Alright Giant Bombers, I've decided it's time. I'm tired of my consoles. They've served me well, but I really miss PC gaming. I feel like I'm missing out on the party here. So, these last few weeks I've sprung into action and after much research and deliberation, I think that I have a solid build. But as the thread title implies, spending this much money on this is sort of scary for me. It's been years since I've even thought about buying a Windows PC and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. Just looking for some reassurance that this won't blow up the second I try to turn it on.

Important note: this will be for gaming on a single 1920 x 1080 monitor. I'm hoping for max or near max settings with a steady 60 FPS in even more demanding current games like uh...Battlefield 3 and...Witcher 2 I guess? Okay, I guess I should mention that I have no clue what games are demanding these days.

CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LK

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8 GB DDR3

GPU: Gigabye GTX 670 2 GB

HDD: Samsung F3 1 TB

Power Supply: Corsair TX V2 650-Watt

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912

Optical Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST

Heatsink: Cooler Master 212 EVO

If there are any glaring issues that render this build useless, please feel free to harshly point them out. My knowledge with this stuff is woefully outdated. And I know I should get an SSD, but these parts are already crashing headfirst into my budget's ceiling, so I'm hoping to make do without one for now.

Also, two possibly dumb questions: a) will this all fit okay in that case? and b) I find it a little surprising that everyone only mentions heatsinks these days and not case fans. It's been a long, long time since I've bought computer parts, but I seem to remember needing extra fans. Is that heatsink really all I need? I mean, the room this will be in never gets too hot so I guess there's that, but I dunno.

There seem to be a lot of threads like this popping up lately, but I really appreciate any and all help. I'm excited to finally have a worthwhile PC again, but I'm also pretty nervous about buying shitty/incompatible parts.

Why did you get an aftermarket heatsink? Unless you're going to be doing some overclocking, I'd just stick with the stock one. I haven't built my own PC in a while too and I don't know if you need extra case fans or not. I did just add a $4 one to my pc to help with airflow in the hot summer. I also don't know about the quality of Samsung hard drives. I usually stick to Western Digital. Everything there should fit into that case.

That is a very good build if you're going to be running games in 1080p. It will more than likely (I can't speak in absolutes I'm afraid) run anything on the market at that resolution on max settings, at 60FPS for a good while. I've heard though that when it comes to the CPU, you want to use the Sandy bridge rather than Ivy bridge purely because it's easier to overclock should you want to go down that router in the future. From what I've heard, the Sandy bridge is just better for gaming.

I have a very similar build (I use a Sandy bridge 2500k CPU though) in that I use the same motherboard and RAM, as well as a similar GPU and it all runs perfectly on my HDTV.

See what fans come with the case and how they preform before ordering any aftermarket ones.

@Fjordson: You might want to spend the few dollars or so more on the modular version of that PSU on Amazon (it's right under the price where you can see the versions), it'll make life/assembly easier. Are you planning on OC'ing the CPU at all? If not, then you could just stick with the stock cooler that'll come with the 3570K, and you'd save yourself the $30. There's really no issues with that build, looks great, and that 670 should easily devour BF3 :)

The heatsink is only for your CPU, and is just a better version of one that will come with it. Just look at fans your case has. If it's 2x 120mm fans on the front, you might want to consider putting in a 120mm one at the back, just to get that hot air out quicker. Again, see what fans are included with the case

@markini6 said:

@Fjordson: You might want to spend the few dollars or so more on the modular version of that PSU on Amazon (it's right under the price where you can see the versions), it'll make life/assembly easier. Are you planning on OC'ing the CPU at all? If not, then you could just stick with the stock cooler that'll come with the 3570K, and you'd save yourself the $30. There's really no issues with that build, looks great, and that 670 should easily devour BF3 :)

This aswell. Modular PSU's are so much easier to work with and they also help keep the interior of the case cool thanks to the lack of wires clogging it all up.

Is it too late for me to be your son and for you to take me to Disney Land for a month?

