$842

$147 Asrock Z77-EXTREME4-M Z77/4 x DDR3/2 x PCI-E3.0/4 x SATA3/4 x USB3.0/HDMI/D-Sub/DVI-D/7.1CH/GBLAN/RA
$245 Intel Core i5 3570K LGA1155 CPU 3.4Ghz 6Mb Cache Ivy Bridge
$80 CoolerMaster 650W Extreme Plus
$80 G SKill 8G(2x4G)DDR3 2133Mhz PC3-17000(F3-17000CL11D-8GBXL)
$290 Gainward GTX570 1280M DDR5 2DVI HDMI
Case needed

I have not built any PC's since APG was the norm, so I am struggling, big time. I have just over $1000 to spend for this build and I really need expert advice to make sure I get the best bang for buck. Any help at all would be appreciated as I am keen to re-learn.

might be worth upping the PSU, i've got the phantom 570, and run it with a 775watt, just feels like a 500 might not be enough

agree i always recommend anything over 600W when purchasing a new computer

I'd get an Ivy Bridge CPU. i5 3570k. ~$245

650W + is probably the best bet. Also I would recommend the i5 3570K for an extra $14 and better performance.

I couldn't decide on a suitable case/psu combo

I wanted CoolerMaster 600W Extreme Power Plus (ATX) $70.00



updated OP

If you want a case that actually fits the GTX570 and leaves room for more, get the NZXT Phantom Full Case. I have one and it's amazing for price, will allow me room for another 2 GTX570's and a sound card/ethernet card.

i have a fractal XL, it has a heap of room, however it is s*** to move, as it is heavy

I've got the Fractal XL for my server, god damn the side panels are heavy on that thing but it's a nice case if you want lots of room and don't plan to move it very often, probably not a great case if you frequent LAN's.

For a lighter weight case, I've often gone with:

Lian Li PC-K9 (ATX / MicroATX / MiniITX)
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_30_394&products_id=18738

Lian Li A04 (MicroATX / MiniITX)
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_30_394&products_id=16496

For a MicroATX build which is the board you've picked, my preference would be towards the A04 just because it's smaller but the tradeoff (and you may not even care), it has 1x usb3 & 1x usb2 socket on the front panel (top) compared to the PC-K9 have 2x usb3 sockets.

I have this case and swear by it: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=14105

They have put a lot of thought into the design IMO, clip in HDD/DVD (no screws), etc.

Sweet as, both of those cases is exactly what I was looking for. Im unsure about the cheapness of the graphics card I've chosen and where the f*** is parabol and skythra?

Outlaw, try the Gigabyte GF GTX 570 OC, what I have and it is well worth the price.

nar gainward is the better,

as stated i have the phantom, bloody good card,

f*** i dont mind that case for the price, i am pretty sure a few of the new systems at work have that case

i am so sick of this peice of s*** case i have had for ages

If anybody is interested. This is what the final build ended up being.

Gigabyte GA-Z77MX-D3H MB, Intel Z77 Chipset, Socket 1155, 4x DDR, SATA3, USB3.0, GbELAN, 7.1 CH
Intel Core i5 3570K LGA1155 CPU 3.4Ghz 6Mb Cache Ivy Bridge
CoolerMaster 600W Extreme Power Plus (ATX)
Coolermaster Centurion 5 II RC-502-KKN1 Case Black (NO PSU
G Skill 8G(2x4G) DDR3 1600Mhz PC12800 RL 9-9-9-24(CL9D-8GBRL)
G Skill 8G(2x4G) DDR3 1600Mhz PC12800 RL 9-9-9-24(CL9D-8GBRL)
LiteON SATA DVD-RW 24X Black
Hitachi 1TB SATA 7200RPM 32M
Gainward GTX570 Phantom 1280M DDR5 2DVI HDMI
$1000

Sony Bravia volunteered to be the monitor for a couple of weeks.

nice

Looks good to me, Outlaw. 2 sets of 4gb x 2? Why not 2 8gb sticks?

^ Quad channel on Ivy Bridge maybe?

Then again historically extra channels haven't given much real-world performance boost. Generally better off with the extra stability of having a lower number of ram sticks in the system.

