[gabeswinney]

I recently started research into building my first rig. It will be mostly used for gaming and I would love for it to handle current games as well as near future titles at top settings around 60fps.

I am really hoping to learn more about overclocking and so of course would like to know if that is possible with this setup. Any information is appreciated! Thank you.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DZ5x

 

[SB Pako]

I would make a few changes.

If you dont mind amd i would go for the 7950 or possible 7970. I would go with the Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950

I would get a better motherboard. Even though the asrock was recommended before a bunch of issues are popping up with them. I would go for the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H.

Also i would spend a little more and get the Samsung 840 120gb.

 

[gabeswinney]

Thanks! Making adjustments based on your advice.

 

[tyler31763]

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/his-video-card-h797qm3g2m I would suggest this gpu if you can bump your budget up a tad.

 

[Biorganic]

I would also go for a 7950. My sapphire 7950 boost runs 1200 mhz core and never even hits 70 C on air, also VRMs stay 1-3 degrees warmer than core, which are very good temps for VRMs... I have not had any problems with my extreme4 mobo but I do know that gigabyte, msi, and asus use better VRMs.

 

[trailer park boy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SB Pako

I would make a few changes.

If you dont mind amd i would go for the 7950 or possible 7970. I would go with the Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950

I would get a better motherboard. Even though the asrock was recommended before a bunch of issues are popping up with them. I would go for the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H.

Also i would spend a little more and get the Samsung 840 120gb.

also a higher quality single rail PSU would be better

 

[Biorganic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trailer park boy

also a higher quality single rail PSU would be better

# of rails is mostly inconsequential unless worried about OCP on HIGH wattage systems.

Try to find a reasonable PSU from the recommended list:

http://www.overclock.net/t/183810/faq-recommended-power-supplies/0_50

 

[tyler31763]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trailer park boy

also a higher quality single rail PSU would be better

I didn't even think to look at the psu when reviewing the build. I would recommend this http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-power-supply-capstone550m in place of the current psu its modular and gold certified.

 

[Biorganic]

The capstones are exceptional value for the money. Some of the best built and perfomring PSUs around. Superflower is the OEM iirc.

 

[BiG StroOnZ]

Few things I noticed. If you're going to spend about $50 on Memory, at least make it the Samsung "WonderRam" (Samsung Low Volt Ram, "Green", 32nm Ram etc.). With that ram you can at least overclock it to 1866 or 2133MHz fairly easy without much work.

A 64GB SSD is pretty useless, at least spend about $100 and get a 128GB SSD. You can get a crucial M4 128GB for about $100 on Amazon.

Sound cards are pretty useless IMO, unless you are trying to do some studio grade work. Onboard audio has vastly improved, I say that $40 is a waste of money. A good pair of headphones or sound system would be a better investment (got mine for $50 used off of eBay, and it thumps and is LOUD).

Lastly, you can get that same monitor (but 1080p variation) off of Amazon.com for $147 It's listed as used, but Like New. So usually that means open box item. Really no point in spending the extra $150 practically for 1200p, doesn't seem worth it.

You can use the money you saved on that right there to get a better case or larger SSD.

 

[gabeswinney]

Thank you guys for the advice! Based on that info, and other forums this is where I am at now

I had a hard time switching the monitor after reading about how much people like the IPS displays, but I had multiple folks suggest going with the cheaper version.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/E5b4

 

[Biorganic]

I would get a different 7970 than that. For just a few dollars more you can get much better cooling. Should allow you to OC more easily without hitting thermal wall

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008

 

[gabeswinney]

Thanks, I just switched to the Sapphire card. When you say cooling do you mean on the card or a better CPU cooler?

 

[adridu59]

I'd go for the Plextor M5S for the SSD, it performs just the same as the Samsung 840 but it has MLC NAND.

The Samsung memory is out of stock... switched for G.Skill Sniper's.

Also the WD Blue WD10EZEX is actually a better performer than the Black (althrough being a Blue), it's the newest and only single-platter 1TB drive from Western Digital (more info here).

Go with a 7950 instead of the 7970. It's 3-5% slower on stock clocks but it's significantly cheaper. In fact the 7970 has worse value because it's the flagship card. The Gigabyte is the cheapest great card so I'd go with that.

The 650W Capstone PSU is cheaper than the 550W right now so I'd go for that.

Also, for the mouse and keyboard first I'd take the Logitech G400 which is a great mouse and cheaper than the Razer, and also I'd go with a mechanical keyboard like the CM Storm QuickFire which are much better than regular's (MX Brown switches are my pick!).

Lastly, for the case you could go with the Corsair 400R or NZXT Phantom 410. The Corsair has top-notch build quality.

Here's the corresponding partlist: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/E6rY

Total: $1368.81

 

[trailer park boy]

the hyper 212 comes with 1 120mm fan,,,and its not very good,,,might be a idea to purchase a couple better quality fans,,for a push/pull,,,especially if your planning on overclocking,,,,,,or you could buy them later,,its up to you

 

[adridu59]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trailer park boy

the hyper 212 comes with 1 120mm fan,,,and its not very good,,,might be a idea to purchase a couple better quality fans,,for a push/pull,,,especially if your planning on overclocking,,,,,,or you could buy them later,,its up to you

I would go straight on a NZXT Havik 140 then, I have to agree that the 212 Evo is starter cooling.

 

[gabeswinney]

Okay, thank you again for the input! This is where I am at now after integrating some of your recommendations.

Much appreciation!

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/E78g

 

[adridu59]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gabeswinney

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/E78g

Looks good but then again:
- the Samsung memory is out of stock (just have a look at the product page, all sellers are OOS and have been for quite some time) so I'd go with the G.Skill's instead
- I would go for the Plextor M5S which is $5 cheaper and performs the exact same while having MLC NAND instead of TLC (check the performance chart here - the higher performing Samsung 840 is the 250GB one, not the 120GB)
- the Caviar Blue WD10EZEX is a better performer than the Black and this althrough being a Blue (I think it's intentional from WD as they want to get rid of their 500GB platters)
- the 650W Rosewill Capstone is actually cheaper than the 550W so I would go with it even if it's not needed right now

 

[gabeswinney]

Thanks again. More adjustments made. I did some more research and switched out the recomended components. Except for the Samsung ram, I found some on eBay.

Can't wait to put it together and start learning more about overclocking!

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/E7Xo

 

[adridu59]

Looks good, I just forgot about the monitor - I'd go with the Dell U2312HM which is e-IPS and has great color accuracy!

Checkout HardwareCanucks' review:
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/51995-dell-ultrasharp-u2312hm-23-monitor-review.html

Also the NZXT Phantom 410 is a better chassis with more cable management holes and modular HDD cage - a more modern chassis.

- http://pcpartpicker.com/p/E8h2