~$1,500 Gaming Rig, Opinions welcome

[As1anSwagger]

Hello, I am building my first gaming rig so I would like to have a second opinion on whether the choices I made for this gaming-oriented pc will be good or not. Note, I will be overclocking the gpu and cpu, and I will probably not expand the pc (Ex: a second gpu) after buying this.

Here's a link to the newegg wishlist: HERE

Item list:

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - $170

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor - $230

CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 - $75

Memory: Corsair Vengeance (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Memory - $41

SSD: Mushkin Enhanced Chronos 120GB SATA III SSD - $100

HDD:
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD - $110

Power Supply:
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W Power Supply - $90

Video Card:
MSI N660 Ti PE 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - $310

Case: Thermaltake Chaser MK-I (VN300M1W2N) Black SECC ATX Full Tower Computer Case - $150

Sound Card:
ASUS XONAR_DG 5.1 Channels PCI Interface Xonar DG Sound Card - $30

Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K90 Mechanical Keyboard - $130

Mouse: Razer Deathadder Optical Mouse - $60

Windows 7 Home Premium - $100

Various discounts brings the total to around $1490.

Changes/decision I have made:

-2500k to 3570k
-Blackwidow Ultimate to K90
-750W PSU to 650W PSU (To save money)
-660Ti or 670?

Thanks for the advice and happy Thanksgiving holidays :)

[dma0991]

It looks good, nothing much needs to be changed. I do recommend getting this Cooler Master case, much cheaper. The Corsair H60 won't get you very far in terms of overclocking. I highly recommend getting the Corsair H100 instead.

[As1anSwagger]

Thanks for replying, do you think the H100 will be a great enough improvement performance-wise in comparison to the H60 for the cost difference? I don't see the bigger radiator size worth the $40 extra but if the performance difference is significant I will consider the H100. Thanks again for your thoughts :) Welcome to anyone else's thoughts too...

[dma0991]

It really does give an improvement in how much your load temps would be when you overclock. Idle temps not so much as it cannot go lower than the ambient temperature. As for how good they compare with each other, check out the reviews for the Corsair H100i, there are plenty.

[AkG]

I would drop the H60 (even if its the new 2.0 model....which I dont think it is) for the new H80i. Software control over the fans == perfect noise profile. Only 20 bucks or so more $$$. Otherwise I probably would opt for the Antec Kuhler 620...or NEW Corsair H60 2.0

I would upgrade from the TX to a different PSU. Not a big fan of the lower Corsair PSU line.

I too would go with a dif case.Not a fan of TT cases.

The SSD is a tad outdated. Some better options are the SanDisk Extreme series, Corsair GS. Samsung 840 Pro. Intel 520. Corsair Neutron and Neutron GTX. Mushy Chronos DELUXE.

The keyboard is a good one, but I prefer the GB Osmium to it. YMMV on this one.

[As1anSwagger]

Doing some quick research, the H80i and H100i were released less than a week ago. I'll have to sift around to find some performance specs on them.

Is the Rosewill Fortress a good replacement for the Corsair TX series PSU? Do you think I should bump it up to 750W or will 650W be adequate for this build?

The reason why I chose this SSD was because of its relatively low price point/value, i'll take a look at thr other SSDs you listed.

And if anyone noticed, I'm trying to go with a black and blue color scheme with this rig.

Once again thanks for the feedback and anymore would be appreciated :) I'm hoping to buy this at around Thanksgiving weekend so I want to be sure my pc is well thought out.

[dma0991]

Nope, you're good with 650W. You could do even less, a 500W is still plenty for that rig since you've mentioned that you will not be adding in a 2nd GPU. Try this instead. It is semi modular and from a very well known brand when it comes to PSUs. Try looking at Intel 330 series, they offer a good value over the Intel 520 series.

[Killswitch]

Since you are going to be overclocking I think it would be wise to choose a case that has a monster fan or multiple fans on the side panel (unless you plan to add one to the Chaser). But most of all I recommend a better CPU cooler because even a high end air cooler can out perform the H60. As already mentioned the H100 is a great choice. The H80 is pretty good too. Either way you'll want to base your chassis choice around the CPU cooler you want for maximum air flow, cooling efficiency, and desired noise level. I've seen many instances where people buy cases and coolers not realizing squares don't fit into round holes.... if you know what I mean.

[As1anSwagger]

Thanks I'll consider the the PSU.

I chose the Chaser for a couple reasons:

1. Fits the blue/black theme perfectly
2. Full Tower case
3. Aesthetically pleasing (Which I believe is a major component in choosing a case because among higher end cases the cooling performances between such cases are only a couple degrees apart from each other)

I don't believe this case is compatible with the H100 so I will be looking at the H80/H80i. Apparently, the H80 comes with a loud fan and that worries me.

Other cases that I have/had considered was the Rosewill Thor and CoolerMaster Storm Trooper.

Also, is 120GB a good enough SSD capacity for my build? Its mainly just used to boot the OS and maybe I could save a few bucks getting a smaller sized SSD if necessary.

[dma0991]

The Corsair H100i will fit in the Thermaltake case. It isn't entirely necessary for the case to be blue to fit the theme. My theme is blue as well but my case exterior is black which I find it less jarring and easier on the eyes over the long period of time owning it. I find beauty in simplicity. If you believe that the Thermaltake is aesthetically pleasing then go ahead, whatever floats your boat.

I wouldn't recommend getting anything smaller than a 120GB. I'm using a 120GB and it feels small these days. Some might find 120GB excessive, some don't. As for me, I could get a bigger capacity and I'll just find new ways of filling it up.