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I will be using it for gaming, movies, music, and web surfing. I'm looking to play games such as Total War: Shogun 2, Total War: Rome 2, Fallout 4, Far Cry 3, Day Z, Skyrim, and Battlefield 3. My budget is 700-850 Dollars. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. Could I overclock this? Is this a good GPU/CPU combination? Thanks.


PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zSSu
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zSSu/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zSSu/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.50 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $748.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-27 11:50 EST-0500)

I also already have a Dell Ultrasharp 23 inch (1920 x 10800), a mouse, a keyboard, and M-Audio BX5 D2s.

Also, Would there be any full size cases that you guys would recommend instead of this case because I would prefer a full-size case.

The build looks pretty balanced, but no, you won't be able to overclock the CPU. You need a i5-3570K or a i7-3770K for that, and you'd probably want a bit more 'enthusiast' motherboard to go with it. For reference, I have the 2500K and an Asrock P67 Pro3, and I have my CPU running at 4.3GHz. I could clock my CPU higher, but the motherboards thermal protections would kick in. So, if you want to overlock, you'd have to at least invest in an unlocked processor, and you'd want a proper tower cooler as well for your CPU, or things will get noisy and hot. Adding that would put you almost over budget I think.

edit: Also: Welcome to TR!

I have a Cooler Master HAF 932. I believe the current model is the "HAF X". HAF stands for High Air Flow. Big slow fans, mesh construction, plenty of room for big motherboards and you could even put two water loops in there if you were so motivated.

Thanks! I've decided to switch out my case for the Cooler Master HAF 912

I went with the i5-3570k recently, I currently have it overclocked to 4.4 GHz. Runs real smooth and cool.

I went with the Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T case and I love it. Quiet, lots of room inside for the build, and looks great. If you don't want white they are offering a free Seagate Barracuda 500GB HD with the Black version of the case at Newegg right now.

Only thing I would suggest you might consider adding in is a SSD for your boot drive. You don't have to spend big bucks and get a big one. A 64 GB should be plenty big enough for windows. You will be amazed by how fast your computer will boot up and be ready to use.

Khali wrote:

consider adding in is a SSD for your boot drive. You don't have to spend big bucks and get a big one. A 64 GB should be plenty big enough for windows

I would suggest saving ~$110 for a 120GB SSD. Anything less than 90GB and you're significantly losing performance and file management becomes a nuissance.

Might want to check this out...http://www.ebay.com/itm/PC-CUSTOM-GAMIN ... 9438553%26

On your parts list you have microcenter for the CPU, that price is in store only. And if you do plan on going there you can get the 3570K for $189.99 plus $50 off the motherboard of your choice which ends up making it about the same price as the 3470 and motherboard.

DPete27 wrote:

I would suggest saving ~$110 for a 120GB SSD. Anything less than 90GB and you're significantly losing performance and file management becomes a nuissance.

Even better -- the Samsung 840 (not the 840 Pro) 120GB is currently $95 at both Amazon and Newegg.

Definitely point out what stores you can walk into to buy components. As mentioned, places like Microcenter do have some nice in-store deals, and gerbils can sniff those out for you pretty quickly for you.

As for cases, unless you're going to use the space in a full case, I would not recommend a full ATX case. I'm starting to work out a build myself that would eventually house a few hard drives and two GPUs, but even then I'm not looking at anything bigger than a Corsair 650D. Mid-size ATX towers will have a ton of space inside - more than most users will use.

And to expand on that theme, if you decide you don't need all of that extra room, a mATX motherboard could also be a good choice to save some cash and still have enthusiast features and PCI/PCIe slots.

I think the SSD has been covered, but definitely work one in with your budget. There are lots of high-value 120 GB SSDs that will make your system snappy.

And a final thought I usually forget to think of, see if your school/employer has a Windows home-use program. It's always nice if you don't have to worry about adding a Windows license to your budget.