Guild Wars 2

Hey everybody,

First off, sorry in advance to the moderators if this was in the wrong forum. I wasnt sure if it should here or in the general GW2 forum.

I’ve been thinking about building a new PC since TSW and GW2 came out. I havent built a custom PC since ‘97-98 though. So i am way out of the loop when it comes to what brand names are the best, and whats the most up to date hardware. Also I never did BIOS config from scratch, only installing an HDD, formatting it and installing my OS. I’ve installed a bunch of PC parts, but never a MOBO, processor, PS or all the cable work.

With all that out of the way, i’m not looking for the most inexpensive budget build. I want it to last for a few years. Since i am out of the loop, i ended up googling how-to build PC site and i just copied and pasted a shopping list.

PLEASE DISREGARD THIS LIST-UPDATED LIST IS A FEW POSTS DOWN

Motherboard: ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 Intel Series 7 ($250)
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K Quad Core ($320)
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro H100 CPU Liquid Cooler ($130)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz 16GB ($90)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 580 SuperClocked ($420)
Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DGX ($50)
Hard Drives: Crucial CT128M4SSD2 m4 2.5" 128GB ($105)
Optical Drive: Lite-On Internal Blu-Ray Burner ($75)
Case: Thermaltake Chaser MK-I Full Tower ($130)
Power Supply: Cooler Master Silent Pro M 850W ($115)

I’m assuming putting everything together will be pretty straightforward as long as i follow all the necessary precautions. But i just want to know if setting up the BIOS and SSD is also straightforward. Wiring should all be ready to plug in as well, and the PS and liquid cooler should not need any extra attention?

Back to the list, tigersdirect has all the parts available, except for the VC. If i’m not able to find that VC anywhere, can you guys recommend another card that has roughly the same performance? Budget just for the VC can be anywhere between 250-600 USD.

thanks!

You can get the 660 ti instead of the 580gtx then down the line SLI it and Probably Corsair HX series PSU. As for the SSD you need to set the SATA ports in BIOS in ACHI mode instead of IDE before installing an OS other than that everything looks fine.

I might SLI the 660ti right from the start of the build. Will i have to get a higher rated PS? or will 850w still work with the SLI?

Thanks Alpha

For 660ti I think any high quality 850w will do.(Corsair/Seasonic/Thermaltake PSUs). I also saw newegg got 256GB Crucial M4 @ $160++ something .

I have no affiliation but go to Overclock.net, you get to find more answers.

You don’t need an 850W PSU for a single PSU. Never ever. 500W is more than enough and you still have headroom. If you’re going for 2 card SLI 600W is enough, but most people go for 650W to have extra headroom.

Don’t buy a 580, it’s outdated. It runs hot, takes up more power and is less efficient than the 6xx series.

For instance, the Antec High Current Gamer 520W PSU can support a GTX 680 and still have about 100W headroom. Obviously this might not be true if you had 6 HDDs or something silly.

Do you need a soundcard? Do you work with high quality audio files? They’re not necessary otherwise.

- Are you gonna overclock your CPU? If not, don’t buy the K version.

- I had several problems with EVGA cards – now I’m on MSI ones and not a problem, not to mention higher quality materials. What about a 660 GTX Ti overclocked? (I’m thinking about the MSI NV660GTX Ti PE)

- RAM: you did not mention the speeds. AFAIK 90$ for 16GB means not that high speeds.

- Sound Card: as far as you’re not an audiophile, a dedicated card is an obsolete concept (and in any case an audiophile would never buy a creative/asus audio card in any case). No need to spend that much when you can have an external USB card for… 20$? And PLEASE don’t start writing a creative/asus sound card rocks because “<product informations here>”, I know what I’m writing.

- You could save even the 75$ of the optical drive – seriously, you can install even an operating system with an USB stick now. And the last CD I bought was eons ago. Buy it only if you want to listen to the music (not that MP3 s**t).

- Hard drive: it has a ridiculous write capacity (only 175 MB/s on sheet), I’d better buy a SanDisk’s SDSSDX-240G-G25, which has 512 MB/s read/write for 256 GB of space and around 160 bucks.

DJRiful.3749:

I have no affiliation but go to Overclock.net, you get to find more answers.

