Gaming PC build, need experienced builder's advice

[bane95]

Purchase Date: Next Week

Budget: $1000 - $1200

Resolution: 1920x1080 HD

Games: GW2, Skyrim, WOW, Far Cry 3, BF3

Overclocking: Eventually, 3.8Ghz or higher

How is this build compatibility wise and performance wise? Would it run these games at ultra settings smoothly?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ NCIX)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.88 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($144.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.79 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Memory Express)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($48.65 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Canada Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($97.99 @ Computer Valley)
Keyboard: Logitech G110 Wired Standard Keyboard ($64.33 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $1084.58
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-22 13:00 EDT-0400)

[demonskies]

http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/asro...rd-z77extreme4 Id switch to this motherboard, get low profile ram, and if your spending ceiling is 1200 bucks thats just enough to get a crucial m4 128Gb or Samsung 830 right capped at the 1200 mark but if you dont need faster load times no reason for a SSD.

[bane95]

Yea load times arn't an issue for me atm, maybe in a few months I will upgrade, also just curious, why would you recommend that board over the UD3H?

[demonskies]

For the motherboard, brand preference, Asrock is a good brand and about 20 dollars cheaper.

[bane95]

Ok, I'll have to compare the prices as Tiger Direct and Canada Computers, anyone else have any advice? Need to know if this build is worth 1k

[Quintana]

With the price cuts that just happened the other day, you would be silly to not at least get a 7870. Honestly if I'm dropping $1,000+ on a new build today I'm getting a 7950.

[jmt]

With the price cuts that just happened the other day, you would be silly to not at least get a 7870. Honestly if I'm dropping $1,000+ on a new build today I'm getting a 7950.

Was going to say this as well. 7870s are in the price range all over New Egg (AR).

[Deleted]

Yes, you should hold on a few more days and wait for the price of AMD GPUs to drop.

I also think your PSU is somewhat excessive. The system you liked barely uses a 150 Watts running 3D mark 2011 and significantly less when not under load. Even with over-clocking you should be able to downsize to a 500 Watt PSU without any problems.

Regarding SSDs, you shouldn't scoff at them. They are by far the biggest and most significant upgrade you can make to any modern PC. Only because it doesn't improve your FPS doesn't mean it doesn't improve you performance. Trust me, once you have got used to an SSD system you'll never want to go back.

[bane95]

Ok i'll look into getting the 7870 instead off newegg most likely, is HIS a good model of it? and I didn't mean for it to sound like I was scoffing at the SSD's, but I'm just on a tight budget atm and the SSD would be the last part I get in a month or so. Also, even if I keep upgrading to more powerful gpu's in the future, I won't need more than 500w?

[Quintana]

Ok i'll look into getting the 7870 instead off newegg most likely, is HIS a good model of it? and I didn't mean for it to sound like I was scoffing at the SSD's, but I'm just on a tight budget atm and the SSD would be the last part I get in a month or so. Also, even if I keep upgrading to more powerful gpu's in the future, I won't need more than 500w?

Running a single GPU any quality brand, 500 watt, 80 plus PSU will be fine.

Get whatever 7870 has the best cooler, and price.

[Deleted]

Ok i'll look into getting the 7870 instead off newegg most likely, is HIS a good model of it? and I didn't mean for it to sound like I was scoffing at the SSD's, but I'm just on a tight budget atm and the SSD would be the last part I get in a month or so. Also, even if I keep upgrading to more powerful gpu's in the future, I won't need more than 500w?

See for yourself: http://www.pcgameshardware.de/aid,66...43168&vollbild

These guys compile rigs and then measure their power consumption. Some of those builds are very similar to the ones you posted. Only the two most powerful ones breach the 200 Watt consumption and remain just shy of the 300 Watt barrier.

[bane95]

I looked at the site and it's hard to believe they consume such little power but I'll try and lower the PSU a bit to get a bit of money back. Also, what do you think about the Asus GTX 660 Ti 2gb? Tiger Direct has it on sale for $299. Should I just get this instead, will it allow for ultra?