Project Reality Forums

Hello. I am new to custom building PC's and I am just wondering if this setup would be decent enough, given a graphics update to something such as a Nvidia 560ti, to play a game like BF3 comfortably? I'm also not sure if the case itself would be large enough, etc and if the system will work when put together (Do I need more..)?

Corsair Vengeance Blue 16 GB DDR3 SDRAM Dual Channel Memory Kit CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B

GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K

Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN3-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0 and Black Interior

Rosewill HIVE Series HIVE-750 750W Continuous @40?C, 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified, Modular Design, Single +12V Rail, ATX12V v2.31/EPS12V v2.92, SLI Ready, CrossFire Ready, Active-PFC Power Supply
Newegg.com - Rosewill HIVE Series HIVE-750 750W Continuous @40?C, 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified, Modular Design, Single +12V Rail, ATX12V v2.31/EPS12V v2.92, SLI Ready, CrossFire Ready, Active-PFC Power Supply

Sony Optiarc DVD/CD-Rewritable Drive 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Beige SATA Model AD-7280S-02
Newegg.com - Sony Optiarc DVD/CD-Rewritable Drive 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Beige SATA Model AD-7280S-02

First, the COOLER MASTER HAF 922 is a huge case, you will make use of it for years to come.

Most important suggestion, buy a different, higher quality PSU. Rosewill is a budget brand and do not manufacture their own PSUs, they stick a Rosewill label on cheapo 3rd party PSUs.

Less important suggestion, buy yourself a SSD for your OS and primary games, when you can afford it,

Next suggestion, as always new tech is jsut around the corner, but the GTX 660 (and GTX 660ti?) is due for release soon, if you can hold out a few weeks using your existing GPU, do so.

Your case should be fine. But your motherboard, quite on the expensive side. Have you thought about open box deals?

Newegg.com - Open Box: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Also, try out this PSU instead.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139021

mangeface wrote:Your case should be fine. But your motherboard, quite on the expensive side. Have you thought about open box deals?

Newegg.com - Open Box: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Also, try out this PSU instead.


Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply

+1 to this whole post

I'll just shamelessly quote myself + what mangeface said

Beee8190 wrote:You could easily get away with lot cheaper motherboard and hardly loose any extras. If you're not going to SLI /CF, boards with 1 PCE-E 16 lanes, USB 3 and decent power (like 8+2) phasing is all 90% of us will ever need.

RAM - Since price difference is almost negliable btw 1600Mhz and 1886Mhz. Get 1886Mhz, be it corsair, g-skill or whatever

Seagate.... I'd ditch that trash. WD offers 2 to 3 years warranty on same harddrives for about 4$ difference. Seagate is backing up there products in US with one year warranty...thats just pathetic

PSU - on second though, the TX 650 should still be enough, even for future SLI \ CF


Hard choice with the graphics card though - rumors suggest the 660 Ti will come closer to 300$ mark and it wont be out for at least another month and half.

(theres are ALWAYS leaked benchmarks, PCB pics or whatever month or two before actual release)

I too was going to grab the 660Ti but got sick of waiting and got XFX 7850 and I'm happy enough. If I can justify switching to 660Ti, I just might sell my 7850 though.

I also would not expect the 660Ti is going to be anything than like 25% faster at best.

Indeed, about mobo... AsRock is good, but they have few things that they have to work on on their mobos. If have money, ASUS or MSI. ASUS - expensive, but its price for quality. MSI - 2nd expensive, but lacks few things that ASUS have. And of course, its the taste. Someone like ASUS options, someone MSI. There is 3rd option as well - Gigabyte. Nice mobos, but on cheapo side if rest is really expensive. AsRock would be my last choise, because don't have any experience with their new line.

ASUS - Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z77-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

MSI - Newegg.com - MSI Z77A-GD65 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

And about PSU - Corsair bad *** and all the way.

About HDD - Western Digital FTW! Most reliable HDD's what I had. The good one are Hitachi as well.