Tyvm, i will check it out.

I was on tigerdirect yesterday and it didnt have the 580gtx card available at the time. But i checked it just now and looks like they have it in stock now. So i went ahead and ordered all the stuff on the list. I will also have to stop by best buy or something and pick up another copy of Windows 7 64 bit. Maybe some antivirus software as well?

Anything else you guys can think of that i might need to know? precision tools? anything minor?

So you ask for advice and then order everything anyway? OK..

Don’t buy anti-virus software.

elegos,

Here is a link to the list on the how-to site i found it on.

http://www.build-gaming-computers.com/high-end-gaming-computer.html

Dont scroll too far down to the bottom, there’s a separate ‘extreme’ listing at the bottom.

You can really save some money by cutting out some of the unnecessary stuff you have there – put it into a better SSD.

And the information on that site is.. It’s not made by an expert.

ZaxanRazor.6235:

So you ask for advice and then order everything anyway? OK..

Don’t buy anti-virus software.

Didnt think a lot of people would be up at this hour hehe. I’m actually still filling out my account info, and i am at the final checkout screen. But i stopped when i started getting more replies.

ZaxanRazor.6235:

You can really save some money by cutting out some of the unnecessary stuff you have there – put it into a better SSD.

And the information on that site is.. It’s not made by an expert.

Such as? i would like to run the cooling since my room tends to run a little hotter then the rest of the house.

cosmatman: if you just took a list from that website and don’t know much about hardware… well, if I were you I’d read carefully my answer (and others’) and take a decision: spend a lot more for nothing more, or listen to whom may help you improve your system spending less? If you don’t understand something of my critics in the other reply, please ask.

The configuration the website you’ve linked have a great potential, still you won’t use it at all if you don’t know where to put the hands on – and some items, specially the SSDs and the audio card, are useless or even worse bad computer parts.

For instance: I like the ASUS mother boards, but why have you choosen that mobo? Just because the website told you to do so? If so, you’ll use it with the potential of a way cheaper mobo.

EDIT: liquid-cooling =/= colder or more silent room. The radiator will always spit out hot air with a fan.

cosmatman.9306:

ZaxanRazor.6235:

You can really save some money by cutting out some of the unnecessary stuff you have there – put it into a better SSD.

And the information on that site is.. It’s not made by an expert.

Such as? i would like to run the cooling since my room tends to run a little hotter then the rest of the house.

Drop down to a 650W PSU. It’s more than enough even if you want to SLI.

Cut out the sound card unless you do high-quality audio work.

Consider getting a newer generation card than the 580, especially if you want to cut down on heat. They run hot and use up more power for the same performance than the 680 or even an overclocked 670 model.

Get a better SSD – look up write speeds, the one you’re buying is really quite slow in comparison.

Keep the CPU cooler if you want – but don’t get the K model of the i7 if you’re not wanting to overclock it.

There are better cases than the Thermaltake, but it’s fine if you like the look of it.

Optical drive – Writable discs for Blu-Ray are expensive at the moment, and I don’t know how often you’ll use it. It might make more sense just to get a BR reader and get a writer when they’ve come down to more normal prices and the media doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

elegos.3784:

cosmatman: if you just took a list from that website and don’t know much about hardware… well, if I were you I’d read carefully my answer (and others’) and take a decision: spend a lot more for nothing more, or listen to whom may help you improve your system spending less? If you don’t understand something of my critics in the other reply, please ask.

The configuration the website you’ve linked have a great potential, still you won’t use it at all if you don’t know where to put the hands on – and some items, specially the SSDs and the audio card, are useless or even worse bad computer parts.

For instance: I like the ASUS mother boards, but why have you choosen that mobo? Just because the website told you to do so? If so, you’ll use it with the potential of a way cheaper mobo.

I didnt want to have people on the forum just make up an entire shopping list for me, i thought that would make me appear lazy. Since i haven’t been keeping up on brand names, and what parts are good/bad best i could do was google, copy, paste and ask for a critique.

Well, let’s start answering to our questions:

1. will you overclock?
2. do you want to work with audio directly?
3. do you want a liquid-cooling system which has to be maintained?

