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$1500 gaming build. Legit critiques needed.

post #1 of 11
11/10/12 at 9:04am
Thread Starter 
Case
NZXT Phantom 410 CA-PH410-G1 Gunmetal Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Black Trim Computer Case

CPU
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD (Non negotiable)'
OCed to around 4.2ghz


GPU
EVGA SuperClocked+ 02G-P4-2684-KR GeForce GTX 680 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Motherboard (OC Genie 2, easy overclock with one button on mobo)(blue)
MSI Z77A-GD65 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS


SSD (boot/media)
SAMSUNG 840 Series MZ-7TD250BW 2.5" 250GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)


Optical Drive
SONY Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1681S-0B - OEM

PSU
NZXT HALE82-N NP-1BN-0650A-US 650W ATX 12V 2.3 and EPS 12V 2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified

RAM (Blue to match mobo)
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model


CPU cooling (I don't like giant car engine air cooler blocks)
CORSAIR Hydro Series H60 (CWCH60) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler


Extras
BenQ latest Monitor TBA
x3 Coolermaster blue led fans 120mm

- As you can see no HDD and only 250GB SSD. I'm not a pack rat when it comes to files. If I download something for whatever reason, once it's served it's purpose...Its gone. I've had my curreny 320 gb laptop 3 years and only managed using 200G in 3 yrs.

Also rate this based on performance (scale of 1-10), not on biased opinion or price. Thanks guys.



Edited by iTzHughie - 11/10/12 at 9:08am
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post #2 of 11
11/10/12 at 9:16am
Interesting, I wonder if your build would outperform mine. This build is only 1100. I've worked on it yesterday for a couple hours.

CPU $215
Intel Core i5 3570k
Motherboard $140
Biostar TZ77XE4
Ram $80
Crucial Ballistix 16GB (2 x 8GB)
HDD $80
Western Digital WD Black 1TB
GPU $360
EVGA Geforce GTX 670
Case $75
Rosewill Blackhawk
Power Supply $65
Rosewill Hive 650W
SSD $90
SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC128B/WW 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Afrosword
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Afrosword
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post #3 of 11
11/10/12 at 10:14pm
I will give it a 9

first, you can go for a samsung 830 256gb ssd instead of a samsung 840 250gb, for the same price point of $190, you can an extra 6gb & a better write speed on compressible data.

two, you can go for a 750W psu instead of a $100 NZXT 650W, like EVGA SuperNOVA NEX750B or Antec TruePower New TP-750, both are 80+BRONZE 750W, you get a extra 100W higher wattage at no extra cost plus you dont have to worry about the psu on SLi config on your gpu gtx 680 in the future.

three, you can get a dvd burner LG DVD Burner 24X Black SATA Model GH24NS90 - OEM, for the same price as your DVD ROM only, you get a better speed of x24 instead of x18 & a you can burn dvd/cd with it.

four, you can get the antec kuhler 620 for the same price as H60, but performs better like H70 in dual fan mode, it is because of better tubing unless you buy the H60 version 2 but cost more.

five, you can check these mobo, GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H or ASRock Z77 Extreme4 before settling in msi gd65.
simple sandy
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BaGnI
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simple sandy
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post #4 of 11
11/11/12 at 7:31am
Thread Starter 
@xnuw

Strongly noted and I will make those changes to the PSU, SSD and Optical drive much thanks. I am going to get the h60 v2

Any reasons why those boards you've mentioned are worth the 'looking into'? What makes them attractive? Because I chose the MSI board for the automatic OC button feature it has built into the board itself.

Another thing, I plan on running with a 120hz 1080p monitor....So can I use a single gtx 680 connected to the monitor via dual link DVI and achieve from 60+ to 120fps?
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post #5 of 11
11/11/12 at 7:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by iTzHughie View Post

@xnuw
Strongly noted and I will make those changes to the PSU, SSD and Optical drive much thanks. I am going to get the h60 v2
Any reasons why those boards you've mentioned are worth the 'looking into'? What makes them attractive? Because I chose the MSI board for the automatic OC button feature it has built into the board itself.
Another thing, I plan on running with a 120hz 1080p monitor....So can I use a single gtx 680 connected to the monitor via dual link DVI and achieve from 60+ to 120fps?
Yes, that's what I do. Have a Benq XL240T, one of the best purchases I've ever made.
MicroCenter SSD is King
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MicroCenter SSD is King
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post #6 of 11
11/11/12 at 10:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iTzHughie View Post

@xnuw
Strongly noted and I will make those changes to the PSU, SSD and Optical drive much thanks. I am going to get the h60 v2
Any reasons why those boards you've mentioned are worth the 'looking into'? What makes them attractive? Because I chose the MSI board for the automatic OC button feature it has built into the board itself.
Another thing, I plan on running with a 120hz 1080p monitor....So can I use a single gtx 680 connected to the monitor via dual link DVI and achieve from 60+ to 120fps?