Ahem... Nice parts, bro. That's a lot of bones. My notes:

• Never heard of anyone buying Samsung HDDs. Get yourself a Caviar Black 1TB
• Pretty sure 650W is too little for the bestiality porn parts you're buying. I would go with a 700 or 750
• Sick motherboard and GPU, but RAM is dirt cheap so you might as well go with 16 GB. Same brand.
• I'm out of touch with Ivy Bridge CPUs, you should ask around and make sure you're getting the best model. Overclocking, bang for buck, etc..
• You're probably better off with a Full Tower case as opposed to Mid. Those parts are massive and you need space and good ventilation. I recommend the Thermaltake V9 BlacX Edition.I have that case, amazing air flow!

That's about it. Welcome to PC gaming, it has missed you dearly!

One thing you need to remember about duo, or tres, propeller fans on GPU's is that they blow air out into the cabinet instead of a steady stream out the back, so good cooling inside the cabinet should be considered. Cooler Master does a good job on that though. The GTX 670 can pretty much play any game maxed, but with The Witcher 2 particularly you can't get good framerates with ubersampling on. Not even my GTX 680 can run it enabled with over 20-30 frames per second. I haven't had any experience with Battlefield 3 so I can't comment on that.

@AhmadMetallic said:

Is it too late for me to be your son and for you to take me to Disney Land for a month?

Ahem... Nice parts, bro. That's a lot of bones. My notes:

• Never heard of anyone buying Samsung HDDs. Get yourself a Caviar Black 1TB
• Pretty sure 650W is too little for the bestiality porn parts you're buying. I would go with a 700 or 750
• Sick motherboard and GPU, but RAM is dirt cheap so you might as well go with 16 GB. Same brand.
• I'm out of touch with Ivy Bridge CPUs, you should ask around and make sure you're getting the best model. Overclocking, bang for buck, etc..
• You're probably better off with a Full Tower case as opposed to Mid. Those parts are massive and you need space and good ventilation. I recommend the Thermaltake V9 BlacX Edition.I have that case, amazing air flow!

That's about it. Welcome to PC gaming, it has missed you dearly!

I use a TB Samsung hard drive and it seems absolutely fine.

I only have a 600W PSU in pretty much the same build and it's more than capable. You only ever really want to go higher when you're SLI/Crossfiring. Otherwise it's a waste.

Yeah your PSU is fine in terms of its output, Nvidia's 6 series cards and the Ivy Bridge CPUs use less power and are more energy efficient than previous hardware due to the 28nm and 22nm (respectively) manufacturing processes. Also, unless you're doing video/photo editing, don't waste your money on getting any more than 8 gigs of RAM, what you've chosen is perfect.

Thanks a ton for the input guys. Really appreciate it. I'll definitely go with that modular version for the power supply.

@markini6 said:

Yeah your PSU is fine in terms of its output, Nvidia's 6 series cards and the Ivy Bridge CPUs use less power and are more energy efficient than previous hardware due to the 28nm and 22nm (respectively) manufacturing processes. Also, unless you're doing video/photo editing, don't waste your money on getting any more than 8 gigs of RAM, what you've chosen is perfect.

Okay, sounds good.

And in regards to what you said about fans, it comes with two 120mm fans, one front and one rear. Should that be okay?

Also (last thing, I swear), for the love of God don't make the same mistake I did at first (you probably won't, twas the height of foolishness) - with 8GB of RAM, make sure the OS you're using is the 64bit version, otherwise it won't recognize/make use of more than 4GB of RAM.

@markini6 said:

Also (last thing, I swear), for the love of God don't make the same mistake I did at first (you probably won't, twas the height of foolishness) - with 8GB of RAM, make sure the OS you're using is the 64bit version, otherwise it won't recognize/make use of more than 4GB of RAM.

That's always a good mistake to make.

Talking of mistakes, seen as it's been a long time since you last built a PC it may be worth fully refreshing your memory on how its done. I had no end of problems building both mine and my girlfriends PC recently (much to the amusement of the Gaming Hub) and it turned out to be the absolute stupidest things both times; one had a power surge taking out every single part with it and one had the brass standoffs in the wrong place, causing RAM failure and power cuts. So it's always worth checking and then double checking how everything should go together.