Starting from these two questions:
1. (n) take the CPU without the K (you spend less for exactly the same)
2. (n) take away the audio card, the mobo’s built-in one already has HD audio
3. (n) take a way more silent air-cooling system (Alpine Pro if (1) is no, something better like a CNPS 8800 Max if (1) is yes).

In any case – choose a different SSD drive, like the one I’ve suggested you and buy a 6xx series nVidia video card (possibly 660 GTX Ti or higher). I don’t have any experience with ATi cards, so I can’t suggest you those ones.

If I were you, I would somehow test whatever parts you can with GW2 before you get your new PC. Because this game has some serious issues with certain cards, no matter how powerful your PC is – this game has driver issues.

See the Low FPS thread.

People in there with godlike computers running at 10 FPS.

ZaxanRazor.6235:

Drop down to a 650W PSU. It’s more than enough even if you want to SLI.

Cut out the sound card unless you do high-quality audio work.

Consider getting a newer generation card than the 580, especially if you want to cut down on heat. They run hot and use up more power for the same performance than the 680 or even an overclocked 670 model.

Get a better SSD – look up write speeds, the one you’re buying is really quite slow in comparison.

Keep the CPU cooler if you want – but don’t get the K model of the i7 if you’re not wanting to overclock it.

There are better cases than the Thermaltake, but it’s fine if you like the look of it.

Optical drive – Writable discs for Blu-Ray are expensive at the moment, and I don’t know how often you’ll use it. It might make more sense just to get a BR reader and get a writer when they’ve come down to more normal prices and the media doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

I will def look at swapping out the card..I’m also looking at the Sandisk SSD right now. I want to keep the Blu-ray cause i use a 32" Samsung on my current PC and i watch dvd’s and netflix and stuff on there.

And i hate to do it but can you guys recommend a processor+mobo combo other then the K since i dont like to OC? Same with the RAM, i hear corsair was a good brand. But like everything else i’m out of the loop now on how to read ram speed and rating.

thanks for the replies so far

RAM: take a look at the TeamGroup RAM modules (i.e. the 8GB 4×4GB kits), I’ve got good timings (7/9/7/24 for instance) for something like 100$.

elegos.3784:

Well, let’s start answering to our questions:

1. will you overclock?
2. do you want to work with audio directly?
3. do you want a liquid-cooling system which has to be maintained?

Starting from these two questions:
1. (n) take the CPU without the K (you spend less for exactly the same)
2. (n) take away the audio card, the mobo’s built-in one already has HD audio
3. (n) take a way more silent air-cooling system (Alpine Pro if (1) is no, something better like a CNPS 8800 Max if (1) is yes).

In any case – choose a different SSD drive, like the one I’ve suggested you and buy a 6xx series nVidia video card (possibly 660 GTX Ti or higher). I don’t have any experience with ATi cards, so I can’t suggest you those ones.

1) dont like to OC at all
2) if that’s the case i will drop the audio card too. Last time i built one it was a requirement, didnt know that it’s changed nowadays.
3) dont want to have to maintain the liquid cooling system. Quiet setup is a plus

Hi.

Looking at your specs…

1- You don’t say if you want to highly overclock it or not. If you aren’t, then you don’t need watercooling. The standard Intel Box Set CPU Fan works fine.

2- Again if not overclocking then any good quality RAM is fine. The Corsair RAM sounds OK.

3- I agree with getting a more modern graphics card. That is probably the most important part of your system for gaming. I would look at the Nvidia 660 Ti or the newly released Nvidia GTX 660 in the moderate price range.

4.- If you want to save money… You could use a cheaper I5 processor and not lose much at all. Also, unless you want watch Bluray movies, a standard DVD drive is enough. Here is a good reference… http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106.html

5- I would buy a 256GB SSD. This is another key system component. 128GB can get eaten up pretty quickly these days. Someone else said about setting the BIOS to AHCI for the drive. Make sure you set it before installing Windows 7.

6- You don’t really need an 850W PSU. But, the price doesn’t sound too bad. The main thing is to buy a good quality PSU.

Ash.5034:

Hi.

Looking at your specs…

1- You don’t say if you want to highly overclock it or not. If you aren’t, then you don’t need watercooling. The standard Intel Box Set CPU Fan works fine.

