Gaming build, built to last ~5 years

[Jaysap]

Approximate Purchase Date: this week

Budget Range: 900-1000 after rebates, before shipping and taxes

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, work

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, speakers. Monitor not required for this purchase.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.ca, other Canadian sites

Country of Origin: Canada

Parts Preferences: AMD chip based video cards

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: I'll be purchasing a new monitor, will be looking at 1920x* resolutions

The build:

Case: COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Mobo: MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

GPU: SAPPHIRE 100282XTREME Radeon HD 5850 Xtreme 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

PSU1: RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-530SS 530W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular LED Power Supply
OR
PSU 2: RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-730SS 730W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Modular LED Power Supply


Summary and Questions:

Something that is fairly quiet would be a plus. I went with the case I did because the bling factor might be fun.

I want this build to last me 5-6 years. I don't need everything to be at the top end graphics wise near the end of the machine's life, but I'm going to take advantage of pretty graphics while I can now.

I'm unsure if I'm gonna go with Crossfire, but if I can find the same card on the cheap in a few years I might grab it, unless getting a new card would totally overshadow a second average one (which from what I understand is the case).

So to sum up the questions:
Can I expect this build to be still functional at medium-low settings in 5 years?
Is the smaller PSU enough to run potential crossfire, or do I need the stronger one?
Do all my parts work together, or did I miss something?
Is it fairly quiet?
Do I require extra cooling?
I do need a DVD drive/burner, are there any without any print or letters on the front?

Looking forward to your responses!

 

[taintedducky]

You may want to go for the GTX 570, it will last a lot longer than the 5850.

 

[Jaysap]

*bump*

Anybody have anything else to add, or answers to my other questions?

 

[mdd1963]

5 years is a VERY long time in 'gaming system' years....

My older system (A64-3500+/7800GT) was fine for F.E.A.R in 2005, but could hardly be expected to play Crysis or Metro today....

If one spent $700-$1000 on gpu power (twin 6950 or GTX570), then perhaps the inevitable could be delayed into the 3-4 year period.

 

[Device Unknown]

What? Computers last for 5 years? i can barely get by, by only upgrading every 6 months to SOMETHING new lol
But I can say this, I seriously doubt a 1K budget would get you a 5 year machine. Developers are taking advantage of the hardware leap. So within 2 years we'll need to upgrade again.

 

[Why_Me]

If your going to purchase from a retailer for a Canadian build...forget newegg canada. Direct Canada and Best Direct beat their prices most of the time, and they do Free Shipping. Newegg Canada is a total hose job. Those two retailers (Direct Canada and Best Direct) are affiliated....they both use the same address in BC.

http://www.directcanada.com/contact/ <------ Contact info/addy for Direct Canada

http://www.bestdirect.ca/contact/ <----- Contact info/addy for Best Direct

This build down below allows you to add another one of those factory over clocked MSI gtx 560's later on for SLI. That 5850 is yesterdays technology and loses out to the gtx 560 by 15% or more...that's a 560 @ stock settings...this one down below is not only factory over clocked, but it can be o/c to run nearly on par with a gtx 570.

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC5964&vpn=RC-922M-KKN1-GP&manufacture=COOLERMASTER $79.69
Coolermaster Haf 922 Mid Tower ATX Case Black 5X5.25 5X3.5INT Front Audio USB eSATA No PSU

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15180AC6621&vpn=P1750SCAB9&manufacture=XFX $95.99
XFX 750W PRO750W Core Edition Single Rail ATX 12V 62A 24PIN ATX Power Supply 80PLUS Bronze

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=16950BD9488&vpn=GA-P67X-UD3-B3&manufacture=Others $153.19
Gigabyte P67X-UD3-B3 ATX LGA1155 P67 DDR3 3PCI-E1 2PCI 2PCI-E16 CrossFireX SATA3 USB3.0 Motherboard

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12200BD1527&vpn=BX80623I52500K&manufacture=INTEL $214.69
Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC8843&vpn=RR-B10-212P-G1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER $25.22
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA1155 LGA1156 120MM

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15380BD5211&vpn=F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL&manufacture=G.SKILL $81.95
G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/233111/ST31000524AS/Seagate/ $59.79
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 7200.12 1TB SATA 32MB Cache 3.5IN Internal Hard Drive OEM

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530DR5213&vpn=DRW-24B1ST%20Bulk&manufacture=ASUS $21.32
ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer OEM Black

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12980BD8066&vpn=N560GTX-TI%20Twin%20Frozr%20II/OC&manufacture=MSI $237.88 MIR $20 - $217.8
MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr OC 880MHZ 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini-HDMI DX11 PCI-E Video Card

Total: $969.72 CAD *not including mail in rebates

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/222137/GFC-00599/MICROSOFT/ $93.79
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT DVD OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128488 <---- That's the same mobo on newegg

 

[Jaysap]

5 years is a VERY long time in 'gaming system' years....

My older system (A64-3500+/7800GT) was fine for F.E.A.R in 2005, but could hardly be expected to play Crysis or Metro today....

If one spent $700-$1000 on gpu power (twin 6950 or GTX570), then perhaps the inevitable could be delayed into the 3-4 year period.

Alright, how long should I expect the above build to last? I'm not expecting to run stuff at top quality, but are you implying that this won't run anything after two or three? What modern game would a current 2-3 year old system run?

@Why_Me, thanks for the info, I'll check into non-newegg sites.

 

[mdd1963]

I would expect any of the 3+ GHz i5/i7 cpus to still be 'enough' cpu in 2-3 years, but, something along the lines of the 6950 or GTX570 should still be viable for 3 years as well, if lucky. If GTX580, perhaps 4 years....

 

[Why_Me]

Alright, how long should I expect the above build to last? I'm not expecting to run stuff at top quality, but are you implying that this won't run anything after two or three? What modern game would a current 2-3 year old system run?

@Why_Me, thanks for the info, I'll check into non-newegg sites.

Later on stick another one of those 560's in that build I posted and you will be good to go for quite a while. With over clocking, dual vid cards, etc... no worry's.