New Gaming PC Build Novice

[Zuken]

I pretty much need a new computer by the time Diablo 3 and Skyrim come out. That is my only motivation for this whole project, but I feel it is enough to want to buy a new computer. My other one is 10 years old so it pretty much has no chance of ever running Skyrim. Debating on buying an Alienware desktop and saving my time or making a build myself and saving money. (time = money after all...) Must. Play. Diablo 3


Approximate Purchase Date: November 2011

Budget Range: $1000 or under ideally (could be a bit more if necessary)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Internet, everything else

Parts Not Required: Mouse and Speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I usually go to newegg for this kind of stuff, but if you have a better recommendation, I'd love to hear it.

Country of Origin: United States?

Parts Preferences: I really have no preference aside from a NVIDIA graphics card because they're all I've ever used. If you have a preference for a specific part, I would like to know why.

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: If I can afford it

Monitor Resolution: 1440x900 sounds good

Additional Comments: I know generally how parts of a computer all fit and work together but other than that, I really do not know much. I am very willing to learn though! Please any advice would be appreciated and I will hear you out! Laymans terms would be extremely helpful.

 

[AdrianPerry]

To clear a few things up for you :

Overclocking - CPU (Your processor) comes with whats called a clock speed. This is usually represented in GHz. So for example the i5-2500k (currently a popular processor choice) comes with a standard clock speed of 3.3GHz. If you were to overclock the CPU that would mean pushing the frequency higher. So you would push the performance up to, for example say 4.0GHz, meaning it would run faster and be able to process more information, more quickly. This obviously creates other problems though, you need something a little better than the stock CPU-cooler to keep the CPU cool enough to run at these new faster speeds. On a $1000 Budget, your likely to be looking at motherboards that come with special support for overclocking (it practically does it for you) so you dont need to worry about it, it can be done regardless of your PC knowledge or experience.
More info about overclocking here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overclocking

SLI and CrossFire - These basically mean running more than a single graphics card. SLI is the name given to runinng more than one NVIDIA based graphics card, so for example running a GTX560 and another GTX560 (they have to be the same card) this would be called running SLI GTX560's - the computer uses the power of both graphics card to give better performance. The same applies to crossfire, only crossfire means using ATI graphics cards, so for example two ATI Radeon 6950's would be called Crossfire 6950's.
More info about SLI here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Link_Interface
More info about CrossFire here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_CrossFire

 

[Zuken]

Ah thank you for describing those to me Adrian it really helps me out. I guess I want overclocking then and I don't think I'll need SLI, but still unsure. I guess with my budget I'll use SLI if I can, but I don't think it's needed. Do you think I'll need overclocking for running a game like Skyrim? I'm not sure if Diablo 3 will need it, but I intend to hike those graphics way up on D3 (and Skyrim if possible). Also what is the first thing I should look for when building? The case? Motherboard?

 

[AdrianPerry]

Ah thank you for describing those to me Adrian it really helps me out. I guess I want overclocking then and I don't think I'll need SLI, but still unsure. I guess with my budget I'll use SLI if I can, but I don't think it's needed. Do you think I'll need overclocking for running a game like Skyrim? I'm not sure if Diablo 3 will need it, but I intend to hike those graphics way up on D3 (and Skyrim if possible). Also what is the first thing I should look for when building? The case? Motherboard?

On a $1000 budget your likely to be suggested the i5-2500k (which YES you must overclock because it has SOOOO much potential for such a good price) You probably wont NEED overclocking, but it should certainly push the FPS up

Graphics card, most likely option for you are the GTX 560Ti or the ATI Radeon 6950.

SLI/Crossfire - You dont need to do this right away, if you make sure your motherboard supports either SLI/Crossfire, and you make sure you get a PSU with enough headroom to add another card in the future, your good to go and can use SLI/Crossfire anytime you wish to add another card then.

Build order (usually something like this)
CPU (Central Processor)
Motherboard
GPU (Graphics card)
RAM (Memory)
PSU (Power Supply)
HDD (Hard Drive)
Optical Drive (CD/DVD/Blu-Ray Drive)

 

[Why_Me]

This build allows you to add another one of those gtx 560's later on for SLI. This build also includes Windows 7.

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Tower-Case-RC-912-KKN1/dp/B003ZM7YTA/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1315689575&sr=1-1 $59.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master HAF 912 Mid Tower ATX Case (RC-912-KKN1)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0046L1PC6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver 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 Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502 $121.99 FREE SHIPPING
GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.723046 $304.98 FREE SHIPPING
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148419 $29.99 FREE SHIPPING
Crucial Ballistix sport 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT25664BA160A

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.696136 $72.48
Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - OEM
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Mini-HDMI-Graphics-01G-P3-1460-KR/dp/B0050I1PHO $184.88 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
EVGA GeForce GTX 560 1024 MB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 2DVI/Mini-HDMI SLI Ready Graphics Card, 01G-P3-1460-KR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824113023 $139.99 FREE SHIPPING
Gateway FHX2152Lbd Black 21.5" 1920x1080 2ms Full HD LED BackLight LCD Monitor Slim Design 250 cd/m2 1000:1

Total: $1,014.29

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Sleeve-RR-B10-212P-G1/dp/B002G1YPH0/ref=pd_cp_e_1 $29.07 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler, RR-B10-212P-G1

 

[madchemist83]

^ nice build
look in ur messages pls

 

[AdrianPerry]

That seems really costly for a windows 7 licence. Even in the UK we can get Windows Home Premium 64-bit for about £70 (no more than $140)?
http://www.ebuyer.com/259863-microsoft-windows-7-home-premium-w-sp1-licence-and-media-1-gfc-02050

EDIT:
Ignore! I just actually clicked the link and saw it came with the CPU