1. #1

    Building computer following graduation!

    yay for me! yay for school! but yeah... after 4 years of saving i'm finally able to build my own computer!

    Budget-- max $1200 (before warranties and shipping). obviously i'd like to make this as cheap as possible, but i figure with a ceiling of $1200 that gives me enough room to build something decent.
    Resolution: 1920x1080
    Games / Settings Desired: usually run games on high-average (2nd tier out 5 options), as opposed to the highest settings
    Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc): Ableton Live 8, Java and Lua Programming... video games if that's not already a given (ie Skyrim, Farcry).
    Country: United States of Apples
    Parts that can be reused: none
    Do you need an OS?: nope
    Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)?: monitor definitely, keyboard, and mouse suggestions always appreciated!

    I have picked out a couple of parts I am very much sold on, and would like to work around them.
    CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770
    MoBo: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H LGA 1155 Intel

    The GPU is giving me the most difficulty... really unsure of what would give me great performance for the best value (bang for the buck I think it's called?)

    Anyway, I really, really appreciate any help with this, and look forward to feedback on this.... Quest to Find the Missing Friend of Mine. Had to give it some sorta name yeah?

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Epic! Idrinkwhiterussians's Avatar
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    I know you say you would like to work around that CPU/MB, but trust me, there are better choices for your budget.

    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
    CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
    Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
    Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.98 @ NCIX US)
    Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
    Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.61 @ Outlet PC)
    Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($238.99 @ SuperBiiz)
    Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
    Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
    Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
    Total: $953.51
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-02 10:36 EDT-0400)

    1) The 3570k will perform just as well as the 3770 for what you do, and can be overclocked. The one time I might suggest stepping up to the 3770k is if you have a Microcenter near.
    2) The MB that I have in here for you is a decent price, and is ~ the same as what you had listed.
    3) GPU is typically what people drop the most money on. The 7870XT is a GREAT choice for the price point.
    4) Case is generally a preference thing, but the Fractal Arc Midi R2 is a very good case and is going for a great price atm.
    5) The PSU is a bit overkill, though since it is the same price as the 520W, there isn't really a reason to skimp.
    6) There is a good amount of room left over to get the monitor, keyboard and mouse in. It depends if you want to go mechanical on the keyboard.

    Those notes taken into account, there are some things you could change out to go a bit more wild, or to OC better. You could go with a bit more storage too.
    Quote Originally Posted by Cyanotical View Post
    anyone want doughnuts? i hear there is a great shop in Vancouver

  3. #3
    that's actually a bomb build, thanks very much!

    my reasoning to go from an i5 CPU to an i7 is that the i7 would simply last longer, and might be worth the extra $80 as a result, but other than that i really like the build you set up.

    keyboard and mouse are apparently going to be bought without budget concerns since I have stupid amounts of Gamestop credits and they have both, so that's cool. however, still not certain entirely what direction to go with with the monitor. any suggestions on that front?

    thanks so much again, that reply was a big help.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by dandandancinman View Post
    that's actually a bomb build, thanks very much!

    my reasoning to go from an i5 CPU to an i7 is that the i7 would simply last longer, and might be worth the extra $80 as a result, but other than that i really like the build you set up.

    keyboard and mouse are apparently going to be bought without budget concerns since I have stupid amounts of Gamestop credits and they have both, so that's cool. however, still not certain entirely what direction to go with with the monitor. any suggestions on that front?

    thanks so much again, that reply was a big help.
    An i7 will not last any longer than an i5. The only difference is Hyperthreading and none of you listed usages will really need Hyperthreading. Games will not likely see a large benefit from it before you'd need to replace it anyway. Unless you are doing Video Encoding/Rendering or CAD type of stuff, the i7 is pretty much a waste.

  5. #5
    Epic! Idrinkwhiterussians's Avatar
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    Personally, I prefer an IPS panel. The color palette is a bit better, though the response time is generally a bit lower. (this really is only of ANY concern in FPS games)

    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    Monitor: Dell U2312HM 23.0" Monitor ($220.16 @ Amazon)
    Total: $220.16
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-02 13:03 EDT-0400)

    This is the monitor I would go with. It is a decent price point, and is a good display.

