[quote name='chibilaharl']Hey Jbaz, that 500w corsair PSU you reccomended, will ti work for slight overclocking? my gpu says it needs a 500w psu. will that conflict with any OC i do?[/QUOTE]
The tdp wattage usage of your graphics card sips power at 130w. As long as the 12v rail(s) have enough amps and its a quality PSU (as the Corsair is), you should have no problems running your 7850 on a 500w PSU. At stock speeds, you system would barely hit 300w on load.
As for overclocking, I wouldn't push it too much. The 965 BE is a 125w cpu so I'd be hesitant in doing anything crazy. Taking the cpu from 3.4 to 4.0 shouldn't be too big of an issue, but the cpu wattage can jump by an addition 100 watts. With your 130w GPU and everything else in the system, you'd still be around 400-430w on load which wouldn't be any issue with a quality 500w PSU.
[quote name='Hockey37']What's the consensus on this build?
My goal is to have something somewhat future proof, something that might last me 5+ years. I wouldn't mind getting the price down slightly, but I also don't want to skimp on a quality build. $1,000 is my top limit.
PCPartPicker part list:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/r3zg
Price breakdown by merchant:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/r3zg/by_merchant/
Benchmarks:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/r3zg/benchmarks/
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($23.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($40.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($95.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 3GB Video Card ($319.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($85.44 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($83.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHAS324-98 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1070.33
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-05 13:00 EST-0500)[/QUOTE]
[quote name='elessar123']620W is on the weak side for that build.
Also, I'd go with either a cheaper 660 Ti (2GB) or a 670. The 660 Ti can't do much more with 3 GB of memory.[/QUOTE]
1. 620 watts from a top tier branded PSU like from SeaSonic is not "weak" for the build listed above, its actually an underrated PSU. 77w cpu + 150w gpu isn't really stressing the system very much. You could easily power the whole system with a simple 400w power supply from a quality brand if you wanted to at stock speeds. Even if OP wants a little head room for overclocks, the 77w cpu would only bloat by 100w from 3.4 to 5.0 Ghz... Provided you have proper cooling. This means even a quality 500w PSU would still be enough for this system with extreme OC on the CPU and a stock GTX 660 ti.
2. I would also agree with the assessment that the 3GB version of the 660 ti doesn't add value to your build. Go cheaper here, save your $50 or better yet, cross over the pond and look at AMD offerings for good mid level gaming cards for better value.
As for the build list, here's what I'd tweak:
I really didn't change too much, mostly just slight upgrades or downgrades to net you better value overall.
First thing I did was upgrade the 2TB seagate to the 3TB version for only $35 more. Better price per GB and it also helps the fact that its the single fastest mechanical 7200 drive on the market as well as being the most affordable and cheapest 3TB drive on the market. It was on sale for $90 on newegg during BF. Cheap, quality and fast... you can have all three.
Next, I doubled your RAM from 8GB to 16GB using 2x8GB pair for not too much more of your 8GB set. You said you wanted "future proof", since DDR3 ram is this cheap, might as well stock up. Plus its only using your two out of four slots, you still have the ability to stick 16GB more down the road. Just a note, this same 16GB set was on sale for $50 last week and was $40 during BF.
Like I said above, dropping from the 3GB to 2GB 660ti is going to save you $50 here and you won't loose much abilities right now. 3GB buffer only helps if you run at 2560x1600 resolutions and even then, most games right now won't even use 2GB at that resolution. Even if it's not going to "future proof" you better for newer games five years down the road. Hell, within that time, you probably could extend the shelf life of this PC by just upgrading the 660 ti to a more modern $100 video card in 2017...
I'd also take a gander at the AMD HD 7870 2GB ($220), it's slightly slower than the 660ti by about 5% in most games (20% at its most severe), but a better value (price/performance) overall. The 7950 3GB is about $275 that's a direct competitor of the 660ti with it being on par or faster in most games.
On the nvidia side, I would have looked for a sale price of the 500 series cards if you wanted to budget down for the $160 GTX 560 ti 448 1GB or a $190 GTX 570 1.25GB; either of those cards are close to the 7870, but you do only get half the VRAM. Not an issue in most modern games at 1080p with all the eye candy enabled, but it would limit you for the "around the corner" next gen game engines that are designed to have 2-3GB buffers coming out in 2013/14. Although, if you were willing to spend $320 for the 660ti 3GB, I would have jumped another $30 for the 670 2GB for the performance bump of about 15-30% in most games across the board.
I swapped out the CM HAF 922 case for the Combo Deal of the Corsair 300R + Corsair CX 750 builder PSU. The 300R case is the entry level budget gaming case of the Corsair series, but its a nice case that has a simple design with good features and cooling abilities. I wouldn't say its on par with the more expensive 922 case, but its pretty damn close and with the combo discount, rebates and 10% off coupon code, Its a steal for $50.
As for the PSU, I went with the cheaper and more powerful Corsair 750 builder series. I have built PC's with most of the CX lines with no issues and have enjoyed their value and price points over the competition's higher priced units. It's not fancy with modular support or higher 80+ certs, but for a value centric product that's priced just right, you'd be a fool to not grab it. Even at $65 without the combo discount, its's still a better value over the more expensive 620w SeaSonic.