Need help on component selection (gaming)

[elliotth]

I need a good desktop with good gaming abilities. I am not a hardcore gamer. If I can have a system (including monitor) that can crank out playable framerates in Crysis on low-mid settings I would be content. But I mostly play outdated online shooters.

I would also love to overclock the system. Anything North of 3.25ghz on my CPU would be awesome.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Average computing and entertaining, playing this game:
http://crossfire.z8games.com/support_start_game_sys_req.aspx and games similar to it.

Parts I'm pretty sure I'm buying..

DVD/CD DRIVE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118032

MONITOR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254045&cm_re=23%22_monitor-_-24-254-045-_-Product

GPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161317&cm_re=5770_1gb-_-14-161-317-_-Product

PSU/CASE combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.359966 <---- unsure of reliability please check

MOTHERBOARD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131603

PROCESSOR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103843

COOLING
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134 <--- hopefully that's enough cooling for a midrange overclock?

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211410

Nothing is set in stone so please lend me a hand and be creative. Thank you ^^

EDIT: I'm concerned about the RAM and motherboard.. I'm ready to buy unless someone points out something important..

 

[elliotth]

I want to buy in the next few days. Very appreciative if someone would approve

 

[g048989h]

Checkout the phenom 2 555. It has 6mb of L3 cach and you might be able to unlock a core or even 2. plus the BE is so easy to OC. I had a 550 that didnt unlock but it OC'd to 3.8 stable.
I have had several antec 300 cases. I love them. I have the same PSU you have chosen and love that too, although it is a little short on watts, the amps are great.
I also have the same ram you have listed, very good stuff. I think aside from the cpu your in good shape.

 

[elliotth]

Hmm.. I do not know much about processors. Other than that more cores and ghz is good. It seems like a bad trade off to me (but I am a rookie so you're probably right). I could pay about 15$ less and keep my combo with cooling and three cores and 3ghz or pay more for only two cores... But that overclock does look very nice.

What are the typical odds of unlocking the dormant cores? or are they totally random... cause I feel as though I am one of the most unlucky people on earth.

How much do you know about motherboards? that's probably my biggest concern

I think this rig for 800$ is a steal... so I'm paranoid something is wrong with it.

 

[janxta]

Not a bad build selection, just needs a little tweak. I would go with GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3 AM3 AMD 770 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard at newegg.com for $80 after MIR. You've done your homework, everything else is a great choice of components. Have a great time with your build.

 

[elliotth]

What is your reason for this motherboard?

Is it better for unlocking cores/OCing?

Also, this will be my first purchase from Newegg.. how dependable is the rebate system?

 

[janxta]

Easily unlocks cores, overclocks well and maintains cool temperatures through out all of it. Great motherboard for someone not wanting to use crossfire. Setup is very easy also.

 

[janxta]

Sorry, forgot to mention rebate. Rebate should be coming from Gigabyte and their customer support is one of the best.

 

[elliotth]

Thank you so much! Well, I cannot take any credit for this build. I just used a combination of different builds from other threads.
Closing thoughts-
acer 23" HD monitor or hanns-g 23" HD monitor? Both are cheap at 170$!
Anyone know the best-under-20$ speakers?