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Hi everyone!

I've never built a PC before, and I am going to be transitioning from my iMac to this gaming rig if all goes well. I am not really hardware literate, so I am looking for feedback on what could be changed, improved, added on, etc. I am open to ideas, it is important that if I need to in the future, be able to upgrade this machine if needed.

Basically, I want a game that can play Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn at max settings. I also plan on playing the new Sim City game.

Motherboard: Intel BOXDQ77MK LGA 1155 Intel Q77 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Graphics Card: MSI N660Ti PE 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770K

Memory: G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR (I am planning on buying 2)

HD: Western Digital WD RE4 WD5003ABYX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Keyboard: Logitech K800 Black USB RF Wireless Slim Illuminated Keyboard

Monitor: HP Pavilion 27xi Black / Silver 27" 7ms HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor, IPS Panel

I believe that is all that I need... Again, I am very ignorant to all of this, so please correct me if I am wrong,... USB ports, wifi, etc is in the motherboard correct?? Please let me know if I am missing anything as well.

Things I think I need??:

- Soundcard??

- Case** I have no idea what to pick that'll house all of this.

- Power Supply??

- A Fan ??

Thanks for the time!

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Is that motherboard better than the one that I posted? I didn't know that motherboards had onboard audio.

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Overkill on so many levels for just a gaming rig. Plan on overclocking? I'd avoid that motherboard and go with Gigabyte or Asus, z77series, because the cpu already has graphics in the processor.Or even a budget MSI or biostar if you dont plan to overclock.

A 3750k wold be as fast or faster in games then the 3770k would, and you could use the extra 100 for an ssd .Also if you dont plan to overclock, The "K" series processor is a waste of money.

upgrade to a 1TB WD along with a 128 or 256 ssd as your operating system drive and the speed will scare you, and spoil you. I prefer samsung 830 or 840 series SSD or the Crucial M4.

DDR3 1600 ram is cheaper and you'll never notice any difference anyway.

Buy a good 600 watt or higher psu such as corsair or seasonic with active pfc. Dont skimp!

coolermaster cases are nice and the HAF 912 is cheap and cools well.

cpu cooling Budget ;Coolermaster hyper 212. If your overclocking? Thermaltake water 2.0 extreme, works well with the newest 1155 cpu's

Generally onboard sound is extremely good on 1155 motherboards.Unless you have thousands invested in audio equipment, a sound card is a waste of money.

The 660ti is an impressive gpu and can handle anything you could throw at it in most cases. maybe overkill too.

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Overkill on so many levels for just a gaming rig. Plan on overclocking? I'd avoid that motherboard and go with Gigabyte or Asus, z77series, because the cpu already has graphics in the processor.Or even a budget MSI or biostar if you dont plan to overclock.

A 3750k wold be as fast or faster in games then the 3770k would, and you could use the extra 100 for an ssd .Also if you dont plan to overclock, The "K" series processor is a waste of money.

upgrade to a 1TB WD along with a 128 or 256 ssd as your operating system drive and the speed will scare you, and spoil you. I prefer samsung 830 or 840 series SSD or the Crucial M4.

DDR3 1600 ram is cheaper and you'll never notice any difference anyway.

Buy a good 600 watt or higher psu such as corsair or seasonic with active pfc. Dont skimp!

coolermaster cases are nice and the HAF 912 is cheap and cools well.

cpu cooling Budget ;Coolermaster hyper 212. If your overclocking? Thermaltake water 2.0 extreme, works well with the newest 1155 cpu's

Generally onboard sound is extremely good on 1155 motherboards.Unless you have thousands invested in audio equipment, a sound card is a waste of money.

The 660ti is an impressive gpu and can handle anything you could throw at it in most cases. maybe overkill too.

I pretty much agree with most of what darconf says... except I would go more high end on the graphics card or go dual... Games are becoming more and more graphically intense (altho' still relying a lot on CPU power)... My 670 even struggles with Skyrim on ultra settings...

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Thanks for your input(s), I figured it would be overkill, but I also wanted a system that'll last me a couple of years, and if I needed to upgrade then I'll easily be able to. Like I said before, I don't really know what I am doing, heh. So going from what you just told me how does this look? Also, I don't plan on overclocking..

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813130673

I'm going to keep the 500GB internal, mainly because I already have a 500GB external HD that I keep most of my stuff on anyway. Will this SSD be suitable?

http://www.newegg.co...VirtualParent=1

New memory: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231314 (still buying 2)

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Case: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119233 (HAF 912)

Now, for a GFX, if absolutely needed, what would be a better buy?

