$1000 gaming rig upgrade

[hitrun]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This week

BUDGET RANGE: 1000-1100 after rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming(bad company 2 and starcraft 2)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Mouse, keyboard, speakers, monitor, case(full tower), hdds

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg (keep in mind I have a microcenter close to me)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel, only have owned Ati but willing to go Nvidia

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe in the future

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Quieter hsf would be ideal. Reconfigure this list for compatibility, price, and performance. Thanks

CPU: Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80605I5760
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0341729

Mobo: ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131621

Ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303

Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Graphics Card: EVGA 01G-P3-1373-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked EE 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130567


HSF: ZALMAN CNPS10X QUIET 120mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118052&Tpk=Zalman%20CNPS10X%20Quiet


OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754&cm_re=windows_7_home_premium-_-32-116-754-_-Product


Total: $960 before rebates and possible tax on cpu

 

[sp12]

Looks good except for the HSF, I'd probably grab this kit for 54$.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181011

 

[Mr Pizza]

nah, that HFS is FINE if you want to improve, get this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018&Tpk=NH-d14

 

[coldsleep]

It looks like you've got the performance angle already. About the only thing I can suggest is working combos to save money.

P7P55D-E Pro and Corsair XMS3 1600 MHz CL7 4 GB kit - CL8, so slightly looser timings than the G.Skill sticks you picked out. Combo is $250 with another $20 MIR. Unsure if that's worth it, up to you depending on how much you want to save.

Alternatively, you could get this G.Skill ECO Series 4 GB kit with 7-8-7 timings (as opposed to 7-7-7), but runs at 1.35V -- for $103.

 

[hitrun]

Is there any other power supply I should be looking at? This seemed like a good fit plus I prefer the exhaust fan at the back due to the way my case is set up. Also is the mobo overkill for what I am going to do?
Thanks for all the reply's so far

 

[coldsleep]

That PSU is a good fit. It's a little more than you need right now, but it's not massive overkill, which 850W+ would be. If you chose to SLI in the future, 2 460s would still be fine with 650W.

The P7P55D-E Pro is the only motherboard I tend to recommend for i5 gaming builds. Few others have USB 3.0/SATA 6.0 Gb/s support. USB 3 is going to become more common, and I think it's preferable to pay a few extra dollars now, rather than pay $20-30 for an addon card later.

Motherboards are rarely overkill as such. You can pay too much for features you're not going to use, but although this one is among the more expensive Socket 1156 mobos, it's also got the most useful features.

Honestly, I think your original build is quite good as is. You chose quality parts along with good value. You didn't oversize the PSU, you didn't make a lot of common mistakes. As I said earlier, about all you can do is find cheaper prices and/or combos, and I already think that you're getting pretty good value.

 

[LordConrad]

One point to keep in mind. Depending on your choice of HSF, memory with cooling fins may not fit in two of your memory slots. I'm not sure if the Ripjaw series is low enough to avoid this issue. Anyone?

 

[Vearo]

One point to keep in mind. Depending on your choice of HSF, memory with cooling fins may not fit in two of your memory slots. I'm not sure if the Ripjaw series is low enough to avoid this issue. Anyone?

Well, I know that I had to use slots 3 and 4 using this Ripjaws RAM and this CPU Cooler.

 

[LordConrad]

That CPU Cooler link didn't work right, but I figured the teeth on those RAM chips might cause some future upgrade issues. Thanks for the input.

 

[hitrun]

Would it be worth looking for a low profile hsf then or do those not exist? Also would it be beneficial to run more than two slots of ram at a time too?

 

[LordConrad]

For most people, using only two memory slots is fine. You can get up to 8 GB in those two slots. If you think you might want to go past 8 GB of memory in the future, you might want to stick to memory without cooling fins. This will allow the memory to fit under the huge HSF units being used these days.

 

[hitrun]

Are the differences in timings between the original G skills I posted and this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303 going to make a difference in gaming? I'm asking this because I can save a few bucks and I don't have to wait for them either.

 

[coldsleep]

It's not going to make a noticeable difference, no.

 

[LordConrad]

No difference. The timings are almost equal. In fact, your computer would hardly notice a difference.