Hey Tek Syndicate how does this machine look to you guy as a simple gaming rig?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WStO
You've got a $50 bit of headroom to buy a better GPU. 7950 > 7870
[br]Edit: You might need to spend $$ on a slightly better PSU to accomodate that card. I'd recommend 500-550W. You won't regret that upgrade
I would go with this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WSCX
The Z77 board is going to allow you to overclock, and the Phanteks PH-TC12DX will handle a good 4.6gHz. The Silverstone TJ08-E is an actual mITX case, that looks far better, has better build quality, and is smaller. The Seasonic G 550 is a more appropriately sized PSU that will allow for a lot of overclocking, plus - it's fully modular and 80+ Gold. Very good build quality, as well. I switched the RAM out for a blue stick, as well, so it looks better with the P8Z77i.
Thanks for the advice I put in a MSI 7950 and still had 70 watts of wiggle room.
What performance value would I get for OCing? I have never done it before but is it worth it?
I would still strongly recommend a 550W PSU for some very good reasons. You have a "k" edition CPU which has an unlocked mutliplier for overclocking. The value of the 7950 is its ability to overclock beyond other high-tier GPUs. You need more watts for that OC headroom. The extra $$ should be neglible. I think you should go ahead and harness the potential of your system ;)
It is definitely worth it. If you are already buying an unlocked CPU, meant for overclocking, why drown it with a locked motherboard? You can get much more performance out of your system, and more usable life out of it. Anywhere from 5 to 50% more performance, depending on the OC. For a 4.6gHz OC, probably 20% faster in computational aspects.
Sorry to say most ITX Z77 boards still have locked voltages due to it being ITX, OC will be difficult. Compaines don't expect you to OC on an ITX build due to a small amount of room for a good heatsink. My best bet would be to check reviews on the MB to see if people are bitching about locked voltages, if they aren't then OC away. And personal preference, im a gamer and have a 1 TB hard drive and a 120 SSD and my SSD is almost full with just OS on it and my 1 TB is like half full with games so I would opt the SSD out of the build and pick up like a 1 TB Western Digital Blue or something for more storage.
Logan did an overclock for the 3770k on that board just fine... (4.5ghz I believe?)
Awesome, good to know the motherboard is capable.