New build in Canada

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1

Hi all, new user and looking for build advice. I'm looking to get back to desktops. Haven't had a desktop pc in about 7years as work provided laptops / work machines and looking to build my own pc again. I'm not new to the actual building, just miles behind on the technology / specs. 

Location: Toronto, Canada 

Purpose: tv/movie streaming, playing GW2 DOTA2 / 2013 titles (Bioshock Infinite, etc) on high settings at a good framerate, programming for work (no specific requirements for this). Resolution used is 1920x1080. This monitor currently (not replacing it atm). 

OS, keyboard, mouse, monitor not required. I do not need an optical drive with this build. 


other requirements: SSD, case/mobo with front audio + front usb 3.0. I am capable of overclocking with a list of the safe settings (Can look up easily enough) so feel free to include oc builds. I have no preferences when it comes to intel / amd or nvidia / ati/amd 

This is what I have in mind so far and I'm trying to trim this build down to 850-900 or so 

[url=http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/vSgK]PCPartPicker part list[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/vSgK/by_merchant/]Price breakdown by merchant[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/vSgK/benchmarks/]Benchmarks[/url]

[b]CPU:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i53570k]Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor[/url] ($217.99 @ NCIX)

[b]CPU Cooler:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr1]Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler[/url] ($27.99 @ NCIX)

[b]Motherboard:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/asrock-motherboard-z77extreme4]ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard[/url] ($109.99 @ Canada Computers)

[b]Memory:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/gskill-memory-f317000cl11d8gbxl]G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory[/url] ($48.99 @ Newegg Canada)

[b]Storage:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st1000dm003]Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive[/url] ($69.79 @ DirectCanada)

[b]Storage:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/kingston-internal-hard-drive-sh103s3120g]Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk[/url] ($100.99 @ Computer Valley)

[b]Video Card:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/evga-video-card-02gp43660kr]EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card[/url] ($244.99 @ Canada Computers)

[b]Case:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/nzxt-case-s210e001]NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case[/url] ($63.21 @ NCIX)

[b]Power Supply:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/rosewill-power-supply-hive650]Rosewill Hive 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply[/url] ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)

[b]Total:[/b] $963.93

[i](Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)[/i]
[i](Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-04 15:27 EST-0500)[/i]


[i](Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)[/i]
[i](Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-04 15:15 EST-0500)[/i]

I'm fairly certain the psu is overkill, but don't know what I can drop down to, price wise and have quality. For the memory, I'm not sure if that should be replaced by 1600mhz with lower CAS. I'm fine with swapping any of the parts out (as long as there's an ssd and my needs / requirements are met). Thanks for any help in advance.

2

I must say that you've trimmed down this build to best price/performance ratio you can get. In other words if you need it to get cheaper you'll have to get a smaller psu and cheaper case or lose a little performance.

3

We can help you drop some dollars if you want good sir and still maintain pretty solid performance,first is that power supply. A XFX 550 here : http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9 It has a 5 year warranty, 2 less amps on the 12v rail, stronger 3.3v and 5v rails and for $50 it is a steal. It has more then enough power for your system and allow you a nice OC on that CPU.

Next would be the GTX660Ti, you could replace it with a HD7870 and OC the heck out of the HD7870. It is $20-40 cheaper and when you OC the 7870 is starts to pull away from the GTX660ti. Think of it as a cheaper GTX660ti, iam not sure how either of these cards do with live streaming but i would guess streaming is more internet bandwitdh based then graphics horsepower.

That is as far as i would go , we can start to knock down the ram speed and the motherboard quality to save a few dollars but i do not think those are worth the loss.

4

The memory was originally going to be underclocked to 1600 and the timings tightened to 9cas as I was having issues finding 1600mhz 9cas ram cheaper than the 2133 in Canada (not sure how).. Ive since swapped it to the 

[b]Memory:[/b]  [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl9d8gbxl]G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory[/url]  ($34.99 @ Canada Computers) 

since 1600mhz and 9cas was all I wanted out of it. From what I've seen, there's no real noticeable benefit past 1600mhz during regular usage (not heavy video editing / rendering / etc) and 9cas is definitely wanted for gaming vs the 11

The gpu and psu suggestions are greatly appreciated, the 7870 benchmarks-wise looks exactly like what I was looking for to replace the 660TI without downgrading to a 650TI. The 550w psu should be plenty to handle a decently overclocked 3570k with a 7870 (at least according to my math). Dropped the 1tb hdd as I have a 500gb I plan to cannibalize from the current pc, and I have plenty of network storage shared over lan so that will hold me just fine with my ssd until i can pick up a 2-3tb mechanical sometime later when the prices drop. 

Currently looking through ssd / case info and reviews to see if I can make any changes there. 

http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/vVKr