My 1st $1000 Gaming Build - Please Opine

[pcOdysseus]

OK, so it's been a week of research and shopping and I finally feel like I am nearing the completion of my 1st build. I joined this forum tonight because I have been told not to buy anything w/o Tom's approval. This is a "Family PC" that I intend to sneak some midstream gaming into. I'm an Xbox man who wants to see what PC Gaming has to offer. Here is my hardware list, please let me know what you all think of it. Keep in mind that I was trying to stay as close to $1000 as possible(including win7 and a monitor).

Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP

Budget Range: $1000 - $1200 after rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Creating HD Home Videos, photo editing, internet browsing

Parts Not Required: Keyboard & mouse, but I'll probably get new ones anyway. I'll keep my current speakers.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I'm all about Newegg. Great site.

Parts Preferences: SOLD on the i5 2500k, other than that, what do I know? I like GeForce.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No, I think one bad-ass card is the way to go.

Monitor Resolution: the best I can afford

Additional Comments: I do intend to upgrade over the years, when necessary.

I am still trying to decide on a Video Card and Case, I'll post my favorites of each. I also need monitor suggestions.

Video Card: I am favoring the GTX 560 Ti but don't know which one to get.

Case: Should I buy the HAF 912 and buy bigger, better fans or fork up the extra $40 for the HAF 922 and be done with it?

Monitor: Open for any suggestions on a monitor


PC PROJECT 2011

CPU: i5 2500k
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.660242

MOBO: MSI G43
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.660242

Video Card: HELP
Gigabyte 560Ti SOC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125369

OR

EVGA 560Ti SC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130610

Memory: Mushkin 8Gb for $58, great deal right?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226095

PSU: Antec EarthWatts 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044

Storage: Hitachi 1.5Tb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145520

Optical Drive: Cheapest (LITE-ON DVD Burner)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

CPU Heatsink: Xigmatek Loki
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233081

Case: HELP
Cooler Master 912
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

OR

Cooler Master 922
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

OR MAYBE

Antec Nine Hundred Two V3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129097


So there is my build so far. Is Mushkin a reliable brand? Which case would I be happiest with? Which monitor will fit my needs and budget? Why do there have to be so many video cards to choose from?

 

[Outlander_04]

Muskin are a reputable brand , so you should be fine with them , but the timings are 9-9-9-24 at 1333MHz.
Ideally look for 1600MHz RAM and lower timings .

CPU cooler looks like a good option for the price

 

[rvilkman]

Ideally for a gaming monitor you want fast response times 2ms or less. But pretty much anything 5ms or under will do fine for you.
IPS panels have better color depths, and viewing angles, have slower response times(5-8ms or so) and cost a bit more than TN panels that generally have fast response times for high movement gaming.

Top of the price bracket would be something like:
Samsung PX2370 23" fullHD LED $269

Lower end something like:
Samsung BX2231 21.5" fullHD LED $159

Samsung displays just as an example though: Asus, Dell, Samsung, Viewsonic all make quite good displays for in the end it comes to personal preference.

 

[z_4]

Here's a built assuming you won't be adding a second card very soon (Before MAIL-IN-REBATES):

CPU : $220- i5-2500K(Same)

Motherboard : $130- Gigabyte GA-Z68A(Cheap and gets the job done. Supports SLI and Crossfire)

Case : $60- Cooler Master HAF 912 (It's good. Had to select this one to remain under budget)

Cooler : $30- Xigmatek Gaia. If you like cooler master Hyper 212 get from amazon its cheaper there.

RAM : $75- Gskill RipjawX(2X 4GB). If its sold out get Gskill Sniper

Power Supply: $65-Antec Earthwatts 650(no change,but is insufficient if you plan to add another card)

DVD: $19-Lite On

HDD: $65- Hitachi Deskstar(1.5TB). You can get faster hard drive around the same price but 1TB capacity.
Here's a review of Samsung Spinpoint F3.

Monitor : $200- Asus VE248H 24" LED Backlit (1920X1080) 2ms response time

Graphic Card : $350- XFX 6970 or EVGA 570 GTX ($340)

GTX 570 vs Radeon 6970. Though it is a review it shows the relative performance of those cards in various games.

Total : 1214$
AFTER REBATES : $1174

Here's a thumbnail :

 

[mosox]

^+1

I would get this video card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102918&cm_re=hd_6970-_-14-102-918-_-Product
and this PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371031&cm_re=antec_neo_eco-_-17-371-031-_-Product
(skip the CPU cooler for now).