Building my first gaming PC. Suggestions Welcome!

[vazvalaloo]

Hey guys. After weeks of nothing but trouble with trying to get a solid gaming rig from brand named companies, I finally threw in the towel and decided to put my own machine together. Only thing is, I've never done this before LOL. While I'm not completely unfamiliar with hardware, I still don't know that much. I'm trying to keep the price below $1300, including the monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Here's what I'm looking at right now:

CPU: Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

Motherboard: ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 Intel X58
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131386

Video Card: XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447

RAM: OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

Optical Drive: Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030

Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

CPU Cooler: Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

Wifi Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166021

Computer Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068

Monitor: ASUS VH202T Black 20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236058

Any input is appreciated. One of the things I am really not sure about is the CPU Fan/Heat sink I am using, so any advice on that would be helpful.

 

[tunnelrat]

all is fine........
if u want other heatsink look at cooler master hyper 212 plus
its a bang for the buck !!!

try changing the hdd to samsung spinpoint f3
much faster....and cheaper......
or else if u dont get it try western digital BLACK (not as fast as spin point but is faster than the normal )
that chasis will do well....but why dont u try out antec 300 illusion...better than urs i suppose and cheaper to i guess.......try it !!!
and ru thinking of putting one more of 5770 and have a cross fire ?? or will u swap ur card for a more high end card then i will suggest go with corsair 650tx.......

enjoy ur rig !!!
its will be a GREAT PERFORMER !!!

 

[MadAdmiral]

Second the Hyper 212, Samsung F3, the Antec 300 Illusion.

Completely disagree with the WD Black. The HDD you have is the next best thing to the F3. It's faster and cheaper than the WD, just not as fast as the Samsung.

If you've still got budget left over (like $130), I'd highly recommend upgrade from the 5770 to the 5850. The difference is big, but it is a pricey card. A way to save some cash would be to look at Antec Earthwatts and OCZ PSUs. Both of these are very good quality PSU, and signifcantly cheaper than comparable Corsairs. I beleive the Antec 650W is $75, OCZ's 700 is $100 (could be wrong on the prices). If that doesn't get you enough room in the budget for the 5850, definitely get at least a 650W Corsair.

 

[vazvalaloo]

Thanks a lot for the input guys. I think I will switch to the Antec 650W PSU!

 

[capt_taco]

Definitely go to a 58xx video card. With a 5770, you're not taking full advantage of your processor's power. Unless you crossfire two of them, which is just as expensive as buying a 5850.

In either case, you'll want the bigger power supply.