Will these parts work together?

[ummryan]

Hi, I'm attempting to build a computer for the first time. Unfortunately, I don't know much about it, and I'm not sure if these parts are compatible with each other.

My goal is to build a pretty good gaming computer (that I'll also use for schoolwork, watching movies, etc) while keeping the price relatively low (although I can go as high as $1,500, but would prefer to stay around $1,000). My current expected cost with the parts listed below is about $1,100, however, I added $3-5 to each part in anticipation of things like tax, shipping cost, etc. Not sure how accurate that is, but whatever.

I'd like to be able to run Battlefield 3 when it comes out at medium or higher graphics with 100ish fps. Since I don't really know what I'm doing, I'd like to stay away from multiple graphics cards, overclocking, etc.

My questions are:

-will all these parts work together
~including things like fitting in the case, enough slots on the motherboard

-should I use the sound card listed, onboard sound, or a higher end sound card
~I need to be able to hear things like footsteps in 1st person shooters
effectively, and I'd like good quality when listening to music on my Sennheisers

-are there any parts I'm missing that I may want/need?
~Already have a mouse, keyboard, mic, speakers/headset, copy of Windows 7 64 bit

-Is a 750 watt power supply sufficient, or overkill?

My list of parts:

Power Supply
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

Motherboard
ASUS P7H55-M PRO LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-131-623&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

Video Card
XFX HD-687A-ZNFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814150506

Hard drive
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=22-148-433&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

Processor
Intel Core i7-870 Lynnfield 2.93GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I7870

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819115213

DVD
LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16827106335

Sound Card
ASUS XONAR_DG 5.1 Channels PCI Interface Xonar DG Sound Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132020&cm_re=asus_xonar-_-29-132-020-_-Product

CPU Cooler
ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16835118019

Case
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811129021

RAM
Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model KHX1333C9D3B1K2/8G

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104231

Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place, or made any format errors or anything; It's my first time using this site.

Thank you for your time,

-Ryan

 

[Wolfshadw]

It looks like all the components are compatible with each other, but when building a new system, you want to use the latest components that you can afford. Socket 1156 is dead. You want to be using Socket 1155.

Rather than your currently selected components, you could look at:
Gigabyte GA-H61M-D2P-B3 for $20 less.
Intel CoreI5 2500 for $80 less.
G.Skill Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 for $15 less
Corsair Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W for $20 less.

Since you're not overclocking, you can do away with the third-party CPU cooler ($52 savings) and I'd wait to see if you even need a sound card ($35 savings).

That's $222 in savings and I'd seriously doubt you'd even notice the difference.

Just my $.02

-Wolf sends

 

[ummryan]

It looks like all the components are compatible with each other, but when building a new system, you want to use the latest components that you can afford. Socket 1156 is dead. You want to be using Socket 1155.

Rather than your currently selected components, you could look at:
Gigabyte GA-H61M-D2P-B3 for $20 less.
Intel CoreI5 2500 for $80 less.
G.Skill Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 for $15 less
Corsair Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W for $20 less.

Since you're not overclocking, you can do away with the third-party CPU cooler ($52 savings) and I'd wait to see if you even need a sound card ($35 savings).

That's $222 in savings and I'd seriously doubt you'd even notice the difference.

Just my $.02

-Wolf sends

Ah, cool! What's the difference between an i5 and an i7? Does it make a difference for gaming?

 

[Wolfshadw]

The CoreI7 processors will outperform the CoreI5 processors of the same core family. For instance:

The Core I7-2600 Sandy Bridge Core will out-perform the Core I5-2500 Sandy Bridge Core.
The Core I5-2500 Sandy Bridge Core, however, will normally out-perform the Core I7-870 Lynnfield Core.

Here is Tom's Hardware CPU comparison gaming chart. You can see that the Core I7-2600 sits right at the top. The Core I5-2500 is just fifth from the top. The Core I7-870 is eight positions further down. Does it make a difference in gaming? Technically, yes. Will you notice the difference? I seriously doubt it.

-Wolf sends

 

[ummryan]

Best answer selected by ummryan.

 

[ummryan]

Awesome, thanks very much!