samsung 830 for $70

[Deleted]

As for the GPU, I will not be going for anything above a 660 ti. It's not worth sacrificing from other parts with the given budget.
I'm more then confident in a 660 ti performing moderately well given 1440p resolution(If my friend ever gets around to buying a 1440p screen that is..)

You do know a 7950 is around the same price and performance as a 660ti. But the extra vram and higher membus will help on 1440p.

[Deleted]

I haven't been keeping up on my hardware as of late. Although I understand there is a large debate regarding the samsung 830 vs 840 model, with the 840 pro's performance being undisputed as amazing.

Correct me if I am wrong, but unless the standard 840 suffers from a large rate of failure(Now I feel the need to read into this..), it will still be a huge performance gain over say a 7200 RPM HDD.

At the time I suggested an SSD I couldn't find the 830, it's now $113. I usually recommend the same as Demon but to be quite honest the 840 will be absolutely fine. Yes it's got different NANDs and I would prefer the ones in 830/840 pro but you'll be fine. Spend more on the 830 if you like, it's just $13 difference now I guess. I just just tried to squeeze in as much on budget as possible getting you a 128GB instead of 64GB.