Download the Tom's Hardware App from the App Store
The reference for current tech news
Yes No
Ads
Tom's Hardware > Forum > Systems > New Build > First build for mid range gaming PC

First build for mid range gaming PC

Forum Systems : New Build First build for mid range gaming PC

Word :    Username :           
 

Hi,
I am trying to put together my first gaming pc and was hoping for a glance over from people who know a lot more than I do. What started my interest was wanting to be able to play Shogun 2 (hopefully on high settings), though of course I would like to be able to play new games in the future also. Shogun 2's recommended specs are:

- 2nd Generation Intel® Core™i5 processor (or greater), or AMD equivalent
- 2GB RAM (XP), 4GB RAM (Vista / Windows7)
- AMD Radeon HD 5000 and 6000 series graphics cards or equivalent DirectX 11 compatible graphics card
- 1280x1024 minimum screen resolution
- 20GB free hard disk space

Approximate Purchase Date: This month (March)

Budget Range: ~850 Before Rebates (though I'd really like to keep it lower)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming and watching movies

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, OS, and disc drive (see below)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com and microcenter.com (I live right next to a Micro Center)

Country of Origin: US

Parts Preferences: I'm open to suggestions if anything should be changed.

Overclocking: Maybe (I don't really know how, but would be open to trying in the future).

SLI or Crossfire: Not anytime soon.

Monitor Resolution: 1600x900 (see monitor below)



What I've come up with so far:


Core i5 2500K LGA 1155 Boxed Processor
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0354589

MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product


ASUS P8P67 LE B3 Intel P67 Motherboard - ATX, Socket H2 (LGA 1155), Intel P67 Express, 2200MHz DDR3 (O.C.), Gigabit LAN, 8-Channel Audio, SATA 6.0 Gb/s, SuperSpeed USB 3.0, AMD CrossFireX Support
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] CatId=6978

COMBO: LOGISYS Computer CS1200BK ATX Mid Tower Optimus All Black Gaming Case and
Antec TruePower New TP-650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.614027

4GB DDR3-1333 (PC-10666) CL9 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit (Two 2GB Memory Modules)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0307440

Hewlett-Packard
S2031 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0354448

7K1000.C 500GB HDS721050CLA362 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -OEM
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0349595

LG WH10LS30 10X Blu-ray Burner - LightScribe Support - Bulk - OEM (I already own this, but want to make sure it is compatible-it seems to be from what I can tell)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product


My main questions:
I don't have any cooling system, but do I need one?
Are all of these parts compatible (is the tower the right size)?
Are there parts whose power/performance is being wasted because of another part that isn't as good?
Is the motherboard one of the fixed ones that have been sent out after the recall. It says B3 so I thought it was ok.

Thanks for any help and let me know if any more info is needed. Thanks! I'd be open to any suggestions on how to make this cheaper without losing too much performance.

Reply to zujwa
Register or log in to remove.







DESCRIPTION
QTY

AVAILABILITY

SAVINGS

TOTAL





Remove this product from your shopping cart
H231-6870 ::HIS H687F1G2M Radeon HD 6870 Video Card - 1024MB, GDDR5, PCIe, Dual mini-Display Port, HDMI, Dual DVI(3.5 lbs)


Order Today, Ships Today



$219.99

$20.00 Mail-in Rebate

Remove this product from your shopping cart
K24-5880 ::Kingston KHX1600C9D3B1K2/4GX HyperX Blu Desktop Memory Kit - 4GB PC3-12800 (2 x 2GB), DDR3-1600MHz, 9-9-9-27 CAS Latency(3.5 lbs)


Order Today, Ships Today

Original Price:
Instant Savings:
Price:

$54.99
- $5.00
$49.99

$10.00 Mail-in Rebate

Remove this product from your shopping cart
TSD-500H4 ::Hitachi 0F10381 Hard Drive - 500GB, 7200RPM, 16MB, SATA-3G(1.2 lbs)


Order Today, Ships Today



$39.99


Remove this product from your shopping cart
C283-2054 ::Cooler Master RR-B10-212P-GP Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler - 120mm, LGA 1366, 1156, 775, AMD AM3, AM2+, AM2(2 lbs)


Order Today, Ships Today



$29.99


Remove this product from your shopping cart
A406-1122 ::NZXT GAMMA Mid-Tower Case - ATX, Micro-ATX, Baby AT, Steel, Black(14.1 lbs)


Order Today, Ships Today



$39.99


Remove this product from your shopping cart
A406-1114 ::XION Power Real 800W ATX Power Supply(2.3 lbs)


Order Today, Ships Today



$74.99


Remove this product from your shopping cart
M452-6209 ::MSI P67A-GD65 B3 Intel P67 Motherboard - ATX, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Intel P67 Express, DDR3 2133MHz (O.C.), SATA 6.0 Gb/s, Gigabit LAN, CrossFire/SLI Ready, USB 3.0(4.05 lbs)


Order Today, Ships Today



$189.99


Remove this product from your shopping cart
I69-2500K ::Intel Core i5-2500K BX80623I52500 Unlocked Processor - Quad Core, 6MB L3 Cache, 3.30 GHz, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Retail(0.85 lbs)


Order Today, Ships Today



$229.99

Reply to residentdean

For some reason, the mother board link is not working. Here it is again:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] N44qSyQrvg

Reply to zujwa

You could always give a pre-built HP a try. They have student discounts as well that would make up for the cost savings of building your own. Student discount is here, http://goo.gl/CuixA and a comparable model of computer would be here http://goo.gl/Ureux

Reply to HPrometheus
Register or log in to remove.
Tom's Hardware > Forum > Systems > New Build > First build for mid range gaming PC
Go to:

There are 1827 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Please mind

You are about to answer a thread that has been inactive for more than 6 months.
If you still wish to proceed, please ensure that your posting is original and does not duplicate or overlap any prior responses to this thread.

Add a reply Cancel
  • Ask the community now
  • Publish
Ad
Ads
Latest best answer
1200-1400 Gaming PC - Want Opinions
By Why_Me, 1 hour ago:

The Z68 boards are older and targeted for Sandy Bridge cpu's. For the newer Ivy Bridge...

Best offers
They won a badge
Join us in greeting them
Top experts