Also when it is all together, come check the Gaming Hub out (another shameless plug) and play some games with us.

@AhmadMetallic said:

Is it too late for me to be your son and for you to take me to Disney Land for a month?

Ahem... Nice parts, bro. That's a lot of bones. My notes:

• Never heard of anyone buying Samsung HDDs. Get yourself a Caviar Black 1TB
• Pretty sure 650W is too little for the bestiality porn parts you're buying. I would go with a 700 or 750
• Sick motherboard and GPU, but RAM is dirt cheap so you might as well go with 16 GB. Same brand.
• I'm out of touch with Ivy Bridge CPUs, you should ask around and make sure you're getting the best model. Overclocking, bang for buck, etc..
• You're probably better off with a Full Tower case as opposed to Mid. Those parts are massive and you need space and good ventilation. I recommend the Thermaltake V9 BlacX Edition.I have that case, amazing air flow!

That's about it. Welcome to PC gaming, it has missed you dearly!

I agree on the full tower case, they just make sense when building a custom rig. Plus your hands can get in there and have room.

I disagree on the 16gb RAM, that's overkill and a waste of money.

@SamStrife said:

@AhmadMetallic said:

Is it too late for me to be your son and for you to take me to Disney Land for a month?

Ahem... Nice parts, bro. That's a lot of bones. My notes:

• Never heard of anyone buying Samsung HDDs. Get yourself a Caviar Black 1TB
• Pretty sure 650W is too little for the bestiality porn parts you're buying. I would go with a 700 or 750
• Sick motherboard and GPU, but RAM is dirt cheap so you might as well go with 16 GB. Same brand.
• I'm out of touch with Ivy Bridge CPUs, you should ask around and make sure you're getting the best model. Overclocking, bang for buck, etc..
• You're probably better off with a Full Tower case as opposed to Mid. Those parts are massive and you need space and good ventilation. I recommend the Thermaltake V9 BlacX Edition.I have that case, amazing air flow!

That's about it. Welcome to PC gaming, it has missed you dearly!

I use a TB Samsung hard drive and it seems absolutely fine.

I only have a 600W PSU in pretty much the same build and it's more than capable. You only ever really want to go higher when you're SLI/Crossfiring. Otherwise it's a waste.

Good news on both points then! But what if he wants to go SLI 670 in the future? I'm going SLI GTX 570 in a year or so, so I'm glad I got a 650W PSU (Am I making sense?)

@markini6 said:

Nvidia's 6 series cards and the Ivy Bridge CPUs use less power and are more energy efficient than previous hardware due to the 28nm and 22nm (respectively) manufacturing processes.

Very interesting.

Hmmm, well maybe I will bump up to a full tower case to be safe. Another $40-$50 isn't too bad. Thanks guys.

@AhmadMetallic said:

Good news on both points then! But what if he wants to go SLI 670 in the future? I'm going SLI GTX 570 in a year or so, so I'm glad I got a 650W PSU (Am I making sense?)

With a 670 he won't need to be SLI'ing for another couple of years and at that point I would probably put a new PSU in it anyway, just so you've got a fresh one outputting the cleanest, fullest amount of power possible.

@SamStrife said:

@AhmadMetallic said:

Good news on both points then! But what if he wants to go SLI 670 in the future? I'm going SLI GTX 570 in a year or so, so I'm glad I got a 650W PSU (Am I making sense?)

With a 670 he won't need to be SLI'ing for another couple of years and at that point I would probably put a new PSU in it anyway, just so you've got a fresh one outputting the cleanest, fullest amount of power possible.

Meh, power supplies are to the point where you can use the same one for a while. I have had the same PSU in my last 2 builds and it still trucks along like a beast.

