New build - advice welcome

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Mavwreck

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My current gaming PC died last week; since it's more than 6 years old, I don't think it's worth fixing given that I believe the issue is the PSU or the motherboard. I've been planning to build a new machine for a while, but now I have something to actually make me do it. :)

Here are my rough goals and constraints, as well as decisions I've made so far based on my research:
  • My desired budget is about $US 2000. I can go over if I'd like, but I'd need a decent reason.
  • My main goal is an excellent gaming PC. I'm happy to avoid the bleeding edge, but I want that edge within sight. I do some development, but not enough (on this machine) to justify building for it.
  • Since this is my first build, I don't plan on overclocking, but I'd like to able to do so in the future.
  • Along the same vein, I don't plan on dual GPUs at the moment but I'd like to leave the option open.
  • At the moment I have one monitor; I'll upgrade it as part of this build. I'll probably use the old monitor as a secondary monitor in the near future (not enough desk space at the moment). I don't have any plans to stretch a game across dual monitors, though.
  • I'd prefer Nvidia over AMD - I've had good experience with them in the past, and their superior Linux compatibility may become a factor. I'm open to switching over for a compelling case, though.

I've been doing some research, and here's what I've come up with so far (based on some research, and fooling around some on PCPartPicker.com):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($229.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 4GB Video Card ($559.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($126.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Professional (OEM) (64-bit) ($134.88 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Microsoft Natural 4000 Wired Ergonomic Keyboard ($36.76 @ Amazon)
Total: $1674.53
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-22 02:04 EDT-0400)
Click to expand...

I know that I still need to pick a case, monitor, and mouse; I'm also planning on adding a multi-card reader in one of the external bays.

So, any thoughts about the build above? Along with general thoughts, I had a few questions I wouldn't mind answering:
  • I know Haswell is coming in a few weeks. Do people think the new chips will matter for gaming? If not, will Ivy Bridge go down in price afterwards?
  • If I hold off for Haswell, I know I'll have to choose a different CPU and mobo. Will I need to change any other components?
  • Is EVGA worth the (supposed) price premium?
  • Is the extra 2 GB of video RAM worth it?
I'd also be happy to consider other brands for most of the components, though you'll be hard-pressed to move me off WD - I've been happy with them for almost 15 years.

Thanks in advance for any advice and suggestions.
 
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How fast do you want the pc? The i5 4670k should come out sometime in early June.

I know Haswell is coming in a few weeks. Do people think the new chips will matter for gaming? If not, will Ivy Bridge go down in price afterwards?
Click to expand...

If about 10% of performance increase and power consumption decrease is not important for you, then no, it doesn't matter.

Is the extra 2 GB of video RAM worth it?
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Unless you're getting multiple monitors, the 680 4gb is useless. If you're just hoping to game with it, the benchmarks of the 680 and the 670 are pretty much identical, despite the 100$ price gap. I'd go for a 670 if I were you.

If I hold off for Haswell, I know I'll have to choose a different CPU and mobo. Will I need to change any other components?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that Haswell will use the same socket as ivy bridge. However, I could be wrong. And, no, other than the motherboard, you don't need to change anything.



Also, what monitor are you getting? Make sure not to bottleneck the GPU by playing at a low resolution. If that's the case, you'd be better off with a 660ti.
 
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Also I would recommend that you go with Microsoft Windows 7. Im not really quite sure why you want to go for Windows 8, unless you have a specific reason. Overall itll be interesting to see what happens when the world realizes it has to upgrade their OS.
 
pillar said:
Also I would recommend that you go with Microsoft Windows 7. Im not really quite sure why you want to go for Windows 8, unless you have a specific reason. Overall itll be interesting to see what happens when the world realizes it has to upgrade their OS.
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Windows 8 is generally more light weight than Windows 7, so more gaming friendly.

EDIT: I don't understand why everyone is quick to jump on the hate train, when Win 8 is brought up. It's great, other than the Metro UI. I personally disabled it by using the Start8 software. Other than that, it's superior to Win7.
 
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Cronus said:
Windows 8 is generally more light weight than Windows 7, so more gaming friendly.

EDIT: I don't understand why everyone is quick to jump on the hate train, when Win 8 is brought up. It's great, other than the Metro UI. I personally disabled it by using the Start8 software. Other than that, it's superior to Win7.
Click to expand...

This.



Win8 is a nice OS, but it doesn't meet the hype that other OS's had. Like Cronus stated, the only TRUE downside is merely cosmetic. I'm not saying I'd go to Windows 8 over Windows 7, but I'm saying that there isn't really anything wrong with it.
 
Cronus said:
How fast do you want the pc? The i5 4670k should come out sometime in early June.

If about 10% of performance increase and power consumption decrease is not important for you, then no, it doesn't matter.
Click to expand...

See...that's exactly why I was asking questions :) One or two sources I'd read suggested that the performance jump wouldn't be that big. For that much of a change I can wait.

Unless you're getting multiple monitors, the 680 4gb is useless. If you're just hoping to game with it, the benchmarks of the 680 and the 670 are pretty much identical, despite the 100$ price gap. I'd go for a 670 if I were you.
Click to expand...
When you say "getting multiple monitors", do you mean gaming on 2 monitors, or just having 2 monitors (with 1 for the game and one for auxiliary work)?

Also, what monitor are you getting? Make sure not to bottleneck the GPU by playing at a low resolution. If that's the case, you'd be better off with a 660ti.
Click to expand...
Haven't decided on a monitor yet. I'm going to go at least 1920 x 1200 (my current monitor is 16:10 and I think I'll stick with that. Would you consider that resolution a bottleneck point for the 680 or 670?

Thanks for the information.
 
Cronus said:
Windows 8 is generally more light weight than Windows 7, so more gaming friendly.

