My next gaming PC: feedback please.

[vallorn]

heya guys. as many of you know ive been struggling along with the same laptop for the last 4-5 years. now its my dad's laptop so its actualy even older than that: Its this model.

After trying out TF2 and after an hour of optimising the machine and game getting a grand total of 4FPS Ive decided to build a new rig. heres what I was planning to build. this thing should last me for the next 3 years or so and will be mainly used for older games like L4D, KF, TF2, MC and the like.

Motherboard,
ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

CPU,
Intel Core i5-3450 Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.5GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637I53450

RAM,
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B

Video Card,
HIS iCooler H777F1G2M Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

Hard Drive(s),
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

PSU,
LEPA Bronze 650W Quiet Power Supply B650-SA

Case,
NZXT Source 220 Mid-Tower Case USB 3.0

Total Cost: $679.95 without PSU and case: $796.85 with PSU and case.

Any issues with this set up? Im mainly worried about the PSU being wrong and the case not being the right size but any issues you guys can see or improvments I can make to this would be great.

[Someguy42]

Everything seems good in MY opinion but the hard drives seem too small. I've got a 1 TB hard drive and I've already used up half of it but if the only things you're gonna have are Left 4 Dead, Killing Floor, TF2 and MC then it'll be good enough for the next 3 years but you'll probably end up using the space before the 3 years. Maybe a 500 GB, get 2 250 GB hard drives or just go for one 500 GB. Ivy Bridge is very good, 16 GB is way too much but will last you. 550W should be good enough for the games but if you're not sure try a 650WW. Motherboard is good but make sure it works with your case. Overall good PC.

[Spyboticsguy]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148697
Use that for storage instead.

[Jake55778]

I'd go with a larger PSU to be honest. That one may be capable of running everything, but it'll be your bottleneck when it come time to upgrade. It's a lot easier to replace an outdated graphics card or CPU when you don't have to worry about power requirements.

Also have you budgeted for an operating system? And be sure to go for 64 bit version (assuming windows) or most of that RAM will go to waste.

[vallorn]

thing is, my current laptop has a 320 gig drive and I havent even scratched the surface of it yet. in 4 years...

Il take a look at a Larger PSU thanks for the tip.

Looking at either 64 Windows 7 or maybe throwing Linux onto there... havent decided yet. Il probably be lazy and put Windows on there for now...

heh. thank god for Firefox Synch.

oh and because I forgot to put the link in the OP
This is my laptop.

[vallorn]

well I did some changes, replaced the 2 hard drives with the 1Tb one suggested (which saved me $30 so thanks) and upgraded the PSU to 650W which only costs $10 more.

anything else?

[KaosuHamoni]

You do NOT need an Ivy Bridge CPU. Get a Sandy Bridge, much more cost efficient, and they run cooler. They also overclock better, so, in the long run, you may find it to be better. You also don't need 16 GB of RAM. If you find that you need more at a later date, then get more chips. 8 GB will do you. That PSU isn't a brand I know, therefore I don't trust it. BAd PSU's WILL fry your machine. Get a solid Corsair, Thermaltake, Coolermaster or something like that. Also, I don't like AMD GPU's very much. I trust nVidia, and the new 600 series are the best GPU's around, for good money for what they are too. At the least get a 560i

[vallorn]

You do NOT need an Ivy Bridge CPU. Get a Sandy Bridge, much more cost efficient, and they run cooler. They also overclock better, so, in the long run, you may find it to be better. You also don't need 16 GB of RAM. If you find that you need more at a later date, then get more chips. 8 GB will do you. That PSU isn't a brand I know, therefore I don't trust it. BAd PSU's WILL fry your machine. Get a solid Corsair, Thermaltake, Coolermaster or something like that. Also, I don't like AMD GPU's very much. I trust nVidia, and the new 600 series are the best GPU's around, for good money for what they are too. At the least get a 560i

this thing is future proofed. thats why I want that Ivy Bridge.

heres a few reviews of that PSU:
http://www.ecomastertek.com/psu_lepa_b650-sa.php

I do know how careful one has to be with PSU's so I did some reviewing of it first.

[Tehbeard]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... &Tpk=TX750

[vallorn]

thinking of using this graphics card instead: opinions?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... _-14130770

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... &Tpk=TX750

*Sees its 750W*
*Finds the 650W version*

[LS13]

Make sure your video card won't cover a bunch of ports on your motherboard like mine does >.> barely managed to fit everything

[KaosuHamoni]

Mate, with all due respect, I know what I'm talking about. The amount of research I've put into computer hardware is stupid. Ask Beard. Get something like a 2600k. Ivy Bridge is not all it's cracked up to be, and, realistically, you're not going to be using the better onboard graphics, which is the only noticeable upgrade. Also, if we're on the subject of futureproofing, as I said, Sandy Bridge overclock better, meaning it will perform better in the long run. OC'ing a SB CPU it easy as, and with a stock heatsink you could probably get it up to 4.0 GHz stable, but noone in their right mind uses a stock heatsink.

Also, i cannot stress this enough, get a proper PSU. Idc what reviews you've read, take no chances.

[KaosuHamoni]

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/sony-ddu ... -black-oem
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel-co ... 95w-retail
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1280mb-m ... mhz-448cor
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1tb-seag ... ms-ncq-oem
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-p8z ... sub-(vga)-
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w-cor ... quiet-fan-
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolerma ... se-w-o-psu
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/zalman-c ... -intel-amd
www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-cor ... 4-xmp-150v

That's roughly £715, and it's a better, more stable machine. Also, word to the wise, the prices in the US are much better than what we Brits get. We get skanked on PC parts.

[vallorn]

So im looking at the 650 Watt version of the PSU beard posted. Im also looking at a new case.

Iam also definatly looking at putting that GTX 560 card in there instead of the radeon.

Kaosu sorry but I want this to be My machine at the end of things. Thanks for the help but I dont think your recipe works for me.

[SneakyPie]

Before you make any purchases Vall, make sure you look at benchmarks to ensure you're getting the most bang for your buck.

http://www.anandtech.com/

[vallorn]

Im probably going to be murdered for this but... I went to best buy to see if I could beat this Price for a machine of similar performance...

Turns out I could. I bought the HP PAVILION HPE PC: h8-1234

This thing has
A faster processor with 2 more cores.
6Gb's less RAM that I was unlikley to ever need.
a stand alone Radeon graphics card with 1Gb dedicated memory.
and a 1Tb hard drive

All this cost $669.99 which is a phenomenal price and I can still upgrade it at a later date if needs be.

[Ninjawoman]

Not bad.

[Jake55778]

That graphics card is a BIG step down from what you had before, as far as I can tell. I'd say replace it, but the power supply is only 300W according to one of the reviews.

[Darktaint]

Yeah You will have to shell out for a new psu and grapics card there both pretty pants. so what you spend on both will probably equal the original price

[Someguy42]

Not bad.

[vallorn]

30FPS on Amnesia! YEAH!

[Someguy42]

30FPS on Amnesia! YEAH!

Another lost soul is added...