New build -- opinions

[Ezekiah]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9500 AT Ball Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.99 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($5.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.48 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($73.49 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Blackbone ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 450W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $886.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-23 18:38 EST-0500)

I want this build to run WoW on high settings. I always turn off shadows because I dislike them anyways, but other than that, everything is maxed. I need to be able to record full size, 1920x1080 with 30 fps. I also want to render videos and not have it take 40 minutes like it does now. After looking around a while and reading these forums a bit, I came up with this build. I do not want to spend even this much, but I don't think I can go any cheaper and still get the performance I want.

How big of a deal would upping to the 7950 be? Is there anywhere I could cut costs? Is that a decent cooler for the cpu? Is this particular motherboard decently simple for OCing purposes?

Any other advice/comments welcome. Thanks.

---------- Post added 2013-02-23 at 05:45 PM ----------

Addendum -- I have a 500GB USB 3.0 external. I use it for recording atm, since I only have one HDD right now and without another drive to put the videos on I end up getting stuttering lag, presumptuously due to read/write speeds being too slow. Anyone ever ran with just an SSD and external? Had any space issues? I usually do use a ton of space but I can be more conservative and stop leaving HD movies around in my hard drive.

[Notarget]

NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case, similar priced case ($50) comes with front USB 3.0
Enermax 450W ATX12V Power Supply $44 (better option than any Rosewill PSU)

Rest of your build is looking good.

I only run my SSD's (check build in signature) and external HDD's.

[chazus]

Seconded on the PSU. The Rosewill Capstone isn't a bad PSU per se, but there are equally as good, or better , for cheaper.

Use the $20, drop the thermal paste (There's no reason the zalman wont come with some), and spend an extra $10 and get a 7870 XT. It's cheaper than the 7950, and pretty much as good performance.

[Dizey]

XFX Pro Series 450w, which is a Seasonic, is a much better choice. Today is the last day on the promo but its 20% off and has a 10 MIR. $37.99 in the end.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3938566&SID=

I would ditch the Zalman cooler and pick up a CM Hyper 212 Evo over it. You don't really need the AS5 thermal compound, as it likely isn't much, if at all, better than what comes with the Evo.


The rest looks fairly solid. You might consider spending a bit more to get one of the Tahiti LE based HD 7870 cards such as the Sapphire 7870 XT w/boost.

[Notarget]

XFX Pro Series 450w, which is a Seasonic, is a much better choice. Today is the last day on the promo but its 20% off and has a 10 MIR. $37.99 in the end.

Main reason i don't recommend the XFX Pro Series 450w anymore is it only comes with 1 x 6+2-Pin, the Enermax unit is fine and comes with 1 x 6-Pin, 1 x 6+2-Pin and the price is hard to beat.

Othewise XFX 550, Seasonic 520, Antec HCG 520 and PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 500 are all good choices. Cost a little extra but worth it in my opinion.