EDIT: I don't understand why everyone is quick to jump on the hate train, when Win 8 is brought up. It's great, other than the Metro UI. I personally disabled it by using the Start8 software. Other than that, it's superior to Win7.
Click to expand...


I don't mean to be critical at all so forgive me if it comes off like that however having just built my first gaming rig I have done some research with regards to the operating system... I am however still a noob though so I may not know what I'm talking about lol

Your first statement that windows 8 is generally more light weight so more gaming friendly I have found to be completely incorrect at least from what I've read. I have looked at benchmarks using both Amd and Nvidia gpus and they run almost exactly the same. In some cases windows 8 made some games actually unplayable. Example: Sleeping Dogs. For me, having a stable OS that doesn't need compatibility patches and bug fixes is pretty important.. = Windows 7

Your other statement about it being superior to Win7 i find is vague as well. Normal computer processes are a little bit faster? yes.. Boot times a little bit faster? yes.. having a SSD? renders this arguement invalid in my opinion.

For these reasons I decided to stay with windows 7 over taking the leap to 8. Again, I am a noob when it comes to computers and building however I believe everything I read on the interwebz ;)

If you like the look and feel of 8 Mavwreck then go for it! But don't be mislead by statements like "windows 8 is better for gamers".. because it's not.

P.S: I'm not on the windows 8 hate train. I just don't understand all the hype for something not worth hyping about ;)
 
Mavwreck said:
See...that's exactly why I was asking questions :) One or two sources I'd read suggested that the performance jump wouldn't be that big. For that much of a change I can wait.


When you say "getting multiple monitors", do you mean gaming on 2 monitors, or just having 2 monitors (with 1 for the game and one for auxiliary work)?

Haven't decided on a monitor yet. I'm going to go at least 1920 x 1200 (my current monitor is 16:10 and I think I'll stick with that. Would you consider that resolution a bottleneck point for the 680 or 670?



Thanks for the information.
Click to expand...

When it comes to using multiple monitors, he does mean playing a game on 2 monitors. There are quite a few games that can handle being played on 2 monitors now. Also I would ask people what their opinions & experiences are when it comes to using multiple monitors. Does it make that big of a difference in the gaming aspect?

When it comes to a monitor, I would say that 1 of the biggest things you need to focus on is the size of the monitor. The resolution will come with most monitors, so its a matter of trying to figure out which size monitor will best fit your request. I use a 22" lcd monitor (thats over 5 years old) & still absolutely thrilled with it! I would say somewhere between 20-22" would suffice for your request. Anything above that, you might as well go with an hdtv for (there are some people that use hdtv's for their monitor, but its not a huge favorite).
 
I also advise against Windows 8 for now, if you're more focused on gaming. A lot of gaming experience has proven it just isn't ready yet.

Otherwise, go with the suggestions of a lighter GPU if you aren't using triple monitors ;)
 
I'm probably going to switch to a GTX 670. I imagine the 4 GB would probably not be worth the premium?

Of course, if the GTX 7xx series is close to coming out by the time Haswell makes it out I may have to re-evaluate...
 
I would get a 7970, but if you're stuck on Nvidia yeah the 670 is a better deal than the 680. Don't get the 4gb unless you plan on getting a super high res monitor or a 3 triple monitor setup.
Your build you posted is good except you don't need to spend that much on the PSU and unless you really need the Ergonomic keyboard I would get one of the cheaper mechanicals like the Cooler Master Storm. For the PSU unless you plan on getting 2 GPUs 500w is plenty. http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ssr550rm should be good. Or if you do still want the 650w; http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ssr650rm
(And you don't even NEED a gold certified, that's just what you had so I went with it)

If it was my build I'd probably go with http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx600m or http://pcpartpicker.com/part/silverstone-power-supply-st50fp (I'd have to look up some reviews to be sure but Corsair and Silverstone are usually good)



For your case it's pretty much just personal preference, how much do you want to spend and what do you want it to look like. Personally I'd go with one of these depending on the budget..
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal-design-case-fdcaarcr2blw (cheapish)
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-300rwindowed (medium price)
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-case-casw810g1 (expensive)
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-cc9011022ww (super expensive)


For the monitor there's no other choice for me than the ASUS VG248QE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236313 $270 for 144hz? Yes pls. Depending on the games you play you might not care about the 144hz though, I don't know what else to recommend if that's the case.

For the mouse you can't really go wrong with a Deathadder or a SteelSeries Sensei

200th edit: It looks like both Haswell and GTX 700s are going to come out soon :thumbup: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_saemeuxnM[/ame]
 
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Thanks for the suggestions, TheYonderGod. A few points:
  • I will definitely reconsider the PSUs. I'd bought a larger one to leave room for (probable) future overclocking and (possible) future SLI. I'm thinking, though, I could probably upgrade the PSU if I go SLI in the future. That Corsair looks intriguing - especially at that price from NCIX.
  • Thanks for the case suggestions; I see your tastes run similar to mine (simple & clean). That cheapish Fractal Design one looks like it has a great sale this weekend as well.
  • I'll have to look into the monitor suggestion; I haven't read up much on current monitor technology. I was thinking of sticking with a 16:10 ratio, though. Do you know of a comparable monitor at that aspect ratio? Or does the AR matter less than I think?

The ergonomic keyboard is a requirement. I can't tell you how much of a difference they've made in the past - when I was a CS student, switching to an ergonomic saved my wrists. I don't code as much at home any more (and I have an ergo in the office) but I'm not rolling the dice. I've looked for ergos with mechanical switches; the only ones I've found either had very weird shapes and were quite pricey, or had close-to-standard shapes and were insanely expensive.

BTW, do you folks feel mechanical switches make that big a difference? :)

Thanks again,
- Mav
 
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