4.- If you want to save money… You could use a cheaper I5 processor and not lose much at all. Also, unless you want watch Bluray movies, a standard DVD drive is enough. Here is a good reference… http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106.html

Regarding #1 the temps in my room during winter/summer can get pretty warm though. It’s not always icy cold, i pay for cable/internet my part of the rent and someone else pays for the other utilities. So during the summer AC might not be running on some days. I dont usually run my PC on those kinds of days, i’m more of a nocturnal guy anyways.

Regarding #4, i wanted to go with ‘the best’ but i didnt want to get too carried away. I can afford an I7 over an I5 for example, but if i dont need a K cause i dont OC, then of course i wont get it. I also watch some blu-rays, reg dvd’s and streams.

cosmatman.9306:

Ash.5034:

Hi.

Looking at your specs…

1- You don’t say if you want to highly overclock it or not. If you aren’t, then you don’t need watercooling. The standard Intel Box Set CPU Fan works fine.

4.- If you want to save money… You could use a cheaper I5 processor and not lose much at all. Also, unless you want watch Bluray movies, a standard DVD drive is enough. Here is a good reference… http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106.html

Regarding #1 the temps in my room during winter/summer can get pretty warm though. It’s not always icy cold, i pay for cable/internet my part of the rent and someone else pays for the other utilities. So during the summer AC might not be running on some days. I dont usually run my PC on those kinds of days, i’m more of a nocturnal guy anyways.

Regarding #4, i wanted to go with ‘the best’ but i didnt want to get too carried away. I can afford an I7 over an I5 for example, but if i dont need a K cause i dont OC, then of course i wont get it. I also watch some blu-rays, reg dvd’s and streams.

Fair enough!

I come from New Zealand and it almost never gets so hot that it would affect a PC.

Also, if you have never assembled a PC before, then there are quite a few videos on YouTube.

Just make sure you understand all about anti-static precautions.

Also, be careful installing the heatsink over the CPU. The little push-in pins are quite fragile.

Oh well, the boxed intel fan is ok… but it’s nooooooooooisy!
http://www.quietpc.com/ac-alpine11-pro <— this is WAY better – and costs… 12$?

As of the RAM, not all RAM is the same as the others – some are good for work, others are good for gaming / CPU-bound processes. 90$ for 16GB of Corsair RAM smells like low-end modules. Also, you will NEVER EVER saturate 8 GB of RAM nowadays but if you work with AutoCAD + Photoshop (high res images) + browser + etc. A single process can take up to 4 GB of RAM, that’s an OS limitation. I’d suggest this kit (4GBx2): http://www.teamgroup.com.tw/filterable_product/tabs_detail/data/en/9/533/zfKsFi.html

As Ash told ya, it’s better to take a 660 GTX Ti rather than an ‘old’ 580: the difference is minimum, but it will lower temps (specially the MSI one with the double fans setup) without mentioning the chipset is newer with more steam power.

Here is a revised list based on some input:

PLEASE DISREGARD THIS LIST-UPDATED LIST IS A FEW POSTS DOWN

Motherboard: ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 Intel Series 7
CPU: changed to Intel Core i7-3770 Quad Core
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro H100 CPU Liquid Cooler
RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz 16GB
Video Card: changed to EVGA GeForce GTX 680
Sound Card: removed
Hard Drives: changed to Sandisk 240GB SSD SDSSDX-240G-G25
Optical Drive: Lite-On Internal Blu-Ray Burner
Case: Thermaltake Chaser MK-I Full Tower
Power Supply: Cooler Master Silent Pro M 850W

I wanted to limit my purchasing to tigerdirect and newegg. I wasnt able to find TeamWork RAM on either site. And i wanted to go with a quiet 500W or 650w PSU, but couldnt find the one recommended in this thread either.

The other thing was the cooling system. I wanted to try out water cooling, because of my room temps and i also run my PC’s for long hours. Do water cooling systems require a lot of constant attention, or can you hook them up, adjust the settings and forget about them?

sorry elegos, i didnt see your previous post before i hit submit. Reading it now.

