How does this build look?

[Michael19xx]

Budget: Under $1550.



Inteded uses for this setup:

• Starcraft II on Ultra, 60FPS
• Maplestory
• Many, many browsers open at one time
• Audio encoding
• Programming
• Gaming
• Adobe Flash
• Photoshop
• Microsoft Office Suite
• Database management
• Dolphin (Gamecube/Wii) emulator at MAX settings
• Might try Battlefield 3
• RAM Drive
• Eventual overclocking

I do plan to install a watercooling system eventually. (I'm listing this because I currently have a midtower case written down, and I'm concerned about space)

This setup should generally be able to handle the latest games at 60FPS, price ceiling for graphics cards related purchases is $550. (Not including tax or shipping, etcetc)

Core components
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GPU: MSI N670 Power Edition (GTX 670) POWER DRAW: 264W (At full stress)

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570k POWER DRAW: 77W

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

OS: Windows 7 Professional, full version [Already own]

Case: Corsair Carbide Series 400R

PSU: CORSAIR HX Series HX750 (750W) Power Supply
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Storage and Media components
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HDD: WD Caviar Black SATA 1 TB 7200 RPM [SALVAGED] POWER DRAW: ???W

SSD: Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III POWER DRAW: .15W

Optical Drive: LG SuperMultiblue internal Bluray disc rewriter [SALVAGED] POWER DRAW: ???W

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Cooling components
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Aftermarket CPU fan-based Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus

[x2]140mm Case Fan for side grill: COOLER MASTER R4-S4S-10AK-GP 140mm Case Fan

[x2]120mm top fans: COUGAR CF-V12HP Vortex Hydro-Dynamic-Bearing (Fluid) 300,000 Hours 12CM Silent Cooling Fan with Pulse Width Modulation
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Two 120mm fans are utilized in the front of the case [STOCK] and two 140mm [aftermarket] for air intake. A single 120mm fan is being utilized for exhaust/air output. Two 120mm fans occupy fanslots near the top of the case. Directly above that is a place to mount a radiator.

NOTES:

• First attempt at compiling a build.
• Have heard rumors about poor heatspreader Ivy Bridge chipset. Is this reason to be concerned?
• Do I need to insure all of the individual parts? How would insurance go?
• Will my PSU be sufficient for the parts listed?

Comments/thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[OhSnapWord]

Looks like you have a pretty solid build there. I never heard any complaints about the heatspreader on the processors. You might be able to remove it but cooling performance gained is minimal. You also void the warranty and risk cracking the die.

I've never insured computer parts before so I won't be of much help there.

A 750W PSU should be sufficient. You could use this calculator to determine how much PSU you would need.

eXtreme Power Supply Calculator

 

[Michael19xx]

Is there any way I can monitor power usage once I get the PC assembled?

 

[OhSnapWord]

I know some of the Corsair PSUs allow that with in Windows.

 

[Computear]

Your chosen specs should easily meet your requirements (and then some), but you might want to look into a larger/better case if you have room for it. It will make it that much easier when you decide to do your watercooling setup, and the GTX 670 is a very large card. Plus, you could get a full-sized tower with better cooling for around the same price.

Just my 2cents, don't make any purchases based solely on my advice, verify with multiple sources first.

 

[Michael19xx]

I want to have a full fledged watercooling loop, but only for my processor. This is supposed to be a roomy midtower...

The thing about the fulltower is, I want a black, metal case with a lot of fan ports and no side windows. I can't seem to find it.

 

[Computear]

I want to have a full fledged watercooling loop, but only for my processor. This is supposed to be a roomy midtower...

The thing about the fulltower is, I want a black, metal case with a lot of fan ports and no side windows. I can't seem to find it.

There's a lot of really good black, steel/plastic full size towers out right now, why do you need no side window?

 

[Hameister]

Here comes my 2 cents...

EVGA's customer service and OC'ing performance is second to none...go with EVGA instead of MSI, if that's possible.

The 750watt PSU is fine, if you are certain that you're never going to add, a second GTX 670 card down the road.

Biggest mistake I see every day, is purchasing a power supply for today, and then a year later when the price of the vid card drops, and the guy sees that a pair of them will equal, or out perform, the latest and greatest card, he has to also change the power supply because it's not quite robust enough.

I never recommend mid-tower cases, because they are impossible to cool properly, and the cable foo is insane. Especially if you intend any kind of CPU or GPU overclocking, go with a full size case.

The Crucial M4 is an excellent SSD choice. However, unless money is critical, spend a few extra dollars, and get the 256GB version, you'll be very glad you did.

What ever you decide,...good luck!

 

[Michael19xx]

Here comes my 2 cents...

EVGA's customer service and OC'ing performance is second to none...go with EVGA instead of MSI, if that's possible.

The 750watt PSU is fine, if you are certain that you're never going to add, a second GTX 670 card down the road.

Biggest mistake I see every day, is purchasing a power supply for today, and then a year later when the price of the vid card drops, and the guy sees that a pair of them will equal, or out perform, the latest and greatest card, he has to also change the power supply because it's not quite robust enough.

I never recommend mid-tower cases, because they are impossible to cool properly, and the cable foo is insane. Especially if you intend any kind of CPU or GPU overclocking, go with a full size case.

The Crucial M4 is an excellent SSD choice. However, unless money is critical, spend a few extra dollars, and get the 256GB version, you'll be very glad you did.

What ever you decide,...good luck!

How is this case?

NZXT Switch 810 Black

And also, a 1000W PSU?

 

[Hameister]

A 1kw PSU will give you plenty of headroom, allow the supply to run nice and cool, reduce capacitor stress, and allow you to upgrade your hardware in the future, like adding and addition GTX 670 for SLI, when you feel you need it. By choosing a robust PSU now, you won't have to replace it in the future when you upgrade.

Stay with brands like Corsair, Antec, SilverStone, and the like and you won't be disappointed.

As for that chassis....well, it's not my cup of tea. It's sexy looking with the large side window, but the cooling is limited, especially, if you want to turn it into a real gaming machine someday. There is no way to mount a side panel fan because of the see through panel. Of course you could always mod the side panel if you're really crazy about the case. I always buy cases, that have very large side panel fans like a 230mm, or in the case of the HAF 932 Advanced, you can mount 4 x 120mm fans which will blow a wall of wind in your motherboard, and video cards. That's what you want for really good cooling, especially if you intend to overclock.