First Build

[Joe_The_Plumber]

EDIT: Parts are all chosen/bought, will post pictures when it's put together

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/18VNT




ORIGINAL POST: Hey guys.... So I've saved up some money and decided it was time to get my own gaming orientated desktop, since all I have now is a laptop which was bought for school a few years ago!

The thing is I have literally no idea what I'm doing, how the parts I buy may interfere with eachother when put together, and what steps you guys may recommend me take. I feel comfortable with putting the actual computer together, but I am unsure about the buying process right now. I've researched here on previous builds and just through google and created this list:




My budget is about $1,100-1,200 excluding an OS and monitor. As you can see I also left out optical drives because that is what my main question is about. I am simply looking to be able to burn/download the digital copies of blu ray movies onto the computer but I am not sure what brand or model or anything to choose. I also would like the ability to burn regular cds. This is the only part of building the computer that I have no idea what to do about, and yet it seems so simple

So like I said above I am on a little bit of a budget, although it can be raised slightly for good reasons. This build totals to about $1,300 minus the optical drives, and I was wondering if anyone could point out any cheaper alternatives! I am already looking for a cheaper/better case but for the other options I'm really not sure what I could do.

I am mostly just looking for the Battlefield/Source/Elder scrolls games to be playable on possibly medium - high.



So to conclude.....

- Cheaper alternatives to CPU, Motherboard, Video card, or anything else?
- Possible alternatives to hard drives (is a SSD really worth that much??? I originally had just one 2tb drive but made the change)
- Optical drive options for playing/burning blu ray and burning cds
- Hell.... even if you suggest a completely different computer under that budget it would be fine!!



Let me know if you have any questions because I felt this was too long to begin with and left some things out. Thanks for reading though!

 

[Cloakedsphere]

First off - You dont need a CPU cooler unless you absolutely plan on overclocking.

If you want to burn/download digital copies of blu ray movies you will need a blu ray dvd burner/drive. Really any brand doesnt matter. Just what ever is the cheapest.

I would get a better power supply. Go with seasonic or another really good brand. Antec is just an iffy brand imo.

Asrock motherboards... I really suggest picking something different there too. If your looking for gaming and more potential out of your machine go with an asus or gigabyte G series board.

 

[Wizekraker]

You could get coolmaster case those are around 50-60 bucks.
Also do really 250GB SSD, 120GB pretty good for OS and hand full of games..

 

[Simon]

Grab a corsair HX series power supply. At least 650W. They are modular so its super clean in the case.

 

[Snipeye]

I second iSimon's suggestion on the PSU. I'm not a fan of Antec personally.

When it comes to Blu-Ray drives, two important things to note:

1) You will need to buy a Blu-ray BURNER. Not drive; you're looking to burn and make copies of blu-rays.

2) The software to burn Blu-rays is NOT usually included with the burner. They're usually OEM so you will need to look for your own software to buy (which do vary and cost differently)

I just picked up an LG drive for myself; works perfect. Got it at microcenter; came with additional software so I can watch the blu-rays. You may be able to score a similar deal, but that's usually to just read blu-rays. Burning them is a different matter entirely, and are rarely, if ever, included with a bought drive.

The rest of your build looks good to me. You could save the $$$ on the Evo and maybe go with a lower sized SSD (maybe get one of the new SSHDs), but that's a pretty good build to me. I would personally go with a full tower case, but that's a personal and future upgrade preference.

 

[Simon]

Also to tack on..

- Cheaper alternatives to CPU, Motherboard, Video card, or anything else?

Why cheap out? You'll end up upgrading very soon again if you do. Spend a bit more now to save more later. The CPU and video card are top notch at the moment.

 

[Cloakedsphere]

Also to tack on..



Why cheap out? You'll end up upgrading very soon again if you do. Spend a bit more now to save more later. The CPU and video card are top notch at the moment.

Very soon is generally in 3-5 years. Its not as often as people think. By the 3-5 years is up he could have another budget of 1000USD to do just for upgrades. So he would be top of the line either way if he went cheap or if he went expensive now. Im still running an AMD phenom II X4 955 and a GTX 560Ti. Nothing overclocked and its been the same for almost a year now. The only upgrade I did was to the video card and I have had no problems playing every game at maximum settings on my current set up.

 

[Wizekraker]

Very soon is generally in 3-5 years. Its not as often as people think. By the 3-5 years is up he could have another budget of 1000USD to do just for upgrades. So he would be top of the line either way if he went cheap or if he went expensive now. Im still running an AMD phenom II X4 955 and a GTX 560Ti. Nothing overclocked and its been the same for almost a year now. The only upgrade I did was to the video card and I have had no problems playing every game at maximum settings on my current set up.