Ok, reading your suggestions I did take into consideration that the Motherboard may be a tad bit expensive, but I am wary of going too cheap. Gigabyte does seem a tad cheapo in some aspects, so I changed the mobo to ASUS. Can't justify spending more money on the PSU though, based on the ratings I have seen on various websites and recommendations from other forums the Rosewill seems like it will do just fine. I also changed the RAM , 16GB was overkill so I went with an 8GB setup for that. I also changed to Western Digital, based on reviews and suggestions from other forums it seems like a good move for only a few dollars more and half a TB less. My main concern is dust and heat over a long time period (I am hoping to get 5+ years out of this, which is also why I am going with an i5 instead of an i7), which is also another reason why I am making the changes. Will this revised setup still be workable?
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CORSAIR Dominator Platinum 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 Desktop Memory Model CMD8GX3M2A1866C9 *edit: Can anyone find a website that has this in stock?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820233284
__________________________________________________________________________
ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.com - ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
__________________________________________________________________________
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
__________________________________________________________________________
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1502FAEX 1.5TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1502FAEX 1.5TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
__________________________________________________________________________
COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN3-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0 and Black Interior
__________________________________________________________________________
Rosewill HIVE Series HIVE-750 750W Continuous @40?C, 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified, Modular Design, Single +12V Rail, ATX12V v2.31/EPS12V v2.92, SLI Ready, CrossFire Ready, Active-PFC Power Supply
Newegg.com - Rosewill HIVE Series HIVE-750 750W Continuous @40?C, 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified, Modular Design, Single +12V Rail, ATX12V v2.31/EPS12V v2.92, SLI Ready, CrossFire Ready, Active-PFC Power Supply
__________________________________________________________________________
Sony Optiarc DVD/CD-Rewritable Drive 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Beige SATA Model AD-7280S-02
Newegg.com - Sony Optiarc DVD/CD-Rewritable Drive 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Beige SATA Model AD-7280S-02

Newegg.com - MSI Z77A-GD65 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Cheaper Motherboard, and does OC'ing just finnee (currently at 4.3GHz on an i7-2600k). Can spend the saved money on an Nvidia 670 ? (and it runs on "military grade components", which is a load of marketing bull, but still seems to work )

I agree with you 8GB is easily enough for RAM, I don't think I've ever really gone above 5GB being used, and that's pretty heavy.

But:
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXM
OR
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR

for cheaper alternatives, and G.skill are pretty good with RAM, not as amazing well known as Corsair, but still one of the best.

Don't forget to look for a CPU cooler, the stock ones are not so great for longevity and cooling, and with the size case you have, pretty much anything should fit... Noctua are one of the best for near silent air cooling. No need to look into water cooling really, its a tad overpriced unless you do the whole system in it and build it yourself, and even then its bloody expensive.

G.Skill seems like a rather good deal actually and I can actually find it in stock...Maybe not as good on the heat/dust protection/overclocking but effective enough. I looked at the MSI, but I am preferential towards ASUS.

Yup those dominator sticks are pretty expensive compared to there venegance series BUT I love the look of em

The build looks pretty solid now.

I agree with pedz, the new MSI looks pretty solid but so are the sabertooth boards.If you like LOADS of 4 pin connectors and temp reading chips as well other extras, the sabertooth is an awsome board, although bit more expensive.

I can't comment on the rosewill PSU as I never had any and user experiences vary quite a deal..

- Why do so many seem to hate Rosewill PSUs - Power-Supplies-PC-Cases-Case-Mods - CPU-Components

Only thing what's missing is now an SSD drive. Very popular and propably rightly so are samsung 830, corsair gt series, crucial m4 as well some others.

Lovely build again m8

Well Corsair Dominator Platinum is Badass RAM, but its still up to you.

About PSU, just go with Corsair - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750M 750W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Semi Modular High Performance Power Supply - Its semi-modular: less wire in your PC, that is not needed. With Corsair you just can't go wrong.

Beee8190 wrote:PSU - on second though, the TX 650 should still be enough, even for future SLI \ CF

Except that the TX series isn't modular, and the 650 has enough PCI plugs for 1 GPU.

Cossack112 wrote:Indeed, about mobo... AsRock is good, but they have few things that they have to work on on their mobos. If have money, ASUS or MSI. ASUS - expensive, but its price for quality. MSI - 2nd expensive, but lacks few things that ASUS have. And of course, its the taste. Someone like ASUS options, someone MSI. There is 3rd option as well - Gigabyte. Nice mobos, but on cheapo side if rest is really expensive. AsRock would be my last choise, because don't have any experience with their new line.

ASUS - Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z77-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

MSI - Newegg.com - MSI Z77A-GD65 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Yes, I would've suggest ASUS, particularly the one I have, but his original is the Z77 chipset, while the one I went with is a Z68. I'm still very happy with mine though.

Newegg.com - Open Box: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

That's what I bought, and it's extremely badass.

Cossack112 wrote:And about PSU - Corsair bad *** and all the way.

Haha, I agree. Corsair is just completely awesome. Except I have a Kingwin PSU, but I do have their memory and H100 cooler.

I suggest this SSD.
Newegg.com - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC 7mm Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Well I must say the Sabertooth motherboard is a bit over-priced. I highly recommend you find the P8Z77-V motherboard but not the PRO version. I have the P8Z68-V which is mostly the same board besides the chipset and it works very well.


