First Build - Gaming PC

[rhu1949]

I have recently gotten the itch to learn how to build my own pc. I was pretty oblivious a short while ago, but I think I have made some progress. Pretty sure this would only be for gaming and maybe storing pics and videos. I would like for it to be able to run stuff on fairly high settings and be able to stand up for a couple of years. I think my budget is around $800, but would be happy to spend a little less if similar performance could be achieved. I really have no idea which brands are good and which places to cut costs. I'll list below what I've come up with so far, but I am wide open to suggestions on improvements and cost savings. I kind of got lazy with my searching after the GPU. And I realize this is most likely over $800, but I wasn't sure of the best places to cut costs. Thanks!

Mobo: ASRock Pro4
RAM: G. Skill Ripjaw 8GB DDR3 1133
CPU: Intel i5-3570 3.4GHz
GPU: GeForce 570
HD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM
Case: Antec 900 Black Steel ATX
PSU: ~650 watts?

 

[PP Mguire]

Are you dead set on the Antec 900?

 

[rhu1949]

The Antec isn't important. I just wanted to "finish" the build so I could start tweaking it.

 

[PP Mguire]

CPU:
Newegg.com - Intel Core i3-3220 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 55W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637i33220

RAM:
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1600C11

Motherboard:
Newegg.com - ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

PSU:
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply

GPU:
Newegg.com - EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

SSD+HDD:
Newegg.com - OCZ Vertex 4 VTX4-25SAT3-128G 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda Green ST1000DL002 1TB 5900 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Bare Drive -Bare Drive

Case:
Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

$786

 

[jasonalwaysready]

id go with this hard drive for $25 than the green drive...
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

though if the budget is really firm.... id probably go for as much capacity in a wd blue that made budget.

 

[PP Mguire]

I went with the green because they are just as fast as my F3 for movie/music/pic usage. I have 2 Green 2TB drives and a single 1TB F3 in my server. There is no difference when accessing large files for streaming or storing. The F3 just creates more heat.

 

[rhu1949]

Jason: Why do you suggest the Samsung over the Seagate?

Mguire: The benchmarks I looked at suggest that the 570 performs better than the 660 and the price is generally in the same ballpark. Why the 660 over the 570? Just trying to get a better understanding of how this stuff all goes together.

Is the SSD just for fast loading of frequently used programs? And the HDD is for general storage?

The i5 would have been overkill? Or was the i3 a cost consideration?

I might be changing jobs in the near future and might come away from this one with a few spare dollars so hopefully I will be able to follow through on this soon. I really appreciate the help so far (both of you).

Edit: I was typing while that first question was answered.

 

[PP Mguire]

He suggests the Samsung over the Seagate due to it being 7200RPM and (I believe) larger cache. Thing is, for general storage you don't see the difference besides heat accumulation inside your case.

The 660ti performs better than a 580 in a ton of tests and the 660 is better than both a 560ti and 570. For reviews that don't have a 570 in their lineup anymore but have the 560 448 core, they are practically the same thing and the 660 is still better than them. I also have the Superclocked version of the 660 in there which further surpasses the 570. To add the cherry, 2GB of VRAM.

Overkill and cost combined. My thread is stickied showing dual cores are still perfectly fine for gaming.

If you can up the budget the only thing I would change is i5 3330 and 660ti.

An SSD speeds up anything that has access to the HDD. The latency alone changes the overall feel of your PC so I try to put an SSD in every machine list besides the very budget limited.

 

[rhu1949]

I was looking at the 660 and not the 660 ti here, that is where I was coming from.

PassMark Software - Video Card Benchmarks - High End Video Cards

I could look, but since you are so on top of this...what is the difference between the i5 3330 and the 3570?

I see why these threads are so short now, you are all over this! Assuming I go with the i5 and the 660 ti what kind of life span am I looking at with this? I guess requirements keep going up and tech keeps improving, but can you ballpark before I might start wanting to upgrade something? Thanks again!

 

[PP Mguire]

Passmark isn't a very good judgement of performance at all, and I know you were looking at the 660 non TI. I linked that in my reply.
You want to look at game benchmarks.

BF3

Batman

Crysis 2

Max Payne 3

And the 570 beats it in Skyrim by 1 FPS

The difference between the 3330 and 3570k is a minor clock speed difference and 30 dollar difference. The difference between K and non K is the ability to OC.

With the way gaming is going, you are looking at a life span of 2-5 years depending on what exactly developers do with the new console hardware.

Edit: It's kinda my job to be all over the hardware side of things. Not only that, it is my hobby. Specs and numbers for hardware stick to my brain like equations to a mathematician.