New PC build - suggestions/comments, please

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FireBurger

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Hi, everyone. I'm looking to build my first computer and have put together a list of parts for any suggestions/comments. I haven't bought a real "gaming PC" since 2005, so I'm a little out-of-date with the most recent hardware developments.

Overall, I'm looking to spend ~$1500 (which is what this build comes out to), so if you make any suggestions, just bear that in mind. Thanks in advance!

Case: Antec Three Hundred
PSU: Rosewill Capstone 750W (enough power?)
Mobo: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155
CPU: Intel i5 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz LGA 1155
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaw X 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600
GPU: Gigabyte GTX 770 2GB
HDD: Western Digital 1TB 7200RPM
Sound: Rosewill 5.1 PCI (Is this even needed, or is onboard just as good at this price?)
Monitor: Acer 24" (x2)
Speakers: Logitech Z623 2.1 (I don't want to deal with the rear speakers for a 5.1)
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

So there it is. Any comments/recommendations appreciated! Thank you!

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SuperiorArmbar

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What does that all add up to? You can play around on http://pcpartpicker.com/
750w is enough, but I would go ahead and up it to 850 in case you want to add a second graphics card in the future.
You should definitely add an SSD as the drive that has your operating system on it. Trust me, you will not regret that extra expenditure. Unless you are an audiophile I don't really see the need for a soundcard.

And last thing I can think of look at it, you might want to go with the 1150 socket type (4670k) since 1155 is a dead socket type and you won't be able to upgrade it in the future (no guarantee you will with 1150 either though)

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FireBurger

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#3  Edited By FireBurger

@superiorarmbar: It's just about a flat $1500. Yeah, I was wondering about the 1150 socket -- I just don't want to spend a lot more for equal performace.

And, yeah, I'm still thinking about an SSD for the OS. My brother has one and swears by it. Thanks!

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Devildoll

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#4  Edited By Devildoll

Enough power, room to grow even.

Regarding the sound card, you'd have to look up a review of that to see if it actually performs any better than the onboard.
No clue about how that monitor sizes up against the competition.
Everything else looks pretty straight forward.

I'm not a speaker-guy, so i don't have any recommendations there.
I'd personally go for a haswell cpu, the equivalent is 10 bucks more, perhaps the motherboard will be more expensive though.

SSD?

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korwin

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Why would you build with Ivy when you can build with Haswell for the same money? Also you don't need that sound card, the integrated solution will be just as if not more effective.

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JJWeatherman

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#6  Edited By JJWeatherman

Everyone's pretty much pointed out everything that needs pointing out.

  • Those speakers are great.
  • Seems like a bad move to go with older CPU architecture.
  • Your hard drive is a Western Digital Green, which is fine in theory, but Blue and Black are the more common choices. Black being the one that will in theory perform best and hopefully last the longest.
  • That's a good PSU. You could drop down to like 650W if you wanted, but what you have is good for the money.
  • Maybe go with Windows 8? Seems SO silly to me to buy an older operating system on purpose.
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FireBurger

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korwin

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#8  Edited By korwin
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FireBurger

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@korwin: Ok, I switched the mobo out for the ASRock one. Thank you.

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TheHBK

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#10  Edited By TheHBK

@fireburger: Yeah if you are going with ASRock, I am happy with my ASRock mobo, I would ditch the sound card too. I don't see any need for it unless you are gonna go high end on the sound and are into making music I guess.

I guess I would have a question about this whole idea of upgrading the CPU, because my thought is if you need to upgrade the CPU, you are probably building a whole new rig then since the CPU seems to be the longest lasting thing in current rigs. But I would not even count on this 1150 socket because in 3 years I anticipate we will see DDR4 RAM become more common in mother boards and that would probably come with a new socket type to speed up adoption of it.

For power, I am running the same kind of setup with a 600W supply, so it is all about quality. 850W if you want to add another graphics card later.

As for the graphics card, I have the EVGA 770 and I like it, only thing is it was expensive when i got it! Only thing I might think of is if you do plan on adding another card to your rig, I might start with a GTX 760. I have been reading reviews that two of those in SLI are a monster. But if you prefer one card, like I do, the GTX 770 is an excellent choice.

One thing I have been thinking about lately is mini ITX boards and building a super small rig. It is very possible to fit everything in here http://www.microcenter.com/product/417220/Elite_130_mini-ITX_Computer_Case_-_Black if you just switch out the mother board. Smaller than the popular Prodigy case and since CD drives are becoming less useful by the day, has more space than you think.

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StarFoxA

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That PSU gives you enough power to run SLI 770s. If you don't plan on adding a second 770, you could drop the PSU a bit.

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SuperiorArmbar

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^ You need 850w for SLI 770. I would recommend forking the cash out for a quality 850w PSU now TS, even if you don't have plans on adding the second one in the future right now.