Midrange IVB Build

[Stochastic]

I'm getting ready to put together an Ivy Bridge system. Here's what I'm thinking of getting, but before I pulling the trigger I wanted to hear some feedback from you guys. Thanks!

CPU: Intel 3570K (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&sku=I69-3570K) $210 w/rebate

Motherboard: Z77 ASRock Extreme4 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157293) $140

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master 212 Evo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103099) $35

PSU: Undecided. Any good recommendations for around $100 or less? Preferably modular.

Case: Corsair 550D (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...corsair%20550d) $140

RAM: 2X4 GB Corsair Vengeance (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233144) $50

SSD : Either Crucial M4 or Samsung 830 128 GB. I was going to go with the 830 but prices went up again. ~$150

Optical Drive: LG DVD Burner (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136240) $17

GPU: Sapphire 7850 (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...?EdpNo=2262863) $250

OS: Windows 7 64-bit $100

Total projected cost: ~$1192 + shipping


Are there any glaring flaws? Possible improvements or revisions? Incompatibilities?

EDIT: I should also add that I'm searching for a suitable 23-24 inch monitor. Right now I'm between the Dell U2412M and the Viewsonic VP2365-LED. Not sure what to get so recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[Stochastic]

Also, is it just me or have hardware prices gone up a bit in the past few days? Perhaps vendors are taking advantage of buyers like me who were waiting for IVB. Maybe I'm just being cynical and this is normal price fluctuation.

 

[DesiPower]

First round builds are always expensive... good luck, config looks good!

 

[krnmastersgt]

Also, is it just me or have hardware prices gone up a bit in the past few days? Perhaps vendors are taking advantage of buyers like me who were waiting for IVB. Maybe I'm just being cynical and this is normal price fluctuation.

IVB launch probably lead to a lot of links being clicked, most e-retailers have systems in place where if a lot more traffic than normal is going to specific products, the prices are automatically raised for some time period.

Any particular reason for the board as opposed to the ~$100 offerings? (also that board is out of stock it seems)

Otherwise looks decent and hope you have fun with the system.

 

[Stochastic]

IVB launch probably lead to a lot of links being clicked, most e-retailers have systems in place where if a lot more traffic than normal is going to specific products, the prices are automatically raised for some time period.

Yeah, I figured something like that was going on. Would I be better off waiting a week or so for prices to drop?

 

[krnmastersgt]

Yeah, I figured something like that was going on. Would I be better off waiting a week or so for prices to drop?

That's 1 way of dealing with it, or look for similar products that aren't as popular and therefore didn't increase in price.

 

[entfy]

I'm getting ready to put together an Ivy Bridge system. Here's what I'm thinking of getting, but before I pulling the trigger I wanted to hear some feedback from you guys. Thanks!

(CPU: Intel 3570K ) $210 w/rebate

(Motherboard: Z77 ASRock Extreme4 ) $140

(CPU Cooler: Cooler Master 212 Evo ) $35

PSU: Undecided. Any good recommendations for around $100 or less? Preferably modular.

(Case: Corsair 550D ) $140

(RAM: 2X4 GB Corsair Vengeance ) $50

SSD : Either Crucial M4 or Samsung 830 128 GB. I was going to go with the 830 but prices went up again. ~$150

(Optical Drive: LG DVD Burner ) $17

(GPU: Sapphire 7850 ) $250

OS: Windows 7 64-bit $100

Total projected cost: ~$1192 + shipping


Are there any glaring flaws? Possible improvements or revisions? Incompatibilities?

EDIT: I should also add that I'm searching for a suitable 23-24 inch monitor. Right now I'm between the Dell U2412M and the Viewsonic VP2365-LED. Not sure what to get so recommendations would be appreciated.

Okay well lets compare and look at where you will bottleneck.

First I would change the Case to a Corsair 500R. Better Cooling IMO and it saves you $30.

MOBO is fine. Mid range nothing special.

For a cooler as Ivy tends to run hot I would look at possibly upgrading the cooling to Noctua NH-D14. Better cooling and your just using the money you saved on the case for a better cooler.

As Windows 8 is going to require more memory and as DDR3 1600mHz is only about $85 for 16gb (4x4gb) I would upgrade to that.

