Critique my build

[marcroboy]

Hi guys, i've been out of loops for hardware for a while. Last comp I built was in 2008. I'm looking for another fast computer for mostly work but also some gaming/programming. What do you think of this build:

CPU Intel Core i5-2500 3.3GHz Quad-Core $189.99
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing $34.98
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-P67A-D3-B3 ATX LGA1155 $89.88
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $51.99
Hard Drive Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" SSD $175.92
Video Card Asus Radeon HD 6670 1GB $84.64
Case Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower $74.99
Power Supply Cooler Master 700W ATX12V $79.88

Comes out to about 800 with the barebones.

Thanks!

[IamToronto]

Hi guys, i've been out of loops for hardware for a while. Last comp I built was in 2008. I'm looking for another fast computer for mostly work but also some gaming/programming. What do you think of this build:

CPU Intel Core i5-2500 3.3GHz Quad-Core $189.99
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing $34.98
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-P67A-D3-B3 ATX LGA1155 $89.88
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $51.99
Hard Drive Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" SSD $175.92
Video Card Asus Radeon HD 6670 1GB $84.64
Case Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower $74.99
Power Supply Cooler Master 700W ATX12V $79.88

Comes out to about 800 with the barebones.

Thanks!

go for 2500k if you want to overclock, its one of the best processors ever designed
get a corsair watercooler... h70 maybe?
decent board, its low end though.. why not asus?
memorys cool, high timing, i think it has 9-9-9-25 but im not sure.. either way its not a big deal these days
i dont know about SSDs so i cant say anything here but i heard OCZ makes solid SSDs
whered you get a 6670 for that price? is that really what they cost now?
case is all personal preference, but again id go with one of the mid or high end corsair cases.. i just feel corsair makes solid products
and again for the PSU id go with something corsair lol 700w gaming series i guess?

[xalex0]

Why not ivy bridge?

[Mark77]

Personally drop the Samsung SSD and go with a Crucial m4, or even a cheaper Intel.

Spend a little bit more on the video card. Get the -k CPU if you're going to overclock. If you're not going to overclock, then the stock HSF is just fine so you can drop the extra cooler.

Maybe aim for the Z77 chipset on the motherboard. P67 is cheap, but obsolete. And throw a little bit more $$ at the video card.

Otherwise, the system as spec'ed is perfectly fine.

[thinfilms]

Why not ivy bridge?


Personally drop the Samsung SSD and go with a Crucial m4, or even a cheaper Intel.

Spend a little bit more on the video card. Get the -k CPU if you're going to overclock. If you're not going to overclock, then the stock HSF is just fine so you can drop the extra cooler.

Maybe aim for the Z77 chipset on the motherboard. P67 is cheap, but obsolete. And throw a little bit more $$ at the video card.

Otherwise, the system as spec'ed is perfectly fine.

+1.

If you aren't going to OC (not saying you aren't), save some money, get a non-K CPU, and stock cooling is fine. A lot of people waste money on extra cooling when its not necessary, and can get a better video card instead. Also, the SSD is a bit pricey as well.

[djemzine]

The Samsung SSD is over priced for a 128GB. You could have chosen the OCZ Vertex 3 or Sandisk equivalent for way cheaper after rebates such.

[willy]

If you don't plan to overclock, I personally would :

- drop the Hyper 212 EVO and stick with stock HSF (shift the money to a better PSU)
- Choose a H77-based motherboard ... ie. http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=16950BD0683
- 128GB total disk space seems a bit limited. How about 60GB SSD + 1TB HDD ?

I am not a big fan of Cooler Master PSU but that's just preference.

Antec 300 is pretty decent and only cost half the price.

[xalex0]

If going with H77 then would it be worth it to get one with MVP?

[MkmBandit]

Good advice in this thread, only thing I'd change is instead of getting a watercooler-in-a-box, I'd suggest going with the Noctua NH-D14, or any Noctua heatsink for that matter.

[studolf]

The Samsung SSD is over priced for a 128GB. You could have chosen the OCZ Vertex 3 or Sandisk equivalent for way cheaper after rebates such.

Samsung 830 is probably the most reliable SSD in the world, so it's worth the money. Samsung makes everything in-house from the toggle nand to the controllers themselves. I believe this SSD was on sale for $90 on the american newegg in mid June. It's a killer deal at that price. I myself will second the ocz vtx 3, as that's what I have, and it's good value for $70 w/MIR.

On another note, the OP can get this drive cheaper on tigerdirect.ca for $145.

