Ivy Bridge i5 / HD7850 / SSD budget gamer build - photo log

[savage1987]

Should be ordering parts this week if all goes to plan.

Criteria I have been given:

• ballpark $1000 gaming-oriented but capable all-rounder tower
• I build the PC

My criteria:

• overclockable 2500k system <--- turns out 2500K are now sold out Australia-wide.
• pccasegear.com for all parts

Intel Core i5 3570K $235
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit with SP1 OEM $99.00
Sandisk Extreme 120GB SSD $99.00
Western Digital WD Green 2TB $105 <--- [added storage drive]
Corsair CMX8GX3M2B1600C9 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 $59.00
HIS Radeon HD7850 2GB $245.00
Corsair CX-600 V2 Power Supply $89
CoolerMaster Elite 430 Black with window $49.00
Arctic Cooling Freezer i30 CPU Cooler $38
ASRock Z77 PRO4-M Motherboard $105.00
Gigabyte GK-KM6000 Keyboard and Mouse Set $19.00
LG CH12LS28 12X BD-R Blu-ray DVD Combo Drive $55
SSD mounting bracket $6.50

couple of extra case fans in keeping with the blue/black theme:
BitFenix Spectre 120mm Black Tinted Blue LED Fan $9.50 x 2

some niceties to help with build quality/neatness:
Lian Li PT-CL01 Cable Management Kit $6
Lamptron Anti-Vibration Rubber HDD Screws (10 pack) $4
Bitspower 120mm Anti-Vibration Fan Gasket Black $3.50 x3
Shintaro Internal Card Reader 3.5" $15

and a bit of showy lighting he requested:
Lamptron CCFL Sound Activated Module $9
Bitspower Dual 30cm Cold Cathode Kit Blue $19


Total $1282 + $107 shipping


Thoughts?



I'm wondering if I've split my pricing sensibly because I don't seem to have enough to spend on the GPU considering the gaming bias of the system. For example I am looking at the Tom's Hardware $1000 enthusiast build and $400 of their $1000 was set aside for the GPU. Matching that setup dollar for dollar in Australia is difficult though; I tried and came up with an $1100 build.

Sam


edit: just looking at this, a 3570K is only $5 more than this 2500K through pccasegear.com.... is it as simple as substituting one for the other and everything else will still work fine? Is it worth doing?

double edit: I have to make the aforementioned switch now, because distributors in Aust. have run out of 2500K processors and I can't find one new for less than $250 delivered from any other retailer.

 

[savage1987]

OK we are ordering parts this weekend. Trouble is, PCCaseGear's Purchasing Department have confirmed that the Australian Intel distributors have all run out of stock of Core i5 2500K processors; the closest alternative available is the Intel Core i5 3570K.

I'm updating the shopping list in the OP with a new parts list that he's happy with after sitting down and discussing everything at length today. Will I come across any problems trying to overclock an Ivy i5 on this setup?

I'm reading like crazy about the 3570k vs 2500k at the moment, trying to get my head around the Ivy Bridge side of things independently but I'd appreciate any info you guys can give me here.

Thanks,
Sam

 

[wraith]

Seems like a decent setup although I don't know the AMD side of graphics cards at the moment. Ivy Bridge runs hotter then Sandy Bridge but I run a 3570k and have it sitting on 4.5Ghz all day everyday and temps never get above 70 on a H100 water cooling setup with Prime95. A Coolermaster 212 Evo seems to be the in thing and is what I was running before I went water cooled. 4.5 Ghz prime 95 and it hit peak of 80 degrees which is 20 degrees under thermal limit.

 

[savage1987]

The 212 Evo was my original cooler for this build, but for $2 extra this review made the i30 worthwhile.

The graphics card isn't ideal but it's the best for that sort of money I think, but if it struggles with anything he's prepared to upgrade it further down the track.

 

[savage1987]

OK I gave him the info last night and he decided to move to a 7850.

The VTX3D Radeon HD7850 2GB X-Edition was the cheapest on offer but the HIS Radeon HD7850 2GB suited the colour theme better and for only $6 more I feel that's worth it.

Parts have been ordered, so I'm reading up on OC'ing Ivy Bridge and any tricks with the 7850 cards now

 

[savage1987]

Realised I forgot an SSD mounting bay adapter. Lucky there's one for only $6.50.

Also swapped the OCZ Agility 3 for a Sandisk Extreme 120GB which I have realised is a significantly better drive for only $4 more.

 

[wraith]

Realised I forgot an SSD mounting bay adapter. Lucky there's one for only $6.50.

Also swapped the OCZ Agility 3 for a Sandisk Extreme 120GB which I have realised is a significantly better drive for only $4 more.

I have that SSD and it's brilliant.

 

[savage1987]

Which one's that, the Sandisk?

 

[wraith]

Which one's that, the Sandisk?

Yeah the Sandisk. For 100 bucks it's brilliant. Except I paid $120 when I got mine.

 

[frogsta]

All is well in the setup. I'd prefer not to run my CPU at more than 50-60 degrees, but depends how long he wants it to last.
And I'd rather a 560 Ti for GPU. Hits FPS limit in MW2/3 multiplayer which is 91FPS
Great card for performance