More sticks = higher requirement for good matching and cooperation, plus higher reliance on good power regulation as the RAM power draw is higher (I generally bump up the DDR voltage to 1.6-1.65V when I have 4 sticks for extra stability)

Couple of interesting emails from umart today regarding the pc build and out of stock items when I tried to order. I don't think they like Coolermaster brand.

Hi law, no, we are awaiting the case and power supply. I would recommend changing both to something decent.

Hi law, I would recommend the Antec One Hundred Tower Gaming Case- Black NO PSU $56.00 case and the CoolerMaster GX 550W 80+ for $80.90. You will be a couple of dollars better off and you won't own a CoolerMaster case OR Extreme series PSU - seriously I cannot stress enough not to buy any of Cooler Masters crap apart from the Silent Pro and GX series PSU's. Their HAF cases are especially bad, might as well just throw your PC in a river of fire, I cannot, for the sake of my employment, say how honestly bad I think CoolerMaster are.

outlaw, what were the individual component prices on final build?

where the hell is your ssd? build fail

where the hell is your ssd? build fail

Indeed. I plan on buying an ssd later when I get more coin.

Website is in Dutch but its always spot on. (well apart from video cards usualy since I'd never get ATI)

http://tweakers.net/archieven/tag/best+buy+guide

My last gigabyte got outclocked and outstabilitied by a inno3d and both had 3 fans and giant 2.5 slot heatsinks. So next time i'm going gainward :)

Indeed. I plan on buying an ssd later when I get more coin.

I said the same, and i put an old, first generation SSD into my work pc, so now my work pc boots faster and loads games and applications quicker than my home PC which has 4x it's processing power.

It's kind of funny.

The old SSD is an OCZ Colossus. Surprisingly quick and quite large for it's time IMO. Mine i think was released in 2009? It's the smallest one in it's range at only 256gb.

Website is in Dutch but its always spot on. (well apart from video cards usualy since I'd never get ATI)

Problem is from an objective benchmarking standpoint, they seem great and perform usually within the price/performance expectation. Which is all good, until 6 months into an expected 2-3 year ownership where things start going wrong, you start making the fans on 100% all the time to compensate for something that for somereason makes it red hot, or a bad driver release as your card gets older and they've dropped direct support and don't see a problem with a change they make to the basic driver architecture, etc.

So it's a little hard to test a card at the point of release for it's longevity issues. That's why you rely on past experience and popular opinion.

You should make sure your psu is at least 600w + like others said earlier..

I picked up the parts today from Umart. Coolermaster GX 650w PSU. The case in the original build wasn't in stock and reportedly not so good according to umart so I ended up with an Antec One Hundred Gaming Case(recommended buy umart)

Let the assembling begin.

Couple of interesting emails from umart today regarding the pc build and out of stock items when I tried to order. I don't think they like Coolermaster brand.

I'm with them. Last coolermaster case I had, I had to rip out a bunch of their soundproofing foam s*** because it blocked the PSU fans.

outlaw, what were the individual component prices on final build?

http://my.picresize.com/vault2/7N6SILXHQU.jpg
$718

Me rikey.

Any particular reason you went for teh Hitachi HDD over say a WD Caviar Black?

If you want a case that actually fits the GTX570 and leaves room for more,

Do you know if the Antec 900-2 will fit a GTX 570 that's about 28cms in length? Planning on buying one but not sure if it'll fit in my case.. Too lazy to check but I just might have to before they sell out!

Any particular reason you went for teh Hitachi HDD over say a WD Caviar Black?

I must ask this too. The -FAEX suffix WDs are more reliable than the Hitachi ones.

Me rikey.

Any particular reason you went for teh Hitachi HDD over say a WD Caviar Black?

I didnt put any thought into the HDD to be honest. Most of my old ancient hard drives are WD/Maxtor 80GB and perform fine.

Caviar Black 2TB is $200 compared to the Hitachi1 TB $110 So thats an obvious answer/excuse.
Caviar Green 2TB $120 seems like it would of been a better choice.

Why didnt you post that suggestion earlier? :<

Due to post limiting, you can only post 1 message every 1200 seconds

fail forum config