Hey everyone, I've been wanting to build a computer for a little over three years now, however I have never had the money. After about a year of putting money aside I now have about $1,000 saved up for a computer. I plan on using my PC for mainly FSX with heavy addon use such as REX, AI Traffic, Fly tampa, and PMDG and I want to be able to run this game on high settings and have the game run smooth. I also plan on playing other games like Rail sim, take on helicopters, Assassins creed III(comes free with my 660), and other high performing games. This will be my first time building a computer, I have talked to a few friends for advice and I have a somewhat draft of my final system build so I wanted to ask if anyone on here could offer some criticism, or suggestions on what I can improve on. Here is what I have so far: PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter) CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Amazon) Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Microcenter) Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg) Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($94.99 @ Microcenter) Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($237.28 @ CompUSA) Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg) Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg) Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg) Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Newegg) Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC) Total: $1089.16 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-01 11:08 EST-0500) Total price is about $1,157 with shipping. I will aslo get $50 back in mail in rebates, a $15 newegg gift card, and ACIII. Does this look like a solid build? What can I improve on? I've heard I should get Z series ram since it pairs well with IVY bridge, should I get Z series RAM instead? Thanks for the advice!
I didn't see a HDD might want one of those 120gb SSD will fill fast. Everything else looks okay to me. Also don't count on your mail in rebates they are notorious for being sketchy.
I got fucked by Zotac for 30$. Never going to buy from them again.... All the ones that did work, took about 2 months or more... lol As for the build, not much you can improve unless you want to get to another level. i7 and SLI 4GB 680's or something lol
I'd get a better motherboard. I was a cheapo with my motherboard when i built my computer last year. I wanted to get a sound card this year for speakers cause headphones can get annoying after a while, but I didn't have enough room on my motherboard. Just think about things like that, and you'll be fine. But besides the motherboard everything looks great. If you need any help or advice send me a PM. Good luck dude, btw AC3 is insane i played it ultra settings on my computer, great game. keep toking