(can’t edit the last post) also, the mobo is an overkill if you’re not gonna overclock. I’d search an ASUS one (not asrock please ._.) with the less as you need, i.e.:

Do you use these?
- WiFi module
- Bluetooth
- *Toad*load of Ethernet and extra SATA connectors (i.e. extra chipset)

Remember that the less you need, the less you have to spend. For example the DGI+ technology is good and necessary for overclocking, it’s safe otherwise but not necessary for standard-clocked CPUs (this because even a voltage spike won’t hurt the CPU as it’s already running under-volted according to its specifics and support limits).

Why no love for asrock? :P The z75 Pro 3/4 have excellent reviews (buyer and sites). Also the sabertooth has a 5 years warranty vs the others(2-3 years)you might want to look into that.

@ Alpha Dragon: Asrock mobos usually have worse voltage control, which means risk of CPU fry (or damage) (EDIT: and also… freakying ORANGE! BWAH!). Also, in 1 year we’ll see a new socket – so no need of 5-years warranty.

Reading your new config: IMHO a 680 is an overkill… I can play with my old 560 GTX Ti OC (factory-oc, not personal) with maximum details at ~ 45 FPS. In particular the 660 GTX Ti and the 670 GTX differ only in the data transfert speed, the steam power is the same. And the difference between the 670 and 680 is minimum – so I’d suggest you a 660 GTX Ti (—> the Ti version <—), maybe the MSI one as I wrote you up there due to its dual-fan system and safe OC with even better performance and lower temps and you safe tons of money.

I wont need bluetooth, but wifi is my backup internet connection. But looking at all the stuff for mobos, i dont know what any of that stuff means. I know that part of the label has some significance but i forgot which one is which. I know one is the socket, one is the form factor, How about something like these below, although i see an (O.C.) in there.

ASUS P8Z77-V LX Intel 7 Series Motherboard – ATX, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Intel Z77 Express, 2400MHz DDR3 (O.C.), SATA III (6Gb/s), RAID, 8-CH Audio, Gigabit LAN, USB 3.0, PCIe 3.0, CrossFireX Ready

ASUS P8Z77-V Intel 7 Series Motherboard – ATX, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Intel Z77 Express, 2400MHz DDR3 (O.C.), SATA III (6Gb/s), RAID, 8-CH Audio, Gigabit LAN, USB 3.0, PCIe 3.0, WiFi-N, SLI/CrossFireX

Also i think i found the Team Group RAM, it has the timing listed as 9-9-9-24
Team Vulcan 16GB (2 × 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

Well OP wanted a PC to last for a few years. I doubt he’ll change to hashwell coming next year. An i7 with z77 would probably last for years (5years+ hence the warranty on sabertooth is tempting) .I’m still using C2D and CQD processors (with both asus mobo )and they work fine until now only upgrades for me was graphic card and some ram.

As for asrock it’s cheap alternative since the OP also isn’t going to OC his CPU. Don’t know but boards may vary as well to the user and the environment. I’ve setup a PC for my brother last time (E2160+ Asrock board) lasted him 3years + till he sold it off.

Yeah I’m going for 660 TI as well :P that is if you want to cut cost and you’re only playing gw2 for a while.

This what you mean for the MSI card?

MSI N660 Ti PE 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

1344 CUDA Cores
2GB 192-bit GDDR5
PCI Express 3.0 x16

Asus P8Z77-V costs you a lot less and it’s just ok for normal computer (no OC no extra features), but it doesn’t have the WiFi module. How can the WiFi a backup system? If you’ve got an ethernet network it’s enough. I’ve got the P8P67 Deluxe with WiFi, but I’ve never used it (even if I do have a WiFi network for the laptop).

As of RAM: 9-9-9-24 is good enough, though 7-9-7-24 is far better. Have you checked the model number on your sites? TXD38192M1600HC7LDC-L

Also, as you’ll never have 32 GB of RAM on this rig (at least not on this mobo), it’s safer to use 2x kits of 2×4GB rather than 2×8 GB, because if a module breaks, you have to change both the modules (kits are made of twin modules, even a little difference may produce higher latency or even errors), and a 2×4GB kit costs less than a 2×8GB one (still I think 16GB is an overkill for everything out here and the next 4 years).

EDIT: yes, that’s the GCard I was talking about

We have two internet connections in the house. Mine is a dedicated hardline just for my room, and everyone else in the house shares a wifi from another computer. If my internet goes down i just hop on the wifi.

I checked the RAM and on newegg it isnt available, and it doesnt come up on tigerdirect. When looking at RAM does the part that says DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) have any meaning? do i have to match that up with my mobo? Because on the 2 mobos i listed above it has 2400 DDR3 (O.C.). Or is it just higher = better? since price also goes up as those stat numbers go up.

EDIT: nvm i actually just googled the part about ram timing hehe.

:) btw the RAM clock speed on the mobo is what the mobo itself supports (usually from 1333 up to 2400 (oc) Mhz), 1600 Mhz is nowadays the standard non-oc RAM DDR3 speed. And the CL timings are the lower the better, as you may already have learned.

As of the WiFi connection – an USB stick may always be the solution :P

EDIT: btw you may contact newegg or your favourite shop and ask them if they can get the RAM back to stock

I looked further and it said that p/n was actually discontinued? I was looking at this other one though, the timing isn’t as low as the one you recommended, but it’s the best of what they have in stock.

16gb 4×4gb

TXD316G1600HC9QC-V
DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
• Timing 9-9-9-24
• Cas Latency 9
• Voltage 1.5V

If it’s been discontinued – well, ok I just did a fast research.

Again, why do you want 16 GB and not 8? 8 is enough and being dual-channel, it’s the same if you take 2 kits of 8GB (2×4GB), one now and one, eventually, when you’ll start saturating it. Trust me, you’ll save 50% of the price

Go for the 670 instead of the 660ti. It’s worth the price difference in performance (larger memory bus), and will last you a bit longer.

Ok revision to the revision:

UPDATED LIST:

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LX LGA 1155 Intel Z77
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 Quad Core Ivy Bridge
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Alpine 11
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100
RAM: Team Vulcan 16GB (4 × 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 680 4gb Twin Frozr
Hard Drives: SanDisk Extreme SDSSDX-240G-G25 2.5" 240GB SATA III SSD
Optical Drive: Lite-On Internal Blu-Ray Burner
Case: Thermaltake Chaser MK-I Full Tower
Power Supply: Antec HCG M Series HCG-620W ATX12V

I’m assuming sound card still isnt needed since it is integrated into the mobo? I would still like some form of liquid cooling. And i dont know what kind of air cooling the case comes with or if i have to get that separate. Newegg has a vid of the case and i’m gonna watch it right now. But here is my revised revised list for you guys to critique. I put a message in the previous two lists that i posted so there would be less confusion.

It looks like the case has two 200mm fans, and a 120 or 140mm fan already installed. Since they are cheap i’m gonna get two more 200mm fans in case i want to install them too. Gonna log from the forums for now, but i will check back later in the day to check for feedback.

I’d suggest you an Alpine 11 Pro as CPU fan – silent, cheap and does its duty very well on standard-clock processors. Really no need to go liquid-cooling (it makes more noise and it’s needed only for high (and dungerous if doing it blindly) overclocking). Audio card not needed. In the rare case you’d hear a whistles (electrical ground problems), just buy an external USB audio card for 20$ or so. I still think that a 680 is an overkill for anything, and the 670 doesn’t worth the difference of cost IMHO. If you buy now a 660 you can still pair it with another one in 2-3 years for cheap.

cosmatman.9306:

CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Alpine 11
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100

Wait a sec, you have a water cooler and an air cooler…. is that even possible…

If you’re not overclocking you can live with the stock air cooler assuming your room is below oh say… 90 Fahrenheit?!?

If you’re really concerned grab the air cooler. A liquid cooler for a non-OC rig is beyond overkill.

With so many fans are you concerned with noise? If so, you may want to invest in the nicer, quieter variety. But again it sounds overkill.

Ohh that was my mistake Swede, i added in the Alpine 11, in case the Corsair doesnt work out. I meant to add a note about that but i forgot about it.

Also the 200mm fans were only like 20 USD each. If i’m not able to figure out the water setup then i may put a side fan, maybe another top fan. I’ll take any noise reduction i can…just cause 1 accessory is a little loud, i’m not gonna make the whole setup loud. The air and water coolers are just a small portion of my budget. I actually saved a bit by downgrading certain things like the mobo and cpu, and getting rid of the sound card. It made fitting in the 680 GTX into the original budget that much easier.

Regarding the 680 i may go back and forth between that and the 660 Ti a couple of time over the day. But right now i am leaning heavily towards the 680. But it was a good suggestion to go with the MSI brand, that has 2 fans on the VC instead of 1 like EVGA.

Ohh and also average temps this summer were about 85+ degrees, outside. I’m on the second floor of the house, in the room with the most electronics turned on and we dont run AC the whole summer. So it was slightly warmer in my room, i’m talking no shirt days…just watching movies on my PC days.

Remember to take, in any case, a cabinet with air filters (important!), and large fans (front in and rear out) → the larger, the lower speed, the more silent. As already told by me and Swedemon, the liquid cooling is more than un-necessary and costs you 110$ more than the super-silent Alpine one

Ok revision to the revision:

UPDATED LIST:

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LX LGA 1155 Intel Z77
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 Quad Core Ivy Bridge
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Alpine 11
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100
RAM: Team Vulcan 16GB (4 × 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 680 4gb Twin Frozr
Hard Drives: SanDisk Extreme SDSSDX-240G-G25 2.5" 240GB SATA III SSD
Optical Drive: Lite-On Internal Blu-Ray Burner
Case: Thermaltake Chaser MK-I Full Tower
Power Supply: Antec HCG M Series HCG-620W ATX12V

Looking at your above.. my 2 cents..

Mobo – I like the Sabretooth board myself. It is a bit more expensive, but its reliable and durable. I am of the opinion now that just cause its an Asus does not mean its quality like it used to be. I have a current Asus board that has been nothing but problems for me. Gigabyte is making some really good boards right now. They are not quite as costly as Asus just yet.

CPU – i7.. everyone loves the i7. Well, if its a gaming rig, you can save a few bucks going with i5. Yes, the i7 is better, but games do not use all the threading you will be getting with an i7. If it is for GW2, no reason at all for an i7. Tests show negligible improvement.

RAM: Take a look at the Ripjaws RAM by GSkillz. Dominator quality for much cheaper

Harddrive: Recent article was discussing data integrity on SSD. Appears that data degrades to the point of not being usable after 10 years on an SSD.. something to think about. I would still go SSD, but another option is going with a smaller SSD to boot off of an a tape drive to run everything. Get the boot speed of the SSD and storage of a tape.

PSU: Antec isnt bad, but I always say go Corsair. Corsair Enthusiast 750W is only $100.

Case: the HAF series cases are the best at cooling, although with them they do accumulate dust a bit faster in the inside

Cooling: I like fans. They can be low sounding, and liquid cooling can break and make for a bad day. I know with one of my Antec cases, I was running two gtx9800+ on SLI on a quad core duo rig and didnt notice until later than the CPU fan was dead yet the vid cards were still around 65 degrees and the cores all under 55. A good case can make a major difference (not saying dont get a CPU fan lol)

If you are just using this for GW2 though.. you can run everything on ultra with an i5, GTX560, and 8 gigs of ram

I want the PC to last for several years, not just to be able to run the current games at max settings.

I have a separate Passport external HD that i will be using for main storage. I’m new to SSD’s and i have heard of a few do’s and dont’s. I was going to put GW2 and WoW on the SSD and everything else on an external HDD. Depending on how long the SSD lasts, i’m prepared to replace it at 1-2 years of use if it needs it for w/e reason.

Gonna wait a few maybe 7-8 hours then gonna go ahead and order. Anything else that you guys can think of that isnt related to the main hardware? should i pick up a set of precision tools? thermal paste (the stuff they use for the CPU) or anything like that?

Thermal Paste http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

yup thats the stuff

Pretty much the only thing i will get will be the things i listed here. I know that most of the hardward has it’s own wiring and instructions, but i wanted to make sure there wasnt an oddpall part that i had to buy on its own.

You might want to double check the case I think there’s no 2.5" slots for it so you need 3.5" to 2.5" Brackets for your SSD.