[DavidY]

HD 6670 is pretty light....aimed towards those who are limited to a 300 watt PSU. At the very least, go with a HD 7750 or a HD 6770. If you have a 1920x1200 monitor, I like the HD 6870 for bang for the buck gaming.

$80 after MIR HD 6770

http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/asus-video-card-eah6770dc2di1gd5

$120 HD 6870

http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/powercolor-video-card-ax68701gbd5m2dh

Dave

[marcroboy]

Thanks so much everyone for the reply. I've upgraded the motherboard, videocard and changed the HDD configuration according to the suggestions. I don't think I will be overclocking my cpu so I've stayed with 2500 and no additional heatsink.

How does this look now? Works perfectly for my budget which is around $800



CPU: Intel Core i5-2500 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/intel-cpu-bx80623i52500) ($189.99 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/asrock-motherboard-h77pro4m) ($99.36 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/corsair-memory-cmz8gx3m2a1600c9) ($51.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Hard Drive: Corsair Force Series GT 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/corsair-internal-hard-drive-cssdf120gbgtbk) ($99.99 @ Memory Express)
Hard Drive: OCZ Vertex 3 60GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/ocz-internal-hard-drive-vtx325sat360g) ($54.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/powercolor-video-card-ax68701gbd5m2dh) ($119.88 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Antec Nine Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/antec-case-ninehundredtwo) ($68.88 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: Antec 650W ATX12V Power Supply (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/antec-power-supply-ea650green) ($44.99 @ Canada Computers)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7260S-0B DVD/CD Writer (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/sony-optical-drive-ad7260s0b) ($19.88 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $749.95
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

Not sure about the SSD, apparently the OCZ SSD have issues with them? I went with Corsair.

[IamToronto]

Thanks so much everyone for the reply. I've upgraded the motherboard, videocard and changed the HDD configuration according to the suggestions. I don't think I will be overclocking my cpu so I've stayed with 2500 and no additional heatsink.

How does this look now? Works perfectly for my budget which is around $800



CPU: Intel Core i5-2500 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/intel-cpu-bx80623i52500) ($189.99 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/asrock-motherboard-h77pro4m) ($99.36 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/corsair-memory-cmz8gx3m2a1600c9) ($51.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Hard Drive: Corsair Force Series GT 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/corsair-internal-hard-drive-cssdf120gbgtbk) ($99.99 @ Memory Express)
Hard Drive: OCZ Vertex 3 60GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/ocz-internal-hard-drive-vtx325sat360g) ($54.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/powercolor-video-card-ax68701gbd5m2dh) ($119.88 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Antec Nine Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/antec-case-ninehundredtwo) ($68.88 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: Antec 650W ATX12V Power Supply (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/antec-power-supply-ea650green) ($44.99 @ Canada Computers)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7260S-0B DVD/CD Writer (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/sony-optical-drive-ad7260s0b) ($19.88 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $749.95
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

Not sure about the SSD, apparently the OCZ SSD have issues with them? I went with Corsair.


NO NO NO STOP RIGHT THERE

first, h77.. nah bro.. go z77 the h77 is definitely not what you want
also, asrock? lol... asus or gigabyte.. if youre tight on money go msi at the least

cpu go ivybridge, an i5-3450 will run you the same price or even less
motherboard go asus or gigabyte z77
memory is good
hard drive the corsair is nice
for graphics card find an xfx, powercolor is low-end
case and powersuppy = cool
optical drive who cares

[xalex0]

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/corsair-memory-cmz8gx3m2a1600c9) ($51.99 @ Newegg Canada)
It's $48.99 @ NCIX with free pickup
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=57078&promoid=1223



Power Supply: Antec 650W ATX12V Power Supply (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/antec-power-supply-ea650green) ($44.99 @ Canada Computers) Make sure you have got a spare power cord.


NO NO NO STOP RIGHT THERE

first, h77.. nah bro.. go z77 the h77 is definitely not what you want
If CPU overclocking and SLI are out of the picture then what can Z77 offer that H77 doesn't?



also, asrock? lol... asus or gigabyte.. if youre tight on money go msi at the least
asrock brand boards get good reviews too. Brand doesn't matter much. You should rather look at the features offered with each particular model.
The suggested brands have got even cheaper models, e.g.
www.ncix.com/products/?sku=69922&promoid=1360
www.ncix.com/products/?sku=70268&promoid=1360

[DavidY]

NO NO NO STOP RIGHT THERE

for graphics card find an xfx, powercolor is low-end



Here are other graphic card brand/model/prices:

$119 HD 6870 @ 900 MHz: PowerColor AX6870 1GBD5-M2DH has a 4+ star rating from 25 reviews.

