Looking to build new PC, please advise!

[Deleted]

Hi guys, first post here and first time trying to build my own system! The computer I currently have is going on 6 years old; I am hoping to reuse the case, HDD and optical drive, purchasing the rest new. Below are the components recommended by an experienced friend, but I'd love any help you guys could give!

I'm looking to spend ~600$ (Canadian), and will use it mostly to play WoW, hopefully able to record and render gameplay. I have all the peripherals that I will need, as well as Windows 7 Ultimate.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($69.23 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital WD Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card ($119.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ NCIX)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $514.19
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-07 19:01 EDT-0400)


Thanks!

[tielknight]

Changed CPU to i5-3570
Changed RAM to 2 1333mhz sticks.
Changed MOBO to save some $
Changed GPU to 650ti Boost
Changed PSU to one that is 80+ bronze
Picked a case

ATX Build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: MSI ZH77A-G43 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Corsair 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($24.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: Corsair 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($24.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Western Digital WD Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card ($164.75 @ Vuugo)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $612.20
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-07 20:21 EDT-0400)

MicroATX Build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($56.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Corsair 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($24.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: Corsair 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($24.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Western Digital WD Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card ($164.75 @ Vuugo)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $581.20
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-07 20:21 EDT-0400)

[chazus]

I would pick up one of the new Haswell i3's. The top end one is not only a fair bit cheaper, but a not so fair bit better performance.

PCPartPicker part list
CPU: Intel Core i3-4340 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($172.33 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: MSI B85M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.75 @ Vuugo)
Total: $237.08/i]

As far as I can tell, the i3-4340 performs as fast as the i5-3570K @ 4.0ghz, for much cheaper. It even performs better than the Haswell i5's, when it comes to WoW specifically, due to clock speed.

[Fluorescent0]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($141.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: MSI B85M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.75 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Kingston Value 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($23.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: Kingston Value 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($23.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($184.00 @ Canada Computers)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($48.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $594.67
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-08 00:03 EDT-0400)

Switched to an Haswell i3. I don't really find 30$ (~20% more) for < 10% CPU performance worth it, and recording has a pretty low impact on CPU usage either way. Rendering times might be slower, but you're getting higher performance ingame (and on your recordings as well) with this setup. I also added a new HDD, the caviar green has AWFUL write speeds and it would probably make your recordings lag. If you want good quality recordings and can stand higher loading times load the applications on the caviar green you have and recording on the blue, if you want faster loading and for that sacrifice recording performance, do the opposite. Either way, never record to the same HDD you're playing off.
Switched to a 660 and a better quality PSU because it fit the budget.

Edit: sounds like you can avoid the recommendation to install everything on the green. MSI Afterburner can record 1080p 30fps while using 5.5MB/s, while caviar green's write speed is 25MB/s. I'd still recommend get a second hard drive off to which you should be running everything else though.

[Deleted]

Thanks a bunch guys!
Is there any significant difference between RAM of different speeds? 2133 vs the 1333 suggested; it looks like the LGA1150 motherboards only support the slower ones?
Also, is there any difference between ATX and Micro ATX with regard to difficulty of putting the components together? (I'm not experienced with it, but looking forward to trying it!)

[tielknight]

You won't really notice a difference between 1333 and 1600, both are pretty damn fast and anything above 1600 isn't going to be noticeable much at all. Sometimes we recommend 1866/2133mhz RAM due to them actually being cheaper than their 1600MHZ counterparts, although finding a cheap one with a low CAS isn't as easy(lower CAS is better on RAM, 9 is usually preferred) as it is with 1600/1333mhz RAM.

The only real difference between ATX and MicroATX is the size of the motherboard. Here is a handy-comparison chart for ya to see that. MicroATX usually has less available PCI/RAM slots and whatnot, though they are about 20% or more cheaper than their ATX counterparts due to the smaller amount of materials needed.

Basically MicroATX = smaller and cheaper and less spots available for upgrading/more components. ATX = bigger and more expensive but with more available slots for upgrades/more components.