First computer build.

[Turalon]

Hello!

I am looking in the next few days to purchase a top end gaming pc. This is my first time ever that I intend on building my own pc and as such I am unfamiliar with what specific parts I should get or should stay away from. I'm thinking of doing the most recent Unicorn build posted on MMO-Champion not long ago, but want to get opinions on it to make sure it is a solid build. I'm looking at a max of around $2300 to spend. With the current build I have below I'm looking at almost exactly $2k with all things considered, so that leaves room if anyone believes I should switch out any piece for something better, as I want the very best that I can buy in this range.

Mainly I will be using it as just a gaming pc. Things like WoW, Skyrim, some FPS games, as well as for future MMO's such as Elder Scrolls.

The only questions I can think of off the top of my head are whether or not to stick with 8 gigs of ram or go for 16. I see many people say 16 is overkill, but will it actually not add any additional performance past 8, or will it just be a minimal increase? Also what ram setup would be best (4 x 2gb, 2 x 4gb, 1 x 8gb, etc)? Aside from that, any general tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($78.99 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($5.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($389.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF X ATX Full Tower Case ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: HP ZR2440w 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($333.00 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Wired Gaming Keyboard
Mouse: Razer Naga Hex Wraith Red Edition Wired Laser Mouse ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Speakers: Logitech Z313 25W 2.1ch Speakers ($34.95 @ Amazon)
Total: $1996.79
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-16 00:10 EDT-0400)


Thanks for your help guys!

[Stockers]

Nice build, don't have time to offer any advice as i'm off to work in a moment, but one thing I will say is that whilst Chaud's builds are solid and brilliant. They are also very generic and seem very boring and lacking of individuality.

Perhaps look at getting a few personal things like a different case, monitor, mouse, keyboard.

[Deleted]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BK 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($145.85 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($163.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($395.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair CC650DW ATX Mid Tower Case ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus PA248Q 24.1" Monitor ($297.58 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Logitech G710 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Corsair Vengeance M95 Wired Laser Mouse ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Speakers: Logitech Z313 25W 2.1ch Speakers ($34.95 @ Amazon)
Total: $1988.24
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-16 00:49 EDT-0400)

Some of these parts like Mice and keyboard are of course more personal preference, generally I would say Razer products are sub par quality but the choice is your of course.

The build isn't using Microcenter pricing, if you have one near you CPU+Motherboard will be cheaper otherwise this is a better representation of the actual price. The keyboard is priced as well.

550W is perfect if you're not doing SLI/CF, if you do want that option sure get a 750W PSU.

Added 250GB SSD instead. much less micromanaging in the future.

I would just use the thermal paste that comes with the heatsink, again your choice.

8GB is perfect for a gaming rig, no need to really consider getting more.

i5-4670K or i7-3570k is good for a gaming rig, the extra money for the i7 is more or less wasted.

You don't need a full tower for your build and to be most CM cases are kinda "meh" I prefer Corsair or Fractal Design, there are of course exceptions.

[Idrinkwhiterussians]

Since the new Haswell stuff is out, there is no reason to not go for it. Other notes on changes are at the bottom:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($78.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($144.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($163.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($395.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Silverstone Raven RV02B-W-USB3.0 ATX Full Tower Case ($169.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Dell U2412M 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($275.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $1788.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-16 00:47 EDT-0400)

1) CPU was changed to i5 as the i7 offers nothing in the way of gaming over the i5.
2) The Noctua is a great cooler that comes with excellent thermal paste, so there is no need to get any more.
3) MB was changed to match the new CPU, though can be changed to something else also if wireless is needed. (new socket 1150 for the Haswell stuff)
4) There is no reason to skimp on SSD space in this kind of budget. HDD could also be "dropped" to a Blue instead of black for a bit of cost effective measures.
5) The GTX770 is at a pretty good price/performance ratio for the high end. It will outperform a 7970 (non-GHz) out of the box, and will continue to when OCd.
6) Cases are entirely subjective, but I don't care for the HAF series. I put the Raven in there to give you an idea of what else you could get for the same money, though you could get just as good of cases with a bit more or a bit less $.
7) 750W is overkill, but at the price, that is a pretty good deal. You would have to spend a bit more to get fully modular. (~$130-140 for Seasonic 650W)
8) I changed the monitor to a great Dell panel. It is a pretty good deal at $277 also.
9) I left out peripherals as that is a GREAT deal of contention among regulars here, so I figured you can make the choices for yourself. I would say that if you can, go try them out at stores first.

