Build almost complete just missing a PSU and a Case.

[Googles]

Hey guys.

So this is my build thus far:

Mobo: ASRock Z77 Extreme4. Picked this because from what I read it's the best bang for the buck out there at the moment. It seems recent and compatible with the rest of my hardware.

CPU: i5 3750k. Very good reviews. Was on the verge of swapping it out for an AMD FX 8350 but it turns out it's only better for streaming (which I never do and don't plan on doing at the moment). I'm more comfortable with the i5 3750k with my budget and all the positive reviews I've read about it.

CPU Heatsink: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO. Very favorable reviews and very nice price.

GPU: GIGABYTE GTX 670 Wfx3 OR ZOTAC GTX 670 AMP!. Which do you recommend?

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB. Or perhaps Kingston Hyperx 8GB (2x4GB). Not sure if the G.SKILL will fit on my mobo

Internal HDD: Western Digital WD Blue 500GB. I'm really trying to cut down on costs because of my tight budget. 500GB will do just fine for me and I decided to get an SSD some other time. I simply cannot afford one right now.

Optical Disk: Gonna use an old one from my old computer since I almost never use this anyways.

So as you can see the only 2 things I'm missing are the PSU and the case. I have no idea which ones to get because of the huge selection.

For the case I'm looking for a mid-tower one with holes for cable management those are the two most important features for me. A window is optional. Additional fans would be nice. Don't need a lot of drive bays will only be using 2 max probably. Preferably something with those trays that let you easily install HDDs/SSDs. But just to make something clear regarding the case I DO NOT GIVE 2 SHITS ABOUT HOW IT LOOKS. I just really need to cut down on costs so the best reasonably priced shit-looking case that's compatible with my build will do.

For the PSU I'd prefer 80+ Bronze, Modular, and around 600-650W. Not sure how much watts I'd need for my build but I'm guessing around 650 sounds about right.

Could really appreciate your help. Thanks

Budget: ~$1200 can go a bit more
Resolution: 1920x1080 single-display not planning to ever go double-monitors or more.
Games / Settings Desired: Mostly Guild Wars 2/WoW/Planetside 2/Bioshock Infinite/Farcry 3/Dishonored/L4D2/Borderlands 2 etc. I'm hoping to play most titles going out this year on High if possible (not Ultra.)
Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc): Fraps perhaps and a bit of streaming but these aren't so important. I'm on a budget so can't be picky.
Country: I live in Kuwait in the Middle-East but will probably be ordering from a US website and have it shipped to an American friend of mine who will ship it here.
Parts that can be reused: None.
Do you need an OS?: Nope. Already have Windows 7 Home Premium
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)?: Nope. Already have all the peripherals. Just missing a PSU and case.

[chazus]

I picked this over the Wfx3 because it seemed to have more features

Erm. Pretty much all of those features are nvidia card features. Not only that but... they really don't mean anything important/useful. It's like saying grape juice contains grapes. nVidia cards have CUDA and PhysX most of those other things.

I have a question about PSUs though. Which of the 80+ ratings are recommended and which are overkill?

There is absolutely no reason to go beyond Bronze, pretty much.
As far as the case goes, I have a Coolermaster Elite 430. I like it. Pretty much as long as it's a good brand, get whatever you want.

For the power supply, I'd recommend a Seasonic 520. Good power supplies.

Not sure how much watts I'd need for my build but I'm guessing around 650-750 sounds about right.

Your system will not get even close to 400w. If it were at 100% load and fumbling... 350w. You -might- get to 400 with overclocking. Maybe.

I noticed your budget was $1200, or maybe a bit more. That system comes out to about $900. Is that $1200 including shipping to you from your friend? If not, there's really no reason not to get an SSD now and remove the hassle of getting it later and reinstalling windows.

[n0cturnal]

I'm not sure about the customs laws in Kuwait but I know for Sweden if you ship electronic goods of that value there is a high chance of you having to pay a customs fee for about 20% of the value. Just shipping the things will be pretty expensive to begin with.

Kuwait is pretty hot so for me picking a GPU with a non-reference cooler would be a no-brainer.
Getting a quality case with proper dustfilters will save you from having to open and clean the case out all that often.

No 80+ rating is overkill, it is a matter of what you are looking for, the higher the rating the less power gets lots inside the PSU and turned in to heat. Higher ratings also puts more pressure on manufacturers to use high-quality components or they will not make the certification.

[Ron Burgundy]

i would take the gigabyte gtx 670. i read lots of reviews on the card and its pretty much the best.

