Opinions on PC Build

This is my first complete build since upgrading my original 2003 build in 2007.

I have 2 options (Intel/Nvidia or AMD/Radeon) with similar prices (only $20 difference) but I need some criticism about which one I should go for since I don't know what the performance for each brand is like these days.

Just state which option you would take and maybe suggestions to improve it (note the prices can change only slightly). Some things are non-negotiable like the mouse/keyboard, HDD, OS and probably the PSU and RAM. So I would mostly like opinions on MOBO, GFX and CPU for these builds.

Option 1 - Intel/Nvidia
Option 2 - AMD/Radeon

Chur Bro

[video=youtube_share;SZvc8TdcJLE]http://youtu.be/SZvc8TdcJLE[/video]

 

I would personally go with the Intel build.

Try replacing that GTX 650Ti, you won't get the best out of the CPU with that Graphics Card (bottlenecking)

 

First the GPU,

I'd recommend getting a 660GTX its faster than a 650 and 7850
and cheaper than a 7850 (180 € in NL)
for instance the MSI N660 TF 2GD5/OC
its very quiet, temps are low, and it came with the game metro light.

or if you want a Radeon chip card
see if you can find a Radeon HD 7870 LE series,
special Tahiti LE Edition (not a plain 7870)
its a bit loud though and consumes more power than most equal cards
a tad faster than the 660 i mentioned (price about 200€)

i'd recommend to stick with a 660GTX for both systems and if you can find that
msi card it has a great quiet twin frozer cooler.

update:
I just read that nvidia released a new card the gtx 760.
Looks very interesting, faster than a 660ti.
about 250€ in NL. personally i'd get this one if i needed a new card
watch the 660 prices they will probably drop even further now this baby is released.

Now the psu, get at least a 750w. corsair is ok
with a 500w you can barely run both systems.

My choice would be the intel based system for the other parts
8 gb memory is enough

 

Both are good choice but, change gpu,don't waste maoney on that video cards,if you put 100$ more u can get GTX 760
Agree with burial new cards are out GTX 760,770,780. buy last cards ,
and take care about PSU is at least 750W. ( or wait some days since new card comming out this good card price will fall down GTX670)



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[TD]MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB GDDR5

• GPU : GeForce GTX 760, 1152 cores, 28nm
• GPU Clockspeed : 1072 MHz (boost) / 1006 MHz (base)
• Memory : 2048MB GDDR5 (256 bit)
• Memory Clockspeed : 6.0 Gbps
• Bandwidth : 192.2 GB/s
• Bus : PCI-Express 3.0
• Video-Features : HDMI 1.4a
• Cooling : 2-Slot Cooling
• Connectivity : DL-DVI-I, DL-DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort 1.2
• Product Size : 242mm(L) x 111mm(W)
• Power Connector : 2x6-pin
• TDP ; 170W

Graphics card require:

• PCI Express-compliant motherboard with one dual-width x16 graphics slot
• 2x6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors
• Minimum 500W or greater system power supply
• Microsoft Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, XP

[/TD]
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[TD]Key Features

• NVIDIA Kepler architecture
• NVIDIA GPU Boost 2.0
• NVIDIA Adaptive Vertical Sync
• NVIDIA® TXAA™ technology
• NVIDIA FXAA™ technology
• Microsoft DirectX 11.1 API
• NVIDIA PhysX® technology
• NVIDIA CUDA® technology
• NVIDIA 3D Vision®-Ready
• NVIDIA SLI®-Ready
• NVIDIA Project SHIELD™-Ready
• NVIDIA Surround™
• PCI Express 3.0 support
• OpenGL 4.3 and OpenCL™ Support

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[TD]Afterburner Overclocking Utility

• Support GPU/memory Clock offset and Power limit control.
• Support in-game video recording.
• Support wireless control by android/iOS handheld devices.
• Support built-in DX11 effect test.

​

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[TD]3DVision Surrond

• Support 3 displays in full stereoscopic 3D with a single card..
• Support up to 4 displays with a single card..

​

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[TD]All Solid Capacitors

• 10 years ultra-long lifetime (under full load).
• Lower temperature and higher efficiency.
• Extreme low ESR.

