First build (~$1,000) Need feedback

[dpmoll]

Hello everyone! After a bit of research I've come up with my first build. My inspiration was the upcoming Battlefield 3 and other games coming out this fall (Skyrim, Diablo 3). I'm looking to spend around $1,000 and build a machine that's going to run BF3 at med-high to max settings. I'm going to use my old crappy monitor and buy a nice new one closer to the release of the game so my resolution is unknown at the moment. I won't need a lot of extra features and bells and whistles as this is going to be 99% for gaming. I'm sure it won't have a problem with iTunes or web browsing either but I'm looking to avoid overkill on things I dont need. Any feedback is appreciated!


Approximate Purchase Date: Within a couple weeks

Budget Range: No more than $1,100

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming mostly, also music and movies

Parts Not Required: K+M, speakers, monitor, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg

Country of Origin: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel PCU and Nvidia GPU. No preference otherwise

Overclocking: Most likely, but i'm going to hold off on an aftermarket PCU fan until I have more disposable income.

SLI or Crossfire: Not anytime soon, but i'd like to be able to down the road

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Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
MSI P67A-G43 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Combo deal for $329

EVGA SuperClocked 012-P3-1573-AR GeForce GTX 570 HD w/Display-Port (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$349

NZXT Guardian 921 RB 921RB-001-RD Black SECC steel chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$65

Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply
$75

Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$65

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
$65

Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner 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 AD-7260S-0B - OEM
$20

 

[Why_Me]

That psu isn't going to push two of those 570's. You want a 850w psu for that, and make sure that card comes with an SLI bridge seeing how that board doesn't come with one. Also look at the Sumsung F3 1TB h/d.

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Enforcer-Interior-SGC-1000-KWN1/dp/B004WK3KKQ/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1309650281&sr=1-6 $79.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Storm Enforcer USB 3.0 Mid Tower ATX Case with Window and Black Interior (SGC-1000-KWN1)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371049 $94.99 - $69.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.689147 $169.98 save: $35.00
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.662889 You Save: -$15.00 $444.98 $20.00 Mail-In Rebate Card Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $424.98 FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
ASUS ENGTX560 TI DCII TOP/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G1YPH0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER $29.49 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler, RR-B10-212P-G1

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1311298228&sr=1-1 $59.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Samsung Desktop Class Spinpoint F3 1 TB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 32 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare-OEM Drives, HD103SJ

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 $19.99 FREE SHIPPING
ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 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 DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM

$899.41 *not including mail in rebates


Here's an additional case fan for the top of that case.

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Computer-Cooling-R4-LUS-07AR-GP/dp/B002LE8BJA/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_b $14.31 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Cooler Master Computer Case Cooling R4-LUS-07AR-GP 200mm Red LED Case Fan

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?category_id=19&product_id=3038 <----- CM Storm Enforcer w/pics, specs, and professional reviews

 

[dpmoll]

Thanks for the reply. I'm definitely going to use that HDD instead of the WD.

As far as the GPU I was thinking of getting the gtx560ti but I dont want to SLI right off the bat as I just cant afford it right now. I figured the GTX570 would net me a little better performance than the 560 for gaming and if the price were to drop down the road I would get another.

I was leaning toward a Lian Li case but found the one I posted with good reviews and was a little cheaper. Are Cooler Masters the way to go? (It definitely looks slick)

My last concern was the MoBo. For a gaming PC is the z68 really going to offer any benefit over the p67?

 

[mjmjpfaff]

here is a case that has better cooling than that nzxt and is usually priced at 70$- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811235027&Tpk=zalman%20z9%20plus

definitely go with the samsung spinpoint f3 1tb

if you are going to spend that much on a gtx 570 spend it on one with good cooling- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261096

youve now saved 35$ put it towards a 850w psu-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207011

the mobo is good nice find on the combo

 

[apache_lives]

MSI motherboards ewww pass on that - stick with ASUS or Gigabyte

"better cooling" ignore that, 99% of aftermarket coolers have shoddy fans that fail or dont cool the vrm properly, the reference coolers are the best, if your worried bout the temps use some software to raise the fan speeds a little but dont stray from reference designs, and the cards look after themselves

this upgrade path and "oh ill get this now and upgrade it later" bs never works, do it all right the first time or dont bother seriously

hdd - id take a WD over a Samsung any day, the WD's are more reliable, and as for performance - its either a solid state (high performance) or its NOT - performance difference between mechanical drives are negligible compared to any SSD.

PSU for 2x570's in SLI - 750w is plenty aslong as its a good brand - im using a Corsair 750W with my two 570's and an overclocked i7 2600k, 16gb ram, 3 drives, 2 dvd's, quad tuners etc - no issues.

 

[mjmjpfaff]

ive seen youve posted eww for msi twice today. haha. how did you get a working p8p67 pro? i went through 3 before i said screw it and went to asrock for their extreme4. it is not all about asus and gigabyte any more

99% aftermarket coolers have fans that work and cool way better the reference cooler. why would you ignore better cooling when it gives better cooling

hdd- that is you. if you want to ride the wd overpriced band-waggon go ahead. the f3 is reliable too. and less $. and faster. ive looked on newegg to see how many doa's there were for both hdd's and figured out the ratio of non-working to working they both came up to around 10% (chance of getting a doa). reliability doesnt extend to just wd, asus, or gigabyte

yes the tx 750w can be pushed up there. but they dont do it very efficiently. stick with a 850w psu if you want 2 570's

 

[dpmoll]

Thanks again for the feedback.
I guess I should clarify what my intentions are with the SLI situation. I'm looking for a good stand alone gpu that will last a year or two then if my system falls behind I'll grab another one down the road. At that point I'll probably just get a new psu while I'm at it as money won't be an issue. I can deal with the hassle of re-routing the connectors then heh. I don't need to run max settings at 60fps but I'd like a reasonably well performing system if that makes sense. I'm a previous xbox player so I'm gonna be blown away no matter what!

So the evga superclocked and palit sonic both have overall good reviews but after some more research I'm looking at the msi fIII gtx570. Quite a few people are saying it's the best of the 570's albeit a little more money. Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

I've also added a 212 plus for my cpu for OC'ing I didn't realize that they were only $30.