$500 Gaming Build (Before I Confirm)

[Ephemeral]

Approximate Purchase Date: This week hopefully if I can nail these last choices.

Budget Range: I'd like to stay as close to $500 as possible, $550 with shipping, and I've look at $100-$200 extra for a monitor.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Internet, Home

Parts Not Required: OS, Speakers, and optical drive/media reader.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I have a wish list up on Newegg, but I am here for the best deal.

Country of Origin: U.S.

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: AMD, I'm open for the GPU

Overclocking: Maybe, probably not off the bat. I'd like to hit decent performance without it, but ease into it down the line.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, probably not.

Monitor Resolution: My current monitor is 1280 x 1024 but I'm looking at buying a 1920x1080.

Additional Comments: I'm going for an orange theme, case, lights, accessories. I'm aiming to play Starcraft 2 at full without problems. I've been out of the PC gaming world for years because of my technical setup. I am a big FPS, MMO and RTS fan.


Current Wish List:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=12207794

This is my first computer build and I stared out with the Builder Marathon's $500 build and went from there. The biggest hang up I'm having, aside from first time uncertainty, is choice of GPU and case/PSU.

I'm torn between the Elite 310 with 460W PSU in my wish list and a
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811815006&Tpk=N82E16811815006
with
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817170017

Is splitting the PCI connection for my current GPU okay, and what would I need?
Also, the dual-rail vs. single-rail was a bit confusing, I simply want to know if I'll have enough headroom.

Instead of the mouse included in the build, I've been looking at getting my hands on a Razer Krait.

Any and all comments are appreciated.

 

[batuchka]

Negative on PSU - hit a decent 80+ PSU as a long term investment ^^

For tower alone - $481AR

23" LCD $147 Free Ship
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009266

 

[buzznut]

+1 the Antec earthwatts. I like tha tbuild for the most part.

 

[Ephemeral]

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=15448252

Updated list, down to $477 before monitor, and $657 afterward.

So, does everything look okay? Will I have the right cables? (I have a power cable for the PSU and I'm scrapping optical drives, media readers from old PC's)

Now is the time to prevent me from making any huge mistakes. (Fact or opinion based.)

 

[lothdk]

Going for a cheap case you might want to consider the Antec Two Hundred. After the mail-in rebate and shipping, their price are almost the same.

They are almost equally long, but the Antec is wider, which will help with fitting a tower cooler if you do go for overclocking, also, it features better cooling with bottom mounted PSU and both rear and top exhaust fans.

 

[3lvis]

Your just asking for trouble with that wintec memory. Read the reviews everything from this year and last year is negative.

Memory is the toughest thing to match when building a computer, which is why motherboard companies put out a QVL here's the one for the motherboard you've chosen:

http://www.asrock.com/mb/memory/M3A770DE.pdf

Even when you pick memory that's on the list you can run into problems, which is why you should pick a company with good customer service and a lifetime warranty. I recommend G Skill, Mushkin, and Corsair in that order. Something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193&cm_re=g_skill_f3-12800-cl9d-4gb-_-20-231-193-_-Product

That's a really decent PSU and will get the job done. However, consider spending $5 more on the Antec BP550 its 50 more watts and is modular.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016&Tpk=antec%20550%20modular

Not sure what your budget for a CPU is but considering the one you picked was deactivated your gonna need to pick a different one. This is a really decent quad core, that has the all important level 3 cache and some ample head room to overclock.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103824

Hope that helps.
3lvis