New Gaming PC: Suggestions

How much are you planning to pick up the GTX 570 for? To get that level of performance I'd either save a few bucks, pick up an HD 7850 and OC the balls out of it or pick up a GTX 560 Ti 448 if it ever dips to ~$200 again. Otherwise just nut up, bite the bullet, spend the extra benny and get a GTX 670 - you'll probably be much happier, and if prices somehow plummet snap up another for SLI and you should be set for a WHILE.

Cable management will be easier with this PSU [newegg.com], plus it really is dead quiet. Same price.

That case is fantastically overpriced. What does it have going for it that something like this [newegg.com] or even this [newegg.com] doesn't offer? If you're going to spend ~ $110 on a case, I think you'd be better off going for something like this [newegg.com] or this [newegg.com] instead.

I'd recommend you shave ~$50 off by going with a different case, plus trimming off another ~$100 by snagging this motherboard [newegg.com] instead of the Asus. Put the ~$150 surplus towards a GTX 670 and a small SSD.

Free tip: $8 bloody well spent [amazon.com]...

Quote from toolio20 : I'd recommend you shave ~$50 off by going with a different case, plus trimming off another ~$100 by snagging this motherboard [newegg.com] instead of the Asus. Put the ~$150 surplus towards a GTX 670 and a small SSD.

Thanks for the heads up about the mobo and PSU. As for the case, I guess I was mainly going for noise insulation (had a lot of annoyance with an old full ATX Thermaltake case) and I've heard good things about the Fractal Design cases. Maybe it's a slight tad overpriced, but ultimately $40 in a $1200 machine is not a dealbreaker for me. I think of a case as more of an investment anyway - you can build in it time and again so long as you get a quality one.

What do you think of this motherboard [newegg.com]? I'm not too familiar with the new Z77 chipsets so would definitely appreciate any input.

As for the 670, the problem is it's not in stock anywhere. Also it's $400 vs ~$250 - 270 for a 500-series card, so that adds significantly to the cost. It's not really an issue of money (I have a budget of up to $1500 if necessary), but I just don't think it's cost-effective to go for the current gen cards. I actually agree with you on reflection about downgrading to a 560ti. The base (non-448) 560ti is $210 now and the 448 is $250. How big of a difference is the 448-core version from the standard one? I mean the difference between that and a 570 is only $20 now.

If noise is a concern then you might want to rethink your choice of GPU. The 670 will be more powerful, consume less energy and run significantly quieter. You pay a bit of a premium but you'll be using and enjoying the card for the maximum of it's useful life, so...again, this is SD and I get the idea, but I legitimately think the 670 represents the best bang for buck in a brand new high end card ATM.

As far the GTX 560 Ti, you'd want the 448 core version as it is practically a GTX 570 performance wise. Google some benchmarks and you'll see the difference. Regardless, I still give the nod to the HD 7850 at this price point since it runs cooler, is powered off a single 6-pin connector and has excellent OC headroom. The McCann Twins might try to sell you a GTX 480 along with an awesome phone...

Motherboard you picked should do fine.

I couldn't disagree more with your Case Logic but wtf do I care - you're the one that has to look at it every day so buy what you like...

if you want a quiet case, this one is good. a friend of mine got it and i got the 300 and i am jealous.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6811129177

Is there a reason you're going for a MicroATX mobo? Any of the cases listed will accommodate a full size ATX mobo, and just in case you want to add a second video card and pretty much anything else that uses PCI in the future, you'll be able to. Either way, if you're really going bang-for-buck, the RoG line from Asus isn't the way to go. They're really nice, don't get me wrong, and great for overclocking, but definitely not tops for bang-for-buck.

I second the recommendation for the HAF case. I've got the HAF X and I love it, and I've heard lots of great things about the 912/922/932 cases too.

Also second Toolio's recommendation for the GTX670, if you can find one. I tend to prioritize heat and noise with my video card selections, and the new 600 series are incredible. I've got my SLI GTX680 setup OCed and I can barely hear it when I've got a game maxing them out.

Good point, tha Antec case looks good. What do you guys think about the Antec Solo II vs the HAF 212?

Regarding the motherboard, I've reconsidered: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6813157293

Perhaps I'll see if I can't find a 670 in stock somewhere.

Thank you for the feedback!

btw if noise is a factor, get the Windforce GTX 670 or the Galaxy one.
These 2 are custom PCB with custom fan cooling
The stock PCB for reference is this small dinky thing, and the stock fan isn't very quiet.

Quote from IPT : btw if noise is a factor, get the Windforce GTX 670 or the Galaxy one. These 2 are custom PCB with custom fan cooling The stock PCB for reference is this small dinky thing, and the stock fan isn't very quiet.

Sounds good, if I can find them. Perhaps I'm wrong (it's been a while), but isn't EVGA considered the best Nvidia manufacturer?

As a side note, does anyone know when these cards are going to start being available?

Quote from aridneptune : Sounds good, if I can find them. Perhaps I'm wrong (it's been a while), but isn't EVGA considered the best Nvidia manufacturer? As a side note, does anyone know when these cards are going to start being available?

they are, but their offerings are usually pretty much reference cooling.

Quote from IPT : they are, but their offerings are usually pretty much reference cooling.

I see...so all in all would you recommend EVGA or Galaxy?

Quote from aridneptune : I see...so all in all would you recommend EVGA or Galaxy?

Evga's warranty is great, and from what I can recall it's better than Galaxy, but I don't think you can go wrong with either.

But if it were me, I'd go with the GTX 670 Direct CU II TOP 2 GB. Faster than a ref 680 and virtually silent:

http://www.techpowerup.com/review...II/33.html

Quote from Neon01 : Evga's warranty is great, and from what I can recall it's better than Galaxy, but I don't think you can go wrong with either. But if it were me, I'd go with the GTX 670 Direct CU II TOP 2 GB. Faster than a ref 680 and virtually silent: http://www.techpowerup.com/review...II/33.html

the MSRP on that card is being seen at $450 lol
for $50 more, just get the GTX 680.

Quote from aridneptune : I see...so all in all would you recommend EVGA or Galaxy?

i'd do gigabyte windforce, evga 670 FTW or the galaxy heatpipe one.

If you're gettin reference, it doesn't matter what you get.
EVGA offers 3 year warranty, 90 day stepup
Gigabyte is 3 year warranty
Galaxy is 5 year warranty

Quote from IPT : the MSRP on that card is being seen at $450 lol for $50 more, just get the GTX 680.

MSRP is $420. Maybe you meant "street price"? And maybe you missed this part of the review for the 670 DCII: "Faster than GeForce GTX 680". It was also in my post. If I had it to do again, I would have bought two of these instead of my current reference 680 boards. Because 1. they're faster, 2. they're not as loud, and 3. they're cheaper.

Quote from IPT : i'd do gigabyte windforce, evga 670 FTW or the galaxy heatpipe one. If you're gettin reference, it doesn't matter what you get. EVGA offers 3 year warranty, 90 day stepup Gigabyte is 3 year warranty Galaxy is 5 year warranty

Please don't spread misinformation. Galaxy has a 3 year warranty, not 5. And EVGAs new warranty is valid for ANY owner, not just the first owner, and does not require registration to do so. Not all 3yr warranties are made alike.

That aside, I still think all of the options listed here are good options.