With your GPU, you will bottleneck. That will be the weakest place within your system with respect to both the memory, cpu, and gpu. If you can spare another 50-100 upgrade to the 7950. That will serve you much better over the expected life of the components.

With your SSD, I know a lot of people don't like OCZ products, but I haven't had any issues with the ones I've used on my rents build or my sisters builds. And as OCZ Agility 3 is only $99.99 after rebate, I think the price outweighs performance. IMO.

For PSU use any MAJOR NAME BRAND with a good RMA. That will help with any issues and should cover you in case of failure.

Your Build has a lot of strong parts within the build and should suit you for a few years minimum with only really needing to upgrade the GPU within the next 4 years if you do not upgrade from the 7850.

 

[Stochastic]

@entify:

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it!

I know the Corsair 550D is not a very good case in terms of value or cooling performance. However, I far prefer its understated aesthetic and the fact that it was designed to be quiet. I'm not going to be overclocking heavily so I don't need the best cooling performance.

The Noctua cooler seems overkill for me since I'm only going for a 4.3/4.4 GHz overclock at stock voltage. Again, cooling is not a priority for me.

I was unaware that Windows 8 would require more memory. I think 8GB should be sufficient for the time being as I'm not a heavy multitasker. I can always upgrade later down the road if I need more memory.

The 7850 will be the bottleneck in my PC, but I'm probably just going to be gaming at 1920X1080 and I'll try and overclock a bit. The 7950 is a good card, but it's a good $150 more than the 7850 which would put me over budget.

As for the SSD, I'm probably going to get a Crucial M4 128GB. At $125 I think that's a fair price, and I don't mind paying a slight premium for better performance and, more importantly, reliability. I wanted to get a Samsung 830 but right now it's just too expensive for me to justify. I guess this leaves room for a future upgrade.

I totally agree about getting a brand name PSU. Right now I'm eyeing Corsair and Seasonic PSUs. They're pricey but this is one area where I don't want to skimp to save a few bucks.

Again, thanks for the advice!

 

[krnmastersgt]

I honestly think cases should usually be left to whatever the user really enjoys, looks + features. If the system were a crazy powerhouse of high-end components then maybe a case rec is needed since many cases wouldn't be able to deal with super high end components and their massive heat output.

The 7850 should be fine for most games @ 1920x1080, some of the more stressful games you can just turn down the settings a little to maintain high framerates.

And for PSUs, you have the right idea that you generally don't want to skimp out as a bad one can kill a system. That being said I think most companies have upped their standards and the majority will probably be reliable enough for basic home computers. That said Corsair still stands out as one of the best overall companies to get it from, but their fully modular PSUs are quite pricey so I'm not really sure if that's realistic under $100.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139031

Probably the closest you can get to modular from Corsair for the price that you're looking for.

 

[mfenn]

For a cooler as Ivy tends to run hot I would look at possibly upgrading the cooling to Noctua NH-D14. Better cooling and your just using the money you saved on the case for a better cooler.

That's insane overkill for this build. As has been shown, a stock volts IVB OC doesn't get that hot. It's only when you start to add voltage does it get really hot.

As Windows 8 is going to require more memory and as DDR3 1600mHz is only about $85 for 16gb (4x4gb) I would upgrade to that.

No it won't. The stated goal is for Windows 8 to use less resources than Windows 7, and indcations are that MS will be meeting that goal. Absolute worst case, I expect parity between the two OSes.

With your GPU, you will bottleneck. That will be the weakest place within your system with respect to both the memory, cpu, and gpu. If you can spare another 50-100 upgrade to the 7950. That will serve you much better over the expected life of the components.

CPUs are so ludicrously powerful these days that the GPU is nearly always the bottleneck in a gaming system. A 7950 is a fine card to be sure, but it is 60% more expensive for about 40% more performance at 1080P. Strictly speaking, that makes it a worse value,

With your SSD, I know a lot of people don't like OCZ products, but I haven't had any issues with the ones I've used on my rents build or my sisters builds. And as OCZ Agility 3 is only $99.99 after rebate, I think the price outweighs performance. IMO.

A Crucial M4 128GB is only $125; the performance and reliability are worth $25 IMHO.

For PSU use any MAJOR NAME BRAND with a good RMA. That will help with any issues and should cover you in case of failure.

I agree. Something like the XFX Core 650W is a pretty decent value right now.