Mid-Level Gaming Rig Advice

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1

Hi,

I've been trying to build myself a nice gaming rig for x-mas. I have to build it from scratch because what I'm using right now hardly passes as a computer. I tried to keep it within the AU$1000-1200 range, but no matter what I do I always end up going way over it. 

Anyways, I think I have more or less the final build figured out at pcpartpicker, sans headset and keboard/mouse, which I'll buy separately. Also, I already have a monitor, an Acer 27" 1080p. I don't think I'll need anything better for now.

http://pcpartpicker.com/au/p/rDP9

How do you see it?

It's going to be mostly for gaming. I love the post-apoc genre, so the first games I'm gonna play will be Rage and Metro 2033. Eventually I'd like to add another GTX 670 in SLI, but that will depend on how much cash I can gather in the next month or two.

I won't be overclocking the CPU right away, so I'll wait a bit before buying the cooler too. At some point I'd also like to have a big mechanical HDD, but I'm in no hurry tbh. I have an external 500GB HDD where I keep media and random stuff and it's not even close to 20% filled.

I've read quite a few reviews for the main components before deciding. Also checked the specs of most stuff looking for nice features and compatibility. Is there anything where I've gone wrong? Compatibility problems? Is the MoBo alright or am I being a cheap ass? Parts where I'm wasting money away or others I fell short?

Those are my main concerns for now. I'd greatly appreciate any advice you may give.

Cheers.

 

EDIT: 

Final build should look like this: 

CPU: i5 3570K LGA1155 - $227

MoBo: AsRock Z77-Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 - $135

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3 2133 8GB (4x2) - $54

GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 WF2 OC 2GB - $399

SFX: ASUS Xonar DX - $81

HDD: Kingston HyperX 120GB Sanforce SATA3 SSD - $99

OpDr: Lite-On SATA DVD RW - $19

PSU: Silverstone Strider 750W G-E 80+ Gold - $175

Case: Thermaltake Overseer RX-I Full Tower - $135

Total: AU$1324

*Luckily everything but the PSU is at MSY, so cheaper than I thought. Plus no shipping costs.

2

Every thing is fine but i would go for the SeaSonic X Series X-850 instead because its cheaper just as good and its true seasonic because ocz is basically a rebranded seasonic

3

Hey! Thanks for the advice, I didn't know that about OCZ. I'd go for the seasonic X-850, but the cheapest I found here in aussi is about $265 (link). Man I wish I could just buy from Newegg, it's $140 there.

4

ocz is NOT seasonic.... ocz- i'd stay away from thir powr sullpys....

and get the 7970 unless you use adobe video products... and just get 8 gigs of ram, unless your doing vid work....

5

get a corsair tx-750. AU$170 

6

Yep, OCZ ain't Seasonic. XFX is. The good brands I know of are Seasonic, Corsair, Antec and XFX

7

This is good info. Thanks fellas.

So, for this build, and having in mind I'd like to go SLI in the near future, the bare minimum wattage I should get is 750W, right?

What about gold certified? I read everywhere that I should definitely not skimp on the PSU? Is 80+ Bronze enough efficiency?

I'm looking at several choices right now:

Antec HCP-750 80+ Gold - AU$189

Antec HCG-900 80+ Bronze - AU$155

Corsair TX750 V2 80+ Bronze - AU$149

Antec TP-750 80+ Bronze - AU$130


I'm kinda having a hard time with the PSU. For example, tech reviews said wonders about the OCZ, but after your advice I looked into more personal reviews and a lot of people were complaining about the cables and connectors, especially when using the MoBo I've chosen.

About the VGA and memory... the 7970 is a beast. I thought about getting that one instead of the 670, and I still might, but I'm really not into ATI cards (bad experience in the past). They are the same price here though, I'll think about it again for a couple of days. EDIT: Nevermind that. I actually have to go with the Geforce. The display I have is an nvidia 3D vision ready monitor not officially supported for AMD's HD3D. I might be able to work around it, but I don't think it's worth it IMHO.

Reducing RAM to 8GB saves me AU$32. Everything adds up, I'll keep it in mind. You have a point though, I'm not going to do any video editing so it might be overkill. EDIT2: Actually, I think your suggestion is spot on. Changed it to 8GB (2x4) but faster memory (1866). 

 

8

Silverstone Strider Gold Evolution 750W ST75F-G-E 80+ Gold $175

IMO, a great PSU right up there with the Corsairs and Seasonics.

Corsair TX750v2 is nice and all but it's not the modular version and only 80+ Bronze.

 

9

Hey jeffrly! It looks really good. Good reviews too. I'm switching to the Silverstone. I cannot select it in pcpartpicker, but it is in my cart now. Awesome advice mate!

Updated build: http://pcpartpicker.com/au/p/rDP9

10

Got the final build ready. I'll start ordering this week :) Thanks a lot for the advice!

CPU: i5 3570K LGA1155 - $227

MoBo: AsRock Z77-Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 - $135

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3 2133 8GB (4x2) - $54

GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 WF2 OC 2GB - $399

SFX: ASUS Xonar DX - $81

HDD: Kingston HyperX 120GB Sanforce SATA3 SSD - $99

OpDr: Lite-On SATA DVD RW - $19

PSU: Silverstone Strider 750W G-E 80+ Gold - $175

Case: Thermaltake Overseer RX-I Full Tower - $135

Total: AU$1324

*Luckily everything but the PSU is at MSY, so cheaper than I thought. Plus no shipping costs!

11

That 670 looks way overpriced. You could buy a 680 near that price range

12

It's pricy. Definitely cheaper at Newegg. But the cheapest 680 I can get here is $479. Also much better priced at Newegg. I'll remember next time I'm in the US lol. 

13

680 for a little more than $400

670 list

14

Id say Get a bigger SSD maybe, i botugh a 128Gb samsung 830 ive had my New PC a week & i have 35Gb left already! & Btw right now amd has 3 free games if you buy a 7950 or 7970

15

Hey Z. Unless I'm missing something, all that is in the US. I'm in Australia mate. Not a chance to buy at neweggs or amazon without insane shipping costs. Thanks for taking your time to search, though.

 

16

Hi BeyondNight. Yeah I had a samsung in the build before, but the kingston saves me $56 and it's only 8GB less. I don't need more than one or two games installed at a time, so I hope that'll do fine until I upgrade in a few months.

I wanna go with nvidia gpu because of my monitor. I'll admit I haven't used the 3D fuction much, but it's nice to have the choice. Good offer those three games, though. Is that in aussi too? 

17

Ahh, sorry. Didn't notice the "au" in pcpartpicker.

18

Get an XFX 7970 instead of a 670.

 

I dunno about that case, I'd look at an NZXT Phantom, Cooler Master HAF, or Fractal Designs case, they're great for the 100$ish range.

And a seperate hard drive for more storage space to keep the SSD clean.