[Googles]

Thank you for your replies.

Regarding the features I thought they were only present on the EVGA version because the GIGABYTE listing on newegg.com showed a shorter list so I thought they were different. Is this not the case and do both cards do indeed have the same features?

[n0cturnal]

Is this not the case and do both cards do indeed have the same features?

Yes, none of those features are EVGA specific.

[chazus]

No 80+ rating is overkill, it is a matter of what you are looking for, the higher the rating the less power gets lots inside the PSU and turned in to heat. Higher ratings also puts more pressure on manufacturers to use high-quality components or they will not make the certification.

I probably could have been clearer. This ^ is true, however when it comes to cost/quality... I'd never go above bronze. "80+" is 80% efficient. "80+ Platinum" (with Silver and Gold between) is barely 90%. But you will be paying double, or triple the cost. Higher ratings of efficiency won't pay for themselves except extreme cases which nobody reasonably achieves.

Thats said, yes, it's usually safe to assume that higher ratings = higher quality, however the quality of any decent brand at "80 Plus" or Bronze I would consider perfectly fine, and anything higher a waste of money regardless.

[Biernot]

I probably could have been clearer. This ^ is true, however when it comes to cost/quality... I'd never go above bronze. "80+" is 80% efficient. "80+ Platinum" (with Silver and Gold between) is barely 90%. But you will be paying double, or triple the cost. Higher ratings of efficiency won't pay for themselves except extreme cases which nobody reasonably achieves.

Thats said, yes, it's usually safe to assume that higher ratings = higher quality, however the quality of any decent brand at "80 Plus" or Bronze I would consider perfectly fine, and anything higher a waste of money regardless.

80+ ratings
Don't get fooled by the seemingly little increase in efficiency. You have to look at it the other way round:

83% efficiency means, that there are 17% power lost into heat. (this would be an 80+bronze unit)
91% efficiency means, that there are 9% power lost into heat. (this would be an 80+platinum unit)
So the platinum unit cuts your heat/power losses nearly in half!

[n0cturnal]

I probably could have been clearer. This ^ is true, however when it comes to cost/quality... I'd never go above bronze. "80+" is 80% efficient. "80+ Platinum" (with Silver and Gold between) is barely 90%. But you will be paying double, or triple the cost. Higher ratings of efficiency won't pay for themselves except extreme cases which nobody reasonably achieves.

Thats said, yes, it's usually safe to assume that higher ratings = higher quality, however the quality of any decent brand at "80 Plus" or Bronze I would consider perfectly fine, and anything higher a waste of money regardless.

The difference in heat produced in the PSU can mean the difference of a fan going at low speed, high speed or even passive.

[anyaka21]

In terms of PSU's, I go 550w+, 80+ bronze, and modular. Modular being the important part. You only hook up the power wires you need to hook up. Helps unimaginably on cable management.

In terms of case, mainly it's going to be preference. But the main things to think about is size constraints. Is your tower going to be someplace restrictive and can only fit a mid tower case. Cooling issues, fans, are you planning on overclocking and need more air intake or outflow. CoolerMaster is good at these things. But so are a lot of others. personally, I have a Fractal Design R4, mid tower due to size constraints where the tower is. Good cooling, able to upgrade the fans and add more easily, etc...

[chazus]

83% efficiency means, that there are 17% power lost into heat. (this would be an 80+bronze unit)
91% efficiency means, that there are 9% power lost into heat. (this would be an 80+platinum unit)
So the platinum unit cuts your heat/power losses nearly in half!

This is honestly a terrible way to look at it, and exactly what salesmen want you to do.

"Cutting power loss in half" By going from 17 to 9%. That's still only 8%. 8% of maybe 200w is less than 20w. You'd save about $12 a year, but you also pay about $60-100 more for that power supply. So not only do you pay more up front, but unless you use that same power supply for 6-8 years, you won't even break even on the investment. And the heat difference is also pretty minimal, because that's also assuming heavy or full load. Lower levels are even less.

[Deleted]

It's more eco friendly though, we gotta protect mother nature

[Googles]

Question regarding cases. Any reason to get a full-tower case if I don't need the extra bays? It provides more room so better cooling I assume but I'm trying to cut down on costs.

Are mid-tower cases viable for gaming for an ATX motherboard or should I be saving to get a full-tower?

I'm on a really tight budget.

[n0cturnal]

Mid towers are fine, even Mini-ITX is fine for gaming if you plan the build accordingly.