$1400 build critique

[Jonnyt]

Need to update my ageing PC and am looking to build something for around $1300 to $1400. It will be used for gaming and MS Office but not video editing or anything exotic. After a bit of research I have decided on the following and would like some expert opinions on whether this looks like a balanced
build. I only play a few games a year but I want the new rig to last a good 5 years before needing to do a serious overhaul.

Mobo - Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H
Cpu - Intel i5 -3570K
CPU cooling - BeQuiet! Dark Rock advanced
RAM - Kingston HyperX Blu, 2x8GB
GPU - Sapphire HD 7950 Dual Fan 3GB
Storage - 120gb Corsair Force3 SSD
Storage - 2tb seagate barracuda
Case - Corsair Carbide 500r
Power - Corsair TX650 V2, 650W, 80Plus Bronze

 

[Deejeta]

looks good mate.

 

[JMMP]

Nice specs!

 

[yassarikhan786]

Yeh, specs look good to me. Do you really need 16GB? Unless you're running VM's or doing some photo/video editing you wouldn't need that much. Then again, it could be quite useful if you want to try using part of it as a RamDisk.

 

[Jonnyt]

Cheers, some specific questions I had we're whether 650 is enough/ too much power if I plan on upgrading a few things in a few years and whether the 7950 is overpowered for single screen gaming? I also think 8gb RAM is enough but it's so cheap why not get more.

 

[whosbawss]

If your going for a 7950 then go for the royal club 3d one as its around the same price and if you put about 10mins of work overclocking you can get it running at 60 OC speeds other than that its a nice system. I agree that you should get more RAM as you arn't wanting to upgrade again for a few more years so you may as well.

 

[yassarikhan786]

Cheers, some specific questions I had we're whether 650 is enough/ too much power if I plan on upgrading a few things in a few years and whether the 7950 is overpowered for single screen gaming? I also think 8gb RAM is enough but it's so cheap why not get more.

Yeah, there's no harm in having more

The 7950 is fine for single screen gaming. If you want to play the latest titles like Far Cry 3 and Hitman Absolution, the 7950 is the minimum I would be getting.

 

[Nurf]

I think your build is a great performer with a decent price tag, which is what you were probably aiming at.

No one can say how long into the future that will last, but im guessing worst case scenario is that you need to upgrade your gpu at some point, but seeing as you play a few games a year, you probably don't mind playing without absolute maximum settings (in the future), in which case that gpu won't have to be upgraded in a long time.

Nothing wrong with 16gb ram, but you don't need it, so IF your budget is getting tight, that should be the first to go otherwise go for it.

EDIT:
and that tx650 can run even a sli/crossfire setup so no need to worry if its enough for you.

 

[Bang]

The problem with power supplies is usually too little or too cheap, not too much. 1200 would be overkill for sure. I think youll be set with the 650.

 

[Christoi]

How much does each part cost? More often that not the value of the component is relative to it's price, so it's useful to know the price as well.

For example, I've often seen the TX650 V2 to be priced higher than similar units such as the XFX Core Edition 650w and the Antec HGC620 (all three are actually internally identical, IIRC), so you could save a bit of money off each component.

Also, usually for just a boot drive SSD speeds aren't that relevant, so I wouldn't count on speeds too much. Again this can differ depending on where you are purchasing the components, but I've often found units like the Samsung 840 series to be notably cheaper, whilst maintaining reasonable speeds.

This is just something to consider yourself, but don't spend too much on a motherboard if you aren't going to use all the features. The board is indeed excellent with features like 15 phases, but it's rather excessive for an air-cooled setup and you may be better off with a cheaper GA-Z77X-UD3H or a Z77 Extreme4 from ASRock.

Also, be wary of which Sapphire card you are getting. I've heard some people having locked voltages with the Vapor-X cards, though it seems like their dual-X HD7950's are fine.

Also on a minor note, the 2TB Barracuda's are actually notably worse compared to the 1TB and 3TB ones due to the 667GB platters. It's not a problem if it's just for bulk storage, but if performance is a large issue, you may want to switching to either of the two capacities instead.

 

[Jonnyt]

Thanks Christoi, I'll check out the other power supplies and different Seagate drive sizes. As for the GPU, I think that model isn't locked. Finally, you raise a good point about the mobo. I plan on adding just the RAM, GPU, CPU and possibly a soundcard so is the UD5H possibly too powerful/ expensive? I may upgrade some of the individual components in the future but not for a few years so would getting a cheaper mobo make any difference to performance for me?

