1. #1

    Is my first PC build decent?

    Hi everyone, thanks for taking a second to look over my build. This is my first PC build and I wanted to make sure I got it right. Most of these parts/idea I pulled from Marest's Sample Builds sticky, from his "Gaming 820" build.

    Budget - About $1000
    Motherboard - ASRock Z77 Pro3
    CPU - i5 3570k
    GPU - Asus GeForce GTX 660 2Gb
    RAM - G.Skill Value 8Gb (2 x 4Gb) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
    Case - Fractal Design Arc Midi R2
    Power - SeaSonic S12II 430W Bronze certified power supply
    Hard Drive 1 - Samsung 830 128Gb 2.5" Sata III SSD
    Hard Drive 2 - WD Caviar Blue 500Gb 3.5" HDD
    DVD Drive - ASUS Black Sata 24X DVD Burner
    OS - Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit
    Total Cost - $1037
    If I forgot to list any needed information please let me know and I'll be happy to post what is needed! My main uses for this PC would be every day use with semi-often gaming, games like Skyrim, Diablo, WoW, LoL, and planning on getting BF3 and Crysis 2 soon. I don't hardcore game, but when I do I hope to play them at above average settings smoothly.
    Main question I guess is, with my addition of the SSD that wasn't a part of Marest's original 820 build, is the 430W enough power for my build?

    EDIT: Just to add; I didn't choose a higher memory HDD because I keep my movies and music on my laptop, and won't need a ton of space for my gaming needs on this desktop.
    Last edited by Deadbob; 2013-03-26 at 03:46 PM.

  2. #2
    Epic! Idrinkwhiterussians's Avatar
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    Well, here is a bit of a revision to your build:

    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
    Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Amazon)
    Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($47.98 @ Amazon)
    Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
    Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
    Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
    Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
    Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
    Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
    Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
    Total: $960.86
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-26 11:55 EDT-0400)

    Things to note:
    1) I switched the RAM to Patriot 1866. It is relatively cheap and will still fit under an aftermarket heatsink.
    2) I switched cases as that ~$50 could be spent other places to put more performance into your rig.
    3) PSU was changed to a decent 500W semi-modular unit.
    4) There is no reason to go with the smaller HDD when the 1TB is not that much more expensive ($10 for double the space)

    With the build I put together for you, you could go with an aftermarket cooler and OC the CPU and still be under the $1k budget.
    Quote Originally Posted by Cyanotical View Post
    anyone want doughnuts? i hear there is a great shop in Vancouver

  3. #3
    Legendary! llDemonll's Avatar
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    is that a GTX 660 Ti? If not, upgrade the card so that it's a 660 Ti or a 7870

    430W should be fine, but if you're worried you can always bump up to the 520W seasonic
    "I'm glad you play better than you read/post on forums." -Ninety
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  4. #4
    Epic! Idrinkwhiterussians's Avatar
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    Demon is spot on in his suggestion. With that $50 that was saved on the case:

    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($234.99 @ Newegg)
    Total: $234.99
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-26 12:08 EDT-0400)

    This is a great option.

    (not to mention 2 free games, Tomb Raider and Bioshock)
    Quote Originally Posted by Cyanotical View Post
    anyone want doughnuts? i hear there is a great shop in Vancouver

  5. #5
    Demon, it is not a 660 Ti because I did not feel the extra $80-$100 was a necessary upgrade for my gaming needs, but I appreciate the suggestion!

    IDrink, thank you for the suggestions! I will definitely revise my build to reflect your higher performance/lower cost build design.

    ---------- Post added 2013-03-26 at 10:15 AM ----------

    I will also reflect the GPU upgrade suggestion from Demon/Idrink. I am short on knowledge when it comes to what GPU's compare to Nvidia's, as this is my first build :P. I was not expecting such quick and helpful updates!
    Just out of curiosity, by whatever degree (percentage if you will), how much better is the Radeon than the 660?

  6. #6
    The Lightbringer Toffie's Avatar
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    The 7870XT is around 10-12 % better than the 660 in most games, it's on par with the 660 ti version.
    8700K (5GHz) - Z370 M5 - Mugen 5 - 16GB Tridentz 3200MHz - GTX 1070Ti Strix - NZXT S340E - Dell 24' 1440p (165Hz)

  7. #7
    Thank you for the comparison!

  8. #8
    Pandaren Monk Klutzington's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Toffie View Post
    The 7870XT is around 10-12 % better than the 660 in most games, it's on par with the 660 ti version.
    Just so I don't have to make another thread on it, would the 7870 XT run better than the 660 (non TI) in Blizzard games (such as WoW and Diablo)? I heard that even though the 7870 XT is better in most games, but the 660 performs better in Blizz games because Blizzard optimizes towards nVidia. Is this true?