@Fjordson: TBH the case that you chose should actually be fine. I built a PC a month ago and it was an m-ATX case (smaller and less room than your chosen case) and it is absolutely fine, no problems whatsoever. Unless you're putting in 3 or more hard drives and are going for SLI, stick to the "Performance-Mid" size category that your case is in, bunch of nervous Nellys on here :) With regards to the fans, that should be fine, but I'd probably put another one on the front for better intake, and fans are incredibly cheap (in relation to other components). I'd go for either the Coolermaster SickleFlow 120mm or the Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm (probably the 1850RPM version, but go for the 1450 if you'd prefer something a bit quieter and not much difference in terms of air intake) as both get good reviews for performance and noise. The Coolermaster has gaudy LEDs if you're into that sort of thing. Hope I've been of some help :)

And once you get the pc built you can always go with a site like the system requirement lab to at least see if your new rig can run some of those games. Hard to tell if you can get max setting on some of the games you mentioned but you should be able to play them without much problem from the look of what you put up there on the parts.

I built a very similar PC recently, and yep, you will get your 60fps on games like Battlefield 3. A mid-case should be fine with your build too, as I found it to be plenty of room to work with. Remember to take your time building it too! I was pretty bummed when the project was over.

I'd really recommend a bigger case, I have the same one and there really isn't alot of room. I had to do some weird shit to get the cables in my graphics card(gtx 560 about half an inch longer than the 670), going through hard drive bays and stuff. I've got the same heatsink, fits in there well enough, was fiddly to get the cables into the motherboard though.

I had a full tower, and while the extra elbow room was very nice, the weight of the thing killed it for me and made moving it a damned chore. So if you are going to upgrade to a full-tower, make sure the weight of it suits you and your needs so far as mobility goes. If you don't think you'll ever need to move it, then you're wrong, because you are building your own computer and you will need to take it out and open it up whenever something goes wrong, which it will.

Seems like people are a bit divided on a mid tower versus a full tower. Interesting. I'd hate to not have enough size in there, though extreme weight could get annoying. No guarantee at the moment that the room this will be in will be a permanent location.

@markini6 said:

@Fjordson: TBH the case that you chose should actually be fine. I built a PC a month ago and it was an m-ATX case (smaller and less room than your chosen case) and it is absolutely fine, no problems whatsoever. Unless you're putting in 3 or more hard drives and are going for SLI, stick to the "Performance-Mid" size category that your case is in, bunch of nervous Nellys on here :) With regards to the fans, that should be fine, but I'd probably put another one on the front for better intake, and fans are incredibly cheap (in relation to other components). I'd go for either the Coolermaster SickleFlow 120mm or the Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm (probably the 1850RPM version, but go for the 1450 if you'd prefer something a bit quieter and not much difference in terms of air intake) as both get good reviews for performance and noise. The Coolermaster has gaudy LEDs if you're into that sort of thing. Hope I've been of some help :)

You've been a big help, thanks. I'll look into another fan just to be safe. Happy to see they aren't too expensive, lol.

@fox01313 said:

And once you get the pc built you can always go with a site like the system requirement lab to at least see if your new rig can run some of those games. Hard to tell if you can get max setting on some of the games you mentioned but you should be able to play them without much problem from the look of what you put up there on the parts.

Sounds good. I guess I should have said in the OP that I don't need every little detail to be max at all times. I'm cool with bumping a few things down a notch in order to maintain FPS, just hoping I can keep obvious stuff like high-res textures and a decent amount of AA.

How do you guys feel about the G400 as a mouse? I remember loving the MX-518 for gaming, and apparently this is Logitech's successor to that.

@Fjordson: The G500 is the superior Logitech mouse, but yeah the 400 is the 518's child I guess

@Fjordson said:

Hmmm, well maybe I will bump up to a full tower case to be safe. Another $40-$50 isn't too bad. Thanks guys.

You'll need it, especially if you keep the CPU cooler. Go with the bigger HAF. Great cooling, though it is a bit massive.

Also, performance should be spot on. SSD isn't that great. I mean, it is, but it's not something you need at all, people just like to be "cool" and say you need one.

@Fjordson: That PSU is probably just fine, even if you decide to stick a second 670 in there down the road, but you might consider just bumping it up a bit to 700 or 750W, just to be safe if you decide to go SLI and overclock that i5 eventually.

Also, I highly recommend the Razer Deathadder mouse, and I've heard good things about the Logitech G9x as well.

@AhmadMetallic: The power supply is just fine in this instance. That system will pull at most 400watts under full load.

