First Time PC Builder Needing Help!

alphamalet

New member
Nov 29, 2011
544
0
0
Title says it all. I'm about to build my first rig, and have done my best to educate myself over the past few months, but need advice. This is my first PC build, so I know a lot of one time (or less frequent) purchases (like PSU, Case, and Monitor) are going to raise my price.

I'd like to keep my budget under $1300.

PCPartPicker part list [http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3CFlS] / Price breakdown by merchant [http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3CFlS/by_merchant/] / Benchmarks [http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3CFlS/benchmarks/]

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor [http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i53570k] ($224.59 @ OutletPC)

I went with this because it's a great CPU with overclocking potential and will definitely last me a while.

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler [http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2] ($29.94 @ OutletPC)

Everything I've read gives this CPU cooler a glowing review for its price, so I thought it would be a good choice.

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard [http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-p8z77v] ($124.99 @ Newegg)

My mobo choice was a hard one. I was thinking about going for the this one, but I'm willing to be talked out of it you think I made a mistake. From what I've read, this mobo has some great overclocking potential, gives me the option for SLI and RAID in the future, has a good number of USB 3.0 ports, and a great number of PCIe ports (which I have plans for in the future).

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory [http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cml16gx3m2a1866c10] ($159.99 @ Amazon)

Okay this is where I really need some advice, because I get the feeling I'm running the risk of overkilling it here. The reason I opted for 16GBs is because while game, often times I am encoding/streaming video of what I'm playing in the background. I know RAM (and the CPU) are crucial in this process. I occasionally do video editing as well. Would I need 16GBs of RAM to effectively encode HD video while playing a demanding game? Would I be fine with 8GBs (tell me I can save some money)! Would it be more beneficial for me to drop down to 8GBs of RAM and spend the money I would have spent on 16GBs for a better CPU? Any advice on this would be very appreciated!

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive [http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex] ($56.98 @ OutletPC)

I know what you're thinking... You're thinking, "Where's the SSD, and why is your HDD so small?" I decided to go cheap in this area, and save up money for more storage over the next few months. 1TB should last me that long...right?

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card [http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvn760oc2gdrev20] ($249.99 @ Amazon)

GPU is important for any gaming rig, and I really tried to do my homework here. Most of what I read pointed to this card for being a great bang for your buck card. It should be able to run most current games on high/ultra and upcoming games at medium/high with great framerates.

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case [http://pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal-design-case-fdcadefr4blw] ($89.99 @ Newegg)

I mainly went for this case because a buddy of mine recommended it to me. It has plenty of bays for additional storage, plenty of fan mounts, it does well in thermal tests, and has a window if I ever want to trick my build out and show off. I am open to suggestions on cases though, so shoot me suggestions if you think I could do better for cheaper.

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply [http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-120pg0650gr] ($89.99 @ Micro Center)

I have a question here (probably a noob question). I went with this PSU because of its efficiency, good price, and it being fully-modular. Here's my question: Would this be able to power two 760s running in SLI? PC part picker says yes, and it seems like I should (the card only needs 170w), but a calculator I used said no, so I've gotten some conflicting information.

Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor [http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-vg248qe] ($264.99 @ NCIX US)
Couple of questions here.
Question 1: Is a 144hz refresh rate really something I need? I know a lot of people on the internet swear by it, but I'm not a huge FPS guy, nor am I big on break-neck action games. Would I regret going with another monitor that had a 120hz refresh rate, or a 60hz refresh rate?
Question 2: How slow of a response time does it take before you start to notice? The monitor I've selected has a 1ms response time. Would I be fine with 3ms or 5ms, or would I see the difference?

Final question:
I'm not planning on doing any major overclocking right away. Do you think I'm fine with not buying any additional case fans for the time being? It seems to me like I would be.

Total: $1291.45

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-07 00:52 EDT-0400)

Be gentle on me here, guys. ;)
I'm sure I probably made a few mistake with my selections, so any constructive feedback on where/why I went wrong would be appreciated. I'm not planning on running out and buying all of this tomorrow, but this is the general direction I'm thinking of going. If I'm going way off base here I'll definitely be holding off for a little bit longer to do more research.

Thanks for the advice!
 

Albino Boo

New member
Jun 14, 2010
4,667
0
0
Nothing wrong with that build. Personally I would drop to 8gb of ram and add an SSD for the O/S. Post what you plan to add in the PCIE slots it would help with the power supply issue. As it stands the 650w is marginal for
two 760s running as sli. It should work but adding other cards or usb devices would push the rig over the edge.
 

Hazy992

Why does this place still exist
Aug 1, 2010
5,265
0
0
Pretty solid build overall, although I'd switch the processor to an i5 4670k and get a Z87 motherboard so you'll have upgrade options in the future.
 

Niflhel

New member
Sep 25, 2010
88
0
0
I'd reconsider the screen. A single GTX 760 won't be able to achieve the framerates nececary to take full advantage of the screen, unless you reduce your graphical settings. FYI I'm running 2xGTX 770 in SLI and can't even manage 144 average FPS in all games (on max settings).

If you, for example, downgraded your screen to a BenQ RL2455HM (24" monitor with 1ms response time and 60Hz refresh rate), you could get a GTX 770 card instead with the money saved.
 

alphamalet

New member
Nov 29, 2011
544
0
0
Niflhel said:
I'd reconsider the screen. A single GTX 760 won't be able to achieve the framerates nececary to take full advantage of the screen, unless you reduce your graphical settings. FYI I'm running 2xGTX 770 in SLI and can't even manage 144 average FPS in all games (on max settings).

If you, for example, downgraded your screen to a BenQ RL2455HM (24" monitor with 1ms response time and 60Hz refresh rate), you could get a GTX 770 card instead with the money saved.
Thanks for the advice on that. Ironically, I was originally planning on buying the screen you suggested until someone I know (who is a big competitive FPS guy) talked me out of it. I think I'd rather go with my initial choice.
 

alphamalet

New member
Nov 29, 2011
544
0
0
albino boo said:
Nothing wrong with that build. Personally I would drop to 8gb of ram and add an SSD for the O/S.
So you think dropping to 8GBs of RAM would still be sufficient for the video encoding I plan on doing?
 

Albino Boo

New member
Jun 14, 2010
4,667
0
0
alphamalet said:
albino boo said:
Nothing wrong with that build. Personally I would drop to 8gb of ram and add an SSD for the O/S.
So you think dropping to 8GBs of RAM would still be sufficient for the video encoding I plan on doing?
You wont be able to play a demanding video game while encoding an HD video on an i5. Even on i7 you would have to turn the settings right down. The cpu can't both encode and generate a draw list for the gpu adequately, something would suffer. 8gb of ram is more than enough to encode while doing non intensive cpu tasks. There is also the practicality issue, having an SSD with your O/S on it at the start is less hassle than adding one later . Adding more memory is far less hassle than doing a fresh install.