  9. #9
    The Lightbringer Toffie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Klutzington View Post
    Just so I don't have to make another thread on it, would the 7870 XT run better than the 660 (non TI) in Blizzard games (such as WoW and Diablo)? I heard that even though the 7870 XT is better in most games, the 660 performs better because Blizzard optimizes towards nVidia. Is this true?
    People keep saying that, but it's a very little favour for Nvidia in WoW.
    http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...rmance/20.html

    Stock 7870 is 10 % behind 660ti in WoW, I would say the XT-version is very close to it (1-2 fps).
    8700K (5GHz) - Z370 M5 - Mugen 5 - 16GB Tridentz 3200MHz - GTX 1070Ti Strix - NZXT S340E - Dell 24' 1440p (165Hz)

  10. #10
    Pandaren Monk Klutzington's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Toffie View Post
    People keep saying that, but it's a very little favour for Nvidia in WoW.
    http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...rmance/20.html

    Stock 7870 is 10 % behind 660ti in WoW, I would say the XT-version is very close to it (1-2 fps).
    In that comparison list, it lists the 7870 twice. It says 7870 and 7870 Catalyst 12.11. Is the second one (7870 Catalyst 12.11) with updated drives? Like is the Catalyst 12.11 a driver?

  11. #11
    The Lightbringer Toffie's Avatar
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    Yes it's updated drivers, it have received several performance boost drivers since then. Nothing for WoW though
    8700K (5GHz) - Z370 M5 - Mugen 5 - 16GB Tridentz 3200MHz - GTX 1070Ti Strix - NZXT S340E - Dell 24' 1440p (165Hz)

  12. #12
    Welp, went to order and the 7870 went out of stock on newegg as I was ordering. Any suggestions for an alternative store or card at the same price?

  13. #13
    The Lightbringer Toffie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Deadbob View Post
    Welp, went to order and the 7870 went out of stock on newegg as I was ordering. Any suggestions for an alternative store or card at the same price?
    I don't see it being in stock anywhere, you would have to call newegg and ask them when it's available again..
    8700K (5GHz) - Z370 M5 - Mugen 5 - 16GB Tridentz 3200MHz - GTX 1070Ti Strix - NZXT S340E - Dell 24' 1440p (165Hz)

  14. #14
    I'll do that, thank you

  15. #15
    Deleted
    Can't he just go for a different 7870 XT?

    The Jokercard comes to mind, although I'm not sure how well Club3D handles the cooling.

    Oh, and by the way, you get some free games with the Radeon 7800 series, but a lot of retailers don't offer it. Pay close attention to where you buy it! It might net you two free games. (Bioshock Infinite and Tomb Raider)
    Last edited by mmoce04b469aa5; 2013-03-26 at 06:27 PM.

  16. #16
    Thanks Redd for the suggestion, would you mind advising on where to look for these different 7870s? I.e. online (or local/outlet) stores that have good reputations? Thanks!

  17. #17
    Deleted
    Well, the vendors that support the free games are listed on the website I linked in my last reply. I've read on these forums that some people managed to get the codes from retailers not listed on the amd website, but it's russian roulette. I bought a 7950, and didn't get any free games. Service desk told me they didn't get em. (Either that's true, or all employees are at home playing bioshock and crysis now >.>)

    As far as the other 7870 XT's go (or 7870 LE, Tahiti, many names. ).. I'm not too sure on retailers and stuff. I always buy my stuff here in the Netherlands at the same retailers, hehe. I was hoping someone else on this forum would quote me and blow your mind with suggestions. (Still hoping that person comes along!)

  18. #18
    Would anyone be able to tell me if the Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz edition is much different from the XT W/ Boost version?
    Last edited by Deadbob; 2013-03-26 at 07:21 PM.

  19. #19
    The Lightbringer Toffie's Avatar
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    If you aren't planning to overclock heavily then go for this card : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131484.. Itsredd mentioned the Club 3D Joker which is the 2nd choice I would make, because the cooling is better resulting in better overclock.

    I'm not sure, but 7870 GHz should be around 6-10 % slower than the XT and probaly voltage locked so can't overclock very well.

    Edit: I have tried looking for the Sapphire or The Club Joker 3D, but I just can't find them in stock anywhere... :/
    Last edited by llDemonll; 2013-03-26 at 10:35 PM.
    8700K (5GHz) - Z370 M5 - Mugen 5 - 16GB Tridentz 3200MHz - GTX 1070Ti Strix - NZXT S340E - Dell 24' 1440p (165Hz)

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