One thing to note is the Microcenter price you have in your original post. If you have a Microcenter near you, they do offer discounts, though I am not entirely sure what they are running right now, as I have not gotten my flyer in the mail yet.


Edit: Well damn, I was beaten to the punch.

[Elmister]

With that cpu cooler you are spending quite a bit on air cooling. Better bet maybe, one of corsairs self contained water loops for cpu cooling.

[Idrinkwhiterussians]

With that cpu cooler you are spending quite a bit on air cooling. Better bet maybe, one of corsairs self contained water loops for cpu cooling.

I would like to amend that you certainly can go with an AIO liquid cooler like Elmister suggested, though to get the same type of performance you have to upgrade the fans on them. The 100i/80i are also more expensive to begin with, let alone adding fans.

[Deleted]

Edit: Well damn, I was beaten to the punch.

Extra input isn't bad

[Turalon]

So, in regards to the i5 vs i7, I remember reading back on the older versions like a year+ ago that the i5 was better due to that it could be overclocked higher then the i7 could, and that the i7's virtual cores do literally nothing for any modern games, as well as the i5 just being cheaper. I am assuming based off some of you saying to go with the i5, this still stands true? Also I am not sure how much, if at all I would want to overlock the processor, if only out of fear of blowing it up, lol. I'm thinking 4-4.2ghz would be the max, and so the benefit of being able to overclock the i5 more then the i7 would be moot I'd think right there, so wouldn't the measly $20 extra be worth it for the i7 just for a bit of future proofing and if I decide to use the computer for other things? Or does the i5 also run more stable and so would actually have a performance benefit in my use of it?

Also, as far as the ms on monitors go would I really notice any difference on a faster or slower one?

Edit: Forgot to ask. Since I am not doing any sort of super overclocking, shouldn't a good air cooler be perfectly fine? I was under the impression a water cooler is far more annoying and difficult to set up, as well as fairly more expensive.

[Deleted]

There isn't a $20 difference. The price you have is at Microcenter which is "in store" only so unless you have a Microcenter near you you can't rely on that price. For gaming stick with the i5, actually the i7 probably overclocks slightly better generally. Unless you do high end streaming (1080p) or lots of rendering then the i5 is just as good.

Overclocking is easy nowadays, even if you don't know how to they have one click performance boost that can probably take it to ~4.2GHz easily.

As for the monitor, in some cases yes you can notice a difference however the monitors mentioned in this thread are perfectly fine. The HP and Asus comes with HDMI, the Dell does not, if that matters to you.

[Elmister]

with building your own loop yes it seems like a hassle to most. but with the self contain loop it comes filled and everything. Only thing you do is screw on a fan and the reservoir,hook the back-plate to the mobo, and tighten the heat sink. The only diff is that there is a fan and a res to screw on to fan port (on the back of case). I myself wouldn't build a homemade loop too much problems. But I do have a corsair self contained loop. It takes all steps a air cooler does. Plus you can have bragging rights saying ur comp is liquid cooled.

[Idrinkwhiterussians]

Forgot to ask. Since I am not doing any sort of super overclocking, shouldn't a good air cooler be perfectly fine? I was under the impression a water cooler is far more annoying and difficult to set up, as well as fairly more expensive.

You have trade-offs going between a AIO(all in one, or closed loop liquid) cooler and an air cooler. Air coolers are pretty big beefy things that can block some parts of the motherboard (though, if you get RAM that is low profile enough, that should not be any concern). AIO coolers require placement of a radiator/tank, which you should take into account when you are looking at a case. Some of them cannot hold an AIO cooler due to lack of mounts for the radiator.

That all being said, the NH-D14 you had in OP, or the Phanteks that Notarget had in his post will perform just as well as AIO coolers at the type of OC you are planning to do, and they are cheaper (for similarly performing AIO coolers).