$1200 gaming PC v.2 (first rig)

[Infinite Jest]

Approximate Purchase Date: This month, but this week would be nice.


Budget Range: $1200ish Before rebates


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Productivity/School programs, Surfing/movies


Parts Not Required: OS, Mouse, Monitor, Keyboard, Speakers


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg/Amazon


Country of Origin: US


Parts Preferences: None.


Overclocking: Yes


SLI or Crossfire: Maybe (later)


Monitor Resolution: !920x1080 24"

Additional Comments: Prefer mid tower over full, Draft below. Please leave general comments on what you would change if it were your build. Plan on buying SSD around the end of the year.


Here's what I've come up with after a few days of wading through reviews/threads/benchmarks.

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
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Mobo: MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130574

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL (or the equivalent Corsair w/ mobo bundle)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

GPU: MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III PE/OC GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127582

PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (I have an external for back-up)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

Optical Drive: ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

CPU HSF: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

Premium thermal paste:Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007





This is my first formally made build advice thread, as well as my first self-built PC.

A few of additional questions:
-Is a bronze certification significantly more comforting that not having a bronze+ for the psu?
-Should 750w cover an SLI in the future (may not actually use this feature, but would it?)?
-Should I be fine with the case fans + MSI TF III HSF for OC both cpu and gpu (mild-moderate)?
-Would Arctic Silver give me an appreciable heat reduction over the CM paste?


On a separate note, I was having second thoughts about buying a semi-expensive ($300+) GPU with the next gen GPUs (nVidia especially) supposedly being released at the end of this year with superior architecture (28nm vs 40nm). However, visiting some "Should I wait???" threads and reasoning with myself a little more, a sub-$400 card in the next-gen may not even surface this year. I really would rather not wait 8 months when I could have a rig that can max out most games now (i.e. BFBC2, SCII, and in the future BF3, Skyrim and the like). Any re-assurance that now is the time to make a rig for the first time would be much appreciated (or the opposite).

 

[geekapproved]

Yes the 750w would be ok for SLI.

Yes 80+ bronze is better than 80+. 80+, 80+ Bronze, 80+ Silver, 80+ Gold, 80+ Platinum, in that order.

No AS will not give you better temps than what comes with the cooler.

I'm not familiar with that case or fans.

Theres always going to be something better coming out, you can't wait forever. As soon as you build it, there will be better cpu's out.

 

[Infinite Jest]

Yes the 750w would be ok for SLI.

Yes 80+ bronze is better than 80+. 80+, 80+ Bronze, 80+ Silver, 80+ Gold, 80+ Platinum, in that order.

No AS will not give you better temps than what comes with the cooler.

I'm not familiar with that case or fans.

Theres always going to be something better coming out, you can't wait forever. As soon as you build it, there will be better cpu's out.

Thanks for your sanity XD. I was thinking about skipping the AS after getting advice in a previous thread, so this re-affirms it. As for the PSU, I'll stick with the 750w, but what exactly is the difference between the certifications? I read through their specs with their 'efficiency margins', but I otherwise can;t figure out any difference amounting to such large price gaps. What cert. is generally recommended?

Also, I'd like my case to be under $100 if anyone has other recommendations.

 

[geekapproved]

The rating goes by the efficiency under load. A psu that's 92% efficient at 50% load would be given a higher rating than a psu that's 82% efficient at 50% load.

80+ or 80+ bronze is just fine.

 

[Infinite Jest]

The rating goes by the efficiency under load. A psu that's 92% efficient at 50% load would be given a higher rating than a psu that's 82% efficient at 50% load.

80+ or 80+ bronze is just fine.

Gotcha, thanks.

 

[Infinite Jest]

After some more research and asking around on various forums, I've come to this build:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[Infinite Jest]

Does it look alright?