First Timer Building a Gaming Desktop

[MyMindRuns]

Hello,
(This will be my first post on this site and if I have placed it in the wrong area please tell me where I should post this instead.)
So. Lets Begin
I would like to build my own gaming desktop but this would be my first time building and owning a desktop. I had numerous laptops before hand and play a lot of xbox 360 but I've decided to make the switch and start PC gaming. I am fairly new to all of this and would like to ask for some help. My main concerns are to play all games smoothly and on high levels. (Especially Battlefield 3) I would also like it if the specs would last a long time and be able to run future games that come out later on. Price Range- +/- 2,000 euro or 2,400 dollars. If I can get a better desktop for cheaper by all mean TELL ME!
Below are the specs I made using - PCPartPicker


CPU- Intel Core i7-3820 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor $295
CPU Cooler - Corsair H80 92.0 CFM Liquid Cpu Cooler $100
Motherboard- Asus Sabertooth X79 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard $320
Memory- Corsair Vengeance 24 GB (6 x 4 Gb) DDR3-1600 Memory $155
Storage- Corsair Force Series 3 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Disk $120
Video Card- Nvidia GTX570 Twin Frozr II/OC 1280MB* $270
Sound Card- Asus Xonar DS 24-bit 192 Khz Sound Card $42
Case- Cooler Master CM 690 11 (black) ATX Mid Tower Case $90
Power Supply- Cooler Master 700w ATX12V Power Supply $74
Optical Drive- Asus DVDE818A7T/BLK/B/GEN CD READER, DVD Writer $20
Monitor- LG E2210P-BN 22.0" $175
Operating System- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Sp1 (64-bit) $90

I currently live in the Netherlands and have a site that will make this exact desktop for me, for the price of 2,000 euros. (+/- $2,400) I understand building it myself would cost less money but as I said it'll be my first time so I'm kind of nervous. There are a couple of things I need help with:
Video Card- Is this a good video card that will play all the games on high settings plus later video games as well? If there is a better card for less money please inform me. Or if this is a crappy card and there are a lot better ones, as well please inform me
Case- This is just the case that comes with the site that will build the desktop for me but I was kind of looking for a nice black case with a glass side with some red or lime green accents.
Storage+ Memory- Would you recommend me getting two of each or is that just a waste of space?

If there anything that could be better or isn't correct please tell me. At the moment I don't mind about the monitor, or operating system, soundcard or the optical drive. (Seeing that I don't watch BluRays or make CD DVDs or even use CD and DVDS =P) The other three will come later and I don't need a awesome sound-card yet either.

Now I'm not sure what more to add to this post. If I'm forgetting something or something isn't clear please inform me! I would like to take this time to thank you for reading this post and even bigger thanks if you reply and help me out!

Luke A.

[CrAzYsIm]

For the Video Card I wouldn't get the 570. Its last gen and for the same price the current gen cards run around it. AMD 7950 costs around $350 and its alot better. In the next 2-3 weeks the GTX660 is supposed to be release in the $300 price range which is something to look out for.

As for CPU and motherboard, I personally would go with a 1155 Ivy Bridge processor. An i7 IB uses 77W where the i7 SB-E chips use I believe around 130W. At the same time if your dead set on getting an Asus sabertooth motherboard, the z77 version is around 240, but you could get a decent motherboard for around $130 that will get the job done.

Unless you plan on doing extreme overclocking with your CPU, you don't need a Liquid CPU cooler. If you dont plan on OCing at all the stock fan will do the job just fine too.

If you have no plans on adding a second GPU you dont need a 700W PSU. A 500W PSU from a reputable company will suffice. (With a single high end GPU and a Ivy bridge CPU.) Corsair, Seasonic, XFX being exmaples of high end companies.

Do you really need 24GB of RAM? You can get 8GB (2x4GB) for $45 and it will be plenty

SSD's have come down in price, a 128GB SSD goes for $90, but i'm not sure if its the same price in the netherlands

I've seen 23" LED monitors for $140 on newegg but again I dont know if its the same price in the netherlands.

Also I want to add that I know you said you don't want to build it but its not that hard as you may think. There is also plenty of guides and videos to help you along the way. Most, if not all the components only go in one spot anyway. As long as you take your time and are relaxed you should be able to do it no problem.

[MyMindRuns]

Thank you for your reply.
I have some time before I purchase the desktop so would you recommend me buying the GTX660 over the AMD 7950? Or would you say it is the same thing. Plus I don't plan on overclocking my PC seeing that I have no use for it.
Regarding the CPU, does it matter a lot if it uses more watts? If so, what are the effects on the desktop itself.
I will take in consideration of the 24 GB Ram I could just save money by getting an 8GB one.

I really appreciate you helping me. No one I know is a PC Gamer or has any knowledge what so ever about pc so you are a huge help. Also I would love to put everything together but seeing the fact I have no one to help me, I have a bad feeling that if there some problems or if i screw up, i'll have a huge loss in money. I have to see and do some research before I make my choice on building it or not.

Thank you
Luke A.