though the OC genie two button is a nice feature its a hit and miss, an incremental OC & stress testing is always the best way to make sure it is stable, here's a round-up z77 review be sure to read others too.
simple sandy
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BaGnI
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Samsung Spinpoint F1 HD102UJ 1TB/16MB Mushkin Enhanced Chronos 120GB SSD Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB/64MB LG GH22NS70 DVDRW SATA (Black) OEM 
CoolingCoolingOSMonitor
Cooler Master Hyper 212+ Cooler Master SickleFlow 120mm Red LED Fan  Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit SP1  Philips 32PFL 3605/98 LCD 
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Optical DriveCoolingMonitorMonitor
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simple sandy
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BaGnI
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CoolingCoolingOSMonitor
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KeyboardPowerCaseMouse
Logitech G11 Mushkin Enhanced Joule 800W 80+ Silver Cooler Master Elite RC-311 Razer DeathAdder 
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post #7 of 11
11/11/12 at 10:28pm
First of all overall I rate your build around a 8... To further boost your build I would personally not use ivy bridge and use the 2500k. NZXT is trash. In order to upgrade the fans in their cases they require you to buy from them (Or case mods). I am using the same motherboard as you and I love it to death. The OC Genie I don't use often, mostly because I'm too lazy to press the button. While you put builds together choose components based on quality. If it's high quality it's worth purchasing. Don't try to save a buck on a build, in the end you will be losing out. With that in mind don't make a computer that is completely ridiculous and you will never be able to fully utilize it in your life. We can give you advice but in the end you need to be completely happy knowing it will meet all your needs.
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post #8 of 11
11/11/12 at 10:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iTzHughie View Post

Another thing, I plan on running with a 120hz 1080p monitor....So can I use a single gtx 680 connected to the monitor via dual link DVI and achieve from 60+ to 120fps?

You will really enjoy this build. Should last you a long time and will be easily upgradeable.

My Crucial M4 is awesome, just be sure to update the drivers when you get it.

I also have the BenQ xl2420t and LOVE it. I run BF3 on ultra with great frames with my EVGA GTX 670 FTW (link)
I'd say go with the 670 ftw, save $80-$100 and eventually pair it up with a second one when the price drops below $220 or so.

There's not even a 5% performance difference between those cards, its just not worth the extra cash (for the 680) imo. Make sure to get a 750w power supply because you may eventually want to run a nice SLI setup.

Also don't forget that black friday and cyber monday are coming up. If you can wait, with some effort, you can save yourself some serious cash on those days.
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post #9 of 11
11/12/12 at 11:41am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fremish View Post

First of all overall I rate your build around a 8... To further boost your build I would personally not use ivy bridge and use the 2500k. NZXT is trash. In order to upgrade the fans in their cases they require you to buy from them (Or case mods). I am using the same motherboard as you and I love it to death. The OC Genie I don't use often, mostly because I'm too lazy to press the button. While you put builds together choose components based on quality. If it's high quality it's worth purchasing. Don't try to save a buck on a build, in the end you will be losing out. With that in mind don't make a computer that is completely ridiculous and you will never be able to fully utilize it in your life. We can give you advice but in the end you need to be completely happy knowing it will meet all your needs.

Noted, thank you for your advice. If you don't mind, I would like you to explain in extreme detail what you mean by 'You can only change the case fans if you buy from NZXT'. I've done about 3-4 weeks research on this case and I've never read any review or seen any video that says you can't change the case fans with whatever fan you like. If the case fans are 120mm, what's stopping me from simply unscrewing them and popping in another 120mm? Is it melted onto the case? I'm not doubting what you're saying, I just need clarification because this could impact my decision tremendously.

Quote:
Originally Posted by xnuw View Post

though the OC genie two button is a nice feature its a hit and miss, an incremental OC & stress testing is always the best way to make sure it is stable, here's a round-up z77 review be sure to read others too.

Noted, thanks! Will look into that link.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BDillon View Post

You will really enjoy this build. Should last you a long time and will be easily upgradeable.
My Crucial M4 is awesome, just be sure to update the drivers when you get it.
I also have the BenQ xl2420t and LOVE it. I run BF3 on ultra with great frames with my EVGA GTX 670 FTW (link)
I'd say go with the 670 ftw, save $80-$100 and eventually pair it up with a second one when the price drops below $220 or so.
There's not even a 5% performance difference between those cards, its just not worth the extra cash (for the 680) imo. Make sure to get a 750w power supply because you may eventually want to run a nice SLI setup.
Also don't forget that black friday and cyber monday are coming up. If you can wait, with some effort, you can save yourself some serious cash on those days.

It does actually make sense to wait until cyber monday doesn't it? Maybe with the saved cash I could run another GPU! I get what you and everyone else is saying about only a 5% difference b'tween the 680 and 670, but that 5% could mean alot in the future when these GTX 600 series are starting to become obsolete and I don't have cash to upgrade. And like Fremish said, if I have the cash and it makes me happy, I might as well get it. But I appreciate you looking out for me to help me save 100$ and thanks for the Cyber monday tip.
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post #10 of 11
11/15/12 at 9:51pm
You also might want to replace that 680 with a HD 7970. Superior performance for less money.
Schnauz I (current OC)
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Schnauz I (current OC)
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