First gaming PC build

[Allymcd97]

Hi guys! I'm a newbie here, and this is my first post! I come seeking advice...

I'm a long-term console gamer, but recently, I've started to explore the realms of PC gaming, and I'm lovin' it! The problem is, my terrible Sony vaio laptop is just not capable of running any games (well, any games better than the chess that comes with windows) without extreme lag, even at lowest settings. I've decided to throw myself in at the deep end and build myself a gaming PC.

Now, I'm very new to this, but I've spent quite a lot of time recently looking around the Internet, and I think I'm starting to get an okay grasp of what makes a good PC, but I'm not sure.... If anyone could give me a little of their time, just to show me / tell me what I'm doing right, and what I'm doing majorly wrong, I'd be very grateful! I haven't bought anything as of yet, which is why I'm here, to see if my little list of the components that I think look good, will A) work together, B) be able to run games like Minecraft, TF2, BF3, FC3, runescape (I'm sad, I know...) and others on max settings, and at relatively high fps (no lag please!). I'm only 16 years old, but I do work on the weekends, so my budget is around £1000, but I'll go higher if necessary!

Here goes nothing!

CASE
NZXT Phantom 410 Enthusiast Midi Tower Case

CPU
Intel Core i5 3570K

SSD
Samsung MZ-7PD128

MOTHERBOARD
MSI Z77A-G45

GRAPHICS CARD
This is the part where I'm really struggling. I've just got no idea, and they all seem so expensive! How good of a graphics card do I need? Again, I'm looking to play on max settings and at high FPS but 1080p will be fine for me, but I don't wanna be cheap and regret it when my games look like poop...

I've gotten down to two which I think look okay, first up

MSI GeForce GTX 660 Ti Power Edition
And
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 WindForce 3x

The second one, the more expensive one, is a newer, more powerful model, I think... Meh, I don't really know.

HARD DRIVE
Seagate Barracuda 3TB (I'll also use the computer a bit for 6th form/college work, so I'll need a lot of space for videos/power points for school)

RAM
Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3

POWER SUPPLY
Corsair GS700

DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT THIS DOES, BUT I THINK I NEED IT, IT'S SOMETHING TO DO WITH COOLING, I THINK IT COOLS THE CPU, CORRECT?
Corsair H100i

FANS
Don't know how many I need to buy, will this be enough, are they good, do I need more?
Corsair SP120 Quiet fans


So there you have it... My amature list of stuff for my PC build xD

If anyone is willing to give me some of their time to guide me on each component, staying at a reasonable price, but not compromising on quality (want max settings, high fps remember! ) I'd be really grateful! I don't think I've missed anything vital, but if I have, please let me know!

Thanks in advance! Ally McDonald!

 

[Allymcd97]

Also, I know nothing about overclocking... I've just heard its basically 'free performance'... Is it worth doing? Anyone care to elaborate? How would I do it?

Thanks again, Ally

 

[Fat.Clown]

yes, the H100i cools the CPU.

8GB of RAM is enough.

if you are looking for absolute max on every game, I suggest you go with the GTX 770
sidenote: the in between GTX 760 (worse than GTX 770, better than GTX 660 Ti) just launched today. might be worth it to wait few days for stores to stock them.
You can read the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 Review and benchmark graphs here.

since you are building a new computer from scratch, why not go with the newer generation of CPU? the i5-4670K (you'll also need to change the motherboard (socket 1150) to go with the newer CPU)

By the way, you'll need to fit a copy of windows into your budget.

 

[Allymcd97]

Ooh, thanks a lot! I'll take a look at all of those now. Is there anything else I'm missing, aside from keyboard, mouse and monitor obviously, and, when buy all of those parts, including the ones you just suggested, will they all work together/work well? Sorry for the amateur questions, I'm really new to this (;

Thanks, ally

 

[PP Mguire]

Your list is rather good. Piece of advice, newbie friendly forums like this usually have stickies and articles in the appropriate sub-forums so you can learn the information you seek. Specifically mine. I typed it up for people who seem to want to learn, rather than just get a list of parts and be done with it, which is why I'm mentioning that.

Anyways, the GTX770 is the exact same chip as the 680 except cheaper with 2 better features that wouldn't really apply to you (they are just better, just know that). So it is much better than the 660ti in terms of raw performance. If you can piece it into your budget, then go with that instead but rather get an eVGA card with a reference cooler. The Windforce cards cool quite well but the sheer weight causes lots of PCB sag which can damage a card long term.

Next up, I suggest taking a look at the 4670k and a Z87 motherboard rather than the 3570k. Should be relatively the same price with a 10% overall increase in CPU performance with slightly more features than the Z77 chipset offers. It won't really change much in real world gaming performance but might as well buy in to the latest and greatest if they are the same relative price.

Instead of getting the GS700 PSU, get the TX650 or Seasonic 620 instead.

You don't need the H100i. Money wasted. As well as a bunch of Corsair fans, you do not need those either. The Phanom 410 comes with the fans required to keep your PC cool, and at this rate I think the parts chosen will max your budget or be over.

Which brings me to, the case. This is a personal preference item, but I advise against the Phanom cases as their build quality are rather crap.

If you're pushing the budget a bit, you don't need 16GB of RAM either. At least not yet.

If you don't have a copy of Windows, you will need one too.

 

[Allymcd97]

Hi! Thank you so much for your incredibly detailed reply! If I could just ask of you a few more questions, that'd be great! As for the Z87 motherboard with the upgraded processor, that sounds great! But I was just wondering, is there any specific Z87 that you'd recommend? I've got no idea what I'm looking for, so guidance from someone like you would be greatly appreciated. Similarly with the graphics card, the GTX770 looks great! But is the one I've put into my list a good one, or would you reccomend a different one?

One last thing, I didn't really understand this section... "eVGA card with a reference cooler. The Windforce cards cool quite well but the sheer weight causes lots of PCB sag which can damage a card long term."

What is an 'eVGA card witha a reference cooler'? I get the idea that its a kind of graphics card? Is it a 770 or different? And what's a PCB?

Thanks a lot! I'm really grateful! ally

 

[Allymcd97]

Is this any good? Asus GeForce GTX 770 DirectCU II OC Graphics Card - 2GB - GTX770-DC2OC-2GD5 - Scan.co.uk

 

[Allymcd97]

Is the Asus GeForce GTX 770 DirectCU II OC Graphics Card - 2GB any good?

 

[XGC Forsakend]

One last thing, I didn't really understand this section... "eVGA card with a reference cooler. The Windforce cards cool quite well but the sheer weight causes lots of PCB sag which can damage a card long term."

What is an 'eVGA card witha a reference cooler'? I get the idea that its a kind of graphics card? Is it a 770 or different? And what's a PCB?

Thanks a lot! I'm really grateful! ally

Not sure about the 'reference cooler' but the EVGA is the brand name and Nvidia is the Manufacturer.
There is EVGA gtx 770 and Gygabyte gtx 770 cards that can be different like the weight issue PP brought up.

edit;
The GTX 770 windforce you picked up and PP mentioned... I believe is a Gygabyte brand. Just for reference ^_^

 

[jubbers]

all you need to concentrate on for games is making sure you have windows 64bit as 32 bit has ram / cpu core limits and a decent graphic card like radeon dont use nvidia they are unreliable and suck, then just buy a base unit and maybe a SSD drive. As for getting the top CPU well that isnt important as for instance world of tanks only use 1 core on your cpu. graphix and internet speed are key for games you can get a top game machine that will last 4 years full speed for way less than £1000 if you not silly by buying the top soon to be out of date stuff