My new (projected) PC

[Enhance]

Hey guys, these are the hardware pieces I'm looking at for the computer I'm going to build. This is the first time I've built on my own. I have been researching how to do it and have a friend that's actually going to help in the building process, but I wanted to be sure this is everything I'm going to need or if there are some suggestions some of you more tech savvy guys may have. My primary interests are gaming, so I think I've put together a pretty solid unit.

Things I already have that I didn't include: monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Something I don't have that I still need to get: Windows 7 and grounding wrist band.

Processor: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 Quad-Core Desktop Processor

Graphics Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST 65NPH7DN7WGU Video Card

Power Supply: Thermaltake SMART Series SP-750PCBUS 750W Power Supply

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" SATA 6.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Memory: Kingston HyperX XMP 10th Anniversary Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory

Shell: NZXT Tempest 210 CA-TP210-01 Black Computer Case

DVD: LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z77M-D3H-MVP Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

There she is. Price before taxes/shipping is about $800.

Edit - I should add one that I'll probably be needing to add a Wi-Fi card since the internet modem is in my roommate's bedroom. Any suggestions for a cheap, reliable option? With shipping/taxes I'm trying to spend right around $1,000.

Thanks!

 

[strigori]

Looks very solid to me. It will run just about everything at max settings right now.

I know its blasphemy, but I have never used the wrist bands, and have never had any issues. I just make sure to regularly tap some metal.

The easiest wifi method isnt necessarily a 'card' a USB adapter works just fine, and if you get the same brand as the router, it should be easy as it gets.

 

[HuskerInLostWages]

Not bad, but i'd never purchase a Gigabyte board to use in one of my home systems. I'd see if i could fit an I7 in there with a different board since you're a gamer. I've been doing IT for the past 20 years and have not once used an anti static wrist band and never fried any equipment, though i've never built a computer on carpet before either.

As for the GB board, their support is god awful and drivers don't get updated nearly as often as i'd have liked. I prefer a company that does do updates for their drivers more often that I can test out.

 

[Hammerhead]

If it were me, I'd go for a full ATX board. I like having the extra expandability. Maybe something like this. It's a bit more expensive, but worth it if you ask me. I'm an AMD/ASUS guy, if you prefer Gigabyte (they're solid boards as well) I'm sure they have something similar. Thermaltake power supplies aren't bad, but I'd go with a Corsair if it's not a budget-breaker. I've had bad luck with Seagate hard drives, I use Western Digital, but that's just me. It'd be more expensive, but if you have some wiggle room on your budget you could get an SSD big enough to fit your OS and documents on and use a 500GB HDD for storage purposes. As for wifi card, I used a Rosewill USB wifi card when I needed one, and it worked fine.

Good luck with the build.

 

[Danny Bateman]

Looks really solid man. I just got my rig last one. It's my first one as well.

You should easily be able to get a WiFi card for well under a grand. If your price turns out anything like mine... a card cost me about $30 if that. Otherwise, like Strigori already hit on, an adapter is a fine option as well.

The next thing I'd consider if I were you (and you've got a little extra cash left over at the end) would be possibly buying a SSD to install your OS on. That should speed up things up a noticeable amount.

 

[strigori]

If it were me, I'd go for a full ATX board. I like having the extra expandability. Maybe something like this. It's a bit more expensive, but worth it if you ask me. I'm an AMD/ASUS guy, if you prefer Gigabyte (they're solid boards as well) I'm sure they have something similar. Thermaltake power supplies aren't bad, but I'd go with a Corsair if it's not a budget-breaker. I've had bad luck with Seagate hard drives, I use Western Digital, but that's just me. It'd be more expensive, but if you have some wiggle room on your budget you could get an SSD big enough to fit your OS and documents on and use a 500GB HDD for storage purposes. As for wifi card, I used a Rosewill USB wifi card when I needed one, and it worked fine.

Good luck with the build.

Expandability is just preference, and really I have never really needed more slots on any build I have done. And given most add ons anymore will be outside the case, I wouldn't worry about it, especially if it increases cost. Hard Drives are a crap shoot. I have both seagate and WD that are closing in on a decade old and still run.

 

[AR Husker Fan]

It'd be more expensive, but if you have some wiggle room on your budget you could get an SSD big enough to fit your OS and documents on and use a 500GB HDD for storage purposes.

Hammerhead is spot on with this suggestion. Go for a 240 GB SSD and make up part of the cost with a 500GB HDD. The speed difference is incredible. Windows will boot in something like 10 seconds; applications open immediately - more RAM used to be the best upgrade for the buck, but now it's a SSD. And you can always add a larger, or an additional, HDD if you need deep storage.

Just one bit of advice if you go the SSD route. Be sure and read up on installing them - get the BIOS setting correct, install the OS with ONLY the SSD installed, then install the HDD. After that, sit back and grin evilly over how wicked fast it is...

 

[Michiganball]

Looks fine, Gig board is fine, you don't need to be a tweaker you just seem to want a solid system at a good price. Ultimately if you like to save money wait till Black Friday, but that's a bit over 2 months. Maybe check tiger direct or Amazon for pricing, surprisingly I have found Amazon to be most cost effective with free shipping to boot.

 

[Enhance]

Well, I bit the bullet and bought pretty much all that. I'm going to hold off on the SSD since I got a great deal on the HDD I listed above. Changed the mobo. Overall, spent just around 950 with shipping, so I'm very pleased. Thanks for the help guys!

 

[VectorVictor]

Very good setup Enhance--would have suggested looking at a 3GB Radeon 7950 for $199 (after MIR...plus it comes with three games for free) instead of the GX 650 Ti (not sure what you paid--it's showing $180 currently on NewEgg), but otherwise it looks great. Have fun with it!