Suggestions on build for gaming / college

[Nstack]

Case:
COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
$199.99

Motherboard:
ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$284.99

Graphics Card:
1 ASUS ENGTX570/2DI/1280MD5 GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card ASUS ENGTX570/2DI/1280MD5 GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$349.99

PSU:
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
$109.99

CPU:
Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950 Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950
Item #: N82E16819115211
$294.99

Ram:
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX6GX3M3A1600C9 CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX6GX3M3A1600C9
$89.99

Hard Drive:
1 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$54.99

DVD Drive:
1 ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
$19.99

OS:
1 Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders
$99.99

Thermal Paste:
1 Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
$10

Total Cost:$1514

Also looking at the ASUS Sabertooth X58 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard instead, which only costs
189.99 Makeing the total cost go down to $1419. Cost is an important factor too. I do not do any over clocking either. Please help me out with which mobo i should get! =)

Game resolution: 1920x1200 usually.
Is a better OS needed ? I plan on playing Counter-strike at the highest setting and wow at pretty good settings.
I Will also be using this PC a lot for college, computer science courses specifically. Mainly just programming. Thanks for any help!

 

[Maziar]

Looks a fantastic rig
If you don't need 3-way SLI,then go with Sabertooth X58,it's a great board.
And the OS is fine,unless you need more security features(which you have to buy the professional or ultimate version)
If you only play those games,then GTX 570 is a waste.Cards like GTX 460/HD 6850 can handle WoW and Counter strike perfectly fine on that resolution.

 

[mianmars]

Waste of money on CASE/MOBO/GPU. Go with HAF 932/ASUS Sabertooth/6850.

 

[Nstack]

Thanks for all help! I do want this rig to be able to handle some newer games coming out, will the ASUS Sabertooth/6850 be good enough ? For instance starcraft 2 at high settings, or battlefield bad company 2 at high settings? Thanks so much for the quick reply's!

 

[Maziar]

Yes,6850 can handle both of those games fine on 1080p resolution

 

[zenmaster]

Since you will be doing college work on this, I highly recommend a 2nd HDD for backup purposes, so you can automate data backups from Drive 1 to Drive 2.

 

[Nstack]

Best answer selected by nstack.

 

[Maziar]

This topic has been closed by Maziar