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the motherboard you chose is a Mini ITX youll probably want a Micro- ATX or an ATX Motherboard

For the money , consider these items i like gigabyte others like asus. both these are great motherbords

Motherboard

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131833

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813128544

SSD

http://www.newegg.co...VirtualParent=1

PSU

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817151102

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Thanks! I made a few modifications. I replaced a few things that I added initially with some of the items that you've mentioned, and a few other ones just to save a little bit on money. Here is my final build, any last comments, concerns, etc? Let me know, I'll check on this thread in the morning before I place my order. Thank you all.

Memory x2: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

CD/DVD: LG 24X DVD Burner - Bare Drive Black SATA Model GH24NS95 - OEM

Keyboard: i-rocks IRK01WN-BK Black USB 2.0 Wired Slim Keyboard with Chiclet-like Key Shape - OEM

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

SSD: Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

CPU: SeaSonic X Series X-850 (SS-850KM Active PFC F3) 850W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD ...

GFX: MSI N660Ti PE 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770K

Monitor: HP Pavilion 27xi Black / Silver 27" 7ms HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor, IPS Panel

Sooo, if anyone has any last comments, concerns, modifications, money saving tips, etc, then let me know. Thanks for the help!

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Get a bigger SSD if you can afford it.

Can't say anything about the MSI cards, haven't used any of their stuff for years now. Quality wasn't all that good back then.

Asus and Gigabyte are both good brands IMO.

Seems good though.

Just finished rebuilding mine into the 942 HAF case. The only real problem was the Cooler Master sticker on the front of the case wasn't quite straight!! :( lol

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I added that SSD to my cart since it was only a little bit more.

I was reading the reviews on that MSI card, and they seem pretty positive, but I saw a lot of random freeze ups, crashes on them as well. Is their a comparable card you would recommend, or should I just get that one? I don't plan on overclocking or anything like that.

Also, how hard is it to assemble these things? Will everything fit in that case? And one last question, what version of windows 8 should I get? 32/64 regular/pro?

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I sent you a pm on graphics and i recommend win 8 64 bit pro or win 7 x64 for OS

youtube has how to videos on building , so does newegg

yes everything will fit in that case :)

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With the graphics cards, I've been getting gigabyte lately. Currently using 2 GTX 670's in SLI. Haven't had a problem with them at all.

As for building, it can seem a bit daunting at first. But it is a very straight forward process overall and a lot of fun. Just double check everything you do! :)

When I put mine together the other night, after putting all the covers on with total confidence, I was finally ready to test it. Pressed the on button.... nothing.

Turned out after I'd re-routed some cables to make it a bit neater, I'd forgotten to replace the front panel connectors. :D

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Cases comes down to you lol

All you care about is this on the case: Motherboard Compatibility Micro ATX / ATX

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Cases are subjective - i wouldnt tough a Rosewill anything. Others my swear by them...

I have the Corsair 500R and it's amazing. I've also owned a Lian Li in the past, but they are expensive.

Antec and Silverstone also make really good cases.

Also, good job choosing a modular PSU. It really really cuts down on the amount of cabling.

that being said, take the time to do proper cable routing. you certainly dont want the case to be a rat's nest!

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dunno what FF will be like to run at max settings but im sure the 660Ti would be ok, if it doesnt seem to pack enough oomph for ya, you could always return it and get a better card.

For simcity i dont think its that computer intensive because they limited the size of the cities so that it would play on older machines

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Thanks all, I am making some final changes, and I'll list it all in a moment to see if I need any last minute changes and to make sure everything I have will work properly.. Thanks so much for the input everyone!

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no need for a sound card, i would get at least 2 case fans and probably go 650Watt PSU minimum.

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I would suggest getting a case with a fan controller TBH, but eventually your going to need one.

I would stick with the PSU and go to Windows 7 64bit and why not a 2TB Seagate SATA? Pretty much only like 10-30 bucks more

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1TB is going to be more than enough. I have an external with most of my stuff anyway, so I can't see the need for extra space. I am going with Windows 8 because I just like where all that is going, plus I'll be getting the Logitech Touchpad as well for that. I'll look around for similar cases that I find pleasing to my eye..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139010

Will this case be suitable?

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I havent found much details on the controller, but you never do lol.. Seems good I remember I was looking at that for mid towers, then I went full.

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