    About the i7 vs i5, they will both last the same amount of time. The big thing is what you are going to be using it for. Generally speaking, the OC you can put on the 3570k outweighs any benefit you MIGHT get from the 3770non-k.

    I was looking through Gamestop to see what you can pick up for mouse and keyboard, and I saw this SteelSeries keyboard and this Roccat mouse. They are decent products, though it sure seems that Gamestop is quite overpriced. If you have enough for those, they are decent though, so keep that in mind.
    Quote Originally Posted by Cyanotical View Post
    anyone want doughnuts? i hear there is a great shop in Vancouver

  6. #6
    Herald of the Titans Skarsguard's Avatar
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    Whiterussians build is pretty good the only thing I would change and it's more of a personal preference is the Ram/Case/and probably PSU. On the Ram I love Corsair vengeance LP. On the Case that for sure is a personal preference I could list 20 cases and people would say yes or no on them. on the PSU I like that PSU but I would rather have a 650X by seasonic gold or a AX650 corsair gold professional.

    The 460 fanless by seasonic is pretty good as well.

  7. #7
    Epic! Idrinkwhiterussians's Avatar
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    I am not knocking the choices you put forth Skars, I was simply in keeping with OPs budget. I figured the monitor/keyboard/mouse into it, so that is what kept the price down.

    The RAM is simply cheaper. By at least $10. The PSUs you listed are at least $30 more. In keeping with the price differences... The Arc Midi R2 is $70. That is a great price for a very competitive case. For similar quality, you would have to step up to the $100+ price range. The little things add up.
    Quote Originally Posted by Cyanotical View Post
    anyone want doughnuts? i hear there is a great shop in Vancouver

  8. #8
    Herald of the Titans Skarsguard's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Idrinkwhiterussians View Post
    I am not knocking the choices you put forth Skars, I was simply in keeping with OPs budget. I figured the monitor/keyboard/mouse into it, so that is what kept the price down.

    The RAM is simply cheaper. By at least $10. The PSUs you listed are at least $30 more. In keeping with the price differences... The Arc Midi R2 is $70. That is a great price for a very competitive case. For similar quality, you would have to step up to the $100+ price range. The little things add up.
    Oh yeah the build you did is solid I was just adding what I would probably do if you had some wiggle room the 10$ for the ram is worth it I think. Your right about the case it is really good for the price and in that price range the only other thing to look at is the bitfenix shinobi and probably a corsair you could even go cheaper and get an Nzxt 210 which would do the job but with less features.

  9. #9
    JW, i noticed you got two hard drives in there... if I already got a 1TB external drive that I'll be using with the machine, can I take out the WD harddrive you recommended for something cheaper?

    again, thanks for all of the input, much appreciated!

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by dandandancinman View Post
    JW, i noticed you got two hard drives in there... if I already got a 1TB external drive that I'll be using with the machine, can I take out the WD harddrive you recommended for something cheaper?

    again, thanks for all of the input, much appreciated!
    Yes you could, in his build that was a storage drive, you would be running windows and games of the SSD for faster speeds. If you already have a storage solution for everything else you could drop it.

  11. #11
    Epic! Idrinkwhiterussians's Avatar
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    If you do drop the storage, I would put a larger SSD in there.

    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($162.99 @ NCIX US)
    Total: $162.99
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-02 15:24 EDT-0400)

    The reason being that you do not want to have to move stuff around between drives if you are using USB or whatever. It is fine for backup, but if you plan on using much more than that, it goes entirely too slow to be recommended. The 250GB SSD gives you the space to have plenty of games and OS on it.
    Quote Originally Posted by Cyanotical View Post
    anyone want doughnuts? i hear there is a great shop in Vancouver

  12. #12
    perfect, i think this should be all the info i need. thanks for all the help!

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