$1500 Gaming Build (novice with no experience)

[grigori]

Hi everyone, I've been looking to purchase a new desktop and figured that I might as well put one together myself. Please bear in mind that I am a complete novice and have never built a computer in my life. With that said, I'm fairly clueless as to selecting components and would like any input from more seasoned veterans. Thanks!

Approximate Purchase Date
Around holiday season, earliest likely being late November.

Budget Range
$1500-1700 before rebates & shipping though I'm willing to stretch it further if the investment is worth it.

System Usage from Most to Least Important
Gaming (e.g. Skyrim, Battlefield 3, Diablo 3), Music

Parts Not Required
OS and a mouse. Beyond that, I need everything else.

Preferred Site
Amazon, wishing to avoid Newegg's NJ sales tax

Country of Origin
USA

Parts Preferences
An i5-2500k and an Nvidia GPU, mainly the GTX580. Not certain however and I am willing to consider the GTX570 as well as the new AMD Bulldozer chips if they become available.

Overclocking
Yes in the future

SLI or Crossfire
Uncertain, maybe upgrade with a second card in the future

Thanks everyone.

 

[Mastervivi10]

What Resolution would you like the monitor to be and what Size?
It's so we can know what Video Card would best be for the composition.

 

[grigori]

Ah, sorry. I was thinking 1920x1080 at around 24 inches.

 

[ares640]

Look at the build in my signature, I built it 3 weeks ago and am very satisified. I would get the Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler though, it was not available for me when I purchased. The motherboard is entirely up to your own preference, same with the HDD brand. Everything else should be highly considered.

 

[Mastervivi10]

Ah so yeah, sorry it took so long since I was taking so long to check other sites to avoid the Newegg's NJ sales tax. This build is entirely Black and White so it will be VERY classy and move anything you need at 1920x1080 with at least High Settings.

ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24" [Monitor] - Price: $199.99
http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-VW246H-24-Inch-Widescreen-Monitor/dp/B001LYWBOM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318301132&sr=8-1

MSI N580GTX Lightning [Video Card] - Price: $499.99
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-DisplayPort-PCI-Express-N580GTX-LIGHTNING/dp/B004XVMAKA/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1318301167&sr=1-3

Intel Core i5-2500K [CPU] - Price: $219.95
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i5-2500K-Processor-3-3GHz-LGA1155/dp/B004EBUXHQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1318301392&sr=1-1

Asrock Z68 Extreme3 Gen 3[Motherboard] - Price: $124.99 (Sorry man the Only reason I leave this motherboard from Newegg here is because its an efficient MB for the price and supports both PCIe 3.0 and Ivy Bridge witch is the upcoming new CPU from Intel that everyone is expecting)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo [CPU Heat-Sink] - Price: $34.99
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-20PK-R1/dp/B005O65JXI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1318301458&sr=1-1

Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB [Hard Drive] - Price: $59.99
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1318301495&sr=1-1

Crucial M4 64GB [SSD] - Price: $106.99
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-64-2-5-Inch-Solid-State-CT064M4SSD2/dp/B004W2JKWG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1318301540&sr=1-1

SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner [Disk Reader] - Price: $19.99
http://www.amazon.com/SH-222AB-Internal-DVD-Writer-Bulk-Pack/dp/B004W3J7F0/ref=sr_1_sc_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1318301620&sr=1-2-spell

CORSAIR Professional Series HX650 [Power Supply] - Price: $109.99
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-Certified-compatible-Platforms/dp/B002LVUPZQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1318301665&sr=1-1

Corsair Vengeance (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile [Memory] - Price: $54.99
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-Profile-PC3-12800-CML8GX3M2A1600C9/dp/B00569K7LM/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1318301754&sr=1-3

Corsair Carbide Series 400R White [Case] - Price: $134.99 comes with MIR of $10
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-White-Gaming-CC-9011013-WW/dp/B005E97ZUU/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1318301831&sr=1-3


Total Before MIR: $1566.85
Total After MIR: $1556.85

Also you said you might add an additional 580 for possible SLI, If true then please write back because I might need to change the PSU to the Corsair HX850W since a SLI 580's are very strong combination and I WOULD NOT want to something to go wrong with your system.

 

[dalauder]

Bulldozer launches on Oct. 12th. Wait 1 week for prices to drop before you build. Then come back to this thread or start a new one after prices have changed.

 

[Mastervivi10]

Well it is true that Bulldozer could turn the tide so he could wait until Wednesday at 12:01 AM when the NDA will drop and review sites will release the Benchmarks. We are on the same boat since I'm also going to be building my new Gaming this Sunday.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I like Master's build above except .....

GRX - (Saves $90) I'd do twin 560 Ti's (862 fps)* @ $410 for both as compared with the 580 (616 fps)* @ $500

* Source Guru3D game test suite

MoBo - ASUS P8Z68-V LGA (Costs extra $55) I just can't recommend a AsRock board because of the short warranty.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131729

PSU - Saves (Saves $20) FX Core Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207011

Note: There is not a single 850 watt PSU certified by nVidia for twin 580's

Going w/ the white theme - RAM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233199

 

[dalauder]

Personally, I'm not to concerned about Bulldozer's performance. But we can still be nearly certain Intel will drop it's MSRP's with an AMD launch. That's why you should wait to buy.