Building $1200 gaming/work PC

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Approximate Purchase Date: In the next week or two

Budget Range: >$900-$1200

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Coding, internet (many tabs in Chrome ;), gaming (StarCraft2, Portal2, Oblivion, and older games mostly), watching movies, virtual box (occasionally).

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, display, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, amazon.com

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: Everything MUST be Linux compatible (Linux Mint).

Overclocking: no

SLI or Crossfire: no

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I basically already have a build that I'm pretty happy with, but I would love feedback/advice on my choices.

Parts:
Case: Antec P 193 v3

PSU: Antec EarthWatts Platinum 550w

Mobo: Gigabyte Z77-DS3H

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220

Memory: Kingston 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600

Disk SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series 256GB SSD
and reusing an HDD from my current box (not sure specs, but it's SATA).

GPU: Unchosen. Current plan is to reuse my nVidia GeForce 8300 (again from current box).

OS: Will be dual-boot Linux (probably Mint) and Windows 7 both 64bit.

I'm pretty confident that everything is compatible here, but I'm less certain about whether I've made reasonable choices to start with. I came up with this build mostly by arbitrarily choosing an intel processor with good reviews at a price I liked, and then building from there.

So as I said, any comments or feedback is much appreciated, this is my first build and I'm eager to learn.
 
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ingtar33

ingtar33

Glorious
Dec 17, 2012
9,023
209
46,040
your mixing two things with the mb/cpu.

the mb is a performance gaming mb built and designed for overclocking. the cpu is locked, cannot overclock, a budget two core best used for an office computer in a sub $500 build. you're spending your money wrong.

i've a question... your budget is very high for you to be looking at an i3 seriously, or keeping your gpu. is your budget really 1200... or are you talking much less?

and what's your monitor's resolution? (do you need a monitor?) that will really decide what type of gpu you'll need.
 
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ingtar33

ingtar33

Glorious
Dec 17, 2012
9,023
209
46,040
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.74 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($62.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.94 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1042.58
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-26 00:21 EDT-0400)

this is based on what you're asking for, if you'd like to spend a lot less i can get you a much cheaper build.
 
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G

Geoff Shannon

Honorable
May 26, 2013
3
0
10,510
Excellent questions. $1200 is really the absolute max, obviously I'd like to spend less if I can still get a machine I'll be happy with. I would be much happier if I only spent $900. However, it would be nice to have a machine that can play reasonably modern games well (Starcraft2 is probably the most intense one I'll be playing though).

I don't need a monitor, already have one with 1920x1080 resolution.

I was also considering using an i5-3570. After running across pcpartpicker I'm also looking at a build using an i5-3470. The thing to keep in mind is that I made an essentially random choice about CPU to get started (it was a bit overwhelming :). What would you suggest as a good CPU to go with that mb?
 
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ingtar33

ingtar33

Glorious
Dec 17, 2012
9,023
209
46,040


that system above would be a near top of the line gaming machine. you could spend more on the gpu and get a 670gtx, but you're not talking about multiple monitors or above 1080p resolution, so it seems a waste. that machine will overclock well, and play the latest titles very nicely.
 
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Y

Yumed

Honorable
Apr 4, 2013
25
0
10,530
u can get a great build with 900$ i can sugest u this one :
CPU: INTEL I5 3470 186$
MOTHERBOARD: ASROCK H77 PRO4M 90$
RAM: CRUCIAL BALLISTIX SPORT 8GB (2X4) DDR3 1600 52$
GPU: EVGA GTX 660 190$
PSU: CORSAIR CX 500 35$
TOTAL: 553$
i choose this parts thinking on what u said :
1.- u will not overlocking
2.- u want to play starcraft 2 at 1920x1080 and the best card for that without pay more tan 200$ is the gtx 660
3.- u wll be using ur old hdd
4.- 8 gb of ram are enought for almost everything
 
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G

Geoff Shannon

Honorable
May 26, 2013
3
0
10,510


Thanks for the alternate build Yumed. I think I'll probably be going with something very similar, same CPU, same chipset, same GPU.
 
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