​

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[TD][h=1]ZOTAC GeForce® GTX 760 2GB[/h]

• GPU : GeForce GTX 760, 1152 cores, 28nm
• GPU Clockspeed : 1059 MHz (boost) / 993 MHz (base)
• Memory : 2048MB GDDR5 (256 bit)
• Memory Clockspeed : 6 Gbps
• Bandwidth : 192.3 GB/s
• Bus : PCI-Express 3.0
• Video-Features : HDMI 1.4a
• Cooling : 2-Slot Cooling
• Connectivity : DL-DVI-I, DL-DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort 1.2
• Product Size : 240mm(L) x 111.15mm(W)
• Power Connector : 2x 6-pin
• TDP ; 170W

[h=1]Graphics card require:[/h]

• PCI Express-compliant motherboard with one dual-width x16 graphics slot
• 2x 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors
• Minimum 600W or greater system power supply (with a minimum 12V current rating of 42A)
• Microsoft Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, XP

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][h=1]Key Features[/h]

• NVIDIA Kepler architecture
• NVIDIA GPU Boost
• NVIDIA Adaptive Vertical Sync
• NVIDIA® TXAA™ technology
• NVIDIA FXAA™ technology
• Microsoft DirectX 11.1 API
• NVIDIA PhysX® technology
• NVIDIA CUDA® technology
• NVIDIA 3D Vision®-Ready
• NVIDIA SLI®-Ready
• NVIDIA Surround™
• PCI Express 3.0 support
• OpenGL 4.3 and OpenCL™ Support

[h=1]Special bundle[/h]

• Boost Premium and FireStorm

[h=1]ZOTAC Extended Warranty[/h]

• 5 years end user warranty - requires registration of purchase within 14days on ZOTAC website.

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GTX760 is $449 .. $150 more than the GTX660, this puts me way over my $1400 threshold (which I forgot to mention) if I go with the 750W PSU.

In fact, it's probably cheaper most of the time to go with pre-made builds and see if you can configure them slightly at a small charge.

Here's a pre-made system that offers the ability to upgrade later on. http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/systems/systemdetail.asp?sysid=182&systypeid=4
Please note that the correct specs are at the bottom of the page. No hidden costs, free shipping, 2yrs RTB warranty and 48hr "burn in" test to find any faults in hardware.

For me, I don't upgrade much (it's been 6yrs since I did anything big to my current PC) so this PC is going to just have to face the wear and tear of the future. I have 3 kids and we're a one income family so I have no chance of needing anything more decent than what that rig might offer at this time.

 

We've had 760,770,780 for a month or so by the looks and prices don't drop very fast in NZ.

The price of the GTX670 has been going up slightly since the 6th June in NZ, so that isn't an option.

 

http://www.evga.com/Products/Produc...ily=GeForce+700+Series+Family&chipset=GTX+760

EVGA GTX760 - 249$
and evga is good company with long warrianty,use myself evga cards never had a prob.
Register card on web site
http://eu.evga.com/support/warranty/

http://www.evga.com/Products/Produc...ily=GeForce+700+Series+Family&chipset=GTX+760

EVGA GTX760 - 249$
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-...r=8-2&keywords=GeForce+GTX+760+2GB+PhysX+CUDA

all gtx760 on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...field-keywords=GeForce GTX 760 2GB PhysX CUDA

 

Caviar Blue has a high failure rate, Seagate barracuda ST1000DM003 (make sure it's version 7200.14 or higher, most problems fixed) s better.

Dare I say you could save $135 by pirating Windows and then put it back into the GTX 760 if you are going to do it, very much worth it.

The Keyboard and Mouse seem overkill (unless you play esport leagues and LANs there is no need for an overly expensive kb&mouse), cheaper versions can do the same, they are a bit like cars theres so many many cars, all the same, but the selling point is features to the buyer and gaming keyboards aren't worth the price upgrade.

You can save $50 on the CPU cooler by instead getting the Hyper Evo 212, the difference is only a couple of degrees. Corsair > Kingston when it comes to RAM efficiency. Gigabyte motherboards are overused, Asus motherboards are more stable, go with a model of the P8277 even if there is only a small difference, Asus are always the better make.

