Rate my build. I'll be getting something along the lines of this over the summer. CPU may be swapped out for 2500K or corresponding Haswell model.

Rate what? Performance / price? Quality of parts picked? Deals chosen? Compatibility and if parts bottleneck each other?

So far it looks like a pretty powerful gaming machine with quality parts.
Not sure about CPU (heard that Ivy Bridge isn't really faster than Sandy but has heat problems), SSD (Mushkin? O.o) and Monitor though.

do yourself a favor and get a decent monitor.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=ips+2560&_sop=15
you might have to pay some serious taxes on it.
Fractal case is way overpriced. It's $60 in the states.
that PSU hasn't gone down in price at all over the past 5 years. Normally I'd say $70 is a good price for them, but I'd really like to see it much lower than that.

Don't forget to buy everything from NCIX so you get free shipping. It's also easier that way.

@NudeRaider: Yes, the price-to-performance ratio is something to review. If there are any other tech things I'm unaware of, or recent manufacturing screw-ups, I'd like to know about them too.

@rockz: Yeah, I've looked into the Anandtech group buys for Catleap monitors, but I don't really want one right now. I already have a 24" monitor, and I don't want my dual-screen setup to look weird. Any suggestions on another case? The next alternative is the HAF 922, but I'd like something that is more lightweight and has good sound dampening. Thoughts on any other PSU?

Try some NZXT options. They usually have some really nice cases at decent prices. The Switch, Phantom, and H630 are all really nice.


Edit: Did a few part swaps.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.00 @ Canada Computers)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.05 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($144.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($109.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($128.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.50 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($309.99 @ NCIX)
Case: NZXT H2 Classic Silent (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Memory Express)
Case Fan: BitFenix Spectre 43.5 CFM 120mm Fan ($4.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case Fan: BitFenix Spectre 43.5 CFM 120mm Fan ($4.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Canada Computers)
Monitor: Asus VH242H 23.6" Monitor ($186.50 @ Vuugo)
Total: $1407.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-01 14:19 EDT-0400)

This is in no way a 'better' build, just one with my personal preferences. Take them as you will.

The Crucial RAM is 10$ more but is CL8 instead of CL9.
XFX PSU is a much better unit in my opinion than the EA650 Green. IIRC its a SeaSonic OEM, and is the same as a SeaSonic X-650.
No reason for those Noctua case fans. The Bitfenix fans will do the job just fine at an acceptable noise level and are 5$ a piece.
I prefer WD over Seagate so I swapped for the Caviar Blue. I'd also prefer a Samsung 840 over the Mushkin SSD.
I love my R4 and I can understand wanting one, but that price just isn't fair. The NZXT H2 is not as-good as the R4, but is still a nice case.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jun 1 2013, 6:22 pm by Excalibur.

performance / price is pretty good on most parts, except the video card. Get one around $220 for only slightly less fps.