[CrAzYsIm]

When the GTX 660 is released, from the benchmarks I've seen, its like the rest of the 6xx series card, they outperform their AMD counterparts for less money. They also are less power hungry than their AMD counterparts. The benchmarks for the GTX660 show it between the AMD 7950 and 7970, the 7950 is $350, if the 660 comes out at $300, its a no brainer to get the 660 over the 7950. On top of that the NVIDIA cards have more features, more mature 3D (If you ever decide to use it) and Physx support in game thats use it (Such as both Batman games)

Regarding the CPU, higher wattage usually means higher temps. If you were planning on going Tri-SLI or Quad SLI than I would recommend getting the SB-e because of the extra PCI-e lanes that it has. But if your only going to have 1 GPU, even 2 than the Ivy Bridge processors would more than suffice. And if you were only going to game I would say get and Ivy Bridge i5 CPU, it lacks the higher integrated GPU which is irrelevant since your going with a good GPU and Hyper-Threading which is irrelevant for gaming. Unless you plan on doing Video encoding or heavy photo editting then I would say get the i7.

8GB of RAM is plenty for gaming and should be for sometime. You can always add more RAM at a later time.

If this company is not charging some crazy premium to put it together for you and you feel uncomfortable building it than it wouldn't be the worst thing to have them do it.

These changes would save you some good money as well.


EDIT: I just wanted to add, I added up the parts you listed in your original post, are those prices the same you will be getting or is it more expensive in the netherlands because based on the prices you listed it would cost $1,780, and if they are charging $2400 for those prices, its outrageous.

[MyMindRuns]

So i'll wait for the GTX 660 because that seems a lot more reasonable then the AMD.

I will have to wait and think about the CPU because I'm not sure which one fits best with me right now but I'm leaning more on the Ivy Bridge i5 CPU seeing that I think i'll only game the majority of the time and I don't do any heavy photo editing.

I changed the Ram to 8gb saves me a lot and as you said I can always add more.

The prices that are here in Europe are kind of high! I only found prices so far off major electronic commerce sites and they range from 1,800 - 1,900 euros. And that's about 2,200- 2,300 dollars. I would only have to pay the company around 100 euros for them to build it for me. I personally think that is reasonable. But of course I am still looking for other places to buy for cheaper and if it is a lot cheaper I'll probably take the challenge and build it my self
Reason like this I wish I lived in America =P

[MyMindRuns]

So I took your changes into consideration and found a site that is in the Netherlands and come up with this as the cheapest price I can get for all the products. (The site doesn't have the Asus SABERTOOTH Z77 so that I will have to ship in from England. Plus the Video card is just a temp and I think when GTX 660 comes out I'll look into that)

Corsair Solid State Drive Force 3 - 120GB €96
Cooler Master Power GX 650WATT €152
Creative SoundCard SB Recon 3D PCIe €75
Corsair Memory Vengeance BLUE,1866-8GB KIT €60
Asus VideoCard Radeon HD7950 DCII,3GB €340
Sony DVD Brander Optiarc DVR DL 24X,SATA €20
Intel Processor Core i7-3770K, s1155 €316
Cooler Master Case Storm Scout €75
The Asus Sabertooth Z77 €215

Total Price Euros: €1440

Am I missing something? If I go with this set up, I would have to put everything together by myself but it will be around 600 euros cheaper! Plus I was wondering, would it be reasonable to put in an extra HDD or will this SSD work perfect on its own? And if you have anymore advise it would be very helpful.

Thank you
Luke A.

[SpicySnow]

Regarding HDD: Is 120Gb enough for you? If its not, you might want to consider adding a secondary HDD. IF 120Gb is enough, than you have no need for an HDD.

IS their a reason for getting a sound card? Your motherboard comes with integrated 8-channel sound. IF you want a discrete sound card: than your speaker set-up better be worth more than $250, otherwise you are wasting money.

GPU: 7950 is junk, don't bother with it. Consider getting a 670. It's within your budget. 660 Ti is also worth looking into. (Waiting on benchmarks from tom's / andtech, rumored release august 16)

sabertooth is kind of a gimmik. :/ Save yourself some money and get a normal motherboard.

[MyMindRuns]

If you are saying the sabertooth isn't worth it. What Motherboard would you recommend.

Plus I also stated that the 7950 is just temp because I'm not certain which one to get plus as CrAzYsIm stated the GTX 660 is worth watching. So I'll wait until it's released and then make a choice on the GPU

I can also just start off with the 120 GB and if it isn't enough then add on a new HDD right?

[CrAzYsIm]

you can add a mechnical HDD for data and storage and the SSD for windows and the most used programs.
I'm building a new PC for my cousin and i'm waiting on the GTX660 for his build.

If you link me to the site where you will be purchasing your parts, I could put something together that would be suited to your needs.

[SpicySnow]

Same company - essentially the same motherboard minus the heatshield and more features that might actually be useful: like Wifi.
Amazon.com: ASUS Intel Z77 ATX DDR3 2400 LGA 1155 Motherboard P8Z77-V: Computers & Accessories
Or a giga
Amazon.com: Gigabyte Intel Z77 LGA 1155 AMD CrossFireX/NVIDIA SLI W/ HDMI,DVI,DispayPort Dual UEFI BIOS ATX Motherboard GA-Z77X-UD3H: Computers & Accessories

And if you are looking for a budget mobo: (cost $105 - $130 USD)
Amazon.com: Asus P8Z77-V LK Intel Z77 DDR3 LGA 1155 Motherboards: Computers & Accessories



About the 660. Yes you should watch the 660, but also compare the 660 to the 660 Ti. The 660 and 660 Ti are NOT the same graphics card. 660 Ti is better than 660. (They used to name them as 660 and 665 instead of 660 Ti. That was alot less confusing)