$155 after MIR HD 6870 @ 900 MHz: XFX HD-687A-ZHFC has a 4 star rating from 191 reviews.

$125 after MIR HD 6850 @ 790 MHz: Asus EAH6850 DC/2DIS/1GD5/V2 has a 4 star rating from 143 reviews.

$125 after MIR HD 6850 @ 860 MHz: MSI R6850 Cyclone PE/OC has a 4 star rating from 59 reviews.

$125 after MIR HD 6850 @ 775 MHz: XFX HD-685X-ZCFC has a 3+ star rating from 34 reviews.

$145 after MIR GTX 560Ti @ 822 MHz: Zotac ZT-50301-10M has a 4+ star rating from 7 reviews.

Not many HD 6870 cards between $119 and $155...I too would pick XFX over PowerColor...but it's $36 more. Not familiar with Zotac...other than it's the cheapest 560Ti card at $145 after MIR...the next cheapest is the $190 EVGA.

As an alternate, MSI R6850 Cyclone PE/OC looks like a good buy (for a name brand) at $125 after MIR (bold).

OP,

What is your monitor's rez? Any particular games that you like? Both of these should dictate which graphics card provides the best bang for the buck.

Dave

[willy]

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/intel-cpu-bx80623i52500) ($189.99 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/asrock-motherboard-h77pro4m) ($99.36 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/corsair-memory-cmz8gx3m2a1600c9) ($51.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Hard Drive: Corsair Force Series GT 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/corsair-internal-hard-drive-cssdf120gbgtbk) ($99.99 @ Memory Express)
Hard Drive: OCZ Vertex 3 60GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/ocz-internal-hard-drive-vtx325sat360g) ($54.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/powercolor-video-card-ax68701gbd5m2dh) ($119.88 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Antec Nine Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/antec-case-ninehundredtwo) ($68.88 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: Antec 650W ATX12V Power Supply (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/antec-power-supply-ea650green) ($44.99 @ Canada Computers)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7260S-0B DVD/CD Writer (http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/sony-optical-drive-ad7260s0b) ($19.88 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $749.95
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

Not sure about the SSD, apparently the OCZ SSD have issues with them? I went with Corsair.

2 SSDs ?? Typo ?

[willy]

NO NO NO STOP RIGHT THERE

first, h77.. nah bro.. go z77 the h77 is definitely not what you want
also, asrock? lol... asus or gigabyte.. if youre tight on money go msi at the least

cpu go ivybridge, an i5-3450 will run you the same price or even less
motherboard go asus or gigabyte z77
memory is good
hard drive the corsair is nice
for graphics card find an xfx, powercolor is low-end
case and powersuppy = cool
optical drive who cares
Just curious ... What makes H77 "definitely not what you want" ???

[IamToronto]

Just curious ... What makes H77 "definitely not what you want" ???

if youre going to build a futureproof computer you might as well have a solid motherboard, you can upgrade your cpu, video cards, hard drives, RAM, add multiple GPUs under pcie 3.0, etc etc and still keep the same motherboard for a few years. im sure haswell (or whatever the next intel chipset is) will be able to run on z77 boards

http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2012/04/12/z68-z77-and-h77-whats-the-difference/

[willy]

if youre going to build a futureproof computer you might as well have a solid motherboard, you can upgrade your cpu, video cards, hard drives, RAM, add multiple GPUs under pcie 3.0, etc etc and still keep the same motherboard for a few years. im sure haswell (or whatever the next intel chipset is) will be able to run on z77 boards

http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2012/04/12/z68-z77-and-h77-whats-the-difference/
As far as I know, H77 can take all CPU, video card, hard drives, RAM that Z77 can take. With the OP's requirement, I personally don't see the additional cost of Z77 brings any benefits. But that's just me ...

[xalex0]

if youre going to build a futureproof computer you might as well have a solid motherboard, you can upgrade your cpu, video cards, hard drives, RAM, add multiple GPUs under pcie 3.0, etc etc and still keep the same motherboard for a few years.
I see, no real reasons. OP, go with H77 if the price is right.


im sure haswell (or whatever the next intel chipset is) will be able to run on z77 boards
Look up LGA1150

[IamToronto]

Look up LGA1150

:(
i want to upgrade my machine too, i might as well just wait til haswell comes out

[xalex0]

:(
i want to upgrade my machine too, i might as well just wait til haswell comes outIf you can afford to wait, then sure.