This is all for the Intel build (because I'm an intel fanboy)

For the PSU, 500W is enough, but if you want to play it safe for future card upgades (like SLI) then go with a 600/650 W

 

yea can go with 600W - 650W is enough for one GPU

but what s wrong with NZ and their prices ??? -.- (Usa Asia Eu can buy right now for same price 249$, even me living on fair north)
-.- NZ shop
http://www.playtech.co.nz/afawcs0139234/CATID=917/GeForce-760-Series.html

-.- evga australia
http://au.evga.com/products/prodlist.asp?family=GeForce+700+Series+Family&chipset=GTX+760

try order from asia

http://www.evga.com/Products/Produc...ily=GeForce+700+Series+Family&chipset=GTX+760

 

I made those changes. Ditched the mouse and keyboard for now, although I do need both sometime in the future, maybe not as hardcore but definitely newer. I switched to the Seagate HDD, put on the GTX760 for lulz, changed to the Hyper Evo 212 cooler and went with the Asus P8Z77-V LX motherboard. Changed Kingston ram to Corsair Vengeance low profile and the price still equals the amount I had.. weirdly enough. However, that's minus the chassis and DVD drive. I have each of those for my current PC, but I was wanting a complete build from scratch. If I added those 2 things I'd need to remove something like the video card.

I'm not pirating anything, so Windows 7 stays.

 

I've removed the GTX760 and put the GTX660 and I've saved over $150. I also added the DVD drive and the Chassis at the same time. Now I'm under budget by $66 so we're looking better.

CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K 3.4Ghz Socket 1155 Box
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Low Profile DDR3 PC12800/1600MHz CL9 2x4GB DDR3
GFX: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC HDMI DisplayPort Dual-DVI 2GB
MOBO: Asus P8Z77-V LX
HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 64MB 1TB HDD
CASE: Antec One (Black)
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Eng (64-bit OEM)
OPTICAL: Samsung SH-224BB DVD Drive
PSU: Cooler Master Thunder 600W

Total: $1309.74 NZD

Budget: $1400 NZD

What am I missing now? I know.. some stores have shipping costs, some don't but they aren't indicated in these prices. Some have stock in supply, most don't. Prices will vary store to store, so $66 buffer seems like a good idea.

This is not a good sign though..

EDIT: None of the stores had the Corsair CX600M PSU, so I'm changing it to a Cooler Master Thunder 600W for $29 less. Still having issues with stock in supply though.

Oh well, bedtime.

 

if u wanna safe more money remove cpu cooler, test how it works first with original cooler, you buying box.

 

CPU: Intel Ivy Bridge Core i5 3470 3.20Ghz 6MB 77W LGA1155 $269.95
MOBO: ASUS P8Z77-V LX Intel Z77 DDR3 PCI-E3.0 LGA1155 $179.95
GFX: Gigabyte GV-N65TOC-2GI GeForce GTX650 Ti Overclocked 2GB GDDR5 PCI-E3.0 $239.95
RAM: Mushkin Blackline FrostByte 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 CL9 (996995) $129.95
HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 64MB 6Gb/s SATA3 $99.95
DVD: ASUS DRW-24D3ST Green DVD Writer SATA $49.95
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (Full Version) (free if Marvel provides a Genuine key)
SSD: Samsung 840 Series 120GB SATA3 SSD (MZ-7TD120BW) $149.95
CASE: Raidmax Super Viper Gaming Case Black $93.95
PSU: Seasonic S12II Bronze Series 620W 80Plus Bronze Power Supply (SS-620GB) $149.95

Total: $1363.55 NZD including GST tax and free shipping.

If I can't find the right combo, I'm going to just get this: http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/systems/systemdetail.asp?sysid=182&systypeid=4

 

I have an ISO of Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit I downloaded and put on a 8GB USB (let's pretend it's OEM) to install for someone that had a genuine key, I just can't use it myself. If you have a geniune key, that will save me $150 and I can get the SSD or get the more expensive GFX/CPU combo.

I'll hold off on buying Win7 and remove the price from the list and recalculate.

EDIT: Added the SSD (Samsung 120GB SSD) which is the cheapest we have on that site.

 

what about me

 

Ok, one more attempt. I think this might be it. The CPU/MOBO/RAM are a bundle deal that comes with 2 free games and reduces the price of getting each item separately.

I ditched the SSD, I can get one at a later date. I changed to a 2TB because I want more space for video editing and Photoshop stuff.

Here it is:

I believe this is the best deal I can get for the money I have. What do you guys think?

 

NICE WORK and you are in budget
upgraded processor -:clap2:
uograded ram to kingston -:clap2::clap2:
upgraded GPU from GT650 to GTX660 :clap2::clap2:
ugraded HDD to 2 TB :clap2::clap2: