Guild Wars 2

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1xYNK

I would like some opinion on what I can do to make this rig a little kitteneaper.

I want a computer that will allow me to play on high res with no lag or long loading times. I would also like this comp to last me for a while as I don’t have money to buy a whole new rig every time a new game comes out.

Main two games I plan on playing is GW2 and Skyrim online.

Thanks in advance for all the help.

If it’s only for games you could have a i5 there won’t be such a difference except for price.

I build systems and overclock them for a living.

Please Dump that psu, get a corsair psu they are the most stable and wellperforming, they also come in all sizes, I recommend atleast 800w.

next, dump the Intel EXPI9301CTBLK 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI-Express x1 Network Adapter, you motherboard already has an onboard Lan port.

the last being, get an SSD, the SSD will have windows installed on, it doesn’t have to be larger, 128gb is large enough.

In addition to Direwind’s post; personally, I would get an Asus motherboard – I have not had one fail in all the years I’ve been building PCs.

I also agree on the power supply. Seasonic is decent from what I’ve read, but Corsair is the best in my opinion. Plus, that 650 Watt is a bit expensive.

There is one more thing I would change – I would get a better DVD drive, such as Samsung.

I will NOT use LG because I know more about them than a lot of people. Although they (evidently) have improved in quality they still aren’t what I would call “top of the line”.

Back in the 80’s, LG made absolute junk with cheap parts (stereos, VCRs, etc.). They weren’t called “LG” back then. The brand was actually “Lucky Goldstar”; later shortened to “Goldstar” and now (of course) “LG”. I had to repair their garbage consumer electronics products and I haven’t liked them since. They may be better now; but I still won’t use them.

Thank you all for the help. I cant wait to build this rig and start recording my journey. Been playing since beta and still have not been able to record one video of anything lol.

I am using the Thermaltake Level 10 GT case and could not be happier with it. Plenty of room, dust filters for all the intake fans and the ability to hot swap drives makes it a dream.

The big thing however are the dust filters for the intake fans. It will definitely save you in the long run so make sure the case you choose has them!

Seasonic is a good PSU, they are the OEM manufacturer of a lot of highly recommended brands including some Corsair models but their branded models do tend to sell at a premium.

The GTX 670 isn’t that much faster than the 2GB GTX 760, less than 10% but costs $50 more.

You could save a little money with an i5 Vs an i7.

Don’t need the network card.

You are a big believer in case cooling I see. You do know the case already comes with 5, 120 mm and 2, 140mm speed adjustable fans right? I don’t think pushing air through the case is going to be a problem. Of course those two 140mm (or the rear two 120mm) will be replaced with the H100i radiator. You do know that Antec has stopped making that model right?

You’re going to make a huge mistake for getting 3770 non-K version… If you want non-K version what is the point of having H100 cooler.

K version is unlocked multiplier for Overclocking. The one you have in the list, you are limit to overclock by the motherboard bus and it won’t get you very high at all like only 33Mhz increase x the locked multiplier.

That is why it is cheaper.

3770 (not 3770k) CPU if you have no plan to overclock, all the rest of the stuff in the list is going to be a waste for you.

The non k editions can go higher on multiplier, by 3x i think it is. Combined with a base clock change u can get nice OC’s.

But even so ur point stands. Get the K version for easier and higher OC’s.

If ur using a AIO water cooler, thenur gunan be able to see ur RAM, why not save a little money and make things look cool whislt ur at it. Take a gander at AVEXIR Core Series 1866mhz or2133mhz ram.
The ASrock board looks a bit dreary, why not take a gander at a Z77A-G45 Gaming, match it up with the above RAm with the RED LED’s and go for a RED and Black theme.
Even when on a budget you can build an astheticaly pleasing rig

GPU wise a 760 is a good choice, its also about $50 cheaper than a 670, on the looks department see if u can find one to match. Like the Red and black theme of the equaly good Asus DCU2 or the MSI Gaming.
Red & Black motherboard, RAM, and GPU + The Case u chose which is Red and Black. With the black AIO Corsair cooler. ..Nice looking, with performance to match.

Here

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1y7QZ

Took of the soundcard, the MSI gaming board has a better than usual onboard sound. Unless ur an audiophile u dont need a standalone card, and if u do, u would want one betetr than the one u listed.
The RAM listed are blue, but where ever u end up buying from should have the other colors available aswell, RED being one of them.
Removed the LAN card, again , dont need it, the motherboard has great onboard LAN.
The motherboard is a step up from the one i recommended above but i noticed the ASrock one u originaly listed had 4 Sata 6 ports, so i matched the specs.

In the end u still save money, have pritty much the same performance, whilst ‘looking’ significantly more bad*ss.