@Fjordson: I've been using the G400 since May (got it for Diablo 3) and I think it's great. Never used the MX518 or any model "better"/higher than the 400, but it's definitely the best mouse I've ever used.

For what that's worth.

If I may say in here... The case you've chosen is actually perfectly fine, Its actually a pretty big sized mid-size case, its nearly 20x20 which is technically full tower, but as you say it does only come with 2 fans... I'm gonna list just a couple cases that you could choose which in my opinion are the best from newegg...

ANTEC DF-85 SERIES I actually have this case, and I would highly reccomend it, the red LEDs with the black interior is simply awesome with this kind of cooling, got 2 GTX 560 ti's in this case and temp doesn't even go above 64 degrees when playing BF3 or Crysis on Max. Simply the best case I've ever owned from personal experiences....Comes with 7 fans, 3 front, 2 top and 2 rear, with room to add more on the side not that'd need it...So much room in this case its rediculas how I'm not using it all with 2 gfx cards and cold cathode lights...

AZZA GENESIS 9000 SERIES CASE Only just came across this recently, pictures dont do it justice, but a bit more high end case..

XCLIO WINDTUNNER CASE Just as the name suggests, made for extreme cooling, a good full size tower if you want a cheap one...

XCLIO A380BK CASE Just Another full tower case thats got a good price bracket....

@Fjordson Sorry if this is too late dude but I've just learnt something about the Mobo you're looking to order/have ordered. It does not support SLi. So you can never put two Nvidia cards in there and have them work in sync. Whilst it obviously won't be a problem for a couple of years, if you wanted to breath life into the 670 you've bought by adding another, you would have to upgrade the mobo as well.

I'm in the same boat :(

@SamStrife: No worries, not too late. Still processing all this information and getting everything exact before I order parts.

Thanks for the tip. I guess I'll have to think about what I might want to do in the future. To be honest, I've always preferred powerful single cards over a SLI setup, but I'm guessing SLI has become a lot more stable and accessible over the last few years.

@VACkillers: So do you think, even with an added fan, I should move up a bit with my case? The price point on the HAF 912 is perfect for me, but if needed I can squeeze out a bit extra for a better option.

@Fjordson: I am also a big fan of one mega card as opposed to two lesser ones, so it isn't that big a deal for me either. It's still one less option I have down the line though, which is sucky.

@SamStrife: @Fjordson: Actually that mobo does support SLI. Straight from Asus' site:

I had to go dig for this info when I picked out my mobo too, and wanted to make sure it had SLI support. Lotta time spent on manufacturers' websites. ;P

@PillClinton: Yep, you're right. My fault Fjordson, I thought you had the same model as me but I only have the 'X' version of that board, you'll be getting the 'LK' version. It's only me that's screwed....so continue.

I built my PC a year or so ago and I am starting to need some upgrades. I want to run Sleeping Dogs on the highest settings!

@Devil240Z said:

I built my PC a year or so ago and I am starting to need some upgrades. I want to run Sleeping Dogs on the highest settings!

That's a game that really prompted me to build a new PC. I'm a total open-world junkie and SD looks fantastic on PC. Hoping I can get some solid performance on this rig.

@Fjordson Well, in my experience, when it comes down to which case you want, it just simply comes down to 2 things really, the price bracket on how much you can afford on a case, and second is down to personal preference! I personally prefer adequate cooling with a case thats not too saw on the eyes :D others go for pure watercooling, some go for size! It just depends what your happy with really, the HAF 912 is a good case, and for size, acording to the specs its plenty big enough for cards that are on the large size, best thing to do is go by customer reviews, see what everyone feedback is saying about the case before making your final descision, one of the best things about newegg that is. If the HAF is great price for you, and the fact that you'll be adding in additional fans, then that should be plenty cool for you i would think... I listed the ones i did just to give you a little reference that was all...

:D

Just wanted to say thanks again for all the advice. Been a huge help.

@VACkillers: Sounds good. Thanks a ton for the help.

You're welcome Fjordson, good luck with the build, post some pics when you finally finish it :D