Even Bf3 with steady 60fps?
I doubt it....I run Superclocked 570 and even I dont get steady 60 frames all the time. That with most setting at low or off and at rez 1400x900

 

[Silent_Predator]

Personally, for the PSU I would recommend Silverstone.. hands down the best PSU Ive ever owned. As for a Corsair PSU.. I had 1 literaly blow up in a previous build.. sounded like a firecracker. Turned out to be a bad cheap Chinese resistor that fed back into the PSU. Try to stay away from the "big" name PSU manufacturers.

This link is to nothing but Silverstone PSU's:: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ategory=58&Manufactory=2031&SpeTabStoreType=1

 

[Cloakedsphere]

Even Bf3 with steady 60fps?
I doubt it....I run Superclocked 570 and even I dont get steady 60 frames all the time. That with most setting at low or off and at rez 1400x900

Yes. 1920x1080p on ultra settings getting around 70 FPS at all times. I have no issues with frame drops. You can find other video's around youtube on a build similar to mine that runs it just fine.

 

[Joe_The_Plumber]

Okay I did a little more research today and found a drive that suits my needs fine.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136252


I don't plan on over clocking anything... don't really see the need and I would probably screw it up lol... so you don't think I should get a CPU cooler? Also, with that in mind, is the i5-3750k really worth the extra $30 over the standard i5-3570? Thank youoououo

EDIT: Here it is after I've changed a few things.... including that hard drive. Thanks for the suggestions so far!

[ame]http://s1123.photobucket.com/user/MajorYozzie/media/comp2.png.html[/ame]

 

[Snipeye]

1) That drive is a good one. No bundled software so you can't play blu-rays off the bat.

2) I really don't think you need the additional CPU cooler. The included one with the retail package is good enough (unless you buy OEM, then you'll need it).

3) Just go with the k version. You never know when you decide to go overclock it just to try it. And down the line, you may want to just OC like hell instead of buying a new CPU (that's when you buy the 3rd party heatsink)

 

[Cloakedsphere]

Oh my WOW.

That case is massively expensive. Not saying you wont like it but I wouldnt spend more then 75$ on a case. Double that? No thanks lol

 

[Snipeye]

It's a full tower. A LOT more room, more and bigger fans, and such towers usually come with additional features that mid-towers may not be able to incorporate due to cost and size. If you pay $75 for a tower, that's a crappy tower. I believe Lian-Li has a metal case on wheels that's priced somewhere between $300-500. And that brings me to my next statement: That's case is NOT massively expensive.

This and this and this are massively expensive. At that price, it's like a fashion statement or pure $$$ bragging rights.

Great towers can be had for between $100-200, usually by giving 1-3 more internal 3.5" bays, another 3-5 external 3.5" bays, two additional 120mm fans, motherboard tray, and more interior helping to improve airflow, cord management, and making it easier in times you need to troubleshoot.

Everyone has their preference with cases. Mid-towers would usually cost anywhere between 40-80% less than the full tower, depending on which brand/model you compare the two of them against, but you have to pay closer attention to the size dimensions when it comes the bigger GPUs, # of hard drives you can install, and will force you to figure out how to properly manage your cables inside the case for good airflow.

 

[Joe_The_Plumber]

Yeah I couldn't seem to find many full tower cases that were simplistic enough for my tastes that didn't go upwards of $180-200. I am okay with paying that.... it seems to be a big and quality product so I don't mind. The case is one of the few things that isn't final though. I've got a few days before I plan on buying everything and I just wanted to get a case in there so I could get an idea of a total amount. I do like it and it's possible to make the final cut, but I am still shopping around for size/price/simplicity.

 

[Snipeye]

Some people hate it, but I got the CoolerMaster HAF 932 full tower case. 3x120mm fans + 1x230mm side fan. Runs super quiet, temps are always low. 5 internal 5.25" drive bays plus another 6 external bays. On newegg, it's about $135.

 

[TheYonderGod]

What do you need to burn blu rays for? If it's just to watch movies on your tv it's much easier and cheaper to just stream them.. some blu ray players, game consoles, other media players etc, will allow you to stream stuff from your PC to your TV. I'll include one in my build but I really suggest saving the money if that's all you want it for. The one in the screenshot above isn't a writer btw.

If you refuse to learn how to overclock (It's very simple these days) then don't get the 'K' and don't get an aftermarket cooler. I'm going to assume you do want to and include these in my suggested build.

The case you picked is a really nice case but personally I wouldn't spend that much on it at this budget. How about the Antec Eleven Hundred or Fractal Design Define XL R2 ($100)? Don't be afraid of mid towers either, they are plenty big for a single or dual GPU build and without trying to fit tons of water cooling.

