Help to build a new PC.

[Deleted]

Hi guys, I'm going to move to Boston in few days, there is a Microcenter store there,
I'm planning to build a new PC, budget doesnt matter since I already have a job there.

I got in mind a i7 3770k which I will Overclock to say...4,50ghz.

for the MOBO an Asus P8Z77-V which I dont know precisely which one to buy.

the Graphic Card, I heard that Intel was better for GeForge and AMD for ATI, is that true?

RAM I was thinking around 16GB DDR 1600 CL9, I dont know the difference between CL9 and CL10, good idea?

the Cooler, i thought of a Air one, cause' I heard water cooling isnt a big deal.

let me know what you think and suggest me better choices
Thank you guys!

[Deleted]

• Will you use HT? If the answer is "no" or "I don't know" (hint: if the computer is meant for gaming the answer is no) then swap that to a 3570k and save yourself $80.
• Motherboard depends on featureset. What do you need? SLI/CF? Multiple PCI-E lanes? Dual Ethernet ports? X USB (3.0) connectors? eSATA? Firewire? Thunderbolt?
• No, for single GPU solutions it really is a toss up, depending on what price-point you are at. I'd say it goes something like this: Radeon 7770 < GTX 650 Ti BOOST < GTX 660 Ti =< 7870 XT < 7950 < GTX 670 < 7970 GHz
• Latency. For anyone not looking to do benchmarking/extreme overclocking it doesn't matter much. 16GiB is a bit much, but it's cheap so why not. You can always allocate a bit towards a RAMDisk.
• Closed loop coolers aren't better than high-end air coolers, generally. A custom loop is still better, albeit a bit of a hassle for a novice. Go with air.

Case? SSD? HDD? PSU?

[Deleted]

i7-3770k is only $230 at MC, not a bad deal. Marest's point still stands regardless though. You get $50 off the motherboard as well when purchased together which is nice to either save some money or get a nice motherboard without noticing the extra premium as much. Mainly look for the features you need/want as pointed out by Marest.

(Marest I'm sure you mean 650ti Boost)

[Deleted]

Does htis unit seem up your alley?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Professional ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($194.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.63 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($168.27 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($297.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Inwin MANA136 WHITE ATX Mid Tower Case w/300W Power Supply ($63.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($79.24 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1292.04
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-08 09:29 EDT-0400)

You can change the PSU for a Seasonic modular equivalent.

[Tahapenes]

Why the Asus P8Z77-V? Do you plan to use Wi-Fi? If not, you could get another board without this feature. Do you plan to use LucidLogic and display port through the MB? If not, you could probably choose something else as well. A lot of Z77 boards have most of the features that the P8Z77-V has without the Wi-Fi and without the DisplayPort on the MB for a bit less money. You could easily knock off $50 or more with another Z77 board.

[yurano]

Why the Asus P8Z77-V? Do you plan to use Wi-Fi? If not, you could get another board without this feature.

P8Z77-V does have Fan Xpert 2, USB 3.0 Charger+ and high VRM quality. Might be worth considering if you're down to buy a premium motherboard.

[Tahapenes]

P8Z77-V does have Fan Xpert 2, USB 3.0 Charger+ and high VRM quality. Might be worth considering if you're down to buy a premium motherboard.

Many of the other Asus boards have Fan Xpert+, while not as granular as FX2, the price savings could be worth it (considering the P8Z77-V goes for $175 to $200)

[yurano]

Many of the other Asus boards have Fan Xpert+, while not as granular as FX2, the price savings could be worth it (considering the P8Z77-V goes for $175 to $200)

Fan Xpert 2 has the ability to control 3-pin fans in every fan socket. Thats the main selling point of Fan Xpert 2.

[Tahapenes]

Fan Xpert 2 has the ability to control 3-pin fans in every fan socket. Thats the main selling point of Fan Xpert 2.

So does Fan Xpert+

[chazus]

budget doesnt matter since I already have a job there

Budget always matters. I doubt they said "Go wild, grab whatever you want, it's free"

That said, even if you get a discount, unless you plan to USE a 3770K, a 3570K would be better because that would be cheaper as well. P8Z77-V is a bit pricey for what you get, as said, there are just as good quality boards for $50 less.

Also, I wouldn't recommend Inwin. Their cases look nice, but Inwin is notorious for using terribly cheap materials, like Raidmax does.

