Need Advice: Building a gaming PC, it's the first time

[swara_makil]

Hey Guys,

So this is my first gaming PC, i'll also be watching movies. I want to build around an Intel sandy-bridge processor and I'm trying to make it future proof. Games i'll hopefully be playing are stuff like Batman Arkham City and i'll definately be addicted to Star Wars: The Old Republic when it comes out. My budget in the €800 range (I'm in Ireland), which is roughly $1,100 but if I can save a few quid even better!

I don't have to worry about a monitor (1920X1080), keyboard, mouse, speakers and OS. I'm ready to get the parts now, just have to make the final decisions.


CPU: Intel Sandybridge i5-2500 Core i5 Quad-Core Processor (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache, Socket 1155)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Sandybridge-i5-2500-Quad-Core-Processor/dp/B004FA8NNW/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1WKWM4CDYAMN3&colid=SXD2EYEK2D0G
I don't think that I will be overclocking so I didn't go for the 2500K.

Mobo: Asus P8P67 PRO New B3 Rev Motherboard (P67 chipset ATX, Intel?s 1155 Socket, USB 3.0/Sata 6Gb/s, Bluetooth & Digi+VRM )
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-Motherboard-chipset-Socket-Bluetooth/dp/B004OA3UY0/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3URRA0QXMAE0&colid=SXD2EYEK2D0G
or
Asus P8P67 New B3 Rev Motherboard (P67 chipset ATX, Intel?s 1155 Socket, USB 3.0/Sata 6Gb/s, Dual Lan, Bluetooth & Digi+VRM )
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-P8P67-Motherboard-chipset-Bluetooth/dp/B004OA3UWW/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3BU76E6P5F736&colid=SXD2EYEK2D0G

RAM: Corsair CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM Memory
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMX4GX3M2A1600C9-XMS3-SDRAM-Memory/dp/B002LE8D2A/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=IWC0L1UQZAU75&colid=SXD2EYEK2D0G
Should I go for 6GB?

PSU: Corsair TX Series, 650 Watt, ATX, PS/2, Power Supply, UK Version (CMPSU-650TXUK)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-Power-Supply-Version-CMPSU-650TXUK/dp/B000Z7KHLA/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I17IDFWXRV3KA8&colid=SXD2EYEK2D0G

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1 TB Hard Drive, SATA, 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-Barracuda-7200-12-Drive-Cache/dp/B0024FAN24/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2QAQ957O4HGO9&colid=SXD2EYEK2D0G

Case: Coolermaster HAF 922 Mid Tower Chassis
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coolermaster-HAF-922-Tower-Chassis/dp/B00290GKJO/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=IZNIFU8HAACMJ&colid=SXD2EYEK2D0G
Pretty Cool!

Sound Card: Creative Soundblaster X Fi Xtreme Gamer Soundcard
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Soundblaster-Xtreme-Gamer-Soundcard/dp/B000OIQ9AI/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2WUQF8LPHEO7G&colid=SXD2EYEK2D0G
Do I even need this?

Optical Drive: ASUS DRW 24B3ST - Disk drive - DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM - 16x/16x/12x - Serial ATA - internal - 5.25" - black
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-DRW-24B3ST-DVD-RAM-internal/dp/B0043VTBHU/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I17V2PJS89O8PT&colid=SXD2EYEK2D0G

Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus Cooler
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-Plus/dp/B002G1YPH0/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=IR6JFTCQSPII6&colid=SXD2EYEK2D0G
or
Zalman CNPS10X-PERFORMA High Performance CPU Cooler
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zalman-CNPS10X-PERFORMA-High-Performance-Cooler/dp/B00350O5DK/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=IY6TGI6XC9M8F&colid=SXD2EYEK2D0G

Now the graphics card, i'm completely undecided on this, way too many options. The 3 i'm leaning towards are:
PNY nVIDIA GeForce GTX560Ti OC XLR8 850MHz 1GB 256BIT DDR5 2xDVI MINI HDMI PCI-E Graphics Card
http://www.amazon.co.uk/PNY-nVIDIA-GeForce-GTX560Ti-Graphics/dp/B004X4460Y/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I16S3A97X19VFD&colid=SXD2EYEK2D0G
or
XFX Radeon HD 6870 - Graphics adapter - Radeon HD 6870 - PCI Express 2.1 x16 - 1 GB GDDR5 - DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort
http://www.amazon.co.uk/XFX-Radeon-HD-6870-DisplayPort/dp/B0047ZH7GE/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1E4N6ZDFI0FDR&colid=SXD2EYEK2D0G
or
XFX Radeon HD 5850 - Graphics adapter - Radeon HD 5850 - PCI Express 2.1 x16 - 1 GB GDDR5 - DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort ( HDCP )
http://www.amazon.co.uk/XFX-Radeon-HD-5850-DisplayPort/dp/B0037YOIMC/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1E3NCEBS3B4SE&colid=SXD2EYEK2D0G

I used Amazon to source products and prices (worked out at €850, roughly) but I will be shopping around for value.

Also, I'm not pushed on SLI or crossfire and should I get an SSD drive to support my hard drive?

Thanks.

 

[Why_Me]

Forget the SSD for now, throw a couple of 6870's on that board and your good to go.

http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_01COM/15_MOBO/02_INTEL/productdetails/20079098/MSI_P67A_G45_(B3)_Motherboard_ATX_LGA1155/P67A_G45_(B3)/default.aspx €129.00
MSI P67A-G45 (B3) - Motherboard - ATX - LGA1155

 

[manu 11]

go with the 560 ti, much stronger than the two cards you listed.
i have a great time with the cm 212+, nice and just awesome for overclocking up to 4.5 GHz easily.
the case you have chosen is indeed very good.
For hard drive, you can go with samsung spinpoint f3 1tb.
if you care not overclocking, dont buy a p67 mobo, choose either a h61 or h67 mobo.
everything else looks nice.

 

[swara_makil]

Thanks for the quick reply guys.

To Why_Me: I checked out the MSI P67A-G45 Mobo, is there much difference perfromance wise between this and the Asus?

I heard the h61 and h67 mobos are not the best if you are looking to the future.

To manu 11: thanks for the call on cm212+, I was leaning towards it, just needed the right push.

 

[manu 11]

yes they are not best,but they are only recommended when person is not overclicking.