Ok so based on all of your recommendations this is what I have come to create. Please let me know if its ok or if I messed it up more lol. The majority of it is what SolarNova recommended but I did change the case, drive and power supply.

Forgot link, silly me. >.<

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1yd5U

Good looking list though the 850w psu is overkill, and for gaming only i would take a 3570k save a few bucks and get some better gpu or nice ssd

A decent 650w is more than enough even if you go SLI down the road

http://www.overclock.net/t/183810/faq-recommended-power-supplies
Take a pick from this site..

you don’t need an 850w PSU. I have a GTX 680 and 3570 and i am using a 650w corsair PSU. 850w PSUs can handle 2 cards in SLI or corssfire so i don’t see why 650w can’t handle one. for ram i recommend getting corsair just because they are a reliable brand. lastly, try pushing a 770 in or a 7950/7970 in there. AMD cards have free games if you get them in a participating retailer.

If ur not gunna have a case with a window u need not worry about how it looks tbh.
IMO you should get a window’d case.
I’ve had a Thermaltake case b4 (Chaser Mk-I), infact it was only a couple months ago that i replaced it after having it for just 6 months. The main reason being the ‘feel’ of the case. It lacks a quality look. The black plastics didnt match the black metals in terms of color, it looked more grey on black.
I would advise, though more expensive, a Corsair 600T(comes in black, or silver, or white, make sure to get one with the side window) or a CoolerMaster Storm Trooper (same as the Stryker that i have except its black) The Trooper is a Full ATX tower though so tis big. The 600T is a mid tower so is likely more the size ur after.

Im not saying Thermaltake are bad casses, they have great airflow and have the fans and features u expect, but imo they just dont look quality.

The PSU is overkill for a single card system with a Ivy/haswell CPU, however its always nice to have a PSU that doesnt need to to ramp up its fans, also allows future use of the PSU with a bigger system, so if ur OK spending that much on thr PSU, leave it as is.

Direwind.8409:

I build systems and overclock them for a living.

Please Dump that psu, get a corsair psu they are the most stable and wellperforming, they also come in all sizes, I recommend atleast 800w.

Actually go for a Seasonic PSU. They make corsair’s high-end PSUs but sell their own branded ones cheaper

For motherboards I always stick to Gigabyte, because from experience they have been the most stable and built to last longer. The dual bios is also really nice when experimenting with overclocks.

There’s two POVs about sizing the PSU. Good enough for now Vs big enough to support a 2nd similar video card in the future. Hard core gamer DIYers would recommend the larger PSU. The budget minded would get a PSU large enough for today with a bit to spare but not so much for a 2nd video card (but enough for additional drives and overclocking, maybe).

Looking at your new parts list.

No idea what you are planning to use the additional pair of fans for. The H100i will mount at the top, it has it’s own pair of fans and I don’t think there’s enough room for a push me/pull you setup around the radiator unless you mount the 2nd pair on the outside of the case. The front fan is 200mm, the side fan mount is 200mm or 140mm and not 120mm. Replace the fans that come with the H100i? Replace the rear and add the bottom fan? I’m all for a decent amount of air exchange but I think there’s enough as it is.

Personally not a fan of super overclocked memory. Especially ones that need to run at 1.65V to get that speed. I thought the CAS 9 DDR3-1866 memory was plenty fast. From what I’ve seen written about it, you aren’t going to see real world performance improvement between -1866 and -2133, 1% maybe. Of course pure memory benchmarks will show a huge difference.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3

Aye that is the downside to the Avexir RAM, it runs at 1.65, i think it may be for the lights. Though a good motherboard wont have an issue with that, only really cheap motherboards wont like running at 1.65v.
Its 1.65v even for 1866mhz so no reason not to go higher, specialy when the 2133mhz ones are cheaper than the 1866mhz G.Skill/Corsair ones.
When it comes ot RAM its pirtty much personal preference so long as you have atleast 1600mhz and CL9 or better. So what ever, i just chose them becouse they really do look good, your other choice is the more expensive Corsair platinum + a platinum red light strip. much more expensive tbh, or just get red G.Skill RAM with no lights.

I agree that the extra fans are not particularly neccesery, but 1 extra wont hurt tbh, i would stick it in the bottom of the case as intake, as many casses come with neutral or negative presure, and u really want positive to keep dust out. (more intakes than exhaust)

It’s not the MB I worry about but the CPU. I think officially Sandy/Ivy/Haswell have a voltage limit on the RAM signals of 1.5V. Sure plenty of OCers simply ignore that on their quest to shaft Intel by getting more performance for the money (original reason for OCing CPUs) but for someone new at this, doing it themselves, lets stay inside the lines as long as the memory can hit those speeds at 1.5volts.

http://communities.intel.com/message/202197