[Killora]

Budget always matters. I doubt they said "Go wild, grab whatever you want, it's free"

That said, even if you get a discount, unless you plan to USE a 3770K, a 3570K would be better because that would be cheaper as well. P8Z77-V is a bit pricey for what you get, as said, there are just as good quality boards for $50 less.

Also, I wouldn't recommend Inwin. Their cases look nice, but Inwin is notorious for using terribly cheap materials, like Raidmax does.

Sorry but im going to have to disagree here. If he can get a 3770k for $230, only 10-30 dollars more than a 3570k, it'd be in his best interest to do so. Hyper threading is nice and is only going to be more and more supported in years to come.

[chazus]

Sorry but im going to have to disagree here. If he can get a 3770k for $230, only 10-30 dollars more than a 3570k, it'd be in his best interest to do so. Hyper threading is nice and is only going to be more and more supported in years to come.

It's about $40 (190 vs 230) but... Based off what I'm seeing with technology, I don't see an i7 becoming supported enough to warrant that in any CPU's current lifetime (i.e. 3-4 years). It's a small extra price to pay, but I wouldn't, even if I could afford it. The chances of games going from "2-3 thread heavy" to "5-7 thread heavy" any time in the next few years is, honestly, extremely slim.

[Killora]

It's about $40 (190 vs 230) but... Based off what I'm seeing with technology, I don't see an i7 becoming supported enough to warrant that in any CPU's current lifetime (i.e. 3-4 years). It's a small extra price to pay, but I wouldn't, even if I could afford it. The chances of gamings going from "2-3 thread heavy" to "5-7 thread heavy" any time in the next few years is, honestly, extremely slim.

Forgot about microcenters price on the 3570k.

But anyway, Hyper Threading gives performance in some games even now. Far Cry 3, BF3, Civ 5. Some others i cant recall the name of.

The more cache will help with minimum framerates some. And hyper threading still provides smoother core changing. Not something i'd pay $40 more for, but if he does any sort of video editing, 3d rendering, recording, or streaming, he'll get a nice benefit.

[Deleted]

I have a 3570k and I don't suffer at all in any of the titles you have mentioned (except Civ V, never played). My main bottleneck in both FC3 and BF3 is my GPU, not my CPU. If I step back to original clocks I get a minimal performance hit, perhaps 1-2 frames average, which is a reason I've been running stock for the past month. However, if I ever forget to apply my GPU overclock (i.e. running at 700MHz) I see a big hit in framerate. FC3 runs almost 20FPS slower compared to my 1.1GHz overclock on my 7970.

[Killora]

I have a 3570k and I don't suffer at all in any of the titles you have mentioned (except Civ V, never played). My main bottleneck in both FC3 and BF3 is my GPU, not my CPU. If I step back to original clocks I get a minimal performance hit, perhaps 1-2 frames average, which is a reason I've been running stock for the past month. However, if I ever forget to apply my GPU overclock (i.e. running at 700MHz) I see a big hit in framerate. FC3 runs almost 20FPS slower compared to my 1.1GHz overclock on my 7970.

BF3 doesn't bottleneck my GPU without hyper threading, but i still notice a performance increase with hyper threading.

CPU increasing performance doesn't always have to mean it's bottlenecking your GPU.

[constantduty]

You also miss out on the $40 additional discount on the mobo when paired with the I5, so it's about $80 cheaper in total. You also save another $20 on a Samsung SSD.

[Tahapenes]

You also miss out on the $40 additional discount on the mobo when paired with the I5, so it's about $80 cheaper in total. You also save another $20 on a Samsung SSD.

Not true, you get that with the i3 3225, i5 3570k, and the i7 3770k. You also get something similar with the A8 5600k and A10 5800k. MicroCenter is basically doing the bundle with all unlocked Intel CPUs (and i3 3225) on 1155 and all unlocked APUs on FM2.

[yurano]

Not true, you get that with the i3 3225, i5 3570k, and the i7 3770k. MicroCenter is basically doing the bundle with all unlocked Intel CPUs (and i3 3225) on 1155.

Wat

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/...d#/6a6590ad/33

[Deleted]

What?* Doesn't that confirm what "Tahapenes" says?

Forgot about microcenters price on the 3570k.

The i5-3570k is $190 (+tax) I don't see him forgetting anything.

[yurano]

What?* Doesn't that confirm what "Tahapenes" says?

Tahapenes is talking about getting the motherboard deal on the 3770K when it has never been the case ever with Microcenter.

You also miss out on the $40 additional discount on the mobo when paired with the I5

Not true, you get that with the i3 3225, i5 3570k, and the i7 3770k.