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Looking at the cooler master case, it only has 2 USB ports so I will probably change for a cooler master full tower with 4-6 USB ports & USB 3.0. Other than that I think I have a decent build and idea of how to shop for this type stuff. Thanks for the support guys! Top notch!

*edit final:

G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231460
_____________________________________________________________________________________
ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131821
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819116504
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1502FAEX 1.5TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136793
_____________________________________________________________________________________
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced Blue Edition RC-932-KKN3-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0, Black Interior and Four Blue LED Fans-1x 230mm front fan, 1x 230mm top fan, 1x 230mm side fan, and 1x 140mm rear fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811119213
_____________________________________________________________________________________
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139021
_____________________________________________________________________________________
PLEXTOR Internal DVD Super Multi 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model PX-L890SA LightScribe Support
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827249071

=HCM= Shwedor wrote:Looking at the cooler master case, it only has 2 USB ports so I will probably change for a cooler master full tower with 4-6 USB ports & USB 3.0. Other than that I think I have a decent build and idea of how to shop for this type stuff. Thanks for the support guys! Top notch!

Dude, you'll have more USB ports on the rear. I have 6 on the front (I have the HAF 932 case, in fact the exact same one you have selected) and I only use 2 on the front (USB 3.0 ports). Everything else I plug into the back. Not to mention, you can convert a 5.25" bay on the front to have USB 3.0 ports (in fact, your motherboard may come with the USB 3.0 slots which mount into the bay; mine did and it's a lesser motherboard. It will look something like this:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811996037). Now don't get me wrong, it's an amazing case and it sure as hell keeps the temperatures down, but I'm not sure of the budget you have and anything to save a buck is well worth the effort. I went the 'spend all' route, and it was worth it, but in some areas may not have been. I have a $140 motherboard that works as good, if not better than the $280 motherboard I used to have in it.

Either way, what you have selected will work out great. As for the GPU, I know a lot have suggested on the GTX 660 and I agree. I am more biased to AMD GPUs, as I run a 7970 and it's ridiculous (especially the pricing: I paid $570 for mine...4 months ago and now I can get a better 7970 for $100 less).

Edit :O h, one other thing came to mind. With the 932, the case is HUGE (seriously, here are the dimensions:22.70" x 9.00" x 21.50". I have a thread in here about an iBuyPower PC turned into me building my own and there's pictures of it on the last page of that thread). Keep that in mind when making your runs with cables, especially the 8-pin CPU power connector run. The TX750's power cables are lengthened a bit, so it may not be much of a problem, but you could run into have to buy a power extension cable if you want to keep cable management a priority in your build and run the power cable on the back side of the case.

I'm thinking of maybe buying two EVGA 01G-P3-1464-KR GeForce GTX 560 SE (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Cards (Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1464-KR GeForce GTX 560 SE (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card) to use in SLI. Would this graphics setup be usable to run high-end graphical games like BF3/Crysis on higher settings? Is it possible to get a better setup for about the same price (no more than $250)?

IF you have a idea that $250ish is your budget for your GPU, I'd go with a single card with the best cooling solution yo can find. Putting two GTX560's together is going to be loud. If you do not build until the GTX 660 and GTX 660ti are released, you should be able to get the card in this link for around ~$260.


Newegg.com - MSI R7870 Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

My suggestion is based upon finding the best prices, not on specific hardware...

start checking online deals websites daily:
my personal preferred bargain hunting websites:
slickdeals.net
fatwallet.com
bensbargains.net
dell.com outlet deals in conjunction with coupons I find on the web.
amazon.com Gold box deals
email subscription to newegg.com for their daily deals
email subscription to us.ncix.com for their weekly deals

others I check from time to time:
techbargains.com
subscribe to tigerdirect.com email daily deals.
subscribe to buy.com email daily deals.

Sign up for accounts on slickdeals.net and fatwallet.com
You can create keyword searches that are instantly emailed to your email address you sign up with,
set up email deals alerts for "Radeon" "gtx" "psu" "i5-2500k" "ssd"
set up a filter in your email to put all those alert emails to a single folder.
you'll get some desktops and notebooks mixed in the emails, but it's a pretty good otherwise.
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Piecemealing the system together by buying online retailers' loss leaders one at a time can save you upwards of 15% on the system as a whole. It takes some time and time is money, so it's up to you.

With the SE you may come under memory bandwidth restrictions in SLI, as the memory doesn't add together, it utilises one cards VRAM only, as is the way with SLI. And with the SE having only (I say only) a 192bit wide bus, it may struggle to benefit as much from SLI'ing them. But should perform well, I'd probably say, start with 1 and add the other if needed?