 

[Christoi]

Finally, you raise a good point about the mobo. I plan on adding just the RAM, GPU, CPU and possibly a soundcard so is the UD5H possibly too powerful/ expensive? I may upgrade some of the individual components in the future but not for a few years so would getting a cheaper mobo make any difference to performance for me?

Well, a motherboard mainly serves the purpose of component compatibility more than anything, so it's usually best to see if the board covers all the features you need. There's nothing particularly wrong with going for the UD5H, but you could save some money getting a cheaper board if all the features aren't needed.

This comparison sheet may give you a better idea of what I mean:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=-1&IsNodeId=1&Description=gigabyte%20z77&bop=And&CompareItemList=-1|13-128-544^13-128-544-TS%2C13-128-545^13-128-545-TS
You can see that the UD5H does come with a number of other features, such as more SATA and USB3 ports, third 16x slot being PCI-e 3.0, etc. However, will you actually utilize those ports? If not, then you could consider cheaper alternatives. What you've outlined would be fine with a cheaper unit, in terms of compatibility.

 

[Bang]

Do you have any devices that connect via Firewire? If not, that would be a wasted feature. The UD5H has 9 sata ports total, one of which is shared with the eSata port on the back panel. Four of those are Sata 3.0 and the other 5 are sata 2.0

Do you connect wirelessly to the internet or through a cat5 to a modem/router?
Do you really need the two RJ45 connectors? If not, thats another wasted feature.

For those two reasons alone I wouldn't bother spending the extra $75aud to get the UD5H and would recommmend instead that you take a look at the MSI Z77A-GD65. It has 8 Sata ports, 4x3.0 and 4x2.0 and no useless (to me) firewire port.

One cool feature the MSI Z77A-GD65 has is not just digital audio out, but also the genuine RCA interface for S/PDIF.

Did I mention its $75 cheaper? Awesome too. Gets the best reviews of any sub $220 mobo on the market. After buying it I can see why.

 

[ThE_MuFFin_MaN]

I'd drop the RAM down to 8GB and use the money to get a GTX 670. I had a 7950 and I wasn't too impressed with the performance. Also, the Corsair 500R is cheaply made. I had one and I broke off a leg the first day I owned it. Also, if you get it I would get the black one. The white one scratches very easily. I returned the 500R and got the 550D and I couldn't be happier. Very easy to build in compared to the 500R.

 

[Jonnyt]

Thanks for all the replies. From feedback here and from some knowledgeable friends, (and from what is readily available in the shops where i live) I have tweaked my list to the following:

Mobo - ?
Cpu - Intel i5 -3570K
CPU cooling - BeQuiet! Dark Rock advanced
RAM - Corsair vengeance LP, 2x4Gb
GPU - Gigabyte GTX 670
Storage - 120gb Samsung SSD
Storage - 2tb western digital black
Case - Corsair Carbide 500r
Power - be quiet! Straight Power E9 CM, 680 Watt, 80 Plus Gold

I was advised to get gold rated power if I will be trying to overclock, is this worth the extra?
My final question is which mobo to get. I will only need to connect two or three hard disks, a GPU and possibly a sound card in the future. I won't be using FireWire and have no plans to utilise the other connections. I will try to overclock the GPU and CPU but only slightly. I am happy to pay for a better mobo if it is worth it but I am not convinced that spending $250 for a mobo with this rig will actually get better performance than a $100 one, rather than just provide me with a bunch of connections that I will never use.
Basically, I want to find the price point where I will get the best performance from the whole rig but I am not wasting money on connections that I won't use or on a board that is too good for the rest of my kit. Any advice?

 

[ThE_MuFFin_MaN]

The best price point for a motherboard is around $150-$200. Make sure you find something with enough PCI-E slots and something that is good to overclock on. Don't go super cheap because you may regret it later because it either won't overclock good or wont give you potential to add parts down the road.

 

[Nurf]

ASUS Maximus V gene is a great board for the price. Its a matx so if your fine with its amount of expansion slots, I'd go with that.

Have you thought of getting a wd green instead of black for storage? Its quieter and I don't see the need for speed in a storage drive.
(should also be cheaper)

 

[Bang]

Mobo: MSI Z77A-GD65 8 total sata ports means you can keep adding storage.
I have my trusty, not so old GTX550Ti in one pci-e slot and decided to whack in my mates old GTX260SP216 as a physics card and it works pretty well on Batman Arkham City, getting alot more detail than without it.

Sleeping Dogs is a different story though. I reckon that game would push even 2x7990's to their limit. We need games that push the envelope, forcing card development to new heights.

Its not the cheapest, nor the most expensive, but I reckon the most cost effective. http://www.msi.com/product/mb/Z77A-GD65.html#/?div=Detail