Very first computer help

[heiso]

Hi,

A couple months ago, I posted here for help on building my very first computer. It will be mostly used for gaming, Starcraft 2 mostly. I don't think I'll need to overclock or SLI.

I want some expert advice on my build. I asked my friend about this and he said it was a bit pricey just for SC2. It comes to a total of $1200 CDN. I don't have any hardware/software so that $1200 includes everything except keyboard/mouse. Are there any parts below where I could substitute for cheaper and still get a decent performance for SC2?

Also, is it possible to replace the acer monitor with a mac monitor? I have one lying around. That would save me $160.

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/768MD5 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBXM

ASUS P8H67-M LX (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 SATA 6Gb/s Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i5-2300 Sandy Bridge 2.8GHz (3.1GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52300

Acer X223WDbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor


Thanks

 

[Silvune]

I'm pretty sure I've seen post pics of their builds and they have had Mac monitors being used with those builds, so yes I think you can save yourself $160.

The build looks decent to me. The Antec HCG-520 might be a bit cheaper than the Seasonic S12II Bronze unit it is based on, it also has longer cables (ATX12V) - the difference isn't likely to be much, but just a little heads up.

 

[T_T]

I don't know where you priced out your parts, or what they cost in CND (Canadian?), but it appears that the highest priced items in this list are your monitor, GPU, and CPU; all cost more than $100 USD. If you really wanted to shave some cost of your build, you could go with a lower quality CPU/mobo combo, a cheaper GPU, and monitor. I have a friend who plays SC2 on a Q6600 w/ a GTX 260 with no problems. But, for future apps/games, your current selection would be better.

 

[heiso]

I don't know where you priced out your parts, or what they cost in CND (Canadian?), but it appears that the highest priced items in this list are your monitor, GPU, and CPU; all cost more than $100 USD. If you really wanted to shave some cost of your build, you could go with a lower quality CPU/mobo combo, a cheaper GPU, and monitor. I have a friend who plays SC2 on a Q6600 w/ a GTX 260 with no problems. But, for future apps/games, your current selection would be better.

Yes, prices are in Canadian. All items are from newegg. So I'm guessing it's like $1050 USD? The $1200 CDN price tag is before rebates and after-tax.

I think I'm happy with my gtx 460. I heard it's a really good card from a few articles. What CPU/mobo would you recommend? Is there a significant difference between the i5 and the i3?

 

[T_T]

Ultimately the difference can be significant, but it all depends on the load you put on your CPU. For the sake of discussion, if you could only ever play SC2 (meaning, if it were the only game in the world), then the i3 plus 4 GB RAM and x64 OS would suit you just fine. SC2 is more dependent on the GPU than it is the CPU. However, since there are so many variation of each style of CPU, sometimes paying a little extra helps you keep the system from upgrades longer.

 

[heiso]

Best answer selected by heiso.