Here's what I would get (except minus the optical drive, and add a sound card)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.17 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.81 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.20 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($56.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($98.76 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define XL R2 (Black Pearl) ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($74.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-207MBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1241.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-30 03:36 EDT-0400)

 

[5starGeneralAlphaSnake]

I'd wait a couple of days-2 weeks for haswell to pop out.. Will drop the prices on things a bit.

 

[maD]

Some people hate it, but I got the CoolerMaster HAF 932 full tower case. 3x120mm fans + 1x230mm side fan. Runs super quiet, temps are always low. 5 internal 5.25" drive bays plus another 6 external bays. On newegg, it's about $135.

Done do it! I have a HAF 932 and yes it is a quite case but it also is a dam dust magnet.

 

[maD]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-i7-3770-Quad-Core-Processor/dp/B007SZ0EHE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369917347&sr=8-2&keywords=Intel+Core+i7-3770K"]Intel Core i7-3770[/ame] - $289.99

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-CrossFireX-NVIDIA-Motherboard-GA-Z77X-D3H/dp/B007R21KBC/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1369918091&sr=1-1&keywords=Gigabyte+GA-Z77X-D3H"]Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H[/ame] - $137.99

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Mini-Displayport-PCI-Express-Graphic-GV-R795WF3-3GD/dp/B007581QHG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1369919134&sr=1-1&keywords=7950"]Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD 7950 3GB[/ame] - $309.99

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-240-Pin-Platforms-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9/dp/B004CRSM4I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369918296&sr=8-1&keywords=8gb+ram"]Corsair Vengeance 8 GB[/ame] - $59.99

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Fractal-Design-Define-Cases-FD-CA-DEF-R4-BL-W/dp/B008HD3E6Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369918370&sr=8-1&keywords=Fractal+Design+Define+R3+Black+Pearl"]Fractal Design Define R4[/ame] - $89.99

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-CP-9020039-NA650W-Certified-Performance/dp/B005E98I0G/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1369918446&sr=1-4&keywords=650w+power+supply+modular"]Corsair TX650 Modular PSU[/ame] - 104.99

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Series-120GB-internal-MZ-7TD120BW/dp/B009NHAF06/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369918700&sr=8-1&keywords=120gb+ssd"]Samsung 840 120GB SSD[/ame] - $98.76

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST1000DM003/dp/B005T3GRNW/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1369918893&sr=1-3&keywords=1tb+hard+drive"]Seagate Barracuda 1 TB[/ame] - $67.24

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I couldn't tell if you wanted to be able to burn blu-rays to just read them because the current drive you have can't burn blu ray discs.

If you want to be able to burn onto blu ray discs

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/BW-12B1ST-BLK-Blu-ray-Internal-Encryption/dp/B004ZMG55I/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369919434&sr=8-2&keywords=internal+blu+ray+burner"]ASUS BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu Ray Burner[/ame] - $69.99

If you want to be able to just read blu rays.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-Internal-Playback-UH12NS29/dp/B008G9V60K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369919430&sr=8-2&keywords=internal+blu+ray+drive"]LG UH12NS29[/ame] - $49.99

Total with Blu Ray Burner: $1228.93

Total with Blu Ray Reader: $1208.93
___________________________________________________________

Notes: With proper budgeting you can get waaay more out of a system as high end as this one and as for a after market cooler you can always get those after you have a run with the stock solution and see if the heat/performance/noise ratio is to your liking.


CPU: It's a i7-3770 so its performance would be amazing for years to come and has boost clock of 3.9GHz

Motherboard: Really reliable board with pretty much everything you need on it.

GPU: The 7950 because its a way better bang then the 670 in performance and price and with a lot of the newer games the 3GB of memory on the card will definitely be a benefit over time rather then the 2GB from the 670.

Ram: 8GB Vengeance memory because you needed ram and because its cheap, as well is reliable form a great memory manufacturer.

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 it is one hell of a nice case to look at and has filters on all the intake fans that can be easily removed and cleaned and put back, on top of that the inside is also nice roomy and a very nicely made. Also this is probably going to be the next case I use when I build my room mate his system.

PSU: the 650w will be perfect for this system, its the right about of power for the right price so you cant really beat that, also it is a modular power supply so you can just plug in the cables you need and not have to worry about all these other cables just hanging able.

SSD: The ssd is 120GB which is more then enough space for you to put your OS and programs. I have a 120GB ssd myself and have all my applications installed onto it and still have 60GB free because all my games/downloads are on my other drives.

Hard Drive: a 1tb drive would be good for the budget because odds are if you take you long to fill it up if you try and aim for that including your steam games and all.

DVD/Blu Ray Drive: What more can be said for those, they do what they are supposed to.