Semi budget gaming computer 800-1000$

[mpstrevels]

Approximate Purchase Date: Soon. Friday at the latest.

Budget Range: Around 800-1000 $

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Mostly Gaming, some movies, music

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, OS, Monitor, Mouse, case, cd/dvd drives

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Country of Origin: US

Parts Preferences: N/A

Overclocking: Maybe, haven't ever tried.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, again have never tried.

Monitor Resolution: 1600x900 or a little worse if decide to use my flatscreen tv.

Additional Comments: I want something that will last a few years and will run the following games smoothly. I will likely want to play total war series, multiple mmo's - rift, lotro, new swtor when it arrives. I do tend to multi task with multiple monitors (music, websurfing, videos) while playing.

Its been a while since I built my last one, so all feedback is welcome.

CPU/Memory-
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.644341

MB- Here i know it only has one pci-slot. should i spend a few bucks more for the possible crossfire, or will one do for what i have in mind?

ASRock P67 PRO3 SE LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157249

GPU-
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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565

psu-
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SL
I Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

HDD-
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185


Again, not really hardcore gaming, mostly mmo's and a few others, no 1st person shooters as i am a console man on those. I do tend to multi task and would love to have strong frame rate while doing so. Thanks guys!

 

[Nicoma]

Thought I'd tell you that the 750w Corsair TX is currently on sale if you use this code in your cart:
EMCKEGJ36
Link:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL053111&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL053111-_-EMC-053111-Index-_-PowerSupplies-_-17139006-L03B

If you are thinking about SLI at some point it's recommended to have a 750w PSU. Other than that solid build, looks a lot like my most recent one.

 

[ubercake]

Definitely consider the SLI capable motherboards. It will cost around $30 bit more, but will improve your future options:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130572

Take Nicoma's advice on the power as well.

Other than that, everything you've chosen looks good.

 

[mpstrevels]

thanks for the quick responses.

i haven't ruled out crossfire or overclocking for that matter, but in all honesty i've never attempted them before. is the few bucks more for the sli motherboard going to be worth it? or if i never attempt either will it be a waste of my money?

i was considering that powr supply first actually, but thought it might be a bit much. but that is a good deal so what the hay.

also i was reading for an ssd can cut down on load times/boot etc. is the actual reward worth the price? thanks again!

 

[saood06]

this seems like a good z68 mobo with crossfire
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128495
even if you dont need z68 all this motherboard is missing is regular pci slots it has x8 crossfire/sli and a x4 slot

 

[genghiskron]

crossfire and overclocking costs more money. changing your mind costs even more money. if you can decide that you dont want to do either, you can save quite a bit. If you want to either overclock OR crossfire its worth it to get the capability for both.

An i5-2500+h67 is about $65 cheaper than the cheapest x8/x8 2500k/mobo combo id recommend:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.638710

A 500-550w antec psu is going to be plenty for a single card and $35 cheaper than the cheapest crossfire capable psu id recommend (for those cards- corsair 750tx)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371047&cm_re=antec_520-_-17-371-047-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035&cm_re=antec_500-_-17-371-035-_-Product

So thats $100 right there. Also keep in mind that to overclock youre going to need a $30 cpu cooler. So it costs about $130 upfront for the capability to crossfire/sli and overclock.

 

[aznshinobi]

Crossfire is different than SLI.

Crossfire is AMD, Crossfire also only needs two PCI Express 16x 2.0 lanes that run @ 16x/4x minimum.
SLI is Nvidia, SLI needs two PCI Express 16x 2.0 lanes running @ a minimum of 8x/8x.

SLI will cost a bit more in regards to the motherboard, if you planned to get an 8x/8x anyway, might as well get SLI if it is better for the buck.

560 Ti SLI only needs 600w PSU, so a 650w would be plenty for an overclocked 2500K+560 TI SLI.

In the regards of your build, why get the 2500K if you may not even OC at all, kind of a waste. But that's just me.

In my build guide, check out the $600 one. Just change the i3 2100 to an i5 2400 (+50) and change the 5850 to a 6950 2GB (+100) That'll bring you to total @ around $750.

 

[mjmjpfaff]

Crossfire is different than SLI.

Crossfire is AMD, Crossfire also only needs two PCI Express 16x 2.0 lanes that run @ 16x/4x minimum.
SLI is Nvidia, SLI needs two PCI Express 16x 2.0 lanes running @ a minimum of 8x/8x.

SLI will cost a bit more in regards to the motherboard, if you planned to get an 8x/8x anyway, might as well get SLI if it is better for the buck.

560 Ti SLI only needs 600w PSU, so a 650w would be plenty for an overclocked 2500K+560 TI SLI.

In the regards of your build, why get the 2500K if you may not even OC at all, kind of a waste. But that's just me.

In my build guide, check out the $600 one. Just change the i3 2100 to an i5 2400 (+50) and change the 5850 to a 6950 2GB (+100) That'll bring you to total @ around $750.

i dont think 650w is enough maybe a i5 2400 and reference 560 ti sli. also x8/x8 wont bottleneck your psu

 

[aznshinobi]

^ Wait, what are you referring to 8x/8x won't bottleneck your PSU? What does MB lanes have to do with anything.

Ahhh you're right I read the power requirements wrong.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-560-ti-sli-review/14
700w minimum. Still I'd say 650w is pretty darn good.

 

[mjmjpfaff]

sorry meant gpu's