First time Builder (Gaming Rig)

[great_big_abyss]

AMD's new Tahiti LE 7870 is a wolf in sheep's clothing. It smokes the 7950 by a quite substantial margin.

What? Proof? I want to see the benchmarks!

 

[ArioR]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Let's see if I catch everything here:

I chose the XFX PSU because from what I've heard/read, they're made by seasonic (teksyndicate).

I don't think anything is wrong with the ram so I'll hang to it for now, as it's a single 8GB stick - the max supported per slot for the MB I think, so I'll go with that.

I checked some more and the Tahiti seems like a solid recommendation, but if/since the 7950 is in the range I'm looking for, the options at this point are to grab that, or build up some more bucks and put out for the gtx 670.

If I do opt for a radeon card, I will probably switch back to the Gigabyte board I chose originally, the Z77-D3H

I guess I'll spring for the SSD as well, and with that the recommendation regarding the WD green makes total sense too.

In that vein, let me ask what are the differences between these three drives that warrant the differences in their prices. The Third I see is second gen, but still..

All three are Crucial M4 128GB SSD's

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD3 Msata 128GB SATA III Mlc Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - DirectCanada

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD1CCA 2.5in 128GB SATA3 MLC 7MM Internal Solid State DRIVE+DATA Transfer Kit - DirectCanada

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD1 2.5in 128GB SATA III MLC 7MM Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - DirectCanada

 

[ArioR]

Also,

Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 900MHZ 3GB 5GHZ GDDR5 DVI HDMI 2XDP PCI-E Video Card - DirectCanada

 

[Bond007]

The LK is the cheapest 2xPCI-E 3.0 SLI/CF Asus motherboard, has the best Bios layout and overclocks better than any in this price range. The audio chip ACL892 isn't any good. A soundcard such as the $80 Asus Xonar 7.1 (AV100 audio chip) will improve your gaming experience. If you don't want to add a sound card then the Asrock Extreme4 (ACL898 audio chip) is better for gaming. Bios isn't as refined and overclocks a little less but a solid budget choice.

You should get a better PSU. Seasonic's most affordable Gold 650W, The SSR-650RM is $30 more expensive than your choice but is a great value and your rig will thank you for it. If you might add another video card (because your motherboard can) then 750W would be enough.

Try to fit a CPu cooler in your budget. $30~35, Arctic i3 is my first choice, then CM hyper 212 Evo.

The only RAM I use is the Samsung 30nm. Kingston used to be my favorite but not since these babies came along.

For HDs, WD Blacks are fast, loud, power hungry and expensive, while Greens are slower, efficient, and cheaper. Blue is a mix of both. Your choice should depend on whether you want an SSD or not. I would grab an SSD and go for Green as it is a perfect storage media for all non-application files. If you can manage to play no more than 5 to 6 games a season, and transfer your games to your HD once you're done, then 128GB SSd should be sufficient. If you're buying now then the Samsung 840 (non-pro) is the best bang for $100 bucks. Wait a bit longer and Crucial M5 will be out.

Don't buy the old WD HDs! Websites have the old and new models mixed up all over the place. Make sure the last 4 digits of the model number reads "_NRSN". Those are the new WD HDs.

For your case, don't forget to add two more fans for total of four. you already have 1 front intake so add a side intake fan, and already a rear exhaust so add a top exhaust fan. Other choices that I prefer in that price range are the rosewill R5, or the Antec 300.

Now for your GPU all I can say is sell your kidney and get the Gigabyte HD 7970 3GB. This $400 card used to be $600 8 months ago. Overclocks like a champ and as quite as the best. It's $100 more than the HD 7950 but with Hitman Absolution and Far Cry 3, and Crysis 3 in the future, the %10 increase in performance vs the %25 increase in price is worth it imo.

Good luck with your build and please do read reviews as much as you can for the parts mentioned by me and others. We're not taking any risks as you are.

And how exactly do you fit all that in the budget given?

AMD's new Tahiti LE 7870 is a wolf in sheep's clothing. It smokes the 7950 by a quite substantial margin. Could only find one on newegg, for about $30 less than a 660Ti. Not sure how it compares to a 660Ti, though.

Really?....according to what?

 

[Luay79]

Arior

The PSU for $30 extra and the 2 fans for another $30 are the most important. The rest (CPU cooler, SSD, HD 7970) you can either take or ignore, or plan as an upgrade in the future.

 

[Luay79]

Hi again, read you last post and can say the SSD on your first link has the latest part number so it should be the newest. This is what it looks like on Newegg

Newegg.com - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD3 mSATA 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

The Crucial M5 are coming very soon and they will be 3rd gen as the Samsung 840. You can't go wrong with budget/high capacity 3 gen SSDs. Right now the Samsung 840 is the only one but soon OCZ and Crucial will launch their own SSDs.

Another nice update is the Antec GX700. Very simple and affordable case with enough fan mounts. Excellent Thermals and acoustics.

AnandTech - Antec GX700 Case Review: Just What You Can Get For $59.99
Antec GX700 Mid-Tower Case Review

About the PSU, if you're sure you're not adding another card then a PSU less then 600 W is enough. The $85 Seasonic G 550W should b fine.

 

[Your_friendly_gamer]

make sure to go to memory express and order from there, they will price beat it by 25 percent of the difference and they have a flat shipping rate, which is pretty solid!

 

[nasrott]

Ya get an ssd for sure, even a 256 if you can, imho (for OS and games). Vid card as others have already suggested, get the biggest one you can afford.. 7970's are nice....and allot cheaper now than when I got mine....

 

[ArioR]

make sure to go to memory express and order from there, they will price beat it by 25 percent of the difference and they have a flat shipping rate, which is pretty solid!

I just checked, and it doesn't seem like they have competitive pricing as compared to directcanada, either that or I may being doing it wrong. :doh:

About price matching on NCIX, does it work against daily deals for newegg (canada) or is that a part of the no-go list? I read the terms, and then did it anyway - now I'm at the checkout for this:

OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 120GB 2.5in SATA3 6Gbps SandForce SF-2281 Solid State Disk Flash Drive SSD

and its basically "yeah, go for it"

 

[3.0charlie]

Overclocking? If yes, then you must have an aftermarket cooler. The stock Intel will get you nowhere.
Not? Then why buy an unlocked CPU?
Ram-wise, you will see an improvement using 2 ram sticks (Dual Channel), over a single stick.